Entomologists estimate there to be around a quintillion individual insects on the planet — that’s 1 followed by eighteen 0’s, by the way — but what no one really knows is how many of those are killed when our cars smash into them. Sure, it may seem like …
Pests in the NewsMay 26, 2011
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Health Inspectors Cite Arby's Restaurant For Roaches
KRDO Health officials have ordered an Arby's restaurant in Colorado Springs to hire additional pest control services after a Wednesday inspection found evidence of roaches. El Paso County Public Heath inspectors visited the store at 1312 N. Academy Blvd. … Springs woman says sandwich had unappetizing ingredient: a roachColorado Springs Gazette |
Pests in the NewsMay 26, 2011
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Pest control layoffs fuel rat explosion
Queens Courier Last May, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) laid off 75 percent of its pest control staff, or 62 workers, leaving elected officials and residents to worry about rodent sightings inside subway trains, down sidewalks and … |
Pests in the NewsMay 26, 2011
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Springs woman says sandwich had unappetizing ingredient: a roach
Colorado Springs Gazette Tom Gonzales, environmental health director for El Paso County Public Health, said the department receives about a half dozen reports about insect and rodent problems at area restaurants each year, but few involve pests being found in the food. … Colorado woman says Arby's sandwich had roachbarfblog (blog) |
Pests in the NewsMay 26, 2011
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Tanzania geared to introduce insect tourism
IPPmedia By Correspondent Tanzania will soon embark on an eco-tourism promotional campaign focusing on floristic, forest species and insects as a way of attracting more tourists. Devotha Mdachi, Director of marketing at the Tanzania Tourist Board told The … |
Pests in the NewsMay 26, 2011
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QUESTION:
I have an attic that has very tiny pinholes in the floor joists and lots of dirt around the area. The house is buried on three sides. Any ideas what I might be dealing with other than termites?
ANSWER:
I may need another cup of coffee Kevin, but I am having a hard time forming a picture of this home in my mind, since you describe it as buried on three sides. However, if you have actual dirt around the wood members in the attic of this home this strongly suggests subterranean termites. They would be the only insects that really move dirt up into the structure, and that dirt would normally be in the form of mud tubing created by the termites for their movement on the outside of the wood. If this is just dirt laying around then something else could be involved. I suggest taking some of it and putting it under really good magnification. This is one reason I am a strong advocate that every pest control company ought to have a dissecting microscope in the office. How else are you going to be able to take that necessary close examination of very little things – stuff on glue traps, tiny beetles, etc.
I once was handed a baggie of what looked like dirt, and which was found in piles next to a fireplace inside a home. Under close examination with a dissecting microscope it suddenly very clearly showed that it was not dirt, but instead was thousands of little pieces of insect parts. In this case there was a major ant infestation within the hollow areas around this fireplace, and the ants were tossing out all the debris from their nest, much as carpenter ants do. Since many ants feed on other insects this is what the debris was composed of, but to the naked eye is was just dirt. So, a careful examination may reveal the composition of the dirt you are seeing and give you some hints. If it is subterranean termites you should see only dirt and perhaps the makeup of tiny balls of dirt stuck together.
The little pinholes are interesting, and could be related to the dirt or maybe just a red herring. About the only thing that normally makes tiny holes in wood is where insects have emerged, and this typically would be wood infesting beetles. However, the floor joists are probably fir or pine and this eliminate the possibility of True Powderpost Beetles, since they infest only hardwoods. It could be deathwatch/furniture beetles but they prefer damper wood, and their exit holes are not normally characterized as “tiny”. Look for any evidence of fecal dust outside these holes and take a knife and pick at the wood around the holes to see what’s a little deeper inside. If you find a channel running into the wood from the holes then it could have been an insect. It also could simply be old bark beetle holes exposed when the wood was milled into lumber, and not anything currently active.
Pest QuestionsMay 26, 2011
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QUESTION:
I have been battling a furniture beetle infestation in a mount of a sheep. I have used residual spray with an IGR and have also used fumigation strips on the mount. It gets rid of the problem for a bit, but this is becoming an ongoing problem. What do you suggest now?
ANSWER:
It may just continue to be an ongoing battle. I spoke with the manager of a mammal and bird museum at the local university and asked him how they keep pests from feeding on the stuffed specimens. His answer was that he knew of nothing that could be applied to the mounts themselves without disfiguring them in some way, so long term protection of them was not possible. They instead put things on display for a period of time and then remove them and put them back into sealed storage where they can be treated in some manner to kill whatever bugs may have gotten onto them while they were exposed. This might be freezing, heating, or fumigating in some manner. Their other hope is that the displays are sealed well enough to exclude carpet beetles and clothes moths sufficiently that these insects do not quickly find the mounts.
Stuffed trophies hanging on walls in a home or business are a very different matter, as these are part of the decor, and typically cannot be removed periodically and stored for fumigation. However, this truly may be the only recourse. I would be hesitant to spray or dust directly onto the mount itself, as this could make a noticeable change in the appearance that would be unacceptable. Sprays, even with IGR’s, would also have a pretty limited residual, so even if you could spray the mount itself it would have to be repeated constantly to keep the protection there. Dusts of inorganic active ingredients (silica gel or diatomaceous earth) would last for many years, but dusting the mount would very likely be out of the question.
One choice in the control program is to keep the home as beetle-free as possible, and by “furniture” beetle I assume you are referring to the Furniture Carpet Beetle. The carpet beetles (genus Anthrenus) are common in the summer and can fly very well, so they will be seeking food resources for their larvae. Since the role of carpet beetles is to reduce (recycle) dead animals they are doing what Nature intended for them to do, and that is to feed on that leftover hair and skin and return it to the soil. Unfortunately, we are not ready for that to happen, so preventing their activity in the home is the goal. You can treat as you have done around the area of the mounts, and this may intercept the adult beetles before they crawl onto the mount. But, as you have said, this is temporary and requires constant reapplication.
You also could place pheromone traps in the home and inspect these on each visit, or sell them to the customer and allow them to check the traps themselves. The moment any carpet beetle adults are captured you then could swing into action with cleaning, localized treating, or removing the mount or sealing it for fumigation with the vapona strips. The pheromone tabs will last for about 3 months, so this too is going to need constant maintenance and replacement, but it may be an important option.
Pest QuestionsMay 25, 2011
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There is even evidence that they’re beginning to infest the Tri-Cities and Yakima. The general manager at Senske Pest Control says they’ve seen an increase from one or two cases a year, to one or two cases a week. Â@”When I check into a hotel room I check …
Pests in the NewsMay 24, 2011
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With thousands of Hoosiers expected to celebrate Memorial Day with cookouts and campfires this weekend, state park officials will be keeping a close eye on firewood that could spread destructive pests. The Indiana Department of Natural resources Monday …
Pests in the NewsMay 24, 2011
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WELLINGTON – STAFF at New Zealand’s largest casino have resorted to wearing flea collars to combat a pest infestation, a report said on Tuesday. The staff at Auckland’s SkyCity Casino were issued with insect spray to deal with an ongoing pest problem and …
Pests in the NewsMay 24, 2011
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