Creepy snack: Man smuggles insects onto plane
CAUGHT with foul-smelling wriggling caterpillars on a plane? Why not eat them in front of security guards? They are a delicacy. Really.
Pests in the NewsAugust 29, 2012
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Archive for August, 2012
Firewood checks aim to thwart
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding people not to transport firewood unless it’s been heat-treated to try to stop the spread of a harmful insect. The DEC says seven people, out of some 7,000 vehicles stopped …
Pests in the NewsAugust 29, 2012
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Aug 27, 2012 – If You Can’t Stand the Fumes……
QUESTION:
Is fumigation one of the best methods to eliminate bed bugs in a multi unit structure?
ANSWER:
Fumigation with a product like Vikane definitely is a good way to ensure that all bugs and their eggs are dead and done for. However, the drawback to a whole-structure fumigation is going to be cost, as the process requires a lot of people and time and an expensive product, and some customers may balk at this and prefer to go with the standard methods of treating each room with chemical or non-chemical techniques. For a multi-unit complex this cost could be even higher depending on who has to pay for lodging for all of the tenants who are displaced during the fumigation process, which could be 2 days or longer.
To me, the benefit of fumigation, if it is done properly, is that the whole process is over with in just a couple of days with the complete confidence that there are NO live bugs or eggs remaining in that entire structure. With standard treatments of insecticides, steaming, local heat treatment, freezing, etc., most companies plan on making at least one or two return trips to monitor, perhaps re-treat, etc., as there is no 100% assurance that all bugs and eggs were contacted and killed on the first effort. This also requires a lot of cooperation from the diverse kinds of tenants, and this becomes difficult.
Dealing with bed bugs in apartments is a huge challenge, and apartment complex management should have a policy and protocol in place for monitoring for them and for preventing them from getting into their apartments in the first place. All tenants need to buy into this program and be educated on these parasites, on how they manage to move from place to place, and the steps that each of them can take to prevent bringing bed bugs home with them and into their own unit. This kind of training might be one add-on service a PMP can bring to an apartment customer, whether it is an evening session where tenants attend and learn or at the minimum some fact sheets and lists of preventive steps that a tenant can follow. One interesting idea that some apartments have implemented is FREE clothes dryers in the laundry facility, and letting all tenants know that anything taken on a vacation or business trip that can be run through a hot dryer cycle immediately upon return should be handled in that way. Making the dryers free encourages the tenants to take advantage of this means for killing hitchhiking bugs.
Pest QuestionsAugust 29, 2012
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Aug 28, 2012 – Horse "Flies" Weren’t Bad Enough
QUESTION:
I’ve been treating a 3-sided shelter that houses horses and the horse owners are complaining about wasps stinging the horses. I’ve dusted the voids and sprayed around the shelter with Transport Mikron, which seems to help for a few days and then the problem begins again. Any suggestions? Would some type of repellent work better? I know I’m killing the existing wasps, but within a matter of days there are more! I’m sure they are attracted by the manure.
ANSWER:
Two things would be important here – determining what kind of wasps these are and then finding their nests. So far it appears you are only attacking the adult wasps, and this is going to be as you have discovered, and be very short lived. You kill some adult wasps that may land on the insecticide you have applied to surfaces, but the source of the problem is going untouched. Generally speaking, wasp control is fairly cut and dry if you are able to find the nest itself. Of course, this depends on whether these wasps are social wasps like yellowjackets or paper wasps or if they are solitary wasps like mud daubers or ground nesting wasps. The solitary wasps would be highly unlikely to sting people or horses, so if these animals truly are being stung then you likely have some colonies of paper wasps or yellowjackets in the area. You really do need to make the careful inspection to find those nests and then treat them directly to kill the queen, the workers in the nest, and then the larvae by removing the nest and disposing of it if possible.
Even social wasps do not sting unless directly provoked or if someone or something gets too close to their colony, so this could suggest that the nests are very nearby and the horses are simply walking too close to them. In a simple structure like you picture there I am not sure what kinds of voids would exist, but yellowjackets in particular are known to create their nests within structural voids. If this is the case you can treat the opening where the workers are entering and exiting using a contact insecticide, and a dust may be most effective, and hope to kill the workers as they pass over that dust.
If you are able to find exposed nests, which is more normal for the paper / umbrella wasps, these should be treated directly using a “jet” spray aerosol. The horses should be moved out of the local area while any of this is being done, partly to avoid any exposure to the insecticides but also to avoid additional stings by angry wasps that are agitated by the insecticide. Treating any nests is best done in early evening when it is most likely that the worker wasps will be back on or near the nest. Be sure to wear the proper protective clothing to avoid being stung yourself.
Pest QuestionsAugust 28, 2012
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Aug 25, 2012 – Moles Got The Munchies
QUESTION:
I noticed several bait pellets with zinc phosphide listed for moles. I thought moles primarily ate worms and grubs. How does this bait work on moles if their normal diet doesn’t include this type of food?
ANSWER:
You are correct that a couple of pelleted baits do have moles on their labels, but these generally have been fairly ineffective against these carnivores / insectivores. Moles will eat some small amount of plant material in addition to their primary diet of meat, and perhaps it was this slight deviation that caused them to take an interest in pelleted grain-based baits. But, without a doubt, at this time the superior bait for moles appears to be Talpirid, those soft worm-shaped baits that are extremely attractive and palatable to moles and which contain bromethalin as the active ingredient. This single-feeding active works quickly and requires a single bait “worm” to be lethal.
I can tell you from personal experience that Talpirid is wonderful. I had my own marauding mole in my yard a year ago and I gave it over a month to leave on its own, which it chose not to do. In that month it circled my entire yard twice, disrupting neat gravel pathways with its large surface tunnels, pushing bedding plants and even large flagstones up out of the ground, and here and there created a large pile of dirt as it cleared its tunnels. I finally decided it had to go and a local PMP placed Talpirid in several of the freshest surface tunnels. I never saw another sign of this mole and have managed to get the appearance of my nicely landscaped yard back to normal.
Where grubs (beetle larvae) are plentiful this may be the major diet of moles, and for this we can thank them for the benefit they provide. In California earthworms are going to be the most abundant “meat” in the ground, so that becomes their primary diet, and obviously they are not so beneficial if they are eating up our earthworms. I was a bit surprised when I looked into moles a bit more and found that some species, such as the common Townsend Mole in the West, can be very large – up to 8 inches in length – which is why they are powerful enough to cause so much damage.
Trapping is another popular option for mole management, but even experts tell us that this can be very time consuming and thus expensive for the customer. A single mole may result in over $100 of your time to set traps, recheck the traps, remove dead moles, reset sprung traps, etc. The benefit of trapping is the non-toxic nature of it and the assurance that a trapped mole is definitely removed from that property.
Pest QuestionsAugust 27, 2012
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Aug 26, 2012 – If You Can’t Stand The Heat…….
QUESTION:
Can bedbugs be treated by heat method alone?
ANSWER:
Almost 10 years ago, and shortly after The Common Bed Bug starting making its comeback in the U.S., our industry researchers quickly began new studies on this creature. What they found is that heat is The Enemy of the bed bug, and some numbers they offered from their lab studies were these. 104 degrees for 24 hours kills all bugs and eggs, 113 degrees for 1 hour, or 175 degrees (a clothes dryer) takes only 5 minutes to kill all bugs and their eggs. For that clothes dryer, though, they suggested running things that can stand it for at least 30 minutes and if washing is to be done it is effective on a hot water cycle of 120 degrees.
Conversely, COLD will also kill bed bugs and this is why we have a freezing technique available using a portable unit. The key, though, is to make that temperature change suddenly so that the bugs do not have the opportunity to move away to cooler (or warmer) locations. Obviously, in a dryer they are a captive audience and are doomed, but in a room where they may be inside a dresser, mattress, or the wall voids they may be able quickly to move to a place that is more comfortable. We are advised that placing things in black plastic bags and leaving them out in the sun may not be completely successful, because the bugs can move down to the bottom under everything where they find cooler temperatures.
So, yes, heating alone “can” be completely successful if you can ensure that the lethal temperature is established for the required length of time in ALL places where the bugs may hide. This is difficult. At a recent NPMA conference a major company that does whole-room heat treatments, with a high degree of success, stated that they do not rely on just the heat. They also thoroughly vacuum the room, use steam, use localized heat treatments of items, and dust into voids with residual contact insecticides. They recognize what a powerful adversary this bed bug is.
Steam is ideal for some uses, such as along crevices on mattresses where you may prefer not to apply insecticides. Steam also instantly kills eggs, and since eggs are glued onto the surface and cannot move away they are perfect candidates for this treatment. There now are a number of portable chambers available where large items can be moved and the chamber heated for several hours to ensure the time/temperature factor is reached. There are even smaller heat chambers that can be used for smaller items, and the Univ. of Florida has instructions for building a “Heat Box” that can be assembled right in a home or apartment, filled with furniture and then heated with the appropriate portable devices.
So, yes, heat is an excellent tool for killing bed bugs if its limitations are kept in mind. For heating entire structures it may be difficult to achieve the proper heat in many locations and maintain it, and monitoring devices should be placed in those locations to ensure you are not leaving live bugs or eggs behind.
Pest QuestionsAugust 26, 2012
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Broad Street Market in Harrisburg fails inspection, remains closed – Patriot-News
 Patriot-News |
Broad Street Market in Harrisburg fails inspection, remains closed
Patriot-News The market was shut down at 4 p.m. Thursday and will remain closed through Wednesday, in order to address maintenance and pest control issues. JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News PHOTO GALLERY: Harrisburg's Broad Street Market shut down gallery (10 … |
Pests in the NewsAugust 25, 2012
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Luxury department store calls in pest control experts – Deadline News
Edinburgh Evening News |
Luxury department store calls in pest control experts
Deadline News PEST control experts have been called into one of Scotland's most luxurious department stores ? after mice were spotted scurrying along the shop corridors. One disgusted employee at Jenners, on Princes Street in Edinburgh, claimed workers were left … Mouse of Fraser: Mice sighted in Capital department store JennersEdinburgh Evening News |
Pests in the NewsAugust 25, 2012
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WNV Outbreak Now Largest in U.S. History – PCT Magazine
CBC.ca |
WNV Outbreak Now Largest in U.S. History
PCT Magazine According to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of cases so far in 2012 is the highest recorded through August since the disease was first found in the United States in 1999. As of Tuesday, 38 states had … Tips to Fight Mosquitoes in Johnston as West Nile Virus Cases Rise NationallyPatch.com West Nile virus fears prompt diligence in schoolsAgriLife Today Eastern Carolinians Battle MosquitoesWITN Pegasus News –33 KDAF-TV –WJLA all 2,419 news articles » |
Pests in the NewsAugust 25, 2012
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Aug 23, 2012 – Termite Alternatives
QUESTION:
What is your opinion on short-wave treatments for termites?
ANSWER:
By short-wave I assume you are referring to Microwave treatments, and this seems to be gaining in popularity. As we lose fumigants or have restrictions placed on the use of fumigants as well as having a greater demand from consumers for non-chemical options for termite control I see a lot of these alternative treatments coming along. And, as each year goes by these new tools become more and more refined and user-friendly for our industry, along with (hopefully) the cost going down as competition and better manufacturing allow it.
There is no doubt that the use of microwaves kills insects, but for termites it is really effective only for drywood termites. I tend to put my greatest faith in the opinions of unbiased experts, which really means the University researchers who test these devices using a proper protocol to establish realistic results and conclusions. A lot of termite companies are now using microwave technology, but my cynicism tells me that sometimes this use does not necessarily mean effectiveness. The University of California has tested microwaves for drywood termites and one conclusion they offered was that it typically gave from 89-98% control of the termites in a structure. That seems like a lot, but leaving 5-10% of the termites behind, perhaps alive and well, means that the problem still exists.
The limitations several University websites offer are these. Some locations in any structure are going to be very difficult to access, and getting the microwaves to those locations at a level high enough to heat up that wood to a lethal level may be nearly impossible. Within hidden areas there may be heat “sinks” that prevent the temperature within the wood from getting to the lethal level. Depending on the power level of the device there is a chance that some surface damage may occur. And, since the microwaves are going to heat up only the wood where the device is directed it is treating only small sections at any one time. This is okay if the entire infestation is located in that small area of wood, but as we know, drywood termites have small colonies, and numerous separate colonies could exist within a structure. If they are not all detected and treated, killing one of them and leaving others that were unknown at the time of treatment leads to continued termite presence.
But, just like other local treatments that might replace the use of insecticides or fumigants, microwaves have a place. Not only are they effective when used properly but they offer the choice of an alternative to toxins for those customers who prefer it.
Pest QuestionsAugust 25, 2012
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