All posts in “home”

Rats, they will do whatever to get in…

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Any hole may be BIG enough to let them in

Probably no single pest creates fear as much as rats or rodents, so why the fear? My first thought is due to the fact they live in some nasty places, like sewers. They also have been named the culprit in the Plague which killed 2/3 of Europe back in 1358 or so. I have people say “I can live with with a mouse in my house”. They can and do spread disease, so I recommend keeping them out of your home. So what can you do?

  1. Seal  any holes in your home.
  2. Check weep screens and those louvers in the attic.
  3. Keep the clutter down in your yard.
  4. Keep the grass mowed and keep the weeds from taking over the yard.
  5. Don’t allow trees to touch the house.

Here are a few facts about rodents:

  1. Mice don’t drink, they get all the moisture from their food.
  2. Consume or contaminate about 20% of the world’s food supply.
  3. They actually gnaw wires and are known to cause fires.
  4. Rats are omnivorous, they feed on grains, seeds meats and just about anything they can get to.

 

As always if you have any concerns give ProBest Pest Management a call 602-249-7378

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Does black-lighting or exclusion work to control pests?

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So what in my opinion really works the best to control pests from getting into homes, without a doubt home sealing or exclusion. Here are my Top 3 ways to control scorpions and those other bugs that may want to make your home theirs.

  1.    Home seal or exclusion.
  2.    Black-lighting to reduce the population.
  3.    Consistent monthly pest control.

You hear me talk about IPM all the time and I’m telling you it works. Rather than spraying pesticides all the time, you can reduce the risk by helping your Pest Management Professional by doing a few things to improve the situation at your home. By black lighting you reduce the numbers and by doing so you reduce the numbers that might make it to your home. By sealing your home you again reduce the numbers that make it to your home and reduce the numbers that could make it in. The next way is to reduce the numbers of the food (crickets, roaches) and ultimately the scorpions themselves.

Now with all that said, I do believe in pest control but as I stated above it needs to be done in a consistent manner. If you have scorpions I think especially in Arizona it needs to be done monthly. I also believe that outside service is the most efficient along with home sealing and black-lighting. There are some in my professional that still don’t get it, they are the ones that still treat inside each month or power spray each month. Now don’t get me wrong I still occasionally do the inside ie: German Cockroaches or ants and if you have ticks I may decide to power spray. There are always exceptions to the rules. But soon the lack of water or water quality issues are going to trump the constant overkill of those outdated and impractical pest control techniques. (my opinion)  PART_1437183843093_20150717_184143

How can you keep the scorpions out of your home?

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Home sealing is the way to go, hands down and here is the way to handle the scorpions.

  1. Inspect the outside of your home, high and low. Look for honeybees or wasp nest. Are the weep hole screens in place?
  2. Check for entry spots where scorpions or bugs can get into your home.
    1. Use a mirror and check the jtrim (that’s the thing that holds the bottom of stucco up). Ideally it should be flush against the foundation, the holes are OK and are there to allow the wall to breath and allow moisture to escape.
    2. Make sure you check corners, use some type of foam (use rigid not expanding foam) and secure in place with caulking.
    3. Repair leaky pipes, check flood irrigation and drip irrigation.
  3. Check window and/or door screens.
  4. Install garage door sweeps, call ProBest or check out our webpage https://callprobest.com/home-seal
  5. Remember scorpions need water, food and shelter just like you and me. Get rid of their food source, crickets and other small bugs. Consider calling a pest professional like ProBest Pest Management? Setting a schedule is essential, we won’t forget and we will call you in advance.

What do you look at while hiking?

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Some of the coolest and most intriguing stuff out in nature is awfully small and I noticed this small little spider while hiking in New Mexico. I don’t kill everything I see when it comes to bugs, only if they get into your home do I take it personally.

My point is this, while in nature or the great outdoors everything has its place. So take a moment and get into nature and call us 602-249-7378 if you find the creepy crawlies in your home.

Have you ever tried DIY for German Roaches?

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The biggest issue I have with DIY (Do It Yourself) pest control is that most people don’t understand bugs. If you have the knowledge then you can deal with the pest. Same reason I don’t replace my own brakes on my vehicle. I don’t have a clue and frankly I don’t want to know. But let me tell you, I know bugs.

You know those cockroach stations that you just throw into the kitchen or bathroom cabinet, they might work if you get them close enough. But most people just toss them into the cabinet and that isn’t very helpful. Yes some roaches will find the stuff but if you place them near the source, it will work better.

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So how would you control these roaches if the bait wasn’t close by, it’s far easier to just call a Pest Management Professional. 602-249-7378

What is a pretreat and why do I see termites in garages more often?

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A pretreat is done just before the pouring of concrete and is designed to prevent termites from coming up penetrations of the slab of concrete. Post construction treatment is done after a home is built.

I often see termites in garages and have been intrigued as to why they occur in those circumstances rather than inside homes. I have watched homes being built and I think I see the garages being worked on last. Sometimes the concrete is poured in the home and the garage is poured last. I also seem to remember that the pretreat originally was done on the home part and wasn’t redone or even done for the garage. Now I may be wrong but I have seen that and I think this is why I see more issues within the garages rather than inside the home.

All of a sudden I have flying things all over my home, what are they?

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This last week a lady dropped by our office and mentioned these flying things all over her home. Unfortunately she didn’t bring in any dead critters, but we asked a few questions and here are my questions and answers.

  1. When did you first spot the bugs? Maybe a week or so ago.
  2. Were they all over or where did it begin? Mainly in the living room.
  3. Near a door? Yes the frontdoor.
  4. It just started getting colder did you bring in any plants? OMG yes I just brought in some plants.

Pest work can be like detective work, ask the right questions and hopefully you get the right and helpful answers. She went home put the plants in the garage and all those flying things simply disappeared. Case solved!  Didn’t even need to use any pesticides, IPM at its finest.

 

 

Twas the night before Christmas and not a creature was stirring

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Oh yes they are, and we all need to be aware they are always out there and wanting into our cozy warm homes. What can you do to keep them out?

  1. Seal all holes coming into your home.
  2. Repair screens.
  3. Install door sweeps.
  4. Install garage door seals.
  5. Close flue dampers or at least check them.
  6. Pay attention to wiring around homes, rodents need to keep their teeth from growing to long.
  7. Seal weep holes and check attic often.
  8. When brining stuff down from attic, open boxes outside – prevents anything from getting loose within the house.
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Photo by Univar

 

 

How do termites get into home?

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Any break or protrusion into the structure can be an avenue for termites, so any pipe or other object that extends past the concrete can be their entrance.

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This was an easy entrance for the termites and once in they usually don’t leave without taking a bit of your home for food. So what do you look for:

  1. Any mud tube/tunnel on the outside foundation wall.
  2. Any suspicious dirt on the ceiling, small hole with dirt around it.
  3. Drop Tubes inside the homes.
  4. Baseboard that looks crinkled, subterranean termites usually run with the grain of the wood.
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