Archive for the ‘Pest Questions’ Category

May 20, 2012 – Evicting the Bees

QUESTION:

I am an exterminator and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have a customer who has 2 different honey bee colonies living in the walls of their house. I have called several bee keepers and none of them is willing come out. What options do I have?

ANSWER:

The basic consideration here is that it is unacceptable to have honeybees living within a structure, so they do have to go one way or another. It would be nice if a local beekeeper were to take on the job, and there are some ways to get the bees out alive and change them to a portable hive, but it is an iffy process that takes time and may not be successful. The beekeepers may already have plenty of bees or may be concerned with bringing diseases bees into their healthy colonies. They may also recognize that the burden could be put upon them to do the destruction of the walls to remove the hive and honey, and not be inclined to do it. However, that is one of the steps that absolutely must be done once the live bees are eliminated. They hive cannot be left there or it will attract other insects and the wax will eventually melt to release the honey into the wall. Whatever else you do I suggest that you put the advise in writing to the customer, and have them sign that they received and read it, that the hive must be properly removed along with all honey and other traces of the bees. 

Whoever does this bee removal needs to wear the proper protective clothing, and Univar sells the full complement of hood, helmet, gloves, and bee suits to protect you from stings. If you can access the specific voids where these bees are living then you could treat directly into that void, using either a dust and a power duster to ensure good dispersal or a fog using a deep void injector. It also may be useful this time of year to observe the bees as they enter the structure, and if they are carrying loads of pollen then it tells you this is an established colony with larvae in place. If they are not then perhaps it is a brand new colony from a recent swarm, and that would at least simplify the aftermath and cleanup. 
If you cannot access the voids the hive is in then you may have to treat only the openings the bees are using. Use a contact dust product like Apicide or Tempo Dust or DeltaDust. These are residual dusts that, with a little luck, will attach to the bees as they pass over the dusted surface and be carried into the hive to affect the other workers. This will be a lot slower than directly treating the nest area, so that would be the better effort if possible. It may also be possible to use a deep void fogger such as the Actisol or Patriot, with pyrethrum or even one of the residual liquid concentrates labeled for use in these tools, to fog directly into the entry opening. This could push the mist back into the nest area, but you need to be careful to ensure the mist stays within the void and does not somehow enter the living areas inside the home. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 20, 2012

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May 17, 2012 – Got Wings, Can Travel

QUESTION:

How far do synanthropic flies really fly in search of food and how long can they go without resting? Thank you.



ANSWER:

According to one article on a National Institutes of Health website, quoting from a 1996 study on the health effects of The House Fly, these flies are capable of traveling over 20 miles from their breeding source to places where humans are living or pursue their activities. This is the basic definition of “synanthropic” – animals that choose to be active around humans because we supply their basic needs of food or breeding resources. Thus, synanthropic animals could include mosquitoes, rats and mice, cockroaches, and other bugs and vertebrates that we typically find interacting with humans. 

In the case of flies, of course, we provide food resources that include not only our own foods (things put out for picnics for example) but breeding resources such as pet droppings and piles of yard debris. A restaurant omits odors that are highly attractive to house flies, as does a dairy full of cattle and the resulting mountains of manure. While the house fly is “capable” of traveling that 20 miles, the study went on to say that nearly 90% of the flies will not travel more than 2 miles, and this will be most often when they detect serious sanitation problems. One study showed that up to about 80% of flies stay within 1 mile of their origin, another 8-10% might go that 2 miles, and the last few might end up much further away. These studies were done by marking flies and then releasing them, and then capturing them again to determine the distances flown. 
Another study used the good old House Fly once again to test how long it can continue to fly before total exhaustion brings it down, and the number 4.5 hours was used several times. The house fly, it seems, utilizes an energy chemical in its body called trehalose, and during flight this compound may be a kind of sugar molecule. Flies that were forced to fly until total exhaustion was accomplished were then fed a soup of sugars, including trehalose, and they were able to resume flight immediately. Flies flown to exhaustion and then fed sugars withOUT trehalose were unable to resume flight, so the trehalose compound is a critical component for their flight longevity. This sugar is a natural substance that is found in plants and many animals, so the flies apparently find a way to secure it when needed. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 19, 2012

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May 18, 2012 – Timing Is Everything

QUESTION:

When a female German cockroach lays her capsule how long does it take to hatch? I have also heard that when a female German cockroach is killed her capsule can actually live. How long does it take for that capsule to hatch?

ANSWER:

According to studies quoted in the Handbook of Pest Control by Arnold Mallis, the German roach female will carry her egg capsule right up to the 24 hour period when the eggs hatch and the capsule pops open to release the new roach nymphs. If the capsule is dropped sooner than 24 hours before the nymphs are ready to emerge, of if that capsule is forcibly removed from the female, the new nymphs are unable to emerge. This may happen for a couple of reasons, but it boils down to moisture. The German roach has a very high need for water when compared with the other peridomestic species of roaches. This is why we tend to find these roaches harboring close to potential water resources, such as in kitchens or bathrooms. Their exoskeleton is thinner than that of other roaches and they may dehydrate faster. In addition, while she continues to carry her egg capsule the female is supplying it with moisture as well, so when it is dropped too early either the developing nymphs inside dehydrate or the capsule walls change and dry out and harm the ability for the nymphs to force it open. 

If the female roach dies while carrying the capsule that 24 hour period appears to be critical, so yes, the eggs may still be alive but they need to be fully developed and ready to hatch almost immediately. There have even been laboratory observations where the female was still carrying the egg capsule while the young roaches were forcing their way out of it, and even observations that the female helped her offspring to escape the capsule. Whether she was actually helping them or just tired of carrying them around and anxious to get rid of the little buggers is hard to say. The female carries that capsule around for a couple of weeks, and often will stay in seclusion during that time, so she can be pretty hungry once this period is over with and anxious to get out and find food. 
The other common species of roaches (American, Oriental, Brown Banded) create the capsule and once it is fully formed the female drops it and then either glues it to a surface or covers it with debris. The egg capsule walls of these species are much thicker and better able to retain the moisture. 
Over the decades I have been in the industry I have heard of attempts to create various kinds of hormones or other chemicals that would somehow interrupt the proper development of the eggs of the German roach. Perhaps there could be a way to reduce the number of viable eggs and nymphs within a capsule so that those that survive could not open it to escape. Perhaps there could be a way to cause the female to drop the capsule prematurely. Our IGRs do have some effect on this development, so the use of an IGR for roach management can be beneficial. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 18, 2012

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May 15, 2012 – New Technologies, New Advice

QUESTION:

This may be a crazy question, but if you have a client that has a flea infestation and you want them to do the usual good IPM of vacuuming and tossing the bag, but they tell you they have a Dyson (bagless vaccuum cleaner), what do you tell them?

ANSWER:

Actually, that’s a pretty good question that points out our need to amend our standard advice to keep up with the times. We have a Dyson bagless in our own home, and I have to tell you that I love not having to buy bags any longer or wonder when I should toss the one in the vacuum. The clear canister shows exactly what you have captured and it is easily removed, opened, dumped, and cleaned, and I clean it thoroughly with an air nozzle and air compressor. 

The same advice could really be given for either a vacuum bag or a canister style – dump the contents into a plastic bag, seal it, and dispose of it. Even with the bags I believe our industry advice has always been to place that vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag to prevent any fleas from escaping and to contain any eggs so they head to the dump for sure. With the canisters you also could dump the contents easily into a plastic bag and seal it for disposal. These do a pretty good job of emptying completely, but to be absolutely certain all flea eggs have been removed you could suggest that the emptied canister then be washed with a disinfectant solution. This probably is really good advice anyhow, as it helps to sanitize that canister and eliminate odors that could build up. 
On this subject, just to extend this response a bit, vacuuming is one of the most important steps the customer can (and must) do to prepare for your arrival and to do daily for a week or two after your first visit. Vacuuming the carpets can be the “stimulus” needed to get many of the fleas out of their pupa stage and to the adult stage that you then can more easily kill with your contact insecticide. Otherwise, many of the flea pupa may continue to stay in that stage for weeks longer and then appear as new adults when someone steps on them, the dog rolls on them, or any other activity contacts them. By that time your residual treatment probably is no longer effective and you will be blamed for not doing a good job. 
The diligent customer will also be directed to remove EVERYTHING from all floors – in closets, behind drapes, under and behind furniture, under the beds, etc. This exposes all of that floor surface so they can vacuum it more thoroughly as well as make those surfaces available for your treatment. It also causes the customer to remove all children’s toys and shoes and other items so they can be protected from your treatment. Pulling sofas and chairs away from walls to vacuum helps them discover long lost toys, scattered popcorn, and other odds and ends that needed to be cleaned up anyhow. Even hard floor surfaces should be thoroughly vacuumed around the edges where pet hair could accumulate and provide a living place for flea larvae.
Vacuuming is NOT going to remove any substantial amount of your insecticides, particularly if you have used a liquid concentrate or aerosol. A wettable powder may be inclined to have those particles resting on the top of the carpet fibers, but liquids move down the fibers and bind to them. This is an important step, and should be done thoroughly prior to the arrival of the technician and repeatedly afterward. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 17, 2012

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May 16, 2012 – Finding Food Pests

QUESTION:

I would like to know more about the chemical control methods and IPM measures necessary to control a really bad case of Sitophilus oryzae – the Rice weevil. Can you help me?


ANSWER:

You don’t indicate whether this infestation is in a home or in a commercial food warehouse, and the difference can be huge. Perhaps it even is in a restaurant, although this could be treated more like a residential infestation. Control of insects that infest food always relies on finding the food that is infested. Since this will nearly always be some food product within a bag or some other container, pesticide applications are not going to have any effect on the larvae developing within that food. You may want to use a residual contact insecticide around the general area AFTER you have disposed of the infested foods and cleaned the area, but not until then. 

The Rice Weevil is nearly always going to infest whole grains of some kind – corn, wheat, rice, beans, and other whole, unbroken grains and seeds. It could be bird seed in a home or pet store. It could even be hard dry pet foods, as these hard chunks simulate the hard seeds that the rice weevil female looks for to deposit her eggs. It is highly unlikely that they will infest processed foods, ground meals, and other grain-based products that have gone through some processing. In a home it is possible for wild animals to have brought seeds and grains and other materials into the home, and the beetles could have found these stashed away in a wall or the attic. Decorative items are even subject to infestation, such as dry flower arrangements that have stalks of wheat or other decorative seeds in them. It was a fad a few decades ago to have shadow boxes on the wall, with numerous compartments that held colorful seeds, popcorn, grains of wheat or rice, and these were often infested. It is, after all, the “job” of these weevils to seek out old, dry grains and infest them. 
So, I would avoid any pesticide applications until after you have made a thorough inspection, discovered the infested materials, disposed of them, and thoroughly vacuumed the general area to remove as many wandering adult beetles as you can. The larvae live wholly within the food product. As far as non-chemical steps to manage these weevils, it begins with making the susceptible foods unavailable and using product quickly, rather than leaving bags of rice or dry beans stuck away in the back of a storage area. This is simply called “good stock rotation”, whether it is a home, restaurant, or commercial warehouse. For small quantities the food products could be placed within sealed, hard containers to prevent the adult beetles from getting to the food. 
There also are pheromone traps for these weevils, and since the Rice Weevil can fly the hanging traps can be useful. The related Granary Weevil cannot fly, so floor traps are more appropriate for it. These may best be used in commercial warehouses as your “early warning” monitor to detect when beetles first enter the warehouse, or perhaps when infested product gets brought into the warehouse. In a home or smaller account the traps could help you to find what is infested, by narrowing the search when you find many of the beetles in traps in certain areas of the structure. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 16, 2012

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May 13, 2012 – Termiticides And Aquatic Sites

QUESTION:

What distance is safe from a body of water to foam a tree with an active formosan termite infestation?

ANSWER:

When treating with any pesticide where any aquatic site is nearby you are bound by the Label instructions, if there are any, and if there are no specific label statements then you need to go with good reasoning and observation. In the case of a termite treatment such as you mention I looked only at one termiticide label, but it serves as a good example. The Dragnet SFR label states that you may “not apply  by ground equipment within 25 feet of lakes, reservoirs, rivers, permanent streams, marshes or natural ponds, estuaries, and commercial fish farm ponds”. This, therefore, becomes the minimum distance you must stay from any kind of aquatic site. 

Other considerations come into play, such as the possible presence of a high water table, a treatment to soil that may be lower than the nearby water site, etc. Since you desperately want to keep any termiticide out of surface as well as ground waters you might consider treating in the manner the label states when treating with a well or cistern under a structure, and that is with the treated backfill method. You remove soil, place it on a plastic tarp, treat the soil with the appropriate volume of the termiticide and ensure it is evenly mixed in the soil, and once it is absorbed properly in that soil you replace the treated soil into the trench it came from. Once termiticides are absorbed into soil particles, and particularly when they are dry, they bind (adsorb) tightly to the soil and will not move. Our termiticides in general have a very low water solubility, meaning they do not dissolve in water at any appreciable level and therefore will not be carried through the soil with subsequent rainfall. 
If you are foaming directly into a tree, where hollow areas exist, then it would be advisable to use a very “dry” foam that will prevent it from running. This will allow the foam to fill the cavity and then dissipate as the bubbles break, leaving the active ingredient only on the surfaces you treated instead of flowing downhill and into the soil below. However, you still would need to adhere to that 25 feet distance from nearby aquatic sites as stated on the Dragnet label. 
Other considerations to look for when treating outdoors would be soil type and degree of the slope. If you have a steep slope it would encourage runoff rather quickly. If you have a very porous soil, such as a sandy texture, this could allow liquid applications to move much deeper, since there is less actual clay or organic matter for the active ingredient to adhere to. If you have a soil that is already saturated, perhaps by recent heavy rains, then you would want to avoid getting termiticide onto it as the liquid you apply may not soak in and could more easily run off the area. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 15, 2012

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May 14, 2012 – Which Way For Wasps?

QUESTION:

I’m a PMP in Washington and this year wasps are becoming the pest of the year. What product or products do you suggest along with the best eradication methods to nests that are apparently visible?

ANSWER:

There are wasps and then there are wasps, and I truly believe that it should begin with an accurate identification of just what wasps are on the property. We could really look at all wasps as beneficial, since nearly all of the larger species are predatory or parasitic, either laying eggs on or in other insect larvae such as caterpillars or simply taking entire caterpillars, crickets, and other insects back to their nest to feed to their larvae. Many of these wasps are “solitary” wasps, such as the mud daubers, and they feed on great numbers of spiders, crickets, caterpillars, etc., and pose virtually no threat of stinging. As a solitary wasp they do not defend their nests, and do not tend their larvae beyond the initial building of it and providing a stash of food for their larvae. These kinds of wasps, to the horror of so many homeowners, ought to be encouraged in the landscape, as they provide great benefit and pose little risk. 

If the homeowner simply objects to the presence of mud nests on the walls of their house these nests can by physically removed and disposed of, and no chemical applications are warranted. If the homeowner is afraid of solitary wasps that are entering holes in the ground they can avoid the area for a week or so and the female wasp will be finished, or cover that soil or keep it dry to discourage the wasps from digging. Educating homeowners may help many of them to understand and appreciate the benefits they derive from the work of most wasps. 
For paper / umbrella wasps, which create the hanging nest that is exposed on the bottom, an effective treatment is simply the use of one of the jet sprays that can treat that nest directly from 10+ feet away, instantly killing any wasps on it and many of the exposed larvae as well. This is best done at dusk when the adult wasps should all be back on the nest, but it still is advisable to wear protective clothing to prevent any angered wasp from getting down the back of your shirt. After spraying and immobilizing the adult wasps the nest can be removed and disposed of. The most common player in this group now will be the European Paper Wasp, which has taken over the country and in some places displaced native species by out-competing them for food resources. This species commonly builds its nests within small cavities – hollow pipe fencing, bird houses, porch lights, under tile roofing, and within small cavities under the eaves. For these you may need to expose the nest if possible and then spray, or use a dust within the cavity to kill the adult wasps. 
Yellowjackets are the biggest problem, due to their aggressive behavior when you disturb their nest area, the size of their colonies that can reach 20,000 or more workers (all with stingers and an attitude), and the enclosed paper nest that often is hidden within structural voids or in holes in the ground. If you can directly access the nest itself you can treat into it with a pressurized duster, but absolutely be wearing protective clothing (a.k.a. bee suit, bee gloves, bee hood, etc.) to avoid being stung. Some PMP’s take a twisted wire and poke it into the paper nest and twirl it around vigorously to break up the layers inside the nest. This helps expose more of the interior for the dusting operation. You may only be able to find the entry point in a structure and have no access to the nest itself, which poses a dilemma. For this you may dust into the entry opening and hope the workers passing through there carry the dust into the nest. 
Interesting is that Termidor SC is labeled for wasps and yellowjackets, and labeled for exactly this kind of treatment – directly into the entry points or voids being used by these insects. This may provide you with the same “transfer effect” that seems to be so effective for ants and termites, as passing worker wasps carry the active ingredient into the colony. I was once told by a yellowjacket and wasp expert that you might achieve some level of “prevention” of paper wasps by treating the surfaces under eaves with permethrin, treating only those surfaces that have a history of these paper nests on them. Be careful to adhere to the label uses on the containers that you buy, since pyrethroid labels will all be changing and become more restrictive for exterior applications. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 14, 2012

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May 11, 2012 – Take Away The Grease

QUESTION:

I have a restaurant customer that has a large outdoor patio. Would using Bio-mop as a surface mop agent cut down on the organic material enough to make a difference in the fly population if I use fly bait along with it in critical areas?

ANSWER:

Bio-Mop Plus is one of several biological, bacteria-based cleaners that do a good job of “eating” the buildup of organic materials on surfaces and within drains. These not only help to reduce pest problems by removing food and breeding resources, but they remove materials that encourage the growth of other bacteria that constitute an unsanitary situation. They would be excellent choices for use in restaurants, and Bio-Mop Plus is labeled very generally for use on “all washable surfaces”, so using it on an outdoor patio should be within the label uses. This could be done as a regular application for your customer, providing you with a useful add-on service and additional income. 

According to the product information for Bio-Mop Plus you should get some immediate cleaning from solvents in the formulation, as well as long-term cleaning due to the action of the bacteria. When you apply it to a floor surface it then flows into floor drains, and now works to eat away the buildup of organic sludge in that setting, discouraging the presence and breeding of drain flies and phorid flies. It would be of some importance to keep in mind that this product is not specifically registered by EPA as a pesticide, and therefore the Label cannot make claims to assist with fly management. It only can claim to remove organic materials and provide cleaning. 
Depending on what your fly problem is at this restaurant this kind of application may or may not be helpful. If it is small flies that could be breeding in the organic materials then certainly it will give immediate results. If the problem is, as is so common, houseflies drawn to that outdoor eating area, then cleaning the floors may not be as much help as you would like. Definitely dirty floors are going to contribute to the overall attraction of flies, but houseflies are breeding in very different areas and will come to food service establishments because of the odors of food or garbage. You might do well to evaluate the overall setting for any and all sanitation issues. This includes the waste stream inside and outside the restaurant. Is garbage inside disposed of properly and removed from the inside on a daily basis. Are the garbage receptacles inside kept clean? Is the dumpster area outside clean (this would be another good area to spray with Bio-Mop Plus) and the receptacles clean and with tight fitting lids in place?
The use of baits outdoors would be excellent, including spray on / paint on baits on exterior walls using products like Maxforce Spot-on. Trying to keep the numbers of houseflies down to a tolerable level requires the use of as many tools as possible, so you could also install fly traps around the dumpsters, window glue traps inside, UV light traps inside and possibly under cover for the outdoor patio if it is darkened enough. Each tool on its own is unlikely to control the problem sufficiently, but putting them all together, with each one capturing or killing more flies, the overall result gets to a decent level. The customer still needs to understand, though, that he cannot expect flies outdoors to get to zero. You cannot control the presence of flies around the exterior environment, and more are always going to fly to this place to investigate the great odors they detect. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 13, 2012

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May 12, 2012 – Hantavirus Facts

QUESTION:

What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how common is this virus in Ohio?

ANSWER:

Hantavirus is a very serious pulmonary disease, and the mortality rate is actually pretty high, with about 1 in 3 people diagnosed with the disease dying from it. While this disease probably has been present in people in the U.S. for a very long time, it wasn’t really well known until 1993 when an outbreak occurred in the “Four Corners” area of the Southwest. From this outbreak an intensive study was done to determine the pathogen causing it, and it was finally isolated as a virus simply called the Sin Nombre virus. Several other viruses now also are known to cause the disease. The primary carrier and reservoir of the virus appears to be Deer Mice. They excrete the virus in their feces, urine, and saliva, and when these dry and become airborne they can be inhaled by humans. Many species of rodents have been shown to be “capable” of carrying the hantavirus pathogens, but deer mice in the genus Peromyscus continue to be the primary reservoirs. When the mice inhabit structures where people then enter the opportunity for infection occurs. 

The symptoms initially are very similar to the flu – fever, headache, nausea, fatigue – but as it progresses the lungs fill with fluids and it now becomes life threatening. The progression of the disease can be very rapid, and news reports of people with the disease suggested that death occurred within just a few days after the first symptoms were felt. Without question medical care needs to be sought if a person believes he was exposed to dust that may be infected with the virus, due to activity in and around deer mice. This also emphasizes the importance of removing rodent fecal matter from structures in the PROPER manner, and sanitizing the surfaces where the feces or urine may have been deposited. This is an opportunity for pest management professionals, but you need to be very clear on the proper method and the personal protective equipment that must be worn. 
The disease occurs more commonly in some states than others. Washington State, for example, states that 1 to 5 cases per year are confirmed. An Ohio Department of Health fact sheet on Hantavirus, updated in 2011, states that there have been “no confirmed cases in Ohio”. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 12, 2012

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May 9, 2012 – Some Don’t Like It Hot, Others Cold

QUESTION:

Does it matter what the temperature of the water is when mixing with a pesticide (let’s say Tempo for instance)? I was told if it’s hot tap water it will break down the active ingredient. Is that true?

ANSWER:

I suppose there is some merit to the thought that hot water is going to degrade an active ingredient more quickly than cooler water will, but for the immediate use of the product I think you would have to get REALLY hot to cause a significant loss of the active ingredient. The hotter you get those molecules of the a.i. the more agitated they become and the more likely they will start falling apart. This would be the same for applying that product in shade versus direct sunlight – heat affects the molecule. So, just don’t use scalding water, and maybe let the garden hose run a moment to pull cooler water into it just to be on the safe side. 

Of more concern might be the use of really cold water, particularly when using soluble packets. These soft outer packets are designed to dissolve in the water, and a soluble packet is considered a closed mixing system that is really a benefit for us. By taking a pre-measured packet out of the box and just placing it directly into the water we don’t worry about measuring the dose and the box it came in is not considered to be contaminated, giving us ease of disposal. But, really cold water that you might get during the winter could cause that packet to dissolve very slowly, and this not only causes you a delay when waiting to use the mixed material, but if it has not dissolved completely the goo could get into the syphon tube in a hand sprayer or congested in the pump of a power sprayer and cause problems. Even wettable powders may not homogenize in the water as easily with cold water, and in the winter when using outside faucets you need to be aware of this and increase the mixing before using the products. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 11, 2012

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