Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

The Arizona bark scorpion is the only species of scorpion in Arizona, that can cause very serious harm to small children (and anyone who is ill or has a compromised immune system), and can truly be considered life threatening. However, thanks to a powerful anti venom scorpion stings are now rarely life threatening.

Aside from their powerful, painful and venomous sting, here are five (5) remarkable facts about the Arizona bark scorpion, you might not have known:

1. The Arizona bark scorpion has 8 jointed legs, that are lightly covered in hair, which helps the scorpion detect subtle vibrations; in the air.
2. Although all other species of scorpions are known to live a solitary lifestyle, with the exception of mating and carrying their young, the Arizona bark scorpion prefers to live in packs and will congregating in large groups; when hibernating for the winter months.
3. Unlike any other species of scorpion, the Arizona bark scorpion can climb walls, and even hang from ceilings and doors.
4. Arizona bark scorpions are preyed upon by birds, especially owls, and bats. As well, these scorpions may fall victim to large centipedes, tarantulas, lizards, shrews, and grasshopper mice.
5. At birth, approximately 25 to 35 baby scorpions, will ride around on their mother’s back; for up to 21 days.

Furthermore, warnings from Phoenix pest control staff and local exterminators, caution residents that the Arizona Bark Scorpion is often discovered in urban areas; rather than the surrounding desert regions. This is likely because they prefer the cooler and moist spots, under pieces of tree bark, beneath rocks and inside buildings and homes. As well, property and home owners should be aware that these scorpions are a very light in color, so they will blend-in well with the various desert elements; found in Phoenix and other cities in Arizona.

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Bulwark Pest Control‎
40 N Central Ave #1400
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 652-2251

Pest control mingles with many industries. In the restaurant and food industry, pest control is often part of the health code and food inspection process. More recently, the Hotel and vacation industry is being hammered by bed bugs and a pest control plan to prevent and reassure customers is vital. Pest control companies will do better in their service and their outreach if they understand and meet these needs. Branching out a little bit more, pest management experts can become specialized in niche industry needs. Electronic Manufacturing have their own unique need for pest control.

The Electronic Contract Manufacturing Facility

An important, but often overlooked, part of any ISO certified electronic contract manufacturing facility is a well documented pest control policy. An organization that has pest control policies in place shows it’s customers that they are prepared to address any issues that may come about. It also displays a well thought out approach to maintaining the quality and cleanliness of the facility in which products are built.

Facilities that have truck docs and visitors coming and going with easy access to it’s warehouse have to be aware of any situation in which an infestation could compromise the quality of their or their customers inventory. Not only can pests destroy inventory but delivering equipment covered in rat feces will damage reputation. If you don’t think bugs infest manufacturing plants then you may want to look at the Mazda Spider Recall.

Some of the many benefits of having pest control procedures in the ISO quality manual can be:

• Increased employee awareness
• Faster response to emergency situations
• Ensures quality of products and inventory
• Overall cleanliness and more effective facility maintenance
• Cut costs
• Improved customer confidence and loyalty

Having documented procedures for pest control policies also ensures that continuous improvements can be made to deficiencies in the system as they arise.

A continued commitment to quality for any ISO certified electronic manufacturer should include a documented pest control policy.

 

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When most people have any type of pest control problem, they simple call the exterminator.

When Elin Nordegren, former wife of golfer Tiger Woods, has a pest control problem, she demolishes her house.

Nordegren decided to level her 17,000 square foot, beach front home in North Palm Beach, FL after it was discovered to be infested with termites and carpenter ants.  Aside from that, the home is not up to Florida’s hurricane code.  Her home builder advised her it would be easier to level the house and start from scratch.

Before the take-down, Habitat For Humanity was allowed to take as many cabinets, hardware and fixtures as possible before the wrecking crews were sent in.

We only wish we could have been the ones to make the recommendation.

Elin: “So I have termites and ants.  What do you recommend?”

Bulwark: “Well we’ve never seen it this bad before.  We recommend you completely destroy your house to the ground, rebuild it again, and then sign up for our regular every-other-month service.  We also do free call-backs in between services if your issue continues.”

Elin: “Hmmm. That’s sounds like a good idea. Let me call a wrecking crew, let them level this baby, spend another 12 mil to build it back up and then I’ll have you guys come back out….You guys don’t do the human-type pest control on ex-husbands do you?!”

Bulwark: “Uhh…We take care of the bugs that eat wood, not Woods himself.”

 

In a lab in Montreal, Quebec (Canada), a McGill University researcher has successfully induced the growth, of what he calls “super-soldiers.” Using ants as an example, this researcher has demonstrated that the potential for Incredible Hulk-like results, exists in all species; including human beings.

He insists that any time you have a mismatch, between the normal environment of an organism and its genetic potential, it will encourage the development of new characteristics. Furthermore, these evolutionary changes can manifest themselves in dormant genes, that remain locked in place for millions of years, until one day they are triggered to re-emerge; by the introduction of a specific environmental condition or conditions.

“Birds with teeth, snakes with fingers, and humans with apelike hair – these are ancestral traits that pop up regularly in nature,” said the McGill University researcher.

Believe it or not, for the last thirty-five to sixty million years, ants have retained this “ancient DNA;” to create super soldiers. And, as the the result of a genetic slip they can appear in the wild, sometimes discovered in the deserts of America; and Mexico. These incredible freaks of nature, can grow to double or triple their normal size, with enormous oblong heads and giant vicious mandibles; that they use to aggressively defend their colonies from attack.

Will these gi-ants eventually get bigger and bigger, until one day they decide to invade cities and towns? Not likely. Thankfully, the laws of physics and the Square-Cube Law, restrict the size potential of an ant. Quite simply, the bigger an ant is, the less likely it will be able to support; its own weight. However, insect control experts say that their is some cause for concern, when hypothesizing the potential problem; of super ants. Because an ant colony is considered (by some) to be one giant organism comprised of many parts, it already requires a focused and aggressive pest control strategy; to eliminate. Therefore, an invasion of super ants might one day require the help of a super ex-terminator… like Arnold.

Did you ever see the movie Snakes On A Plane? C’mon, be honest.

I have to confess (or gloat) that I never did.

I know Samuel L. Jackson usually delivers, but snakes on an airplane? Really? Like…really?!

“Excuse me, stewardess, can I get another Diet Coke….SNAAAAAKE!!!”

Or, “Hey, I’ll meet you in the lav. Don’t be late! SNAAAAAKE!!!

Well apparently Karel Abelovsky from the Czech Republic didn’t get the memo that that sort of thing should only happens in the movies. And bad movies at that. Abelovsky was detained in Argentina after 247 exotic snakes, reptiles and other critters were found in his luggage. Airport security even said the activity inside his luggage resembled an animated cartoon during the scanning process.

Authorities believe that Abelovsky was smuggling the snakes as a courier for a criminal organization because the reptile find included boa constrictors, pit vipers and coral snakes: all considered extremely dangerous…and of course coveted by world villains alike.

Every bad guy has to have their obligatory poisonous snake, right?!

Abelovsky was released by local authorities on $2,500 bail, but surrendered his passport and is refusing to talk (or in this case, snitch) even though he faces up to 10 years in prison.  We’re not sure if Argentina has the equivalent of the Witness Protection Program, but we think that might be a good option for him.

AP story here.

“…But do you recall? The most famous reindeer of all…Shooter The Good Deed Reindeer!”

Err!

OK, so he may not be the most famous, but he certainly is the most thoughtful and service oriented toward rodent-kind.

Shooter, resident of the Pocatello Zoo in Idaho, was seen by zoo staff awkwardly handling his water trough. The large animal, which at times can be a bit overbearing for many of the staffers, eventually was able to dip his head and gently retrieve a rat from his barrel. Shooter then laid the distressed rodent on the floor and proceeded to nudge him with his hoof until he had the strength to scurry away into the bushes on his own power.

So while Dancer and Prancer and all those other reindeer are chauffeuring around the Man Up North, reindeer like Shooter are down here in more warmer climates doing the little deeds that make the difference all year round.

We salute you, Shooter The Good Deed Reindeer. We salute you.

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According to new research from the University of Sheffield in the UK, hairy skin can help prevent bed bugs from biting. In fact, the study helps explain why bed bugs and other parasites such as mosquitoes, ticks, and leeches, will seek out the less hairy areas of the body; such as wrists and ankles.

Research has shown that our bodies are covered in a layer of two types of fine hair. One type is short and nearly invisible, and the other is longer and more visible. Researchers argue that there are “relatively few explanations for the evolutionary maintenance of this type of human hair,” so scientists wanted to test the notion, that perhaps the hair acts as a defense; against ectoparasites like bed bug invaders.

The UK study recruited 29 healthy volunteers, who had one arm shaved and one arm left with hairs on. Then the participants allowed hungry bed bugs to be placed on the skin; of both their arms. The results of the bed bug control study, showed that the fine body hair is highly beneficial to people, because it helps deter bed bug invaders; in two ways: by increasing the time it takes for the insect to find a suitable spot to start sucking blood, and by helping people feel them crawling on the hair; across their skin.

Not only does the fine hair that covers our bodies help us detect the presence of parasitic insects (like bed bugs), it also acts as a natural bug control method, of preventing them from biting. In fact, this advantage appeared greater for those participants in the study, who had more layers of hair. This is because it took the insects longer to find an ideal feeding site; on the volunteer’s arms.

 

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Looking back on our pest control news articles from 2011, it is truly remarkable to see the dedication that is displayed by pest management professionals, and the advancements that have been made by scientists and researchers; in the ongoing battle against pests, bugs and insects.

The year kicked off with an extremely generous donation of $5M for pest control research, coming from a longtime Florida resident, who made a career out of the study and management of insects. This gentleman wanted to ensure that innovative pest management research and education, would continue at the University of Florida, for many years to come. And, with the relentless invasion of blood-sucking bed bugs across America, the funding could not have come; at a better time.

The fact that many traditional pest and bug control treatments have been ineffective against bed bug invaders, has encouraged researchers to generate new and viable treatment solutions, that will (hopefully) solve the nation’s most serious pest control problems. A bed bug study released in the January 2011 PLoS ONE scientific journal, suggested that that pesticide-resistant strains of this blood-sucking pest, possess genetic sequencing that makes the bed bugs immune to certain chemicals; and traditional pest control treatments. So, to discover and understand the genetics of the most common pests, a  5 year, $15 million international effort (i5k Initiative) will study and sequence the genomes of 5,000 insects and other arthropods. Among the list of pests to be sequenced are ants, termites, cockroaches, bed bugs and flies.

The first genome announcement came in early 2011, when scientists decoded the genome of  the Argentine ant. Their analysis of the new genomes, suggested that chemical modification of certain sections of DNA, could be responsible for the differential development of queens and workers. Therefore, scientists believe that they can switch off the genes that control the ant’s reproductive ability, as well as the potential for wing growth. In similar fashion, experts from Oxford University in the U.K. have researched and developed, an irradiation technique that sterilizes male insects, so that when they mate with wild females; the offspring dies.

For most property and home owners, when a common pest problem develops they contact a pest control professional, or seek-out a do-it-yourself solution. Either way, very few people stop to consider the countless hours of research or millions of dollars in funding, that has gone into developing the most advanced insect, bug and pest control treatments. You know, the ones that we count on to keep our friends and family safe? I think that this might be a good time of year, to reflect on this important and meaningful contribution to our pest-free Holiday happiness,  and take a moment to thank pest management and control professionals; everywhere.

To all pest control technicians, staff, researchers and scientists: Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Joel

A Promoted Tweet on Pest Control term by an electrical company?

“Technology has to be invented or adopted.”  – Jared Diamond

Okay so this a cool quote and all, but why?

Why would GE want to promote this tweet on the pest control stream? Where is the connection? Did someone just do some keyword research and find pest control related to technology?  Are exterminators a large consumer of light bulbs? Sorry, just not getting it.  Pest Control Technology… Hmmm…. I mean there is a pest control technology magazine. And I often feel that Bulwark Exterminating is becoming more of a technology company than a residential pest control service… but still not getting the full picture here. I guess the plus side to this is that I am blogging about this simply out of awe. But does it make me more inclined to buy from the promoter of said tweet?  

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Back in the 1950s, American exterminators thought that the common bed bug, had been completely eliminated. However, over the past decade, these blood-sucking pests have made a huge comeback. In fact, in hotels, homes, and multi-unit housing complexes across the United States, the number of reported bed bug infestations have surpassed (up to 100x) the numbers recorded; in 1990. If for no other reason, it appears that the bed bug’s ability to produce healthy young through inbreeding, is a major contributing factor to the continued strength; of their U.S. invasion.

“Inbreeding gives bed bugs an advantage in being able to colonize. A single female that has been mated is able to colonize and start a new infestation. Her progeny and brothers and sisters can then mate with each other, exponentially expanding the population. With many organisms, extensive inbreeding would cause serious mutations that would eventually bring about an end to the population.” – an entomologist at North Carolina State University.

A recent study on how bed bugs survive genetic inbreeding, was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. In the report, researchers reported that in each dwelling, there were high levels of inbreeding and that genetic diversification, was very low. This important discovery, suggested that only one or two bed bugs are required, for a serious bug control problem to develop.

The ability to produce healthy offspring through inbreeding, allows these bugs to expand the infestation to other areas within a building, without any outside assistance. In fact, in almost all of the infestations studied, just a single room within the dwelling; was found to be the source of the pest control problem. It is also interesting to note, that cockroaches are another species of pest, that have the ability to survive inbreeding; as well.

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