Japanese Beetles

The shiny green pests are back, looking for our plants and destroying our crops. These beetles can be extremely destructive and it has been known that municipalities and counties will begin a large trapping program at the first sign of these beetles. Home owners follow the same route to control these Japanese Beetles with traps. My recommendation is is you are going to use Japanese Beetle traps then use alot of them, don't be stingy or cheap. This will give you best coverage and control and it will give a broader area of coverage. There are natural enemies of Japanese Beetles that can be used, but I would assume that that method would be used more in a crop situation. Traps can of course be found on the web at any DIY pest control product website or at your local hardware store. Happy Trapping.

Ground Bees and their control

Ground bees come in all shapes and sizes. Some are great in number and some live by themselves. Ground bees can incorporate wasps, bumble bees, yellow jackets, cicada killers, and digger wasps. Some are dangerous and some not so bad. So what's a person to do?
If you encounter a swarm of low flying black wasps or bees in your garden then you have an infestation of digger wasps or ground digging bees. They are not very aggressive and most cases you can walk through them without getting stung. As always, if you are or suspect that you are allergic then stay clear of all bees and wasps.
If you encounter large bees a few inches long then you have a case of cicada killers. Again, not very aggressive.
Yellow jackets and bumble bees can attack so be careful.
The best way to handle most of these ground bees is to dust their holes with a good insecticide dust. These dusts can be bought online at do it yourself pest control products stores. A good dust to look for is apicide, tempo, or delta dust. If dealing with yellow jackets or bumble bees use extreme caution, dust in the evening, or call a professional exterminator.

Waterbugs, Shad Roaches, Oriental Roach

They go by the names shads, water bugs, the oriental roach among others. They scare you at night when you flick the lights on. They are creepy. So how do you get rid of these roaches? I've always considered water bugs to be the easiest of the roach family to control. There used to be a great product called baygon bait that was used for shads, but it was discontinued. These days the granule bait of choice is niban that can be bought on most do it yourself pest control products website. The granules can be spread around hot water heaters, in garages, behind washers and dryers, heaters, crawl spaces, in the corners. Upstairs you can sprinkle behind stoves and refrigerators. Outside it can be sprinkled in cracks and crevices. Always minding children and pets and following the labels. Another way to control water bugs is a good inside perimeter spray using any of the residual insecticides. Shads are floor crawlers, so there is a good chance they would come in contact with the chemical. Another practice is using glue traps. Placing them under the stove, furniture, under the sink, in the basement, etc. As they fill up be sure to track how many there are. As they get less and less you can be assured the problem is resolving. All of these products and tools can almost always be found on a good do it yourself pest control products website. Good luck and happy hunting.

Get rid of ants

WHAT: Ants can be real pests to families when they invade. There are many kinds of ants such as carpenter ants, pharaoh ants, and regular old pavement ants. No one wants them,but they can be controlled and eliminated.

Where: Ants inside can be found in the kitchen, bathroom, even creeping along the wood work of living areas.

HOW: Getting rid of ants in the home requires patience and trusting. I almost never recommend spraying for ants inside, especially if you are not exactly sure what ant you are dealing with. Baiting is the way to go. Products like Terro is a great sugar based bait. Another good bait that I recommend is Advance Dual Choice. Maxforce ant gel is another good one. When placing out bait, be generous and use caution if there are children and pets present.
Baits that professionals use can be bought on the Internet these days. Any online do it yourself pest control products website is a good start. You can always try your local hardware store, but if you are looking for the stuff the pros use I would go the route of ordering online. Maxforce and Advance are two professional names to look for.

Bird Mites

The panic that can ensue from a suspected bird mite infestation can be overwhelming and intense. I found this to be true when a site that I take care of called me for a bird problem they were having in the ceiling. It was reported that the room the birds were found in had people reporting getting bitten and itching. When my pest control person went in there and took down the drop ceiling tile there was a giant nest and he pulled 4 birds out of there. The nest fell in and the room was full of bird mites. They were able to be seen best on the black phone as they scurried. The room and nest was treated with Talstar, a miticide, and sterifab, and the room shut down for a few days. A few days later the housekeeper went in and threw away the nesting, bleached the entire room, and all was fine.
I decided to investigate bird mites further on the Internet that night and found a site that gives some alarmist information and frankly the info was not true. My fear was these mites could infest peoples homes and, like fleas, take a blood meal from their human hosts, reproducing and becoming a major problem. The website I found that is in question would have folks fumigate their homes and go through crazy measures to get rid of a problem that is not a human problem but bird problem. The facts are as follow:
Bird mites need a bird blood meal to reproduce, not a human blood meal.
Bird mites can bite and be a problem for people, but if you find the bird nest they are coming from, get rid of it, and treat your home as normal, you can get rid of them. They will not multiply into million of mites taking over your entire home.
The fact of the matter is there is no need to panic. Identify the problem and treat. Simple.
For more info that is factual look at this site from Penn State.
http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/birdmites.htm

Pest Control Company Research

Whether you are looking to hire a pest control company to eliminate ants, bed bugs, or termites, how can you determine which company is the best one to do the job? This is really important when considering an exterminating company to come into your home to take care of a problem such as termites or bed bugs or bees. You need to know what's the difference between Orkin or Terminix . You need to know if customers liked Western Pest Services or Truly Nolan and why? Where can you find this information?
To begin with you can use old reliable, Google. Google searches are fantastic when it comes to compiling information about any topic these days. Then there are other services like Angie's List that rates and gives reports on companies from people who actually used them. Angie's list has a small fee, but it worth it to get an unbiased opinion about a company. The last way to research a company goes back to the beginning of time. Word of mouth. Ask around and see what other peoples thoughts are about certain companies. People are not afraid to tell you their opinions, and if they had a good experience they will see that company to you themselves, and if they had a bad experience they will make you wish you never even thought of them in the first place. SO when researching a pest control company be sure to get all the facts before you sign that check. It can save you aggravation and money.