7 Hidden Benefits of Our Services
Pest Prevention Tip of the Month
Mice and Rats--Fall Invaders
Pet Damage to Lawns
Your Questions Answered
Vitamin B-1 and Mosquito Bites
Africanized "Killer" Bees Advance
Bat Trivia

7 Hidden Benefits of Our Services

Many people are happy just that Stanley Pest Control gets rid of their pests. They don't realize our professional pest control services deliver many "hidden" benefits--helping them live a more carefree life. A few of these are listed below.

1. Less cleaning. Pests are dirty, and require cleaning up their bodies and droppings. Surely you've got better things to do!

2. Fewer Illnesses. The link between pests and diseases, from food poisoning o asthma, is stronger than ever. Who wants the agony?

3. Fewer bites and stings. No one wants to worry about fleas, spiders, rats, bees, wasps, and other pests stinging them in anger or defense, or sucking out their blood. Give blood to a blood bank instead!

4. No need to use pesticides yourself. Statistics show that a homeowner is 67 times more likely to misapply a pesticide than a professional. Who wants to spend time trying to do something they haven't been trained for?

5. Peace of mind. Stanley Pest Control's expertise allows us to choose less toxic pesticides, use less pesticide, properly store it and dispose of excess, etc. It's just better and safer for people and our environment.

6. Save money and time. Who wants to spend time and money repairing pest damage?

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Mice and Rats--Fall Invaders

Whether is's EEK!!, or UGH!!, or YUCK!!!, most of us have a natural revulsion for mice and rats. These pests appear unexpectedly indoors throughout the year. But it's during the fall, as temperatures start to cool and the food outdoors is harder to find, that the number of invading mice and rats increases dramatically.
Mice populations grow outdoors where there are bird feeders, spilled garbage, grain or seed-bearing plants, fallen fruit, or other foods available to them. They also need shelter, and are more numerous where there are tall weeds, plantings of groundcovers or dense, low shrubbery, and piles of wood or other debris. The closer these foods and shelters are to a foundation, the more likely rodents will become a problem inside.
Mice indoors tend to be omnivorous, eating most anything that is available, although cereals and grains are among their favorite foods.
Keep in mind that mice and rats multiply faster when they have plenty of food, water, and shelter. For instance, mice give birth to from 2-13 young every 30-50 days. If they have everything they need, the litters are large and close together. Their numbers increase rapidly when this happens. So it's important to eliminate the food, water, and shelter available to mice and rats. Also be sure to "pest-proof" to seal up holes and cracks these and other pests use to enter a building.
Call Stanley Pest Control if you have mouse or rat invaders.

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Forgotten boxes and bags of food often become a breeding place for flour moths and beetles. Periodically go through your cupboards and eat (if fresh) or throw out the food that has been there the longest. Do the same for pet foods and spices.

Brown spots in lawns caused by pet urination are entirely the result of the high nitrogen content, and not caused by acidity or other waste products. Carnivores such as cats and dogs have a very high nitrogen concentration in their urine, because nitrogen is a natural breakdown product of the protein in their diet.

Here are some more facts to help you getter understand this common problem:

• The typical lawn dead spot in the center of a greener ring is caused by the nitrogen overload in the center, and the fertilizer green-up effect around the edges, where the urine is more diluted.
• Because male dogs tend to mark territories more than female dogs, they dump less urine in one spot, and therefore tend to cause fewer problems than females. Also, larger dogs tend to cause more problems than smaller dogs, simply because of the larger amount of urine dumped.
• Fescue and perennial ryegrass are more resistant to urine burns, and Kentucky bluegrass and bermudagrass are more sensitive.
• Watering the spot soon after urination will dilute the amount of urine and prevent burn. In tests, watering up to 8 hours after urination prevevented burn--after that, it didn't help.

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Vitamin B-1 and Mosquito Bites

Can massive doses of Vitamin B-1 prevent mosquitoes from attacking you? No, according to a recent study. People who took 200 milligrams of Vitamin B-1 three times a day, and then were exposed to mosquitoes, were bitten just as many times as people who didn't take the vitamin.

Your Questions Answered

Q. Do bird and bat droppings present a health hazard?

A. Yes. They can contain a number of disease-causing organisms. Histoplasmosis, the most common disease associated with bird droppings, is caused by inhaling spores of the fungus Histoplasmosis capsulatum. Most infections cause only minor influenza-like symptoms, but the symptoms can be more severe, and in unusual cases it has killed people.
People inhale the fungal spores when they disturb an accumulation of bird and bat droppings where the fungus has been growing. Interestingly, the fungus is not found in fresh bird droppings--apparently because the droppings are too acidic for the fungus. It is most likely to be growing where there has been a large infestation of birds for several years, either indoors or outdoors.
The fungus can also grow in bat roosts, and unlike birds, in piles of fresh bat droppings.

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Since their arrival in the United States, Africanized bees have killed six people in Texas and Arizona, and have established themselves in certain southern areas from Texas to California.
These bees have invaded much more slowly than expected, but because of an unusually wet spring which caused a profusion of flowers in in the deserts which greatly expanded their territory this year. For instance, in Nevada they reached as far as 50 miles south of Las Vegas. It is predicted that if they make a final leap into that city, they will establish themselves there. If not, they'll probably disappear from some desert areas due to lack of food and water.

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Bat Trivia

• Bats are mammals, not birds, and not rodents.
• A single brown bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in an hour, making them an excellent form of biological pest control. The 20 million Mexican free-tail bats at Bracken Cave, Texas, (the largest concentration of bats in the U.S.) eat tons of insects each night.
• Most Bats feed on insects or fruit. The vampire bat feeds on blood but is not found in the U.S.
• Bats may fly more than 40 miles a night foraging for food.
• When Mexican free-tail bats roost, they cluster together, packing in about 200 bats per square foot.
• IMPORTANT NOTE ON RABIES: Less than a half percent of the bat population is believed to have rabies--Less than animals like raccoons and skunks. Still, of the 26 people in the U.S. who died from rabies since 1990, 19 of them got it from bats. Never touch a wild bat, or try to help a sick bat. Rabies is 100% deadly to humans if not treated. Fortunately, treatments are essentially 100% effective if administered promptly. However, the six shots you need are painful, and expensive--over $1,000!

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