10 Things to Prevent Cockroaches

Cockroaches have similar needs to ours: food, water and shelter.  There are a several things you can do to prevent and/or minimize conducive conditions for cockroaches.

1. Where cockroaches are common outdoors, trim overhanging trees and remove foundation plantings or wall climbing vegetation to discourage invasion (this is especially useful in the South and Southeast).

2. Screen doors, windows and attic vents, and seal foundation cracks and around utilities, to discourage entry of outdoor-living cockroaches.  Also, windows and doors, especially, garage doors, should be closed when not in use.

3. Check incoming provisions, especially groceries, drink cartons and firewood, for "hitch-hiking" cockroaches.

4. Inspect your luggage and handbags when returning from buildings likely to be infested, such as some hotels or hospitals.

5. Don't leave food and drink, for people or pets, exposed overnight. Cockroaches love this! Put it in the refrigerator or tightly sealed containers.

6. Regularly clean up food scraps and keep garbage in closed containers to make it harder for cockroaches to find food.

7. Eliminate plumbing leaks, dripping faucets and condensation problems to discourage most types of cockroaches.

8. Repair grouting in tiles to facilitate cleaning and to prevent cockroaches hiding in tiling.

9. Seal crevices along baseboards or work surfaces and around pipe runs and electrical outlets and conduits, to reduce cockroach hiding places and routes for cockroach dispersal.

10. Get rid of old grocery bags, cardboard boxes, and other clutter that provide hiding places for cockroaches and makes cleaning, inspection and pesticide application difficult.

These simple steps can discourage roaches from invading your home or business.  Call ACME at 817-784-6838 and we will help with any existing infestations.  Prevention is key if you want to live in a pest free home.

Pasted from <http://acmepestpro.com/What_Kind_of_Bug_is_This_.html>

TERMITE PREVENTION MAKES SENSE

Your home or business is most likely the biggest invest you will ever make.  Why not take preventive measure to protect your investment? 

Termites are the most economically important wood-destroying organism in the United States, with approximately $2 billion per year being spent for their prevention and treatment. This high-dollar amount could be reduced property owners implemented a number of relatively simple, inexpensive, practical measures around their home and outlying structures that reduce the risk of subterranean termite infestations.  Many features of construction are conducive to termite infestations.  Recognize and alter conditions to reduce the termites' environmental requirements for moisture, food (wood), and shelter. 

Problem: Cellulose (wood, dead plant material, paper, etc.) in contact with soil provides termites with food.

Solutions:

• Keep all wooden parts of the house foundation at least 6 inches above the soil.
• Keep mulch levels several inches below the siding and wooden parts of the structure.
• Avoid or minimize use of wood mulch next to the foundation.
• Remove dead trees, stumps, and roots near the structure.
• Never store firewood, lumber, or paper against the foundation or in the crawl space.
• Remove wood debris and form boards.

Problem: Moisture accumulation near the foundation provides water needed for termite survival.

Solutions:

• Grade or slope soil away from the foundation.
• Divert rain water away from the foundation.
• Maintain clean gutters and down-spouts.
• Install down-spout extenders and splash blocks.
• Use drain tiles if site is flat.

• Divert lawn sprinklers and irrigation water away from the foundation.
• Promptly repair leaking faucets, water pipes, and air conditioning units.
• Use mulch sparingly (no more than 2 inches depth is recommended).
• Keep plants and ground covers 3-4 feet away from the house foundation.

Problem: Poor ventilation in crawl space provides water needed for termite survival.

Solutions:

• Cover approximately 75 percent of the soil surface in the crawl space with a vapor barrier (4-6 ml polyethylene sheeting).
• Install 1 square foot of vent opening per 300 to 500 square feet of crawl space area (when using a vapor barrier).
• Install 1 square foot of vent opening per 150 square feet of crawl space area (without a vapor barrier).
• Enhance cross ventilation.
• Remove any vegetation covering vents.

Problem: Hidden termite access.

Solutions:

• Install trellises and trim plants so that they do not contact the house.
• Do not build flower planters against the house.
• Regularly inspect cracks or joints in concrete slabs for evidence of termites.
• Install metal flashing when attaching porches or decks (even when using "treated" lumber) to an existing house.
• Remove mulch that contacts siding or obscures a clear view of the foundation.
• Never install foam board insulation (polystyrene) below grade.

Annual Inspection Checklist

• Water is directed away from the foundation.
• Wood and other cellulose materials (including mulch) are away from the foundation.
• The foundation is exposed around the entire house.
• The basement (or crawl space) is relatively dry.

ACME can help with Termite Prevention!  Let us help you protect your investment!

Feeling Sick? Could insects in your home be the cause?

 

Are you suffering from allergy or cold-like symptoms?  Cockroaches, along with mites, are recognized as a cause for allergies.  They aren't just gross to look at, they are making you and your family sick.

The digestive enzymes that are discharged into the mite feces are the most bothersome of the dust-mite allergens. Less potent allergens are found in the mite bodies. The mite's tiny fecal pellets disintegrate to form a very fine powder that can easily float into the air when disturbed. This commonly occurs during vacuuming, making the bed, turning in bed while sleeping, or walking on the carpet. When an allergic person inhales these particles, asthma or nasal allergy symptoms may occur. There is also evidence that allergic eczema can be aggravated by this exposure.

Allergy facts

• Each dust mite lives for approximately 30 days and produces about 20 fecal pellets per day. During that time, females may have added 30 new dust mites to the population.
• About 10% of the population is allergic to dust mites. About 80% of asthmatic children are allergic to dust mites.

The three species of cockroaches that are commonly found in the United States are Blatella germania (German), Periploneta americana (American), and Blatella orientalis (Oriental).  Cockroach allergy can be a major factor in serious asthma and nasal allergy. Cockroaches are among the oldest of all living species (about 350 million years old). They are hardy, adaptable creatures that thrive in areas where food and water supplies are plentiful. They may be found around dripping faucets and kitchen areas. They do stray, however, to other areas and can commonly be found in children's bedrooms where food is often eaten. The major cockroach allergens are found in their digestive enzymes, saliva, and body parts. As is the case with dust-mite allergens, these microscopic particles become airborne when disturbed by motion in the room.

Regular pest control treatments are the best way to keep your family breathing easy.  At ACME Termite & Pest Management, LLC we back all of our services with a 100% Money Back Guarantee.  Let us help you take care of yourself and your family.

Winter PEST Wonders

 

Winter pest control is important for many reasons. Any thorough  pest control provider will tell you that comprehensive inspections are required to keep you pest free.   In order to ensure that insects are not invading your perimeter barrier it is best to stay on schedule with your regular service.  Pesticides breakdown and must be reapplied.  Keep your home protected even through winter.

Not all insects survive winter in the same way, but they do survive. Pests adapt to the changing environment.  Many new challenges arise in the cooler months, including rodents and pests invading our homes looking for shelter. 

Glycerol is a chemical produced by some insects to help them survive during winter. We use to make antifreeze.  It is believed that insects produce this chemical involuntarily when the temperatures drop.  Then as they sense a warming in temperatures, either from unseasonably warm days or from the burning furnace, they begin to function as bugs do.  Invading your space.

Other insects will seek out shelter in your warm home through small cracks and crevices. This is why winter pest control service is very important.  It is an opportunity to treat doors, windows and other potential entry points.  The best way to keep your property pest free is prevention.  A winter treatment can prevent big problems in the spring when pest are most active.

ACME is here to protect your home in winter.  Call us today (817) 784-6838 to schedule a FREE 57-Point Termite and Pest Audit.  We will help you to determine conducive conditions, come up with a treatment plan and get you on the path to a pest free property.  It is your choice.  You don't have to live with bugs in your home.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

 What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home, garden, and workplace. IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides.

• How do IPM programs work?

IPM is not a single pest control method but, rather, a series of pest management evaluations, decisions and controls. In practicing IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach. The four steps include:

• Set Action Thresholds

Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets an action threshold, a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that pest control action must be taken. Sighting a single pest does not always mean control is needed. The level at which pests will either become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.

• Monitor and Identify Pests

Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms are innocuous, and some are even beneficial. IPM programs work to monitor for pests and identify them accurately, so that appropriate control decisions can be made in conjunction with action thresholds. This monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used.

• Prevention

As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In an agricultural crop, this may mean using cultural methods, such as rotating between different crops, selecting pest-resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock. These control methods can be very effective and cost-efficient and present little to no risk to people or the environment.

• Control

Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective or available, IPM programs then evaluate the proper control method both for effectiveness and risk. Effective, less risky pest controls are chosen first, including highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones to disrupt pest mating, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding. If further monitoring, identifications and action thresholds indicate that less risky controls are not working, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as targeted spraying of pesticides. Broadcast spraying of non-specific pesticides is a last resort.

Myths About Pest Control in Winter

#1.  Pest hibernate or Die when it gets cold… FALSE

Cold temperatures do not slow down the pest that live inside your walls like carpenter ants and cockroaches.  If not properly and quickly managed, roaches can  breed to prolific proportions.  This is the case with German, American and Oriental cockroaches. It is not uncommon for roaches and other pests to be transported from one house to another by falling from the clothing of a person who has a roach infestation or by coming in boxes from items you buy in a store. 

Rodents (rats and mice) are known for seeking warmth in winter.  They can squeeze their tiny bodies through crevices only 3/8 inches wide.  Once inside they don't stop chewing... through walls, electrical wires and baseboards and they breed at alarming rates! After about a month new young rats are able to produce a  litter that can be from 7 to 14 baby rats.  Rats also transmit disease. Rats are nocturnal; they are most active at night if you see droppings call ACME Termite & Pest Management, LLC to investigate.

#2. If I don't see Pest there aren't any… FALSE!

Pest are just like us… they like to stay warm.  When it is cold outside they move INSIDE! And some pest even burrow into the ground.  Just because you don't see pests doesn't mean they aren't there.  Skip winter pest control and you could have an serious infestation problem come spring.

#3. Termites only attack during Spring, when they swarm… FALSE!

Termites forage 365 days a year in every direction all day and all night. They are busy making mud tubes to traverse back and forth from their colony to their food source… YOUR HOME!  A colony can live up to six years.  The queen can lay up to 60,000 eggs per year.  That is a lot of mouths to feed.  They can swarm when the temperatures are right.  Texas has some warm winter days that means your home is a potential target.