Winter, 1999 Pest Bulletin

The Pest Bulletin
Winter, 1999

Are you Attracting Rats & Mice?
Protect Your Child From Accidental Poisoning
Pest Prevention Tip of the Month
Avoiding Deer
Pest Control by Pests
Your Questions Answered
Chickens Trained to Hunt Pests
Trivia

Are you Attracting Rats & Mice?

Rats and mice are coming into homes and other buildings now, looking for a more sheltered place to spend the winter. Of the many species of rats and mice, the worst pests all arrived as stowaways on ships from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are expertly adapted to living in and around our dwellings.
These rodents contaminate food and property with their urine, droppings and hair. They also have the potential for carrying diseases and fleas, plus they leave a certain smell, and can cause damage by their gnawing. But most people want them out of their home simply because they find them so repulsive!
Here are some things you can do outdoors to make your home a little less attractive to wandering rodents.

Reduce clutter and junk outdoors that creates hiding places.
Trim back vines, trim down ground covers, and trim up shrubs to provide clearance underneath.
Pick up any nuts and overripe fruit, and throw out or bury spilled bird seed. Don't leave out pet food overnight.
Raise woodpiles off the ground, or move the pile away from your home.
Properly pest-proofing a home to seal up cracks or holes these pests squeeze through can greatly reduce problems.
Mice and rats are much more likely to invade a home where they find easy entry. If you have not had your home inspected and professionally pest-proofed recently by Stanley, give us a call today to make an appointment.

Protect Your Child From Accidental Poisoning

Children of all ages are naturally curious and young children also have a tendency to put most anything in their mouths. Unfortunately, homeowners often store a vast array of poisonous products in areas within easy reach of their own and visiting children. Storing poisonous items under the kitchen sink is all too common. The result is an astounding 2.3 million accidental poisonings in the U.S. each year. Most (64%) of these poisonings happen to children under the age of six. Boys are more at risk than girls.
Approximately half of all poisonings are caused by swallowing medicines, especially analgesics like aspirin and acetaminophen. Cleaning substances such as bleaches and detergents are the next greatest cause of accidental poisonings, followed by cosmetics and personal care products. Other products children may ingest or spray on themselves or friends include pesticides, dyes, lighter fluid, gasoline, anti-freeze, and pool chemicals.
To reduce these poisonings, install child-resistant latches on all cabinets you use to store medicines, cleaning agents, and other poisons. Also strongly consider moving these products to a higher, less accessible cabinet. It's a smart idea to install a lock on utility cabinets, garden sheds, and other areas that store poisons. Don't take chances!
One of the many benefits of using Stanley Pest Control's professional services is that you'll need to store fewer pesticides in your home and garage. This is just one more important way we help protect your family's health and improve your safety.

Pest Prevention Tip of the Month

Before you bring any plants indoors, check them carefully for pests. Many plant pests can multiply quickly once in the warm indoors, and spread to other plants. Also check under the pot and in the saucer for pests like sow bugs, slugs, millipedes and even ant colonies.

Avoiding Deer

Deer are cute, adorable creatures--when they aren't eating our roses or causing car accidents. Each year more than 10,000 Americans are injured in collisions with animals (mostly deer), and 110 are killed.
This danger has given rise to high-frequency "deer whistles" for use on vehicles, to scare off the deer. Although some people swear by them, Cornell University tests showed the whistles have no effect on changing deer behavior in any way. In fact, no ultrasonic device, including those sold to repel rodents and fleas and other insects, has ever been shown to repel pests.
So what should you do when a deer suddenly jumps onto the road in front of you? Slamming on your brakes or trying to swerve away could cause you to skid and lose control of the car, especially on wet road, warns the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. Likewise, flashing your headlights is unwise because deer may become even more fixated on them. The best alternative, according to the newsletter, is to tap on the horn, while braking and trying to avoid a skid. Drive smart!

Pest Control by Pests

Recent studies found Formosan termites "fumigate" their nests to keep out invading pests and to prevent fungi from growing.They use naphthalene, the same chemical in moth balls, to do the fumigation. This is the first time naphthalene has ever been found to be produced by insects.
The termites have developed a tolerance to naphthalene, but as the chemical permeates the air throughout the colony, it kills or repels invading ants and beetles. It also keeps out larger animals like squirrels and birds.

Your Questions Answered

Q. I have many paper and fabric collectibles in my home. What pets can damage these?

A. Paper collectibles such as photographs, postcards, baseball cards, stamps and old magazines are most often damaged by silverfish, cockroaches crickets, and termites. All these pests eat paper or substances in paper. Mice are also a pest of paper products, because they shred it to make nesting material. Damage to paper collectibles an also be caused by any pest which leaves excretions or drooping, especially flies and spiders. Fabrics such as vintage clothing and old clothes are eaten by several species of clothes moths and carpet beetles. These pests especially love items made of animal origin, such as woolens and furs, but they will also eat synthetic fabrics if they are stained with food, urine, or sweat. Silverfish eat cotton fabric that has been starched.
Proper storage of collectibles, plus a professional, on-going pest control program, is the best insurance against damage to these and other valuable items around the home.

Chickens Trained to Hunt Pests

A test conducted in China using chickens to rid areas of grasshoppers is reporting great success. The program involved 100,000 chickens which were specially trained to hunt grasshoppers on farms.
Training took two months, and according to the report, at the end of the training period the chickens would start hunting grasshoppers at the sound of a herdsman's whistle. Each chicken can cover about an acre of grassland during the summer.
Next year the program will be expanded, and 200,000 chickens will be trained. We wonder about the discipline for chickens that don't learn quickly--would they get a chance to retake the class, or . . . end up as Sunday dinner?

Trivia

1. Besides birds, bats, and insects, what other animals fly?

2. Rats eat enough food to feed about how many people each year?

3. In the movie "Antz," what scene was not included because it was considered too gruesome for a family movie?

4. Which has stronger venom, a honey bee or harvester ant?

5. When a cockroach sprints across the kitchen floor, how many of its six legs is it running on?

ANSWERS TO PEST TRIVIA!

1. None.

2. 200 million worldwide.

3. Certain kinds of soldier ants spray acid at their enemies, but if the soldiers are outnumbered, they squeeze themselves so they explode, scattering their acid guts on their enemies.

4. Harvester ants actually have a stronger venom than honey bees, paper wasps, and yellowjackets.

5. Two. It was always believed that cockroaches ran with all six of their legs, but slow motion photography has shown that at top speeds, roaches actually rear up on their two hind legs (their longest legs). Their body is tilted up 23 degrees, and their hind legs are moving back and forth 27 times a second--this is moving! Wind tunnel tests show that when the roach is sprinting, the air pushes against it with so much force that it actually holds up the front of the roach's body.