Mar082010

Well spring is around the corner and so is Termite Swarm Season. A few things to know should you encounter this destructive pest this season.

By Jeff Teague | March 8, 2010 | Posted in Termites | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Every year in the late March through early May time frame here in the southwestern Ohio Valley area of the country we expect to see Termite swarming.  The word swarm usually evokes a biblical picture of locust taking over everything and the panic that ensues.

The subterranean termites common to our area (Typically Reticulitermes flavipes –Eastern Subterranean Termite, Occasionally Reticulitermes virginicus –Dark Southern Subterranean Termite)  will swarm on a good warm day (High 60’s low 70’s) in the spring after a wet period.  This is the colony pushing out winged cast of the colony specially produced for this purpose.  They are basically new Kings and Queens and are meant in Mother Nature to be pushed out of that downed tree or stump by the hundreds.  The whole idea is that birds and other insects will consume the majority of them, hopefully a pair of two will make it and get together a King and Queen.  They will then drop their wings, tunnel into the wet exposed soil and start producing workers for their new colony.

The first thing homeowners need to do is not panic (I know it is easy for me to say!) but it is true, the new Kings and Queens cannot infest your home. Without contact to soil and moisture they will drop their wings and die.  They are evidence that there is a current termite infestation in your home though.   I recommend saving a few for identification by your pest control company.  The rest can be vacuumed up dead or alive and be disposed of. The aggravating part for most homeowners is they can swarm multiple times in the spring from the same area.

The termite colony, while the swarm is evidence of termites feeding on your home they are probably not living in your home.  Subterranean is the key here they live in the ground and tunnel through the soil to find food sources.  The worker termites start feeding on the cellulose material and they have to partially digest the material with protozoa in their gut.  The digested material is returned to the colony by trophallaxis – the transfer of food among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth.  (The termite workers work like a bucket brigade passing the food back to the rest of the castes of the colony)  Termites have a caste system that includes Kings, Queens, Supplementary Reproductive’s, Workers, Soldiers, Alates (Swarmers), and nymphs (babies).  Termites can enter any home via 1/64th of a inch crack in the foundation so they can enter almost any home regardless of construction.

So you have termites now what should you do?

You have many options when it comes to choosing a pest control company and there are many pit falls you can avoid with some basic information.  You need to find a company you are comfortable with so ask friends, family or neighbors about there experiences with pest control companies.  Beware of warranties and read them completely to fully understand if warranty actually covers anything.  Damage warranties are notorious in our industry for disclaiming damage in any area that is not able to be inspected.  This means the interior cavity of all walls as they are typically disclaimed in the fine print.  What does that mean in plain speak?  You can be sold on a huge $250,000+ damage guarantee that covers very little.  There are good companies with good reputations out there that stand behind there work spend a little time evaluating companies.  Beyond the basics you will have to choose a treatment method and it can get confusing.

What are my treatment options?

You will have three choices two of which are Chemical Termite Treatments and the last being a Termite Baiting System.

Chemical Barrier Termite Treatments fall into two different categories repellent and non-repellent termiticides.  Non-repellent termiticides have advantages because they do not have to be perfect to keep the termites out.  You want the termites to travel through non-repellent termiticide and pass it among each other which will affect other termites and deter activity in and around your home. No house is built perfect and repellent termiticides rely on having continuous coverage in and around the structure to repel entry into the structure.  Rocks and back fill can cause this to be difficult if not impossible and have a higher probability of failure.  It will also require drilling and treatment more often completely on the interior of your structure.  A advantage of some of the non-repellent’s is the ability to do perimeter treatments with localized interior treatment at activity reducing the treatment on the interior of your home.

How many gallons are they going to use? The one thing that stays the same among these is a standardized label language for application.  The first would be your exterior treatment language it typically reads 4 gallons of solution per every 10 linear feet of foundation per foot of depth up to 4 feet deep.  (So a basement would be deeper than 4 feet so here is how it is figured the perimeter of your basement is 144 linear feet and 4 gallons of solution four feet deep equals 16 gallons of solution for every 10 feet of the foundation around the perimeter or 16 gallons divided by 10 linear feet equals 1.6 gallons per foot.  To figure your exterior gallons you would multiply 1.6 gallons per foot by 144 linear feet equals 230.4gallons of solution around the exterior of the structure.) This is only a portion of the figures, so read the sample label provided by your company and review it until you are comfortable they can explain the treatment to you.  The most common area that bad companies can fudge treatment is not applying or figuring to the foot of depth.  So they only apply 4 gallons for every 10 linear feet and that would be .4 multiplied by the same linear footage of 144 so they would mis-figure it at only 57.6 gallons around the exterior.

Chemical Treatment Question List for a possible provider:

  1. What type of chemical would you use a repellent or non-repellent?
    1. I recommend non-repellent it is more forgiving and allows for perimeter plus localized interior treatment on most labels.
  2. Did they provide you with a label and total gallons figured for your home? Did they explain it?
    1. Make sure they highlight the parts of the label that apply to your home so you understand the treatment.  If it does not make sense have them explain it again.  If it still does not sound right you might want to find a provider that you understand and trust.  It may be confusing because they don’t want you to understand they are not figuring the total gallons properly.  Did they provide you with the percentage of chemical in solution and are you on the low end i.e .06% vs.125%.
  3. Did they discuss your homes construction with you? Did they ask if you have a sump pump, well or cistern?
    1. All of these will require specific treatment options and my even rule out treatment via this method.  Sump pumps remove water from around and under the foundation the chemical would be treated like water and can contaminate a sump pump, well or cistern.  Make sure they are being addressed and either treatable on the label or not.  If you have a sump pump you would not want to do treatment when the ground is saturated.  It would not be able to dry and attach to the soil prior to being removed by the sump pump and contaminate the sewer or a local creek.
  4. Did they explain the entire treatment?  The warranty or coverage for re-treatment? 
    1. If you don’t understand everything ask more questions, with your bids are they extremely lower than the other estimates.  Bids should be competitive but beware of extreme bids because they are not giving you a deal either they have cut corners on personnel expense, chemical expense – there are many ways to effect this cost.

Termite Baiting System: There are various termite baiting systems and they are a viable treatment option.  There are various versions of termite baiting systems but there are significant differences between systems.  In my opinion you want termite bait that has proven its ability to eliminate termite colonies.  There are many bait’s available on the market and not all of them eliminate termite colonies.  Labels vary among these products and they work in different modes of action for example chitin synthesis inhibitors and stomach toxins are the most commonly used.

Chitin synthesis inhibitors: These products inhibit the worker natural ability to molt and work on the termite’s natural biology.  Worker termites as they grow molt and shed there chitin shell like a snake sheds its skin.  Once a worker consumes the cellulose treated with the inhibitor it will digest it as normal and pass the bait back through the colony gradually.  As each termite molts it will be affected by the bait and workers will gradually die until the colony collapses and is eliminated.  Without workers to digest the food the colony cannot survive.  Dow AgroScience has actually dug up a colony and proved the collapse with their products Sentricon and Hex-Pro termite baiting systems.  There are other products that are similar but I am not sure if they have proven elimination like Dow has.

Stomach Toxins: Stomach toxins must be slow acting and sometimes will allow for additional treatment with their application.  When I mention additional treatments I specifically mean chemical barrier treatments in addition to the bait.  Stomach toxins can deter termite activity but there is no data to my knowledge that shows colony elimination.  Bottom line, Stomach Toxins have proven control in studies and have labels for their application.  (My opinion is I would not place it around my home!)

Termite Baiting System Question List for a possible provider:

  1. How many bait stations will be placed around my home?
    1. What interval will they be installing them at you want to know what is required for proper treatment studies have been done to determine proper interval.
  2. Did they provide you with a label for the product to be used?
    1. This is where you can verify station placement interval.  Baiting options and techniques.
  3. Do you add any auxiliary stations when you get termite activity?
    1. In my experience termite baiting can work quicker and more effective when you add auxiliary stations adjacent to the active baited station.  Often you will get more termites in the adjacent auxiliary stations more bait going to the colony.  The colony is affected sooner. 
  4. Termite baiting is only as good as the company providing the service you need to be comfortable with your provider, ask about the company, get references.
    1. Did they completely explain the terms of the service, how often the product will be inspected?  What happens when it is baited is inspected differently?  Do they manually check stations or do they use electronic monitoring systems.  You will have to decide on what technology you are most comfortable with.
  5. What happens if I have activity after the system is installed?
    1. What will they do if the system is installed and there is no activity outside but you have activity inside.  Will they provide remedial treatment or a interior bait station to solve the activity problem?

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO TREAT FOR TERMITES CHOOSE A PROVIDER WHO FULLY EXPLAINS YOUR TREATMENT IN A WAY YOU UNDERSTAND AND ARE COMFORTABLE W ITH. CHECK REFERENCES, CHECK WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU FOR COMPLAINTS.  DO YOUR HOMEWORK BE SUSPICIOUS OF EXTREMELY LOW OR HIGH ESTIMATES – IF YOU DON”T HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH BASELINE AND ARE NOT COMFORTABLE GET MORE ESTIMATES!

By Jeff Teague | Posted in Termites | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
Jan052010

Buyers beware of what you use for bed bugs in Cincinnati!

By Jeff Teague | January 5, 2010 | Posted in Bedbugs | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Prior to three years ago if you would have asked me about bed bugs I would have said what most of you think “You mean the ones we talk about when putting our kids to bed at night jokingly.” Then the thought would have left my mind and I would have moved onto some more pressing issue like termites or cockroaches which were more detrimental to property and health.  Over the past 20 years I have never experienced a situation like we have now with bed bugs. People tell me I should be happy this is good for our industry right!  To be quite honest I am concerned because I get calls everyday of people who cannot afford treatment.

This is a major concern to be because professional pest control services only account for approximately 30% of the pest control done in residences in the United States.  That means that 70% of the pest control done in residences is by the homeowner or tenant.  Which I really have no problem with but I am writing this article to make them aware of common pitfalls.  Most people in the past have a pest problem bought a bug bomb (total release fogger aerosol) and set one or two off and the bugs were gone.

Please read the labels of the product you want to use choose and pay particular attention to the following:

  1. Is this product labeled for the insect I want to treat for? Please make sure you pest is listed on the label other wise it might not be effective at all.
  2. Is the location I want to use it on the label i.e. indoors or outdoors? Some pesticides are not meant to be used in the home for some pests and are for others. This can be confusing to all of us. So read and understand the usage information.
  3. Is the site (the place you want to apply it) on the label as well? Some pesticides are labeled for only cracks and crevices and others allow broader application.  If you are unsure ask someone at the place you are purchasing the product from.
  4. What protective clothing are you supposed to wear when applying the product? It is important you protect yourself and your family from the application of the product based on manufacturers recommendations. (If they recommend it I would follow their guidelines for your safety)
  5. If any of this is not clear to you ask someone at the store to explain it for you.  It is really important you understand how to use the product safely.   It will also help you be more effective in your treatment.

Recent initial studies of active ingredients to treat bed bugs especially two of the strains from Cincinnati studied by Dr. Michael Potter, Kenneth Haynes, and Alvaro Romero from the University of Kentucky show resistance to the most common active ingredients.  In this study active ingredients Deltamethrin, Bendiocarb, Propoxur, and Chlorpyrifos were tested.  In this test they actually used Deltamethrin the one most common active ingredient in over the counter bed bug chemicals at ten times the normal labeled rate.  There findings were astonishing for all of us.  The CIN-1 and CIN-3 (some of Cincinnati’s local genetic family’s of bed bugs) strains when tested were exposed to a dried filter paper that was treated with the insecticide and allowed to dry.  This exposure was documented at 24 hours and 72 hours for the death rate of the insects were tabulated.  The Deltamethrin (most common over the counter insecticide labeled for treatment) on CIN-1 killed about 6.7% of the insects in the first 24 hours and only 16.7% in 72 hours.  The CIN-3 strain it killed 16.7% of them in 72 hours.  Death rate was low in the other three strains from New York, Worchester MA, and Los Angles and the New York strain none died at all.

Keep in mind the following products you probably won’t find on any shelf in a store at this point and will require more testing and EPA review to gain their usage again.  Bendiocarb active ingredient was a little better on the CIN-1 strain 36.7% died in 24 hours and 46.7% in 72 hours.  The CIN-3 strain 43.3% died in 24 hours and 60% died in 72 hours.  The other strains had mixed results with this product from 30% to 100% but it was more effective. Propoxur active ingredient killed 100% in all strains in 24 hours and Chlorpyrifos active ingredient did the same.  This will raise a ethical question and dilemma for all of us Propoxur is still labeled for other uses in the US and Ohio Department of Agriculture has requested a emergency exemption to support for expanding its usage again.  The product labeling has been reduced because of possible health concerns with the amount of overall exposure we have to the product.  This can spark a whole other debate and that is not what this article is about.  Chlorpyrifos label was not renewed by its manufacturer after additional testing requirements from EPA exceeded its viable income, so we no longer have this product to use.

So what should you use?  Well my first gut reaction is anything in Cincinnati that does not have Deltamethrin in it.  Follow the label and use the following tips as a guide.

  1. Bed bug appearance: The eggs look like grains of rice but they are about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pin head.  The insects vary in size from that pin head to the size of an apple seed. The color varied too the eggs and up until their first blood meal they are translucent and after the first blood meal they start to turn brown from the coagulated blood.
    1. Tell tale signs of bed bugs: Small tiny black spots like dried blood from the size of a pinhead to as large as a smashed apple seed.  The more spots the closer you are to a hiding area.
    2. Why are they such a problem to get rid of? Once a bed bug has fed once it can crawl off and hide anywhere and live for 12 months or more and re-infest your home.  That is why it is very important to be thorough!
  2. The Bed: When inspecting for the infestation take your bed apart if the infestation exists in the bed.  I mean completely apart!  Check every screw hole and crack and crevice you can find. If you are going to keep this mattress set or get another set not encase the mattress and box spring in a sealed cover. These vary in price from a few dollars for a plastic one (you will need to tape the zippers sealed along the entire length of the zipper on the low end covers I recommend the wide roll of the blue painters tape it works better for me.) to over a hundred dollars a set for the ones tested to have zippers and material that seal the bed bugs in or out for a new mattress. Don’t stop at the bed.
  3. Furniture around the bed area: Remove all items from the drawers of furniture in the bedroom.  Remove all drawers and inspect all cracks and crevices for activity.
  4. Clothing what to do: All of the clothing you removed from the drawers should be placed in the dryer (if the fabric is approved) in loads that will allow for even heating on medium high to high setting.  Once the bed bugs have been exposed to a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes the eggs and live bed bugs will die.  I usually set mine for 20 minutes to be safe.
  5. Vacuuming area: It is perfectly fine to vacuum the area and remove bedbugs and eggs but it is best if you have a vacuum with a bag you can remove after usage and discard of outside your home after every usage.

In closing these are the things I tell every homeowner or apartment owner before we come out.  To treat for bed bugs yourself follow the labeled instructions for the products you have chosen. Choose the product wisely and be very detailed in your treatment process.  There are other areas we treat when we treat professionally that I would not recommend a homeowner tackle like electrical outlets and other dangerous areas they can hide.

Jeff Teague is president of Responsible Services – Pest Control

Responsible Services bed bug page: http://www.responsibleservices.com/Pest_Library/bedbug.html

Responsible Services bed bug travel page: http://www.responsibleservices.com/Learning_Center/bedbug-hotel-checking.html

Cincinnati Area (513)469-7738
Butler County (513)737-7783
Warren County (513)398-4120

By Jeff Teague | Posted in Bedbugs | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Dec182009

How do I know if I have bedbugs?

By Jeff Teague | December 18, 2009 | Posted in Bedbugs | Comments (0)

We now get this questions daily, usually you know you are being bitten by something while in bed or on furniture.

First, I usually will ask a series of questions because we need to identify where they came from. We need to know this in order to insure that you don’t re-infest your home once we eliminate the infestation.

1. Have you had family or friends stay with you recently?
2. Have you taken a trip recently and stayed in a hotel or with someone? (Usually within the last 6-12 weeks.
3. Do you work in a position where you are in contact with the public or are in there homes frequently?
4. Do you work in a shift position where you share a desk or position with other personnel?

What you can do if you work in a at risk position is to do what we do after treating properties for bedbugs. Upon arriving home remove your clothing and place it into a dryer on medium high to high heat for approximately 20 minutes.(It has to reach 120 degrees to kill any live bugs and their eggs.)

Our Bedbug page: http://responsibleservices.com/Pest_Library/bedbug.html

When you start inspecting the furniture there are key hiding locations for each piece of furniture.

Beds: 1. Remove the comforter and sheets checking for activity, typically they like to hide around edges and sewn seams.
2. Check around the roping sewn around the edges of the mattress and in the seam of the pillow top if i has one.
3. Remove the mattress from the bed and remove the bed skirt from the box springs. Check the bed skirt and the seams for bedbugs, eggs and nymphs.
4. Inspect the box springs top first and work your way down lifting it out of the frame. Check the bottom where the cheese cloth is especially where it is stapled to the mattress.
5. Inspect the bed frame and headboard paying special attention to where the frame locks into the headboard and footboard. The slots tend to be a common place for them to hide. Bedbugs love wooden surfaces especially slots and joints with gaps to hide in.

By Jeff Teague | Posted in Bedbugs | Comments (0)
Dec032009

Pest Information Blog

By Jeff Teague | December 3, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Welcome to our blog site we will be blogging here about various insects and other pests.  We will cover common places they live and there normal habitat.  You can also ask questions and we will get you a answer your questions to the best of our ability and experience.  If I cannot answer the question I will find someone who can.

By Jeff Teague | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)