Burrows

 

Burrows

Burrows/Rodents/Squirrels

Liberty Wildlife We recently moved into a newly built facility and had a few problems with rodents. Due to the nature of our business wildlife care we constantly strive to hatch, protect and raise wildlife. Rather than use bait we use the rodent station with snap traps to stop rodents from entering our buildings and cages and to protect all of our resident’s birds/animals/wildlife. We recently encountered a breech in our building and have sealed it, we then decided to address the numerous holes from rodents on our property. ProBest Pest Management brought to our attention the BurrowRX system and I must say it exceeded our expectations. No residual and no mess, the carbon monoxide kills the rodents and they stay put under the ground. No effect on our animals, wildlife or birds. We absolutely hate having to eliminate the rodents, but this system is humane and free from harmful chemicals or rodenticide secondary poisoning. ProBest Pest Management has always been on the cutting edge of the newest methods in pest/rodent eradication and have done most of the work pro bono over the years because of our status as a non-profit. ProBest has brought us birds that have been hit and helped to move a nesting Barn Owl with eggs. We highly recommend their service, they are top notch and are true Pest Management Professionals and they are QualityPro certified with 2 Associate Certified Entomologist on staff. 2 Talons up for their excellent service since 2011, my Staff and I use them and highly recommend their service. Terry Stevens Director Liberty Wildlife

The BurrowRx system is a unique system for eradicating varmints and rodents. Just insert the tube device into their holes and the carbon monoxide will kill them humanely.

Grass eating termites

 

Grass and termites

Grass, termites and what they may eat. Here is Arizona we have a grass eating termite. Typically they eat desert cellulose cleaning up the desert. In the picture they are just eating the old dead tree bark. Sometimes you will see them building little castles in the yard. They usually don’t do any harm but it does freak out some people and from time to time we can treat around trees to stop them from doing any perceived damage.

You will occasionally see them in areas that are dry and they will build little tunnels over the lawn. This buildup looks like little castles and often look kind of unique in the yard or litter areas. They will buildup over leaves, small pieces of wood or twigs, manure, cactus and plant structures. They also are known as agricultural termites.

Grass

Rain

 

Rain

O boy all that rain, over 2+ inches here in Arizona. Thanks to Hurricane Rosa. Unusual for that much water in a few days, and its flooding everywhere. All this brings the bugs out in force and I’m expecting termi8te activity to bump up quickly. What can you expect?

  • Termite activity – check your slab foundation outside and inside for tubes.
  • Increase activity on scorpions, water may push them in.
  • Just like above ants may wonder in to get away from water.
  • This tarantula below was under a French door (thanks Chas A.) he/she was seeking shelter.
  • This is termite season in Arizona, after the monsoons so as usual do a monthly check of your home.
  • Honeybees may be swarming as well

Rain

It’s not the appliance but the hole that lets in the critters.

 

The appliance and the hole.

The appliance and your home. It’s the hole that affects the entry of the pests. Often the wall socket is surrounded by the cover but may still allow pests. The cover may fit tightly but the technique is to fill in that gap with caulking. By sealing the outside, you stop the pests outside. But if there is a gap and they encounter it they may get in. Home-sealing is still the best option and helps to add one more line of defense against the possible invasion of pests.

Home-sealing eliminates the holes or crack that scorpions, ants and spiders may take into your home. You can do your own sealing or hire a professional company to do it. It is better to be done in the winter if you you-re doing it as it HOT and messy. You can do the inside any ole time and its easy enough to do, pull the cover down or off and caulk.

appliance

Pocket Gophers

 

Pocket Gophers

Pocket gophers can be quite the destructive pests, they eat roots and often go unnoticed until the plant is dead. Look for those suspicious dug up soil patterns in the grass or dirt. Females and males share some burrows and nesting areas if their territories border, but in general they tend to hang out in their own tunnels. Even though they can look all cuddly they are still a wild animal and in it for themselves.

Did you know?

  • Breed in early Spring to early Summer.
  • The typical gopher can move approximately 1 ton of soil each year.
  • Not known to carry a significate source of disease.
  • They have often been known to carry external parasites
  • Known Predators—including owls, hawks, snakes, weasels, cats, dogs, and coyotes—eat pocket gophers.

Pocket Gophers

Rat Catcher

 

Rat Catcher

Rat Catcher one of those jobs people don’t do anymore. I must admit, most of those jobs were tough and I wouldn’t want to do them either. The grossest one was used teeth salesperson, yuuuuuck. Times do change thank goodness and new and better jobs will always pop up. It’s like doing Pest Control in Arizona when the temperature is over 115 degrees, I know it’s a dry heat.

So what new jobs will be available, robots will be doing more and more. Fast food employees will be done away with by mechanical systems, taxi drivers eliminate by self driving cars etc. When I was in Seattle at Pestworld a few years ago, they had a GPS self driven device to scare away birds at airports so a Pest technician might be replaced but that’s a long time away I believe.

 

Rat Catcher

Termite failures

 

Termite failures on structures

What kind of issues cause failures?

Failures include:

  1. Planters next to the foundation.
  2. Stucco below grade of slab.
  3. Any wood to soil.
  4. Tree roots or stumps within the area of foundation.
  5. Improper pretreat to slab.
  6. Buried construction material below slab.
  7. To much water against the slab, drip irrigation and flood irrigation.
  8. After the slab is poured, the bath-trap is disturbed.
  9. People walking on pretreat material before the slab is poured.
  10. Digging up the post treatment, and then forgetting to notify the Termite company.

failures

There are many items that can cause problems when thinking about a structure break and thinking outside the box is helpful. So let’s imagine that you are having issues near a kitchen in the ceiling – the first step is checking outside. See if there are any mud tubes. Then examine inside, blocked by cabinets – its probably coming up within the inside of the foundation. Angle drilling may be necessary. I think it is like detective work, examining the clues and coming up with the treatment options. So good luck and keep at it and you will figure it out.

Old wood

 

Old wood

Old wood or really just any wood can be an issue for termites and other wood boring insects. Termites can be the bane of every homeowner unless they are savvy to their ways. That is why I believe most homes especially those in the South maintain a termite guarantee against these pests. They are extremely small but can be fierce, 24/7/365 in their work schedule. At the very least if you live in the South get a Pest Management Professional to look at your property every few years or more. You’ve spent a lot of money on that home, protect it and give yourself peace of mind.

Monsoons have given us the rain and now the termites will be working harder than ever in search of food. Will that be your HOME?

The U.S. Constitution

 

The U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, I don’t usually post rants but this is one of my exceptions.  I believe this document to be almost perfect, and needs to be interpreted as is. This piece of paper gives us our rights and I know many disagree on amendments etc, but I’m a purist at heart.

This piece of paper gives ProBest Pest Management the right to be in business and free to post a blog good or bad. Now I will disagree on what some companies decide to say publicly, I refuse to get into that set but it is their right. I just won’t do it, won’t post negative politically religious themes. I want everyone to get along, buy pest services from me and don’t care if I’m whatever.

BY the way did you know Silverfish and Cockroaches love paper and glue, rodents as well. So if you store stuff in the attic be careful about those things, I’ve also seen them eat photos and scrapbooks. So store in a plastic container somewhere where it is cooler without moisture. If you have numerous books in a den keep an eye out for silverfish, they can do a lot of damage before you even have a chance to see it.

The U.S. Constitution

Pesticides

 

Pesticides

Pesticides are a tool of the IPM or Integrated Pest Management. It is important to understand and implement the correct usage of any chemical used. I recently attended a workshop where this subject was addressed especially with the idea of IPM or Integrated Pest Management. Always a great idea to rehash the options you have when using them. I have always believed that IPM works and should be the basis of any pest treatment. I also wish to address the belief of some that IPM means no pesticides, that is incorrect it simply means that you use the other tools first and if you must use them you do so in a manner that is minimally evasive to the structure.

Pesticides     Pesticides

Thank you to Dr. Michael R. Wierda for supplying this information, info to talk with him included with the sheets.