Archive for April, 2012

The dining’s fine at Caf Insecta

Excuse me, . Entomologists are very picky about their terminology. Bugs are a specific type of insect, I was reminded. OARDC’s entomologists are also a slightly wacky bunch, if David Nielsen is any indication. Nielsen is an emeritus …

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Bug becomes instantly resistant to insecticide by swallowing the right bacteria

Many eventually evolve to resist insecticides. This process typically takes many generations and involves tweaks to the insect’s genes. But there is a quicker route. Japanese scientists have found that a bean bug can become instantly …

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Forget the Starbucks Backlash–We Should Be Eating More Bugs

Of course, for vegans, who don’t eat animal products of any kind, are off limits. I called Eric Fortney, the editor of ThisDishIsVeg.com, the vegan group that initially broke the Starbucks news. His readers were mainly concerned they …

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Run! Hide! The miller moth invasion has begun – Colorado Springs Gazette

Run! Hide! The miller moth invasion has begun
Colorado Springs Gazette
“You'll never be able to control them,” said James Whidden, owner of Mug-a-Bug Pest Control on US 24 east of Colorado Springs. “What you kill off today will be replaced and replenished tomorrow. It's just one wave after another and they come …
Mild Colorado winter brings miller moths back with a vengeanceThe Republic

all 4 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Pesticides: Incorrect use of chemicals poses hazards – gulfnews.com

Pesticides: Incorrect use of chemicals poses hazards
gulfnews.com
By Shveta Pathak, Staff Reporter Dubai Pesticides need to be applied by properly trained licensed professionals and incorrect application could pose numerous hazards, pest control experts have said. "It is important that pesticides are applied by …

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Bedbug extermination is a job for experts – gulfnews.com


gulfnews.com

Bedbug extermination is a job for experts
gulfnews.com
By Shveta Pathak, Staff Reporter Dubai: Bedbugs, one of the most common pests afflicting households and commercials alike, can reach the cleanest of areas, have the ability to survive under the toughest conditions and require a proper phased treatment …

and more »

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Pests in the NewsApril 24, 2012

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Apr 24, 2012 – A Flea For All

QUESTION:

I have a CPA firm under contract. Every year about this time we get called out for a huge outbreak of flea adults. Of course they have no pets. Every time we inspect the crawl space it has no evidence of stray animals. The fleas always come up in the bath tub. I recently put a fresh glueboard in the tub and it had over 50 cat fleas. The woman that works close is complaining of getting bit. We have treated with IGR and adulticides with not much success. The owner says they had other companies in years past not able to get rid of them. I am running out of ideas. PLEASE help.

ANSWER:

I too have seen several instances where massive numbers of fleas were appearing a a bathroom of a home. In one case they appeared to be entering through a floor heating vent and in another the entry point was unknown, but I suspect it may have been at the floor / wall junction under the floor molding. In that first case the source turned out to be the crawl space below where some feral animals were spending time, and closing off that access and treating the crawl space resolved the problem. In the second the source was less obvious, but since the crawl space was sealed and no evidence of animals found there, the next possibility was under the deck immediately outside that bathroom. Sealing the bathroom by using caulking around that floor / wall junction probably would have helped keep the fleas outside, and at least would have given the homeowners their bathroom back. 

The undeniable fact is that the fleas MUST be coming, initially, from some kind of animal, and that animal or animals needs to have been present in the recent past. The fact that you are finding the fleas in a bathtub is interesting, and if they really are entering the tub from the drain it suggests that there is a serious plumbing problem below that point. Even then the plumbing would normally be buried in the soil, but if there is an open break in the pipes in the crawl space then perhaps the fleas somehow are making their way into it. More likely, I would think, is that the fleas are actually falling into the tub from above and getting stuck there. The check on this would be to tape over the drain and overflow openings and put another glue trap in the tub, and if there still are fleas on the glue then the problem is entering from someplace else. They just cannot jump high enough to get out of the tub, nor climb the slick sides of it. 
I suggest a very close inspection of the crawl space once again to ensure no wild animals or feral cats are present there, and ensure that the entire perimeter is sealed properly so none can enter. Then inspect the exterior outside of that bathroom to see what may be present that could attract animals to rest or den up. Fleas in this kind of concentration, year after year, tell us that an animal source is nearby and repeatedly using some area for its resting quarters. Even thick shrubbery could attract cats that will breed large numbers of fleas, and perhaps something changes seasonally that causes the host animals to leave and the fleas to seek new hosts, causing their migration indoors. 
If you simply need to give some immediate relief from the biting adults a mist of pyrethrum will kill them, but focusing the application on the bathroom, which clearly is not where the fleas are originating, is not going to resolve the problem. You need to take the hunt outdoors and back to the crawl space to find out where and why the host animals are spending time. Once found change the setting to discourage or exclude them permanently. 

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Pest QuestionsApril 24, 2012

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Apr 21, 2012 – Tired of the Same Old Bait?

QUESTION:

Two years ago I was called to control a severe rat infestation in a 7000 square feet hardware store. I strategically placed EZ-Klean boxes baited with Fastrac bait and within three weeks the rodents were under control. The establishment has another infestation but the problem is tougher. The rodents enter the bait boxes but refuse to feed on the Fastrac bait. What can I do? (I don’t want to lose my contract)

ANSWER:

Perhaps something has changed between that previous rodent problem and the current one. The previous rats showed their willingness to eat the bait you provided, and if you feel that you achieved great success at that time there could be a couple of things going on now. It might be rats that survived the previous baiting program and are now bait shy, and the new problem might just be descendants of these leftovers from before. If we take the position that this is a problem of all new rats then either they just don’t like the taste of the bait you are offering or, and more likely, there are better things to eat in this store. Hardware stores typically sell seeds, pet foods, and other delicious opportunities for rodents, and if this is the case these rats could be ignoring your bait because they already are full. 

Another question is on exclusion. Did you concentrate on exclusion on the previous infestation to do whatever was possible to keep future rats out? This would be a problem if the only effort was to kill the rats within the store, but to leave the entry opportunities in place for the next batch of rats to come along and investigate this structure. Hopefully you can perform a careful inspection of the exterior, identify all of the entry points for rats, and work with the customer to get these permanently closed. Even if you cannot close them all you can at least reduce the entry opportunities and allow your focus on the inside to be on those entry points that still exist. 
Have you inspected the interior to identify the alternative foods available to the rats? Are you noticing damaged packages that show the rats are eating materials within the store? Are there water resources available inside that can be eliminated? It is a fact of life that rats do need to eat, so if they are not eating your bait then something else is available, and perhaps it can be isolated and taken away from the rodents. You might try changing the bait to a different product name, different formulation, etc., just to help overcome any bait shyness that might exist. You can put bait enhancers and attractants with the bait to encourage feeding. 
It also would be good policy to try trapping the rats rather than killing them with bait indoors, and a barrage of MANY snap traps should be placed around the likely pathways of these rodents. Since they seem to be entering your stations you could use a station that accepts the snap traps, and this will certainly cull the herd of any bait-shy rats. If you set traps they should be inspected within the next day or two so you can quickly remove dead rodents before they start to draw flies or to stink, and to reset traps that did not catch the rat. 

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Pest QuestionsApril 23, 2012

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Apr 22, 2012 – Plenty of Flies, No Cooperation

QUESTION:

What product will be the best to use to eliminate fruit flies in a commercial kitchen? The owner will not clean up.

ANSWER:

Well, that is certainly putting the burden on you. If you have identified that the poor sanitation in this kitchen is the reason there are fruit flies, then clearly cleaning up the source must be key to eliminating the pest problem. If the owner simply refuses to do his part in this necessary program, but expects you to somehow eliminate the flies, it is important for him to recognize the limitations of what you can do. If he is led to believe that you and your chemicals can get rid of the last fly it is a mistake, and he is likely to be complaining to you that you are not doing what he is paying you to do. Fruit flies can breed in so many possible places in a commercial kitchen that for you to deal with all of them would be difficult. 

If, on the other hand, he is just saying “do what you can” and only hopes for a reduction of the problem, then perhaps there are some possibilities. The first could be the placement of a lot of fruit fly traps, and Univar carries several different kinds. These are baited with some attractant to draw the adult flies. You could also install some UV light traps, and again these are only going to attract and kill adult flies. But, concentrating your efforts on only the adult flies is a poor way to control flies of any kind, as they quickly are replaced by new ones developing in the filth that may be present. On a side note, the kinds of micro-habitats that fruit flies breed in are also wonderful media for the growth of bacteria, and these simply should not exist in a commercial food service facility. The owner is acting in a negligent way if he is telling you he plans to ignore the poor sanitation. 
If there are surfaces with a buildup of scum and other food resources for the flies you could treat them with one of the surface cleaners that we offer, such as the Invade products from Rockwell Labs. Perhaps it is poorly maintained grease traps, and these can be treated as well. Perhaps these are even Phorid flies along with vinegar flies, as the two are very similar in appearance. If drains are not clean they can produce phorids, black-eyed fruit flies, or drain flies, and you can offer the service of treating the drains to remove the organic buildup. 
It may even be possible to treat surfaces with a residual contact insecticide to kill adult flies, but I hate this suggestion because it is so short lived and is an unnecessary use of pesticide. Even worse would be to attempt to resolve the problem with fogging, which quickly kills adult flies present at that moment but gives no relief from new flies. 
I suggest doing a very thorough inspection of the entire kitchen, and in writing note all of those contributing conditions that you find that could be leading to these flies. You might be pleasantly surprised and find something simple that can be cleaned up or removed quickly and painlessly for the owner. But, at least then you know what the sanitation problems are and perhaps can work with the owner to create a timetable for fixing them. The long term control relies on eliminating breeding sources. 

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Pest QuestionsApril 22, 2012

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"Killer bees" infest southwest side apartment

companies have been busy with bee calls this spring. Josh Tennenbaum with Arizona removes bee colonies almost every day. “It seems like the longer the hives are there, the meaner they seem to get,” Tennenbaum said, “so it’s easier …

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Pests in the NewsApril 21, 2012

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