All posts in “control”

Is pest control necessary?

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Every once in awhile somebody hits me with this statement, I can answer it with just a few short words:

Scorpions

Ticks

and those other occasional pest like mosquitoes, flies and roaches….

 

The statistics are there if you want them. But as I have mentioned often, bugs have killed way more of us than anything else. As I have said numerous times you don’t always have to use pesticides. There are those that would say you never ever should use pesticides. There are times and a place for the use and sometimes it is just cost effective to do it plain and simple. IPM or Integrated Pest Management is the best way – it just makes you think about it in a way that makes complete sense. Use what you have by ways of home-sealing, door sweeps etc and if you must, then use some pesticide. (Always read and follow Labels, SDS and labeling use directions).

Recently the ticks have become unbelievable – sometimes just 100’s in a home. Just a few weeks ago Flagstaff had some issues at a camp –  “Tick-borne disease temporally closes Flagstaff’s Camp Colton“. Maybe they should consider Tick Boxes TCS

I know there are those that think some type of oil will kill everything, they just don’t last and seldom work as a true pesticide does. But again I realize that not everyone will agree but do you have some opinions or facts I’m not aware of?

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Recent question on Pest Control… Carpet Beetles

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probestpestmanagementDSC06525qq   Ask Dr. Bug…..     ImageFile061

 

One of the high lights of my career is when I’m asked to identify a bug, to each his own but I enjoy that part of the job. A guy pops into our office with this little critter and its up to me to identify and possible deduce where it came from and out to control it.

So here are the clues – its a larva, usually they do the damage. Notice the hairs, its important. How about those hairs on the end, its really important. So did you guess right – its a carpet beetle larva. The hairs on the end or butt are the extremely important clue, hope you did well but if you didn’t you always have me.

Send me a picture to [email protected]

Do me a favor don’t smooosh it to bad, it makes it difficult when they are way bigger than normal.

How does Pest Control relate to Public Health?

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Pest Control = is the regulation and/or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person’s health, the ecology or the economy.

Public Health =  science and practice of protecting and improving the health of a community, as by preventive medicine, health education, control of communicable diseases, application of sanitary measures, and monitoring of environmental hazards.

 

We have often talked about the things that have killed more humans than anything else – #1 mosquito = malaria, dengue fever and fleas = bubonic plague.

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What is wildlife control?

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Most of us enjoy the occasional wildlife that we encounter but without some form or measure of keeping them at bay, we might have a bad encounter. You see the shows on TV where someone decides to take a picture of some creature and the creature feels threatened and attacks. It is never by the way that lone little bird, it is the Grizzly Bear that people want the picture of. Bears can run fast so unless you have a friend with you, that bear will catch your but and eat you. That therein lies the problem – they are animals and wild creatures.

I had a friend whose family raised a raccoon and this raccoon was still wild and got into trouble frequently. I’m reminded of this as we encounter wildlife in our day to day work. It is impossible to know for sure but these animals don’t know the difference between your home and a tree. It also becomes a problem when we feed them, then they become accustomed to handouts. One of my favorite little spots to visit is Monetzuma’s Castle and they used to have squirrels until one day when a squirrel bit the hand that was feeding it.The squirrel just sees the food and if isn’t given the food in a manner that it is used to it lashes out and bites.

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This also applies to letting a wild animal live in your home or shed, birds and other wildlife carry parasites and once the animal is gone where are the bugs going to go? Wild animals also carry fleas and ticks and the same applies, they will seek out a new food source and that could be you. So don’t allow animals to live in your attic, if you hear something it is time to investigate.

 

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