Anyone have any PEST CONTROL (bugs, not people!) questions?

[NeedaCobra]

Well,

I have been doing pest control for a lil' while now, and I run into a lot of people who have weird assumptions or false information that they hear some cheesy pest control commerical tell them.

So I figured I'd help out if anyone has any questions about pest control stuff (roaches in apartments, spiders, prevention, etc.)

First of all, this is a "brown recluse" spider, a very dangerous spider.

Somtimes they are the size of a quarter, or sometimes smaller or larger. I have caught one of these one time, but I wouldnt' advise trying to do such a thing. They are very, very fast, and very aggressive The only way I caught it was using some dish soap I grabbed from inside the house and threw on it, therefore slowing it down. This happened while I was outside, removing a tarp from a woodpile, as brown recluse spiders like hanging around firewood.

. . .and here is a map detailing where they are concentrated (though they are just about in every state.)

(http://www.brown-recluse.com/spiderinfo.html)

These are not brown recluse spiders

First, this is a "cellar spider" (usually in cars, garages, and usually travel in pairs. Often times when they are scared, they start swinging in circles, it looks rather funny.)

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/cellar/cellar.htm

This is a [form of a] Wolf Spider

I run across these on a day-to-day basis usually while at work, and they're usually around door ways, inside brick holes, around A/C units outside, et al.

Anyone have any questions about,

-roaches
-spiders
-termites (so many lies made up by companies to get more money these days!)

etc.?

I'm not a guru of this stuff or anything, but I deal with it on a day to day basis and have heard and seen all kinds of things related to pest control.

 

[harry gilbert]

I met Roachzilla in an Ohio motel. Trapped it under a heavy water glass, then put a cut glass ashtray on top. Phone rang, and I watched the roach while talking on the phone. Bugger flipped the glass and ashtray right over and scooted away. Would have liked to train it as a pet, maybe it could lift the car while I installed cat backs....

 

[NeedaCobra]

Yes, that was probably a palmetto bug. They don't infest like German cockroaches do, rather they just get in your house/dwelling place via door ways, windows, sliding doors, etc. at night usually. They are annoying and hard to keep from getting in during some parts of the year.

 

[svtjunkie]

This is a [form of a] Wolf Spider

I run across these on a day-to-day basis usually while at work, and they're usually around door ways, inside brick holes, around A/C units outside, et al.

We used to have those things ALL OVER the place when we lived in Tx.

 

[NeedaCobra]

Yeah, I probably kill about 20+ of those things per day if I'm spraying apartments most of the day. They usually hide inside of a hole with their legs hanging out, and then when they feel vibration on their webs they LEAP out ready to snatch whatever it is. Often if you spray their webs, they'll leap out, then jump back in once they figured out they were just exterminated!

 

[oldmodman]

What is the best termite extermination method?
Tenting, spot application of insecticide, freezing etc?
And do they usually re-infest within a year?

 

[ford_racer]

Have anything to say about giant water bugs, otherwise known as toe biters? My dad's morning show co-host (my dad is a radio DJ) was eating at a Buffet with her boyfriend, when they saw something flying above them and running into shit. They and everyone else at the buffet thought it was a bird. It ran into something and fell on the floor by her boyfriend. He ****ing impaled the ****er with a toothpick! Well that was 2 weeks ago, and it just died today. She let me have it. She had it in a small jar (she put it in her aquarium with her goldfish, frogs and salamanders, and it ate one of her goldfish) and I put it in a small aquarium all by itself and it died.

How does the damn thing die in my aquarium after having survived in a small ass jar for 2 weeks?

All the better though. The thing is ****ing huge! It is about 3 or 4 inches long with bigass "stabbers" (as we've been calling them) by it's mouth. I'm kinda glad it died because if it got out it probably would have eaten my 1 month old sister.

Here's a pic:

 

[NeedaCobra]

What is the best termite extermination method?
Tenting, spot application of insecticide, freezing etc?
And do they usually re-infest within a year?

I'd say the most economical and long-lasting wasy to treat for termites is by digging trenches around one's house, under the house around the piers (if there is a crawl-space), and by drilling certain cement slabs (like in garages), then you pump A LOT of a chemical called Termidor, and this usually lasts for 7-10 years. :coolman:

 

[Gixx1300R]

I'd say the most economical and long-lasting wasy to treat for termites is by digging trenches around one's house, under the house around the piers (if there is a crawl-space), and by drilling certain cement slabs (like in garages), then you pump A LOT of a chemical called Termidor, and this usually lasts for 7-10 years. :coolman:

That would depend on what type of Termite you have. There are 3 (Subterranean,Drywood and Formosan) I was a Termite service manager for a couple of years.

 

[JD_2001_svt]

YES! This past summer I've had a big problem with ticks in my backyard. I live in nice neighborhood in the middle of Tulsa and woudnl't think ticks would pose much of a problem, but they do. So what's the best way to control them?

 

[Gixx1300R]

YES! This past summer I've had a big problem with ticks in my backyard. I live in nice neighborhood in the middle of Tulsa and woudnl't think ticks would pose much of a problem, but they do. So what's the best way to control them?

I like using Telstar granule. It looks like grey sand and is activated by water so it will work great in rainy areas. It last for about 3 months here in mid florida storms. It kills all insect in your yard. One 50 lbs bag will cover 5000 sq yds.

insect-parasitic nematodes work great also. Some products with them are also activated with water.

 

[ElGato]

Lady bugs

every fall/winter I get inundated with lady bugs.

1 lady bug: cute
10,000 lady bugs: can't walk barefoot.

Tha vaccum hose attachement is my ally, but by no means the answer to the war on terror.

 

[fordracing19]

I have a restaurant and have fly problems. I have 2 blacklight fly catchers and they just arent working good enough.

 

[NeedaCobra]

Yes, Talstar granuals (also something similar is Bifenthren (sp?) granuals) work good for yard pests.

As for the lady bugs, usually they come in around windows, doors, etc. and hang out around ceiling lights and window frames. Usually spraying a good pesticide around the windows and sealing entrances helps or elimates the problem.

As for the flies, are they your usual house flies? A lot of times they'll hang around the dirty aprons/rags that are usually stored in a bucket or sack cloth. Sometimes it's good to set these outside of the restaraunt away from the entrance if they are not washed. OR, you can buy a container that has a lid, but still, flies pop in and out of their when an employee forgets to put the lid back. I usually use some VERY STINKY blue large chunky granular stuff on the outside for flies, but I forget the name (you probably have to have a license to buy it anyway). Also, if your restaraunt has floor drains, you can do what I used to do while I worked at a restaraunt. We used to use buckets of hot water with soap, scrub brushes, etc. and would throw water up under preparation tables, storage areas, etc. and scrub away. A lot of times the places under storage tables and prep. tables aren't cleaned regularly, and flies are attracted to the food residue left there. There were times where people hadn't cleaned like we regularly do, and we would start cleaning and flies would go crazy. One night an fellow associate at the restaraunt and I killed roughly 100 flies, as we had nothing else to do as it was a slow night. :lol1: The main thing is to keep the place clean, especially at night, and try to keep the back door(s) shut when not in use. However, I know this isn't always possible when the a truck is being unloaded. You can also put fly strips to catch them, just make sure they aren't hanging around any food prep areas so DHEC won't complain.

As for the termites, around here every form of termite is killed by our Termidor treatment. One funny story was when a local crook/pest control operator told a client (who found termites in her chimney after he treated) that those were "chimney termites" and weren't covered by the termite letter/warranty. During the local pesticide operator meeting he was "called on the carpet" about it and was rather ashamed. :-D

 

[BLOWN PONY]

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Yeah it has nothing to do with cars but it scared the hell outta me! I went to open our basement garage door to smoke a cigarette, and about grabbed this lil’ monster. I have no fear of spiders, but shit this one could take your hand off!!! I had to get a pic of it before he meet the business end of a shovel. By far and away the biggest spider I have ever seen. Any Croc hunter wannabes in here? What kind is it?

This was a thread I started a while back, sence then I have killed one about the same size in my brothers bed room. I think it was about to eat his lizard.
Is there any way to keep these away from my house. I also have a lot of freaking crickets in the basement at times. I think that is what that huge spider was doing in his room.

 

[NeedaCobra]

Yes, the spiders are there because bugs are there. You should use some granulars around your house (basically get a bag, use a little cup, and scatter the granualrs around your house).

Try to check the door seals, window seals, etc. Also, be persistent in knocking down spider webs when you see them, and don't have too many lights on around your house (the ones you don't need for security reasons). Basically, numerous species like to hang around lights, which are usually near door ways/entrances. Spiders see this, so they hang around the door ways, and often find their way in through the door way once in a while.