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Archive for June, 2010

Wasps unlike bees generally die during winter season, they are not at all bees and they prey on other insects as well as bees as their source of nourishment. Wasps can attack anyone that crosses its path without inducing any provocation in their part and they can repeatedly sting anyone. Not only are they a nuisance at home but may also harm children that are around them. That is why wasp control is encouraged in order to exterminate these pests. Chemical insecticides are usually used in order to eliminate this kind of troubles but a bigger problem may arise for the environment, because insecticides if not used properly may be more likely to spread on health problems not only to human beings but for all the living organisms close by. The first thing to consider in protecting those who lives inside the home is prevention; always make sure that all entrances and sealed and that the house should be defended by screened doors of windows.

Food sources most especially those that are good sources of proteins should be covered as wasps are attracted just by the smell. Also avoid swatting as these wasps are most attracted by their fellow’s pheromone which are released when wasps are squashed, so the best thing to do is to avoid them and get one’s self away on nearby nests. Another thing to avoid is wearing perfumes and bright colors because these are believed to attract the wasps thinking that they are going for a flower. Natural ways of wasp control also includes setting up a trap against these pests. There are traps that are commercially available or anyone could just make their own.

It is important to remember that traps should be emptied daily to prevent the wasps from escaping and creating another swarm. Finally, the most drastic of measures in naturally eliminating wasps comes in the form of nest destruction as this may cause the wasps to either die down of move to another place away from the destructive hands of humans. In locating the nest it is important to note of the number of swarms around the area as this may point out that the nest is nearby. In this process of total destruction, it is most recommended to wear many layers of clothing on top of any part of the body, a head cover is also imperative to protect from possible retaliations. Wasps take their rest during nightfall, so it is advisable to consider the attack at this time as most of them are inside their nest. Do not use yellow light as this cause some attraction to wasps and rouse them from their sleep. Slowly approach the area and try not to make too much of unnecessary movements as this will agitate the wasps nearby. Wasp control may be quite an intimidating task but safety should always be the priority that is why environmentalists and health experts discourage anyone from resorting to chemically eliminating pests such as wasps. The most harm may just be inflicted on the individual doing the spray rather than on the target.

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Bed bugs have been exterminated from the US soil sometime in 1940′s and the 1950′s. The use of DDT has been succesful in eradicating these pests. However, international travelling and immigration have brought back to the US the exterminated, blook sucking pests. And establishments that are said to be the bed bugs exchange centers are: One, busses, two, trains, three, cabs, four, airplanes, and five, hotel rooms, six, motels and breakfast-inns. Don’t you notice that the places where you can see bed bugs from and out of your clothes are transportation carriage and the place where travellers stay for the night? Right. Bed bugs are travellers and hitchhikers. You must know the ways on how to get the bed bugs out of your clothes when you get into these places.

You cannot get bed bugs out of your clothes simply by avoiding the mentioned hotspots. These places are unavoidable. They are part of our lives. But if you want to keep your house clean and free from bed bugs infestation, check out these Tips on How to Get the Bed bugs Out of Your Clothes. Simple Tips on How to Get the Bed Bugs Out of Your Clothes. In a hotel, you can get bed bugs out of your clothes if you shake off your clean and used clothes for bed bugs the night before you check out. Having bed bugs in your things or clothes does not mean that you are filthy and stinking. Bed bugs do not stay on a certain area or place because it is clean or filthy. They stay in a place because they are attracted to carbon monoxide, of which humans exhale, and they feed on human blood.

To get the bed bugs out of your clothes, you must make sure that the suitcase on which you will encase it is bed bugs free. Even if you shake your clothes just to get bed bugs out of your clothes, it won’t do good since the very suitcase that will carry your clothes with has bed bugs inside. The night before you leave your hotel, remove any items that you have and the clothes inside your suitcase. Buy a water based insect killer and spray on the insecticide around the suitcase. Don’t spray on inside. Then place your belongings and other items inside a clean, dry, bath tub. Bed bugs don’t like ceramics and marbles much, so they won’t be present anywhere near the tub. However, all the wood furniture near your bed are undoubtedly infested. Surer way to get bed bugs out of your clothes is to have your clothes, clean and used, to the laundry. Ask the laundryman to soak it in warm water for twenty minutes. Clinging nymps on your used clothes, especially the clothes you used on bed, will die when soaked in warm water.

You can get bed bugs out of your clothes if you will resist the urge to sleep on the bed before you leave. The bed bugs may cling onto your sleeves as its last shot to draw blood from you and stay there before you leave. When you get home, remove all your clothing, and even socks, and soak them in warm water for twenty minutes. Do this immediately to avoid speading bed bugs around your house in case a female bed bug hitched at your collar or sleeve. A single female bed bug lays 300 eggs. And adult bed bugs can last for eighteen months even without feeding. You might think that following the tips abovementioned will make you look like a person sufferring from obsessive compulsive. This is untrue. This is the best measure to do to avoid having your house getting infested with these nasty bugs. They are very hard to terminate once they invade your household. The best remedy for a bed bug infested home is to throw away every furniture around and abandon the place for three years. So which is easier and better to do? Prevent the bed bugs from coming your house or exterminate them instead?

Find tips about bug guide and cinch bugs at the About Animals website.

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Bed bugs are making a comeback nationwide and the pest control industry is seeking new technologies to combat the increasingly pesticide-resistant insects. Cutting-edge technologies at both ends of the temperature spectrum include Cryonite which uses a non-toxic carbon dioxide snow to instantly freeze and kill the noxious pests and giant infrared heaters that raise the temperature in a room and bake the bugs to death. The University of Minnesota is working on a trap that simulates a sleeping human, the bed bug’s favorite meal.

Perhaps the most popular weapon in the bed bug-fighting arsenal – possibly because of its sloppy kisses and wagging tail – is the dog. Dogs, which have been trained to sniff out weapons, arson, drugs, missing persons, termites and cancer, are now being trained to detect and pinpoint bed bugs and their eggs, helping exterminators target treatment areas.

The average dog has 200 to 250 million scent receptors in its nose. Its nasal membranes cover seven square meters. In comparison, human nasal membranes cover barely half a meter and contain only 5 million receptors. A dog’s scenting ability is so sensitive it can smell things that can’t be detected by the most sensitive scientific instruments. Depending on the dog and its training, a dog’s sensitivity to odors is 10 to 100 times greater than man’s.

“A dog’s nose is cutting-edge technology,” Carl Massicott, owner of Connecticut’s Advanced K9 Detectives, told the New York Daily News. “Our animals are 100 percent honest and trained to work for food and love instead of profits.” It’s the dog owners who are raking in the profits. Depending on facility size and travel time, the cost of K-9 bed bug detection is about $200 per hour. Typically K-9 services provide initial and follow-up detection but not bed bug extermination services. Dogs can help pest control experts determine what areas to treat and in follow-up can indicate whether all bed bugs have been killed.

A trained dog can thoroughly investigate a room and locate bed bug infestations in two to three minutes, less time than it takes a human technician who must rely on visual clues which can require a thorough inspection of the home. Typically, dogs can detect infestations within a three-foot radius but may not be able to narrow it down further. For example, a dog may indicate that bed bugs are under a piece of furniture but be unable to indicate whether the bugs are hiding in furniture joints or floorboard crevices. Dogs are trained to alert their handlers to the presence of bed bugs by swatting a paw or barking. Smaller dogs are favored for their ability to negotiate tight spaces.

Pepe Peruyero, owner of J&K Canine Academy, got started in the pest control business by training dogs to detect termites. A former law enforcement officer who worked with K-9 units in Gainesville, Florida, Peruyero assisted University of Florida entomologists in conducting rigorous scientific tests to determine dogs’ ability to detect insects. Those tests confirmed that dogs could detect not only termites, but several other types of insects, including bed bugs, and a business venture was born. Employing the same training techniques used to train drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs, Peruyero was able to develop training and testing standards for bug-sniffing dogs.

Today, business is booming. Last year Peruyero trained just one dog to sniff out bed bugs, but this year he has already trained 15 dogs and has another dozen or so dogs on the waiting list. His is one of only six facilities worldwide that train dogs to detect bed bugs. Training takes five days and includes training the dog’s handler. Handler and dog teams must prove themselves in simulated hotel room settings, detecting the presence or absence of bed bugs with 100 percent accuracy before graduation. To prevent dogs from spreading bed bugs while they’re working, handlers are taught specific grooming protocols that include brushing, cleaning and drying the dog immediately before and after a job.

Insect detection is a cutting-edge business opportunity. “We realize that bed bugs are on their way to becoming part of our daily lives,” said Mary Silverson, vice president of Hunter Detection Services on Florida’s Gulf Coast and new owner of one of Peruyero’s bed bug-sniffing dogs. Trained pest-detection canines cost around $8,000 and their upkeep, including food, veterinary care, handler’s salary and transportation, can range from $80,000 to $100,000 a year. To keep their sniffers sharp, dogs must run through their detection paces every single day.

Bed bugs are tiny, blood-sucking insects that feed on human blood. They are easily spread and difficult to detect as only about 50 percent of the people whose beds they share react to their bites. About the size of an apple seed, bed bugs hide in tiny crevices and cracks. They are most commonly found in mattresses, box springs, furniture, baseboards, carpeting, floorboards, behind wallpaper, and in electrical outlets near the bed. Although bed bugs are not known to carry disease, the itchy red welts they raise and the emotional toll of knowing you’re being nibbled on in your sleep can cause serious mental distress. Their slightly sweet scent, which has been likened to fresh red raspberries or coriander, makes bed bugs a natural for K-9 detection.

Well-trained dogs can enter a room and within two to three minutes alert their handlers to the tiniest trace of bed bugs. Dogs can be trained to tell the difference between live bed bugs, dead ones, cast skins, eggs and even bed bug fecal matter. Paired with cutting-edge pest extermination, bed bug-sniffing dogs can perform an invaluable service for hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and universities, apartment complexes, military barracks, camps, cruise ships, airlines, and anywhere bed bugs might be a problem. The dogs quickly locate bed bug trouble spots, allowing the pest extermination experts to efficiently target and eliminate bed bug infestations. Dogs can also be used in follow-up procedures after treatment to guarantee that all bed bugs have been killed.

The exclusive Jurys Boston Hotel is one of 10 Boston hotels that uses canine patrols to check its 225 guest rooms for signs of bed bugs. In its nearly four years of operation, Jurys has never had a bed bug incident. Only twice in those four years have the specially trained canine pest hunters barked, apparently detecting the scent of bed bugs or their eggs. In both cases, Jurys took no chances. They immediately fumigated the room for bed bugs and burned the mattresses. “At the first sign or suggestion of a problem, our reaction would be to treat the room with chemicals, no questions asked,” said general manager Stephen Johnston in an interview with The Boston Globe. Johnston calls in the canine patrol for a bed bug inspection every three months.

While guest comfort may be the primary reason hotels contract for pest control, avoiding potential law suits runs a close second. A couple from New Jersey sued the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers last fall after claiming they were bitten by bed bugs during a two-night stay.

Another couple who suffered a similar experience sued the Sheraton Four Points in San Francisco. It takes just one unwitting bed bug-carrying guest to infect a hotel room. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs can be carried into a hotel or home on clothing, suitcases, linens and used furniture.

The National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association was formed to develop and set training and certification standards for bed bug-sniffing dogs. Before you hire a K-9 patrol, ask the following questions:

Is the dog certified?

Can it differentiate between living and dead bugs?

Can it sniff out eggs?

How are the dog’s findings validated?

Remember, finding bed bugs is just the first step. Exterminating them is what’s important.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves clients in New Jersey, New York City, and New York. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376 or by email at info@sternenvironmental.com or at http://www.SternEnvironmental.com.
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I am a happy owner of two rat terriers. They are half brother and half sister and other than coat color and size and natural hunting abilities they are not at all alike. The male “Bingo” is bossy and impudent and outlandishly boisterous. The female “Zoey” is shy and somewhat retiring and loves nothing better than to curl up in your lap and be petted.

I can speak with authority that they are not the dog for everyone. First of all they are not “cuddly” in the sense of a lap dog. They have short hard coats and hard bodies…not a lot of soft fur, that sort of thing. BUT they look at you with their liquid eyes and can melt your heart with the best of the soft cuddly little fru fru dogs!

Their coats do shed a lot..( I also own large hairy goobery slobbery newfoundland dogs and let me tell you the little rat terriers shed equally as much AND their hair is short and “sharp” and has a tendency to stick better on the furniture than the longer hairs of the Newfoundlands.

Rat terriers are definitely a noisy dog. My son, who owns Goldens, is temporarily keeping my male rat terrier while I am going through a move. He LOVES the fact that Bingo sets up an obnoxious and noisy barking at the least sign of any intruder whether it be human or animal…and yes indeed they do certainly let you know when there is an “invader” in their territory.

The goldens are nowhere near as noisy and they are prone to wag their tails and greet everyone affectionately while Bingo jumps back and forth and perhaps even appears threatening with his loud, shrill, repeated yapping at various delivery men and salesmen who arrive and depart. (This is the MALE, the female is merely noisy but wouldn’t dream of appearing to actually leap at someone.)

The rat terriers have done more damage to my household than a newfoundland ever did. Both of them are chewers and even with age this has not changed. A record of the “losses”:

two arms from two couches…(stuffing removed)

the battery cover to my computer camera ( it is now taped to hold the batteries in place…thank goodness for duct tape!)

the remote control to my TV (the end got chewed off but if you point it JUST RIGHT it will still turn the TV on and off)…

Various denominations of paper money ranging from one dollar to a twenty dollar bill…

One leg of my antique library table now looks like hash…

and the list goes on!

I originally got a “rat terrier” because I had heard that they were “varmint dogs” and basically I was sick of the little four footed “varmints” who seem to frequent my kitchen every winter. Believe it or not, I truly have not had a mouse in the house since the day I brought home the rat terriers. They may be there but somehow they just don’t have the bravado to run across the floor any more while I am talking on the phone or sitting at the computer. The also get “varmints” in the yard, from squirrels to grinnies to dead birds.

Bingo buries his grinnies and jealously digs them up and re-buries them somewhere else if you are watching him. He watches out of the corner of his eye and if you see where he buries it he will look at you suspiciously and dig it back up and run around the corner of the house and find another spot!

They get along famously with my Newfoundland. Except the male, he gets all fired up when a new dog comes on the scene and he just has to show his superiority, by reaching out and “nailing” the big dog in the face as he sits on the arm of the chair where I am sitting. He shows his jealousy to the new dog in this manner. I always hold his mouth shut and tell him NO but he still tries it for several weeks until the new dog has settled in and become a member of the family.

Once the new dog, be it old or young, is accepted into Bingo’s life then he plays endlessly with them, chewing on their legs and playing hide and seek..the two rat terriers together can literally make the newfs dizzy, racing back and forth and around the house at top speed and barking at each other all the while. The Newfs love this entertainment..I admit it, so do I!

Rat terriers are not for everyone. But if you dont like cats, and you have mice, you might want to give it a try! You get a lot more interest added in to your life than a cat would give you (I think so anyhow!)

Get more info and advice on the Rat Terrier or a full list of dog breeds at this Dog Behaviour website.
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The first step in wasp, bee, and hornet control is to correctly identify the insect and locate its nesting site. An experienced pest control service should provide wasp or bee control service for you.

The best time of the year to control wasps is in June after the queen has established her colony and while the colony is still small. But because nests are small, they are also harder to find. The best time of the day to control wasp nests is at night, when they are less active. At temperatures below 50° F, wasps have difficulty flying. Never seal a wasp nest until you are sure there are no surviving wasps inside. If a nest is not discovered until fall, control may be unnecessary as imminent freezing temperatures will kill the colony.

Wasp nests that are visible but are not near your home or areas of human activity do not need to be treated. If they are not disturbed, the wasps won’t bother you. Nests that are near human activity can pose a potential problem. If there is a concern about stings, you should eradicate the nest.

The most challenging nests to control are those that are concealed in voids behind walls or in attics. Often, the only evidence of the nest is wasps flying back and forth through a crack or hole in the home.

Concealed nests that are treated in the fall may force wasps into the home. If there is no immediate danger, it may be best to wait until freezing temperatures kill the nest. Do not seal the nest entrance until you are sure all wasps are dead. Closing the nest too early can force survivors into your home. When the wasps are dead, seal the entrance with caulk or something similar to prevent a new wasp queen from using the same entrance to build a new nest next year. This is essential to wasp, bee, and hornet control .

Wasp nests found during winter or early spring are old nests from the previous summer. There are no live wasps in the nest; they have already left the nest or died inside it. The nest can be safely removed and disposed of if desired. Old nests are not reused by wasps, so there is no risk if one is left. However scavengers, such as carpet beetles, are attracted to an old nest and may become a nuisance if the nest is in your home.

Honey bees are normally housed in manufactured hives and managed by beekeepers. In some instances wild colonies of honey bees may nest in hollow trees or in wall voids. Honey bees may become a nuisance in the spring at bird feeders and swimming pools as they forage for water. They seldom, if ever, are a nuisance in summer or early fall.

Wild colonies can be treated with the same insecticides and methods as described for exposed or concealed wasp nests. Combs inside buildings should be removed and destroyed to avoid problems with honey-stained damage to walls and secondary pest problems, such as carpet beetles, and attracting bee swarms in the future. Never use honey or wax from colonies that have been treated with an insecticide. Control of honey bee nests can be challenging.

There are other types of bees you may encounter that do not form colonies. Solitary andrenid bees are common ground-nesting bees. They are also important pollinators of native plants. They usually nest in sun-exposed, dry areas of yards. Although there is just one bee per nest, many of these bees typically nest close to each other. They are usually most conspicuous to the public during spring. Although many ground-nesting bees may be found flying around their nests in the spring, they are gentle and very rarely sting people.

Best Pest LLC offers affordable pest control for Livingston County, MI and the surrounding areas. Their expertise in providing quality, affordable services for commercial and residential clients is unparalleled . For more information please visit Best Pest LLC.
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