Archive for June, 2012

Mosquito Concern Means Business for Companies

Denton County has confirmed three human cases of West Nile virus this season, and heightened awareness of mosquitoes is boosting business for companies. “We are certainly welcoming all of the calls that we’ve gotten,” said Paul …

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Pests in the NewsJune 30, 2012

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State Researchers Set Out Traps Seeking Insect Invaders

Stafford III. Experts say it’s likely just a matter of time before the wood-boring arrive in Connecticut, which is a main reason why the state has been issuing warnings about moving firewood here from another state, Stafford said.

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Pests in the NewsJune 30, 2012

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Deadly Disease-Carrying Citrus Pest Target of Spraying – Patch.com

Deadly Disease-Carrying Citrus Pest Target of Spraying
Patch.com
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has found an exotic insect in Orange County that transmits a deadly disease to citrus trees.

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Pests in the NewsJune 30, 2012

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Many of Canada’s bird populations in deep decline, report says – Canada.com


Toronto Star

Many of Canada's bird populations in deep decline, report says
Canada.com
Barn swallows and chimney swifts that swoop through Canada's skies devouring insects are in serious.
Canada's bird species are in serious trouble, report saysTheChronicleHerald.ca
Bird populations diving, report saysVancouver Sun

all 49 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsJune 30, 2012

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Jun 28, 2012 – Ants – Necessarily A Problem?

QUESTION:

How would you treat 2 specimen Live Oak trees @ 50 ft high each for carpenter ants in the upper branches? A tree surgeon noticed them when in a bucket truck as he was removing the branches that had been weakened due to the damage. This client has this done yearly and is extremely proactive in making sure her trees are well maintained. After this discovery was made and those areas removed the tree surgeon suggested further treatment in the areas where he saw heavy activity. She offered the service of the bucket truck while requesting a treatment. Is baiting sufficient? How would you approach this job?

ANSWER:

For now I would suggest finding out more about this situation, including whether or not there even were carpenter ants. Not to doubt his knowledge, but a tree surgeon is not necessarily a trained pest control person, and the ants that he saw may not have been carpenter ants. Better would be to start with getting some specimens, if it has not already been done, and making that positive ID. 

Second question is whether or not these ants, assuming they are carpenter ants, are doing anything other than foraging for food up in that tree. Carpenter ants do feed on honeydew and other insects, and it would seem to be more likely to me that they would be that high up in an oak tree to gather honeydew from scale insects, whiteflies, aphids, or some other plant-sucking insect, or to gather the insects themselves for food. You say that the tree surgeon was removing branches that were weakened due to “the damage”, but are you saying that these ants were actually living within those branches? If so, it seems possible that the branches were already dead and the ants were just taking advantage of some rotten wood within them to create a satellite nest. Removing the dead wood should by itself discourage the ants from continuing to work there. 
If there is rot in the trunk of the tree carpenter ants may move into it to hollow it out further for a nest, and from there may extend their work into sound wood. But, at the top of a large tree it seems less likely that they will find these conditions or work to make that satellite nest. Most often a primary colony is going to be in the soil somewhere in some kind of old wood, such as old dead root systems, buried trees or lumber, and the above-ground nests are satellite nests from this primary colony. As the larvae mature and are ready to pupate the workers seek drier conditions for them, and often create galleries above soil level for this. This is why they bother to enter structures, since they are not eating the wood but only using it as a convenient place to stay awhile. 
In theory, the ants in above-ground nests will still be moving back and forth to the parent colony, so it could be possible to find their trails (look at night, they are nocturnal) and treat them. You also can use granular baits along those trails as carpenter ants seem to take these baits readily. If you can find trails on the ground you might be able to follow them back to where a parent colony is located and treat the colony directly. But, it would still be important to find out if these ants are really any threat at all to these trees or if they are only climbing in the trees for food, in which case you may be able to eliminate those other insects and take away the reason the ants are there too. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsJune 30, 2012

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Jun 28, 2012 – Get One Skunk, Get ‘Em All

QUESTION:

I have a residential account that had a skunk die underneath the foundation of their house. Since then there have been numerous other skunks trying to dig under the house for re-entry.
1. Is there something you can recommend to help control the smell since I can’t find the dead skunk to remove it?
2. Would the smell of this dead skunk be attracting others to come ‘visit’?
3. Is there something I can spray or place around the home to repel future skunks from
trying to dig under the home?
For the smell I’ve tried laying out plates full of coffee, trying numerous deodorizers, and even tried Internet recommendations of a mix consisting of hydrogen peroxide/Baking
soda/soap.

ANSWER:

Unhappily I can attest to the awful tenacity of the skunk odor. A former dog of ours did not learn from bad experience and 3 times got sprayed point blank by skunks in our yard. The last one must have been directly beneath the dog as her chest was actually oily. And, of course, these things always happen at 11 o’clock at night so you can deal with it when you’d rather be asleep. We tried the tomato juice myth with no luck and then tried one of the internet recipes with better luck, but for the next 6 months every time we washed her (every weekend) we could still smell the skunk odor as it volatilized off her skin. 

In your case the ideal thing would be to remove that dead skunk, but your question suggests that this is a slab foundation, and thus the inability to get under the slab to access the dead animal. Of course, the question has to be are you sure there is a dead animal under there or simply the lingering odor of skunks that have tunneled under the slab for some time and contaminated that soil? Either way it appears you are stuck with having to try to eliminate the smell without eliminating the source, and hoping that in time that source will eventually dissipate and no longer create the smell. If so, then try one of the dry bag deodorizers such as the Earth Care Bags or Pouches. These are touted by the manufacturer to be able to pull foul odors from the air and remove them, and while this seems like hocus pocus I have to say that good feedback and my own personal experiences seem to give them a thumbs up. These can be placed around the home in the rooms where the odor seems to be most noticeable and see what happens. 
There also are liquid deodorizers that do a fairly effective job of eliminating the cause of the odor, but really need to be applied directly to the site of the odor to work on the source itself. If there is some burrow leading under the slab that you could fog into this might be helpful, but perhaps not. Overall, though, your goal is to prevent any more mishaps like this from occurring by keeping all future skunks out from under this home. If there is no way to keep them from getting onto the property then you must find a way to physically prevent them from digging under the slab, and this means a physical barrier. Your customer may not like the idea of spending money on this, but it is always better to look for the permanent long term solution rather than the constant application of chemicals to resolve the problem after it occurs. Liquid and granular repellents may have some effect temporarily, and you may want to try them immediately to move skunks away while some permanent fix is being installed. 
If the first skunk found the slab to be a great place for a den then it may simply be that other skunks will too. These are generally solitary animals, so I don’t think that new ones are trying to den up with existing ones, but simply find the slab to be acceptable. The simplest solution is to just lay patio pavers or heavy rocks around the base of the house extending outward for several feet. This can sometimes be enough to discourage the skunks from digging any further and getting all the way under the slab. The more certain way is to install a physical barrier down into the soil all the way around the structure. If the customer will find a way to dig a trench down at least 1 foot deep and 1 foot out from the foundation they can install hardware cloth or metal flashing, down that foot and then bent outward a foot at a 90 degree angle. Another technique is to use rebar cut into 2 foot lengths and driven down into the soil ALL the way around the foundation, spacing them a few inches apart so the skunks cannot squeeze through. 

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Pest QuestionsJune 30, 2012

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Critically Endangered ‘Tree Lobsters’ Hatched at Zoo

Three critically endangered called Lord Howe Island stick , also known as tree lobsters, have been hatched at the San Diego Zoo for the first time. The species was thought to be extinct after 1920, when the last known wild tree lobsters were …

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Pests in the NewsJune 29, 2012

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[Tech Talk] Lots of Options This Fly Control Season – PCT Magazine

[Tech Talk] Lots of Options This Fly Control Season
PCT Magazine
Fly Types. In the pest control industry, flies are generally thought of as falling into two categories: large flies and small flies. Large flies include flesh flies, blow/bottle flies and house flies. These species typically breed outside of structures …

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Pests in the NewsJune 29, 2012

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[Spider Control] Managing the Black Widow Spider – PCT Magazine

[Spider Control] Managing the Black Widow Spider
PCT Magazine
“The rave reviews have been great, and we continue to communicate with customers to ensure that their pest control needs are being met.” This broad-spectrum concentrate is approved for the control of the brown recluse, black widow and cellar spider …

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Pests in the NewsJune 29, 2012

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Govt ranks pests and disease with flood, drought – Radio New Zealand

Govt ranks pests and disease with flood, drought
Radio New Zealand
Primary Industries Minister David Carter says it will make income support and other recovery measures available to people seriously affected by a disease or pest outbreak. Mr Carter says the Government is monitoring the effects of the Psa outbreak and …

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Pests in the NewsJune 29, 2012

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