Archive for February, 2012

As strong as an insect’s shell – PhysOrg.com


PhysOrg.com

As strong as an insect's shell
PhysOrg.com
Credit: Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have come up with a tough, low-cost, biodegradable material inspired by insects' hard outer shells.

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 05, 2012

No Comment

Insects in winter – Lancaster Eagle Gazette

Insects in winter
Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Each species has its own life cycle characteristics, so the stage an insect overwinters in and how tolerant it is to temperature tells the true story. Below are some examples of the area's more common insects and how they overwinter in Fairfield County …

and more »

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 05, 2012

No Comment

Feb 3, 2012 – New Pyrethroids Labeling

QUESTION:

With the new label restrictions on pyrethroid use outdoors, as pertaining to liquid pesticides, is it permitted to apply a band/fan treatment spray within 3 feet or less of the
structure on impervious horizontal surfaces such as porches, decks, or concrete that is adjoining to or adjacent to the structure’s vertical foundation? I already understand that it is permitted to apply the band 3 feet up from the ground vertically on the structure foundation, but what about horizontally?

ANSWER:

These important new changes on ALL labels of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides that have any labeling for outdoor uses are going into effect at this time, but over a period of the first few months of 2012. Some products’ labels will already have the new wording in place while others may have that new wording with the next purchase you make, but it is extremely important that you check the labels of the products when you purchase them from Univar to see if that batch is now labeled with the new wording. The changes will be primarily in the sections on “Environmental Hazards” and “Directions for Use – Application Restrictions”. You can find the complete text of the changes on PestWeb now. Look in the tab “Industry” and then “PestWeb Features” for the highlight on the pyrethroids updates. 

The stated purpose of the changes is to minimize applications that are likely to lead to runoff of the active ingredient from the property. Thus, applications to turf and soils around landscaping are still permitted, essentially as they have been previously. The assumption is that the soil and the plants will soak up or attach to the spray and runoff is not likely to happen. But, granular applications where granules end up on sidewalks or other hard surfaces (where they have no business being) need to be swept back onto the lawn or garden soils. 
The changes are for applications to HARD, or “impervious” surfaces, and the new wording specifically mentions “sidewalks, driveways, patios, porches, and structural surfaces such as windows, doors, and eaves”. These are limited to spot or crack and crevice treatments ONLY. No more broadcast applications to large surface areas. In some discussion on these statements that I have found the question of covered patios comes up, and since these could possibly be affected by rain or sprinkler irrigation they too must be treated by spot or C&C only. I don’t recall finding “decks” specifically mentioned in the new regulations, but logic would tell us that a deck of wood or any other material would be considered an impervious surface that cannot be treated overall. Therefore, a deck built adjacent to the structure could not be treated as a band treatment of any kind, but would have to be spot or C&C. 
There is one important interpretation on the word “spot”, in that EPA is allowing the application of bands no more than 1 inch wide around doors and windows, and is allowing this kind of narrow band to fall within their definition, in this case, of spot or C&C. They also will continue to allow surface / spot applications under the eaves if the eaves are covered, as this area is unlikely to be affected by rainfall or irrigation. There also will be wording in most cases to avoid applications of any pyrethroids during a “rain event” or even if rainfall is predicted within 24 hours. Again, the whole purpose is to keep pyrethroids out of waterways, and driveways drain to gutters, and gutters drain to storm drains, and storm drains lead directly to the local creek. 
So, just in case I talked too much and the answer to your question was lost in the mix, NO, you will no longer be allowed to do any band treatments of impervious outdoor surfaces such as decks, porches, or patios. You can continue to do wider applications to soil or turf around the structure. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsFebruary 05, 2012

No Comment

Feb 4, 2012 – Marketing Your Skills

QUESTION:

Are technicians who are willing and able to perform reliable bed bug work accepting a premium in the workplace? Can you point me to reliable data or surveys to help answer this?
There exists an element of risk in routinely undertaking this work. Does hiring by members of the pest control industry take this into consideration?

ANSWER:

This is a really good question, and honestly I cannot tell you if pest control company owners recognize and reward the value of the skilled and willing technician who can do bed bug work, day in and day out. I certainly hope they do. It was pointed out early in our reintroduction of The Common Bed Bug that this pest is unlike any other pest that we deal with, and it cannot be eradicated if the technician tries to treat it as though it were a carpet beetle, cockroach, or earwig. For one thing, there is no “tolerance” level for bed bugs. They need to be eradicated right down to the very last nymph and egg or the problem will continue. No other pest we deal with seems to generate the fear and loathing that bed bugs do, and for this reason the lawyers in the U.S. are looking at a cash cow. People whose homes are infested with bed bugs recognize that they MUST have obtained them from someone or somewhere else, and therefore are “victims” who must sue. 

There is tremendous profit to be made by our industry if we know how to remove bed bugs from a structure, and of course the list now goes well beyond just homes to include stores, schools, hospitals, theaters, etc. The liability to those commercial accounts is HUGE, and they should be willing to pay the price needed to eradicate the bugs before someone sues them or they make the headlines on the front page of the morning news. A properly trained pest control company recognizes the long journey to elimination of the bugs, and will be charging the price needed to be profitable. The pest control company should also accept that it too is immersed in the liability once it takes on the responsibility of removing the bugs, so the fee to do so needs to be high enough to take that into account. 
So, there we are. A huge public health and liability issue with a pest that is terribly difficult to extract from a structure, so who are we going to send out to do the work? The new guy? I hope not. It must be the technician or team of technicians who are willing to do tedious work of this kind, who are diplomatic and outgoing enough to work with and get the cooperation of terribly stressed clients, and who are willing to accept that added burden of ensuring they do not take these bugs home with themselves. This can be very rewarding and profitable work when it succeeds, but it can be terribly frustrating and tedious to do. I think that deserves a higher pay scale than the technician who does other more routine work. Something about if you want monkeys you pay peanuts. 
I don’t know of any surveys on this, and no mention of pay scales ever came up during the many sessions I recently attended on bed bug topics at the NPMA conference. Perhaps money matters are just areas that university speakers and researchers prefer not to become involved with. However, if you plan to put a lot of time and effort into developing technicians who are successful with bed bug eradication you would hope to keep them with your company, and compensation talks. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsFebruary 04, 2012

No Comment

concerns in Saratoga Springs

Wright is angry because, he says, months ago the Housing Authority refused to let him pay for his own private company to come in to treat the problem. Wright said, “I can go into my home, but it’s very limited. I don’t like to go in there …

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 03, 2012

No Comment

Mountain pine beetle epidemic slows as insects eat up large pines in Colorado … – The Republic

Mountain pine beetle epidemic slows as insects eat up large pines in Colorado …
The Republic
AP DENVER — US Forest Service officials say the mountain pine beetle epidemic in Colorado and southern Wyoming is slowing, as insects have largely depleted the large pine trees they attack. Susan Gray is assistant director for forest health projects.

and more »

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 03, 2012

No Comment

Feb 1, 2012 – Old Home Remedies

QUESTION:

An old timer was asking me about “white washing” barns with lime used for greening up lawns. The question is, does it help with bug control and does it have any effects specifically on termites?

ANSWER:

Isn’t it amazing what USED to be done in efforts to prevent or kill pests, and prior to all of our magical synthetic molecules people relied on what Nature provided for them. They long ago made the connection between certain inorganic materials that could be taken from the ground, such as borates and boric acid and calcium oxide (lime), and their ability to kill insects in some manner. Lime is also used in agriculture and even landscaping to raise the soil pH if the soil is too acidic. Acid soils can occur from leaching of other minerals from the soil with irrigation, by excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers, and even the heavy use of mulch and other plant materials to add nutrients to the soil. My father in law grew up in Wisconsin, and he advocated using lime in the garden to “sweeten” the soil, although I never quite knew what that meant. 

Years ago we had a product introduced and then removed from the market, and this contained powdered limestone. It was used as a desiccant much the same as our current silica gel and diatomaceous earth dusts are, so it had the ability to kill insects in that “non-toxic” manner by cutting into their exoskeleton and causing dehydration. It is possible that by painting a thick slurry of the cheap lime over barns and maybe even fencing it could help to keep fly populations down by killing the adult flies that landed on those surfaces. Lime and limestone dust are not, I do not believe, considered to be of any use when ingested by insects, and once the lime gets wet it may lose its desiccant properties. So, for termites the lime is probably not an effective material at this time. Mixed in the soil it is not likely to either repel or kill termites, and on wood the termites may bypass it of put mud over the top of it. 
It’s always interesting to look for information on the toxicity of such “non-toxic” products, and as luck would have it the internet is filled with good information. For example, the LD-50 for hydrated lime is about 6500 mg/kg, making it only a little less toxic to mammals our Synthetic Pyrethroids, and since lime is used at a very high concentration, while the pyrethroids are diluted hundreds of times for use, it kind of makes that whitewash more hazardous that our “toxic” insecticides. 
At this time I do not know of any commercial insecticide products using lime or its derivatives, so just in case he was asking for your approval to once again white wash the barn, I’d stay away from it. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsFebruary 03, 2012

No Comment

Volunteers Needed to Watch for Destructive Invasive

St. Paul, MN (Northland’s NewsCenter) – Minnesota is looking for volunteers to help keep an eye out for new infestations of emerald ash borer and other destructive invasive . These volunteers are part of the state’s early warning system for invasive …

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 02, 2012

No Comment

IPM decreased pesticide use in University of Florida housing

IPM is a systematic approach to managing based on long-term prevention or suppression by a variety of methods that are cost effective and minimize risks to human health and the environment. The goal of urban IPM is to manage …

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 02, 2012

No Comment

UNL to search every dorm room for bedbugs

University officials said they’ve spent $20,000 since Jan. 9 on services and equipment to get rid of the reddish-brown, wingless , and could end up paying $100,000 for a bug-killing effort expected to last at least a month. Vice Chancellor …

View complete article

Pests in the NewsFebruary 02, 2012

No Comment

« Older Entries Newer Entries »