Hands down, without a doubt it has to be “The Bed Bug” and I was right. Top 10 Evil Animals and it might surprise you about #2 and I think 5 – 6 are right up my alley in the way of pest control.

So check it out and hey if you have any opinions please let me know. Comments are welcome.

Just in case you might have been thinking about it, I wasn’t on the list.. Haha

I can be a pest though…

We all call Earth our home and until NASA comes up with a plan for moving all of us to Mars or somewhere else we all must get on board the boat called GREEN. The EPA has recently mandated Chemical Pesticide Manufacturers to update and make pesticide labeling more Eco-friendly. Now you might remember my blog on “The days of power spraying every house is coming to a close” in December 2011, I had heard that they were on track to do some amending to the Pyrethroid Labels and it appears that this has taken place and has become a little more restrictive on spraying in general.

Integrated Pest Management or IPM is the answer and it works! Yes we live in Arizona and we have those Bark Scorpions but if you do some minor adjustments to your home it will help tremendously. Home Sealing is just one component in IPM, schools have adjusted to IPM as well as factories and warehouses. So what are some things you can do to protect your family, home and business?

1. Home seal – seal every crack and crevice and every hole, this will help to keep the heat and cold in depending on the time of time. So this saves money and keeps the critters out.
2. Install a garage seal, keeps the rain (if we ever get any) out and the bugs.
3. Sanitation is the key to pest control – inside and out, keep lids on garbage containers or dumpsters.
4. IPM is not the absence of pesticide – it is the judicious usage along with the other tools to stop bugs from getting into your home or business. The knowledge of the insect can also play into treatment, if you know where they live and how they breed  this will help you attack the problem and solve the key issues.

So there are ways of treating your home with out soaking the entire property, if you know and understand the insect you will then be able to solve the problem. Is your bug guy the blaster or the one who understands the issues and our environment? Times have changed, no longer do we spray the entire inside of a home with pesticide, no longer is the smell of the product a factor of how well it works and no longer will companies blast your home with a poison with little to no regard for the environment.

ProBest Pest Management stopped treating inside homes 7 year ago, unless there was a specific issue inside. ProBest is a Gold Member of Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) and QualityPro GreenPro since 2005. The standard is high but ProBest cares about the environmental – cause we live here too.

The more I watch TV the more it scares me, I hate those commercials that say “How old is your bed, if your bed is over 8 years it has 10 pounds of stuff in it”, just what I don’t want to hear. It’s bad enough thinking about dust mites or worse yet Bed Bugs but you spend a great deal of time in that bed.

When the Great Bed Bug scare came I decided we needed to invest in some mattress and box spring en-casements and let me tell you I can now sleep without the thought of those critters jumping around more than counting sheep. There are a few side benefits about these en-casements, here they are:

• They keep things in and things out, now remember Bed Bugs just don’t live on beds.
• They keep out urine, sweat and anything else you might spill on them. Accidents happen like babies sprouting a geyser or the accidental dog or cat issue.
• Allergens especially within the bed can be kept to a minimal amount.
• These en-casements are not like years of past, they are crinkly and make noise. They aren’t as hot either.

So think about an en-casement as a way to protect and maybe extend the life of that mattress and box spring.

Clutter and the bugs…

Sanitation is the key to any commercial restaurant and should be the guiding light to any homeowner. With the spread of bed Bugs nothing has the potential to cause extreme infestations like clutter. The problem is where to begin the treatment and to be successful you must get to all the spots. I don’t care if it’s heat or steam treatment if you can’t get to where the bug is living there is virtually no chance of winning the war against these little biters. This problem extends to cockroaches and rodents as well, clutter is the enemy whether in or around your home.

Inside:

1. My theory is that if you haven’t touched the item its time to throw it out or better yet give it to a charity!
2. Closets are not a throw and forget place.
3. Under beds is also not a very handy place – exceptions include those little plastic cases, at least they are manageable.

Outside

1. Never stack firewood against the home, ever!
2. The more stuff around the home and in the yard may attract bugs, spiders and rodents.
3. Don’t use the shed or garage as a dump site either. If you ever take anything from that area make sure it is clean before bringing it in. Bugs and rodents love to hide in that stuff.
4. Attics – you can store boxes up there but again make sure they are empty before bringing anything inside. If you store stuff in a commercial storage facility make sure you check stuff before bringing it home.

CLUTTER IS THE ENEMY! SANITATION IS YOUR FRIEND!

PestTube! What is this thing.

The innovative Pestubes-In-The-Wall™system, shown below, incorporates a network of precision perforated tubes built into your home’s framing, which are linked to a pesticide injection port located on the home’s exterior.

OK for my take, I have investigated numerous versions of this device both under concrete and in walls. The version under concrete which I have seen in action was more of a pvc pipe versus tubing (TermGuard) and I really liked the ability and adaptability of this product. The only issue is pricing and with the advent of repellent termiticides such as Termidor or Transport I just don’t see this catching on.The stuff in the walls I’m not sold on, I think the tubing kinks to often and this prevents the products from being delivered to the area in question. The other problem is the product used whether dust or liquid often blocks the tubing and now we have to address the propellent. This propellent needs to ensure that the product is pushed to where it is needed and unfortunately I just haven’t seen anything that really gets the product to the end source.

From time to time I hear about those great deals, which all of us probably run into. Last week I got another one of those flyers in the mail on carpet cleaning – “Any size room steam cleaned & deodorized $4.95″ of course then the fine print – 2 room minimum, heavily soils carpet will require preconditioning. Oh and don’t forget travel charge applies to all areas.

Come on who are they kidding? By the time you add in all those hidden fees, it could (and probably is)  the same as a reputable Better Business Bureau company. By the way I also decided to do as search for their company at the BBB and it appears that there is an Alert on this company.

Its the same with pest control companies, I’m often amazed at the discrepancy of pricing and I ran into one this weekend. 4000 – 5000 square foot home, 4 bedrooms with a living room with Bed Bugs. My price started at $1250 and the other quoted price was $550. Bed Bugs are a serious and time consuming treatment protocol and this job would take take us most of the day to complete. I can understand shopping for the best price but lets consider some other factors?

1. What are the protocols? We issue a prep sheet which must be followed.
2. What are they using? We use Steam, with a dust material put into crack & crevices and wall voids and Phantom liquid spray around baseboards.
3. How long will they be there, estimate? For this size home probably 6 – 8 hours.
4. How long has this business been in business? 30+ years
5. Do they have reviews by BBB, Kudzu, MerchantCircle or anyone else? No complaints and plenty of reviews.
6. Are they licensed and insured? Office of Pest Management #8411 and we carry General Liability, Auto and Workman’s Compensation
7. Are they member so of Crimshield? CrimeFreeCircle Yes, since 2008.

Why did ProBest Pest Management get into carpet cleaning: Bed Bugs are the main reason.

The Bed Bug epidemic has spread across the USA at a rapid pace and people react with a sense of urgency and frustration. Often times people panic and react by immediately throwing things out and this leads to the spread of eggs and adults throughout the home including carpets. ProBest Pest Management decided to offer a service of pest treatment with carpet cleaning as a way of total and complete eradication. What better way than to steam everything including the carpets if needed. We offer steam, limited pesticides and follow-ups if needed.  ProBest immediately sought certification and so far 2 employees are “The Clean Trust” certified.

Safety Precautions for Total Release Foggers:

EPA has prepared this fact sheet to help users reduce potential hazards associated with total release foggers. Total release foggers, also known as “bug bombs,” are pesticide products containing aerosol propellants that release their contents at once to fumigate an area. These products are often used around the home to kill cockroaches, fleas, and other pests. Because the aerosol propellants in these foggers typically are flammable, improper use may cause a fire or explosion. In addition to this hazard, failure to vacate premises during fogging or reentering without airing out may result in illness.

There are several video’s that outline the proper use of these tools for pest control (vacate residence, do not use more than on label and ignition sources)  and with all the stories over the last few years its probably time for a detailed guideline on usage. I will add one more item, there is a place for this type of tool within pest control but bear in mind that improper use may make the bug go deeper into the walls or hiding place. This may actually make the situation worse and more difficult if you then must hire a Pest Management Professional.

Click to read the story Bees attack Tucson man trying to kill swarm and by the way if you’re in Tucson call our friends at http://www.azpest.com/

As a bug expert I’m always learning and staying current with the news about bugs, from new species to bugs that move especially around the U.S. On a visit to the Jacksonville Zoo I had the opportunity to do a little research on Caribbean crazy ant.   We now have in Texas another variety of crazy ant and its continually on the move, this little ant Rasberry Crazy Ant was named after the Pest Management Professional Tom Rasberry who identified it first in Texas.

These ants like to go into homes in search of food and often will interfere with electrical boxes. These ants also may drive out fire ants and the good news is that they don’t bite. So keep an eye out because it may just be a matter of time before they make their way to Arizona.