Category Archive: News

1. Bug Free BBQ

   October 13, 2009 12:43 pm Leave a Comment

   Barbeques can be a source of seasonal fun, but not when pests crash the party.

   When the sun is shining and the drinks are cold, you know it’s time to heat up the barbeque, however when pests gatecrash the party, the seasonal fun can be spoiled.

   Ants, flies and stinging insects are prevalent in the late summer and early autumn and although often considered a mere annoyance to partygoers, these pests can also bite, sting, carry diseases and contaminate food.

   Outdoor events can be tricky enough to plan for due to uncooperative weather and other unpredictable elements. Pest predicaments should not be another worry.

   More than just a nuisance, these pests can leave painful bites and transmit diseases, which should compel homeowners to take an active role in their prevention. Simply by taking a few precautions to discourage unwanted pests from spoiling the fun, you and your guests can be left alone to enjoy the summer:

   • Serve food and beverages indoors, and reserve outdoor space for eating and entertaining.
   • Keep food sealed in containers or covered whenever possible, and wipe tabletops frequently.
   • Bring utensils and dishware indoors shortly after the meal.
   • Dispose of rubbish in closed rubbish bins and keep receptacles a good distance from where guests are gathered.
   • Remove / drain sources of standing water in the garden that could be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, including birdbaths and paddling pools.
   • When outside, wear insect repellent on exposed skin to prevent mosquito bites.
   • Provide clear cups for beverages, as fizzy pop / juice cans are good hiding spots for stinging pests.
   • Properly screen doors and windows leading into the home.
   • Remind guests to close doors when entering and exiting your home.

   By sticking to these few simple steps, you will reduce the impact that garden pests have on your party, and will ensure that you will be left alone to eat, drink and be merry to your heart’s content.

   If you’re concerned about an abundance of pests in your garden, contact a licenced pest professional to help control the problem.

2. Sticky Sticky Sticky

   12:42 pm Leave a Comment

   Glue boards can be used to treat certain insect infestations, which not only cost less than fumigation, it also speeds up the eradication process.

   Use of glue boards to trap stinging insects is really catching on at homes and sensitive accounts such as schools and churches.

   For most insect accounts, the best time to treat is in the evening, when most of the colony have finished their daily foraging and are in for the night.

   However, this is rarely the preferred time to schedule technicians, especially after a full day on the job. It also means that the customer, expecting to have the problem taken care of on the spot, usually has to wait until after sundown for results.

   But, there may be a better way – a method that speeds up both technician productivity and customer satisfaction in one fell swoop, and can be done in broad daylight.

   Glue boards are commonly used for rodent accounts, but recently they have also been found to work as a handy treatment method for insects, such as wasps and bees. The nest itself, is treated for populations already inside and glue boards utilised to catch foragers upon their return.

   In addition to timely treatment, the glue boards are also a great tool when nests are hidden from view. With Superman’s X-ray vision not yet available to the commercial market, pest control technicians have to get creative when trying to get to sources.

   Placing the glue boards to potentially catch what otherwise couldn’t be reached is a matter of common sense. Wall voids are a perfect example. Holes in the walls can be sealed to prevent access, however more often than not, the bees work around it finding new entrances or entering the home directly, making matters worse.

   Even though you can’t see some nests, you can just slide up these glue boards on either side of the holes. By sticking them together, allowing a slight overlap, one long train of glue boards can be effectively positioned around the nest area. A couple of days later, when the pest control officer returns to the account, the whole line of glue boards can be safely removed.

   The glue boards are just as helpful outdoors, helping capture insects under vinyl siding. By placing the glue boards every 4 inches in the corrugation of the soffets, you can catch most bugs as they enter and exit the roof. The boards fit really well and can protect small areas of your home relatively cheaply.

   While glue boards are a classic tool in the integrated pest management (IPM) toolbox, they are much easier and less expensive to use than one might expect. It only takes one or two technicians to handle the glue board placements, which can then be left to the home and business owners to remove a few days later, following instructions on what to do, where and when.

   The glue board technique has also helped solve the problem of treating for insects around stone wells, where chemicals are not an option.

3. Bed Bug Epidemic

   12:42 pm Leave a Comment

   Britain is under threat from the bed bug – an insect that was once almost completely eradicated from our shores in the 1950s, but is now back with avengeance.

   An epidemic of bedbugs is sweeping the nation, fuelled by air travel and warmer summers leading to the number of infestations soaring by 500 per cent in the last two years.

   Cities such as Cambridge and Peterborough have taken the brunt of the epidemic because of the large number of people on the move every day.

   The increase is largely attributed to the huge expansion in air travel, coupled with global warming, which has brought millions of bed bugs into the country on travellers’ clothes and in their suitcases.

   Bedbugs are red and brown in colour and are about the same size as an apple pip. They feed on human blood by piercing the skin, sucking up four times their own body weight in 15 minutes. The insects, whose bites cause itching, were virtually eradicated in the 1950s, but now we are seeing a surge in the number of calls from homes with bed bug infestations.

   Many people think the spread of bedbugs is caused by bad hygiene – but that’s a common misconception. Dirty houses will make infestations harder to remove, but they are actually spread by many of the richer people in society because they travel more. They are also spread on public transport because people sit very close to each other, so you need to be a little cautious when sitting down.

   If people’s homes are badly hit, they’ll carry bed bugs on their clothes. If they sit on public transport, they’ll leave the bugs behind when they get up and the next person will get a dose.

   Bedbugs are notoriously hard to spot because they hide in mattresses or in cracks in flooring or walls and come out to feed between 1am and 5am. And we advise vacuuming mattresses and cleaning regularly to keep them at bay.

   What is clear is that it is imperative to get this epidemic under control before the bed bug population spirals any further.

4. The Flies Are On Us

   12:41 pm Leave a Comment

   Scientists have calculated that, because of global warming, Britain’s fly population could more than treble this century.

   Scientists have calculated that, because of global warming, Britain’s fly population could more than treble this century.

   A rise in temperatures means a shorter interval between the laying of a fly’s egg and its hatching, and a longer period during which conditions are suitable for breeding.

   The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, also warns we could see a corresponding rise in insect-borne infections, such as diarrhoea.

5. Death To Grey Squirrels

   12:40 pm Leave a Comment

   The plan to create defended reserves for red squirrels in the north of England is short-sighted. The European Squirrel Initiative proposal for total eradication of the grey squirrel is the only practical long-term solution.

   The plan to create defended reserves for red squirrels in the north of England is short-sighted. A permanent programme of trapping and shooting using buffer zones will not guarantee success.

   The European Squirrel Initiative proposal for total eradication of the grey is the only practical long-term solution. The benefits would be enormous. The decline in our songbird population would be reversed and large tracts of our broadleaf woodlands would be saved. Furthermore, our native, gentler red squirrel would return.

   Eradication worked with the coypu, and is close to working with the mink. Grey squirrel numbers are higher, but so too is public awareness of the problem.

   The UK should find that going to war in the homeland against an easily identified but highly invasive alien species would be relatively simple. It would also be successful.

6. Their Mother’s Love Them

   12:39 pm Leave a Comment

   Unfortunately though it wasn’t appreciated when they helped themselves to an early breakfast in the kitchens and left salmonella bacteria all over everybody else’s food.

   Unfortunately though it wasn’t appreciated when they helped themselves to an early breakfast in the kitchens and left salmonella bacteria all over everybody else’s food.

   They didn’t know you don’t open cereal packs and bags of sugar with your teeth and climb inside. Nobody had told them they were a major carrier of disease.

   Good thing nobody knew they had also done the business over the plates… the cutlery… the table tops…

   Then they would have been in trouble! – ALWAYS REMEMBER

   • Each female mouse can produce 60 offspring per year. They begin to breed when only two months old;
   • Mice are agile climbers and, when permitted, will gain access to all parts of a building. They can squeeze through gaps as small as 6mm in diameter;
   • They actually only need to eat 3-4 grams of food a day but will always contaminate far more than they consume;
   • Mice are known carriers and transmitters of a wide range of diseases including salmonella, listeria, and forms of meningitis;
   • They have weak bladders and will dribble urine as they cross work surfaces and climb over exposed foodstuffs;
   • In addition, each mouse produces up to 80 droppings a day and sheds hair which adds to the contamination;
   • As with all rodents, mice gnaw continuously and their razor-sharp teeth will damage pipe-work and electrical wiring – leading to floods and fires;
   • Look regularly for signs of mice. Droppings, damaged goods, black smear marks from their fur and teeth are all tell-tale signs;
   • If you think you have even a single mouse. GET HELP!

   WARNING – the presence of mice in a food preparation area is not only prima facia evidence of an offence under the food regulations, there is also a danger to health both from disease and damaged wiring or pipe-work.

7. Invasive Ladybird Threatens UK Species

   12:38 pm Leave a Comment

   A new ladybird has arrived in Britain. This is not just any ladybird, this is the Harlequin ladybird, the most invasive ladybird on Earth.

   A new ladybird has arrived in Britain. This is not just any ladybird, this is the Harlequin ladybird, the most invasive ladybird on Earth.

   There are 46 species of ladybird resident in Britain and the recent arrival in 2004 of the Harlequin ladybird is a major threat to many of these. It is also a deadly threat to many other insects, including butterflies and lacewings.

   The Harlequin ladybird is an extremely voracious predator that easily out competes native ladybirds for food. It is so successful that while native ladybird numbers dwindle the Harlequin ladybird flourishes. When their preferred food, of green fly and scale insects, is not available the Harlequin readily preys on native ladybirds and other insects such as butterfly eggs, caterpillars and lacewing larvae.

   Introduced from Asia into North America for biological control of aphids on crops, the Harlequin ladybird has swept across the US, quickly becoming by far the most common ladybird. In the last decade its catastrophic increase in numbers has threatened native North American ladybirds and other aphid predators, many of which are plummeting alarmingly as the Harlequins consume their prey.

   The Harlequin ladybird is also partial to overwintering inside houses in huge numbers where their defecations destroy upholstery, curtains and wallpaper. Despite this unwelcome and well-publicised take-over of America by the Eastern invaders, Harlequin ladybirds are still sold in continental Europe by bio-control companies, and it now roams across France, Belgium and Holland, with numbers soaring annually.

   The Harlequin Ladybird Survey is keen to monitor the distribution of these ladybirds in the UK. If you have spotted a Harlequin, please record it with the survey so that checks can be made on it’s spread across Britain.

8. Grey Squirrel Cull

   12:37 pm Leave a Comment

   A massive cull of the grey squirrel is to take place across Britain to try to halt declining numbers of the endangered native red squirrel population.

   A massive cull of grey squirrels is to take place across Britain to try to halt declining numbers of the endangered native red squirrel population.

   Currently confined to Scotland, Cumbria, Northumbria, the Isle of Wight and Islands in Poole Harbour, the cull is designed to focus on areas where red squirrels are being squeezed out.

   The aim is not to completely eradicate the grey squirrel, which have a population estimated at more than two million, but to control them before they have the opportunity to wipe our native species from the UK.

   It is thought the cull will use poison to reduce numbers over the next three years.

9. The Threat From Myxomatosis

   12:36 pm Leave a Comment

   If you have a pet rabbit, vaccinate it. The British countryside stands on the verge of the biggest outbreak of myxomatosis for years.

   If you have a pet rabbit , vaccinate it. The British countryside stands on the verge of the biggest outbreak of myxomatosis for years. Epidemics have already been confirmed in Dorset, East Sussex, Essex, Newcastle, Cambridge and Surrey.

   Myxomatosis is a skin pox first discovered in South American rabbits, who have become immune to it’s fatal effects. In the Fifties scientists introduced it to Australia and France to combat their rocketing rabbit populations, from where it spread to England, killing 99% of the rabbit population in 2 years.

   Passed on by blood-sucking mites, the virus first creates lumps around the rabbit’s eyes and genitals. Blindness follows. The rabbit loses it’s sense of balance, stops eating and develops a fever. Death typically takes about 13 days.

   Experts are blaming the current outbreak on the mild autumn, which has allowed the parasites to flourish.

10. Winter Pest Proofing Tips

    12:35 pm Leave a Comment

    This winter, as you crawl into your sweaters, socks, and hats to adapt to falling temperatures, pests with four or more legs may be crawling into your home.

    This winter, as you crawl into your sweaters, socks, and hats to adapt to falling temperatures, pests with four or more legs may be crawling into your homes. It is necessary to take steps year-round to pest-proof your home.

    Pests adapt to the changing environment and rodents can cause serious property damage in and around the home, so it is vital that you, the homeowner, take proactive steps to protect your largest investment.

    In late autumn and winter, the most common home invaders are house mice. A considerable health threat, these critters can transmit disease and have been proven an allergen to children. Mice are also known to consume and contaminate food, chew up woodwork and insulation, and trigger electrical problems by nibbling on wires.

    These are Attack Pest Control’s top ten tips for winter pest-proofing :

    1. Seal up any cracks and holes on the outside of your home including the entrance areas of utilities and pipes.
    2. Make sure vents are screened.
    3. Keep tree branches and shrubbery well trimmed and away from the house.
    4. Inspect boxes, grocery bags and other packaging thoroughly to curb hitchhiking insects.
    5. Keep cellars, lofts, and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry.
    6. Store rubbish in sealed containers and dispose of it regularly.
    7. Store fire wood at least 20 feet away from the house and five inches off of the ground.
    8. Repair fascia and sofits and rotted roof shingles; some insects are drawn to deteriorating wood.
    9. Replace weather-stripping and repair loose mortar around the basement foundation and windows.
    10. Call Attack Pest Control to speak to a qualified pest control professional for additional advice and treatment if necessary.