All posts in “ProBest Pest Management”

Termite tubes and tunnels

Building termite tubes and tunnels is hard work, but the termites do it 24/7/365 and I’m pretty sure not going to give it up soon. It really doesn’t matter what type of wall you have concrete, block or stone. They will work their way around electrical pipes or plumbing entry ways. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals of getting food.

termite tubes

How about some termite facts?

Oldest insects on Earth.
Scientists believe that for every human on Earth there are 1000 lbs of termites.
A queen termite may lay 2000 or more eggs per day, some African Termite Queens may lay 30,0000.
Some Termite Queens may live 15-25 years.
Termites are more closely related to cockroaches than ants.
Termites build the largest actual nest than any other insect.
Ants are the termites biggest foes.
They believe that termites cause $5 billion worth of damage in the U.S. each year.
Ants have a narrow waist, but the termite is a solid type.
Ants have elbowed antenna while termites is straight.
In Arizona we have about 17 species of termites, not all cause problems.
Did you know that termites swarm, they send reproductives out to start new colonies. In Florida, East Coast it occurs during the early Spring while in Arizona it happens just after Monsoon in September – October or so.

Health Checks & Symptoms – Bedbug Awareness Week day3

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Health Checks & Symptoms

Health Checks – Well it’s that time of year, school is out and traveling begins. Whether at home or traveling for summer vacation, bedbugs could be a key concern. Although named for their habit of feeding on human hosts in bed. They can be found in all types of locations and items. To promote public awareness and to help avoid issues, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) has declared June 4-10, 2017 as BedBug Awareness Week. ProBest Pest Management is joining NPMA in this important public education effort by sharing common signs of a bed bug infestation to keep an eye out for this summer.

“Just like people enjoy traveling in the summer months, so do bed bugs, and they love using personal belongings like suitcases, boxes and shoes as a hiding place, just to be near a food supply,” said Keith V. Birkemeyer aka Dr. Bug, at ProBest Pest Management in Gilbert, Arizona. “With these biting pests being easily transported, it’s important to know the top signs of an infestation. This way proper precautions can be put in place to know when it’s time to call a licensed pest control professional such as ProBest 480-831-9328 or call us at 623- 414-0176 to assess the situation.”

Concerns

Dr Bug shares the following signs and symptoms of a possible bed bug infestation:

Small red to reddish brown fecal spots on mattresses, upholstery or walls
Molt bed bug skins, their white, sticky eggs or empty eggshells
Red, itchy bite marks, especially on the legs, arms and other body parts exposed while sleeping
Very heavily infested areas may have a characteristically sweet odor

“During the summer, travel increases and so does the likelihood of encountering bed bugs. We strongly encourage the public to take extra precautions to avoid encounters with these biting pests,” added Dr. Bug.”

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ALNAR90u1w[/embedyt] [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUl3Iw6NoJ0[/embedyt] [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axi1d6sVv4M[/embedyt]

Photo by NPMA

World Pest Awareness Day

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World Pest Awareness Day

World Pest Awareness Day – June 6th, 2017. The goal is to create awareness with citizens all over the world. Pest managers provide protection for food, home, family, the environment in which they live, against public health risks. In agreement with the National Pest Management Association of the U.S.. NPMA joins the Federation of Asian & Oceania Pest Managements Association (FAOPMA), Chinese Pest Control Association and the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA) in support of this event.

The video below brings home the need for public health pest control by comparing some fascinating statistics. In the opening sequence the audience is asked what do you think is the world’s deadliest creature? Sharks we are told kill 12 people a year, grizzly bears 90 people, crocodiles 800, hippos 29,000 people, snakes 90,000 people. But that tiny mosquito kills 2 million people. Mosquitoes are linked to water because that is where their young develop and that is also the best place to exterminate them. Mosquitoes are the vector (carrier) of several BAD diseases. They include Malaria, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis including West Nile virus and other equine, Zika virus, Dengue Fever, Chikungunya and dog heartworm.

Diseases

Don’t forget that any blood feeder may spread disease, such as fleas and ticks. Bed bugs at this moment are not known to spread any diseases but more research is needed to verify. So please take precautions if traveling or hiking in areas where these pests can attack. Remember to also inspect your home for possible sightings and for possible entry points. Just a simple fix to a screen or doorway (IPM) might prevent pests from getting in and possibly hurting our family or colleagues. As always if you need help or assistance please give ProBest Pest Management a call at 480-831-9328.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/pdf/dvbd_factsheet.pdf

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr06dMFlRa4[/embedyt]

Wood rot

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Wood rot and your home.

Wood rot = wood decaying fungus as a type of fungus that digests wet/moist wood causing it to rot. Often times the mere correction of the wood is enough to salvage the wood. Is the wood in contact with the dirt? Is there a water leak and the wood is getting wet or staying wet for extended periods of time? Obviously if you see a fungus growing in the wood, it would be a dead giveaway (in the picture above). If you’ve read any of my blogs you know that I highly recommend performing a monthly home inspection. What should the homeowner look for?

Any water leaks, no matter how insignificant should be investigated.
Lingering moisture around the foundation of your home, correct sprinklers and/or flood irrigation.
Some times bushes can hold the water close to the house, avoid vines.
Inspect window sills, door frames and underneath sinks.
Painting or resealing wood really helps to prevent the water from getting in.
Decks need to be checked often.
Roofs should be checked.
Caulking can also help, but make sure you’re not covering up a problem.

Problems and Issues

The key is to find the problems and issues before they become major catastrophes. An ounce of prevention may save you $1000s of dollars and a real headache. Homeowners can simply get screens fixed and may keep the bugs out and in the same way a simple fix of a gutter leak may save you hours of time to rebuild a section of your house. Did you know that its usually a moisture content of over 20% that causes the problem, and I know you’re thinking we don’t have that kind of moisture in Arizona. Remember that thing we call monsoon? That fungus really needs good temps, oxygen and a food source and that could be your home.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsSWmS-A1uY[/embedyt]

ProBest Pest Management – Who you gonna call?

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So that BIG question – Who you gonna call? ProBest Pest Management

Well Dr Bug hopes it’s ProBest Pest Management 480-831-9328. Since 1981 ProBest has been consulting on bug issues throughout Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona. From ants to Zarrhipis (these are slender larva of a beetle known to enjoy Millipedes) and the cool thing about these larva is that luminescence. I mean really who in the world knows this stuff, yep Dr. Bug. So if you need pest control hire someone who knows the biz.

With no cold weather again this winter, the bugs are going to be fierce and we will come in contact more often. Snakes are out since it is already HOT and honeybees have been swarming for a few weeks. The hunters and their prey, overwintered without that extreme cold. We also have had enough rain early in the year so bee ready for the bugs.

ProBest Pest Management

Honeybees in your home do I have to open up the walls?

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Honeybees in a wall

Honeybees – There are many factors that play into a honeybee hive within your home. Determining whether you need to open up a wall to get to the hive. My very first question is “How long have they been there” “When did you first spot them” and of course where are they? So let’s answer these questions and why I want to know?

#1 & #2 “How long have they been there” – this is really important. Let’s say you just noticed them, and you are pretty sure about this because they are at your front door. Would you would have noticed them? See this gives me an idea that they haven’t build much honeycomb, and no reason to open up the wall. Opening up walls is expensive and I don’t like spending money yours or mine unless we have to.

#3 So as we ask question #1 and #2, we need to know where they are, if they are at the front door area what is in there – is it a bathroom or bedroom. I once had them at the front door under a bush and there was a bathroom, they had made there way under the tub area – plenty of room and that had been there a long time. No way to get them out and they were Africanized honeybees plus after we killed them the hive disintegrated and wax moths invaded. Now we have an issue, we had to open up the bathroom wall. But lets say there were under a shed in the very way back of your property, no access but they are again Africanized honeybees we only have to kill them and the hive will be destroyed by roaches and other pests.

Yikes, where are they hiding?

Dog House, no dog so nobody noticed and water meter box (see the bee)? And the last one is within the block wall and honey dripping outside but never inside. SO IF ANYBODY SAYS YOU HAVE TO OPEN UP A WALL, THINK ABOUT IT FIRST AND YOU DECIDE!

Advertising, what works?

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I think that advertising and marketing are the biggest questions racking the brains of small businesses everyday. Marketing is that action of promoting your products or services. You as a business person decide on your product or service and ultimately people then decide to buy. Marketing is used to create the customer, to keep the customer & to satisfy the customer. With your customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing is one of the premier components of business management theories and the other being innovation. Phone books are a thing of the past except if you are marketing to seniors or areas where seniors are living, they may not use smart phones yet. They may still use phone books, the growing trend for younger people is mobile or internet ads. They also rely on word of mouth to decide on what they may purchase. So today you have to be on top of all these marketing skills to promote your companies. Most of our work comes from referrals and the word of mouth of previous customers. People have used ProBest for over 35+ years and we still have a few termite warranties in place from the early 1980’s.

So what type of ads work, that continues to be the $64,000 question? Do you have any opinions, what works for you and your company, share your ideas please?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjOm7yIhVjI[/embedyt]

advertising

Are you facing bug problems at your home/business?

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Got bug problems?

Bugs and bug problems are a realty of life but there is no reason to put up with them at your home or business, right? Your family is most important to you, how about friends and coworkers? I’m reminded of the recent issue with United Airlines. Not the one where they hauled that guy off the plane but the scorpion incident. Someone once told me there is no such thing as bad press, United Airlines may argue that point with you. So what is a good ad to project that you know bug/pest control? I think the ad below reflects a good sign of competence in Pest Management, along with knowledge of the bug business and good reviews. Tell me what you think?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ZkyLGHwmE[/embedyt]

bug problems

Scary things living in your attic?

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A bump in the night in your attic!

It might sound strange, but if you hear noises at night in the attic it may not be your imagination. Maybe those bumps in the night might be coming from inside your attic. Even the smallest of holes allow mice and insects such as honeybees access into your home. I always suggest that you do periodic checks of your home especially the attic to basically keep an eye out for trouble makers. Birds and even larger animals can gain access into crawlspaces & attics. As a result this can cause concern and sometimes it is a real pain to get rid of them. Honeybee are always on the search here in Arizona for a new place to live. Honeybees often swarm in Spring and Fall since we have a somewhat higher temperature throughout the year. If you notice bees going into your home use extreme caution as they may be very dangerous. Once you have made them MAD, you can’t take it back. They can stay agitated for 8+ hours, they can sting dogs, neighbors and children.

https://www.facebook.com/rjoplin/videos/10208607135351946/

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVWUhkPuU4Q[/embedyt]

Feedspot – Top 100 Blogs & Website award

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Blogs – Top 100

One of the highest praises a company can get is to be included in a Top 100 list of blogs & bloggers in the world. http://blog.feedspot.com/pest_control_blogs/ Also the nice thing about it, is that ProBest is included with some really successful bloggers including pestcemetery.com and www.invader.net

These blogs are ranked based on following criteria

Google reputation and Google search ranking
Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
Quality and consistency of posts.
Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review

There are probably about 15,000 pest management companies across the U.S. so I’m humbled by being nominated to this blog list and appreciate the award. Blogging is a passion of mine and gives me a chance to spread the word of pest management and IPM. The new persona of ProBest is Dr. Bug – see below:

QualityPro company and have been since 2005.

Keith Birkemeyer Avatar

The Bio of Dr. Bug, Owner of ProBest Pest Management

If you have a bug problem and you are looking for someone who can solve it, please read on…

Keith Birkemeyer aka Dr. Bug has been in the business of pest management for over 20 years. His interest in bugs began at an early age when he delighted(?) his parents with an infestation of Praying Mantis. He had brought some egg cases in from the cold one winter in Ohio. When they hatched there were baby Praying Mantis everywhere. Keith grew up in Scouting and is an Eagle Scout.

Keith’s formal training began in Florida. A state well known for a hearty bug population, especially termites. He continued his career with a chemical manufacturing company as a Technical Specialist.

Keith has traveled the world speaking to various groups about bugs, termites and pest control. He is an Associate Certified Entomologist. Keith enjoys sharing his Arizona pest control stories and facts. He is the owner of ProBest. ProBest has been named a Quality Pro company. And is awarded the “Mark of Excellence in Pest Management” by the National Pest Management Association. Keith may be a grown kid at heart and his company allows him to pursue his passion.

No one knows bugs like Keith does. That is the number one reason to call ProBest Pest Management for all your insect prevention needs.

ProBest is proud to be Members in Good standing of: National Pest Management Association, Arizona Pest Professional Organization, Professional Pest Management Alliance and EPA Gold member Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program