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Where will bees take up residence?

We all need to bee aware in Arizona and pretty much all of the South U.S. This is an example of why, this picture is a water meter box and if you look close you will see honeybees going in and out of the entrance . What would happen if children were playing and ran across the lid, or fell on the meter box?

What would happen if you decided to check your water meter box and lifted the lid without seeing the bees, catastrophe well maybe? So please see the checklist below and use caution in and around your home!

Check your home monthly especially in the Spring and Fall, check eaves and roof-line.
Check your property, sheds and storage.
Keep an eye out for meter boxes or electrical boxes.
If a swarm enters your property and alights on a tree branch, wait – they may move. If they go to and from your home, then it is time to call.
Remember bees don’t know a dog house from a tree.
Remember if you decide to treat, you can’t call the bees back once they are excited and upset.

When you need a Professional Speaker on bugs, who do you call?

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From the age of probably 15 I knew I didn’t have a problem speaking to any crowd. My first taste of this type of endeavor was a public speaking contest with The American Legion and my talk was about conservation. While only placing 3rd with the state, I thought I had done a pretty commendable job.

Really enjoying a topic as I do bugs, makes it easy and I can most of the time discuss just about any bug out there. If I don’t know the answer I can always find out and get back to the person asking. I had a chance to work for a Chemical Manufacturing company and had the opportunity to speak in many different countries about my knowledge of the bugs we encounter here in the State’s. My largest group was approximately 500 people.

This last week I spoke to a group on “Biting and Stinging Pest” here in Arizona. We live with bugs everyday, I heard once that we are within 5 feet of a bug every minute of our lives. Scary isn’t it?

Are you a Realtor or Broker, how about a Property Manager and could you use some additional knowledge about insects? I think all of us could use a little more knowledge and should continue to learn until we check out. Do you know what to do if you encounter Africanized Honeybees or Bed Bugs?

Call ProBest Pest Management for an appointment 480-831-9328 or 623-414-0176.

How do those honeybees get into your home?

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How do those honeybees get into your home?

As you can see any crack or crevice that they can squeeze into, as long as there is room inside to build a honeycomb to raise future bees. The bees have also decided that they only work on Sunday’s, cause that is the only day I get the calls.

The one thing I have noticed is that the new colonies are smaller probably indicating Africanized Honeybee’s. The weird factor in this is that the last 3 swarms or colonies have not been very aggressive probably due to just moving into their new digs.

How can you remove honeycomb from a structure?

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How can you remove honeycomb from a structure?

Honeybees can take up residence in any home if there is space available and sometimes they don’t make it easy to get to them.We don’t always remove the honeycomb, it is not always necessary. Maybe the bees haven’t been there very long or it is just impossible to get to as the case above is. depending on the location you may have to cut stucco, or come in from the inside out and this all involves dismantling and construction. All of this is time consuming and somewhat dangerous unless you know what you are doing.

Sometimes it is necessary to call in someone with more construction ability than I have. If it involves cutting stucco or getting into a brick structure then I think you need a professional that understands construction and building plans.

The bees are coming! How do I know?

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The bees are coming! How do I know?

The weather has warmed up and we had a great deal of rain, that is going to equal a lot of bug. With the temperatures today in the high 80’s you can bet the Africanized Honeybee’s who swarm more often anyway are all ready making brood to divide the colony.

The hive mind decides on the event and all of a sudden the colony is at it’s maximun and they swarm. One-half or so of the colony depart in a frenzy, they may alight on a branch and then send scouts out to find a new home. Once located the Queen will check it out and if she is happy they will move into their new home.

Here are a few facts about the swarm:

The bees will have taken on additional honey, typically they are more docile when full. But they might still sting, just less likely to become agitated unless they are defending their home. Swarm tend to be more docile!
The old Queen moves with the new swarm, she is fertile and more likely to succeed in a new build. The honeycomb is difficult work, so the stress on the entire colony is BIG.
The new Queen probably not yet fertile, she will take a mating flight after the swarm leaves. It is possible for her to become a free lunch for a bird or other insect, if she fails to return the old hive still has the ability to create a Queen from previous eggs.
Africanized honeybees swarm up to 10x more then European Honeybees.

How to get ready for the Spring bug season?

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How to get ready for the Spring bug season?

The more feeder bugs could equal more scorpions or spiders on your property and eventually inside your home, pest control is important.
Check your home for cracks and crevices where bugs and rodents try to get in.
Don’t store stuff around the foundation of your home.
If you do have firewood, store it on something and away from the house.
Check your storage areas for pests.
Don’t over water things, to much water may kill plants and encourage more bug activity.

As always if you become overwhelmed don’t let it go and hope for the best. Call a Pest Management Professional who can either give you advice or give you a hand. A great site for information on seeking a Professional is http://www.pestworld.org

What is Anaphylactic shock?

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What is Anaphylactic shock?

Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction to a chemical that has become an allergen. After being exposed to a substance such as bee sting venom, the person’s immune system becomes sensitized to it. It is estimated that more than 400 people die each year in the U.S. from bee stings. This reaction can lead to difficulty breathing and shock ultimately leading to death.

A single bee sting, for example, may not cause an allergic reaction the first time.
Another bee sting may produce a sudden, severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock.

Experts say that between 1% to 15% of the US population is at risk of having an anaphylactic reaction if exposed to at least one allergen – they add that these figures vary according to various definitions of a reaction. Approximately 1% of those with anaphylaxis may consequently die.

Only a very limited portion of the population (one or two out of 1000) is allergic or hypersensitive to bee or wasp stings. The average person can safely tolerate 10 stings per pound of body weight. This means that although 500 stings could kill a child, the average adult could withstand more than 1100 stings.

If you are unsure – call 911 immediately or Poison Control 1-888-222-1222 for more information.

Some fun at ProBest Pest Management!

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Some fun at ProBest Pest Management!

The staff and management at ProBest Pest Management tries real hard to honor and say thanks to all the staff as often as possible. Since we are not the largest company out there, we have to be somewhat imaginative I mean what would the point be to have an employee of the month when there are really only 10 of us.

Amount 8 months ago we did an EXTREME AFRICANIZED BEE JOB, they were some of the nastiest of the bees we ever have to deal with. Well one of the crew was stung 13 times and another 3 times. Well just a few days ago it happened again – 11 stings and that is with a bee suit on. I was going to show the picture of his face but he had to take the next day off cause it swelled up, WOW – got to watch out for stinging pests and that is why you should always call a Pest Management Professional… Even if we get stung – we get rid of the bees.

So to honor the dedication and professionalism we decided to start a little trophy system.

probestpestmanagementIMAG0774 probestpestmanagementIMAG0773

Just to gloat a little, after working for over 25 years in the pest control field – I have only been stung twice to my recollection.

Bees, beeswax, honeycomb and prevention!

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Did you know that Africanized Honeybees swarm up to 10x’s as often as the European Honeybees. So is there anything that can be done to protect and possible discourage honeybees from taking up residence in your building. Once you kill the bees the honey, beeswax and honeycomb often times remain and can cost untold amounts of money. So sometimes you can be proactive and help yourself tremendously.

The Cone Style Trap is a large “flower pot” style container that is made from wood pulp. The general idea here is to place these units in an area known to get swarms, the bees will scout out the swarm box and take up residence thus preventing the swarm going to a structure. ** Nothing can make the bees go to this box, they must find it. There is no guarantee that the bees will not choose your structure. Depending on the footprint of your building and property, it would be wise to add a number of these strategically located to ensure that the bees find one.

I always suggest that you contact a Pest Management Professionals for Africanized Honeybees, once aggravated its hard to go back and start over!

Successful hotel or apartment honeybee to bat experts.

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Successful hotel or apartment honeybee to bat experts.

Many companies are excellent at doing pest control but may not have the ability or knowledge to accomplish certain out of the range pest control. Case in point:

Large 8 story hotel had bats – ProBest Pest Management – handled and solved the problem. Case closed…
Africanized honeybees between 3rd and 4th floor of another large hotel – eliminated bees and caulked/sealed the openings. Case closed…
2 story building – Africanized honeybees. Treated and issue completed. Case closed…
Large hotel/restaurant bats in attic – night job, exclude bats and clean up bat guano. 19 bags of guano, sealed entrances – no entry for bats. Case closed…

ProBest Pest Management is often referred by the Arizona Extension Office and the Arizona Game and Fish Department, we are knowledgeable and experienced. If your pest control professional is unsure or just can’t handle the job – “Call a Pro… Call the Best. ProBest!