 New York Times (blog) |
Before the Mosquitoes Come
New York Times (blog) While the members of our team focused on songbirds and insects went about their data collection at each site, a Columbia University graduate student working with me, Shannan Sweet, and I focused on the vegetation monitoring. Last spring our group set … |
Pests in the NewsJune 09, 2011
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QUESTION:
I have read in the “Cockroach Control Manual pg. 54” that insecticide residues from crack and crevice aerosols last longer than standard liquid insecticide residues. If I use Orthene crack and crevice aerosol will I get better results
(% kill and better residual performance) versus using Orthene Pco in water at 1% solution and applying it with a crack and crevice tip?
ANSWER:
My thinking on this is that the same active ingredient in a stabilized aerosol formulation may last longer once applied than one that was mixed with water and applied as a spray solution. The reason for this, if it is true, could be the water factor. Organophosphates and carbamates in particular (and the acephate in Orthene products is an organophosphate) can be very sensitive to breakdown in water due to hydrolysis. This is even more so if the water used as the diluent has a high pH factor (high alkalinity) or if the mixture is allowed to sit overnight or longer before use. There could be substantial degradation of the active ingredient in the water itself. In aerosols there typically was no water in the solution, but petroleum hydrocarbons of some kind were used as the diluent, and this tends to help maintain the integrity of the insecticide molecules.
Aerosols offer one more advantage over liquid water based sprays, and that is the ability to keep the material in that crack or crevice when you apply it. If any of the solution runs out of the crevice it suddenly becomes a “spot” treatment, and if you are obligated by the product Label to apply the material ONLY as a crack and crevice treatment in some situation, either you now are treating off-label or you need to immediately clean up that exposed material. The propellent in many aerosols flashes off very quickly, leading to immediate drying of the spray from the can, and leaving only the active ingredient as a thin layer on the surface. This is one advantage of the area spray products such as Precor 2000 for fleas. It uses alcohol as a major part of the diluent, and this evaporates almost immediately upon application, leaving the treated surfaces dry within minutes.
The disadvantage to aerosol products is their cost, as well possibly as the disposal of a lot of empty aerosol cans. Most of these can be wrapped in newspaper and disposed of in a waste container, according to their labeling. But, mixing concentrate products in a hand sprayer with water is nearly always going to cost less than using an aerosol product for the same application – same square footage or linear coverage. So, I would agree that it is likely that aerosol products do last a bit longer than the same active ingredient mixed with water for application.
Pest QuestionsJune 09, 2011
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QUESTION:
Many ant bait products kill various species of ants “at the source”, the goal being the Queen. What happens to the rest of the colony after the queen dies?
ANSWER:
I believe the goal of ant baits is actually to kill ALL the ants in the colony, not just the Queen (or Queens, as some ant species may have numerous Queens laying eggs). Most ants will ingest the liquid and gel baits themselves, as the adult ants, but will feed protein baits to the larvae so that the larvae can pre-digest this material first, and then regurgitate it back as food for the adult workers. The white-footed ant is one of the unusual ones in this respect, with larvae feeding heavily on “trophic” (unfertilized) eggs that the queen produces in abundance.
Thus, if the worker ants gather the liquid and gel baits that contain carbohydrate attractants they should consume the bait themselves, along with offering some of it to other workers in the colony, the larvae, and the Queens too. In this manner, with a little luck, these active ingredients get passed around to all members of the colony and potentially can kill them all, not just the queens. As we know, all ants working in that colony are females, and many of these may have the ability to begin egg production if the queen dies, which eventually she will, and in this way the colony itself does not necessarily die off just because the founding queen is no longer there. If the ant baits killed only the queens the colony could still continue to produce new offspring. The ultimate goal certainly is to ensure the queens are dead too, but the workers tumble as the active ingredients take effect.
Many of the ant baits are stomach poisons only, and rely on being ingested. A few have contact active ingredients such as fipronil, so these have the potential to kill the ant workers just in the act of carrying them to the colony. All of the active ingredients are designed to work slowly, giving the workers plenty of time to carry the bait back into the colony and pass it around before the ant itself begins to feel the effect. Of course the active ingredients also need to be non-repelling, allowing the ant to carry it in its mouth without any repulsive effect by the bait. These are the reasons that baiting is such a magnificent method for ant control IF the ants will accept the bait, so offering them a variety of choices (gel, granule, protein, sugar) to see which kind they are taking may be needed.
Pest QuestionsJune 08, 2011
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Duluth, MN – (Northland’s News Center) – Guardian Pest Solutions in Duluth has a new weapon to help fight the war on bugs. Bed bugs that is! Shelby is a one–year–old certified bed–bug–detecting dog. She helps her handlers track down parasitic …
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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“When conditions are warm and wet, pests begin to swarm in search of food, shelter and mates,” says Dr. Bob Davis, an entomologist for BASF Pest Control Solutions. “Unfortunately, this search brings many of these insects inside, where they can create a …
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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“We’ve seen more bedbugs in the last year than we’ve seen in the other 38 years put together,” she said. The insects get into beds, clothes, couches, chairs and all kinds of other hiding places waiting for nightfall when they feast on slumbering humans.
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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The “12 Worst Insects” are described by Popular Mechanics magazine, and the author calls them the “most vile insect invaders around.” If your life is spent outdoors primarily swatting annoying flies and treacherous mosquitoes, then maybe you need …
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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Bombs Away! High Flying Pest Control
Guam Buildup News GUAM — The Department of the Interior is seeking a contractor with helicopters to help Fish and Wildlife and the Air Force eradicate two species of rats from Wake Atoll between Guam and Hawaii, according to a solicitation notice. … |
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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 Morgan Hill Times |
Man posing as pest control worker assaults 73-year-old woman
San Jose Mercury News SAN JOSE — A man posing as a pest control worker assaulted a 73-year-old woman in her home near San Jose on Saturday, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to a reported home invasion in the 400 block of Porter Lane … South Bay home invasion suspect posed as bug manSan Francisco Chronicle Man Posing As Pest Control Worker Assaults 73-Year-Old WomanKTVU San Francisco |
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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LOUGHTON: Rat infestation couple's despair as council scrap free pest control
This is Local London AN elderley couple whose garden is infested with rats cannot afford to have them exterminated after the council scrapped its free pest control service. Ron Gibson, 63, and his wife, 64-year-old Pamela, of Forest Road in Loughton, … |
Pests in the NewsJune 07, 2011
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