BEDBUGS are the big story these days, with huge infestations occurring in many residential buildings. The insect is introduced to a dwelling, usually on infested bedding, furniture, or packed away home furnishings. The bedbug hides in cracks and crevices during the day and crawls out at night and bites a sleeping person, taking some blood. Blood spots are often found on the bed linens the next morning. Irritation at the bite site is evident and as the bedbug lays eggs, more insects produce more and more bites.
Control can only be attained by locating all of the hidden bedbugs and applying the correct control procedures. This is a difficult task and will end in failure if you try a do-it-yourself approach.

CHIGGERS are a bothersome group of 6 legged immature mites that normally live in lawns. It become a human pest when they accidently climb onto your skin and bite. They do not derive any nutrients from the human, its all a mistake; however, the bite is painful and requires some topical medication to relieve the itch. Stay out of grass and meadows that are infested.

LICE, of the human variety, are often associated with poor personal hygiene. Lice lay their eggs on human hair shafts, where they hatch. The lice feed on human blood and rarely leave the body. They are designed to stay close and are sometime difficult to identify, but the skin irritation will be the clue to an infestation. Lice are controlled by a visit to a dermatologist and making sure that contact with individuals that have a history of being infected with lice is minimized. Transfer of lice from person to person can be attributed to sharing clothing and bedding with an infected person as well as close personal contact.

If you saw some termites in your house with out wings on, they probably came in because you had some lights on. They are attracted to night lights. If you saw hundreds flying around inside your home with wings still attached, you may have an active colony. Don’t forget, termites eat wood all year. They swarm in the Spring and Summer in order to build new colonies. So swarming (flying) termites are a warning that they are near by and may, in fact, be inside of your walls.

Don’t panic, take notice where they are coming from and call us to take a look. It may be a false alarm !

You often hear people express disbelief that their house is infested. They can actually hear the little buggers eating away at the bones of their home and they can’t figure out why they are on the hit list. The truth is that every house in this area is sitting on top of the termite’s turf. They have been eating the natural food of choice for years, way before the first pilling was driven in New Orleans. The developers came in and removed trees and brush before construction started. They added fill and graded the subdivisions to make ready for streets, sidewalks, and house slabs. the termite had to survive on what little natural woody material was left in the ground. Now you have to understand that the termite does only two things – eat and reproduce. If the only wood left in the neighborhood is your house, they have no choice but to eat it. With millions of years of self preservation in their genes, they will do anything to feed the colony to survive.

Speaking of the colony, it constitutes a huge family with possibly millions of mouths to feed. The bigger the colony, the more wood they consume. Interrupt the feeding and the termites will figure out another way to approach your house to get to the wood that they so desperately need to survive.

Some say that their house is made of brick and termites don’t eat clay and mortar. True, but 99.9% of the houses in this area contain building material that is derived from wood. For example, sheetrock has a cardboard covering that termites love to eat. The sheetrock is nailed to pine studs. They love pine too. How about flooring, doors, trim work and cabinets just to name a few?

You say that you can’t win against an enemy that is so well trained and committed. You can. Seek advice from a pest control professional. Termite eradication / prevention is not a do it yourself project.

It is not recommended that an untrained individual identify these species for the purpose of control or medical treatment. Wrong identification can lead to improper medical treatment and serious health complications. 

It is a surprise that many skin irritations are blamed on spiders. There is a vast misconception in the medical field of what constitutes a bite. Most diagnoses are made in the emergency room by over-worked doctors that have more pressing medical emergencies to handle. Most physicians spend little academic time in the fields of entomology and parasitology. A board certified dermatologist is best suited to make a proper insect or spider bite diagnosis. However, there are other multi-legged animals, especially in the South, that can inflict bites and stings that can be quite painful!

If you think you have a spider infestation, call a professional to get a positive identification. If you receive a bite and suspect a dangerous spider may be responsible, get medical help and ask for a specialist.

It became apparent to us that the bait technology was not performing as advertised. So we waited to get more technical information. As the years progressed and the bait producers made claims of dramatic progress in that technology, it became more evident that only the marketing of the baits made great advances. The bait was and is still a hit or miss approach to controlling termites. If the termite can’t find the bait and eat it, control will not occur.

We are seeing many home owners who bought bait, cancel that service because the baiting company was not inspecting the house and was missing the active termites. We see abandoned bait stations around houses on a regular basis.

Many of our competitors have made lots of money selling termite bait, often selling it in addition to a liquid treatment. The fact is, the new liquid treatments, Termidor and Premise, will control the termites faster and more economically than baits.

Here are things for you to do around your house that will help:

1) Don’t leave pet food out for more than a couple of hours.
2) Store pet food in a metal container like a new garbage can.
3) Keep your refuse in a closed container, don’t leave the lid off.
4) Keep your grass cut weekly.
5) Don’t leave building material / debris laying around. Get rid of it within a couple of days.
6) Cut trees back away from the house, especially limbs overhanging the roof.
7) Make sure that holes in the house are patched. Pay attention to openings where pipes pass through outside walls. Don’t plug up the brick weep holes, the house needs to ventilate. Use hardware cloth in the weep holes, if you think critters are passing through.
8) Make sure roof vents are screened.
9) Don’t leave food out overnight in the kitchen.
10) Use poisons according to label directions, don’t let children and pets have access to it.
And finally
11) Use poisons according to label directions, don’t let children and pets have access to it !!!!!!!!
Submitted by
JOE AZZARELLO
Board Certified Entomologist
Dial One Franklynn Pest Control

Researchers believe that termites cannot survive the mulching process, but may reinfest mulch after it has been created, bagged and awaiting shipment.

Louisiana State University entomologists also addressing concerns, and have released the following:
To: Forestry and Natural Resource Community

From: Dennis R. Ring
A question has arisen about Formosan subterranean termites being moved in mulch from New Orleans and Louisiana following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is true that there is a lot of cellulose debris (wood, paper and their products) in Louisiana following these two hurricanes.

Something has to be done with this debris. Yes, Formosan subterranean termites are found in the parishes affected by the hurricanes and will get in mulch. They also eat the centers of live trees. See the LSU AgCenter Web site (http://www.lsuagcenter.com) for information on the biology and ecology of this insect. However, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) in Louisiana imposed a quarantine for the Formosan subterranean termite on October 3, 2005, in Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes (the parishes affected by the hurricanes).

Thus, efforts are in place to prevent the spread of the Formosan subterranean termite in mulch or other materials. Additionally, the insect may be managed using integrated pest management.

Provisions of the quarantine imposed by the LDAF include:

* Movement of wood or cellulose material is prohibited unless either
(1) it is fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean termites and is approved for movement by the
commissioner or his designee(s) or (2) written authorization is given by the commissioner or his designee(s)
for the movement of untreated wood or cellulose material from the quarantined parishes.
* temporary housing cannot be moved from the named parishes until written authorization is given by the
commissioner or his designee(s).
* All architectural components (beams, doors and salvaged wood) cannot be sold or placed in any structure
in any parish until the architectural components are fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean
termites.
* Additionally, it is strongly recommended and urged that all new construction and reconstruction of
structures in the quarantined parishes use termite-resistant materials. Termite-resistant materials include
pressure-treated wood (borates, ammonical copper quat or copper azole) or non-cellulose materials.
The quarantine is in effect until it is rescinded by the commissioner of agriculture. If a waiver of a
requirement or an authorization to carry out one of the prohibited acts is granted, it does not rescind or
modify the quarantine.

NPMA Release on Post-Hurricane Mulch
There has been a flurry of internet traffic related to reports of potential spread of Formosan subterranean termites (FST) in mulch being produced from infested trees in hurricane effected areas of Louisiana.

This email erroneously implies that large retail home stores will purchase and re-sell bags of this mulch around the country – thereby spreading FST to currently infestation-free areas. In fact, Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF) has established a quarantine that requires all woody debris in the quarantined (hurricane-effected) areas to be shipped to an approved landfill within the designated quarantine area. All contractors that are mulching and hauling the debris know the regulations and are abiding by them. LDAF has asked that anyone with knowledge debris moving out of a quarantine area to contact their 24-hour hotline. None of this should imply that mulch and termites are not connected at all. Mulch can be a source of termite infestations in and around your home. The best defense for homeowners is to keep ALL mulch away from their home’s foundation. Other tips to avoid attracting termites include:

• As most termites are drawn to moisture, avoid water accumulation near your home’s foundation. Divert water away with properly functioning downspouts, gutters and splash blocks.
• Quickly repair house damage from a leaky roof or window as termites can thrive in this moisture.
• Never bury wood scraps or waste lumber in the yard, especially near the home. Remove old tree stumps and roots around and beneath the home.
• Most importantly, eliminate any wood contact with the soil. Maintaining at least a 1-inch gap between the soil and wood portions of the home is ideal.

Homeowners that are worried about termites or believe they have seen signs of termite infestations in and around their home should contact a pest professional. Infestation warning signs include:

• Swarming of winged forms in the fall and spring
• Evidence of mud tunneling in, over and under woodstructures
• Wooden structures exhibiting darkening or blistering
• Damaged wood becoming extremely thin and easy to puncture with a knife or a screwdriver

Source:
Greg Baumann, Senior Scientist, Vice President of Technical Services
National Pest Management Association
Michael Waldvogel, PhD, Extension Specialist, Structural & Industrial Pests, North
Carolina State University