Subterranean termites going up a small electrical wiring on the side of a home. I’m always amazed at how much they will go through to gain access into a structure. This is the time of the year to be on the lookout for termites here in Arizona.
Termites use these tunnels to gain access into your home both as a defense against ants and a way to keep moisture within their bodies. These tubes are often the first sign that you have termites.
You’ve seen those hoarder shows and you know the reason why your home or business shouldn’t be cluttered. But why do people collect or let their homes become a cluttered mess? There are many factors in that equation but let’s just talk about those conducive conditions that let pest occupy or inhabit our homes or lives.
Photo by PPMA
Do you know of any others?
From almost the dawn of man, rodents and bugs have been trying to stay close to us. Why you ask, I think the main reason is that we tend to want to stay dry and we collect things like food. Animals, bugs and us want the same things:
So when we moved into caves, they followed. When we moved into houses, they followed. So as we became smarter so did they. Bed Bugs probably were Bat Bugs to begin with, they moved into caves because we did. When we moved into houses they followed.
With that movement came pest control, OK a version of it somewhat. When early man found Bat Bugs they might have thought of moving or washing the antelope skin they were sleeping on. Da da pest control, we might never really know who was the first to step on a bug but Pest Control it is!
Photo by PPMA
From time to time the Plague comes to the front of the news, we occasionally have the Plague at the 4 corners area of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Recent testing in Coconino County in Northern Arizona, tested positive on prairie dogs in the Doney Park area.
“Fleas in Flagstaff test positive for plague”
We generally don’t have fleas in Phoenix, I think mainly due to lack of humidity. Flagstaff is at a higher altitude and has greater humidity levels.
Bugs can and will move if given the opportunities. I have spoken about this before and I train my technicians to know about the bugs in others areas just so we can be sure if one pops up. What do I mean by this statement?
Example #1 – Someone moves from Kansas and they store their boxes in a temporary storage facility. They then move across the country and they accidentally bring a spider or other pest across state lines.
Example #2 – Someone visiting from another country visits the US and brings in a piece of fruit which as bugs on it.
Example #3 – Someone moves to Arizona and brings a potted plant with them.
All these stories could be true and the USDA does a great job of tracking and stopping some of these pests from moving around. A recent Aphid – SugarCane Aphid has been in Florida since 1977 and recently was discovered in Texas. Bugs do move and given the right circumstances will take advantage of every possible chance to move to another location.
While we were cleaning the Leopard Gecko’s tank this morning we found that she had laid some eggs. Don’t know exactly when but it looks like they are not viable eggs. Would have been fun raising a few more little gecko’s. Maybe next time.
Remember lizards eat a lot of bugs so having them around your home is an inexpensive choice for pest control. Not to put myself out of business but I don’t think they would or could eat all the bugs. So don’t forget to give us a call 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176
I think the question I get asked the most at this time of year is “Why am I seeing more bugs in my house than any other time of year”?
So lets imagine that you are a bug and all of sudden it rains and I mean it rains hard. Your home becomes wet or flooded, you react by trying to go higher and that might be your home. You see the bug doesn’t know your house from a tree or a rock.
OR
It doesn’t rain and the bugs that you feed upon aren’t coming by your place, so you have to go out looking for food. That bug comes to your home and climbs and climbs just looking for food.
So if we can think like a bug, attack you where you live or hangout – then we stop you. If I was a bug this is where I would hangout and this is one area we treat.
I have noticed lately especially after the rains that we have had numerous calls about flying biting mosquitoes. With all the monsoon rains, a lot of the things that hold water have had the chance to really set things in motion for the issues with biting pests.
Water can accumulate in any container that can hold water, fountains that aren’t working and any indention in the ground. So again I will mention surveying your property monthly or at the very least when the rains occur.
Remember the 3 things that most living things need:
Some mosquitoes are well suited for inhabiting local areas but some can travel up to mile just to feed. So tip over those devices that can hold water, don’t forget saucers for planters.
Photo by PPMA
Stored product pest
Stored product pest include such pests as Beetle, Moths and Weevils. Another pests that deserves a distinction of menace also includes rodents like mice and rats. I really like the idea of using glass bottles to store products away from the pests that might try to get to them. You get the benefit of reducing pests and you can see what the product is. One additional idea is to take a grocery item and immediately freeze it and then store it in an see through container.
Just another great idea that incorporates IPM or Integrated Pest Management.
To be completely honest I love rain and you’re probably not going to like my reason for it. The rain brings out the bugs and I LOVE it, the termites become more active and bugs in general just love the water opportunities.
So with all this water, what can you do to prevent the inevitable onslaught of the bugs.
