Carpenter Ants:

1. Modoc : all black. (Legs may have a rusty red color) One queen in
parent nest.

2. Vicinus : black head, rusty red thorax (mid section) and black
abdomen
(tail section.) Multiple queens in parent nest.
Most carpenter ant species have other similar characteristics.

Five Sizes : Carpenter ants can be as small as one quarter inch or as
large as three quarters of an inch. All sizes can be found in one nest.

Most Carpenter Ant species establish their initial nest in decayed
wood, but, once established, the ants extend their tunneling into sound
wood and can do considerable damage to a structure.
These species commonly nest in standing trees (living or dead), in
stumps, or in logs on the forest floor. Since many houses are being
built in forested areas, well established, vigorous colonies are
readily available in the immediate vicinity to attack these dwellings.
This is especially true when the homeowner insists that the home be
built with a minimal removal of trees.

Carpenter Ants typically have a parent colony in outside nesting areas,
such as live or dead trees, stumps, logs or decorative landscape wood.
When the colony grows larger and needs room to expand satellite
colonies are established. These satellite colonies often develop in
nearby structures presumably because they offer warm protection.

Only the parent colony contains the queen(s), young larvae and workers,
while the satellite contains the mature larvae, pupae, workers, and/or
winged reproductives. Ants move back and forth from parent nest to
satellite nest but just a few ( less than 10 % ) will be visible
foraging for food.

Sometimes they can be seen moving mature larvae (white and grub-like)
or pupae (papery cocoons).

Ants are generally active along ant trails from April to mid-October.
These trails follow natural contours and lines of least resistance and
also frequently cut across lawns. Traffic on these trails may be
noticeable during the day, but peak traffic occurs after sunset and
continues throughout the night.

The parent colony is often located in a tree, stump, stacked wood
within 100 meters of the house or wood and stumps buried in the yard
when the house was constructed. Decorative wood landscape ties brought
in to enhance the beauty of a yard or driveway may also be the source
of a parent colony. The colony does not produce reproductives (winged
males and queens) until it is from 3 to 6 years old and contains about
2,000 workers. The natural food for these ants consists of insects and
other arthropods and sweet exudates from aphids and insects. They are
also attracted to other sweet material such as decaying fruits.

Reproductive carpenter ants ( winged males and females ) leave the nest
as early as January if the nest is in a heated structure. Those living
outside in logs and stumps will not swarm until about early May. The
fertilized queens must then find wet wood to establish a new nest, and
the cycle starts over again.

The new queen could live 15 years or more and lay 70,000 fertilized
eggs.

Moles are insectivores (they eat insects), and they may control some
insect outbreaks. However, mole activity can also cause considerable
damage to lawns. This damage is usually in the form of tunnels and/or
mounds in lawn that can be unsightly, disturb root systems, and provide
cover or travel lanes for other small mammals.

If you are like most homeowners, you are probably confused by all of
the conflicting “advice” on mole control. You may believe that every
rumor, home remedy, or control method is worth trying. A common example
is when homeowners try to control lawn grubs and insects to reduce mole
activity. However, this is often unsuccessful because the mole’s
primary food source is earthworms. In fact, many chemicals and home
remedies (including castor oil derivatives and grub controls) are not
only ineffective when dealing with moles, but they allow the animals
time to establish and become real problems. Moles can quickly colonize
and spread through adjacent residential properties if not handled
properly. Because they need a well-established tunnel network to
survive, control will be more difficult the longer they are allowed to
tunnel and become habituated.

On large properties mole activity may move from one part of the lawn to
another. This movement is affected by climate and ground moisture.
Moles will respond to changes in food supply as different insects
become available in different places and at different times throughout
the year. If disturbed, moles may temporarily leave an area but will
usually return when you least expect it. Even without disturbance mole
activity may last only a week or two in a particular area. This
here-today, gone-tomorrow behavior is probably the root of most of the
misconceptions that make some home remedies and pesticides appear
credible.

The only proven long-term method of control, is reducing and/or
eliminating the infestation as needed.

Box Elder Bugs cause concern when they gather in considerable numbers
on the warm outside walls of homes and sometimes find their way into
houses looking for a suitable place to over winter.

When they gain entry to buildings through cracks or other openings they
remain in wall cavities and will occasionally emerge inside the home in
the spring. They will not breed indoors, so there is no danger of
starting an “infestation”.

They cause no structural damage whatsoever but they can “spot” interior
furnishings with their droppings. They can’t bite, they don’t eat
anything on the inside of your house, including house plants, and they
won’t harm you, your family or your pets.

Identification

This bug is about 1/2 inch long and 1/3 as wide. It is black with three
red lines on the thorax, a red line along each side, and a red line on
each wing. The wings lie flat on the back when at rest.

Life Cycle:
The adult bugs lay eggs on the host trees in the spring and the nymphs
emerge in a few days. The nymphs are small and show more red than
adults. These nymphs develop into adults during the summer, then mate
and lay eggs which hatch into the nymphs of the second generation. In
the summer Box elder bugs normally feed on the leaves, flowers, and
seed pods of the boxelder tree or silver maple. The bugs cause little
damage to trees. Activity of nearly fully grown nymphs is noticed in
August and September when they gather in large numbers on the trunks of
box elder trees. The migration of the adults begins at this time.

Prevention and control:
Control can best be obtained by spraying the nymphs on the host trees
before the adults have had a chance to migrate, or treating the
infested structure itself. Power spray equipment is usually required
and a professional should be hired to do the job safely.

Carpenter bees are very similar in appearance to bumble bees, but have a smooth abdomen as opposed to the fuzzy abdomen of bumble bees. These bees are
solitary, and CANNOT sting. They burrow into wood, and can be a pest in
some wood homes.

Bald-faced hornet are large wasps that live in large nests made of mottled gray paper, usually in trees. These wasps are quite aggressive and put a whopper of a sting on you. Tread lightly around these wasps.

Paper wasps build smaller nests of paper usually on overhangs of buildings. They are
moderately aggressive, but the small colonies are quite easy to handle. Catching these nests early with only one or two wasps on it is best for controlling them.

The honey bee is a valuable pollinator and the source of the honey we eat in this country. If you see a honey bee, chances are a beekeeper lives in the area. These bees are not very aggressive, especially alone on flowers.

Yellow jacket wasps are the nuisance wasps that crawl in your soda can and bother you at picnics. They are fairly aggressive and will sting without much provocation. They build nests underground or, unfortunately, in structures such as your attic or walls.

For the most part, an encounter with one of these stinging insects, especially if
they are alone, will not result in a sting. Here, the old axiom “leave them alone and they will leave you alone” holds largely true. The bees listed above (bumble bees and honey bees) are mostly gentle creatures who sting in defense of their homes. So unless you stumble across a bee hive, you are highly unlikely to get stung. Just let them go about their business. The same goes for the paper wasps. The hornets and especially the yellow jackets can be more persistent and aggressive…and yellow jackets are notorious scavengers for our sweet human foods and drinks. Swatting at them won’t help. Keeping your food sealed and limiting their exposure will.

An encounter with an entire colony of these insects can be more of a problem. If you encounter a large nest of wasps, or a hive of bees, walk away carefully and quietly. Once again, if you don’t disturb them, you will likely be fine. Should you trigger an attack, then your best bet is to RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN away from the nest. Bees and wasps in general have a defensive zone around their colonies, and if you move out of it, you are likely to be safe. “Playing dead” won’t help…run away!
Finally, if you have a nest of these insects in your home or yard, you may need
to have them removed. But perhaps you can find a way to live in peace. If not, we strongly recommend a professional exterminator. Stings can be dangerous, especially if you are part of the 1% or so of Americans who may be allergic.

Eliminating spiders from an area for a long period of time is almost
impossible with out a professional pest control operator. Spiders do
not congregate in a single large nest, so the population cannot be
destroyed by targeting one site. New spiders will quickly recolonise an
area if the inhabitants are killed off. In many species, young spiders
(or “spiderlings”) disperse by “ballooning”. They spin silk strands
that are taken by the wind, carrying the spiders over potentially long
distances.

Although keeping an area free of spiders is difficult, there are many
precautions that can be taken to avoid bites. Avoid walking outside
with bare feet, especially at night. When gardening, wear shoes, long
trousers and thick gloves to guard against any spiders, scorpions,
centipedes or stinging insects.

Wandering spiders can enter houses at ground level, often under a door.
Fitting weather strips or using draft excluders can block this entry
route. Fitting fly-screens to windows and wall ventilators will prevent
any climbing spiders from obtaining access. A cleared area around the
house will discourage burrowing spiders from making burrows there.

It is a good idea to educate children to “look but don’t touch” when
they find any spiders, and for adults to obey the same rule. It is
sensible to be respectful of spiders, rather than frightened of them.

The German cockroach:
Found throughout the world in association with humans. They are unable
to survive in locations away from humans or human activity. The major
factor limiting German cockroach survival appears to be cold
temperatures. Studies have shown that German cockroaches were unable to
colonize inactive ships during cool temperatures and could not survive
in homes without central heating in northern climates. The availability
of water, food, and harborage also govern the ability of German
cockroaches to establish populations, and limit growth.

HABITAT :
They prefer to hide in warm, elevated areas near the ceiling, behind
wall decorations and loose wallpaper, in closets, beneath or inside
upholstered furniture, and in electrical appliances such as TV sets,
stereos, radios, and toasters. They develop and live throughout the
building, making control difficult. No room or furniture is immune to
infestations, and one may find tiny, dark droppings and cast skins on
cabinets and shelves. The roaches are commonly transported in
furniture, luggage, and other items in houses and soon develop into
annoying infestations under warm, humid conditions.

LIFE CYCLE:
Egg capsules are about 1/4 inch long and reddish-brown. The Brownbanded
cockroach females carries the egg capsule for 24 to 36 hours. The egg
capsule contains 14 to 16 eggs; a female produces 10 to 20 cases in her
lifetime. Eggs hatch in 50 to 75 days and nymphs develop in 90 to 270
days, with adults living 150 to 200 days. The capsules are sometimes
deposited in clusters on furniture, draperies and other areas.

Without a professional pest control operators help, roaches are nearly
impossible to control for the average home, apartment or business once
infested.

Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a nickel.

Rats can squeeze through a space as small as a half dollar.

Rodents usually can spread diseases, including potentially lethal
hantavirus and arena virus.

In the U.S., rodents try to come inside from October through February.

An estimated that 21 million homes in the U.S. are invaded by rodents
each year winter.

House mice constantly give off hundreds of micro-droplets of urine as
they travel around their territory every day. A large medical research
study showed a protein in house mouse urine called mouse urinary
protein (MUP), caused allergies in 18% of the inner city children
studied.

You know you have rodents when you can hear scampering or gnawing
sounds late at night in the attic or behind walls.
Rodent droppings may be found in undisturbed areas of the house such as
pantries, attics, garages, under baseboards, and along walls.

Telltale signs of rodents’ gnawing may be seen on packaged goods,
cardboard boxes, and walls near pipes and vents.
Inside, rodents can be very destructive. They chew through wallboards
and can eat through cardboard boxes, wood, and plaster.

Rodents gnaw on electrical wiring that could potentially cause an
electrical fire.

Diseases associated with rodents

Rodents carry disease and fleas and leave waste.
Wild and domestic rodents have been reported to harbor and spread as
many as 200 human pathogens.
Rodents, primarily the harmless-looking deer mouse and pack rats, can
spread the potentially deadly hantavirus and arena virus.
Hantavirus was first identified when soldiers in the Korean War fell
ill with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
Hantavirus is contracted primarily by inhaling airborne particles from
rodent droppings, urine or saliva left by infected rodents or through
direct contact with infected rodents.
The Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), while relatively rare, kills
nearly half the people who develop it.
After suffering from flu-like symptoms, victims of lethal cases of HPS
die quickly from severe lung damage.

Fleas are true parasites. They cannot reproduce without ingesting blood
from a host for sustenance. Fleas have been in existence at least 50
million years. So far, over 2200 types of fleas have been identified.
Some fleas are host specific, but others may infest many different
species.

Although many varieties of fleas are known throughout the world, only a
few species infest dogs and cats and with sufficient regularity to be
of importance:

Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)
Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis)
Human flea (Pulex irritans)
Poultry sticktight flea (Echidnophaga gallinacea)

Professional treatment including integrated pest management, treatment
of infested areas, and ongoing assistance by the home owner is by far
the best approach to effective and lasting flea control.

Rat Problems:

Food contamination by their urine and feces is one of the major
problems humans face with rats. Rats contaminate huge percentages of
agricultural produce each year and have been known to contaminate food
stuffs such as popcorn.

Rats are enormous carriers of many different diseases, and it has been
reported that rats bite more than fifteen thousand people per year
involving very young, old or incapacitated. Some of the diseases caused
by rats are bubonic plague, salmonella, leptospirosis, hantavirus and
tularemia.