Monday, July 31, 2006

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Mosquito Patrol!!

Summertime+Rainy weather=Mosquitos. So what's the word on the street? Scratching, itching, welts, bumps, annoying, bothersome. Looks like there a lot of words that describe these pesky insects. Public enemy number one might be a good description. Mosquito's go through a complete life cycle which basically means they have an egg, larva, pupa, and adult. These stages develop into the mosquito's we hate so much. Men in this insect society are the good guys because they don't bite, only the females need a blood meal to help develop her eggs. The most important thing to remember in controlling mosquito's is that you have to reduce the amount of standing water that is around a property. Pools, tires, toys, holes in trees, bird baths, cigarette butt cans, buckets, hollow bamboo, cluttered rain gutters, any place that can collect water and be undesturbed can be a massive breeding site for mosquito's, even the smallest of puddles. So after it rains it's a good idea to empty all this standing water to help reduce the areas the mosquito's can breed in. To help keep them away from you most people use the DEET or other repellent, they use the mosquito's traps that put out carbon dioxide which is a strong attractant and why they are attracted to humans, and some try the bug zappers. The zappers are cool and kill lots of bugs but not a good mosquito killer. It's a good thing to not want to have mosquito's as guest because they can spread lots of disease like malaria, yellow fever, west Nile virus, encephalitis, and dengue fever.

HIGH MOISTURE MEANS HIGH INSECT POPULATIONS!

With all the rain the eastern United Sates has been experiencing, it's safe to say that there is going to be a increase in the moisture loving bugs that invade the home. Some to watch out for are earwigs, sow bugs or pill bugs, millipedes, centipedes and public enemy number one, the mosquito. Other than the Mosquito, these creep crawlys will sneak into the home becoming a nuisance and becoming unwanted very quickly. Some things you can do would be to keep the grass trimmed around your property, prune back any branches that are touching your house and cut back any bushes that might be close to or touching the home. Also, you can hire a pest control professional to do an outside perimeter spray to help keep the population down and if you have mulch around the outside perimeter be sure to rake it back some so the exterminator can treat it thoroughly. These moisture loving bugs love mulch. Check to make sure that your rain gutters are clear and not overflowing down your walls to the perimeter of your home saturating the solid around your house. Make sure your rain spouts are draining properly taking the water away from the house. Take a walk around your house and make sure there is no standing water that mosquito's can breed in, all they need is a small amount of water, a tiny puddle to breed. Doing these things should help you to keep these buggers at bay!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Comments and Interaction

Just a note to any visitors. This site is an interactive site. If you have any comments or questions please post them in the comment section and I will respond as quickly as possible.

FLEAS

One job I'd hate the most when I was an exterminator was the flea job. Hopping all over you and making you paranoid and thinking to yourself if you brushed them all off before you got into your truck or were there any hidden in the tufts of your clothing. Yuck! When you have them they are definitely a bug that needs to be eliminated. I suggest always to hire an exterminator, a good pest control professional can advise you as to how to keep this problem from happening again and do the work while you are out and away from the action. If you decide to do it yourself there are plenty of products out there for you to do it. This is not a 5 minute spray and done job. To start with you will need to get the pet treated wither with a good dip or flea powder and then I strongly suggest using the product frontline to help prevent this problem from recurring. Then the pet will need to be kept out of the house for the day while you treat. To start with you will have to vacuum like you 've never vacuumed before. Pick up everything off the floor and out from under the beds and vacuum every inch of your house. Vacuum the sofas and chairs, vacuum especially thoroughly around areas your pet hangs out and vacuum the stairs . It is very important to vacuum as it is about 90 percent of the battle. Please remember to vacuum. Did I mention the importance of a thorough vacuuming? Point made. Next you will need to throw the vacuum bag outside of the house immediately. Now you will need to have bought a treatment spray for the house that has a growth regulator in it. Methoprene is the insect growth regulator of choice for fleas. The product will need to have a good adulticide as well. Some products that the pest control industry use are ultracide and precor. When you buy your product be sure it has this insect growth regulator in it or you will be throwing your money away. Some of you may be considering fogging or "bombing" your home. If you do be sure to have enough bombs to cover the areas needing treatment on the basement, first and second floors, also be sure that the fogger has an insect growth regulator like methoprene in it or you will be fogging your money away. VERY IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE ALL OPEN FLAMES ARE EXTINGUISHED BEFORE YOU START THE FOGGING AND PUT A SIGN ON YOUR FORNT DOOR THAT YOU ARE FOGGING. You'd be surprised how many stories I've heard about people blowing up their homes with insect foggers. I used to require my customers to shut off the gas at the main shut off valve before I would fog. READ THE LABEL ON ALL PRODUCTS. The label will give you important information and tips on the treatment. The sign is a good idea so that dear old aunt sally doesn't stop by while the family is out of the house because of the fog and uses her key to go in and winds up getting fogged herself! Just use common sense and caution. After the treatment you will still probably have fleas. Don't panic. They will die off over the next few days. You may also have a good week of no activity and then suddenly they are back. Don't panic. The eggs hatched and they will die. after about a week I'd give the house a good vacuuming again and throw out the bag and you should be flea free.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

BEES, WASP, HORNETS!!!!!

It's mid summer and soon wasps and bees of all kinds will be going bonkers. Some things to consider when dealing with wasps and bees....they all sting and they all hurt. People have different reactions to stings and unfortunately might not know the reaction until they are actually stung. It is advised that if a nest is observed to steer clear and let the professionals handle it. Bees and wasps will nest just about anywhere, holes in a fence, holes in walls, under eaves, under fences, in the ground, on old pallets, inside abandoned cars, in your attic. Wherever they can squeeze into and start building a nest and be safe they will go. There are lot's of bees and wasps that people deal with everyday. Wasps, Yellow Jackets, Paper Wasps, bald Faced Hornets, Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, Cicada Killers, Digger Wasps, Mud Dauber Wasps, the list can go on and on. Some things to consider. If you come upon or near a honey bee nest and they start to "head bunt" you. Keep your cool and calmly but urgently move back away from them. Don't go Bazerk and start swatting because it could cause an alert response and you'll be in the morning paper the next day as the one who was attacked by bees. (Avoid at all costs) Honey Bees will sometimes warn you by "head bunting" to say to you, "Get back, this is our space" If they swarm and attack then run fast, run hard and get away, don't panic and stop and fall down in a ball because then you are doomed. If you notice bees or wasps flying into a hole or you stumble upon a hornet's nest then stop and watch their flight pattern, they will fly in one way and out the other. When you have pin pointed their flight pattern then my strong advice to you would be to NOT DISTURB THIS FLIGHT PATTERN. Even if you have to cross the street to avoid it. My next words of wisdom will be words to live by. If you find the hold Bees or Wasps are flying into especially if it is a hole on your outside wall of your house, DO NOT PLUG THAT HOLE UP!!!! I know people who will wait till it's dark and the activity seemed to stop and go out and caulk that hole thinking that the bees will be trapped and die. Let me tell you this, they will not die, in fact they will find their way into your house sooner than later. Cover their hole and they will find another way out and it's often by chewing a hole through your drywall on the inside and out into your living room. Another example is that they cover the hole at a fence, etc, in the morning when activity is low. Then by mid afternoon there are hundred of wasps or bees trying to get back into their hole and they are agitated and stinging anyone who passes by. NEVER COVER A BEE HOLE! Bees are tough customers...that's why people invented bee poles that allow exterminators to treat from far distances and that's why people invented bees suits and all that kind of stuff. Call your local exterminator.