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Strange fruit

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Strange fruit – I’ve never seen this

This strange fruit is a grapefruit tree at a clients home, I noticed it while doing a pest treatment. I spent a lot of time in Florida and now here in Arizona and I don’t recall anything this obscure and just plain weird. I see some pretty unique things along my path daily but this one was just different.

This just struck me as odd, but little limb is doing its best to live its dream. Maybe we should all do what the little tree to doing. But you will notice there is no fallen fruit for rodents to be eating. One of the ways to discourage animals and wildlife is to keep your yard clean, no clutter and keep an eye on the property each month. No surprises!

Fantastic tree in Phoenix, Arizona

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tree

I think this is a Orchid Tree, Bauhinia variegate. The honeybees were going crazy, it sounded like a whirling buzzing noise and the tree was covered with bees pollinating.

When the bees are out gathering nectar and pollen generally speaking they will not attack, if you bother them or swat at them they may defend and sting you but they are not in hive defense mode. A lot of people panic when they see a few bees on a tree or bush, the honeybees are just there to gather the fruit of their labor. The same goes with water areas, this could also be your pool or water fountain. Swarms occur and should be left alone, they will probably move on. Let them be and more than likely they will leave you be. We as humans can come into contact with bees daily so just take care and if you notice them coming and going from your home – just check them out and see exactly where they are coming from.

Bee safe

You don’t often hear about a termite related death.

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Two things caught my attention about this article “Tree falls on home and kills woman“.

This article is from Illinois, generally not known for big termite infestations.
You don’t often hear about deaths related to termites, mosquitoes or ticks maybe but not termites.

Termite photo by PPMA

What is the BIG question for this time of year?

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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.

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.

Just couldn’t do it, no tree trimming for me…

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Sorry this is just a job I couldn’t even think about doing. Would scare me to death, I’m better on the ground. I’m not even thrilled to be on a one-story roof. So if you need my expertise (pests, pest control and their damage) it had better be on the ground level. Just saying!

Olive trees and their fruit, what can you do?

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Olive trees are a wonderful addition to any landscape but the fruit can be a real pain and somewhat unappealing sight to your yard. When the fruit ripens usually between January and April it can create a real mess and worse when its tracked into a home or business. So what can be done?

A growth regulator can be applied to the tree which will stop the tree from producing fruit. We use Ethephon 2 Plant Growth Regulator, for best results applications should be made before fruit sets. Application to the tree should be thorough and uniform coverage of the foliage.

So give ProBest Pest Management a call to stop those Olive trees from fruiting and causing undo damage to sidewalk and driveways. We also do a weed service and those weeds are really abundant right now.

The tips for keeping the bugs out, what are they?

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To a Pest Management Professional the slogan – Integrated Pest Management is really important. Why, you ask? Because it is at the heart of what we do, everyday! I don’t think that many of us that really want to harm nature and there is a fine line to doing that and protecting us from the bugs that could kill us.

At its core is this principle – “Integrated Pest Management is a process involving common sense and sound solutions for treating and controlling pests. These solutions incorporate three basic steps: 1) inspection, 2) identification and 3) treatment. Treatment options vary from sealing cracks and removing food and water sources to pesticide treatments when necessary.”

But you and I both know that it isn’t always easy controlling certain pests like cockroaches in apartments, so its take everyone’s cooperation and help to solve the dilemna. The same goes for scorpions, home-sealing is just one step to controling these beasts.

So heer are a few tips to help you in your mission to keep your home or business bug free.

Home-seal your home or buisness (fill in cracks and crevices).
Fix any leaking pipes.
Don’t stack firewood or any material against your house, the idea is to be clutter free.
Keep trees and bushes clear from your home.
De-clutter.
Don’t bring in used furniture until you check it completely.
Repair screens and door thresholds.
Those holes at the roofline are to allow the attic to breath, don’t let birds or wildlife make their home there.
A clean home is less attractive to wildlife and pests.

Most destructive insect?

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I’ll would bet that most people would say termites but not so, it turns out to be the desert locust. This locust you may recall is the one from the Bible and can eat its own weight in food a day. It is estimated that a large swarm could eat 20,000 tons of grain and vegetation per day. (“The Handy Biology Answer Book”)

In the U.S. I’m still betting on the termite, estmates suggest over 5 billon in damage each year. Termites are in search of food and when they find it they will eat and eat. 24/7/365 that is their schedule and they won’t waiver unless the building is under water.

What can you do to discourage termites from finding your home as a food source:

Check water drip and irrigation systems to make sure they are working properly.
Don’t plant plants or trees to close to the foundation of your home.
Don’t allow stucco to come in contact with dirt or stone, you need to see the foundation.
If you noticed any wood in the ground left over after construction, remove it.
Don’t stack wood against the home.

PPMA King/Queen Sub-termites

This is just way to cool, scorpions under black light are fluorescent?

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Thanks to David H. for the pictures, I just love these black-light pictures.

Boy the scorpions this year have really been on the bad side of things, lots of calls and lots of scorpions getting into homes. Maybe its the rain or maybe the heat but these scorpions are crawling towards your home and eventually they will get in. A home-seal is really the best move towards keeping them out. Here is my list for keeping them out.

Home-seal including the garage door seal.
Reduce harborage, that’s where they live and hangout like block walls and any crevice or crack.
Reduce their food, pest control.
Black-light them at night and remove them – less equals a good thing.
Don’t let trees touch the house, super high-way for all kinds of bugs.
Don’t clutter the foundation, don’t put sheds against the house – leave a space.
Don’t think that a one time anything will work – you must stay be consistent with all the above.

Termite Super Highway’s…

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Termite Super Highway’s…

Termites build these tunnels or tubes as a highway into our homes. In nature they would eat and consume fallen trees and convert them back into fertilizer for future trees and bushes. Then we decide to build homes right on top of them and then they decide to eat our homes, what a vicious cycle! Termites build these tunnels for protection against ants and other enemies along with humidity control.

So now is the time to look for these little highways into your home, call ProBest if you see anything like this! 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176

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Strange fruit – I’ve never seen this