Wednesday, November 23, 2011

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.

Friday, November 11, 2011

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.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

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.