If you find a few ants in your house, you should actually take this as a good sign. This means that these are just scout ants and you can stop them before they can go back to the colony and start the full invasion. These ants go out and find food, leaving a scent trail as they go. They then follow the scent trail back to the colony and tell others to follow and come get food. The best way to stop this from happening is to destroy the scent trail. This way, these ants won’t be able to make it back to the colony to tell others of their find. There are lots of products you can sprinkle on the trail to make it impossible to find. Some suggestions are black pepper, talcum powder, cinnamon, or vinegar (just put it in a spray bottle). Just sprinkle or spray one of these substances on the ants and their track. You can watch them for a minute before you apply while they walk so you know their previous path. Make sure to get the path they have come from.

One simple solutionis to use a vinegar/water mix in a spray bottle to wash down my counters, table, stove, etc. (There are lots of vinegar uses. It’s really easy and safe to use, it’s cheap to buy and most people will already have some in the house).  or you could use Borax to kill the ants

Springtime brings beautiful weather and the arrival of ant season. There are a large variety of ants that invade our homes and yards each year. However, taking care of this problem does not require a lot of harsh chemicals or an expensive pest control bill. For a few dollars, you can get rid of ants yourself.

It is important to understand that an effective ant bait must actually attract the ants. Many commercial preparations are toxic to ants, but the ants will avoid most of these making them a waste of money. Generally speaking, ants are attracted to sugar and/or protein. I have found the following solution to be very effective and only takes a few minutes during each Spring when the ants first appear.

1) Gather some small plastic containers with lids. I will use either Philadelphia Cream Cheese or margarine containers that I have saved. Poke 4-5 holes spaced evenly around the outside each container about an inch from the top. These holes should be about the size of a pencil to allow the ants to enter the container easily. It would look something like this:

2) Buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. This can be found in the laundry detergent section of any large grocery store.

3) Mix the Borax with granulated sugar in a 1:3 ratio. I will prepare 1 cup of Borax with 3 cups of sugar for 6-8 traps.

4) Fill the plastic container about half full with the powder. You want the level to be about 1/2 an inch or so below the holes in the container.

5) Add enough water to make the mixture slightly soupy. The exact amount of water is not important. The mixture will become like syrup over time.

6) Add about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter to the mixture. Stir until well mixed. Place the lid on the container.

7) Set the traps in areas where you find ants. These can be used indoors, but I find it more effective outside the house. I put them near the kitchen window, near the doors, under the house, by trash cans, next to existing ant colonies, or even in the flower garden.

The bait works in two ways. First, it is toxic to ants that ingest it immediately. Second, most ants will naturally transport the bait back to the colony where other ants will ingest the bait and die. Most types of ants will respond to the bait. You will notice some dead ants in the vicinity of the bait within a couple of days. I find that within 2 weeks, it is difficult to find any ants around my home.

CAUTION: Borax is toxic. Do not place the traps in areas where animals (like the family pet) can accidentally open the lid and ingest the poison.

Queen Ants

Queen ants  are probably one of most important members of a colony because they guarantee the continuation of their species. Queen ants, are larger than other ants in their colonies. They also have wider bodies, making them easily noticeable . The stomachs of queen ants are bigger than those of other ants, and they have wing muscles specific to their caste.

Most queen ants’ eggs mature to become sterile, wingless female ants, or workers. Sometimes, groups of new winged males and future queen ants are made to mate. After mating, males cease and in many species females lose their wings, going on to make new colonies. Queen ants don’t search for food. Thy use the proteins from their  decaying flight muscles as a food . When a colony’s first offspring develops into adults, they find and bring back food for their queens.

Queens are some of the longest living ants and can actually live up to 15 years Producing thousands of eggs, it is not uncommon for a colony to have over 80,000 ants at one time. But if the queen dies and she no longer has a another queen to replace her  the whole colony of ants could perish.

If you’re trying to get rid of an ant problem in your house you can see why it’s important to kill off the queen ants .

You want to spray the  pesticide close to the ants nest so the worker ants will carry it back to their nest for feeding it to the general population and hopefully the queen.
This will result in the queen ant becoming infertile and the queen will no longer be able to lay eggs.  This first stage is designed to kill as many of the ants and eggs and possibly the queen. This should take place in the summer or fall when ants do most of their foraging.

The old saying goes that there are dozens of roaches in hiding for every cockroach spotted, so it’s not unusual for apartment renters’ stomachs to turn when they flick on the light and see a lone roach skittering across the floor or wall for safety.

Cockroach Identification Tips

Many people aren’t sure whether their bug problem is roaches or not. So what does a cockroach look like? There are several varieties of cockroaches, but in general roaches:

• Are brown, beige, or reddish in color
• Are between 1 and 1.5 inches long
• May have a body like a smooth shield pointed toward the tail
• Have two long, thin antennae on the head
• Have six legs with short, spiny protrusions
• Can fly although they are usually spotted crawling on floors and walls

If two or more of these bugs are spotted around the same time period, especially during the daytime, it’s likely that there is a roach problem t.
Causes of a Cockroach Problem

Roaches require moisture and food, which is why they are most often spotted in the kitchen and bathroom. They are often attracted to open sources of food including crumbs or dirty dishes. The best way to prevent a roach infestation is to keep a clean house, seal all food tightly in containers, and do dishes immediately after using.

1. Identifying a cockroach. Cockroaches generally look like dark brown beetles, though color and size vary among different varieties. A cockroach might measure no more than a half-inch, or might be almost 2 inches long. All cockroaches have six legs, the back two pairs of which angle backward sharply. The back pair of legs stretches backward beyond the tail end of the cockroach’s body. Cockroaches have long antennae that, from a distance, can sometimes resemble a 4th pair of legs in the very front. Not all cockroaches can fly, even if they have wings – a common example would be the small German cockroach – but, horror of horrors, some can (such as the American cockroach, a.k.a. Palmetto bug or waterbug).

2. Get rid of the food and water. These cockroaches were probably first drawn to your living space because of the abundance of food they found there. Even trace amounts can attract cockroaches, and their food sources are many and diverse. Cockroaches can even survive on paper (bad news for messy college students). You must make your living space absolutely fastidious in order to solve your cockroach problem.

• * Close up garbage cans tightly at all times, and take out the trash frequently. If possible, keep your garbage can outside until the problem subsides.
• * Make sure cockroaches can’t simply enter your house through open windows and doors. If you haven’t already, invest in window screens that are free of tears and    maintain a tight fit within the window frame.
• * Clean all pots, pans and dishes immediately after using them.
• * Put all food away in sealable containers or in the fridge.
• * Vacuum, mop and otherwise remove any residue and crumbs from your living space.
• * Cockroaches can feed on human tissue… got any dirty clothing lying around?
• * Get rid of water. Cockroaches can survive without food for a considerable amount of time, but not without water. You must keep your living space dry at all times. How dry? I’ve seen a cockroach drink from the rim of a coke can (sugar + water = cockroach heaven). Keep all liquids sealed off and fix any leaky plumbing (especially in dark areas such as under your sink). Make sure that all pipes run smoothly and don’t back up. When you clean, be sure to dry all surfaces upon finishing.
• * If your pantries have shelf paper, remove it.how to get rid of cockroaches

3. Get rid of safe havens. You know what I’m talking about – those piles of junk, dirty clothing piles, bags of paper recycling, any place of clutter and refuge from the light of day.
Those are common areas where roaches can hide within your living space, but if you find them scurrying away from those locations, you have to assume that you have a decent population of them within your walls as well. When you know you have a cockroach population living in your walls, you must find and seal all but one of the openings they potentially use. For your one remaining cockroach entry, choose the entry that is beyond reach of small children or pets (if applicable). Remember, anywhere there is a crack in the wall, they can escape. Often the cracks appear around piping or along floorboards. Search your home carefully. Even loose wallpaper can provide safe haven for cockroaches.

4. Use baits. In warmer climates, cockroaches may leave on their own once you render your home inhospitable to them. But cockroaches can’t tolerate the cold, so all of us in the northern U.S. will have a more difficult time convincing cockroaches to jump ship once they’ve gotten used to the heat we provide them. Once you have cleaned your house thoroughly and sealed off all possible cockroach entry-points except one, your task shifts to killing the population that lingers in your walls. Roach bait stations (known as roach motels, or even Baits Motel) often prove effective, as do the bait gels that you can squirt along the crack.

5. Test with glue pads. When you no longer see cockroaches around your house, buy some insect sticky pads. Place them near the cockroach entry and where you used to commonly see the cockroaches. If you find no roaches trapped on the paper after a few days, very likely you have gotten rid of your roaches!

6. Pesticides are dangerous… Cockroaches could survive a nuclear holocaust, so it stands to reason that anything toxic to them would be toxic to us and to our pets. Sprays only eliminate the problem temporarily anyway, and are toxic to life in general. Take the precautionary statements on the containers seriously if you use pesticides. Use all poisons and pesticides as sparingly as possible. Keep your roach motels and baited areas out of reach of small children and animals.

There are many kinds of cockroaches in the U.S. but the most common problem cockroach pest is the german cockroach. German roaches in the U.S. can become a serious problem as well as a health risk. It is best to take care of the problem as soon as possible. Even if you have only seen one or two roaches, it is likely that there are many more hidden and due to their fast reproduction rate they can multipy quickly.

German cockroaches are active at night and can feed on anything from grease to dead insects and roaches. They normally hide in cracks, crevices, behind walls, trim, baseboards electrical fixtures and anywhere else that offers safety. These behaviors make them difficult to control. Although proper sanitation is important in german roach control, any home or business can have a roach infestation. Roaches can come into your home in grocery bags, furniture, and appliances.

Many other kinds of roaches in the U.S. can get into your home. Some common roach pests are the oriental cockroach. These insects are black and shiny, oval shaped and 1/2 to 1 inch long. American cockroaches usually 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches long and dark brown and wood roaches whick look similar to american roaches but are seen outdside in mulch and under logs and landscaping but usually dont come inside. Smokeybrown cockroaches and brownbanded cockroackes are also common.

Fleas and ticks are biting parasitic insects that require blood for food or reproduction. Flea bites affect people differently varying from no irritation to red rash-like irritation and bumps. Fleas and ticks feed on cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, birds, deer, wildlife, and humans. Common species of fleas are the cat flea, dog flea, rabbit flea, northern rat flea, and oriental rat flea.

Fleas go through a complete metamorphisis or life cycle. This life has four stages. The first stage of this life cycle begins when an adult fleas lays eggs usually on the host. These flea eggs tend to fall off in areas where the host rests or sleeps causing a more severe flea infestation in these areas.

The flea eggs hatch into worm-like larvae after a short period of time. In this stage the larvae feed on digested blood in the feces of adults, dead skin, and hair. Larvae can found in cracks and crevices near the floor and other protected areas making them difficult to kill or remove by vacuuming. This stage will last for a short period of time depending on the fleas species and larvae will go through several larval stages.

In the third stage the larvae build a pupa or sort of cocoon. These pupa are usually attached to hair or carpet fibers making removal by vacuuming or combing difficult. The larvae usually spend a short period of time in the pupal stage developing into an adult flea although if there are no hosts nearby they may remain dormant for several weeks in its pupa untill a host is detected by vibration, noise, heat, pressure caused by being stepped on or rolled on by a host animal.

The fourth and final stage of the fleas life cycle occurs when the flea emerges from the pupa as an adult flea. Adult fleas then seek out a bloodmeal which is necessary for egg production and reproduction. Adult fleas can then lay up to 20 eggs a day. This may result in over 600 eggs within the fleas life. These are the fleas that bite. Adult fleas are small, dark reddish-brown, hard, flattened insects. Adult fleas can jump up to 13 inches.

If you have pets in your home it is imortant to treat them at the same time as chemical treatment. Pesticide treatment may not be enough. Pesticides only kill adult fleas leaving flea eggs and pupae unaffected. If you have a flea infestation you may want to contact a local pest control professional. As with any pest problem a professional pest control technician has experience and extensive knowledge of pest biology that allows them to determine the best and safest control methods. Professional pest control companies have access to stronger pesticides and insect growth regulators (chemicals that prevent fleas from maturing into reproductive adults). Compared to the cost of do it yourself flea control products which may not work or may require several treatments, the cost of professional pest control services may be nominal.

Real estate termite inspections are inspections usually performed by a licensed pest control company. These termite reports are often required by lending institutions such as banks, mortgage companies, and refinance companies.

These reports may be called termite reports, written reports, wood destroying organism infestation reports, or WDOI reports. These reports determine if there is visible evidence of a past or present wood destroying insect infestation or if there is activity of wood destroying insects and recommend treatment for active infestations. The lending institution will usually require any recommended treatment be done before they will loan the money. Types of termite treatment may include conventional liquid soil treatment, termite bait and monitoring systems, and fumigation or “tenting”(drywood termites) generaly by a professinal pest control company.

A WDOI report should indicate any visible evidence of wood destroying insect infestation such as subterranean or drywood termite damage, shelter tubes, live or dead insects, frass, bore holes, exit holes, nests or other evidence. The types of possible infestation will vary depending on what region you are in. Some wood destroying insects that could be found are Subterranean and drywood termites, carpenter ants, carpenter bees, wood boring beetles such as powderpost beetles and old house borers.

A wood destroying organism infestation report usually covers only readily accessible areas. Areas where evidence or damage is hidden are not included in the report and inaccessible areas should be described on the report. Inaccessible areas may include crawlspaces or parts of crawlspaces that may be too low for access, crawlspaces with no access point, blocked or sealed crawlspace and attic openings, areas behind fixed wall and ceiling coverings, and areas obscured by dense vegatation.

In most cases the buyer of the property is responsible for arranging the report, paying for the report, and choosing the inspecting company. Should treatment be needed it is generally the responsibility of the owner to arrange for treatment by the company of their choice and pay for treatment. Most pest control companies that do inspections will give a free estimate if treatment is needed.

Carpenter bees or wood bees are large black and yellow bees that infest wood facia, decks, trees, branches, and other wood outdoors. Although stings are rare, their sheer size and erratic hovering while gaurding their nest entrances can be a disturbing and scary experience. The bees seen guarding the nest entrance are stingerless males. Carpenter bees are large black and yellow bees with a hairless shiny black abdomen and large stinger on females.

Carpenter bees do not eat wood but bore dime sized holes in outdoor wood surfaces for a few inches then make a 90 degree turnand bore along the grain for up to several feet, laying eggs in cells along their tunnels and can cause significant damage if left untreated. Damage can also occur as woodpeckers hunt for carpenter bee larvae. Adult Carpenter bees spend the winter dormant in their nest and usually emerge during late spring. The bees then colloct pollen for food which they line the tunnels with for their soon to be hatched young. Eggs hatch in late summer and early autumn. Their boring also leaves unsightly yellow stains of chewed wood pulp outside their entrance holes.

Carpenter bees or wood bees can cause damage to wood through their boring activity. Unprotected wood such as unpainted decks, porches, trim boards, and facia boards are prime targets for carpenter bee damage and wood bees will reuse tunnels left by other bees year after year. Besides the direct damge caused by carpenter bees, woodpeckers will often damage wood looking for wood bee larvae. Although unpainted wood is preferred, painted or stained wood can also be attacked, particularly if there are unprotected parts of the wood such as nail holes.

Carpenter bee control is acheived by directly treating nests and attractive nesting sites, ajoining wood surfaces, and plugging nest entrances to reduce moisture damage to wood and re-infestation.

Ants are a very common pest problem in the U.S. There are many types of ants and treatment will vary depending on the ant species. Ants, including carpenter ants, are social insects, like bees and termites they live in large colonies where a queen ant is the only fertile female and is tended to and fed by the worker ants. Most ant problems can be solved with a general pest control service.

Carpenter ants like the one shown to the left normally live in dead tree limbs, hollow trees and other dead wood but these large ants will sometimes build a nests within wall voids or in attics and crawlspaces and require a more specific treatment and can damage wood, not by actually ingesting it, but by chewing it for nesting material.A recurring sawdust-like substance,or frass, or a large number of large ants, is a strong indication that there is a nest within the structure and treatment is necessary. Not all large ants are carpenter ants.

Another common ant in the U.S. is the pavement ant or sugar ant. Pavement ants are quite small and can often be seen in trails along cracks and seams in sidewalks, driveways, patios, and other paved surfaces, hence the name “pavement ants”. Acrobat ants can also be found, slightly larger than pavement ants, with distinct heart shaped abdomens.

Many ant species in the U.S. produce winged reproductive “swarmers”, which are sililar in appearance to termite “swarmers” in the spring and sometimes fall. Flying ants, especially the larger carpenter ants are often mistaken for termite swarmers, with notable differences between the two. Termite swarmers shed their wings a short time after flight and have wings that are the same length. Ants with wings have wings that differ in length. Another easy identifying difference is that termites have a wide straight waist while ants have a narrow pinched waist. It is also helpfull to keep a few insects for identification.

Rodents can be a common problem in the U.S. Common house mice, feild mice, and rats can be found in homes and businesses. Control measures can consist of bait boxes, live catch traps, sticky and snap traps, and exclusion measures. Control programs will vary depending on the circumstances of each infestation.

Common house mice are small and abundant in most of the U.S. Mice droppings, saliva, and fur contaminate food products. They are excellent climbers and have sharp senses of hearing and smell. House mice are usually light gray with balck eyes and a long hairless tail.

Field mice are usually dark brown and slightly larger than the common house mouse. These mice are abundant and will find their way indoors in the fall and winter. These mice may contaminate food products or damage items by chewing them.

Norway rats are large dark brown, reddish or black rats that can be a serious pest problem and health risk. Norway rats inhabit the 48 U.S. states and thrive in the presence of humans. Large cities are know for problems with these large rats. The average norway rat weighs about 1 pound and may be 6 to 8 inches long, not counting the tail. Norway rats are not native to the United States but were introduced in the mid 1700’s and now have spread to most of the country.

Roof rats are similar in appearance to norway rats but are slightly smaller and have a shorter tail. Although both norway rats and roof rats are good climbers, the roof rat prefers to nest in high places such as attics and eaves while the norway rat is more at home on the ground