Bolton Pest Control

Archive for June, 2010

There is then no need to worry unnecessarily should your home or property become a nesting place for these stinging creatures, as there are various ways you can rid yourself of a wasp problem once and for all.If you should find an old nest during winter or early spring, it can be safely removed and disposed of, if desired. Wasps do not reuse old nests, so there is no risk to you when discarding it.To treat a mature nest requires expertise. For instance, it is very risky to attempt to destroy a nest situated in a roof void, due to the cramped space and increased danger of being attacked. The best advice is to always seek the help of a pest controller, who will use specialist equipment, treatments and protective clothing to rid you of your pest trouble. You can also contact your local council, who may be able to offer an insect removal service.The insecticide component of the destroying formula will kill all insects that come into contact with it. Wasps will never desert their nest; therefore all the pests should eventually perish.You can also buy nest destroyers from hardware shops, DIY stores or on the Internet. These work by spraying inside the hole, or from three metres back if you can see the nest. It is advised that you treat the infestation early in the morning or late in the evening, as this is when the wasps are less active. For a smaller nest, you can purchase an insecticide powder in a puffer pack to dust the nest. Always be extremely careful when treating the nest, as these creatures give off pheromones when under attack, bringing the workers out of their hiding place and thus increasing the possibility of you being stung.There is some danger in trying to get rid of wasp nests, because if you anger them in the nest, you’re very liable to get attacked and badly stung. It is therefore best to exercise caution at all times when trying to kill the nest. You may not actually be able to see the nest, therefore you should take a walk around the perimeter of your home and look for wasps flying in and out of a single entrance every two to four seconds. This is an indication of a nest buried at least four inches behind the hole.In order to check for a nest, you should start by looking at the top of your garage, shed or outbuildings for possible sites. During June and July, the nest will only be the size of a tennis or football, straw yellow in colour with swirling patterns over the outer shell. By August, it will be much bigger and darker yellow in colour. By the time September arrives, the nest can be as large as a small armchair, with as many as 10,000 drones using it. During April and until early June, the queen will leave the old nest or hibernation cell, and begin constructing a new one in a different place. Nests are mostly a mixture of chewed wood and wasp saliva. Queen wasps will often start to build their new homes in roof voids, wall cavities or in outbuildings.All worker wasps tend to die out during the cold snap of winter; the only ones that survive are the queens. These wasps will then hibernate over the course of the winter months, either inside the old nest or within a small, gold ball-sized hibernation seal.There are two types of wasp common to the UK. Both species, the common and German wasp, are almost identical to look at, with their colourful yellow and black bodies and small wings. By understanding your foe and being able to correctly identify the site of their nest, you should be able to deal with an infestation problem quickly and efficiently.Wasps are actually a beneficial insect to farmers and gardeners, because they will kill large numbers of flies and nuisance plant-feeding insects. However, to the majority of people, these creatures are pests with a nasty sting, whose nests can be the cause of much worry and fright.

Once you know how to identify and get rid of wasp nests, you can treat the infestation and reclaim your property as your own again.
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If you’re in the hospitality industry, this is one website you don’t want to find yourself on. BedbugRegistry.com is a free public database that encourages people to report bed bug experiences, specifically at hotels. There’s a quick reporting form for listing the hotel name and street address which is translated into a dot-covered map of the U.S. showing the locations of each reported infestation. A list of the hotels and other infestation sites is provided to warn travelers. What the site doesn’t do is verify reports, nor does it indicate when a hotel has successfully remedied the problem.

The old adage there’s no such thing as bad publicity doesn’t carry any credence with hoteliers. They know that even a whispered rumor can have a disastrous effect on business. Websites that detail horror-laced reports of being eaten alive by bed bugs during an overnight stay in a hotel or motel play on growing public hysteria about these blood-sucking parasites. Fanned by a blitz of media attention, an accusation can instantly damage a hotel’s hard-earned reputation and frighten away guests.

According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), bed bug infestations have been reported in all 50 states. Nearly unheard of since near eradication by DDT-based insecticides in the 1950s, bed bugs are back and in ever-increasing numbers. Bed bug reports increased by 71% from 2000 to 2005 according to the NPMA. Most pest control companies now field dozens of calls a week each week. “The last 12 months have been particularly active,” said Cindy Mannes, NPMA director of public affairs. “They are showing up like never before in hotels, hospitals, college dormitories, and multifamily housing units as well as single-family homes.”

“Most hotel chains don’t keep track because the number is so insignificant,” said Joe McInerney of the American Hotel & Lodging Association said at the 2006 International Bed Bug Symposium when asked about the growing number of bed bug complaints in the hospitality industry. He noted that there are more than 4.4 million hotel rooms in the U.S., adding “you could count the number of cases per day on one or two hands.” Yet according to a 2004 survey of pest control professionals by Pest Control Technology magazine, hotels and motels were the most common sites of bed bug infestations, accounting for more than one-third of bed bug complaints. In a recent survey, one company reported that 24% of their 700 client hotels required bed bug treatments between 2002 and 2006. Brooke Ferencsik, spokesman for popular hotel review site TripAdvisor.com told USA Today, “We get a steady stream of bed bug reports and have hundreds of reviews” mentioning them. “Even if travelers aren’t experiencing [bed bugs], they’re becoming more aware and are looking out for them.”

The resurgence of bed bugs has created a particularly vexing problem for the hospitality industry. Rooms that were pest-free one night can be infected by a guest the next. Legal experts have noticed a boom in bed bug litigation with guests suing hotels for millions of dollars. “Not only can a hotel get a terrible reputation for allowing the creepy crawly bed buddies to exist, but they can also lose out on a lot of dough,” wrote a blogger on HotelChatter.com. Some lawyers are actually trawling for bed bug clients. A notice on InjuryBoard.com reads: “If you have been the victim of bed bug infestation, it may be important to contact an attorney who can help you protect your legal rights.”

The financial impact of a bed bug suit can be substantial. In the 2003 landmark case (Matthias v. Accor Economy Lodging); Toronto siblings who stayed in a bed bug-infested motel room received a jury award of $382,000 in their suit against Motel 6. In 2006, a Chicago couple sued a Catskills resort for $20 million, saying they were physically and mentally scarred after suffering 500 bed bug bites. “I was horrified to see all of those bites all over my body,” said plaintiff Leslie Fox. “I was miserable. My skin felt as if it was on fire and I wanted to tear it off.” In 2007, New York opera star Allison Trainer sued the Hilton hotel chain for $6 million claiming she suffered more than 100 bed bug bites at a Hilton Suites in Phoenix. Her story was widely reported in the press: “They were all over the bed and the comforter and the pillows and I pulled the sheets off and they were just everywhere.” Her attorney documented 150 bites and 23 scars. Just last month a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that two Maryland tourists bitten by bed bugs during a 2003 stay at the Milford Plaza could proceed with their $2 million negligence suit, though punitive damages were denied.

What you don’t see is hotels suing guests who bring bed bugs with them. Adept hitchhikers, they enter hotel rooms in guests’ luggage or on their clothing. Most won’t leave with the guest; they’ll nest in and near the bed awaiting the next occupant and their next meal. Bed bugs are not a sanitation issue. About the size of an apple seed, the tiny nocturnal pests are nuisance parasites that feed on human blood. They do not transmit disease but can cause considerable emotional distress. In about 50% of their victims, bed bug bites produce itchy red welts that may take two days to develop, complicating detection. Many hotel guests check out before an infestation is discovered. Prolific breeders, females can produce up to 500 eggs during their one-year lifespan.

Infestations can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms and those above and below an infested room. Bed bugs travel easily through vents, ducts, wall voids and electrical and plumbing conduits. They can be spread by housekeeping staff on clothing or carts. “A lot of people would be surprised by the hotels we’re finding bed bugs at these days,” said Dean Henry, a Seattle pest control technician. “People don’t expect to see them at the higher end places.”

Notoriously difficult to locate, bed bugs hide in tiny cracks and crevices on and near beds to be near their food source. They may harbor in the seams of mattresses; on furniture and drapes; behind wall hangings, baseboards and headboards; under the edges of carpeting; and inside light fixtures, electrical outlets and switch plates. Your best defense against bed bugs is daily inspection by a trained and knowledgeable housekeeping staff coupled with regular pest control inspections by a firm with an expertise in eliminating bed bugs.

1. Bed bugs are tough to kill. They have a hard cuticle for protection. Traditional treatment is to fumigate the room with chemicals known as pyrethroids, but pest control companies have come out with an arsenal of new services and products to fight bed bugs:

2. Specially trained dogs are being used to sniff out bed bugs. K-9 services provide initial detection and follow-up but not extermination. A trained dog can thoroughly investigate a room in two to three minutes, indicating areas to treat.

3. Cryonite kills bed bugs by freezing them with a non-toxic, environmentally-safe carbon dioxide vapor. The vapor is particularly effective in penetrating under furniture and into cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide. Unlike traditional pesticides, Cryonite kills bed bugs in all stages of development, including eggs, and is effective against pesticide-resistant bed bugs, German cockroaches, meal moths and other hard-to-kill pests. Since it leaving no poisonous residue, rooms can be used immediately after treatment.

4. ThermaPure uses giant heaters to heat rooms to a constant 120 to 140 degrees for several hours in an effort to bake bugs to death.

5. Bed bug proof mattress and box springs encasements protect your bedding investment from bed bug infestation.

The best way to keep bed bugs from getting your property listed on BedBugRegistry.com is through comprehensive education of housekeeping and support staff and professional pro-active prevention and through rapid treatment when bed bugs do appear.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376. Please visit us on the Web at www.SternEnvironmental.com.
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Bed bugs are ruddy brown, tiny, flat and oval-shaped insect without wings which at night feast on human blood. Bed bugs are deemed to be night-time insects as they are mainly active at midnight.

Bed bugs are dispersing very rapidly in houses, motels, inns, busses, taxis and railway stations. You now speculate as to how many eggs the bed bugs can lie as they are spreading very quickly

Bed bugs are similar to other insects in that they reproduce very fast. And they lay many eggs too. You may now inquire, bed bugs lay how many eggs??

Bed bugs suck human blood. Several types of bed bugs feed both on humans and bats. Therefore if there are bats in your attic a possibility that your abode is infected with bugs is there. If you your attic are cured of bats occupancy, you can afterward effortlessly deal with the bed bugs invasion.

Bed bugs hatch from eggs. After hatching from the eggs they develop into nymphs

How many eggs are laid by bed bugs? In a year the feminine bed bug lays a minimum 300 (three hundred) eggs and 1000 (thousand) eggs during its lifespan. After mating it lays in a day a maximum of three eggs. In around ten days the eggs of bed bugs are hatched.

The life of a bed bug is lengthy. Bed bugs might also live eighteen months without eating. Picture that! Eggs of Bed bug can endure on any surface, but prefer paper, wood or cloth more than metals and plastics, whereas the nymphs can survive without feeding for nearly six months

Which are the probable spaces for female bed bug to lay the eggs? The Bed bugs will lay its eggs in tiny and slight cracks to guard the eggs from damage. Female bed bugs conceal the eggs under the beddings, on crevices in the headboard, beneath the crease in the nightstand next to the bed, within the other wooden furnishings and bedroom wallpaper in the vicinity.

The number of eggs laid by the bed bug determines the rate of invasion. A bed bug ridden mattress full of its eggs implies hundred’s of bed bugs are everywhere laying eggs, and they are being hatched daily

But if we destroy the bed bugs, the eggs of bed bugs also should be destroyed. If you leave the eggs unharmed, they can hatch and grow into either a male or female bed bug which can produce a thousand eggs. If there are more than a thousand female bed bugs there in your house, you will not know further how many eggs bed bugs can lay.

Eggs of bed bugs can be identified easily. They look like termite eggs. However unlike eggs of termites, bed bug eggs live near ruddy russet stains and have an unpleasant, sweet-like stench, actually a bit stale. The reddish dark stain is excrement or bed bugs faecus. Bed bugs alone have this type of excrement arrangement. However, the odor of bed bug comes from the odor gland of the bed bugs. They discharge the aroma for breeding and it also works as a protective boundary.

Eggs of bed bugs must not be squashed or mashed. Bed bug eggs must be destroyed by using insecticides. When you crush bed bug eggs, several eggs might not be crushed and they have another opportunity to procreate some more generations of bed bugs at your place.

Discover the finest spray to kill insects. Specifically use those meant for bed bugs eradication. On using the chemical spray for bed bugs, eggs and nymphs will be killed along with the adults. Though countless say that such chemicals to kill bed bugs are ineffective to free your home from bed bugs, nevertheless they are the best substitute to physical extermination of bed bugs (pounding and mashing of adult and egg bed bugs to spots) and the greatest replacement for DDT. In the US, DDT was used to kill every sort of insect from the year 1940 to 1950. While DDT was successful in doing away with pests, it is now prohibited in the US and some other countries due to its injurious effect on humans.

Abhishek has got some great Bed Bugs Elimination Secrets up his sleeve! Download his FREE 69 Pages Ebook, “How To Win Your War Against Bed Bugs!” from his website http://www.Wonder-Homes.com/113/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
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Rats are naturally opportunistic omnivores. If they have the opportunity, they will indulge in insects and other small invertebrates, such as snails or caterpillars. However, as any farmer will attest, rats can also thrive on a predominantly plant-based diet made up of grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, and other plant material. So, not surprisingly, a pet rat’s food can be primarily vegetarian, if supplemented with fresh animal-based foods to provide additional beneficial nutrients.

Currently, most available rat foods are of mediocre quality, containing mostly low quality plant-based, and low-grade animal-derived ingredients which may be unhealthy over the long run. Even if higher quality, safer, and more nutritious organic ingredients are used, these are usually processed at high temperatures, which devitalize endogenous nutrients in the pet food products that contain them. High heat is used for most extruded rat food, i.e., pellet foods or ‘lab block’-type foods, even those products that are USDA certified organic.

A more ideal rat food would be composed of unrefined USDA certified organic ingredients and would not contain any artificial ingredients. These quality ingredients would not be exposed to, and therefore devitalized by, high heat processing. USDA certified organic ingredients are healthier because they are free of pesticides residues, are not genetically engineered, and are significantly more nutrient-rich than non-USDA certified organic ingredients. Moreover, organic certification assures that no toxic pesticides or cleaning agents are used during the handling, storage, and processing of food ingredients or final products. Currently, only organic certification assures that the pet food manufacturer uses the organic ingredients as claimed. Non-USDA certified organic claims are not yet regulated or enforced by US law.

As you might gather from the foregoing, even USDA certified organic rat foods aren’t necessarily perfect foods for your pet rat, particularly those containing refined ingredients or ingredients that have been processed at high heat, which destroys the nutrients contained in those ingredients. Even though in such cases, excesses of supplementary nutrients may have to be added to achieve minimally acceptable nutrient levels after heat processing, these nutrients are generally synthetic and of questionable quality, and are also easily degraded and deactivated when exposed to air or light. Therefore, the nutritional value of organic rat foods that have been supplemented with isolated nutrients may rapidly fall below promised levels soon after these foods are manufactured or purchased by pet owners.

An alternative to supplementation with isolated synthetic nutrients is to provide nutrients through the primary food ingredients and to preserve these nutrients by using a gentle processing method, such as freezing or gentle dehydration. Currently, we know of only one pet food manufacturer which uses such a mild processing method to provide live raw dehydrated pet foods for pet rats and other pet rodents.

If you don’t have the time or resources to provide your pet rat with fresh, healthy, and safe foods, then you would be well advised to search for the best available foods on the market and actively support those companies that supply such foods. Only in this way will more companies that are providing quality pet foods survive and be able to compete in the pet food market. In the case of rat foods, since there seems to be a general lack of interest and demand on the part of many rat owners, the market for such foods tends to be underexploited or even ignored by the majority of the pet food manufacturers.

Eric Taylor has years of expertise on pet care and pet rearing. He writes on dehydrated pet products, USDA certified organic rat food, holistic dog foods and pet treats that could be used as diet for your pets and ensure their health and wellness.
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Wasps and bees are beneficial insects, although they are generally considered to be pests because of their ability to sting. Wasps, in particular, can become a problem in autumn when they may disrupt many outdoor activities. People often mistakenly call all stinging insects “bees”. While both social wasps and bees live in colonies ruled by queens and maintained by workers, they look and behave differently. It is important to distinguish between these insects because different methods may be necessary to control them if they become a nuisance. In most cases, I recommend an ant, bee, or wasp control expert.

Appearance

Wasps have a slender body with a narrow waist, slender, cylindrical legs, and appear smoothed-skinned and shiny. Yellow jackets, bald-faced hornets, and paper wasps are the most common types of wasps encountered by people.

Bees are robust-bodied and very hairy compared with wasps. Their hind legs are flattened for collecting and transporting pollen. Bees are important pollinators. Honey bees are responsible for more than 80% of the pollination required by most fruits, legumes, and vegetable seed plants as well as many ornamentals that are grown in our landscapes. Bumble bees are important pollinators of native prairie plants.

Food Preferences

Wasps are predators, feeding insects and other arthropods to their young, which develop in the nest. They are beneficial because they prey on many insects, including caterpillars, flies, crickets, and other pests. During late summer and fall, as queens stop laying eggs and their nests decline, wasps change their food gathering priorities and are more interested in collecting sweets and other carbohydrates. Some wasps may become aggressive scavengers around human food and may be common around outdoor activities where food or drinks are served. If a problem consists, an ant, bee, or wasp control company will be able to remedy the problem.

Bees feed only on nectar (carbohydrates) and pollen (protein) from flowers. Honey bees sometimes visit trash cans and soft-drink containers to feed on sugary foods.

Nesting Sites

Yellow jackets, Bald-faced hornets, and paper wasps make nests from a papery pulp comprised of chewed-up wood fibers mixed with saliva. Yellow jacket and Bald-faced hornet nests consist of a series of rounded combs stacked in tiers. These combs are covered by an envelope consisting of several layers of pulp. Paper wasps construct only one comb without any protective envelope. These insects are sometimes known as umbrella wasps because of the shape of their nest.

Yellow jackets, Bald-faced hornets, and paper wasps nest in quiet, out of the way places. Unfortunately, in urban areas this may conflict with people and their interests.

Yellow jackets commonly build nests below ground in old rodent burrows or other cavities. They can also build nests in trees, shrubs, under eaves, and inside attics or wall voids. Bald-faced hornets commonly build nests in the open in trees as well as under eaves and along the sides of buildings.

Paper wasps build nests under any horizontal surface and are commonly found on limbs, overhangs, eaves of buildings, beams and supports in attics, garages, barns, sheds, and other similar places.

Honey bees make a series of vertical honey combs made of wax. Their colonies are mostly in manufactured hives but they do occasionally nest in cavities in large trees, voids in building walls, or other protected areas.

Bumble bees use old mice burrows, cavities in buildings, and other locations to make their nests. Like honey bees, bumble bees make cells of wax.

Best Pest LLC offers affordable pest control for Livingston County, MI and the surrounding areas. Their expertise in providing quality, affordable services for commercial and residential clients is unparalleled. For more information please visit Best Pest LLC.
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