Archive for the ‘Pest Questions’ Category

Oct 29, 2012 – Irresistible Odors

QUESTION:

In mouse exclusion, my understanding is that when blocking the entrance/exit hole the most important objective is to stop all air drafts. With no air drafts the rodent doesn’t realize that a hole exists. If this is correct, what about pheromones? Don’t pheromones attract the rodents as well? I use foam to do exclusions and sometimes the rodents chew through, but most of the time they do not.

ANSWER:

I think that foam is a good immediate way to close off entry points or to fill large holes, but once it dries rats and mice will easily gnaw through it again. Better would be to permanently close that opening as soon as possible with some more impermeable material like metal flashing or caulking or concrete, depending on where the hole is. You might even shove a wad of copper or stainless steel mesh (Univar sells both) into the hole before then filling it with the expanding foam, as mice and rats appear to be deterred from gnawing by the wire materials. 

Odors definitely are an attraction to rodents, including even the odors of foods that may seep through gaps or holes from the interior of a home or other structure. Even warm air flowing out a gap could be an attraction to the rodent looking for a warmer, cozier place to be, and if the gap is wide enough the rat or mouse easily will move through to investigate. In his excellent book on Rodent Control Dr. Robert Corrigan stresses once more that the House Mouse can move through any gap 1/4 inch high and 3/8 inch wide (about the width of a wood pencil or diameter of a dime) and a rat can squeeze through a gap 1/2 inch high or 3/4 inch wide (about the diameter of a quarter). Of course, these kinds of gaps also could admit many other unwanted critters, such as most bugs, snakes, or bats if those gaps are higher up on the building. 
I don’t know if a rat or mouse would necessarily completely miss a hole or gap if no odors or other air currents were coming out of it. They don’t have great eyesight, but they still can see and they have whiskers (vibrissae) that are very sensitive that might detect that hole as they pass by. Since house mice in particular are very curious and always looking for places to explore, the discovery of a hole or gap could lead them to move through just to see what’s on the other side. Heck, there could be food or just a nice place to hang out, so checking out openings is normal for them. It is suggested that this is one reason they enter bait stations, to see what may be inside. The hole also could represent an opening leading to a secure cavity that hides them from the dangers they face from predators when they are exposed and moving about in the open. 
Pheromones are not restricted to insects, and mice and rats use them effectively too as chemical messages. Mice are well known for urinating all over the place, leaving behind pheromones that communicate to other mice that this one has been there. Mice may leave more than 3,000 “micro” droplets each day in their territory, and this is not just due to poor bladder control. They leave all these droplets as messages and as signals for them to use as they move around. As Dr. Corrigan stated it, mouse urine is their main source of social odors. It may enhance recognition of new objects or of hazards and it provides social orientation, determining dominance by some mice. These urine and fecal paths are vital for the PMP to locate in mouse management. 
Now, whether or not you can successfully eliminate ALL odors from moving past a point is debatable, but by closing off gaps completely you probably do a pretty good job of reducing the air flow and associated odors to a point that at least reduces a rodents interest in a former opening. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 29, 2012

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Oct 26, 2012 – Crazy Ants – Finally A Proper Name?

QUESTION:

What to use to treat rasberry crazy ants?

ANSWER:

This ant has taken a wild ride, taxonomically speaking that is. Way back in the 1950’s a new “crazy” ant was found in Florida and believed to be a species native to the West Indies, and thus is was dubbed the Caribbean Crazy Ant. Then, in 2002 in Texas another invading crazy ant appeared and was dubbed the Rasberry Crazy Ant after the PMP who brought it to the attention of Agricultural officials. Now, most recently, new studies have decided that these two ants are one and the same species and that it actually is a South American species with the Latin name Nylanderia fulva, and a proposed common name for it is The Tawny Crazy Ant. This decision may well change again, but as of a 2012 publication this is the latest and greatest thought. 

But, naming things does not help you in the field. Theproblem is not any immunity the ants have to current insecticides, but insteadis the sheer numbers that they occur in. They so overwhelm an area that eventhough millions may die there are millions more to take their place. One PMPreports he commonly finds them inside oak trees that have hollow interiors fromrot, and treating within this void causes major numbers of the ants to emergequickly, but hours later they are still emerging. The pesticides easily killthe ants on contact, but there are too many ants to affect them quickly. So farthese ants are still confined to the southeast from Texas to Florida, but living things have away of expanding their range. Not a lot is known about their specific biology,but it appears they have colonies with multiple queens, increasing theirpotential to replace lost workers. They nest in almost any available place,feed on both proteins and carbohydrates, and forage in wide trails of thousandsof workers.

TheUniversity of Florida and Texas A&M continue to work on developing an effective controlstrategy for this ant, but some of the standard IPM practices can be offered to atleast reduce the problems in landscapes and homes. Trimming vegetation awayfrom the exterior walls of structures reduces pathways into the home, creatingbare strips around the immediate perimeter of the foundation helps keep theants further away and maximizes the efficiency of any pesticides applied, andremoval of unnecessary clutter on the soil reduces nesting sites. Keepinglandscape plants free of pests such as aphids or scale insects reduces thehoneydew that these ants crave.

Atthis time even the universities suggest that pesticides are necessary, althoughnot the perfect answer. In some feedback from PMPs in south Florida there issome promise using synthetic pyrethroids for their repellent action, and pyrethroidsof most kinds have given some relief from the ants for several weeks. The useof these as a perimeter treatment around structures may provide a “buffer zone”that lasts for a month or longer. There also has been good kill of the antsusing the non-repellents such as Termidor or I Maxx Pro, although completeelimination of nests and colonies does not seem to be happening yet. Baitinghas met with limited success so far, even though the ants do seem to feed oncarbohydrate baits. One suggestion that was offered was the use of the newerproduct Transport GHP, which received great label expansion in early 2008, withgood uses now for ant control around the exterior of structures. This isanother of the non-repellents and may be worth giving a try. The newerTransport Mikron has also given some PMP’s good results on these ants, alongwith the use of Talstar granules where labeled.

Themost up-to-date information from Texas A&M and from University of Floridatell us that the magic wand for this ant still does not exist. They suggest theuse of contact insecticides sprayed as a perimeter application aroundstructures and along trails the ants are using. This can be followed byplacement of sugar baits that are replaced regularly to keep them fresh andacceptable. Removal of all potential harborage sites on a property will help tolimit the presence of the ants, and this will be anything on the soil,including piles of landscape debris, boxes, lumber, etc. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 28, 2012

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Oct 27, 2012 – Is IPM Worth It?

QUESTION:

First, can you help me find ancient or even Biblical references to pest management chemicals and concepts? I have read of some, but perhaps you have others. Second question, do routine barrier sprays actually do more unnecessary kills of insects than good kills, such as carpenter ants or roaches trying to trail up the side of a house? I understand the need to stop ants/roaches from crawling into the home, but the Pyrethroids restriction of only “3 ft up” is kind of a bummer. I’d prefer the worded it instead like “a barrier no taller than 3 ft”, to imply that it could begin at 3 ft high and stop at 6 ft up the wall if the PMP wanted. My third question regards servicing using IPM, and I have actually read and found through personal experience that customers expect chemical to be sprayed, even with no pests there. I think the idea of hiring a PMP to come on a routine basis and having him do only an inspection and leave seems like it wouldn’t be as worthwhile to the customer as if he came, did a nice maintenance spray, maybe some bait, and left. I generally don’t do a dedicated inspection of the property first and have been doing routine sprays in and out. I think NOT spraying would just raise the odds of pests being there next time. I am skeptical of the value of a technician doing only spot applications around thresholds or behind equipment. Do big companies really send a guy out, charge a standard fee, and maybe not even offer a guaranteed perimeter-type spray? I feel like the IPM stories in the magazines allude to a world where PMPs are more into fixing doors, trimming bushes, handy man type tasks, and sometimes use chemical. Imagine you are a homeowner who noticed a few roaches inside, called a pest control company, got a quote for a start-up, and hired someone to come out. He talked to you, walked around the place, and only sprayed C&C inside areas, pointed out an air gap in the door, and offered to fix it for an EXTRA fee. Would you really be satisfied paying as much as most companies charge plus the door-fix fee? I feel like IPM encourages fixing seals and outside conditions but not much in the realm of preventive CHEMICAL treatments, like hitting it with a 2-month routine spray even if nothing’s there at the time, and I think that’s what most of my customers expect they are paying for. Leaving them with a note that they didn’t have any bugs and that they should hire someone to fix that front door gap does not really, in my opinion, justify the price. I do believe in being reasonably respectful of Nature, but I believe there is almost zero demand for a true IPM service in my area. What are your thoughts on these things? A final question. Are Masterline Bifenthrin 7.9% and the original Talstar going to provide the same results? I know both brands contain 7.9% bifenthrin, but are the other inert ingredients important in the end residual properties?

ANSWER:

Your question is a very interesting one, and I hope it was OK to reword it a bit to reduce the length, and hope the meaning is still intact. First, I think you should expect MasterLine Bifenthrin and Talstar liquid concentrate to provide pretty much the same results. All things considered, once everything dries following the application what you are left with on the surface is the bifenthrin, and this is what will kill the pest insect. Second, on the new restrictions for pyrethroids outdoors, we probably should be happy for now with the ability to treat up to 3 feet above grade (California has reduced this to 2 feet). The issue of pyrethroids moving off site and into natural waterways is a hot one, and we probably have not seen the end of the challenges from anti-pesticide groups who would prefer pyrethroids were not used at all. We can accept that most PMPs could be given the ability to make their own decisions, but every industry has its, shall we say, bad apples, and there would be those who would take that ability to do as they wish and misuse the products. 

On historical references to pest management, I am no authority on The Bible, so I cannot help you there. But, of course, The Bible does mention the “10 Plagues” that include lice, flies, and locusts, so pest problems certainly were in their thoughts. Historical references to pest control and chemicals are abundant. In 1200 B.C. the ancient Egyptians used hemlock and aconite to control unwanted bugs. In 1000 B.C. the Greeks used burning sulfur to “fumigate” homes to kill bugs. In the first century A.D. Pliny The Elder recorded the pest control practices of the previous 3 centuries, including using “gall” from a lizard to protect apples from bugs and rot. Early Romans used another plant called Hellebore to kill rats and insects. Ninth century Chinese used arsenic to kill insects and in the 1300’s Marco Polo referenced the use of mineral oil to kill lice on camels. The toxic qualities of pyrethrum, rotenone, and boric acid (borax) have been known for many centuries, so ancient peoples were able to use natural insecticides to help better their lives. 
Your thoughts on IPM are the most important here, and in the interest of space I guess I’ll need to keep my reply down a bit. First, I agree that there is that percentage of homeowners who still want toxic chemicals applied to their home every time you come, and who believe that if you did not “spray something” they did not get their money’s worth. I believe this is very, very old thinking on their part and it needs to change, and the only way it is going to change is for our industry to educate them to understand better what the nature of pesticides is and what our role should be. We should not be attempting to kill all living creatures on a property, and even when a customer DEMANDS that you kill the frogs or lizards or praying mantids or ladybugs, because they just get the creeps with these things, it is important for us to make every effort NOT to do so. Maybe we even should walk away from some customers who demand that we harm the environment in their belief that it makes them happier. 
I think that IPM clearly offers the best long term pest management, even for the customers who currently think that pesticides are the answer to everything. A much better approach to simply spraying the same things onto the same surfaces on every visit, regardless of whether or not there is actually something to kill, would be to evaluate the property to determine what conditions exist that are inviting pests to be there and then supporting their existence on that property. Doesn’t it make more sense to close that gap under the door that the roaches, earwigs, spiders, and mice are using to get inside than to have to spray toxic substances inside to kill them now that they made it in? Does it make more sense to trim branches away from the roof and exterior walls so that bugs cannot use them for pathways in, than to have to spray those branches on every visit in an effort to keep the bugs from trailing on them? I believe that IPM addresses these issues and is very important for us to embrace. 
What the customer really is paying for is relief from unwanted pests, and too many of them still cling to the idea that the only way to accomplish this is to spray often enough that a constant layer of active insecticide exists around their home and everywhere inside. Perhaps this made more sense when the older active ingredients first came into use and could last for several months, but this constant use is also a wonderful way to encourage resistance to the active ingredients as well as to pose the opportunity for the wrong living creatures to be exposed to the material. Rather than hoping that a layer of insecticide will intercept crawling ants and roaches before they make it into the house, we should remove the harborage outside that they hide in, remove the food resources that they rely on, and close permanently the openings they need to get inside. 
Our industry’s leaders and experts and consultants all agree that the non-chemical steps of exclusion, sanitation, habitat modification, and other handy-man tasks are just as important in pest management as is the use of pesticides. We must address these “contributing conditions” or we will have a constant presence of the pests outside that are putting constant pressure on the inside. Talking with the customer, helping them understand the benefit of IPM, and helping to reduce our reliance on pesticides are good things. In addition, if WE don’t lead the way on this it will be forced upon us. We really do need to be the leaders in protecting the environment. It is the way things are going with your customer base too, and you will find more and more of them who would prefer knowing that they are not having their homes sprayed constantly. We really don’t want to be the pill-pushers who prefer to hold a problem at bay with chemicals when we could take a different approach and correct the root causes of the disease. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 27, 2012

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Oct 24, 2012 – What Kind of Little Fly?

QUESTION:

We have a customer that recently had the black worms coming up in his commode identified as “black scavenger fly larvae” or Sepsidae larvae. We are unfamiliar with this fly species. Would this infestation be treated like a drain fly infestation?

ANSWER:

Well, Sepsids are more associated with feces and decaying plant materials than the wet organic sludge of the drain fly larvae, but it is possible that either could breed in the same unsanitary setting. And, since this is a commode it certainly could provide the proper breeding conditions for the larvae of Sepsids. I’m not certain myself that I would recognize the larvae of black scavenger flies, but those of drain flies are fairly distinctive in appearance. 

But, yes, you would treat either kind of fly in the same manner with respect to eliminating the materials that the larvae are using to feed in. Since so many of the small flies found inside structures are indicators of unsanitary or some other unwanted condition (excessive moisture, fungus, accumulations of wet organic sludge) it is important and appropriate to clean up that setting to eliminate the larvae as well as to create a more healthful environment for people. Now, exactly what you mean by “coming up” in his commode I am not certain, but if you are suggesting that these larvae are actually coming up from the water at the bottom of the toilet………….well, yuck! Is it an equally yucky possibility that somewhere above waterline in this toilet there is some hidden accumulation of, well, “splatter” that has been ignored?
For drain flies living in the sludge within a sink or floor drain the resolution may be more clear cut for us, using one of the many drain cleaners to eat away that sludge and in the process eliminate the fly larvae as they lose their food resource. For a toilet it still is going to be a cleaning process but you may need to identify just where the cleaning needs to be. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 26, 2012

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Oct 25, 2012 – Meal Moths – A Forever Thing?

QUESTION:

I service an ethnic supermarket with an ongoing issue with Indian Meal Moth. We install some traps with lures every now and then, but would like to take care of this issue for good. I’ve asked them to clean all of their shelves in the store and they did (more or less). I suggested they contact their supplier because that may be the actual source, but they don’t want to go this far because they have more than one supplier for their orders. What do you suggest I do next?

ANSWER:

Indian Meal Moths (IMM) are our most common stored foods moth pest, and one reason is because of their diverse food choices. In addition to just about any food material based on grains they also infest nuts, dried fruit, powdered milk, candy bars for the chocolate or nuts in them, pet foods, bird seed, spices including peppers, rodent bait, and even dried flowers. They may even infest fresh fruits if they can find slightly damaged areas. They breed rapidly, with females producing around 300 eggs, and the larvae are very mobile, often leaving the infested food and wandering throughout a structure to find the perfect place to pupate. All of this makes it more difficult to isolate the problem and they may be infesting a multitude of packages. 

The adult moths fly very well and it is absolutely amazing how quickly they can spread throughout an entire structure and multiple floors from a single origin within one infested package. They are strongly attracted to pheromone lures, so this is one tool in our favor for helping to narrow a search. I have known food quality consultants who would put a pheromone tap on a clipboard and simply walk up and down the aisles in supermarkets. They often would have the adult moths flying out of infested candy aisles or bulk food bins when they would stop for a minute or two in that aisle. I have seen candy bar vending machines with the adult moths resting inside, the result of infested candy bars in the machine. 
I suppose if we consider where these moths came from originally it is possible that some adult moths simply flew in from the outside and began the infestation. They are so common that some of them must be flying around outside. But, I’ll bet that it’s far more likely that the original problem did come into this store in some infested product from another source. It’s difficult and another thing to have to do, but all food products entering a store really should get inspected before it is accepted and place in storage. They may not be able to do such a thorough check that no moths can slip by them, but they also may be able to intercept some infested materials by checking inside boxes for larvae, holes in packages, silk webbing or fecal material, or other evidence that something is amiss. 
I understand that with many suppliers of products it would be difficult for them to go to each and every one and ask to be allowed to inspect their stored product, and that is why this customer needs to at least make the effort to inspect on his own what is coming in. If you want to eliminate these moths once and for all it is going to take a huge effort on your part as well as the customer. Every area of the store needs to be carefully inspected for evidence of the moths, and this includes removing all packages of food, checking them carefully, and replacing them once you are sure there is no IMM in them. Spills must be cleaned up. Bulk foods need to be inspected and then stored in bins or containers that can be sealed to prevent the moths from entering. 
Fogging is not going to affect this problem, nor would applications of contact insecticides along bases of shelves or walls. You may be able to kill some adult moths, but this will not affect the larvae living hidden within packages or food materials. One tool you might consider is one of the “mating disrupters”, such as CideTrak. This is another kind of pheromone device, but it emits such a large amount of the mating pheromone into the air that the hope is that males cannot find females to mate with, and with luck you can break the cycle of new eggs being produced and the problem will more or less go away by itself. Better, of course, would be to find and dispose of the infested food materials so that they do not end up being sold to someone who objects to bugs in their food. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 25, 2012

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Oct 21, 2012 – Enticing Squirrels

QUESTION:

what is the best bait to put in a trap to catch squirrels?

ANSWER:

I am going to assume you are referring to tree squirrels rather than ground squirrels. A few things are important here, and the first is to be certain of the legal status of tree squirrels in your area, and in particular what species of tree squirrel you are dealing with, as some of the species may have protected status and cannot be harmed or molested. If they are “depredating” (causing unacceptable problems) then you can kill or trap them, but this may require a special license of permit. In addition, most states prohibit relocating trapped animals. It may be illegal for you to trap tree squirrels and take them somewhere else to release them, as this may be stressful or harmful to the animals or it may just relocate a problem onto someone else’s property. So, contact your local wildlife agency first to be certain you are doing what is allowed. 

Tree squirrels feed on a wide variety of materials, including nuts, seeds, fruit, and even the soft bark of trees. Grey squirrels are well known for doing massive damage by stripping the bark off of large and small branches and narrow trunks of trees. Havahart / Woodstream suggest that they can be enticed into live traps using many bait products, including nuts, apples, sunflower seeds, peanut butter mixed with oatmeal, or popcorn. In nature acorns may make up a large part of their diet, but if acorns already are available it is less likely they will be interested in any that you place inside a trap. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 24, 2012

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Oct 22, 2012 – Down (In) The Drain

QUESTION:

How do you effectively control drain flies?


ANSWER:

Drain flies are one of our annoying “small” flies, and like so much of fly management it is necessary to find the source. The good news is that you are not yet dealing with Phorid flies, as these little things are even more annoying and have many more possible breeding sources that may be within a structure. Drain flies will normally refer to little flies in the family Psychodidae, and they also are called moth flies because they resemble tiny gray moths with their wings and body covered with gray scales. The common kinds found indoors are in the genus Psychoda, and they may be found flying around toilets in restrooms or wet areas in other parts of the structure. When they land they rest with the wings held flat over the abdomen in what is called a “Delta winged” position. 

These flies sometimes breed in huge numbers around sewage treatment plants where there are settling ponds filled with organic matter. They can be a problem in water cooling towers where algae builds up and provides the wet habitat needed for the larvae. Within a structure the most common place to find their needs of wet surfaces with a buildup of organic crud will be within drains, and thus their common name. But, they could breed in many other places, so in a restaurant or food plant where floors are washed regularly there may be a buildup of wet sludge in crevices and gaps around the floors. They may find a constant wet area and the resulting presence of slime under equipment that leaks water, under A/C units, under the fridge, or even outside in the landscape or within the catch pans under potted plants. Any micro-habitat that retains water and grows organic sludge is a potential breeding site for their larvae, and this is the essence of control of these flies. You must find the source and eliminate it, or more adult flies will continue to come from it. 
These kinds of sources should be viewed as sanitation problems, so in a sense the presence of flies such as drain or phorid flies is a signal that some unsanitary condition exists, and this presents an opportunity for the PMP to show his expertise. We know what kinds of places may offer this micro-habitat and we inspect until we find it. Then we can eliminate that problem and fortunately have many excellent products to use. Our industry has taken on this role in the past 15+ years and Univar carries many different cleaning materials, many for drains and others for equipment or surfaces. Most of these can be called “bio-cleaners” because the active ingredients are natural, as bacteria that feed on the organic crud or enzymes that dissolve it. One of our major manufacturers of them is Rockwell Labs, for instance, with their Invade product line. This includes large blocks that can be placed into grease traps of restaurants to feed on the buildup of grease that also produces phorids and drain flies. 
So, start with a flashlight and a very careful inspection of the structure, perhaps beginning in the area where the flies are most often seen, and look for any place where water drains or sits to see if it remains wet and offers the buildup of organic slime. Then use the appropriate cleaning product to remove that buildup and offer this as a regular service to this account. Removing it once will not keep it clean if the other conditions don’t change and water continues to flow there. Of course, if it’s a leak that should be repaired that’s another issue, but regular service and cleaning with biological cleaners is a very good add-on service. Don’t focus on the adult flies. You can easily kill these with vacuuming or a light mist of pyrethrum once the source is dealt with. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 24, 2012

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Oct 20, 2012 – Drywoods Local Treating

QUESTION:

I have found Drywood Termite frass at four different locations around the exterior perimeter of a home with wood siding. Would the proper treatment be to drill near the kickout holes and inject Premise? I am asking because the label tells me that this should not be the only means of treatment. I am unsure what other types of treatments are needed. Thank you for your advice.

ANSWER:

Well, I briefly looked over a few of the Premise labels and admit I did not find the precaution you mention regarding not using the Premise local treatment as the only treatment. But, labels are extensive, so it could be on there somewhere, but I wonder if you might have been reading that with respect to local wood treatment for Subterranean termites and not drywoods. That would certainly stand to reason, as the presence of subs tells us that there must be some pathway from the soil to the wood that needs to be addressed, and treating only the small area where the subterranean termites are noticed is not likely to control that much larger problem. 

For drywoods it’s also possible that a label advises that some additional treatment should be considered, but with the small colonies of drywoods and their tendency to stay only within the wood of the structure it also is possible to eliminate that colony by injecting the wood and getting the insecticide into their active galleries. Premise Foam may be a good choice here as the foam expands and pushes further into the tunnels, offering a greater chance of treating more of the surfaces. 
However, the nature of drywood termites also is to have relatively small colonies, although even with subterranean termites research has shown that multiple colonies of these termites may be feeding on the wood of a single structure, and eliminating one of them would not necessarily affect the others if those others do not also come into contact with the active ingredient. But, the small drywood colony in a small area of wood – perhaps only a single 2×4 wall stud – may be only 1 of many separate colonies of drywoods in the same structure, and killing one or two colonies could leave behind other colonies that remain alive and well. This is the benefit of whole house treatments, such as fumigation, where you know that every cubic inch of wood throughout that structure has been treated and all termites are dead. Perhaps this is the intent of the statement you refer to, that considering treatment such as fumigation may be a more certain way to eradicate all termites. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 24, 2012

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Oct 23, 2012 – One Visit Rat Control?

QUESTION:

What is the protocol on rodent control, such as follow up, removing the trophies, & resetting traps? I have been getting calls on this from customers saying that the company they used just set 2-4 snap traps in a subarea or attic and did not call or come back to check the traps. Then the customer starts smelling the trophy. These companies are not informing the customer about entry points and I do not see that they are doing deep inspections, as I do, in order to find and eliminate entry points. On one of the last jobs I did I even found trapped rats being consumed by other rats. Should these other companies be obligated to do what I believe regulatory agencies require? Customers I serviced say they had to call them back to complete their job. Thanks for your views.

ANSWER:

In every industry there will be companies that will do the bare minimum, and if they can get away with this bare minimum then that works for them. But, in rodent management the bare minimum should include removal of trapped rodents, and this likely is going to be written in the regulations of many states for licensed pest control technicians. It also is an issue with respect to “humane treatment” of any animal, and whether we like it or not we have to deal with unwanted rodents in as humane a manner as possible. This means that kill traps need to be inspected routinely and in a timely manner so that partially captured rodents do not suffer. I understand very well that many people don’t care how a rat or mouse dies as long as it dies, but vocal animal rights groups do care and they can press their cause if they believe our industry is acting in a cruel manner. 

So, blunt answer, YES, certainly a technician should return to an account where traps have been set and inspect those traps and remove and dispose of trapped rodents. If it were the use of rodent baits, nearly all rodenticide Labels have statements instructing that dead or ill rodents must be removed, making it mandatory for us to do so. I also recognize that for a technician to return to a customer’s home or business costs time and money, and a lot of homeowners may not be willing to pay another $100 each time that technician has to return to check a few traps, but this is the reality of rodent control. If traps are set and animals are captured and killed, the aftermath is going to be a rotting carcass that creates an intolerable smell and breeds blow flies. This is particularly so with rats and their larger body mass. In particular, if the customer is not made aware of these likely problems he is going to be very upset when they occur, particularly when maggots start dropping out of the kitchen ceiling and landing on the dinner plates. This is the stuff of lawsuits, bad publicity, and a bad reputation for our industry.
I believe you are right on track David. Traps must be inspected, and initially should probably be checked the next day to remove dead rodents or deal with those caught but still alive. It would be very unsettling for the customer to hear a rodent struggling with a trap on its body and thumping around in the attic all night long. Your careful inspection of the infestation may reveal damaged wires or PVC piping that needs to be repaired before worse problems occur in that structure. You may find accumulations of rat feces that need to be removed to eliminate this health issue. You may find a lot of other things that result from rats and mice living inside structures that need to be addressed for the health and safety of the customer. 
And, “if nothing changes nothing changes”, and if these rodents found their way inside others will follow, and if the entry points continue to exist then the customer is going to continue to have a rodent problem sometime in the future. Taking pot shots at the rodents AFTER they get inside is inappropriate. Exclusion is a major part of structural rodent management, so absolutely the customer needs to be educated right at the start to understand what needs to be done to give them the best long term satisfaction. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 23, 2012

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Oct 17, 2012 – Carpet Beetles in Odd Places

QUESTION:

We have a customer who has carpet beetles coming up from the drains. Customer originally put drain gel and bleach down drains and they never went away. So, we treated the entire house outside and inside with Talstar and Demand CS. We also put a fogger in the crawlspace, but they have come back after a few days. First of all, why are carpet beetles in the drains and second what treatment would we do next? We have never had this problem so severe before. Thanks.

ANSWER:

Well, I guess I will start with the belief that carpet beetles, neither adults nor larvae, could possibly enter a home through the drains, meaning they could not come up from the sewer or septic system by crawling up the pipes and into the house. I have been properly corrected on American roaches before, which apparently DO have the ability to walk through the water barrier that should be there in the P-trap, but little beetles simply could not. Unless, that is, there is no water barrier due either to a lack of a P-trap or a defective P-trap that has no water in it. Even then I’m at a loss to suggest why carpet beetles would be in the pipes below. 

So, assuming that you have correctly identified these bugs as carpet beetles there must be a source for them up in the house itself, and the reason they might be getting into the drain could be to feed on accumulated materials there. This still would be terribly out of character for carpet beetles, particularly if the drains are in use and are wet, but a dried drain with clogs of hair in it might be attractive to these scavengers. It’s also possible that you may have some other bug at hand. But, the essence of carpet beetle control is to find THE SOURCE, and I hope you will avoid applying any more pesticide until you have discovered where the beetles are coming from. By treating everywhere inside and outside without having a specific problem in mind is not good policy, and as you have found it does not resolve a problem with these kinds of bugs. They are feeding on something that likely is hidden away, and until you find that food resource and eliminate it you cannot achieve control using insecticides. 
Carpet beetles are pretty diverse when it comes to their foods. They are an important recycler in Nature, feeding on dead animal materials such as hair, feathers, skin, and the things we make from those materials, such as wool, felt, and other things. It’s amazing how these little beetles eventually will find what we have in storage. However, they also feed commonly on grain-based foods, and these include many baking materials or other foods in the kitchen as well as pet foods that may be stored in other rooms, decorative items that use stalks of wheat or acorns or other seeds and grains, as well as rodent bait. I have seen plenty of carpet beetle infestations in old rodent bait tossed into attics and forgotten, or dumped into walls or in a crawl space. Fogging and spraying are not going to resolve these issues if you have not dealt directly with that food source, which in many cases should not be there.
So, it takes a LOT longer and you should charge this customer for your time, but rather than continuing to applying toxic materials to the house in the hope that some of it lands on the source, you should now use a flashlight and a careful and thorough inspection of the entire structure. Somewhere is a food source that the bugs are coming from. Perhaps it really is something in the drains, but take a closer look and perhaps physically clean out the drains by removing the drain stopper and pulling out accumulations of hair. Look in window sills for any buildup of dead insects. Ask if any rodent control has been done here, particularly by the homeowner himself who may have tossed bait in the attic or crawlspace and not removed it. 
Take a long look at every package of food in the kitchen cupboard, and in particular packages that are old and have been forgotten. Check in the laundry room or garage and in bedroom closets for pet foods, such as hard foods and dog biscuits, bags of nuts or other things the kids may feed the local squirrels. Look at all decorative items to see if any real plant materials are used in them. Indian meal moth larvae love dried flower arrangements too. Do a careful inspection of the attic and crawlspace to see if there are dead rodents, rodent bait, dead birds, etc., all of which offer food resources for carpet beetles. Try placing some pheromone traps in different rooms to see if you can narrow the search by finding larger numbers in one area. Keep in mind the beetles and their larvae may fall through ceiling fixtures if they are in the attic, or come out of walls if they are feeding on something in a wall void. 
But, please………no more chemical applications until you find a source of this problem and correct that source. 

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Pest QuestionsOctober 20, 2012

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