Ant Control Tips

 If you are experiencing an ant problem, identifying the ant species may be of help when trying to choose control methods. In this article, we review how to identify a few main species and control options available.

There are several species of ants that you may encounter invading your home or outdoor area.  Some of the more common types are carpenter ants, pharaoh ants, sugar ants, black ants, house ants, thief ants, odorous house ants, argentine ants, crazy ants, ghost ant, acrobat ant, big headed ant, pavement ant and red imported fire ant.

Carpenter ants in the United States are some of the largest ants and there can be several different types of carpenter ants infesting one home or business at a time.  You will want to look for a black or red black in color and and they are typically about 3/8 to ½ inch in size.  And you will typically see worker ants.

Carpenter ants are polymorphic meaning that the same species can have multiple sizes of workers.  One of the best methods of identifying carpenter ants from other ants, is to look for their specific characteristics.  They will have a waist with only one node and a thorax with an evenly rounded upper surface.

The Argentine Ant is thin and brown and the size of a grain of rice. If you have trouble determining whether or not you have an Argentine Ant, bring a sample to your local extension service and they should be able to tell you.  The Argentine Ant gets protein from eating insects, but prefers the honeydew liquid that is made by aphids, scales, mealy bugs and whiteflies.  You will often find him under boards, stones, tree stumps and potted plants, searching for his favorite meal. The Argentine Ant may begin to move indoors in the fall, as his food sources dwindle during that time. Although it may be difficult to completely eradicate the Argentine Ant, you can discourage him from sharing your immediate space, and from ruling your outdoor living areas. 

One of the most dangerous ants to have invading your home is the Red Imported Fire Ant. When dealing with a fire ant infestation indoors, it is important to utilize all methods of control and be safe about chemical applications.  Fire ants look like ordinary house or garden ants, but have some distinguishing characteristics. They can vary in size within one nest, from 1/16 to 1/5 inch long. Fire ants are dark reddish brown in color on the head and body, with a darker abdomen. Fire ants are extremely aggressive when disturbed, and if one bites you, you’ll know for sure you’ve been bit.

Options for indoor control include products like; gels, baits, dusters and sprays.  Some of the household ants that will be affected by these applications aresugar ants, Pharaoh ants, Cornfield Ants, Argentine Ants.  Gels and baits are good because your chemical pest control is contained to one area and are not spreading the chemicals onto numerous surfaces in your home.

Outdoor ant control may include products such as granules, liquid sprays and baits.  Granules are able to be broadcast or used to treat individual mounds.  Liquid spray insecticides may reduce populations of other nuisance insects in your area. Look for products that can incorporate in insect growth regulator to reduce the resurgence of ants on your property.

How to Control a Roach Infestation

 

No matter what the season; summer, spring, winter or fall, roaches never seem to take a holiday at all. Roaches come in many shapes and sizes and thrive without much attention at all. There are simple steps that you can take to minimize the opportunity for roaches to flourish in your household.  In this article, we discuss ways to keep roaches under control for the do it yourself pest controller.

There are over 3,500 species of roaches, but some are more likely to be the pests that invade your home.  There are only about 12 species of roaches that are the regular invaders of homes. Roaches belong to a suborder of insects called Blattaria, which means “to shun the light”. The actual word “cockroach” comes from the Spanish word, “cucaracha”, which means “crazy bug”. Texas can boast the most cockroach species of any other state, having as many as 30-35 species. Common household roaches are German, Banded, American, Oriental, and Woods Cockroaches.

Roaches are not only unsightly, but their excrement and decomposing bodies are triggers for allergies and asthma. Cockroaches can also carry diseases like dysentery, typhoid and poliomyelitis, as well as gastroenteritis. It is therefore imperative for your safety and sanity to keep cockroach infestations under control.

Follow the quick and easy steps below to minimize cockroaches in your home:

• Make sure that your home is sealed from cracks and crevices that can allow any roaches in your home in the first place. 
• Check weather stripping, windows and screens, and utility entry points.
• Caulk where you can to seal any opportunity to let the outside pests in. 
• Check any pipes for even the smallest leak. 
• Keep garbage bins sealed and away from your home 
• Cut back any flowers and brush in direct contact with your home.
• Limit access to all food AND water sources for the roach 
• Store pet food in sealed plastic or metal containers
• Keep your dishes washed and dried daily  
• Do not leave water in the sink over night
• Wipe down counter tops as soon as you are finished using them
• Put trash out nightly 
• Enforce NO FOOD restriction in every room except for the kitchen dining area 

 

 

Treatment options for a cockroach infestation include:

• Glue or “sticky” traps that can be used to monitor  for any cockroach activity and species identification
• Boric based products that can be left on tops of cabinets or behind appliances to treat the stray few that wander into your home
• Insecticide sprays on a seasonal basis to stop cockroaches from becoming a full fledge infestation
• Gel based products can be used inside lower cabinets and crevices that may be allowing entry
• Cockroach bait traps set out seasonally can also provide effective long term control solutions

 

Following a regular regimen using the above combination of prevention, monitoring and seasonal treatments can keep your home cockroach free. Your family will thank you for it.

Fly Problems? How to Treat a Fly Infestation

Summertime is prime time for flies to increase activity and become a problem for the do it yourself pest controller. There are many of types of flies that can cause a problem in our homes.  There are house flies, fruit flies, blue and green bottle flies, and moth flies.  Flies are prolific proliferators and eat most anything. Some flies can lay 150 eggs at a time, every 5-6 days.  Not only are they annoying, they can be carriers of numerous diseases and pathogens. In this article, we discuss ways to treat and limit a fly infestation.

Ohio State Extension Program says:

Domestic flies, often called "Filth Flies," are not only a nuisance by their presence, but are important from a human and animal health standpoint.  House flies may spread diseases such as conjunctivitis, poliomyelitis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, anthrax, leprosy, cholera, diarrhea and dysentery. They may serve as intermediate hosts for parasitic tapeworms on poultry or parasitic roundworms on horses.

Luckily, there are a now plethora of pest control products to address our fly pest problems available to the general public. There are insecticide sprays, fly lights, fly baits, fly traps and treatments. Some treatments such as contact sprays are good for the immediate treatment of unwanted flies. Whereas other fly treatment options, such as fly traps and fly lights provide an ongoing support system to keep fly infestations under control.   

It is important to determine if your fly problem is only a fleeting instance, or associated with an ongoing breeding site. The treatment method for each situation would be different. For instance, have you only had fly issues during a gathering where food was outside for extended periods of time or do you constantly notice fly activity in and around your home?

For the first situation, you may only need to spray the outdoor area that will be used for your gathering a few hours before guests arrive. For the second situation, you may have a fly breeding site in or around your home.  In that instance, the breeding site would need to be located and eliminated. But you would also want to use a combination of baits and residual insecticide sprays to control the existing fly population and stop them from entering your residence.

There are other easy steps you can take to stop a fly infestation from happening in the first place:

• Be certain that your windows, screens and entry ways are sealed tightly and in good repair.
• Spray your entry ways and sills with a residual insecticide
• Use time released pyrethrin sprays
• Do not locate trash cans located near any entry ways.
• Empty cans regularly, and wash them out weekly with a good bleach bath.
• Use only trash cans with locking lids
• Keep food covered at all times
• Wipe up any crumbs, etc immediately
• Don’t leave produce on the counter without cover
• Check any cracks between your appliances and counter tops to be sure that there are no trapped food particles
• Keep the backs of cabinets clean and clear from excess storage items or clutter
• Review under sinks and appliances to be certain that there is no accumulation of food or moisture
• Do not leave any standing water or food build up in drains
• Regularly flush your drains to remove any ‘gunk’ that may be building up on the insides of pipes.

Mother D - Diatomaceous Earth! Effective and Earth Friendly!

MotherEarth D is a broad spectrum desiccant dust with 100% high purity freshwater diatomaceous earth for long lasting control of crawling insects.


Diatoms are harmless against humans and pets and are completely natural.

MotherEarth D is made of the highest-quality diatomaceous earth, lasts virtually forever if left untouched and provides long-lasting control of insect pests.

Mother Earth D should not be the only product used in the fight against bed bugs as it does not kill quick enough. For best results, use a contact kill such as Sterifab or Bedlam in addition to the dust product.


Diatomaceous Earth is a naturally occurring substance composed of fossilized shells and water plants. Since it is not toxic to the environment or humans, it has numerous uses in pest control. In this article, we will discuss diatomaceous earth and its various uses for the do it yourself pest controller.
Since diatomaceous earth has very sharp edges and tiny pores, it acts as a desiccant. If you can imagine that diatomaceous earth is like tiny shards of glass and the bugs that walk over and through it end up have their waxy protective layer removed, and they in essence dry out or are cut up. Diatomaceous earth acts as a physical control of pests, not a chemical control. Therefore, Diatomaceous earth is not toxic to our environment, humans or animals, but direct inhalation of it should be avoided, as with any other tiny particle substance.
Diatomaceous earth is relatively inexpensive, making it an excellent choice for the DIY pest controller. The only down side to diatomaceous earth is that, if you are using out of doors, it is important to realize the wetting the diatomaceous earth will make it ineffective, and reapplication will be necessary.
Let’s discuss some of the popular uses for diatomaceous earth.
INDOOR USE
DI will work to keep your indoor pests under control. Indoor insects that can be targeted are ANTS, COCKROACHES, EARWIGS, SPIDERS AND OTHER CRAWLING INSECTS. Using a hand duster, lightly apply in dry areas where crawling insect pests are found or may hide, including cracks and crevices, along baseboards, around sinks, cabinets, refrigerators and stoves and in attics and basements. Direct contact with dry dust is required for effective control. DE is not a bait, you cannot place a small amount of DE in one area and expect the pests to “find” it. Place the DE in areas where there is known pest activity. If you are using vacuuming in your pest control regimen, placing some DE in the vacuum canister will kill those pests that are captured by the vacuum. This will help you to not simply relocate indoor pests to another area in your home. DE can serve as a ongoing control for BED BUGS once you have addressed the initial bed bug problem with appropriate chemical measures.
FLEAS: To control fleas infesting pet areas, thoroughly treat floor and bedding in and around pet's sleeping quarters. Treat surrounding cracks and crevices, baseboards, furniture, carpeting and wherever fleas are suspected. Apply a thin coat of dust to rugs and carpets. You should rake (not sweep) nap back and forth, causing dust to enter rug or carpet. Let product sit overnight. Repeat application as necessary and vacuum every 3 - 4 days for effective flea control. DE will kill fleas and help deodorize carpet or rug.
If you have a vacation or summer home that is closed up regularly, applying DE to the home before it is retired for the season will offer long term and non toxic pest control without great expense or effort.
OUTDOOR USE
DE is effective for the treatment of outdoor ANTS, EARWIGS, MITES, SPIDERS AND OTHER CRAWLING INSECTS. Try using a hand duster or other equipment suitable for application of dusts, dust lightly in areas where insects are found such as windowsills and doorframes, around foundations and along ant trails. Direct contact with dry dust is required for effective control. Repeat treatment in problem areas as necessary for control.

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Will Warmer Weather Mean More Pests?

What You Need to Know About Mice

DIY Pest Control is becoming more and more accessible due to internet web sites with professional strength products at low price points. To be an effective DIY Pest Controller, you should also arm yourself with the facts about your particular pest to ensure success. In this article, we discuss facts about mice that you need to know to be a successful DIY pest controller.

Did you know that mice are very territorial and do not like to stray over than 30 feet from their nesting site?

Mice will also stay within 10 feet of their main food supply. Since they are good climbers, it is easy for them to make residence in ceilings, attics, or pipe runs. Also possible are areas below their food source, such as basements, floor voids and crawlspaces.

To use this mouse fact for effective DIY control, imagine a 10 foot sphere surrounding the entire area radiating from their food source. If you cannot locate the mice that way, expand the area to 30 feet, to search for the rodent nesting area. If your house has several floors and you are a finding mice throughout, using this information will let you know that there are several mice colonies in your home.

Did you know that mice like to travel on runways where their whiskers can touch a surface?

They prefer to utilize dark, protected areas, and have preference for corners.
You can use this mouse fact to help you in your DIY Pest Control regime by looking for rub marks along base boards. It is possible to leave a trail of talc along the suspected runway and check back in the morning for signs of foot prints. If you locate the rodent runway, place baits, glue traps and snap traps along these paths. The suggested distance for the traps is ten feet, or closer for heavier infestations.

Mice are very curious rodents and will investigate if their surroundings are altered.

You can use this to your advantage by rearranging furniture, etc. in areas that you suspect mouse activity. This can help you if you place traps out that evening, forcing the mice to venture out of their comfort zone.

Lastly, mice like to eat often, but just a little. They like dark and protected areas, and may prefer these sites within their feeding territory. If you have located one of their favored feeding areas, utilize this area for a concentration of baiting. But also, use your baiting and traps and numerous areas through out their territory. This will help you bait as many mice as possible, in a shorter amount of time.

Reference: www.pctonline.com August 2009 issue

DIY Rat Control

Of all of the rodent pest control problems that one can encounter, rats are definitely not one to take lightly. Rats can cause serious health problems for families if left untreated. In this article, we review what rats can do and treatment methods that the DIY Pest Controller might miss.

According to Baltimore County Public Health Department:

Rats can destroy or contaminate food supplies. Rodent feces and urine are a source of gastrointestinal diseases such as Salmonellosis or E-coli infections, and respiratory diseases such as Hantavirus. The rat flea has been an important agent of transmission for Plague and Murine typhus.

It is therefore important that the infestation of rats be taken vary seriously by the homeowner and DIY pest controller.

When attempting to battle rats, the DIY pest controller will more than likely contemplate baits and poisons. Both are necessary weapons in the DIY pest controllers arsenal against rats, but, a long term plan to kill the rats and keep them from returning may also be in order.

The DIY pest controller needs to assess the source of the rat infestation. Is your home in a rural or urban area? If you are in an urban area, do you have open garbage bins near your residence? If so, these are like buffet style rat feeders, which allow populations to flourish in the urban environment. If this is the source of your infestation, you may need to contact your regional governing body to alert them to this dangerous situation that they are allowing to fester by their lack of action. There are options that the city can adopt, including using baiting stations within the dumpster area or purchasing bins with secure lids that rats are unable to chew through.

If you are in a more isolated area, what does your trash area look like? Old fashioned metal garbage cans with the lids are the best for keeping rats out. Also, keep them as far away from your home as possible so that rats are less likely to migrate inside of your home.

Does the roof of your home have contact with limbs from trees, telephone/cable wires? If so, consider using a tamper proof weather resistant baiting station directly ON your roof. If you do so, you will minimize the rat population in your area, thus reducing the possibility that they will enter your home. While you are one the roof, be sure to check for signs of rodent entry into your home. All vents should be properly screened to disallow entry.

Use these handy tips to keep rats out and maintain control of your DIY pest control regimen.

Invade Bio Drain Cleaner

InVade Bio Drain -





Microbial gel with proprietary citrus oil.

Packaging: 32 oz bottle - IBDC032, 1 gallon jug - IBDC128

thickened gel formula for direct application to drain lines. InVade Bio Drain



Thickened Microbial Formula for Direct Application to Drains to Eat Away Scum Where Flies Breed, and for “Sugar Snake” in Soda Drain Lines

InVade™ Bio Drain Cleaner is a premium blend of microbes and citrus oil in a thickened formula that coats the sides of drains.


InVade Bio Drain will eat through the scum in drains to help prevent breeding of fruit flies, drain flies, and phorid flies.

The citrus oil provides extra power and a wonderful smell. For start up, this Drain Treatment product should be applied daily for the first week. Thereafter, one weekly dose should be sufficient.

InVade Bio Drain can also be applied in soda fountain drip tray drain lines to eat away “sugar snake” that clogs the lines.

Drain odors will quickly be eliminated when InVade Bio Drain is in use.

All About Drain Flies

Drain flies, sometimes called moth flies are non-biting gnats with dark wings. Drain flies can be a nuisance for home owners. In this article we discuss how to identify and treat a drain fly problem.

They can often be found resting on ceilings or walls, and take sort of “hopping” like flights if disturbed. Often drain flies are a temporary problem, since they develop in standing water. For instance, if you are gone for vacation, you may return to find drain flies, but once your household normal activity is renewed, the drain flies usually go away. If you notice that they are a problem over several weeks, you more than likely have a breeding site somewhere that should be located and cleaned to eliminate the drain fly.

Sources of Drain Flies

If you have flies in your home or workplace, identifying the breeding ground and its treatment is the key to controlling small flies.
The larval drain flies need moisture to survive and they can bread anywhere that water is standing for a week or so. Infrequently used toilet bowls and tanks, sink or floor drains in basements or garages, or drain pans under refrigerators.

Drains can present one of the most overlooked sources for breeding of small drain flies. Drains can look clean on the surface but pose an enormous breeding ground underneath. Floor drains can create an organically rich environment that will attract and breed insect growth.

Drains that have failed, have cracked or damaged pipes can be a major culprit in you insect problem. You may even be able to see the gray wriggling larvae swimming in the water.

All of these areas need to be cleaned thoroughly and be sure to remove surface film in order to kill drain flies and keep them out.

Drain fly larvae can remain submerged for a day or more because they are able to trap air bubbles, so they are very difficult to drown. The drain fly life cycle takes from about 10 to 15 days at about 70° F. If drain flies disappear and reemerge after 10-15 days, you know you will need to retreat your drains.

Here are a few recommendations for keeping your drains insect free:

•Pouring hot water down the drain may provide short-term control.
•Clean your drains regularly-drains should be opened and cleaned on a regular basis, using a wire bristle brush will help remove any excess organic matter.
•Check drain traps and remove any debris that may end up clogging your line.
•After cleaning drains use of a drain cleaner or biological agent into the drain is advised. As with all products follow label recommendations for use.

Although they are non- biting, drain flies and their larvae are just unsightly and annoying. Follow the prescribed measures and drain flies should be a thing of the past!

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DIY Home Pest Inspection

If you are planning on doing your own pest control, one thing that will improve your chances of keeping the pests out is doing a complete home inspection. In this article, we cover where and what the DIY pest controller should look for when doing a home pest inspection. Certain conditions give rise to pests entering and flourishing in your home, so what can you do to minimize your chances of inviting pests into your home? Inspect your home for signs and symptoms of pest activity.

In your kitchen, bath and laundry areas follow the techniques listed below:

Exposed Food: Do you have pet food, decorative arrangements, bowls of fruit, or any other items that are openly exposed and available to pests?

Leaks and Moisture: Washing machines, tub/showers, garbage disposal units and sink cabinets should be checked for signs of the tiniest leaks and moisture retention. Spaces beneath tubs/showers can also be an access point for pests, and should be treated if you are able to access them.

Entry points: Dryer vents, windows, screens, door ways, cable/utility entry points, attic accesses are all easy entry ways for pests if not properly sealed. Copper mesh , caulk, and expandable foam can be used to minimize entry access.

Potted Plants: Although lovely, potted plants can be a mini eco system for pests to hide and flourish. Don’t forget to inspect these when looking for pests in your home.

Pantry: Are your foods stored in sealed containers or has there been any spillage left on shelves?

Pet Bedding: Pets can be a host for fleas and ticks and their bedding areas need to be inspected for signs of activity.

Hearth: Check your fireplace area for signs of moisture leaks in walls or ceiling areas and be sure that your firewood isn’t importing or harboring pests.

Bedrooms: Be sure to look in corners, baseboards, bedding and behind dressers for signs of spiders, silverfish, bed bugs, and clothes moths. Drapes and wall hangings should also be vacuumed and inspected regularly. Fleas can hide in low hanging drapes as well.

These techniques should help you to pest proof your home but also give you an adequate inventory of pests that may already be there and require treatment. If you see signs of pests, these are pinpointed treatment areas, since they are places that pests like to hide.

For most any type of pest, you can visit an online pest control supplier for access to professional strength products to treat almost any home pest that you may find.

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Green Pest Control Products at ePestSolutions!

Epestsolutions supplies organic, green, and natural pest control products (baits or insecticides) to control almost every type of pest including spiders, ants, roaches, mosquitoes, fleas and flies. We provide aerosols, dusts, granules, and bait formulations for the organic do it yourselfer .

Epestsolutions is proud to offer a full line of natural, organic and eco-friendly products in different formulations that can be used to treat almost any pest. Whether roach, ant, spider control, or any other pest is your objective, epestsolutions has the  green product for you. All of our organic pest control products are EPA registered, and many are National Organic Program (NOP) compliant. In a world where going  Green and  Organic is used in every sentence we can help you stay earth friendly while still controlling ants, flies, fleas, ants, roaches, mosquitoes, and spiders and organic termite products. Rid your home of insects and pests naturally. Products include pest control sprays, baits, dusts, granules, and concentrates. Active ingredients may include pyrethrin, boric acid, pyrethrum, silica gel, diatomaceous earth, d-limonene, orthoboric acid and natural plant extracts.

Epestsolutions also offers the complete pest control product line of Ecosmart Technologies. These broad spectrum pest control products provide quick knockdown, low toxicity and environmental impact, all while using natural plant extracts which are natural defenses against insects. Ecosmart has products for fly control, wasp and hornet control, roach control, ant control, spider control, and many more pests.

Organic pest control dust formulations are great for controlling bees, wasps, roaches, spiders, earwigs and other crawling insects.

Epestsolutons Organic pest control granule formulation is a great broadcast granule for the yard to control ants, roaches, spiders, flies, fleas, ticks and many other unwanted pests.

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How Dusts Kill Pests

Dusts are a useful tool in the tool kit of the do it yourself pest controller. In this article, we discuss insect biology and how dusts have used that insect biology to our advantage. Dusts have been used for ages in pest control, before there was anything called “pest control”. Animals often ‘dust’ themselves to help minimize parasites. We certainly didn’t invent ‘dusts’ during our lifetime, but hopefully we can begin to utilize them better in our home pest control regimen.

So exactly, how do dusts kill insects?
Well, there are a few ways that dusts can kill insects. Desiccants dusts are used as “drying agents” to the insects. One type of dust acts as tiny sand paper, and rubs the waxy coating from the insects as they walk over the dusts. Some dusts act as a sponge, and absorb the ultra thin lipid layer from the insect. Neither of these actions bodes well for the insect. Some dusts also include chemicals specially formulated to kill insects within the dusts themselves. The desiccant action of the dust makes the insect more readily susceptible to the compound in the dusting agent.
Dusts are readily available over the counter to the do it yourself pest controller. Online pest control suppliers can even ship them quickly to your door. But there are numerous types of dusts on the market, and you should investigate which one is right for your situation.
Diatomaceous earth is finely ground fossils that have little known toxicity to us or our environment. It can be used indoors or out and is dreaded by a long list of pests. DE will kill most anything that crawls through it. If you do use it outdoors, remember that it has to be reapplied after a rain, or heavy watering.
Dusts can be applied using pressurized cans or hand dusters. Dusts are often applied to base boards, cracks, crevices, under sinks, cabinets, and the folds and edges of furniture. Depending if you are using a insecticide dust or not, you need to pay attention to the labeling and where it may be used. If it contains an insecticide, you may not want to use it in any area that pets are children have access too. Also, although furniture may be treated, it will have to be vacuumed within a certain time frame after application. So be sure to check the rating on whichever product you chose to go with.
Dusts will not immediately kill the pests, but work more gradually over time. If you need to kill pests right away, use the dusts in conjunction with a spray insecticide that will kill the visible pests, and apply the dust to continue to reach pests that you did not have access to. Dusts that do not get wet can retain their potency for months or years when applied into wall or cabinet voids. This factor alone makes investigating dusts for the do it yourself pest controller well worth the effort.

How to Control Pest Allergens

Allergies, asthma, and their symptoms can be an unrelenting problem for many Americans. Often times the allergens exist within our home environment, making symptoms even more difficult to control. In this article, we will discuss common pests that act as allergens, and ways to minimize them in your home.

23 to 60 percent of children with asthma are shown to have increased symptoms when exposed to cockroach saliva, feces and cockroach bodies. In one study, 35 percent of inner city children were allergic to dust mites. Proteins in rodent urine can become airborne and exacerbate allergy symptoms. Rodent droppings can cause reactions as well. There is actually a syndrome called ‘sick building syndrome’, due to the reactions caused by high levels of the aforementioned allergens. With the amount of time that we spend inside of our home, it is ever more important that we make sure to remove as many of these possible allergens as we can.

The best way to remove these pest allergens is to use an IPM, or integrated pest management, protocol. All that means is that we want to address all the factors that are allowing these pests to flourish in our environment, and not just rely on chemical means.

Questions you should ask yourself to create your own personal IPM protocol:
1) Environmental:
a. Are you inadvertently attracting pests into your home with readily available food sources?
b. Is your landscaping well managed and not touching your home?
c. Does your home have adequate ventilation and moisture control?
d. Are you trash bins placed away from the home and sealed?

2) Sanitation:
a. Do you have excessive clutter, creating safe areas for pests to hide?
b. Have you sealed all entry points: vents, cracks around doors and window, places that wiring enters the home? You can use expandable sealant foams, copper mesh, and silicone gels are good ways to seal all of those up.
c. Do you keep food sealed, cabinets and counters clean?
d. Do you take your trash out regularly? (no over night stays)

3) Non-chemical treatments:
a. Sticky traps and snap traps can be placed in areas that are out of reach for children and pets.
b. Regularly vacuum corners, baseboards, furniture, drapes, etc. to remove possible pests/eggs/droppings. Be sure to immediately empty the canister contents into a bag that can be sealed and place it in the trash bin.
c. Use repellants to keep the pests from staying inside your home even if they make it into your home.
d. Use heat/steam to kill mites, pests, and sanitize your fabric or upholstered items.
e. Ultrasound, predators, parasites, and lighting are other non chemical options available.

4) Chemical means of control: This includes Insecticides, rodenticides, baits, and insect growth regulators. Only use these means according to labeled directions.

Mosquitos Have Been an Issue in New Orleans for a While....Read Below

1926: Mosquitoes are a scourge to outdoor life in New Orleans

TEMPRID! What Can't It DO?!

Temprid SC (Suspension Concentrate Formulation) insecticide is an easy-to-use insect repellent and provides quick knockdown and long residual control of more than 50 pests. This high quality insect repellent combines the broad spectrum, fast-acting control of beta-cyfluthrin with the systemic residual control of imidacloprid to provide premium performance and efficacy.

Active Ingredient: Imidacloprid 21%, Beta-Cyfluthrin 10.5%

Target Pests: Ants (excluding Pharaoh's ants), Boxelder bugs, Carpenter ants, Carpet beetles, Centipedes, Clothes moths, Clover mites, Cluster fly, Cockroaches, Crickets, Darkling beetles, Dermestids, Earwigs, Elm leaf beetles, Fire ants, Firebrats, Fleas, Fruit flies, Gnats, Ground beetles, Hide beetles, Hornets, House flies, Leather beetles, Midges, Millipedes, Moths, Mosquitoes, Multicolored asian lady beetles, Phorid flies, Pill bugs, Scorpions, Sciarid flies (Fungus gnats), Silverfish, Sow bugs, Spiders (excluding Brown recluse spiders), Springtails, Ticks, Wasps, Yellow jackets