Archive for the ‘Pest Questions’ Category

Feb 20, 2012 – What Now When Raining?

QUESTION:

Technicians around the country routinely apply pyrethroid granules during rainy weather. With the new label changes to pyrethroid products what would be a substitute “rainy day service protocol” for a service technician to follow?

ANSWER:

Yes, the new EPA-mandated wording that will be going on ALL labels of ALL pyrethroid products as the manufacturers produce them this year has certainly thrown a monkey wrench into our gears. For those who may still be unaware of this, you can find the complete update on PestWeb in the “Industry / PestWeb Features” link on our home page. The new wording for Granular formulations of pyrethroids is short and to the point, as it now will say “Do Not make applications during rain”. This doesn’t leave much room for debate and interpretation. 

These new changes and restrictions on pyrethroid products’ labels is for the purpose of minimizing the runoff of these active ingredients from properties they are applied to. Water that flows off a treated property could carry the active ingredient into the local gutters to storm drains to local creeks, and pyrethroids are fairly toxic to some aquatic organisms. We must be sure we adhere to the new wording, and this restriction on application during rainfall is not the only one. Please read the Label of the product you purchase each time you purchase it to see when you are now buying material with the new wording. Otherwise, you can use the product according to the Label on the package you purchase, meaning “old” stock can be used as labeled. 
There are almost no great substitutes for the pyrethroid granules with respect to their uses and label allowances. About half of the granular non-pyrethroid products are labeled only for turf or ornamental pests. Several are Restricted Use Pesticides. Several are designed primarily as bait products and thus have limited pests they will control. To be very honest, my review of the alternate granular contact insecticides just now came up with a grand total of 1 – no, sorry, no zeroes to follow. That one product is Essentria G from Envincio, formerly called EcoExempt G Granular, which still lingers in stock. 
Essentria G contains clove oil and thyme oil and is a 25-B Exempt insecticide, so it should be quite acceptable to customers, including in any “Green” programs. It is generally labeled for use on many crawling pests around both residential and commercial structures and has no restrictions with respect to rainfall or impending rain. 
So, when it is raining what options do you have for treating regular customers? The pyrethroid products other than granules also have the “not during rain” restriction, so you cannot just switch to spraying the foundation instead. You may find plenty of non-pyrethroid concentrates that could be sprayed during a rain even, applying them to eaves or other exterior areas where the rain is not going to land on the treated surface and negate the active ingredient, but this may not work in many cases. We’ll have to see how this plays out, but it may be that rainy days will become great opportunities to focus on exclusion efforts and closing off openings into the structure. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 20, 2012

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Feb 17, 2012 – So Many Hiding Places, So Little Time

QUESTION:

Any suggestions on treating a “true” log cabin home for ticks? There is no drywall or paneling on the interior.
Thanks

ANSWER:

Once ticks manage to get inside it can be a nightmare. The engorged female tick that falls off the host animal may be looking for a place to deposit her thousands of eggs, and if those eggs do manage to hatch just imagine the thousands of hungry little larval ticks that now are looking for their first blood meal. Identification of the tick would be somewhat important here. If it is the Brown Dog Tick then at least the residents could be assured that the ticks are less likely to choose them for the food than the family dog. The residents also should be offered information on how to prevent this from happening in the future, by carefully inspecting their pets every day to ensure they remove any ticks picked up outside, and ensuring the ticks are killed once removed. 

The female engorged tick is going to look for some protected place to dump her eggs, and this could be just about any crack, crevice, or hole in the room. It may be within furniture, behind pictures and other items on a wall, behind baseboards or edges of carpets, or in the case of a log cabin with exposed logs inside obviously in all the gaps that occur between each log. I could go out on a hunch here and suggest that the tick is most likely to enter the first available crevices, meaning lower areas on the walls rather than upper ones, but there really is no way to know this, and ticks often do climb to upper areas of walls. It probably also is most likely that the ticks will fall off the infested pets near to where the pets sleep, so you should concentrate on possible hiding places around that area or areas. My own house cat sleeps EVERYwhere in our home, choosing one place for a week and then moving on. Thus, if pets sleep on furniture the engorged females could even be inside the couch or recliner, and all areas there would need to be inspected and treated. 
You can employ a high powered vacuum along every crevice first, and this will help to physically remove ticks that may be within a shallow crevice or hole. Synthetic pyrethroids still should be excellent for killing these arachnids, and a very thorough application using crack and crevice tips to inject the material directly into all openings you can will help to kill the ticks now as well as the newly emerging ticks if they hatch within the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, tick eggs may not hatch for up to a couple of months, and by then the residual effectiveness of the material you applied may not be around anymore. It may require a second treatment, and the most likely way to get the contact with the ticks is to apply the material directly into the places they hide, rather than baseboard and general surface treatments where the ticks may pass over the surface too quickly. 
I suggest the use of a vacuum, dusting within nearby voids and along carpet edges, and treating crack and crevice with a residual product into as many crevices as possible. And, strongly encourage daily inspection of the pets to remove any ticks on them. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 19, 2012

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Feb 18, 2012 – Which Dust For Roaches

QUESTION:

What dust would be better for German roaches, boric acid or diatomaceous earth?

ANSWER:

Good question, and one that makes me stop to think a bit. I can’t recall reading any studies that compared the two side by side, although I suspect it has been done. I would probably go with boric acid dust if it can be applied where you can ensure no humans will contact it. Contrary to what we can find on many internet sites, boric acid is toxic to humans, and since it is used as a dust at a 99% concentrate it actually is fairly toxic, particularly to small children. 

According to some resources the desiccant dusts like DE and silica gel can be repellent to roaches to some degree. They are abrasive, cutting tiny scratches into the exoskeleton and waxy layers on the exoskeleton, so I suppose it would be expected that the roach could feel this abrasion going on and might prefer to avoid those treated surfaces. On the plus side for these desiccants the toxicity to humans is extremely low, with the biggest hazard being simply skin irritation to some people where the dust may dry out the skin. 
Boric acid dust must be ingested by the roach, but this does not seem to be a problem, as roaches regularly groom themselves by cleaning off their feet and antennae using their mandibles, and take in the boric acid as they do this. Boric acid is only a stomach toxin, again contrary to some of the misinformation on the internet. Both of these dusts could be expected to last for many years when applied into a dry area, but the desiccants absolutely rely on staying dry in order to work properly. If they land on moist surfaces or excessive humidity is present they may not be available to cling to the exoskeleton of the roach. Both dusts should also be used only within voids where you can ensure the dust stays where it is applied. Boric acid is heavier, but the light and powdery desiccants could float out through holes or if applied to attics could find their way out with air circulation. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 18, 2012

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Feb 15, 2012 – Keeping Current Documents

QUESTION:

Where do I get MSDS Sheets for all products purchased from UNIVAR?

ANSWER:

We have at least 2 sources for you to receive MSDS’s as well as product Labels. By law we, Univar, are required to provide you with the MSDS for each product you purchase from us, and this document must be offered to you periodically as you place an order for that product. The printer in the office where your order is entered automatically prints out the MSDS on some predetermined interval (every few months for example) to ensure that you receive an MSDS that is current for that product. If you pick up the order yourself at your local Univar office they are required to hand the MSDS’s to you, and whether or not you take them with you is your decision, although you should ensure you have the proper MSDS’s on your vehicle for everything you carry. If the order is shipped to you on our truck or some other carrier the MSDS’s for all those products must go with the order, and be given to you upon delivery of that order.

The second way you can acquire all MSDS’s for every product Univar sells is on our beloved PestWeb, at www.pestweb.com. If you are an active customer of ours then you can “Register” for and receive a password to enter this important resource on PestWeb, by selecting the tab “Products” and then “Product Documents”. Here you can search for any product name in either the Search box or by selecting the manufacturer from the drop down list, and in this second case you will find a list of ALL products from that manufacturer. You can then just click on any Label or MSDS, it will appear on screen, and you can either print it directly or save it to your computer. I can guarantee that our documents database is going to give you the best chance of finding the documents you need and to be confident that they are the most current versions available. We go to great lengths to compare our versions with those on the Manufacturers’ websites many times each year, and understand the need to keep them up to date. 
Now, the fun does not end there. With Product Documents you can create your own “Quick List” of products used by your company, by simply selecting the “Add to Quick List” next to each product name. Then, within the tab “My Quick List” you will find all of these products, and next to each name another command to “Add Notification”. By clicking on this you will be advised by email immediately whenever we change either the MSDS or the Label or any other document for that product. You also can scan down the lists in “Recent Updates” to see all the document changes made for months in the past. The Quick List is your tool only, and you can add or remove products from it as you see fit. 
Another really useful tool in Product Documents is our extensive cross reference listings of products either by Labeled Site or Labeled Target Pest, and these will save you a lot of time searching through labels to find a product labeled specifically for the pest or site you need to treat. We have put these resources together because we recognize the value they bring to you in your effort to stay current and to save time. Thanks for the question. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 17, 2012

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Feb 16, 2012 – Bed Bugs – The Beat Goes On Too

QUESTION:

We know bedbugs are dificult to treat. We are currently treating a residential single family home where bed bugs were found in 2 rooms and inspected for in every room. We use Temprid at the labeled rates, but after the initial spraying and repeated follow ups every 10 days we are still seeing adult, nymph and egg stages of these critters. The main culprit is a child’s wooden bed frame and headboard. Many cracks and crevices are present and breaking down of the bed is not an option. This doesn’t concern me as much as the fact that I fan spray the head board, out in the open, on a decorative groove that every 10 days still has live adult bugs collecting there and living in the area where the residual should be. How can they still be there time after time (6 total treatments, full inspection and treatment each time)? What can we do to make the treatment more effective? Could it be resistance? I hear nothing but good results from Temprid by others and chemical reps.


ANSWER:

I will approach this from several angles, and the first will be the wisdom of constantly applying a toxic material to the headboard of a child’s bed. Now, let me qualify that a bit. Temprid is an excellent insecticide composed of 2 active ingredients – the pyrethroid cyfluthrin and the non-pyrethroid imidacloprid. There is nothing wrong with either of these materials, and I suspect that bed bugs confined to a surface in contact with these active ingredients for a long enough period of time is going to die. Yes, The Common Bed Bug demonstrates a VERY high degree of ability to become resistant to most active ingredients, but it is not yet completely immune to them. But, because of this high level of resistance our industry experts still tell us that total reliance on insecticides is probably not the solution to bed bug eradication. And, as you state, 100% eradication must be the goal or the problem will continue. 

We also know that around 70% of the bed bugs in an infested room are going to be found in the immediate vicinity of the sleeping person – the mattress, box spring, and bed framing. The next largest percentage will be nearby in night stands, dressers, etc., and the rest of the bugs could be along edges of carpets, behind items on the walls, in adjacent rooms, and in anything else in the infested room. Perhaps what you are experiencing is a movement of bugs from these outlying locations to the locations where they are now closer to the food source. It may be a factor of available harborage that causes many of the bugs to hide further away, and when the numbers immediately near the person are reduced it opens up some places for the distant ones to move closer. Just my thought, but a possibility. 
These active ingredients definitely should still be present at a reasonable level after 10 days, but the question is “contact time”. Some of the studies done on resistance show that for certain active ingredients it may take 24 hours or longer for the bed bug to die from its exposure to a pyrethroid, and perhaps other actives as well. For this reason it is less efficient to treat open surfaces than it is to treat directly into holes, crevices, and voids that the bugs, theoretically, hide in for most of that 24 hours each day. Treating an exposed surface may achieve only minutes of contact with the traveling bug, as opposed to the bug resting directly on the active ingredient for 23 hours or longer. This may be what you are doing with this framing and headboard – treating crack & crevice – in which case my sermon is unnecessary. However, you do indicate you are fan spraying the decorative grooves in the headboard, which leads me to perceive it as treating open surfaces. 
You say that breaking down the bed frame and headboard are not options, and this should not be necessary if you can access all the hiding places and treat them. Obviously a major need at this time is to eliminate the bugs from that bed so that child can sleep without being fed upon. Can this entire frame somehow be heat treated so that you know all bugs and their eggs are now killed? If so, then perhaps the bed can be isolated by placing the feet of the framing within traps, and ensuring that no blankets touch the floor. This may not stop bugs from falling onto the bed from the ceiling, but it should greatly reduce the problem on that bed from bugs walking over to it. 
Do you have the mattress and boxspring of this bed inside quality encasements? This at least reduces the harborage opportunities for the bugs. Could the headboard itself be enclosed within some plastic material to remove it as a harborage opportunity? Is this customer cooperating fully be passing all bed coverings through a cycle in the hot dryer? In short, do you feel that these bugs you continue to see must be hiding in and on the bed and framing themselves, or are they moving into this location from other places in the room? Have you treated EVERYthing within this room, including all electronic equipment? With Nuvan Prostrips available now with good labeling we have the opportunity to isolate difficult items within plastic bags and to fumigate them with the dichlorvos in the strips, killing bugs and eggs that otherwise were impossible to treat. 
Are you treating along all edges of carpets, either with a steamer, with a residual spray, or with a dust such as Tempo or Drione dust. Are you treating within wall voids in this room using a dust product? I really doubt that you have stumbled upon some population of bugs that are dramatically different than those found everywhere else, but somehow these bugs continue to hide where they are not being exposed to treatment methods. Again, why they would seem to be surviving right there in plain sight on surfaces you have previously treated would seem to be a result of insufficient contact time with the active ingredient. But, hopefully you can take some other steps that will allow you to stop the constant application of the insecticides on this sensitive location so close to the child. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 16, 2012

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Feb 13, 2012 – What Is A Structure?

QUESTION:

With the new rodent bait station laws for exterior use, stating stations cannot be placed further than 50 feet from a structure, what is considered to be a “structure”? Does it have to have 4 walls and a roof? Can it be a 4-sided fence? What about dumpster sites? Would they be considered as structures?


ANSWER:

When it comes to interpreting language on pesticide labels it is always best to consult with your own local regulatory agency. This sounds like I am ducking the issue, but what one state defines as a “structure” might differ quite a bit from other states’ interpretations. So, that will be my ultimate advice, to talk with your local regulatory inspectors and see what they will enforce on this. 

However, I think in our own minds we can generally understand that a structure is some building or other construction that has walls and a roof. In California structures can include vehicles, such as railcars, airplanes, trucks, or ships. It doesn’t have to be a permanent structure that sits only in one place, although obviously placing bait stations around an airplane that is going to move away would not seem to be in keeping with the spirit of the Rodenticide Mitigation Decision (RMD). We also need to avoid trying to work around this. For example, a previous question to this forum asked if a small bird house could be placed on some outlying fence and thus constitute a structure at that point, and my response was that this was highly unlikely to be accepted by any regulatory inspectors. 
Within the discussions on this issue from the rodenticide manufacturers, the information that we received from LiphaTech stated that EPA directs the states themselves to be the ones to interpret label wording. The manufacturers are not permitted to make these interpretations, so all they can do is add to their rodenticide labels exactly what EPA directs them to add, and how the wording is interpreted is then up to each state regulatory agency. On this information from LiphaTech they also state that EPA does NOT consider fences or fencelines to be structures. In fact, the actual wording now on rodenticide labels is “do not apply further than 50 feet from buildings” (not “structures”, but “buildings”), so perhaps this is even more clear of a picture. The concrete walls around a dumpster would not conceivably be considered to be a building. A fence with 4 sides to it would not either. 
So, we will need to stick to the more likely definition that exterior bait stations must be placed within 50 feet of permanent structures that have walls and a roof, but do check with your own regulators to be certain of their intent. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 15, 2012

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Feb 14, 2012 – Pyrethroids – The Beat Goes On

QUESTION:

As we look at the new labeling for the pyrethroids the discussion led to landscape gravel. Would this be considered impervious?

ANSWER:

I am having a grand time ducking some of these questions just a little bit, but I’ll still offer my opinion. However, because the wording on the new Synthetic Pyrethroids labels (for ALL non-agricultural pyrethroid products) is somewhat vague it is important for you to contact your own local regulatory agency and ask them this question as well. Vague wording is subject to interpretation, and it is necessary to know how your own regulatory inspectors will view this so you can remain in compliance with what they want. 

The wording in question is as following under the Directions for Use for Liquid Pyrethroids: “Other than applications to building foundations, all outdoor applications to impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways, patios, porches and structural surfaces (windows, doors, eaves) are limited to spot and crack and crevice applications only”. A specific exception to this is “treatment to soil or vegetation around structures”. So, this raises the question – is gravel closer to “soil” or to “sidewalk”, and my opinion (and only my opinion) is that gravel would not be considered an “impervious” surface. If you treat gravel or crushed rock with a spray application it would be unlikely for rain or irrigation to flow off of that gravel and carry the pyrethroid with it, as it would if the spray had been applied to wood decks or concrete surfaces. You spray should soak down through the gravel and into the soil below. 
But, please do make that phone call to your local regulators and get their opinion on this too. The whole intent of these new restrictions on the use of pyrethroids outdoors in non-agricultural settings is to reduce runoff that would carry the active ingredients into local waterways. It has been determined that even tiny levels of these active ingredients could affect aquatic organisms, and since we really don’t need to have the active ingredients in what we spray flowing off the property the new wording is intended to add assurances that what we apply stays where we apply it. There is no reason to spray the top of a concrete driveway, nor to apply granules that end up on the sidewalk. This is a waste of good insecticide and leads to the greatest chance of having that material move off site. Treatments to soil and lawns are likely to stay put as long as the soil is not already saturated to the point it cannot absorb any more liquid, nor to frozen soils that also will not allow the spray to soak in. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 14, 2012

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Feb 11, 2012 – Asian Longhorned Problems

QUESTION:

Any new product development for control of Asian Longhorned Beetles?

ANSWER:

Unfortunately no, if you mean is there some fantastic new product that just wipes them out. They can be killed with many of our current insecticides, but the problems are the cost of treating wide scale hardwood areas and the logistics of doing so. If you have customers with valuable hardwood trees – maple, birch, willow, elm, ash, and others – you can do a preventive treatment that can be very helpful. This is done with imidacloprid (Merit) applied to the soil around the base of the tree early in the year, and for the upper Northeast this may be early in March. The active ingredient is taken up by the roots of the tree and it flows up with water to end up in terminal twigs and foliage, lasting there for the season. As adult beetles feed on these twigs and foliage it is hoped that they are killed, thus at least reducing the beetles in an area and providing some protection for that tree and nearby trees. 

Bayer also offers a product called CoreTect Tree and Shrub Tablets, also containing imidacloprid but along with fertilizer and micronutrients to help the treated trees stay healthier. These are easily applied into the soil around the base of the tree where they dissolve and the a.i. once again taken up by the roots. Neither of these products is likely to kill beetle larvae already feeding under the bark of an infested tree, as the active ingredient does not tend to settle in the cambium layer where the larvae feed. They should be considered preventive only. 
In an article on the Asian Longhorn some years ago the authors mentioned that they sprayed the foliage of trees where it was suspected that the adult beetles might be feeding, using Demand microencapsulated product. What they observed was that within minutes the adult beetles were falling out of the tree to die on the ground, and they considered this to be a good way to sample for the presence of this destructive beetle. The adults are huge – over an inch long – and shiny blue with white spots, so they are pretty distinctive and noticeable when they drop. Demand CS is labeled for ornamental trees, although not specifically for longhorn beetles, so you should check with your local regulatory agency to see if your state is one that permits the use of a product if the site is on the label but the specific pest is not. 
And, with the recent new restrictive labeling on pyrethroids for outdoor use hopefully the uses on turf and ornamentals will not be affected. At this time the new wording specifically exempts use on turf and other vegetation from the new “spot or crack and crevice” requirements. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 13, 2012

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Feb 12, 2012 – More Than Spring Is Bustin’ Out

QUESTION:

We have had a very mild and wet winter. What are your thoughts regarding how this will affect the crawling, flying bug and mosquito populations this spring? Thanks.

ANSWER:

This is always a good question where we can only guess at the answer. It probably depends on the specific kind of insect as to whether the result will be more of them or less of them. When we have had extensive spring rains it tends to keep the ground soggy much later into the spring and early summer, and this may encourage molds and fungi that feed on buried insect stages, such as moth pupae or cricket and grasshopper egg masses. So, it’s no guarantee, but it is possible that a lot of rain would be harmful to these kinds of insects and reduce their populations later. Late snow cover and cool soil temperatures may also keep buried insects in the ground later, thus giving them a late start at producing more generations. 

Usually we think that moderate winter temperatures will help a lot of overwintering bugs survive, as freezing temps often kill eggs or pupae that are exposed. The moth pupae buried in the soil may freeze solid and be destroyed. Overwintering female paper wasps and yellowjackets will probably survive in greater numbers if the winter is mild, and particularly if they get an early start in the spring they will be able to get the new colony going earlier and larger colonies of worker wasps would result. 
Moderate winters and abundant moisture also usually equate to LOTS of plant life – weeds, early crops, early sprouting of leaves on dormant trees and shrubs, and all of this foliage means a lot of food for insects that feed on plants. This in turn (lots of bugs) means that much more food for the predatory insects, so the food chain benefits when it starts well early in the spring. If shrubs sprout early then you may get early populations of aphids and other plant parasites, and these bugs produce honeydew that may encourage ants to get going earlier and stronger. It can just snowball into the summer. 
Mosquitoes, of course, should absolutely thrive on this kind of weather. Plenty of rain means plenty of aquatic habitats for the larvae, and this could be low areas and seasonal pools as well as tree holes full of water. Everyone’s backyard with old tires, buckets, planters, and anything else that can retain water become potential breeding sites for larvae. Rain gutters get clogged with dirt and leaves and retain all that water, and if the temps are mild the larvae can run through their life cycle in just a week or two and adult mosquitoes will be early and abundant. 
All in all it sounds like a good year approaching for pest management. California, on the other hand, is currently in the grips of a really severe lack of rain. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 12, 2012

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Feb 9, 2012 – Steel Wool – Not For Eating

QUESTION:

Do rats avoid steel wool and are their feet too sensitive to remain on steel wool?

ANSWER:

Steel wool is commonly used as a quick way to close openings that rats or mice may use for entry. However, it is not the best metal mesh to use, and copper (Stuf-fit) or stainless steel mesh (XCluder) may cost more but they are going to hold up a lot better over time. Stainless steel is subject to rusting and disintegrating, and rust stains could even dribble down along surfaces below that now are defaced. Copper and stainless steel are much less likely to do this. 

Dr. Corrigan, in his Rodent Control book, describes the use of stainless steel shoved into gaps as a very effective but only temporary protection. He does not elaborate on why it is temporary, but perhaps this is because of the eventual deterioration of the material or perhaps the rodents do have the ability to pull it out to reopen the hole. A very coarse steel wool might be more durable against the rat activity than a fine mesh, but copper and stainless steel are much coarser and might be jammed into the hole more tightly. Rats and mice also would have difficulties trying to pull the material out with their teeth. I don’t know that it has as much to do with being painful on their feet as it does just a barrier that they cannot chew away. 
Regardless though, a more permanent and aesthetic exclusion would be, at some point in time, to replace the wool or mesh with caulking or concrete or wood or whatever material is appropriate for that point on the structure. This could then be painted over to blend in and with a little luck the gap will be gone and invisible. 

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Pest QuestionsFebruary 11, 2012

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