EPA's Bedbug Summit

Last week I attended the bed bug summit that was sponsored by the EPA and found it to be very interesting. The brightest brains from across the pest control industry was there along with representative from the hotel industry, schools, HUD, apartment industry and government, all gathered to discuss what Dr. Potter calls the "perfect Storm" Bedbugs. After listening to a rather bleak summary of university findings on the effectiveness of our chemicals against these critters and other presentations from various government agencies, we broke into groups and came up with recommendations to present to the EPA so they can start to get a handle on the importance of this issue becoming a "pandemic" and effecting the economy in a negative way. When you think about it, bedbugs can be linked to public transportation, furniture and mattress delivery services, laundry mats, schools, hotels, motels, theaters, anywhere the public gathers, and with no real silver bullet to kill these bed bugs it is a scary future. Maybe the EPA will ease the requirements or costs of registering products or let us bring back the old stuff that worked. One thing that everyone agreed on was the fact that we need an aggressive public awareness campaign to get people away from the stigma attached which will hopefully lend itself to early intervention. One thing is for sure, it will only get worse before it gets better.

Boxelder Bugs are Back

It's that time of year again when the red, orange and black bugs start to take their territory. Looking for the perfect silver bullet to get rid of those pesky box elder bugs that seem to over take the sunny side of your building or home? Well I wish I could deliver, but I can't. This problem needs to be dealt with by good old fashioned elbow grease. Inside you need to vacuum them away, outside you need to spray them down with soapy water. Mix up a cup or two of cloths detergent in a gallon sprayer, lightly mix so not to get over run by suds, and spray away. Get them as they cluster in clumps and watch as they fall away dead.

Bees in the ground

There are several species of wasps and bees that tend to dig into the ground to either nest or lay eggs. Cicada Killers, digger wasps, yellow jackets, and so on. If you have a case of the giant cicada killers and they are far enough away from you and not really bothering you, I would say to leave them alone. They are very seasonal and do no harm. If they are patrolling the area right next to your walk way then you may want to shoot some insect dust into the hole, at night, carefully. Same goes for yellow jackets, but again, extreme caution. Digger wasps and the wasps you see flying low to the ground can be controlled via a god surface spray. Most times though, I recommend hiring a pro when dealing with wasps or bees.They can be harmful if managed incorrectly.

Ants Ants Everywhere

Controlling ants can be one of the most aggravating things to try to accomplish every...but it can be done. There is an arsenal of products out there that can be used, many of them can be found on your local do it yourself pest control products website, or you can simply call your local pest control company. The products range from granules like Advance and Maxforce to gels like Terro and Uncle Alberts. There are your ant bait stations like Advion or Maxforce ant and of course sprays like Phantom. With all of these products out there why is it so hard to get rid of them? Mostly because there are such great numbers, people misapply products or they start the control too late. So be diligent and generous in your treatments and as always, use caution and keep safety first.