Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

The Culture of the Negotiated Pest Control Transactions

Here’s a great blog for us pest control operators that explores the art of negotiating prices among different cultures, and how American’s are catching on. There’s a great take home lesson at the end on setting prices while still being able to negotiate with potential and existing customers. Check out:

http://heartspm.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/culture-of-negotiated-pest-control-price/

Tips on Hiring Pest Control Services

This article provides an interesting consumer perspective on exactly what our customers want in a pest control service. As pest control operators, we can look to model ourselves, and our customer service, according to these guidelines.

http://www.linksparadise.com/?p=20782

August Means Hungry Yellow Jackets

Heritage Pest Control of New Jersey reminds us all that August is Yellow Jacket season. These aggressive wasps have been busy the previous summer months building their paper-like nests on the ground, and now they’re on the lookout for food. For a few tips on dealing with Yellow Jackets:

http://www.heritagepestcontrolnj.com/blog/2012/08/27/august-means-hungry-yellow-jackets/

Borax/Boric Acid for Pest Control

Many of our possible customers are still turning to the toxic Borax/Boric Acid to help eliminate unwanted pests. If someone comes in contact with the powder it can cause health problems like nausea, vomiting, and throat swelling. Many consumers turn to the Borax method because they are uneducated about many of our industry’s safe, all-natural, or organic pest control methods.

http://www.momprepares.com/2012/08/27/borax-vs-boric-acid-for-pest-control-safe-and-effective/

Africanized Bees on Attack in Arizona!

Our friends at Pest Control Mesa, AZ bring us a frightening incident about a grandmother being attacked by Africanized “Killer” Bees. The women’s 4-year-old granddaughter witnessed the attack, and likely saved her life.

http://pestcontrolmesaaz.com/africanized-bees-on-attack-in-arizona/

Fall Season Pest Control

As the weather starts to cool this fall, pests of all kinds will be making their way into our homes in search of food and the warmer air. For some helpful how-to’s on keeping these pests out of your home this fall:

http://aaapestcontrolmyrtlebeach.com/541/fall-season-pest-control/

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Have you ever had a hose break on you in the middle of a service? Try having that happen when doing weed control and having the tractor dye spray all over a home. Hose problems can be a real mess, costing lots of time, and causing lots of customer headaches and dissatisfaction for changing routes last minute. Well here are 5 easy steps to keep your pest control hose it top shape.

Top 5 Pest Control Sprayer Hose Problems You Can Avoid
By Andrew Greess

Here are a few simple actions you can take to extend your pest control hose life and reduce chemical spills.

1. Clean hose exterior. When rewinding hose, run the hose through a rag to remove grit and debris that will reduce hose life.
2. Periodically completely unroll all the hose off the reel.Turn the power spray on to put some pressure in the hose. Rewind the hose. This will prevent the hose from becoming permanently flattened out, which can negatively affect system performance, especially on low pressure sprayers.
3.  Reverse the hose. In the same way you rotate tires on a vehicle, reversing the hose regularly will even the wear and extend hose life.
4. Cut and replace bad portions early. Inspect hose, particularly the first 20 feet for wear and damage. If it looks bad, don’t wait for it to leak, cut it off. This will prevent chemical spills and downtime.
5. Make a hose repair kit a standard part of your pest control equipment inventory. The kit will allow you to fix minor hose problems so you can finish your route before having to return for a permanent hose repair or replacement.

These simple tips can reduce equipment problems, missed stops and chemical spills.

Andrew Greess is the President of Quality Equipment & Spray, which designs, builds and sells pest control equipment. Follow Greess on Facebook & Twitter. For more information or to share comments, check out www.SprayEquipmentBlog.com

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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.

Elin Nordegren's Florda home before being demolished for temites and carpenter ants. (Yahoo News)

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.”

Nordegren's property after her $12 million home was demolished. (Yahoo News)

As well as unsuspecting property and homeowners, many bugs and insects can be fooled by the misleading appearance and behavior, of some pretty convincing wasps, spiders and scorpions. In fact, here are three examples of some common pests, that can cause confusion for homeowners, when trying to describe their pest control problem; to their local exterminator:

1. Velvet ants, although quite convincing, are actually wasps that are covered with long, and dense colored hair. The female Velvet ant has a stinger, but no wings, which makes her very closely resemble a large (approximately one inch), hairy ant.
2. There are more than one hundred species of ant-mimicking spiders, in the world today. These spider species will employ a wide variety of deceptive strategies, to escape their own natural predators or capture their prey, including mimicking their appearance and behavior; to avoid detection. Typically these spider species will develop slimmer abdomens and false “waists”, to mimic the three distinct regions of an ant’s body. As well, these convincing actors will wave their first pair of legs, to mimic the ant’s antennae and also to conceal the fact that they have eight legs; rather than six.
3. The Whiptail scorpion has a long and thin tail, that is used primarily as a sensory organ, and does not possess a stinger. Surprising to most, the Whiptail scorpion is not venomous, not a true scorpion, and not even likely to cause serious problems; for local residents and homeowners.

Because these deceptive pests will copying the behavior of their prey, and even modify their appearance to closely resemble another species, they illustrate the importance of having a pest management professional properly identify your bug, insect or pest control problem; before you develop an elimination strategy. Failure to do so, could result in the application of an unnecessary treatment, that is possibly harmful and ineffective; and does not solve your pest problem.

Image by Shelley & Dave via Flickr

As the chilly fall and winter weather arrives, families are getting cozy in their warm houses and homes. Not surprisingly, common pests as small as ants or spiders and as big as rats, have the exact same notion. A homeowner’s only hope against the relentless invasion of these pests, is to seal-off any structural, window and door cracks or holes, that could possibly allow pest invaders; to enter to the dwelling or structure.

The most likely points of entry for pests, are a building’s windows and doors. If you often leave your door or windows open, they should be fitted with a proper screen, that is free from any holes, cuts or tears; to avoid inviting a pest control problem into your home. When inspecting the interior and exterior of your dwelling or building, look for light shining through cracks and use your hand to feel for air

movement. If you discover problem areas, seal the cracks around window and door frames with caulking or foam, and apply weather-stripping and sweeps; to seal the moving parts of the door.

Aside from tiny pests like ants and spiders, small rodents like mice are a common pest problem, in the fall and winter months. These unwanted house guests can find their way through a hole, not much bigger than a dime. Once inside a structure and sheltered, they can quickly multiply into a serious pest, bug or insect control problem, for unsuspecting property and home owners. Therefore, as an added precaution and level of protection, it is recommended that glue traps be placed in the attic and other possible pest-prone areas. These sticky traps are able to grab both rodents and insect problems, so if pests do manage to invade parts of your home, you will know what you are up against; before a serious infestation develops.

Pest Pro Joe offers Do It Yourself pest control.

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There are a number of reasons to use baits over sprays.  One of which is that many insects (i.e. cockroaches, crickets, spiders, and ticks) may have quicker reflexes then you. So trying to spray them with a can of RAD may not hit them. But there is even a better reason to use baits. Baits have a great transfer rate. And if the family of bugs shares the bait then you will knock out the entire colony! So baits are often the better choice. Just sit back and relax. Let the bait do its magic. Sure it may take a little longer for that roach to turn upside, but when dealing with a roach problem wouldn’t rather have 1000 dead roaches over 1 sprayed roach? Just thought you’d like to know.

Thanks for visiting and if you need more pest control tips, then don’t hesitate to ask.

Try Joe’s for your Do it Yourself Pest Control needs.

While going through our emails today, I found the following to be entertaining…

We have a townhouse in Wakefield Plantation. How much would it be to have the house sprayed indoors and out. Our roommate is a smoker and when he comes in and out he lets bugs in. Email is preferred contact.

Jessica C.

ZIP Code           27614

I guess I never thought about what additional damage a smoker can do to destroy one’s comfort.  It seems perfectly logical that a anyone that is frequently opening and closing the door would be opening and exposing the home to potential invasion. So it seems we could conclude that smoking is bad for bug prevention.

A few do it yourself pest control tips, try to stop the flow of bugs created by your smoking friend.

1- Lighting – Yellow bug lights are available.  While these lights do not repel bugs the yellow spectrum attracts fewer bugs. Simply put, these lights are more difficult for bugs to see since bugs can see blue or ultraviolet light.  Or you can try lighting the area from a distance, meaning buying a stronger light and keeping that light away from the entry point.

2- Candles – There are bug candles that you can buy that will repel some bugs, but not all bugs.  Studies indicate a 24% to 42% decrease from Citronella.  Candles may also combine other herbs and natural ingredients, such as rosemary, lemon, thyme, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, geranium, mint oil, and peppermint oil.

Thanks for the email Jessica, I am sure we can help control the bugs, but we can’t do much about the smoking or flying pests that come in and out with the smoker.  But I hope these tips help in further controlling bugs around your home.

Note – While a pest control professional can do little to eliminate flying insects, a regular pest control service can help cut back on flying pests in your home and around the yard.  Ask your pest control professional what treatment options he has for eliminating flying pest nests and harborages.  Proper IPM will help control and limit this pests.

Manitoba Health concludes that the numbers of Culex tarsalis mosquitoes,  mosquitoes known for carrying the West Nile Virus, are beginning to increase. The adult mosquito population is contingent on weather and pest control remedies. The weather will determine if their is enough moisture for the mosquitoes to reproduce. If the temperatures stay hot, and rains decline, allowing for  groundwater levels to fall then the normal water puddles and pools will dry kiling off the mosquitoes’ offspring. Pest control actions we take around our homes and properties to eliminate or treat stagnant waters used by mosquitoes will also determine severity of mosquito bites.  Quick tip, Mosquito Dunks are one of the best pest solutions for controlling mosquitoes in water bodies found around homes and property. As mosquitoes often don’t fall under the normal pest control service protection plans, you will want to apply these remedies yourself.

Mosquitoes do pose a health risk.  In fact, Salt Lake is reporting that mosquitoes in Utah county are indeed infected with West Nile virus, and while there are no infected humans at this point individuals should use repellent. Bug spray is especially important to apply after sunset, when mosquitoes carrying West Nile emerge.  Of the 2008 incidents in Utah none were fatal, and of 2007 incidents 2 were fatal.

So for your own safety: USE BUG REPELLENT WHEN OUTDOORS.