Safe Treatment

Treating a nest of bees appropriately is important to keep the home and the residents safe. By neutralizing the bees, we can eliminate the threat of being stung. If the problem is treated immediately, the homeowner can also prevent potential honey and wax issues at a later date. If the colony becomes established, there is sure to be a large wax structure potentially made up of thousands of cells. Large groups of cells are called combs. These cells serve two purposes, they house the young developing bees and they are also used to store honey. The thousands of bees continuously fan the combs with their wings preventing it from getting too hot and melting. If a colony of bees is killed there will be no airflow and the wax and honey will melt in the hot Arizona summer. This mess could cause damage to drywall and attract ants, beetles, and various other pests who wish to capitalize on this tasty treat. It is important that the homeowner is aware of the potential circumstances when the decision is made to have the colony treated. We can then remove the combs and honey if necessary.

Types of Bees

Keep in mind, bee stings are linked to commotion within the immediate vicinity of the nest, including vibrations and direct contact. If there is a lot of activity around a nest, the bees are likely to get agitated and interpret the activity as a threat. Both a standard European Honey Bee and an Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) will sting to defend the nest. The difference largely rests in the behavior of each species. AHBs are much more aggressive than their European counterparts, actively defending the nest within 100ft. and often times pursuing the threat over several hundred feet.

AHBs are a frequent topic of discussion amongst our customers because of the bees’ frightening dispostion. The entire state of Arizona is within the distribution range of

This is what can happen if you don't treat be invasions properly. These combs were found in an attic, causing major problems.

AHBs and as a result there is interbreeding with the European bees. When customers encounter bees, they want to know if the bees are Africanized. I tell them some degree of Africanized in many of the colonies we encounter is likely, but without the proper identification equipment and process we cannot be sure aside from gauging the level of aggression.

Being proactive can help prevent bees from finding their way into your home. Make sure the home is sealed appropriately, noting the eaves and any area where the stucco and stem wall of the home meet that may be open to the wall interior. Should bees become an issue, after we treat, we will also seal the area to prevent future infestations.

Ants are social insects that live in colonies which include one or more queen ants, worker ants, eggs, larvae, and pupae. The worker ants maintain their nests and forage for food. Nests protect the ants against enemies and protects them against the elements; often nests are close to water and food sources. When worker ants find a food source, they lay down a trail pheromone that tells other worker ants where to find the food. Ants have a wide food range, feeding on sweet foods, protein foods, greasy materials, starchy substances. They may feed on and all kinds of plant and animal materials.

There are two types of ant treatment available based on the ant problem. Ants may live outside and forage inside your home or ants that already have a nest built inside.

Ants that live outside will travel inside the home to search for food. You will want to find access points such as cracks and crevices, which should be caulked and sealed. Also clean around entry points with a detergent and spray a non-repellent insecticide. The types of ants that establish colonies inside homes may be argentine ants, crazy ants, odorous house ants, pavement ants, pharaoh ants, thief ants, and carpenter ants. Spraying a residual repellent insecticide for ant control may only provide a short-term pest control. However, the use of ant bates can be extremely effective. The ants will feed on the ant baits and take it back to the queen, killing the entire colony

If you suspect you may have a colony of honey bees in your house, try to observe and note the opening in your outside walls being used by the bees. Look near the foundation line of your home, under your deck, in your attic rafters, any other areas that may provide a way for honey bees to get into your home.

Removing honey bees from inside any of the above spaces is a time consuming process that is best to have done by professionals. You can do it yourself, but only if you know what you are doing and use extreme caution.

It is important that all honeycomb and its contents be removed. Bits of wax left behind give off highly attractive odors that will attract other bees looking for a new home. If the nest is not removed, the wax cells may melt and seep through interior walls and ceilings, leaving permanent stains.

Contact us or give us a call and we’ll promptly be at your property with the industry’s leading products and methodologies to neutralize any threat that the bees may pose.

We use an Infrared (IR) Camera to locate areas that are hot or cool, allowing us to diagnose a potential issue before it becomes a serious problem. Concerning pest control, we utilize thermal imaging to discover gaps in your home’s envelope that allow pests to access the interior.

Thermal Imaging is the latest tool to aid the detection of accessible areas for pests in walls, under floors, and ceiling cavities.

Thermal Imaging Can:

Conduct non invasive, non-destructive inspections

Reduce time in trying to locate openings and threats

Allow the technician to pinpoint areas of suspicion

Assists in determining a more accurate treatment procedure

Some things you can do to control pests:

• Keep a clean home, this is the best way to keep pests away
• Clean up food and drink spills right away
• Remove clutter to reduce the places for pests to hide
• Seal food containers properly and put your pet’s dishes away overnight
• Keep trash in a closed container
• Ensure there are no water leaks
• Seal cracks and holes around baseboards, shelves, sinks, and bathroom fixtures
• Use roach baits properly and only if necessary. Good spots for baits are next to walls, baseboards, under sinks, in cabinets and near plumbing fixtures.

A safe alternative to traditional pest control is integrated pest management (IPM), which Cummings Pest Control uses to remove pests, like cock-roaches, mice, and rats from a home. IPM aims to:

Deny pests food, water, shelter and a way to enter the home

Use baits and powders, such as gel baits and traps

IPM is safer and does not use as many harmful pesticides as traditional pest control. Pesticides can contain long lasting, toxic chemicals or lung irritants. IPM strategies apply pesticides only as needed and use the least hazardous pesticides to control pests.

Integrated pest management is better than traditional pest control at keeping the roaches and other pests away for long periods of time. IPM works by addressing the cause of the problem and taking along-term approach to reducing pests.

• Keeping pipes and air-conditioning units in good repair as well as sealing pipes
• Keeping water away from the foundation and removing standing water from roofs
• Getting rid of excess plant cover and wood mulch around the house foundation
• Keep crawl spaces clear of lumber and paper and do not keep firewood around or outside the house

Obvious signs of termite infestation include.

• Wall cracks or blistered wooden areas in the home, like a floor, wall, window frame, or stud
• Narrow mud tubes along the base of the house
• Piles of seed-like pellets along a wall
• Termite swarms in or near a building, or shedded wings from flying termites

If Infestation Occurs, rely on Cummings Termite & Pest Control to assess and present the most effective treatment for maximum protection of your home.

Cummings utilizes non-repellant chemistry to control termites. Termidor®, the termiticide we utilize, is designed to sneak into the soil undetected by the termites. This allows the termites to move through the termiticide, picking up the active ingredient and carrying it back down into the colony, thus killing it from the inside out.

You can expect to see a new post on a monthly basis here at Pest Talk. This post is just the first of many that I invite you to allocate a bit of your time to reading. I’ll update this post at the beginning of each month. The post you are reading now is merely an introduction and, quite frankly, me learning my way around the infrastructure of the blog. A test run, if you will. I’d imagine the following posts will likely include pictures, tables, graphs, and so on as I become more comfortable with this social networking technology. Thank you for swinging in and I look forward to writing for you again soon. Let’s plan on September 1st for a new posting.

Yours in Small Business,

Nathan