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How to Select a Good Pesticide

Tips from Dovid Davis — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:39:40 GMT

Hi this is Boruch Fishman and welcome to another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist," we've got Dovid on the line, and today we're going to be asking Dovid about how the householder can evaluate roach sprays and pest sprays that are on the market. We're going to ask Dovid to tell us what we should look for, and how the sprays work. Specifically, yesterday I went out and purchased a typical roach spray that you might find on the market, and I am going to ask Dovid about the chemicals in this spray.

Boruch: How you doing Dovid?

Dovid: I'm fine thank-you Boruch.

Boruch: Dovid, the first chemical listed in this roach spray is Propoxur. How good is that chemical?

Dovid: Let's step away from the brink for a minute. If you're going to be buying a spray to eradicate pests you're going to be buying a pesticide or you're going to be buying an insecticide. So if you're going to go to the counter and ask someone you don't want to go to the counter and say "Where's the stuff for insects?" because that in itself will identify you as not being knowledgeable about the correct terminology. So the correct terminology you want to buy some insecticide. Well now that means that your target pest you are trying to eradicate is an insect, you use an insecticide,if its a pest, you use a pesticide, if its a rodent you use a rodenticide.

So what I always say to do, is to look at the inert and active ingredients in the product. The inert and active ingredients will tell you what percentage of the product is the active ingredient and which percentage is, in fact, filler. Now, there are many, many different pesticides on the market, today, most of which are good, and the percentage of the spray which is active will tell you how thoroughly and how quickly you will have your eradication. Also, you should be sure to read the label on the container because that's going to give you all the precautions that you must adhere to. That's for your own personal safety. Okay, so what's your first question Boruch.

Boruch: This particular spray has 1.1 % propoxur. Is that a good chemical and a good concentration?

Dovid: It is an insecticide and it is a good product. Let's take a look at the whole label. It's going to give us a list of the active ingredients and the inert ingredients.

Boruch: .05% is Tetrametrin, .1% is piperonyl butoxide, and .320% is MGK 264.

Dovid: So those are the active ingredients. What's the balance?

Boruch: I guess everything else or approximately 98.43% is filler.

Dovid: More than 98% of what you've just bought is filler and less than 2% is active ingredients. Now of the three ingredients you've read out, one is a good killing agent, and the other two are flushing agents. If you flush that Propoxur into a particular hole, it's going to flush out whatever is in there. That's a very burning irritating insecticide, insects hate it, it usually gets them running. It gets them out of those nocks and crannies they love to inhabit, and gets them into the area where they can be quickly eradicated with some of the other properties. Now insecticides that you are going to buy will have some level of residual, (meaning, chemicals that adhere to the ground and kill insects that walk on that area even days or weeks later), unless you are buying an aerosol. If it's an aerosol, there's generally no residual to an aerosol because they are generally 99.5% inert gases, just to propel it to come out. But this liquid product has some resilience to it so there will be some residual, it's a good product.

Boruch: Okay, that's good to know.

Thanks to "You Say Too" For Publishing Our Blog Articles on Their Directory

Tips from Dovid Davis — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:39:40 GMT

Early Summer Pest Treatment

Tips from Dovid Davis — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:31:53 GMT

Special Offer: Dovid is offering a special early summer $99.00 insect treatment special. If you read about it here, click on this link and contact Dovid.

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Hello, this is Boruch Fishman and welcome to another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist. Here we are in late June, right now, which as you all know is the insect season, and today we're going to be talking to Dovid about general pesticide treatment of insects.

Boruch: S Dovid, we were chatting a little before the start of the interview and you were telling me that there's a general pesticide treatment that you use when you're called to the house to treat insect infestations. You want to explain to me first which insects you are treating, and how does the treatment work.

Dovid: Generally you want to keep in mind that the suffix "icide" means to kill, and so whether you're primarily talking about an insecticide or pesticide the mode of action is basically the same, meaning you're going to be using what is most commonly known as an emulsifier concentrate, an EC, which you're going to be mixing with water, usually one ounce of insecticide to a gallon of water. And you're going to be applying that in a course spray, which is a fan spray, which gives you a very wide berth, or pinpoint application, which is a very small thin stream. And basically, any insect that crawls through or around that particular barrier will pick up the insecticide on its legs, on its sides, and in the pores of their feet; and it will be absorbed into their skeleton and it will kill them.

Normally, a general insecticide is going to be almost odorless. It will be effective against spiders, ants, centipedes, stink bugs, crickets, millipedes, bedbugs, and basically all the insects that are crawling. Now, with some of these insects you want to be more specific about where you make your application. If you are offering preventative service, than you want to apply insecticides heavily on the outside of the building, the outside exterior of the building. If you are going to be doing something that's targeted to an active German cockroach infestation, for example, than you want to apply that to the inside of the building, inside your cabinets, inside your drawers, and places like that.

Now, this is the first day of summer, and a lot of these insects will be escaping the warm weather of summer and they will tend to come in, so now is an excellent time to get an insecticide treatment and it should last you for the rest of the summer.

Boruch: Is that right, one treatment, now, should cover householders for the rest of the summer?

Dovid: If it's a mild insect infestation, one treatment now should last you through the end or the middle of August. If you want to do something which is preventative all year around than you want to make that first application at the beginning of April, and an application now would, in essence, be your second application.

Boruch: Now let me ask you, if someone who is a condominium owner or renter has insects and he calls you do you also spray around the entire condominium building or just in his one apartment.

Dovid: I simply treat that particular unit. And I will eliminate all the insects pertaining to that particular unit. Now people often use the strategy, saying that "my neighbors got pest treatment and now the roaches will come through the walls, and so I should get free treatment paid by them or by the condominium management." But rarely do you have the situation where roaches go through the wall, and the rest of the building will have to play catch-up to you.

Boruch: Okay. Now, Dovid, what insects does this treatment not cover.

Dovid: It would not be sufficient to eradicate bedbugs. Now there's a difference in terms of treatment application. Most treatment applications are for pest control, they want to control the pests that are bothering them. Now if you go into pest elimination, that requires more chemicals and more work and more money. Now when you are dealing with bedbugs, there is no real remedy in bedbug control. You don't want bedbug control, you want bedbug elimination. It's a lot more work and requires stronger chemicals.

Boruch: Okay. All right folks. You've just heard about it from Dovid. Now is the time to get an insecticide treatment. One treatment now, and you will be insect free for the whole summer.

Dovid: And anyone who clicks on a link from a website with this podcast, can get the entire treatment for only $99.00. I am running a $99 special if they say they saw it on your blog.

Boruch: Okay folks, you've heard it from Dovid, if you heard about this special on my blog, you can get be pest free all summer for only $99.00. We'll that's it for another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist." I'm Boruch Fishman, have a pest free day.

Bedbugs The Menace that Has Returned

Tips from Dovid Davis — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:25:00 GMT

A decade or two ago, bedbugs had all but disappeared as a major American pest. Then they began to return, and within the last few years their presence in American homes has burgeoned into a modern pest epidemic. What are bedbugs, what are their life habits, and why have they returned, that is the subject of this article.

Bed bugs are classified as part of the insect family Cimicidae. Three bedbug species feed on people. The most important bedbug species in human infestations is Cimex lectularius. Bedbugs may infest any type of warm blooded mammal, such as bats, birds, and mice.

Cimex lectularius is most usually found in the northern temperate weather of North America . Europe, and Central Asia and is most easily adapted to city dwelling areas. It dwells less often in southern temperate regions. In Florida and tropical areas it is replaced by C. hemipterus. At one time, thanks to effective insecticides such as DDT, bedbug infestations were greatly diminished in number. In recent years, however, because of the ban on the most powerful insecticides, greater urban congestion and the increase in international travel, bedbugs have made a comeback.

IDENTIFICATION AND LIFE CYCLE
Adult bed bugs are wingless 1/5 inch long oval rusty red or mahogany in color. Bed bug bodies are very thin and they have long antennae. Bedbug eyes are tiny, and the area behind their head expands forward on either side giving the appearance of a renaissance ruff collar. The immature bedbug appear identical to the adults except for their size, thinner cuticle, and a lighter, yellowish white color. Bed bugs are readily distinguished from kissing bugs, the vector of Chagas disease by their smaller size, more rounded shape, and lack of wings as adults.

Bed bugs are known for spread rapidly because even a single pregnant female can infest a home. This is because the female bed bug lays anywhere from 200 to 500 eggs (in batches of 10 to 50). They lay their eggs in very commonly available places, including rough surfaces such as wood or paper. Bed bug eggs are covered with a sticky substance and hatch in about 10 days. Even after the egg hatches, the shells frequently remain on the substrate. Subsequently, bedbugs pass through five nymphal stages of growth. Bedbug nymphs require a single blood meal before molting to the next stage. The entire bedbug life cycle from egg to adult stretches over a span of time lasting anywhere from 5 weeks to 4 months, depending on temperature. Bed bugs develop more rapidly in a warm climate with thermometry readings between 72 to 80 degrees. Both bedbug nymphs and adults usually feed on mammals at night and hide in dark places during the day. Common bedbug hiding places include mattresses and box spring seams, cracks in bed frames, behind loose wallpaper, on the back of picture frames, and inside sofa and chair fabric covering.

Bed bugs can live for 80 to 140 days without any external nutrition; bedbugs at later stages of development can survive longer without nutrition than younger bedbugs. Adult bedbugs have survived without food for as long as 550 days. A adult bedbug can ingest six times its bodily weight in blood, and a bed bug blood snack can extend 3 to 10 minutes. Mature bedbugs live about 10 months and because of the average age when bedbugs start breeding there can be up to 3 to 4 generations of bedbugs during the course of a year.

Mouse Borne Diseases

Tips from Dovid Davis — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:39:00 GMT

Mice not only introduce horrid smells and dirt into the home, they also carry serious illnesses and consequently should be removed from the home at the first indication of an infestation. To illustrate my theme, I will present various illnesses conveyed to humans by mice. Mice transmit the bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium. While not the most dangerous of bacteria, Salmonella Typhimurium can cause irritating intestinal complaints, which include loose stool, bowel pain, nausea and wretching. The salmonella related intestinal symptoms can prove fatal for people with a weakened constitution. The bacteria is spread through food contaminated by mice droppings and is the most common cause of food poisoning.

Mice can transmit tapeworms.Mice become infected with tapeworm when they inadvertently eat food contaminated with a parasitic worm. Humans become infected if they ingest food contaminated with infected mice droppings. This can frequently happen after people touch mice or mice droppings and then neglect to wash their hands thoroughly before eating.

Murine Typhus is a mild disease that can be transmitted by both rat and mice fleas. The disease is contracted when a human bite victim scratches the place where he has been bitten by an infected flea. While scratching he inevitably pushes flea feces into the blood stream, and that permits the typhus to enter the body. Symptoms, which begin 6 days to 2 weeks after the bite, include fever, aching muscles and headache.

Leptospirosis is a more serious disease transmitted by mice . It appears in many forms and levels of severity and is one of the major reasons homeowners should assiduously work to rid their home of these disease carrying rodents .. When full blown the disease is alternatively called infectious jaundice or Wiel's disease. Symptoms of Leptospirosis include vomiting, high fever, chills, a rash, achy muscles and jaundice. Other complications of Leptospirosis can include difficulty breathing, kidney damage, liver failure and meningitis. Leptospirosis is usually transmitted by mouse urine.

The most serious mouse borne illness is Hantavirus. This rare condition is found throughout North and South America. The disease can be contacted through inhalation of dust contaminated with mice urine or droppings or through direct contact with mice or their urine or droppings or rarely through a mouse bite. The virus causes Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which is a potentially deadly disease.

One other condition transmitted by mice is Polio. Polio was once a serious and potentially fatal condition but is prevented, today, by vaccination.

These six diseases transmitted by mice are six good reasons why you should call an exterminator

Flea Transmitted Diseases

Tips from Dovid Davis — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:47:00 GMT

Besides causing itching in pets and humans, fleas can transmit several diseases, at least one of which is potentially deadly. Fortunately, thanks to modern medical advances, most flea transmitted diseases are curable and the most dangerous conditions rarely appear in civilized countries.

As a carrier of disease, fleas are most well known for their role in transmitting the Bubonic Plague. Bubonic plague is transmitted to humans when an infected flea bites a human victim. Fleas catch Bubonic Plague by feeding on infected rodents. The plague itself is caused by a bacteria. While responsible for millions of deaths in the past, today plague is a rarity in the United States, seen only occasionally in Southern California, New Mexico and Southwest Texas.Symptoms of the plague include a swollen lymph node,( the buboe),which if untreated can lead to a massive infection that can spread throughout the body and is frequently fatal.

Murine Typhus is another condition spread by fleas . Unlike epidemic typhus, Murine Typhus is a mild febrile condition caused by a tiny organism called a Riketsia. The disease is spread to humans who are bitten by infected fleas . Infection occurs when the flea feces mix into the blood of the bite area. Murine typhus is rare in the United States, most cases are from Texas.

Fleas may also be a vector for spreading tapeworm infection. The infection is transmitted when humans accidentally ingest infected fleas.
Another disease which can be transmitted to humans from fleas is cat scratch fever. Bartonella henselae are the cause of this disease. The condition can be transmitted to humans when an open sore accidentally comes in contact with flea droppings mixed into the fur of a pet cat. The condition can cause painful swollen nodes, but is otherwise not serious.
Flea allergy dermatitis, an allergic reaction to the flea's saliva, is one of the most common causes of skin disease in dogs and cats. Allergy dermatitis can lead to hair loss, and secondary skin irritations. In extreme cases, the dermatitis can become infected.
Finally, extreme flea infestations can lead to pet anemia and even pet death.

Today, thanks to modern medical treatments, flea pests are known mostly for the annoyance of their itchy bites and the allergic dermatitis caused by the scratching of their bites.

Are the Chemicals Used to Treat Fleas Harmful?

Tips from Dovid Davis — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:33:00 GMT

Summary:

In this episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist," the moderator willl be asking Dovid some tough questions about flea pesticides that contain possible carcinogens.

Content:

Hi and welcome to another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis, pest specialist. Today we have going to be confronting Dovid with some difficult questions.

Dovid is a respected professional Baltimore pest control expert, who is very experienced using all the chemicals in the pest control armementarium. We're going to be asking Dovid togive his opinion about some of the chemicals in flea and tick sprays, which are known to be carcinogenic.

Boruchovid, I looked into this problem. I found a group called NRDC, the National Resource Defense Council. This group has set up a web page which provides information about all the sprays and chemicals used to treat fleas and tics.

I checked on their list to see what they had to say about the chemical treatment you most often talk about, "Front Line." And here's what they say. "It is used sparingly, and avoided if there is a pregnant woman in the house and avoid using around children, because the main product, Fipronil, is considered a possible carcinogen. What's your response to this?

Dovid: Fipronil is a powerful chemical. It is a major ingredient of Combat Roach Spray, Max Force, and it is also found in pesticides. Because you find it the sprays that I use for roaches and termites, you have to have to use the same precautions that you would in general.But Front Line, even though it has Fipronil, is not a spray. It is something that you are putting on the pet itself.

Boruch: Would you recommend that Front Line not be used in a household with a pregnant woman and a young child and a cat that likes to jump up onto the mother's lap?

Dovid: No, no. In the first place, it's not my responsibility. Fipronil sprays are purchased from the vet. That's something that a veterinarian would give to a family after they took their dog to be flea dipped. So that a family getting a product with fipronil will be getting a disclaimer saying how the product should be used, and they won't think it's like Brill cream that you can just spread around the pet.

Boruch: So that's really the responsibility of the vet and not the pest control specialist. But what about Revolution flea and tick collars for cats, this website says that the risk is so great that you should avoid them all together.

Dovid: Most people oppose the use of flea collars because the pesticide impregnated surface continually rubs against the pet's neck.

Boruch: According to the NRDC, the collars are impregnated with propoxr, a probable carcinogen! Are you familiar with it at all?

Dovid: Probably. Yes, yes. But once again, these are regular insecticides, but the amount they are using on pets is a minute amount. So when you were talking about fipronil, I use fipronil for roaches and termites in a one gallon container. A tube of Front Line only contains about 6 drops of anti-flea medication. That's all you're getting, not ounces but drops. And it will say put two drops on the hind legs and two drops behind the shoulder blades. And that's it, you're not getting quantity. So it would be very hard to mess it up, 'cause you really not getting that much.

Boruch: What about Advantage? The NRDC describes it as similar to Front Line. They recommend, once again, to use it sparingly and not at all around pregnant women or children.

Dovid: Again, this is a treatment that is applied to the animal and not to the house. The medicine can only be purchased from a vet, and the amounts to be applied are a matter of droplets. If you were going to be dealing with large quantities it might potentially be hazardous. But the amount that you are getting, the drops, are not going to harm anything. So a pregnant woman could apply it to a dog, because the disclaimer will instruct her to use gloves when she is applying it. So she is only going to be breaking open a little tube and squeezing a drop or two here and a drop or two here.

Boruch: So let me paraphrase what you just said. The quantity of pesticide used in flea treatment is minute and the sale and application of these minute amounts is controlled by the veterinarian.

Dovid: That's not anything that the exterminator is going to be dealing with.

Boruch: Okay. This website also recommends using safer alternatives. These include things that you also recommend, washing the bedding, vacuuming the house, combing daily with a fine tooth flea comb. They also recommend that homeowners try natural flea repellants such as sprays made of lemon grass and cedar wood. Then if the infestation is severe, they advise homeowners to use pesticides containing low risk chemicals such as pyropoxiphen, nitropyron and spinosad.

Dovid: You can do all those things that are natural. But when all else fails call an exterminator.

Well, that's it for another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist ," and folks, have a pest free day.

　

Resources:

This research has been supported by Entymologist Dovis Davis, Director of A #1 Pest Control#http://www.anumberoneanimalandpestcontrol.com Exterminator#http://www.anumberoneanimalandpestcontrol.com Bed Bugs#http://www.anumberoneanimalandpestcontrol.com/bedbugs.htm, Roach#http://www.anumberoneanimalandpestcontrol.com/roaches.htm Animal Flea#http://www.anumberoneanimalandpestcontrol.com/bugs.htm and Termite Control

　

Keywords:

flea control, flea extermination, flea eradication, flea pesticides

Are Modern Pesticides Harmful to Your Health

Tips from Dovid Davis — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:04:00 GMT

Hi, I'm Boruch Fishman, and welcome to another episode of Close Up. Today, we will be considering if the pesticides on the market today are safe for home use?

Current insecticides on the American market are safer than before, but they can still cause illness and even accidental death if used improperly. On the bright side, according to specifications, they do not cause cancer.

Insecticides are chemical formulations used to eradicate or mitigate infestations of insects including such common household pests as flies, fleas, ants, spiders, cockroaches , wasps and more. Insecticides may be applied as a spray as poison bait, as powders or liquids.

Pesticide is a more all inclusive word than insecticide and includes substances meant to kill and eradicate all forms of pests including non-insect pests such as mice , animals , plant pests, fungi, bacteria and viruses.

Example of common household pesticides include cockroach sprays and baits, insect repellants for personal use, rodent poisons, flea and tick spray, powders, pet collars, antifungals, even sanitizing chemicals that can be used around the house or around swimming pools and weed killers.

Domestic pesticides are controlled by a number of government regulations, which date back to the 1950s. In devising these procedures, the government weighed the risk versus the benefits of using the various substances to control infestations. When the benefits of using certain pesticides is great, chemicals with risks are approved for use, and therefore users must handle these products with caution.

A 1954 law called for the determination of permissible concentrations of pesticides in agricultural products and a 1958 law added regulations which apply to any pesticide that leaves traceable residues of chemicals in food. According to this amendment, any substance which is found to induce cancer is automatically banned from the market.

As a result of these regulations, many chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides were withdrawn from use. This led to the introduction of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, many of which are harmful to pets. Owners must therefore be very observant of side effects in pets exposed to pesticide treatment. More recently, some of these harmful compounds have been taken off the market.

While many regulations are in place, common pesticides, as noted above, can have harmful side effects and therefore users should take certain common sense precautions when using them. Homeowners should carefully read the label on any pesticide, before using it, especially if they are to be used in any area where food is consumed or placed. All food surfaces should be thoroughly wiped after use. Fish tanks and bird cages should be covered before spraying with insecticides. And hands should be thoroughly washed after spraying or using pesticides.

For severe infestations a homeowner is encouraged to consult a licensed pest specialist , who is familiar with the proper use of the more powerful pesticides.

Well that's it for another episode of Closeup. I'm Boruch Fishman. Have a great day.

How to Find or Build an Effective Yellow Jacket trap

Tips from Dovid Davis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:40:00 GMT

Late summer and fall picnics can be ruined by the presence of stinging insects , mostly yellow jackets, which are attracted by sweet foods placed out on the table. However, the problem can be remedied with the use of inexpensive store bought or even free home made yellow jacket traps.

If you wish to buy a trap, an online consumer website http://www.galttech.com/research/household-DIY-tools/yellow-jacket-traps.php recommends RESCUE Reusable Yellow Jacket Trap . The traps are inexpensive, ($10.00), and reusable. If you run out of bait you can substitute something sweet like sugar water or crushed fruit or soft drink. A second choice is Raid Disposable Yellow Jacket Trap (81605) - 4 Pack:. These traps cost around $35.00. However, the advantage is that they are disposable, and avoid the need to clean and reuse. A third recommendation is Glass Yellow Jacket & Wasp Trap: by Greenfleet . These traps go for around $20.00 they are reusable, decorative and attract wasps as well as yellow jackets.

If you prefer, you can build a very effective yellow jacket trap, in a few minutes at no cost at all. The only supplies you will need are an empty 2 liter plastic bottle, some tape or staples, some string and a kitchen knife or hole puncher. Just follow the instructions.

Take an empty 2 liter plastic bottle; a mineral water bottle will do just fine.
Cut the top off, just where the diameter has become as wide as the body.
Fill the empty bottle base partially full of bait.
Yellow jackets like protein in the spring, when they are mating, so if it's springtime you will use a chunk of meat.
If it's late summer, when yellow jackets are most aggressive, use something sweet, like fruit chunks. They love mashed up grapes or banana. Other bait choices include a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water mixture, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, I banana peel, half fill bottle, lemonade or even Pepsi/soda. You can use anything you have seen yellow jackets attracted to at one of your outdoor picnics.
To add to the killing power of the trap, squirt in a couple of tablespoons of dish washing liquid
A little bit of yellow food coloring can also be added as the color yellow attracts them.
Now invert the top of the plastic bottle, upside down, so that it resembles a funnel, and place it inside the lower half of the bottle, remember to remove the plastic top.
It should hold in place, depending on the bottle shape
Tape and/or staple the top together with the bottom of the bottle. Make sure the seal is tight.
Cut two holes in the plastic where the two pieces come together, near the top. Put string through the holes and use to hang the bottle.
Use a slippery substance such as hot soapy water, dishwashing soap or Vaseline and spread it along the exposed surface of the funnel. This will cause the yellow jackets to lose their footing and fall into the trap. Cooking oil may also be used.
Place about 20 feet from the picnic table
Works best at a height of four feet
Works best at around 85 degrees
The yellow jackets will fly in, attracted to the sweet. When they try and leave, insect logic dictates they should look for the highest point to exit. They will fly around, but miss the inverted opening. When they get tired they will fall into the soapy liquid. The soapy liquid, will stick to the yellow jacket body making it impossible for them to breath.
When full replace the trap with a new one or empty the trap regularly making sure the yellow jackets are dead. You can kill the yellow jackets by filling the bottle full of water, or covering it with plastic and placing it in the freezer until they freeze to death.
Replenish the bait every few days.
DON'T let live yellow jackets escape. Their frenzied distress in the trap will attract nearby yellow jackets, and the idea is to keep them all in the trap. DON'T crush yellow jacket bodies as that emits a smell warning yellow jackets to attack. You can also free the yellow jackets in the wild, however they may return
Bury dead yellow jackets or flush them down the toilet as dead yellow jackets emit a warning odor to living yellowjackets .

Good luck and enjoy your outdoor picnics in safety.

How to Avoid Getting Stung by a Hornet

Tips from Dovid Davis — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:14:00 GMT

Although many people consider hornets to be a separate insect species , they are, in fact, the largest type of wasp. Like wasps, they are a members of the Vespa insect species . They are distinguished from other wasps by their large vortex, i.e. the space between their two eyes. Their stings are painful, and their nests are generally found in trees shrubs and under eaves. Fortunately for man, they are usually found in out of the way places.

Hornets do not generally attack humans, and will only sting when they or their nests are threatened. If a hornet perceives it is under attack or that its nest is under attack, it will respond viciously. While wasps generally threaten by flying around the head of their victim, hornets go right for the target, in dive bomb fashion. Their sting is more painful than a bee, yellow jacket or wasp.

Notably, hornets have a signaling capability so that when an individual hornet or nest is threatened; the entire colony will come out against the intruder. This can cause fatalities to victims of multiple hornet stings.

Should you accidentally come upon a wasp nest, it is important to proceed with caution, so as to avoid triggering a swarm attack. The following suggestions will help you to minimize your danger. Don’t make a loud noise. Don't make a movement toward the nest with your body or arm. Don't breathe on the nest or breathe on a hornet. Don't prevent a hornet from returning to its nest. Do not try and break apart a hornet's nest. Even if you are following instructions, don't try to remove a hornet's nest during the day, when hornets are most active. If you are stung by a hornet don't panic, as a sudden move might trigger a swarm attack. Rather slowly move away from the nest.

More feared than the sting of a single hornet, is the insects ability to respond to a series of signal pheromones, which can trigger a mass hornet attack. The pheromones are released, either from the body of a dead or crushed hornet, or via chemicals released when a hornet stings a victim. The pheromone signaling alerts members of the nest that a source of food, e.g. a local bee hive, is near, or else a perceived intruder is approaching. In either case the powerful chemical attraction mobilizes any hornet in the area to come and join the attack.

Due to the signaling system, it is always unwise to kill a solitary hornet when found outside. The smell released from the crushed body will attract a horde of hornets, which will come out en masse against the hornet killer.

The pheromone chemicals found in hornet venom are also found in certain food flavorings, which can likewise trigger a hornet attack if they are taken on a picnic. Certain flavorings in bananas and oranges attract hornets. Other foods containing these natural flavorings attract hornets. Certain citrus scented products attract hornets, as well as certain volatile chemicals and perfumes. Because pheromones pare owerful at even small concentrations, wearing clothing or gloves that have been stung by hornets or worn while killing hornets, may attract a hornet attack if parts of the hornet were smeared into the cloth.

Despite the potential danger of attack, it is important to keep in mind that hornets are not intrinsically aggressive towards humans, if you happen to see one or a nest, follow the recommendations provided in the report and don't provoke them to attack.

How to Make a Home Made Wasp Trap

Tips from Dovid Davis — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:31:00 GMT

It's all over the web, someone has come up with a great idea for a simple to make but effective wasp trap , that doesn't cost anything to build. And here's the instructions, culled from the best of the online articles.

Take an empty plastic bottle; a mineral water bottle will do just fine.

Cut the top off, just where the diameter has become as wide as the body.

The base of the bottle looks like a jar with a wide opening.

Fill the base partially full of wasp bait.

Late Winter and Spring:: Use hamburger meat or luncheon meat. The macho wasps are attracted to protein during their mating season.
Summer and Fall: Use a sweet substance: Soda Pop, jam, honey dew melon rind, crushed grapes or a piece of fruit, molasses, vodka and orange.

To add to the killing power of the trap, add some sweet liquid, such as sugar water or lemonade along with some soapy detergent or a tablespoon of laundry soap.

Invert the top of the plastic bottle, which should look like a funnel, and place it inside the lower half of the bottle, remember to remove the plastic top.

It should hold in place, depending on the bottle shape

Make sure the interior fluid level does not reach to the lip of the funnel

Seal the edges if there is not a good contact all the way round, using tape, gum, leaves, staples, whatever is most appropriate

Cut two holes in the plastic where the two pieces come together, near the top. Put string through the holes and use it to hang the bottle.

Pour hot soapy water, dishwashing soap or Vaseliine into the exposed funnel, as this will cause the wasps to lose their footing and fall into the trap

Place in an area where not too many people walk

The trap works best at a height of four feet

The trap works best at around 85 degrees

The wasps will fly in, attracted to the sweet. When they try and leave, wasp logic dictates they should look for the highest point to exit. They will fly around, but miss the inverted opening. When they get tired they will fall into the soapy liquid. The liquid, will stick to the wasps body making it impossible for them to breath.

Empty the trap regularly making sure the wasps are dead.

Replenish the bait every few days.

Don't let live wasps escape as they can bring an angry swarm of wasps. Don't crush wasp bodies as that emits a smell warning the wasps. Kill the wasps with water, or freeze them. You can also free the wasps in the wild, however they may return

Bury dead wasps or flush them down the toilet as the dead wasps emit a warning odor to living wasps.

Good luck and enjoy your outdoor picnics in safety.
This tip brought to you by A # 1 Pest Control

Getting Rid of Carpenter Ants When They Emerge in the Spring

Tips from Dovid Davis — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:10:00 GMT

Hi folks, I'm Boruch Fishman, and I wish to welcome you to another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist." In this broadcast, We're going to explore the life cycle of the carpenter ants , I will share with you some Dovid's techniques for getting this insect pest out of the house

Carpenter ants are large black, brown and red ants, 3-4 times larger than the typical house ant. Carpenter ants make their colonies in trees with thick bark. They live in the trees, breed in the trees, and survive off the wood products of the tree. Their colonies consist of a queen, workers, soldier ants and even slave ants, taken from captured colonies. Carpenter ants are not attracted to sweets or food like other species of ants. However, they will move indoors when there are fluctuations in the weather. This especially occurs in the late summer and fall when the weather begins turning colder.

While carpenter ants are natural tree dwellers, once they migrate indoors,however, they will make the house their new home and stay their throughout the winter months They will usually gnaw out a new wood nest, in which they will live. Indoors, the carpenter ants will begin to burrow into the wood structures of the house. Carpenter ants are wood damaging insects, and are second only to termites in their ability to chew through wood products. Beginning in February, when the weather starts turning warm, carpenter ants will begin emerging from the indoor wood nests they have been living in all winter. They initially appear in warm indoor rooms such as the kitchen.

Dovid Davis, the owner of A-1 Pest Control in Baltimore, Maryland told me that he starts getting calls about carpenter ants, which have started to emerge beginning in February,. While the largest number of calls come in February, the ants will continue making their appearance in the home until the warmer weather of late spring arrives.

Carpenter ants like termites have a swarming cycle. Swarming begins in the spring when the weather warms. A portion of the ants in the colonies grow wings. Then the male and female swarmers take off in search of a new home. When they find the new location, the now pregnant Queen will ari form the colony, which over time will grow anew.

Dovid gave specific advice as to how to end a carpenter ant infestation. The homeowner or pest control specialist must first locate the queen colonies and then apply ant poison in liquid or crystal form. If the colony can't be located it is also effective to use poison crystal and sprays on the ant trails. The ants will carry the poison back to the colony and eventually this will cause the death of the Queen and the end of the colony.

The carpenter ant colonies may be found outdoors as well as indoors, and it is important to eradicate every colony that is found. Commercial ant feeding stations with boric acid are also effective; however, they take longer to act. One pesticide treatment is usually effective, but, if the colonies aren't located, several treatments, in areas where ants are seen crawling may be required.

Well folks that's it for another episode of Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist, and I wish you all a pest free day.

The Origin and Meaning of the Word Pest

Tips from Dovid Davis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:03:00 GMT

In modern parlance, the word pest, as in the term pest control has come to refer to a myriad of small creatures that invade the house, and bring with them filth and disease. Typical pests include mice, roaches, termites, bedbugs, fleas and other insects, wild birds, wild animals, spiders and snakes. But when we go back into time, we find the word had a different twist. the word pest didn't refer to the animals we call pests today, but to the deadly filth and disease which they carry.

Lets examine the facts. Checking in Etymon's online etymology dictionary, we find that the term pest appears first and foremost in various imprecations, such as "a pest (or a plague) upon you." Going back further in time to 1539, we find that the word "peste" in Middle French, had the same meaning as its antecedent "pestis" in Latin, and meant deadly contagious disease.

Etymological derivations of other pest related words indicate that "pestis" also meant "plague." The modern word pestilence, derived from the 13th century Old French word pestilence, and from the Latin pestilential meaning plague, noun of action from pestilentem (nom. pestilens). In this derivation, Entymon notes that pestilens derives from pestis, which can also mean plague.

A mouse, in and of itself, is not a deadly contagious disease. However, a mouse carries Leptospirosis, a dangerous microbe, and it can also carry dangerous or even deadly viruses. Likewise, a pigeon, is a bothersome creature, especially when it uses our porches and sidewalks as a bathroom, but it isn't contagious. However, pigeons can carry and transmit histoplasmosis, and other dangerous or deadly respiratory conditions. The plague, the deadly scourge of the Middle Ages, was transmitted by rats and fleas. While rats and fleas both bite, they are not, in and of themselves causes of contagious diseases. However, they do transmit disease causing viruses and bacteria. such as the organism that caused the plague.s that ravaged Europe during the Middle Ages. Bats, another frightful household pest are not in and of themselves deadly. However, their bite transmits the virus which causes rabies, a progressive invariably fatal condition. Not only their bite, but in some cases their well aimed spit can transmit this incurable virally transmitted illness.

This historical background provides perspective that enables us to understand the true meaning of the phrase pest control ,which was first seen in use about 200 years ago. In a clasical sense, pest control means controlling pests, (deadly viruses and microbes which cause disease), by removing the animals and other creatures which carry these illness causing organisms from the domestic environment . But in modern parlance, the original associations is often lost, and people relate the term pest to the creatures and animals that spread filth and disease, and not the creatures that cause disease.

It must be noted that when taken in this light, the term pest control has come to have new connotations. Classically, for example pest control and mice control were not synonymous. It would be more proper to say that mice removal is a form of pest control because we are removing disease carrying rodents from our home. However, we could control mice by putting them in a cage, as is done in a laboratory, and this might not remove the pests they carry from our environment. Termites do not carry disease, and yet "termite control" is considered to be a form of "pest control" in modern parlance. These usages lead further credence to the belief that the words pests, like many other words, has taken on an enlarged meaning.

In the classical sense, vaccination, isolation and testing might classically be considered forms of pest control, becasue they help to protect us from disease causing viruses and microbes, but in general pest control has specifically come to refer to the removal of small creatures between the size of mites to the size of large animals, which carry filth and disease into the home.

Beg Bug Haunts and Bed Bug Feeding

Tips from Dovid Davis — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:42:00 GMT

Hi:

I'm Boruch Fishman, and welcome to another episode of close-up. Today I will be presenting some academic information about bedbugs, provided by Harvard University. Bedbugs , as you may know, are currently make a come-back. There is a tremendous resurgence in bedbug infestations, believed to be due to restrictions on the use of powerful insecticides, such as DDT, increased travel and increased urban congestion.

Experts believe that bed bugs inherited their name from their close association with beds and bedding. During the day, bed bugs hide out in bedding. And at night they snack on the occupants of the same bed. These insects are known by several names: wall louse, house bug, mahogany flat, red coat, and crimson ramblers, to name just a few.,

Bed bugs prefer feeding on humans, but their culinary adventures are not restricted to man. Various species of the bedbug insect family Cimicidae also feed on mammals, poultry and non-domestic foul. Among bedbugs reported in New Mexico, for example, are the western bat bug (Cimex pilosellus Horvath) and the swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius Horvath). While these insects prefer other hosts, they can, when stressed, feed on humans.

Unlike many modern day pests, bed bugs have never been proven to be carries of disease, at least not in the US. Nevertheless, they cause an annoying epidemic presence at times, and are spread via clothing, traveler baggage, guests, used beds, bedding material used household furniture and laundries.

Adult bedbugs are wingless. Their color ranges from brown to red-brown in color and their size varies depending on when they had their last meal. An unfed bed bug is between 1/4 and 3/8 inches long, and extremely thin. It is so thin it can fit into the head of a screw, or nest between pages of a book. This helps to explain why it is so difficult to eradicate a bedbug infestation. The upper surface of a bedbug has a papery, crinkly, flimsy appearance. After the blood meal, the beg bug can swell up to immense proportions. The body becomes elongated and the skin color resembles a dull red. The color, size, and shape change from an unfed to a full bug is remarkable.

There are five signs, which tell you if your home is infested with bedbugs: blood stains on mattress and beding from inadvertently crushed bed bugs, or brown stains from the blood filled bedbug feces, black dots of fecal remains found often on the underside of bedding; bed bug eggs, which are tiny pearl colored excrescences, found in the creases of mattresses and other places where bed bugs congregate; shed bedbug skins, from molting, these are light almost tan colored skins; bed bug bites, which are reddish bites similar to misquito bites, except that they do not itch initially. The bites are usually found on appendages. and can become infected.

If you suspect you have a bedbug infestation, you should call a pest specialist immediately and work with him to identify and eradicate the infestation.

That's it for another episode of close-up. I'm Boruch Fishman, and have a great day.

Getting Rid of Common House Ants

Tips from Dovid Davis — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:26:00 GMT

Tiny little black ants are common place throughout the world. Their name relates to their small size and their dark black color. They are usually only about 1/16th-1/8th of an inch. [spin]The Queen ants are about twice that size.

Little black ants dwell underground in chambers hewed out of the earth. They are grouped in colonies, each containing a queen. The presence of a colony can be recognized by a tiny mound of fine dirt, seen above ground. They usually live at the edge of the forest or near human dwellings. Sometimes they are found in rotting tree stumps

Tiny black ant colonies contain only one queen per colony. The queen breeds the worker ants who sustain the colony by foraging for food. After a colony has grown for several years, the Queen breeds a class of male and female swarmer ants. These are winged bearing insects. The swarmers engage in an autumnal mating ritual in which they fly through the air in search of a new colony. The male and female swarmers mate. The males die and the females tunnel under the earth to become the queen of a new colony.The queen lives underground without food until she has bred the new generation of worker ants who quickly go out and begin searching for food to sustain the colony.

Little black ants feed on sweet fruits, honey dew made by other insects and scraps of human food. Occasionally they will enter into homes in search of food. They are attracted to sweets and crumbs of food found in the kitchen.The little industrious ants are busy night and day foraging for food and they can carry up to 20 times their body weight in food back to the nest. That's the equivalent of humans carrying a 1,600 pound load! While adult ants have strong jaws, they imbibe food by sucking the juice out of the meal and leaving the dried residue.

When ants enter into a house the best way to get them out is to set up ant bait stations, with ant poison. The ants will take the poison back to the colony, where they and the queen will ingest it and die. This technique takes several weeks to fully work, but is an effective form of ant eradication.

How to Recgonize and Get Rid of the Pharaoh Ant.

Tips from Dovid Davis — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:12:00 GMT

The Pharaoh ant is a tiny light-yellow to red-brown voracious ant reaching 2mm in size. The ant is known for its aggressive breeding and invasive abilities. Pharaoh colonies proliferate by "budding," whereby a segment of the colony, including queens workers and their brood, (eggs and immature ants), leave the colony to form an alternative nesting site. Unlike some ant colonies, the Pharaoh ants have no inter-colony hostility. They help each other out, and can consolidate into smaller colonies, when under attack from ant poisons or baiting stations They are therefore referred to as unicolony ants.

While manyant colonies have only one queen, and are therefore easily eradicated, the Pharoah ant has multiple queened colonies. Killing a part of the colony will only stimulate the remaining queens to breed faster, and lead to an increase instead of decrease in the ant population.

Unlike many ants, which have two breeding cycles each year, Pharaoh ants can breed continuously in an indoor heated environment, and this contributes to their rate of spread. While the ants prefer warm environments, for their colonies, they can nest almost anywhere, and colonies as small as a thimble, can be found between sheets of paper, or in furniture The abundance of these small nests makes it hard to eradicate a population of Pharaoh ants, and clearing an infested building can be a project taking years.

Pharaoh ants are adapted to rapid urban spread, and are capable of infesting a whole city block in as little as 6 months time. They quickly spread through the urban envirnoment, invading apartment dwellings, grocery stores, food establishment and other buildings. They can even thrive in unsanitary hospitals or rest homes. They are a health hazard in improperly sterilized hospital environments, entering wounds, invading drip lines and instrumentation. They are an exception to the general rule that ants do not spread deadly disease, as the Pharaoh ants are believed to carry bacterial infections such as Staphylococcus and Psuedomonas.

While attracted to sugared foods such as jellies, honey, corn syrup, fruit juices and soft drinks, they are essentially omnivorous and can subsist off of many other human foods including greases, shortening and peanut butter, They feed off their own dead and a variety of household substances such as shoe polish.Pharaoh ants can also destroy household material, and have been known to gnaw holes in silk, rayon and rubber goods.

The most effective eradication strategy for Pharaoh ants is to place baited ant stations in areas where the ants like to forage. The ants take the slow acting poison back to the colony, where the other ants will then eat it and die. Because they are omnivorous, traps set with ground liver mixed with boric acid, a slow acting ant poison can also be effective.

Homeowners should avoid the temptation of killing individual ants and trails of ants as they make their way to the ant stations, as this prevents the ants from collecting sufficient poison and carrying it back to the colony, which is essential for effective Pharaoh ant eradication. .

Argentine Ants

Tips from Dovid Davis — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:54:00 GMT

The Argentine Ant Spread from South America to the United States about 100 years ago. The ant is known for its rapid breeding, which is the result of multi queen colonies that can survive even after the death of one queen, its friendliness towards its own species, and ability to subdue other ant species. The ant is also omnivorous, and can thrive in human habitations.

The ant mostly spread artificially along lines of transportation. Originally entering through the Port of New Orleans, it was subsequently found in locations along every major rail line going out of New Orleans. From focal cities such as New Orleans, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta, the ant spread to local towns.

The ant can survive in all types of soil and adapt to all types of vegetation, although it shows a preference for habitats where honeydew producing aphids are prevalent.

The ant has invaded over a third of the states, infesting an area greater than 4,000 miles. One notable location is a huge super colony which stretches along much of the California coast line.

The Argentine ant is, for the most part, warm weather restricted, although it can survive in states such as Missouri, Illinois and Maryland. However, during the winter, it is not able to live outdoors, in these areas, and migrates into homes to survive. In urban areas the ant can spread from house to house, and thus enlarge its distribution rapidly despite its inability to survive outdoors.

Because the colonies have so many queens, merely spraying the area with poison will not eradicate it. On the contrary, it stimulates surviving queens to lay even more eggs.The Argentine ant can be eradicated through the prudent use of ant stations; however the special poisons in the stations do not kill the insects initially. Rather, the ants take the lethal meal back to their colonies where the workers and queens ingest the poison and die. The whole process takes about five days.

The Difference Between Exterminate and Eradicate

Tips from Dovid Davis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:17:00 GMT

In the field of, pest control we often here the phrases extermination and eradication. People talk of pest exterination  and pest eradication. These two central phrases in pest control talk actually have slightly different meanings, which are valuable to know about.

Extermination  comes from the Latin, "exterminare," and means to drive out, expel. It is a compound word derived from "ex" "terminus." Ex means out of, and "terminus" in Latin means boundary or end. In Roman history, the word is related to the diety Terminus who presided over boundaries. Looking back into ancient history we find the word "tar" in Sanskrit, which meant the boundary or edge. It is related to the ancient Greek word "terma," meaning a "goal," and "termon," meaning a border, "trans," across or over, and "intro, "enter into.

Pest extermination, in the classical sense, therefore means to drive the pests out of the boundaries of the house. One famous example of pest extermination is the Pied Pieper of Hamlin. Using his magic pipe the piper lured rat pests out of the town and over a cliff.

Eradicate, comes from the Latin "eradicare," meaning to root out. Specifically the word breaks down into "ex" plus "radix." "ex" means out and "radix," meaning root, together the compund word means to root out.

Based on this quick etymological history we see that both pest control related words connote processes related to getting rid of pests. If exterminate, means to drive pests out of the borders of the home, then eradicate means to bring their breeding spots, the places where the infestation has, so to speak, taken root, to light, and to uproot it. In this sense, eradication would only be the first step of pest control, as once the pests have been uprooted, they must still be exterminated.

It is possible to better understand the difference between these two words, by examining the different forms of pest control. If mice invade a home, they can be exterminated by killing the visible mice and boarding up entranceways. On the other hand, certain types of mice poison create a thirst in mice, and actually drive them out of their hidden nests in search of water. This treatment uproots them from their nests, and then subsequently exterminates them as it drives them across the boundaries of the home, where they run, in search of water. Boric acid makes roaches sterile. A boric acid spray, which reaches down into roach breeding crevices, will stop roach breeding in the home. Although it doesn't drive the roaches out of the home, it uproots them from their breeding holes by stopping their breeding.

At first glance, animal trapping can be likened to a form of extermination in that live wild animals are forcibly removed from the boundaries of the home The process is also like eradication in the sense that hidden animal breeding nests, in attics, garages, etc are broken up and brought to light during the extermination process. Snakes come indoors seeking mice. When the pest control technician sets down sticky paper to trap the snake this is both extermination and eradication The technician is rooting out the hidden snake. Subsequently when he takes the snake off the property he is exterminating it.

Ant control is most similar to eradication in that most ant poisons are meant to be taken back to the colony, where the colony members eat it and die. It is similar to extermination in that some ant treatments target areas of ant ingress, in an effort to prevent ants from entering the home. T
Termite control is most like extermination in that the areas surrounding the house are treated to present termites from entering the house. It is similar to eradication in that areas of active termite infestation in the home are treated to wipe out termite nests. Bed bug control might seem, at first glance most like eradication. The pest control technician must walk around and inspect every little crevice where the bugs hide and breed, and spray inside to root them out. And yet, in modern pest parlance we talk about bed bug extermination This term refers to the actual killing process, more than the initial process of ferreting out the hiding places. Flea control is similar to extermination in that the house and all areas where active breeding fleas are located is treated with pesticide. While fleas do not require pets to enter the home, treatment of pets for flea infestation is a bit like extermination and eradication. It is like extermination in that it blocks fleas from ingression via pets, it is like eradication in that fleas actually live and breed on pets, and have taken root there.

In most cases, we see that successful pest control involves a combination of eradication and extermination. Only if pests are rooted out, and exposed is it possible to completely exterminate them.

Why, one might ask, are pest specialists   called exterminators and very infrequently eradicators. This might be because in the classical sense, rooting out an infestation, exposing it to light is only the first step in the process. Exterminating the pests, getting them out of the home is the final solution. Think of a pest infestation as some ubiquitous process that takes root in the home, taking advantage of some weakness in the house or home structure. Then the infestation grows until it becomes visible, like a tree emerging from the ground. Extermination refers to getting rid of the visible process, eradication refers to getting rid of hidden roots of the infestation and its attachment to the home.

Although coming from different sources, and having different shades of meaning, in modern American parlance, the two words exterminate and eradicate are used almost interchangeably. Extermination is defined online as "killing in mass." Eradicate is defined, online as "get rid of, tear up by the roots, kill in large numbers. The modern definition of exterminate may derive from the Holocaust in German. Germany wanted to exterminate the Jews, which was taken to mean kill them in large numbers. In fact, during the earliest actions against the Jews, in 1933, Germans attacked Jewish stores and homes, and as they beat the Jews they said, "You have been in German long enough." Originally the goal was to drive the Jews out of Germany It was only after the Palestinian leaders told Hitler they didn't want the Jews coming to Israel, that the Germans adapted the final solution and began to equate extermination with mass killing in the death camps. This extreme political process many have been responsible for changing the modern meaning of the word exterminate.

Regardless of all this history, in pest control , at least, everyone knows what the two words imply. If someone has ants crawling all over her kitchen and calls an "exterminator," she knows that she will be paying him to get rid of the ants, No More Ants. If someone has rodents and calls a pest control specialist and asks him to eradicate the mice in her home, she knows she will be paying him to get rid of the mice, - No More Mice. Whether the specialist brings their hidden breeding places to light, kills them or drives them out, it doesn't matter, as long as she, the homeowner will not have to look at them again.

Bedbug Infestation Continues, While Many Cities Are Declaring War Against the Tiny Invaders

Tips from Dovid Davis — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:38:00 GMT

The bedbug infestation , which has raised its head in cities across the globe, in recent years, continues to grow. Just in the last two weeks, a Toronto hospital announced it was infested with bedbugs , in New York, the House and Senate have already approved a new bill that will require landlords to inform prospective tenants of any bed bug infestation on their premises, and pest specialists in Australia are urging citizens to take precautions against bed bug infestations , after a rise of infections was noted in the Southwest, and in major urban area.

60 years ago, bedbugs were almost extinct in North American cities. The recent rise in bedbug infestations is believed, by experts to be the result of increased world travel, more urban congestion, and the ban against use of strong broadband pesticides such as DDT. Bed bugs easily spread from dwelling to dwelling. They can spread from private homes to public areas such as buses, schools, camps and hotels, and from there to other private residences. Bed bugs are problematical because they are easily transmitted, when a person visits an infested hotel, or purchases used furniture.

One pregnant female can lay up to five eggs a day, which is enough to introduce an infestation into a home. Once introduced, bedbugs are difficult to eradicate. Before a blood meal, they are small and thin and can nest in the head of a screw or between pages of a book. Furthermore, the bed bug life cycle is rapid, with eggs forming nymphs in only 2 weeks time. Within 5 blood meals, an average of 25 days, the nymphs reach the adulthood and can start breeding. Just last year, the EPA held a bed bug summit, and many cities across the globe are now declaring war against bedbugs. Signs that a home is infected include bumps or swelling on the skin, usually noticed in the morning, tiny living bugs, very tiny eggs, shed skin, and tiny blood stains on sheets and bedding, which result from bed bug feces, or inadvertently crushed bed bugs. A bedbug infestation can be recognized by itchy bumps on the skin, tiny visible bugs, eggs, (tiny black specks), shed skin or tiny blood stains from bug feces or inadvertently squashed bugs.

According to Dovid Davis, a Baltimore pest control specialist, homeowners are sometimes unaware they are infested until they learn from a neighbor that bed bugs have been seen in the neighborhood. The homeowners then go back and inspect their homes and finds evidence of the invasion. While troublesome, bed bugs are one of the few pests that are not known to transmit bacterial or viral disease.

Effective bedbug treatment is multifaceted, and involves washing all exposed clothes and bedding in very hot water, (113 degrees), inspection and thorough pesticide treatment.|Effective treatment is painstaking and inconvenient and can frequently result in the loss of clothing and or furniture. In addition to pesticide treatment all the exposed clothing and bedding must be washed in high heat, above 113 degrees. Pesticides are safe when used as directed. To insure that treatment is all inclusive, it is best to hire a pest control specialist.

Secondary prevention includes encasement of mattresses in protective plastic, inspection of any second hand item before admission to the home, and travel precautions, which include never placing the suitcase on the ground, and thoroughly washing of all belongings immediately on return from a trip. Homeowners wishing to protect themselves should take certain preventative steps. Mattresses should be protected by encasements, and all second hand furniture must be inspected before being allowed into the home. Anyone travelling should avoid placing his suitcase on the ground and upon returning from a trip, all clothing should be immediately washed.

How to Recognize and Get Rid of Black Odorous House Ants

Tips from Dovid Davis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:26:00 GMT

Pest Control Dovid Davis talks about how to reognize and get rid of black odorous house ants.