All posts in “pets”

Promoting the proper use and handling of pesticides

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I ran across some great information (BASF ran a home seal) and wanted to pass it along as it pertains to all you Do IT Yourselfers (DIY) pest control folks. The pest control industry is regulated and yes, I know there are some out there that just can’t seem to be honest and ethical about it. The use of pesticides – read the Label and understand before you use it, the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or (MSDS) and all use directions.

So here is the homeowner site from “Pesticide Environmental Stewardship” site. You know my stance on the use of pesticides, they are essential to our lives. There are some that would argue and honestly I’m sorry that they just don’t understand the big picture. Without pesticides death would constantly be knocking at our doors. I’m not kidding we often hear of Hanta Virus and Bubonic Plague here in Arizona. Even West Nile Virus (WNV) rears its ugly head occasionally and in others states Lyme Disease.  There are some that advocate oils and organics (if you want to argue – put your money where your mouth is and send me some to test – has to be labelled for scorpions) but they in general just don’t hold up long enough. If my tests are proved wrong I’ll tell you about it. We have scorpions in Arizona and in a perfect world we could exclude homes and do other things to keep them out and by the way we do that with home-seals. But not everyone has that kind of money, wish they did. I advocate Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and prefer to do our work from outside (trying to limit the amount of pesticides within homes and if possible outside as well).

Don’t get me wrong here; I don’t advocate power spraying unless there is a need. We do it every once in a while on ticks but if possible we recommend that the pets to get properly treated and try to solve the issues to the benefit of our customers. That is the reason why we are members of PESP and QualityPro, to protect and serve our customers from the bugs that might be harmful and nasty.

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Where will bees take up residence?

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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?

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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!

  1. Check your home monthly especially in the Spring and Fall, check eaves and roof-line.
  2. Check your property, sheds and storage.
  3. Keep an eye out for meter boxes or electrical boxes.
  4. 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.
  5. Remember bees don’t know a dog house from a tree.
  6. Remember if you decide to treat, you can’t call the bees back once they are excited and upset.

Somebody is becoming quite the eating machine.

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Our resident and pet snake has decided to be more of a pig recently – she will eat every day if I fed her that often. I fed her twice within the last few weeks and she is content to eat and shed often. She came to us about 5 years ago, from a linen store here in Phoenix. They thought she was a rattlesnake because she mimics the tail vibrating – she is a Gopher snake. This picture above is rather unusual in that she decided to eat the rodent back to front, normally they go after the head and then swallow.

Rodents will gnaw on anything, what happens if its your home?

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probestpestmanagementIMAG0413    Rodents will gnaw on anything to keep their teeth from growing to large and this could cause you some BIG problems. Rodents cause approximately 20 percent of undetermined fires in the United States each year according to fire experts. Pack rats will collect all kinds of stuff, so if you’re missing anything – check for rodents in the neighborhood.

What can you do to keep them out?

  • Seal any holes or cracks with steel or copper wool.
  • Check your home monthly especially in the Spring and Fall, rodents will either try to get in or out.
  • Don’t allow trees to touch your home.
  • Don’t stack firewood or stuff against your home.
  • Don’t leave out pet food.

 

What makes sense with a Bed Bug service?

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What makes sense with a Bed Bug service?

 

When this bed bug issue hit th U.S., many companies started purchasing heat equipment or special heat packs etc. Rather than spend a great deal of money on something that I personally didn’t know how much business was available, we decided on a truck mounted carpet cleaning van.

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ProBest Pest Management is in the business of SERVICE and it doesn’t matter to me what kind of service that is. Nothing makes more sense than steaming the Bed Bugs and cleaning the carpets on the way out.

New carpet can improve the appearance of any room, but how can carpet that is walked on every day continue looking new? To keep your carpet clean, it’s necessary to vacuum regularly with a strong, well-functioning and properly-filtered vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, due to traffic, children, pets and normal wear, carpet fibers inevitably become soiled, and a dull appearance results. And no matter how much you vacuum, eventually you will need to call a professional carpet cleaner. That call should be to ProBest Carepet Care at 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176

 

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:

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

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

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

Important reminders – HOT, HOT and HOTTER

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Well its pretty much hot everywhere in the U.S. so I found this the other day and thought I would pass it along. It doesn’t take long at all to go from Hot to really Hot. With temperatures across the county at some of  highest on record, this list really explains the reason why you should never leave children or pets in a car. This goes for leaving the car running as well, things happens and what if the vehicle stopped even for a few minutes.

I’m amazed that critters like mice, rodents or pigeons can survive in attics but they do. So please check your roof lines for holes or crack where critters can get in. Check for bees and seal those holes before they get in. What’s that quote  – “An ounce of prevention is worth is worth a pound of cure. ” Benjamin Franklin

When bee’s attack – true story…

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When bee’s attack – true story…

Africanized bee’s are not the friendliest and nicest of the bees we have in Arizona, but this story raised my antenna.

Read this story from the International Business Times Africanized Bees: Aggressive Insects Attack Beekeeper in Tennessee.

According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, a horde of partially Africanized bees attacked one Tennessee beekeeper a few months ago. A cloud of about 100,000 streamed from a hive and surrounded the man, who ran and jumped into his car. It was five minutes before the swarm gave up its pursuit. The beekeeper, who was wearing protective gear, suffered about 30 stings.

This was an experienced veteran bee keeper, thank goodness he had a bee suit on, or he could have been a dead bee keeper. Bee work in Arizona is not – IS NOT a DIY or Do It Yourself job. Don’t kid yourself, because if you start a job and the bees become nasty there is no shut off switch. You cannot dial them back to nice, they may attack everything in the neighborhood including children, pets and anyone just out having a good time.

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