Its a scary thing but I can spot termite tubes from the street and I’m always looking.
Stopped at stop sign and I noticed a termite shelter tube..
Closer shot of termite tube.
Well almost anywhere!
These are meter boxes, usually they seek out areas that are hidden and away from people such as these closed meter boxes. I also always thought these boxes were to small, but I guess I would be wrong. Africanized Honeybees swarm 30% more often and maybe it has to do with space.
So bee careful out there, as they will make their home almost anywhere.
When you plant bushes, trees or plants next to your home, are you creating an environment for pests and termites? Probably so. My rule of thumb is not to plant anything within 2 feet of your structure. Normally this is what I call the dripline of your home, that is the area of the roof over hang. Sometimes we really don’t have a chance, the picture below is an example of this. Because of the sidewalk there isn’t any room and when and if a termite job is required on this home, all those plants will probably be destoyed or hopefully they can be moved. The other issue is when the plants attract pests, could they then move into your structure? So think before you plant and things should be OK on the bug side…
Wood destroyers, including termites and wood rot can play havoc on your home. Whenever you place wood directly on the ground, you are inviting termites and other creatures to that area. It is always better to place firewood or any wood for that matter on blocks or pavers. Ideally having wood stored just for one season at a time is best, there is less chance of buildup of pests in general. But as always – please wear gloves and only take into the structure what you are going to use immediately. If it is cold and you warm up the wood, the insects living inside may try to come out and infest the home. So here are a few Quick Tips:
- Always place firewood or wood on blocks or pavers rather than directly on ground.
- Keep that wood pile away from the home.
- Always wear gloves moving wood.
- Store only the wood you will use that season.
- Only bring in enough wood to use that day.
wood destroyers
Pocket gophers can cause serious damage to plants and vegetation.
Pocket Gophers can really do some serious damage to our lawns and properties. Along with their damage they can create holes which people can fall into and often times could lead to broken bones or physical damage to young or older people. I have heard some people say “well they really don’t harm things so lets just leave them alone”? They will damage landscapes including bushes, trees and create unsightly holes and that alone should be enough to stop them from further damaging your lawn. Bushes and trees cost money and if someone falls because of a hole, how much is that doctor or urgent care call?
One of the biggest concerns is damage to playgrounds, soccer fields and areas where children run and play. They actually perform a good service aerating the soil, but the damage often seen is the dying vegetation. They rarely leave their underground complex and most damage is done to the roots of bushes, since they only feed on vegetation. They get all their water from the vegetation they consume. They breed during the Spring to early summer and often have up to 7 babies per year. So has you can see that family can grow quickly causing more damage. It is possible to have 2 -20 gophers per acre of course depending on food availability. Gophers may live up to two years and the majority will be young adults. Gophers are not known to be a significant source of any diseases transmittable to humans or animals. People can trap these critters which is time consuming or use bait injected into the ground and hidden away from prying eyes. Many additional critters may use their tunnels for their benefit including lizards and toads.
Call ProBest for more information or to schedule a visit 602-249-7378
pocket gophers
pocket gophers
Dawn H. Gouge, Ph. D. University of Arizona MAC Experiment Station
Given the space or lack thereof – bugs will make their way into your home or business. Pests have adapted to us, just look at German Roaches they will use exploit our weaknesses and hitch a ride home to our kitchens or businesses. Bed Bugs are very much the same, they will hide in luggage or shoes and boom they are in our house ready to feed off any family member they can find.
Home-sealing is by far the best way to keep out those pests. Caulking, door sweeps and fixing screens are an excellent way to keep pests out. IPM or Integrated Pest Management is the way to think when it comes to protecting your family.
There are several things happening around the U.S. which may impact pest control in your specific area.
- The EPA has been trying to reduce the use of rodentcides, mainly due to secondary poisonings. My hope is that people use common sence in placement of poisons, don’t randomly throw packets throughout attics or crawlspaces. ProBest has not used any of those packets since 2005 and we have swtiched to Terad3 in rodent stations.
- The restrictions of pesticides continue, power spraying of Permethrin type chemicals are just one of the ways the EPA is limiting chemical usage.
The use of IPM or Integrated Pest Management continues to be the choice of real prevention of pests. So here are a few tips to reduce the use of pesticides and allow them to continue to be used in the future.
- Be aware of placement especially of rodentcides. I’m a big fan of not using any rodenticide within a structure, use of snap traps can be just as effective.
- Use pestcides that can be hidden and placed where insects will find them, crack and crevices, block voids and wall voids.
- Don’t spray any flowering plant.
- Follow IPM standards.
- Always read and follow label and use directions.
It takes over 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef but only 1 gallon of water to produce one pound of many insects.
That is one amzing fact and I think we should start to consider this as a factor in the global market. Pretty soon the number of people will far outweigh what we can possibly grow to feed them all. “We eat bugs, You should too.”
Photo by PPMA
One of the biggest reasons that I home seal is to pass along education information – Knowledge is Power. This site is full of great information and can be used for all types of circumstances.
Basic House fly facts:
- Houseflies lived over 65 million years ago!
- The easiest and simplest way to keep flies out of your home is to keep things clean. Don’t leave food lying around, make sure you take out the trash every day and wipe up spilled messes right away.
- They prefer corners and edges or thin objects to rest on. Indoors, they rest on floors, walls and ceilings during the day.
- House flies are the most common of all flies and always found in the company of humans and are inactive at night.
- Houseflies have no mouth but it has an eating tube through which it vomits a drop of fluid from its stomach and deposits it on its intended meal – GROSS. This fluid is then sucked up along with the nutrients it has dissolved, leaving behind untold numbers of germs.
- Female houseflies can lay 2,500 eggs in just a month.
- Adult houseflies can live 30 – 60 days.
- Houseflies are a perfect host for all types of bacteria… proven carriers of such germs as gangrene, Typhoid, leprosy, tuberculosis, amoebic dysentery, bubonic plague, and listeria, just to name a few.