What should home owners be thinking about right now?
This time of year, people should be getting ready for bugs that will emerge in the spring. Brown recluses are hibernating in the attic and having babies and once it warms up they will come down looking for food. Because of this, it’s best to be proactive and do an attic treatment in the winter.
We offer regular pest treatment services for homeowners.
Business owners should sign up for our service plan where we come out on a monthly/ quarterly basis.
BED BUGS
Bed bugs have exploded in Wichita over the past few years and continue to be one of the main reasons we get called to people’s home. After a ten year period where they weren’t an issue in the Midwest, we have seen a growing number of cases.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
There will be bites on the upper torso. The reaction is worse for younger people and as we get older we build up a tolerance generally. Lighter and red haired people tend to have a worse reaction.
LIFE CYCLE OF A BED BUG
The life cycle of these bugs is that when they first hatch they are as tiny as the letters on a penny. A gully engorged adult tic is about the size of an apple seed. They are known to spread like crazy. They can be compared to a hitchhiker and will lay 3-5 eggs a day. They can live for 100 days / go through five stages where they molt, feed and then repeat the process. They are called bed bugs because they are known to congregate around heads of beds.
What do I do if I do if I find bed bugs?
Make sure it’s what you got by getting an inspection and several treatments
You should always inspect a hotel before you even unpack. Pull the bed away from the wall and take a good LED flashlight and look for red specks or bugs fecal matter. You may also see the bugs around the bed skirting.
What can I do for effective pest prevention (Bed Bugs, Termites, Mites)?
Be wary of used furniture. Be cautious while traveling. Make sure that people stay in your home are mindful. Be aware that pregnant female pests are often hitchhikers and are a huge problem in Wichita right now.
ANTS
Ants are a real problem in the spring. Small colonies often nest in the walls and in window casings and door frames. When it gets about 50 degrees, they wake up and because it’s too cold to go outside, they start foraging indoors for sweets (carbohydrates).
If you spray with a traditional spray, you kill the ones you spray but not the colony.
Ants are very social insects with colonies that range heavily inside. The most annoying type of ants are odorous house ants. They are called that because if crush them you get a smell like rotten coconut. They make relatively small colonies with around 10,000 individual ants per colony.
The most common ants are little blackish brown ants. They are known to forage for sweets primarily but will sometimes search for protein as well.
Know how to avoid common insecticides
Carpenter ants nest in wood and can damage wood. Their natural environment is in forested areas. Look for water damage to wood and wall voids as a clue that they are in your house.
Keep in mind that Raid and other store-bought pesticides are based on old technology. Although they may kill the ones you see in the open, most of what is available in the market is pyrethroid based (a class of chemicals that were introduced in the 80’s and 90’s) Although these pesticides still kill some bugs, the ones that survive being sprayed on pass on the gene to be resistant to these products.
Consider cultural practices and how you store things. If there is clutter everywhere or it is packed against the wall, you may see more pests. Cabinets that are packed also create an environment that allows pests to flourish.
Search everywhere for places where water and humidity are allowed to endure. Roaches and termites thrive in wet environments.