How about those scary things at Halloween?
OK I thought this was cool but I’m a bug guy, have you seen any scary things at Halloween by way of bugs etc. The picture below was from the Phoenix Zoo. Comment below…
Who’s Number 1 in Pest Management in Arizona?
Have you ever heard this saying? “Our business – any business – is People”
Each and every day we encounter people, we deal with bosses, employee’s and clients. Each and every day our moods shape our decisions of that day. Sometimes in pest control we have to deal with people that are upset or on edge because they hate bugs. Maybe they are upset at having to spend money to deal with termites or bed bugs. I also really like the saying “If you don’t take care of your customers, your competition will”.
Customer service is essential to every company and we cannot live without the highest caliber of this service.
So is it ProBest Pest Management, many Kudzu followers think so, how about you?
WOW I just knew this was true…
How does that insecticide really kill those bugs?
Have you ever thought once you sprayed that bug – How does it die? I’m guessing probably not, it’s not that you don’t care but generally speaking you just want the damn bug dead! Over my 25 years I have learned a great deal about how the bugs die and why. One of the products I absolutely love is called Avert, this is a dry bait used for cockroaches and one of the reasons I love this product is this. Most products cause the cockroach to die on it’s back – Avert makes them stop fast while walking. So immediately you know your product is killing them. I had a chance to read a great article “Insecticide Mode of Action” by Drs. Michael E Scharf and Daniel R. Suiter in Pest Control Technology magazine October 2011.
You may not want to know all about this subject but maybe I can hi-light and simplify it a little (I said maybe).
- Targets the nervous system = neurotoxin.
- Insecticides that do not target the nervous system.
Bugs a plenty, they were everywhere… I love it!
We stopped for breakfast the other morning in Cordes Lakes on I-17 just north of Phoenix at the 50’s Backseat Diner and on FaceBook and spotted these bugs just hanging outside on a fence. Of course the consummate bug hunter that I am, we had to take pictures and hoo and haaaa about them.
More importantly, the food is great and worth the stop. I had the “Three Deuces” ( Biscuits and gravy, sausage and 2 eggs sunny side up. Fantastic!
WOW that’s a lot of Diatomaceous Earth – DE.
Bang! Up goes the house… Bug bombs are not toys!
So if a 1/2 ounce of bug stuff kills bugs then 1 ounce has to be better, right? That’s what many people believe and guess what – they would be wrong and sometimes it can cost you BIG! A woman in Ludlow, ME found out the hard way “Pest Control Bombs Blamed for House Fire“. Check out some older stories from the ProBest Blog on what happens when you use a product incorrectly “Boom, goes another house!” and “The Top Least Effective Ways to Kill Bed Bugs“.
Always read and understand Labels, MSDS and product directions. The time to know is before you use them.
So what’s on your mind?
So I was thinking the other day that we should discuss a few Arizona Department of Agriculture – Office of Pest Management terms:
“Pest” means a vertebrate or invertebrate insect, bird, mammal, organism, or a weed or plant pathogen that is in an undesirable location. I bet you really didn’t think a weed was a pest, did you? I’m sure we have called a few people we might know – “a pest”? I’m equally convinced that all politicians are pests, the necessary evil.
“Pesticide,” as defined in A.R.S. § 32-2301, includes an insecticide, fungicide, rodenticide, termiticide, fumigant, larvacide, adulticide, herbicide, avicide, or molluscicide.
So just a few terms to get you thinking what pest control or pest management is all about.
What’s in your attic?
Have you ever been in your attic or crawlspace? I’ll bet like most you probably haven’t and I don’t recommend doing it from April to September here in Arizona. The temperatures could be in the high 150’s and you wouldn’t want to pass out up there and die from heat exhaustion. But anyway back to the real story: it is important from time to time to at least walk around your home and look up to the roof-line to make sure you don’t have openings in the soffett which would allow animals or birds to enter. The same can be said of insects like honeybees, which can also cause extreme conditions after they are eliminated. A quick glance will let you know what critters might be in the attic, rodent feces and rub marks could certainly be an indication of present problems and warrants a further look. Remember that secondary pests might become a nuisance after you solve the main problem of the original pest ie: bird mites, ticks or fleas – bat bugs etc. So if you can prevent the initial encounter – you may prevent the entire mess.
Eyeless spider discovered in Laos
Honestly all I can say is better it’s in Laos than my back yard, Creepy Eyeless Spider Discovered in Cave. Spiders are just one of those bugs that most people either hate or dislike so I can understand all the phobia’s out there on this bug.
Scientists figure that there are still 5 million species still waiting to be discovered.Read this “Undiscovered Species – How many are left to find?” I think there is one out there that should have my name on it, what say you?
| Category | Species | Totals |
|---|---|---|
| Vertebrate Animals | ||
| Reptiles | 1,300 | |
| Amphibians | 8,500 | |
| Fishes | 8,000 | |
| Total Vertebrates | 17,800 | |
| Invertebrate Animals | ||
| Insects | 4,000,000 | |
| Arachnids | 500,000 | |
| Molluscs | 115,000 | |
| Crustaceans | 103,000 | |
| Echinoderms | 7,000 | |
| Others | 700,000 | |
| Total Invertebrates | 5,425,000 | |
| Plants | ||
| Flowering plants (angiosperms) | 71,000 | |
| Ferns and horsetails | 15,000 | |
| Mosses & Liverworts | 6,500 | |
| Total Plants | 80,500 | |
| TOTAL SPECIES | 5,523,300 |