Your Pest Control Links For The Week

Ridding Your Pantry of Pests

If you’ve ever poured yourself a bowl of cereal in the morning; and found beetles, weevils or other pantry pests crawling around in your Cheerios; you know it can be quite a disturbing experience. Here’s some advice on getting rid of the uninvited guests. More…

Millipede Menace

This article offers some good advice on preventing millipedes. These pests smell awful, are dirty, leave stains, and can even disrupt electrical equipment. More…

Difference Between Waterbugs and Cockroach Infestations

For some insight on cockroaches and waterbugs, including what they look like, where they live, what they eat, and how to get rid of them, click here.

Proper Identification is the Key to Controlling Ants Populations in Louisiana

Louisiana has some 131 different species of ant, including the Raspberry Crazy ant. The key to controlling these ants is identifying the species. Different species of ant require different types of treatment form a pest control professional. More…

Pesticides Over the Years

Pesticides have evolved over the years. To read more about this evolution, click here.

There is a Wasp’s Nest Outside My Door! Now What?

If you ever have the misfortune of having a wasp or hornet nest in or around your home, take these steps before you get stung. More…

Pest Of The Week: Argentine Ant

Linepithema humilis, Argentine ant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Routinely found underneath the moist areas of your property, Argentine ants build their nests under rocks and other debris. They can also build nests inside your home, as they enter looking for their favorite sweets. Argentine ants are located in the Southeast U.S., Washington, Oregon, and California.

Argentine ants are a grayish-brown in color, and are approximately 1/8 inch long. Colonies can have multiple queens, and tens of thousands of worker ants, as different colonies join forces. These ants are notorious for driving out other ant species.

Argentine ants love anything sugary and sweet. These ant pests will commonly eat the nectar that plant aphids provide for them In exchange; Argentine ants will protect the aphids from other predators.

One of the most effective pest control approaches to exterminating the Argentine worker ants and queens is to actively bait this pest with poison; concealed in sugar. Once the Argentine ants have returned the bait to the nest, the remaining colony will soon die off.

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Anthony Ball

Pest Of The Week: Pocket Gophers

Pocket Gopher by Tooth and Nail (Photo credit: USFWS Pacific)

Pocket gophers have dark brown fur, large heads, powerful necks, very short tails, and very large, broad front feet with enlarged claws, which they use in combination with their teeth; to dig and push mounds of soil to the surface. They are approximately the size of a small rat, and can reach 10 inches in length. Because this rodent uses it’s two exterior, fur-lined cheek pouches to carry food materials, it has earned the name Pocket gopher. More…

This Week’s Pest Control Links Round-Up

Guide To MPMA PestWorld 2013 In Phoenix

PestWorld will be coming to Phoenix, AZ October 23-26, 2013, and over 3000 pest management professionals are expected to attend. If you are one of the 3000 PCO’s, here is you guide to the nearby restaurants, hotels, events, and activities.

America’s #1 Nuisance Pest: Ants

It’s no question that ants are a nuisance, but did you know that ant infestations are on the rise. According to a recent survey conducted by the NPMA, 100% of people polled encountered an ant situation during the year: and 54% said the problem is growing. More…

How To Avoid Food Infesting Pests

Pantry pests like beetles, and Indian meal moths will infest your flour, cereal, grain, and sugar. For a few tips on how to keep them out of your food, click here

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie… 3 Practices To Avoid Mice Infestations

Sealing your gaps and cracks, taking out your trash, and setting a few mousetraps are all strategies in to combat mice infestations. For more information, click here.

Organizing Your Attic Can Prevent Pest Problems In The New Year

Modern Pest Services suggest your New Years resolutions should be to organize your attic to keep pests out. Here’s how…

FMC Pest Wire Top Tweets

FMC Pest Wire shares with us their most popular tweets from the past few weeks, here.

Crickets Chirping

Male crickets will commonly chirp, or rub their wings together against each other. The sound is designed to keep other males away from their territory, and it also is designed to attract females to the male for mating purposes. While the sound of crickets chirping may be pleasant and appealing to female crickets, it can be entirely bothersome to our own ears. More…

What Are Indian Meal Moths?

These pesky moths are notorious for damaging your clothing by munching on a variety of fabrics from silk to wool. More…

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Anthony Ball

I would often be called to a clients home around this time of the year for ants in the pantry.  Most of the time we were dealing with either Pavement or Argentine colonies; but they were both attracted to one thing, “SUGAR.”  I felt bad requesting that I be allowed to throw away the Cap’n Crunch, Frosted Flakes, and pop tarts that the ants have by then- thoroughly besieged; and an even harder time requesting that we also get rid of anything not sealed properly.

Thoughts come to mind of this woman in tears who had just gone shopping the day before and could not afford to throw away the new pantry goods.  I advised her that I was merely suggesting that we throw the food away; however she can keep the goods if she would like if she would store them in the freezer for a couple of hours in ziplock bags or sealed containers.  Ultimately there was a compromise that she would keep the food that was “barely infested” and throw the cereal box (Frosted Flakes) that was heavily infested.  I recommend that all known food sources that have been tainted to be trashed; but I hear its fashionably fitting to eat insects in communities around the globe.  Maybe some of that extra protein will provide a more balanced breakfast. (Trying to be funny)

Something not so funny are the pantry pests that I would like to quickly introduce.  My least favorite pantry pests are:

1. Indian Meal Moth
2. Mediterranean Meal Moth
3. Sawtooth Grain Beetle

These are the pantry pests that show up in your flour, rice, nuts, herbs, dog food, fish food, pasta, grains, dry-goods, etc.  The Indian and Mediterranean Meal Moths look like maggots/caterpillars when they are in their larval stage.  This is often when they will be found infested in flour, grains, herbs, etc.  If you find small beetle looking creatures in your flour, grains, etc, it is most likely the Sawtooth Grain Beetle.  These buggers are persistent once in the home and because of their “saw teeth” can get into most packaging.

The worst part about infestations with these types of pantry pests is that it is usually necessary to empty out the whole pantry; and the subsequent use of plastic storage containers is required/suggested to be used from ‘there on out.’  Providing a crack and crevice treatment with your choice of insecticide will help solidify that these pantry pests problems do not persist.

If you have pantry pests and need an exterminator click here.

KT