Ask the Pest Control Guy

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I did this a while back, and since we seem to have quite a few new members, and also since the weather’s warming up and many new and interesting critters are starting their life cycles anew, I thought I’d do it again.

I’ve worked for a major termite and pest control company for nearly nine years. My experience has been with pests common to the Northeastern United States. But if I’m asked a pest or temite question I don’t readily know the answer to, I’ll do my best to provide links to sites or other information that might help.

So…what’s bugging you?

2

grrrrrrrrrr.

Ants. Little, black, find a tiny speck of something on the floor and swarm over it in the millions, ants.

I have an ultrasonic “pest repeller” that I just got on a whim. Don’t know just yet, says it may take a couple of days.

Also, I have a sweet, dear little kitty who WILL play with anything on the floor, although she isn’t dumb enough to eat it.

Help.

3

Do you think cockroaches deserve their bad reputation, or do you think they’ve been unfairly given a bum rap?

4

ditto with the little tiny ants. Help!! I bought some little ant bait things that they are supposed to be taking back to the queen, but I don’t think they’re working.

5

There’s ants in the kitchen of my apartment, and I don’t want to spray pesticides. What else can I do to get them out of there and keep them out?

6

Wow, timely Q. I was leaving my apt complex today, and some pest control guys were loading up. The truck said something like “Joes Pest Control”.

I was wondering what it takes as far as licensing, regulations, liability etc to be a “ma and pa” type outfit. The “hazardous chemicals” thing.

I realize this will vary by state, but a general overview would be appreciated.

7

Talk about timing.

As I was reading a thread on here earlier, I flicked one of those little sugar ants off my monitor. Then I realized that it was the umpteeth ant I’ve seen that day. I’m used to the odd one, since I had an epic battle with them last year, but not this many.

I look behind my monitor. THE WALL WAS BLACK WITH ANTS! They were swarming out of the wall. (We are renting a really sleazy place that was probably built in the dark, but it’s cheap and all we can afford at the moment.) I invented a whole bunch of new swear words, then went to get my trusty ant spray.

I killed them, then left them on the wall as a macabre art piece until the boyfriend unit got home. He brushed off the ant wars last year, so it’s time he got a faceful.

Sure enough, as soon as he got home and saw it, he immediately called the landlord and informed him we were hiring an exterminator for the house. He phoned a couple places and decided on one guy who said he’d come out and spray the place tomorrow. I was irked that he didn’t call more places, but oh well, the deed is done.

Now I get to find a place to stuff three cats that hate each other for at least two hours tomorrow while they spray. le sigh

Anyways, sorry for the novel, but here’s some questions:

  1. The ants are in the walls. Will the spray penetrate there somehow and kill them? Or does it just kill the ones inside?

  2. Will this also kill all the black widows that plague us?

  3. Are there any other precautions I should take when we leave the house with the cats? Hide food, etc.

  4. Should this be redone on a regular basis?

[sub]At least my monitor still works, for now. I’m sure dead ants will have an eventual effect on it. [/sub]

8

Another ant question, but slightly different. I keep seeing random ants in the computer room. There’s no visible trail, obvious entry point or huge infestation so I don’t know how to get at them. I haven’t found ant traps to be effective in the past. How do I interrogate one of the little beasts to get it to reveal the location of headquarters and the Master Plan for Invasion?

9

I’ve been warned to avoid using shredded wood mulch in the beds around the house because it’s a favorite amongst worker termites.

(From what I’ve heard, whether true or not I really can’t say)…
The workers are the little white ones that carry food to their larger winged brethren and like no environment better than the moist spot between the top of the soil and the bottom of the mulch.
Re: Peoples Ants Questions:
I’ve heard that Baking Soda works as an effective deterrent for the small ants if the use or smell of Raid disturbs you

Questions:

  1. If I don’t see the little white ones when I part the wood mulch w/my hands to ground level, am I safe to assume I can continue to use wood mulch?

  2. How often should I examine my mulch for the critters?

  3. Should I spray a pesticide down as a deterrent if I don’t see anything or will the rain just wash it away and water down its effecitveness?

  4. Does the natural insecticide agents in cedar make it a better mulch option OR do you subscribe to the “All Wood Mulch, whether pine, hardwood or cedar, Leads To Trouble” theory?

  5. If Money isn’t the biggest concern, would you advise using a decorative gravel as opposed to wood mulch?

10

Okay.

Seems like most of the questions here are about ants. I’ll deal with them first, then make another post to deal with the others.

I did a Google search under “ant bait” and came up with some online stores that will ship ant bait. Whether you need to be a licensed applicator to order, I don’t know. But it may be worth a try.

teleute12, I prefer baits to sprays, most times, since baits use their natural instincts for food gathering to our advantage. To keep them out, look around your local home center for granular formulas that you can spread around the perimeter of your house.

If you can, locate an access point or trail. It will probably be near windows, doors, or the bottom of a wall. A gel formulation works well, and many of them come in a syringe, all ready to be squeezed out. It doesn’t take a lot, remember. You’re not caulking a bathtub here. Fit the tip of the syringe into the cracks/holes and dispense. I like this better than bait stations, because it allows the applicator (i.e. you) to place the bait right where the ants will be more likely to find it.

Depending on where you live and how your structure is set up, conditions may change. Houses that have slab floors allow ants to emerge from the middle of the floor, if there’s a crack there. Houses with basements generally have ants coming in through outside walls and doors. Climate plays a part, too. Obviously, if you live in Florida or SoCal, you’ll be plagued by ants worse and for longer than if you live in Fargo or Butte.

For specifics – Gulo gulo, the pest control guy should be able to treat inside the walls. He may have to drill a little hole, or remove the plate from a light switch or a wall outlet, but he can treat inside the wall, never fear. You should mention the spiders to him. The product he uses for the ants may help kill the spiders, but he may need to target other areas for them, and the more info you can give him the better. You really shouldn’t need to sequester the cats. He’s not coming in to spew poison all over the place and create an environment that will kill anything that passes through the room. I have a cat, a hamster, and two kids, and I treat my house just fine, thanks. I’m sure your professional will take care to reduce the hazards of pesticide application. It may be necessary to do treatments more than once. Pesticides are designed to break down over time (also with exposure to light and air, and depending on other environmental conditions). Even if the one application rubs out all the ones living in the walls, others from outside could very likely re-infest the place eventually. Just keep your eyes open in the future, and take decisive action before they start carrying the cats off and receiving mail at your address.

GrinnaGirla, I think the jury’s still out re: ultrasonic repellers. I’ve heard from some people they work, and from others that they’d have been better off calling Hogwarts Exterminating. My own opinion is that they work initially, but not in the long run. By that I mean, they may have an effect at first, but once the ultrasonic noise becomes part of the environment, it loses its repellent properties. Look at it this way: ever go to someone’s house, and notice right away it smells like cat pee? Well, the people who live there don’t notice it, because it’s part of their environment. And if you stay there long enough, you won’t notice it as much either. Same principle, although I wish to repeat that’s only my uninformed speculative opinion.

SparrowHawk, hey, sis, wazzup? :smiley: I find it nearly impossible to believe you have ants in the tropcs. Really? Seriously, though, you need to kind of watch for a while to see where they’re going to or coming from. It may be an unlikely area, but eventually you’ll find it. Of course, knowing you, you probably already have gotten on your hands and knees and all but tagged their little ears in order to follow them. Just keep trying. In the meantime, use gel in the corners under the moulding and around doors and windows.

Let me say right now that, as far as any pesticide goes, it is important to read and follow the label directions. No joke. It is a violation of federal law to use a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling. Or, as we say in the biz, “The label is the law.” This stuff is perfectly safe if used according to the manufacturer’s specs. But the responsibility is yours.

11

Depends. What have you heard?

No, seriously, cockroaches are nasty little f***ers. They can carry salmonella, and there have been studies which attempt to link asthma in the inner cities to the amount of roaches in the inner cities. My branch participated in a study in NYC a few years ago. Apparently, they were trying to establish a link between incidents of asthma flare-ups and the amount of roach feces and dessicated roaches in the environment.

They are also disgusting and tricky. You can carry roaches home with you via briefcase, purse, newspaper, even in the cuff of your trousers, or a coat pocket.

My personal experience also tells me that bulk “warehouse” type stores can be hotbeds of roaches, and care should be taken to ensure you’re not bringing home tiny livestock along with the Crate O’ Onion Dip, or whatever you buy there.

They are also difficult to get rid of. Baits and traps, rather than sprays are preferred. Roaches have developed a charming habit of dropping an egg case (if they’re carrying one) when they get hit with insecticide. So in 30 days or so, that one dead roach has produced hundreds of nymphs. Nice, huh?

Cecil has mentioned Insect Growth Regulators here. They work, but I don’t know if they’re available non-commercially. Hydroprene is the active ingredient to render roaches sterile, and it may be that the “Egg Stoppers” available over the counter contain it. If so, it’s a good thing. Roaches have earned their bad rap.

12

I hate to pass the buck, but this is state-regulated, and I only know from NY. You can check with either a co-operative extension, or with your state’s regulatory commission. They probably have a website, and you might find a lot of answers there.

I will say certain chemicals are regulated, which means you have to be licensed to obtain and use them. Usually, the storage of pesticides requires a separate building, at least X feet from offices, homes, etc., with its own automatic fire extinguisher system installed. Insurance for a privately owned business would vary from provider to provider, I imagine. But I don’t know enough about any of it to really offer any concrete answers.

13

Let’s first get to know our termites, shall we? By understanding their habits, we can gain insight into the mulch question.

Eastern subterranean termites are the only ones under discussion here. This is because A) they’re the only ones a guy living on Long Island needs to worry about and B) They’re the only ones I know about. The word “termite” hereafter refers to eastern subs.

Termites are social insects, with each caste of the colony performing a specific function. The queen lays eggs, primary and secondary alates mate and develop new colonies, soldiers protect the colony against enemies such as ants, and workers feed the colony.

The colony itself is underground (hence the name “subterranean”), always below the frostline, but it can be quite deep. Twenty feet is not extreme. From this central colony, the workers forage for food. They forage randomly and continuously, always looking for new food sources, and utilizing more than one food source at any given time. Their foraging range can be up to 80 - 100 feet in any one direction. Thus, anything within a 160 - 200 foot radius of the colony is within the foraging range.

Eastern subs are soft-shelled insects, and they shun exposure to sunlight and air. They will find their food either buried in the earth, such as fence posts and tree stump roots (termites don’t eat live wood), in contact with the earth, such as wood piles or sill plates below grade level, or even above the surface. They construct shelter tubes of mud, saliva, fecal matter and other materials so they can travel through them and still have the darkness they like and so they can regulate the relative humidity.

Termite workers eat the wood from the inside out, going with the grain. It’s not unusual for a piece of infested wood to look perfectly normal and yet crumble like egg shells when touched. I’ve had the fun experience of having this happen while I was lying on a crawler in a teeny little crawlspace. I grabbed two sistered joists to get myself moving again, and that wood which was holding up the house right above me came apart in my hands. At any rate, while they may nibble at mulch, they probably won’t infest it the way they do the studs or sill plates of a house.

Termites are not lured to their food. No one type of wood is preferred (although they don’t like pressure-treated wood or cedar or redwood. The latter two contain oils that smell pleasant to us, but are repellant to insects). Termites do not see their food, smell their food, or sense their food in any way. They literally bump into it. So questions about whether mulch is good or bad don’t really enter into it. I suppose they will eat it if they come into contact with it, but it won’t make them come running just because you put it in your garden. Nor will not putting it in your garden cause them to shun the area. If it’s within their foraging range, they’re going to be there anyway. The mulch won’t facilitate their getting into your house, nor will decorative stones deter them from getting into your house. If your house is part of their environment, and they can get to it, they will.

Spraying a topical pesticide into your mulch will keep it free from ants, I guess, but won’t do diddly for termites. Oh, it will kill a few of them, but you’re talking about a couple dozen out of a population of a million or more. Nor will it won’t stop them from getting into your house. And let’s face it, if they’re successful at getting into your house, stopping them from eating your mulch is really a Pyrrhic victory. Remember, they live way underground. No topical spraying is going to go that deep.

Conventional liquid barrier termiticide treatments can help, although in New York State, the laws are getting stricter and stricter. Also, barriers break down, or are sometimes incomplete, due to the nature of it being all underground, thus full of unknowns. Baiting treatments are relatively new, but are less invasive and environmentally friendlier. They also take advantage of the insect’s natural instincts and turn them against the insect.

As to whether you don’t see any workers when you part the wood mulch, that doesn’t mean much. You rarely see workers under such circumstances unless the termite pressure on a house is enormous. Again, it doesn’t matter if they’re in your mulch. What matters is if they’re in the wooden structural members of your house.

14

I know you gave me advice this weekend, but I’m an airhead and can’t remember it. Also, I’m probably not the only one who’s dealt with this problem so…

How do you get rid of german roaches!!!

15

TruePisces, roaches are a tough problem, but not insurmountable.

A Google search of “roach bait” yielded numerous mail-order sites which will ship products which I use myself in my professional capacity. Having said that, it’s important to note that the regulations of individual states and possibly even municipalities differ, and it’s your responsibility to comply with them when ordering and using any products such as this.

As with the ants, I would go with a bait. As I mentioned above, roaches will drop egg cases when they’re sprayed, so stomach poisons might be more effective in the long run.

In the “know your enemy” category, roaches prefer dark, moist, enclosed areas, so your kitchen cabinets are prime suspects for harborage.

First, clear out everything under your sink, to allow for easy access. Get a flashlight and do an inspection up underneath everything, and in all the corners and cracks and crevices. You may see roach droppings (which look like finely ground pepper) or you may actually see the little heathens themselves, lurking in the cracks and waving their antennae defiantly.

Apply a small amount of the gel as far into these areas as you can. It doesn’t take a lot, because roaches don’t eat much, and the gel tends to dry out in a couple of weeks, becoming unpalatable. For good measure, put a dab at the pipe openings in the wall, too.

Do the same with the wall units, treating the cracks behind and above the cabinets. Again, use it sparingly. Baiting takes time, and more is not better.

Re-applications should be made every three or four weeks until things begin to improve. Remember, an egg case hatches in about 30 days, so keeping a fresh supply of bait for the new-borns is essential. If you kill them before they become sexually mature, you’ll have smaller subsequent generations to deal with.

If possible (and I saw it at one of the websites I researched), get an Insect Growth Regulator, which will render the adults sterile if they’re hit with it in the pupal stage.

As part of your total pest control efforts, get a garbage can with a lid and keep it covered at all times. Try to do your dishes right away to reduce the competitive food sources in your kitchen. If the only food the roaches have is your bait, then they’ll die that much more quickly. Also, don’t store plastic or paper bags or newspapers under your sink or shoved between the cabinets. These things are good harborage, and roaches will hang out there for a long time. Much of effective pest control is sanitation. If the apartment next to yours offers them more food and harborage, they may decide to live la vida loca over there, after all.

16

Okay, here’s one for ya that involves an actual (sorta) happy ending.
The appartment I was living in a year ago had roaches. Lots of 'em. Enough that I started just ignoring the little bastards. Durring the summer, I went away for a week, and when I came back… no more roaches.
Took me a week to figure out… The mice were eating them.
Yep. I was then infested with mice. And I learned I have a great big phobia of the suckers. I called my landlady and she refused to do -anything- about it until I threatened legal action. Then she put down some glue traps and sent her handyman to fill up the hole with -caulk-, which I literally watched the mice chew right through. Finally I broke the lease and headed out and now live in an absolutely wonderful (if slightly more expensive) appartment.
How is this a good thing? I’ll tell you. First, it got me to the nice new place (happy sigh). Secondly… I realized how much I hated rodents. They seriously freak the hell out of me. I started thinking that I’d only wish rodents on my worst possible enemies.
So several months go by, and my would-have-been-girl-friend-had-she-not-had-sex-with-another-guy-in-front-of-me-when-she-thought-I-was-asleep buys herself a house. On Xmas she invites me over to watch videos with her.
And she had mice.
I almost laughed myself silly driving home.

So anyway, the question- My landlady put down glue traps, claiming that’s all an exterminator would do. I dunno, I find that hard to believe. For mice, what else can / would be done?

17

ArrrMatey, welcome to the SDMB! Love the screen name, don’t ever change it, I really mean it. Thanks for the question.

Mice…Hmmmm…Interesting question. Yeah, there are really only three things you can do to combat them.

  1. Traps
  2. Baits
  3. Exclusion

All have advantages/disadvantages/problems. Let’s examine them all, hey, kids?

  1. Traps. I like traps. When you catch something, you know you got it. That’s one more mouse you don’t have to worry about. Some people are squeamish about traps, since they don’t want to see any mice, let alone dead ones. Sorry. I left my flute and my multi-colored costume in my other truck. The drawback to traps, besides seeing a dead mouse, is that sometimes access to wall space, where mice tend to run, is limited. Mice have poor eyesight and always move along a vertical surface, so proper trap placement has to not be in the middle of the floor. Yes, this may entail cleaning out your garage or crawlspace, but it needed it anyway.

Corners are also prime locations for traps, as mice will hunker in a corner to eat. This puts the corner at their backs, and allows them to eat without something sneaking up behind it. Good survival instincts, huh?

For those who think glueboards are cruel because they allow the mice to suffer, well, sorry. Perhaps they do, but I’ve hardened my heart against them. They’re unwanted pests in someone’s home, and I’m paid to get rid of them. Once the mice start putting in competitive bids, I’ll consider their side of the story.

I tend to use a comination of glueboards and snap-traps because sometimes they favor one over the other. Don’t know why, but I’ve seen them bypass snap-traps and get caught on glue and vice-versa.

  1. Baits. Not crazy about baits, especially when dealing with mice. Some pest techs (we prefer “pest tech” to “exterminator”. Professional pride, you know) will tell you that it makes the mice thirsty, and they go outside looking for water and then die. Yeah. Right. The fact is, you don’t know when or where they’re going to die. Big drawback. I’ve had 'em die near heating vents or in the void between floors. Stinks for a few days, and there’s nothing you can do. Nice thing to have during your formal dinner party, right? “So sorry, Mrs. VanDerCleve-Smythe, I realize it stinks like rotten meat, there must be a dead mouse in the wall behind your chair. Canape?”

Another drawback in using bait for mice is that mice don’t sit and chow down all at once. They carry food off and stash it someplace, to be nibbled later. This creates two problems:

  1. You don’t know how much they’ve eaten, only that they’ve found and taken the bait.

  2. You don’t know where they’re stashing it. I’ve heard stories from other techs about it being in or near their pet food, in the slippers of their children, and once a guy told me a customer found bait pellets under her pillow. Accidental poisoning is no joke. I try to only use baits on the exterior, if I use them at all, and only for rats, since rats do eat until they’re full when they discover a food source.

  3. Exclusion. Caulking the openings is pretty stupid, but the guy’s heart was in the right place (right between his lungs). Mice will chew on anything softer than their teeth. Like many rodents, they’re incisors continue to grow, and they must gnaw in order to keep them manageable. So caulk wouldn’t really stop them. Cramming steel wool into the voids with a screwdriver is a better idea.

But even that might not work completely. Excluding rodents is nearly impossible, especially in a multiple-dwelling structure. Not to alarm anyone, but mice can fit through a hole no larger around than a dime. A rat can squeeze through an opening no larger around than a quarter. You will never, ever, in a million years, find every single opening of such a size in a house or apartment. Still, it’s worth sealing the obvious points of entry.

So, is that all an exterminator would do? Yeah. And we get paid for it. Sound dumb? When you could go to Home Dopey and buy the same stuff for a lot less?

Well, there’s the story of the guy who had car trouble, and he took it to his mechanic. The next day, it was fixed, and the mechanic presented him with a bill – $200. The guy was outraged. “That’s a $5 part. I know for a fact that part only costs $5. What’s the idea of charging me $200?”

“Five dollars for the part,” said the mechanic. “A hundred ninety-five for knowing what to do with the part.”

18

I think glueboards are cruel because they allow me to suffer. I used those suckers exactly once and caught a rat in the middle of the night. The squeaking and struggling woke me up and I had to go out to the laundry room and dispatch the little bugger myself. :eek: What I was I supposed to do, let him squeak and struggle till he died of starvation three days later? Fine for you to use 'em, you put 'em down and go home and are on your second beer when the squeaking and struggling start. Or are mice, unlike my rats, so frail they die of heart failure the minute their dainty little paws touch the goo? Who invented these stupid contraptions, anyhow? I’m serious, how in the name of flaming perdition are the fool things supposed to work?

Anyhow, snap traps for me from then on, with Your Pest Techship’s permission, sir. Baited with the Eensy Peanut Butter Sandwich of Death, a nice, sharp snap lets you know your adversary is gone. He never knew what hit him and he died happy, with his mouth full of peanut butter. I can go out and pick up the trap by the corner and toss the whole thing into a plastic bag and be done with it. By golly, I loved living in the jungle.

Now that I am living in suburbia, I have found that a bag of snail pellets will attract and dispatch the local musculus population, which eats through the bag and strews itself decoratively about the garage. But I don’t suppose you recommend that.

19

One other potential drawback to sticky traps:

We used them once when we had some flies that were rather persistent. They did catch the flies. However, our cat, KC, decided that the sticky trap made a nice, comfy seat.

Cats are not pleasant when you have to wash industrial strength gunk out of their fur.

As for the “Ask the” part of the thread. . .what do you do if you have squirrels in the house? This happened to my family once, and it took us almost two months to fully excise the cute little things. And, yes, they were in the house–they were in the false ceiling in the basement, and then managed to find a way out (through the utility room) and into the house at large. The cats, being wusses, ignored them, and I learned through firsthand experience that squirrels can climb brick fireplaces. What would be a good way to get rid of them QUICKLY should this happen again?

20

Yeah, sticky traps are great if you don’t have to actually come across a live one. That doesn’t happen with mice (and another advantage is, with big ones, you can get multiple catches on one trap). I have had the distinct displeasure of being called by someone who had a rat stuck to a glueboard, though. It was still pretty spry, and I had to gingerly cover it with another glueboard and whack the snot out of it with a 2 X 4. No lie. Ah, the adventurous life of the Great White Hunter.

As far as squirrels, I don’t know that much about 'em, because we don’t treat for squirrels. You need a trapper’s license in NYState to deal with 'em, and my company ain’t got one of those, nor do I.

I imagine exclusion would be the best way to go. It’s not easy. Wait until they’re outside (or scare them out somehow, maybe by making lots of noise) and then cover as many access points as you can find with strong mesh. But that’s entirely speculation on my part.