Preventative Measures For Scorpions Entering Your Childs Crib

Potential Scorpion Harborage Areas On Your Property

Landscape Maintenance Plays Important Role For Effective Pest Control

How Do I Successfully Control Ants?

Successful ant control involves locating the nest. Being able to follow the ant trails to locate the colony(s) is easier said than done though. Even when you use every visual cue in front of you, you can be left scratching your head as to where they have built their nest. The use of nonrepellant products are a valuable tool, as it can potentially eliminate the need to find the colony. Specific baits and perimeter sprays have become very good at enabling ants to transfer their active ingredients to others in the colony. You still want to try to locate the nest(s), as this allows for quicker control by giving you the opportunity to apply direct treatments. Some species of ants are simply easier to track than others. Knowing what type of ant you’re dealing with and their foraging behaviors is a must.

WHY DO ANTS COME INTO MY HOUSE/WORK?

When it comes to ants, the perimeter of the building can be key to both prevention and management. Whether a species nests outdoors and comes in to forage, or prefers to nest right in the house, the perimeter offers you opportunities to stop ants in their tracks. Ants come into a house for several reasons: food, water, harborage or overwintering. As the homeowner, you can eliminate the conducive conditions that make your house appealing. Begin by inspecting the home to identify areas where structural modifications and other control measures can make a difference. 
In short, look for moisture, food sources, possible entry points and conditions conducive to harborage.

  • Keep trees, shrubs and other vegetation trimmed so that they do not touch the house.
  • Remove potential nesting sites/harborage. Stacked lumber, bricks, stones, leaf litter and brush should be cleared.
  • Seal cracks and crevices around the foundation.
  • Repair any leaks in the roof.
  • Replace worn weather-stripping.
  • Repair holes in door and window screens
  • Repair leaky pipes and address other areas of excessive moisture.
  • Be diligent in sanitation measures throughout the house – regularly cleaning counters, floors and other surfaces, for example.
  • Store pantry and pet foods in sealed containers.
  • Take the trash out often, and keep trash cans away from the house.
  • Clean up frequently after pets in the yard.

HOW DO I Perform A THOROUGH RODENT INSPECTION?

As with any pest inspection, you need a strong flashlight to look into dark areas where rodent evidence more often than not tends to be found. Rodents fortunately have little control over their urination or defecation. Droppings and urine stains tend to be heaviest where the rodents spend more of their time. A concentrated area with 30 or 40 droppings tells us control tools need to be located here first, rather than another area where three or four droppings might be present. The size and shape of droppings will tell the professional if he or she is dealing with rats or mice, but droppings can be confused with other sources if care is not taken. American roach droppings are almost the size of mouse droppings and can be misidentified if seen from a distance with a quick glance. American roach droppings tend to be barrel shaped and have striations, or lines, along the sides. Mouse pellets have no lines and tend to be tapered at the ends. Where the droppings are found can sometimes give a clue to the dropping source. Droppings found in hot, steamy locations might more likely be from American roaches, rather than mice so a closer, more deliberative look will be needed. Other signs of rodent presence are grease marks. The fur of rats and mice are oily and deposits of grease marks are often left in runways and trails frequently used

WHAT DOES INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) ACTually MEAN?

Pest management is about long-term solutions to pest problems and achieved by the lowest possible cost, with minimum risk or hazard. In the past hundred years it has been convenient to fumigate or spray away a pest problem only to have it come back in days or months. However, the conditions that caused the problem to occur in the first place remain. The survivors begin reproducing to recreate the problem in a short period of time. These conditions still offer an optimum environment and surely will attract more pests from the surrounding area, including outdoors. Again, the long-term solution is to identify and correct the problem and offer the conditions that the insects or other pests cannot survive in. They then will leave or die.

I HAVE SIGNS OF RODENTS ON MY PROPERTY, ARE THEY NEW OR OLD SIGNS?

How can you tell if rodent droppings are old or new? Fresh droppings are a brighter black color and will squish when crushed. Older droppings are often faded, dust covered (but not always) and when crushed will disintegrate and become pulverized. Fresh droppings in high-dust locations, however, can be faded and look old. The squish test can help the professional differentiate old from new droppings.

How Do I Perform My Own Green Rodent Management?

  • Pest Proofing and sanitation are the prerequisites for all green pest management programs. If rodents cannot get into buildings in the first place, there is no need for pesticides or lethal trapping.
  • The use of rodenticide baits when necessary is not anti-green. But within green programs, pesticides are installed only when and where inspections confirm that rodents are actually present, or their presence is soon likely.

How Do I Perform My Own Green Ant Management?

  • Place emphasis on inspection and monitoring to guide all chemical and non-chemical control methods.
  • Locate and treat nests directly with a natural pyrethrrin, or with one of the plant-derived essential oil sprays that are considered “minimum-risk pesticides” and commonly marketed as “green” or “organic” insecticides.