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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.

What’s behind your refrigerator?

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What’s behind your refrigerator?

Have you ever pulled your refrigerator or freezer away from the wall only to find – what? How about that spoon or fork you couldn’t find, how about rodent feces or maybe a termite mud tunnel?

Here are some excellent reasons to check behind those big items in your home:

Time to clean and remove dust from the refrigerator motor, this will help the unit run more efficiently.
You might find some unwanted bugs or other stuff, this could save you big money down the road.
Sometimes people drop liquid items and never clean it up, (kids).
Loose change – more money to pay your Pest Control service fee, oh come on I thought this was a funny one.

Any other ideas on what you might find under or behind those big items in your home?

Are you refurbishing your Home?

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Are you refurbishing your Home?

So this last week I decided to replace a piece of carpeting in my dining room. I never liked it in the dining room to begin with and finally decided to put in tile. After removing the carpet I noticed a very large crack and YES I had the termite expert (Mike) come to my house and drill it before putting in the tile.

Nothing looks worse than tile that has to be drilled after you notice the termites.

So a piece of free advice – if you are replacing a floor with wood or tile, take the time and treat for termites. Most termite companies would prefer not to drill a new tile, it will never look the same.

A few pictures of cracks in the concrete…

Before replacing a floor take the time to have it fixed, I don’t like drilling new wood or tile floors. Trust me on this one, please!

Mud daubers are not Termites!

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Mud daubers are not Termites!

I sometimes get called to homes to find that they see a Mud dauber nest and not a termite mud tunnel.

Picture #1 is a Mud dauber wasp nest and there are a variety of shapes and styles but basically a glob of dirt molded by the female wasp to hide/protect her eggs. She will lay an egg and usually provide it with paralyzed spiders.

Picture #2 and #3 are Subterranean termite mud shelter tubes, typically much more slender in size.

http://en.wikipedia.org

The good news – if it is a Mud dauber – just scrape the mud off the house – that’s it. The bad news if it’s termites – I think you should call ProBest Pest Management!

Chicken Wire or Hardware Cloth?

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Chicken Wire or Hardware Cloth?

Without a question in my mind, Hardware Cloth! It just looks more professional, not like it was just thrown together to get it done in a hurry.

The other thing we do from time to time is to spray paint the hardware cloth, it can almost blend in and almost becomes invisible. Hardware cloth is more durable and can be secured in place with washers and screws.

Hey it’s your house, you can do what you want right? Do it right, it looks way better…

How do the bugs or rodents get into your home?

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Can you guess how many ways the bugs or rodents can get into your home?

Lets see how many ways we can come up with:

Garage Door, homeseal or garage door seal if possible.
Do you ever bring firewood into the home?
Do you have pets?
Do you ever bring in plants or flowers?
Do trees touch your roof?
Are there holes in your stucco where pipes go into the home?
Are the weep holes sealed?
Are the shingles or tiles in place?
Are your door seals in good condition?
Do you have door sweeps in place?
Are your screens in place?
Are yout attic vents in good condition?
Do you have a chimney guard in place?
Does your stucco go all ythe way to the dirt or stone? You should be able to see your foundation.
Do you have a wood fence and does it connect with your home? Its best if there is no dirt to wood contact.
Do you have siding on the home? This could allow bugs or rodents the option to sneak underneath.
Do you have shrubs or trees to close to the home?

Picture from this site http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us

Can you think of any more, make comments below and thanks….

Sometimes those termites drive you daffy…

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Sometimes those termites drive you daffy…

Every once in awhile you get that termite job that is either unique or somehow just different. No matter what you do, the termites continue to do some damage in a home.

Scenario

House is about 20 years old, no record exists for a pretreatment with the state – in Arizona (Office of Pest Management)we are required by law to report all termites treatments. I actually wrote a home seal “Termite Sleuth on the Job” same house – continued issue but in a different area.

Treated entire house with Termidor, down drilled all attached slabs and garage and have drilled various areas within the home on the wooden floors. I’m almost convinced that no pretreatment was ever done. No further issues along the exterior of the home, only on the interior and once we drill the area we notice activity later. Now I did mention Termidor, but if it isn’t where they are moving through it – it won’t work. So without taking the floor up I decided to use some bait stations – FirstLine™ by FMC. I used another product in Florida and have learned a few things on bait systems after some time in Arizona. I place the units in areas where there is some shade or something with a bigger footprint to help hold cooler temperatures and maybe water.

probestpestmanagementIMAG0771 probestpestmanagementIMAG0770

FREE Termite Inspection

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[aio_button align=”center” animation=”flash” color=”orange” size=”medium” icon=”thumbs-up” text=”FREE Termite Inspection” url=”https://callprobest.com/free-termite-inspection”]

Click the button above to go directly to the contact form.

Just after monsoon rains is when we encounter more termite activity and that time frame is July – December, depending on frequency of rains. I recommend an inspection yearly, ProBest Pest Management offers a free service! If you are familar with termite tunnels or tubes you can make a cursory check yourself and if you spot something you can always give us a call at 602-249-7378.

Here a few pictures to remind you of what you are looking for.

So just how many babies can mice have?

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So just how many babies can mice have?

Mice are capable of producing six to eight babies in each litter, sometimes as many as ten.

The biggest problem with mice is that they have multiple litters each year. One male and female mouse can produce up to 40 babies in one year. Multiply that by the fact that each litter will start producing babies as well within the year and you can see how quickly a couple of mice can get out of control. In just that first year those original mice can product up to 139. In one year, a pair of little house mice could produce thousands and thousands of offspring. This could happen if every baby survived and carried on the family system of multiplication. So it is very important to seal your home.

So here is a quiz:

Mice are famous for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. The type of mouse we have here gives birth once a month, birthing 12 babies each time. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born.You picked up one of these cute baby mice at the pet shop and brought it home the day after it was born. In 10 months from now, how many mice will you have? Don’t peek, have a guess – see below

Answer

One, the mouse cannot have any babies by itself.

It’s winter – who’s knockin on your door?

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It’s winter – who’s knockin on your door?

Even in Arizona it gets cold or at the very least cooler, so making sure your home is bundled up tight to prevent pests from getting in is important. So what have you done? One of the biggest costs associated with a home is the loss of heat or cool air depending on the time of season. It is also a entry point for pests like ladybugs that try to overwinter in homes and sheds. Installing new windows, sealing and crack and crevices or installing door sweeps are excellents ways of saving money and keeping those pests out.

When was the last time you checked to make sure mice or rats weren’t getting in, they don’t like cold weather just as much as we don’t. So checking your home for holes or opening that rodents and birds can get into. There are many new devices available to seal holes and even garage door thresholds.

Storm shield is designed to keep out rain and bugs and is more durable than door-mounted weather-stripping, our floor mounted, and precision-engineered vinyl threshold provides a tight fitting, long lasting barrier between your garage door bottom and the floor. The weight of the door presses down on it to keep out most rain, rodents, leaves and insects.

It really works, we have tested it…