Great Info Tips » Pest Control

Termite or Ant?

Rosie — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:47:47 +0000

?Is it an ant or a termite you just found in your home? There are some ways to tell.

Ants have 1 pair of wings, bent antennae, a pinched waist and you can see their eyes. Termites have 1 pair of wings, straight antennae, a broad waist, and you cannot see their eyes. Both can swarm, follow the one in front. can cause wood damage, and colonies can be active around the clock all year. Proper identification is necessary for successful treatment. Ants have a distinct waistline while termites do not. It’s like ants having a belt in the middle of their bodies. While there are different varieties of each pest, ants are less costly to treat. When in doubt, call a professional pest control company.

Bed Bugs- an update

Rosie — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:32:17 +0000

Studies have recently shown that dismissing bedbugs as not being a public health pest is wrong. People can suffer not only bites, but also pain, suffering, emotional distress and a fear of never being rid of these pests. Government agencies still have not concluded that bedbugs may need to be listed as a public health pest in order to combat these pests so they do not become an epidemic as they have been in the past.

Bedbug infestations can occur in no time without the victim knowing he has them in his residence. Sensitivity to bites can be influenced by previous exposure as with other allergens. Reactions can be delayed a week of longer making it hard to narrow down the spot where the victim actually got the bedbugs. Elderly residents seem to be not as affected as others when it comes to recognizing bedbug infestations. It’s important that any nursing homes or even caretakers of the elderly be on the alert for any bedbugs present in the home. Bedbugs cannot bite through clothing, but will bite wherever there is exposed skin.

Welts and itching from bedbug bites are the body’s immune system reacting to the allergens in the pest’s saliva. Many residents will report sleeplessness, emotional distress, anxiety and stress from knowing they have bedbugs in their homes. Lately it has been reported bedbugs have been found in various places such as subways, waiting rooms, trains, buses, and movie theaters. You never know when you might bring these pests into your home.Unfortunately bedbugs can “hitchhike” and spread rapidly from room to room so they can find a human to feed on.

There is a lot of misinformation everywhere. If you are not sure you have a case of bedbugs your best bet is to call in the pest control professionals. Most companies will do a free inspection and alert you to the fact that there is an infestation. Just taking your mattress and box spring and putting them in the sun won’t get rid of all the bedbugs. Nor will wrapping the mattress and box spring in black plastic and having the sun beat down on them get rid of bedbugs. These pests need to have professionals get rid of them.

There are mattress and box spring covers that can be ordered to help with any bedbug fears. These covers are made of high quality, durable materials that have been tested to be bed bug proof. Bedbugs still in the mattress or box spring would then die of starvation over time.There are manufacturers and insecticide companies trying to find other solutions for the bed bug problem that seems to be infesting the world.

Bed Bug

Bee season

Rosie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:27:52 +0000

As I work for a nationally known pest control company I know for sure we have been bombarded with phone calls about bees and wasps. Most customers want the technician to come out and spray for these insects, little realizing that unless bees and wasps have built a nest we cannot treat free flying insects.

Just picture a technician running around your yard spraying each bee. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But that’s what some customers seem to want the technicians to do. Yes, there is a preventative treatment we can do around the home, but then customers will complain about stains on the siding. It’s not always an easy profession, but when there is a nest or a potential building of one it’s better to be treated. You will see a congregation of many bees or wasps coming and going out of one particular spot. That’s when you know there is a nest. Since it’s just April now, nests are small as bees and wasps have just emerged from their wintering places.

Please understand when you call your pest control company that it may not be possible for someone to come out the same day. It’s what we call busy season when the bugs, bees, and wasps all come out at one time. We can’t have the technicians working 12 hours a day. They need to have time to rest, too. Bear in mind we will do what we can to get someone to your home as soon as possible, but understand that we are not magicians and cannot make the bad bugs disappear immediately or even overnight. Talk to your technician, learn about the pests that inhabit your area and your home, and please have patience with the pest control company. We will help you.

Helping others

Rosie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:38:15 +0000

When I started this blog it was with the intention of helping people in some way. Tips to help them with housework, their health, or other ways. Tips to give them inspiration to learn more about their problems ,whether it was a disease, pest control, or something they needed to research. I hope I have in some way helped people. Won’t you please take a minute or two and post how I have helped you. Just a short note so I know it’s worthwhile to continue posting tips.

I have also tried to let everyone know about things that have happened to me with my health. Education with diabetes and its many complications is the only way to combat this disease until a cure is found. I doubt a cure will be found in my lifetime, but perhaps in my grand-children’s lifetime they won’t have to deal with the things I have had to endure.

To those who have gained knowledge from reading any postings I have done, bless you. You are learning things for a lifetime. I am glad I could help you.

Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2009

Rosie — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:37:42 +0000

That’s right. There is an act in Congress that would require public housing agencies to submit bedbug inspection plans to the federal government. This would add bedbugs to the rodent and cockroach program in the Department of Health and Human Services. Research would be required of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a valid need to research bedbugs’ impact on the public mental health. People have been having anxiety, insomnia, feeling shamed because bedbugs have invaded their homes even though they are “clean” freaks, and the incessant annoyance of itchy red welts on the skin should bedbugs come in contact with their bodies.

Democratic Representative G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina just introduced legislation that would authorize $50 million that’s already in the budget of the Department of Commerce to train health inspectors how to recognize the signs of these nasty pests. His co-sponsors include Reps. Don Young, Republican from Alaska, Ben Chandler, Democrat from Kentucky, Bobby L. Rush, Democrat from Illinois, Betty McCollum, Democrat from Minnesota, Corrine Brown, Democrat from Florida, Steven Cohen, Democrat from Tennessee, Brad Miller, Democrat from North Carolina, and Eddie Bernice Johnson, Democrat from Texas. Butterfield has also gotten support from the National Pest Management Association. The NPMA stated that bedbug calls to pest control companies are up 70% in the past 5 years. Pesticides from years ago were able to kill off the bedbugs, but the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) discontinued certain pesticides because they were felt to be too hazardous. Bedbugs have built up a tolerance to the pesticides used today by most exterminators. More research needs to be done to have a better plan of attack to keep the bedbugs from becoming a worldwide infestation.

Birds pecking at your windows?

Rosie — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:41:18 +0000

There’s a reason they do this. They see a reflection of another bird in your window and since they have already “claimed” this area as their own, they are trying to attack this bird. It doesn’t matter how often they fly into your window or peck at it, they will continue doing so until you do something about it. There are some options: put wet newspapers on the outside of the window so they can’t see a reflection. Tie helium balloons near your window to scare away the birds. You can pull down the shades or close the drapes. Some people put tin foil pie pans near the windows to chase away the birds. You can buy these pans at the local dollar store. Or you can use some tin foil strips and dangle them at the windows. While the birds are nesting they are protective of their area, so once the eggs have hatched this pecking should stop. It can be very annoying since the noise can give you a headache. Most species of birds are protected, so you do need to be careful what you do. One other thing: pest control exterminators do not have a spray to get rid of the birds. There is nothing they can do beyond tell you what I have mentioned above.

Bedbug Summit – More information on these pests

Rosie — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:25:14 +0000

Just this past week there was a National Bed Bug Summit held just outside of Washington, D.C. The EPA is looking into educating the public about the outbreak of a bed bug infestation not seen since W.W.II. Press coverage of this nasty pest escalated within the past few days. More will be reported by the end of April. There have been some discussions of perhaps having the EPA bring back some of the chemicals that have been banned for years. Those chemicals seemed to be able to annihilate bedbugs.

Bedbugs are hitchhikers, coming into your home from clothing, bedding, luggage or furniture. An infestation does not mean you have a filthy home. The fact is bedbugs like to hide and are seldom seen unless you know what you are looking for. Bedbugs are about 1/4 inch long, small, brown, oval, and flat. They feed on human and animal blood. Secretive, they will hide in mattresses, on frames, box springs, in electrical outlets, alarm clocks, phones, clothing, behind pictures, behind curtains and drapes, and other furniture. Check the linens on bed for telltale reddish or dark brown spots. You will also need to check your body as there will be some bite marks mostly on your waist, but also your arms and legs. Bedbugs do not fly, but they can quickly scurry around. They prefer to stay close to the host- YOU!

Prevention measures to take include inspecting of all furniture before it enters your home, especially anything bought second hand. Reduce clutter to minimize hiding spaces. Wash all clothing in hot soapy water immediately after traveling. Suitcases must be vacuumed and scrubbed after traveling. You can leave your suitcase in a closed up car on a hot summer day or wrap it in plastic in the freezer to kill any bedbugs. Shoes and other items that cannot be washed can also be treated this way.

Bedbugs can be treated, but you cannot take this lightly. A treatment must be very thorough. You should have a trained exterminator do the treatment. Call a reliable pest control company to do a free inspection if you do suspect bedbugs.

Stink Bugs

Rosie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:22:02 +0000

Yes, that is their name. And they do smell if you squish them! Accidentally brought into the United States through the Eastern part of Pennsylvania in a shipment of products from overseas, these bugs are becoming very plentiful. They get into our homes, fly in our faces, and are just highly annoying. Yet, there isn’t much that can be done to eliminate them. Exterminators tell us they can “control” stink bugs from getting into your home, but the shells on the stink bugs will not permit any poisons from killing them quickly.

What can we do to keep them out of our homes? Cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, air conditioning units, behind chimneys (and inside them) and underneath the wooden fascia and other openings need to be sealed with silicone or caulk. Torn screens on doors and windows need to be replaced or repaired. An exterior treatment of pesticides might help keep some of the stink bugs from coming inside the home. However, this kind of treatment should be done by a licensed pest control exterminator. Once stink bugs do get inside the home you might find them crawling out from cracks in the walls, floors, baseboards, around windows, around fans and lights in the ceiling. Using a vacuum cleaner to “catch” the bugs is ok, but once you get a lot of them in the vacuum cleaner bag you will get a terrible odor emitting from the bag. Also, some bugs may find their way back out of the vacuum cleaner. If there aren’t too many stink bugs inside your home, catch each one in a tissue and then flush the bugs down the sink or the toilet. Using an insecticide inside the home for stink bugs is not advisable. If you have too many stink bugs around, call a professional exterminator.

BED BUGS

Rosie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:32:10 +0000

Bed bugs are becoming an infestation in the United States. Recently there have been many occurrences in motels, hotels, and people’s homes. Traveling by plane from other countries, people are bringing these pests home with them. Staying in infested motels and hotels people can unknowingly bring home unwelcome “guests” in their suitcases.

Bedbugs can live for up to a year without a blood host. They prefer to cluster together in hiding spots. Beds are most popular with bedbugs, hence their name. This is where the host is for a long time during the dark of night when the bedbugs will come out and feast. They will remain as close to the host as possible.

Bedbugs don’t like extreme heat, so steaming the bed, mattress, drapes, around pictures on the walls, in the closet, in the suitcases, and around the entire room, concentrating on any cracks and crevices where the bugs may hide is best. Make sure to do the entire bed, tearing off the liner of the box spring to treat that area also. This steam cleaning is an integrated approach to pest control.

If you are intent on tossing out that infected mattress, you will need to cover it with plastic before taking it out of your home. Otherwise you will infect other areas of your home with the bedbugs that will drop off the mattress as you drag it from room to room. Bag all the linens in the room before removing them from the room to launder.

If you feel this is too much to handle on your own, consult a pest control specialist. Using a small pest control company may not be the answer. Try a nationally known company for best results.