Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

You know I am often amazed how effective baits are in pest control.

Red Imported Fire Ant

The Fire Ant Bait

I sit in awe as fire ants emerge from an ant mound that was just disturbed by a human hand, and upon finding what smells like food, they quickly gather it in and take it down to their colony. How do they so easily forget that the hand that destroyed their peaceful rest is the hand dropping this tainted bait? Yet their swarm of furry and haste to horrid food ultimately leads to the demise of the entire strong hold. Oh little fire ant, leave the bait be.

The Harvester Ant Bait

Harvester Ant

Harvester Ants are  a bit smarter. Any bait laid directly on their mound is not trusted. They simply sweep it aside. Therefore to bait a harvester ant one must be a little more patient and not so direct. Sprinkle the bait about 6 inches from the mound. Do not disturb the mound. Let them be. Be subtle in your attack. Then patiently wait for the ants to emerge and search for food in their normal way.

Morale of the Story?

Sun Tzu says “Know the opponent and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.”

As a pest control operator, if you don’t know the opponent then you are not going to know the best way to conquer. You must also be willing to know yourself. Which means knowing your limitations and being honest enough to stop and say, “I don’t know how to win this one.” Being brazen and forward moving as if you know everything may be the quickest way to prove you know nothing. Do that publicly and you will damage your reputation. It is better to be still and move when you know what your best move is. It is best with customers to acknowledge that you might need to do a little more research and work to make sure the problem is solved properly.

Is there really a problem with bed bugs in Phoenix?

Over the last couple of years we have heard numerous reports of how bed bugs are taking over the east coast in cities like New York, Tampa, and Chicago. Seldom, though, do we hear of the growing problems that we face here in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. Marcy and I inspect homes, apartments, condominiums and commercial properties on a daily basis. My partner, Marcy, is a two and a half year old beagle terrier trained to find bed bugs.

I started K-9 Bed Bug Inspectors in January of 2011 after working for a local, family-owned and operated pest Control Company for the last 5 years. While working for Bulwark Exterminating I have watched the local bed bug problem grow at a very rapid pace and realized that Phoenix was about to experience a problem that has already plagued so many cities across the nation. So in an effort to help with the problem and educate as many people as possible, I started K-9 Bed Bug Inspectors.

K-9 Bed Bug Inspectors are a full service company dedicated specifically to the education, detection and eradication of Bed Bugs. One of the things that I find most interesting as a professional is that the majority of people that I meet in Phoenix still are not aware that we have a problem with bed bugs in our city. This couldn’t be further from the truth and as long as people in Phoenix continue to be uneducated on the severity of the problem that we are facing it will continue to get worse.

Some of the biggest misconceptions that people have are that bed bugs only live in dirty or low income homes. Marcy and I have been inspecting homes and businesses all over the valley, including some of the nicest homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and other areas of Phoenix where homes are worth well over a million dollars. Socioeconomics is not a concern for bed bugs all they want is blood so whether your bank account has 5 dollars or 5 million dollars in it, the bed bugs don’t care; we all bleed red and that’s what they are after. In fact, those with the means to travel are prone to carry bed bugs home with them from areas of the country and world with bigger infestations than our home state.

With the economy the way it has been and the housing marked being hit so hard there are some who have taken the opportunity to invest in foreclosures and turn them into rentals. Most of my clients that are in this position have the most to lose with the current threat of bed bugs because of the potential loss of profits on their investment. Let’s say, for example, that you own a single family home that you are renting out as a small investment and your taking in $300-$400 dollars after expenses. If that property becomes infested with bed bugs and you don’t have any agreements in place with the tenants then you are responsible for treating your property for the pests. A typical bed bug infestation on a single family home of about 1500 square feet can cost anywhere from $1500-$2500 dollars to treat. That could take months to recoup the loss and start making a profit again.

I give this conservative example to illustrate the devastation that bed bugs are having all across the country and now they are in Phoenix and will be here for a long time to come. I estimate that 50% percent of our populations will have dealt with bed bugs over the next 5 years and the problem is not expected to peek for another 10 years. Bed Bugs are being considered a pandemic by the country’s leading entomologists and because of their resilience to the pest control products that are on the market today, bed bugs are proving to be quite the adversary to most pest control companies. Bed Bugs are in Phoenix and are here to stay so do your part in educating yourself and those around you and then maybe just maybe we can avoid the sort of devastation and nightmare that our fellow Americans are living in other cities.

Scientists have uncovered the oldest spider fossil on earth, dating back 165 million years.  The specimen measures about two square inches and was unearthed near the Daohugou village in northeastern China.

The new discovery, dating back to the Middle Jurassic period, has been dubbed Nephila jurassica.  Until now, the oldest Nephila spider only dated back 34 million years.  While this newly discovered species is considered extinct, descendants include the golden orb-weaver spiders.  Golden Orb-weavers are known for spinning elaborate, gold-colored webs strong enough to trap bats and small birds.

This new discovery is also leading scientists to reconsider the former geographic location and conditions of northeastern China.  Modern golden orb spiders are typically found in more warmer, tropical climates.  This now leads researchers to believe that the northeastern region of China may have been apart of Pangaea, the super-continent that existed prehistorically that was believed to contain all seven modern-day continents.  The region that now includes the Daohugou village is suspected to have been in the warm and humid regions of Pangaea.

While prehistoric science may not be Bulwark Exterminating’s strength, we can safely conclude that spiders have been man’s pest control problem for millions and millions of years.  We here at Bulwark also conclude that spiders will continue to be man’s pest control problem for millions of years to come.

Bulwark Exterminating created this video with K-9BedbugInspectors.com testing bug repellent against bed bugs. Could the solution to the EPA spending $550,000 on research be that simple? Does bug repellent prevent bed bugs? 1st test is in and the results look promising. Bedbug repellent just might solve the nation’s woes of the spreading bedbug epidemic. From the bedbug dog sniffing team in Phoenix AZ, and your local pest control company, Bulwark Exterminating, this is one video you will want to watch.

Wouldn’t it be great to know that bug repellent can keep your home bedbug free? After round one the results seem positive. The second part of this video we test the repellent after a short feeding to see if it works again. AJ Richards, owner of K9 Bedbug Inspectors, allowed this common bed bug to latch onto his untreated forearm. The bug did indeed begin the blood sucking process. Richards then moved the bug to his opposite arm treated with an advanced formula insect repellent, containing 7% Picaridin. The bed bug scattered around Richards’ arm, refusing to attach itself. Once returned to the original untreated arm, the tiny insect immediately resumed its feeding.

Bug Repellent seems to prevent Bedbug bites!

The bedbug did indeed avoid the sprayed arms on both test subject. Well call me crazy, but carrying some bug repellent in my suitcase is now a no-brainer. Spraying down my luggage with bedbug repellent? Yep. Spraying down my clothes prior to going to a movie theater that doesn’t carry a bedbug inspection seal? Yep. I would even consider spraying myself down prior to ridding a mass transit vehicle at night, airplanes included. Getting a bedbug infestation is not an enjoyable experience. Treating a bedbug infestation can cost a couple of thousand dollars.

Yes, two successful trials, and our hopes are soaring. Bedbug repellent here we come. But this is just the preliminary tests. We are currently under way testing how long the repellent will be effective in detouring the bed bugs. Will it last through the night? Is it only affective for 10 minutes?

Houston TX was first to recieve the tags.

So I have been involved with Google tags for a little while now, since the beginning. Today Google announced that the sponsored tags for businesses would be no more.

“We’ve made a decision to shift our efforts toward other present and future product offerings for local businesses, and will be discontinuing this trial.”

http://googlesmb.blogspot.com/2011/04/update-on-tags.html

Honestly I hate to see these tags go.

Google tags may not have driven hordes of traffic, but that wouldn’t be any surprise as they were so localized. The truth of the matter is that they worked well for many small businesses. The sponsored tags did eat up some of the clicks a business may have received otherwise, but they added a few more that a business wouldn’t have gotten. This is one product that I openly endorsed for Google. This was a good product for most small businesses. Granted, I may have moaned a bit when they took away the view website option, but perhaps that’s because they replaced with … “View More Google Place Pages” options. Which means more views for Google Adsense. Sadly, this move to remove Google Tags sings the same song of “What’s Best for Google?”

Pushing the Google Boost Ads

My full review for Google Boost Ads. The Pros & the Pests to Automated Local Advertising

Google Boost has a lot to offer. And Google Boost has a lot lacking. From my perspective, what it lacks most is similar to what Google’s sponsored tags lacked, CUSTOMER CARE. Or better yet, what Guy Kawasaki stated, “IF you want your customers to trust you then you need to trust your customers.” There is a serious problem when a paying customer following Google’s guidelines gets a “Place no longer exists.” branded below a business name, simply because their trusted anonymous user says it to be so. And there are a myriad of other issues that Google’s local search team is also suffering much of it seems to stem from a trust factor and or customer care perspective. But…. Google’s local search is still the best out there! Heck, Bing isn’t even taking reviews right now. Plus Bing’s maps are horrible for embedding.

So here is my biggest complaint, Google wants to get rid of an nice entry level platform for Local businesses, the Sponsored tags. In it’s place they want to push, Google Boost. The reason this doesn’t look good is because the customer care part still doesn’t exist. But it looks even worse because the song I am hearing from Google is, “What’s going to make Google the most money? That would be Google Boost… So we have decided that Boost is what’s best for our customers.” “We know what’s best for you?” “Just Trust us?” That’s a pretty big step for business owners to take. Trust is most often built with time and history. One step at a time. Anybody that would marry after a first date is considered “NUTS”. Building a business relationship is the same way.

Will Google Boost work? Is it good for local businesses?

I would like Google boost to work for local businesses. But, it’s a completely automated system. As much as I trust the auto pilot on an airplane, I still need to be reassured that their is a real pilot to correct it’s mistakes. Do the math.

But I am just your local pest control guy, so don’t mind me.

Pantry Beetle and Oat

This is species of “Flour Beetle” our best guess is a “confused flour beetle”. These beetles will infest flour (as their name suggest), cereal products, and pet foods. If disturbed these small beetles quickly run for cover. In order for them to feed on grains, the grain must be damaged, cracked, or processed. It is not out of the ordinary for these particular beetles to follow in behind other beetles, such as rice weevils or lesser grain borers, that have the ability to cause damage to the grains and making them edible for the Confused Flour Beetle. Generally these beetles should not be feared as life threatening insects. Flour Beetles only potential threat to human life would be extreme cases of allergy, and if you feel that your health is at risk, then you should speak to your physician. Mainly the pantry beetle is just a nuisance pantry pest that will damage food. Good news is that they don’t eat much.

Confused Flour Beetle and Oat

For a pest control solution to this pantry beetle, finding the source of the problem is the first step. The food product carrying the infestation needs to be identified. The next step is easy… remove it. Removing the food or foods the flour beetles are infesting is the most important step in controlling your unwanted pantry pest. There will still be a few confused flour beetles left behind when their source is identified and thrown out. The surviving pantry beetles need to be controlled. If you fail to control them then a reinfestation of new stored products will likely occur. Step 3 then is to remove all the food from the shelves and pantry. If any shelf paper is being used then remove all paper as well and discard the paper. At this point you are ready to apply a pest product or home remedy to control your pantry beetles. Select a product you are comfortable with and that is labeled for pantry use or food preparation areas. Once a treatment is done wait till it is dry before replacing any food.

Depending on how bad the infestation is the controlling these should unwanted pantry beetles should be fairly easy. In fact, light infestations are typically quickly resolved by simply removing and throwing out the infested foods.