Pest Spotlight

Bedbugs

How to sleep tight and not let the bed bugs bite...

 

Bed bugs have made a come back, as far as being a relevant house pest goes. Their resurgence has a lot to do with how much we travel nowadays. Bed bugs are wingless pests, therefore they rely on us to be their chauffeurs. Disturbing, right? While you may not be doing so intentionally, we serve as very effective means of transportation. Bed bugs often use things like luggage and items bought second-hand to travel. Michael Bush, Washington State University Extension Entomologist says:

 

 

“Bed bugs are not known to transmit human diseases, but they can cause skin welts, local inflammation and contribute to insomnia. Bed bugs have been found in homes, apartments, rental units and even hotels throughout Washington with increasing frequency.”

 

 

The link provided above will take you to a website at which guests catalogue any bed bug experiences they've had with specific Washington state hotels. This may be a great resource when doing research for your next vacation. Meanwhile, SafeShield Pest Control has a few recommendations to help in keeping these unwanted guests out of your homes:

 

• Use collapsible luggage stands in your hotel room
• Tuck in bed sheets that may be able to reach the floor
• Routinely check any rooms you stay at for bed bugs
• Check the bedding, mattress, box spring, headboard area, paintings, and upholstered furniture
• Look for rust-colored spots on bedding and red splotchy spots on skin, both are indicators of bed bugs
• Store luggage in sealed, plastic containers once home from vacation
• Store traveling luggage far away from your bedding and clothing
• Quarantine second-hand mattresses for several months before taking them into the home
• Wash bedding weekly
• Remove or replace infested materials

 

Bed bugs are not easy to get rid of. They may even be difficult to identify. In the event that you are struggling with a bed bug infestation, call SafeShield Pest Control at (206) 866 -6766 to put an end to the nightmare.

 

 

 

 Sources:

                http://bedbugregistry.com/location/WA/

 

                http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2012/04/19/dont-let-the-bed-bugs-bite-new-wsu-extension-fact-sheet-outlines-strategies/

Spring Cleaning Watch List

 

Spring is upon us! You may find yourself doing some last minute spring cleaning before it gets hotter. We want to help by keeping you informed about what you might see during deep cleaning and decluttering. The following is a list of some pests common to the area and what to look out for:

 

 

Black Widow Spider
Look for messy webs with strong, sticky silk.They can be found in cluttered areas of the basement, crawl space and garage, or in wood piles, water meter boxes, eaves, and fences.






Yellow Sac Spider
They can be found in your garden during the warm seasons, but migrate indoors when it gets colder. Look for them on walls and ceilings.

 

Hobo Spider

Look for funnel webs in holes and cracks, especially in dark and damp places.They can be found in wood piles, under stones or garden ornaments, around foundations, basement or ground floor boxes, behind and under furniture, closets, and baseboard heaters or radiators.

Bed bugs

Look for red, itchy bites on your body in the mornings or anytime after sleeping, red and black spots on mattresses, pillows, and bed linens, or a sweet/musty odor.They can be brought in via second-hand furniture or any furniture that is delivered, travel luggage, or by crawling through cracks, crevices, or ventilation ducts. Check your mattress, box spring, couches, bed frame, and bed linens.




 Mosquitoes

They can be found in almost any environment when it is darker and cooler (evening until morning time), especially around water. Some examples include: bird baths, ponds, lakes, rain gutters, water logged recycling, fountains, leaky faucets, sprinklers, and animal troughs.

 

 

 

 

Rodents

Look for small brown droppings in basements, attics, garages, plumbing, and crawl spaces.They can squeeze through holes as small as a quarter inch, so try to seal up any cracks or holes around the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ticks

They can be found in any wooded, brush, or grassy area. Some ticks are associated with rodents. Always check yourself, children, and pets for ticks when traveling through tick territory, especially the neck, ears, under arms, between legs and behind the knees. They may appear to look like a spec of dirt, a mole, or a freckle.

 

 

 

General hot spots to look for pests include the garage, pantry, attic, and any other storage spaces. Checking these places along with boxes, rubbish piles, and other nooks and crannies will give you a good idea of what is living in or around your home. Contact SafeShield Pest Control as soon as possible for a better start to your summer!

 

 

Source: http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Pests

 

Common Questions

• Should a home’s baseboards be thoroughly sprayed?
• While the common mistake is answering “yes” to this question, the answer is in fact, “no.” Spraying baseboards for no reason simply exposes pets and people to more pesticides. While sometimes pests can live behind the baseboards, they rarely live on them, which makes it unnecessary and ineffective to spray this area of the home.
• What do ongoing pest control services include?
  Once infestations are eliminated, a service technician looks for signs of re-infestation and if visible, additional products may be applied to help further eliminate pests.
• How long will it take to control pests?
  While some pests can be exterminated in a single visit, more advanced and severe infestations can take several months, if not longer to control. Periodic rechecks involve re-inspection and spot treatment, if pest infestations have returned.
• Are pesticides necessary?
  No, in fact some infestations can be controlled without the use of pesticides. Some pesticides also use less toxic formulas, which includes baits, microencapsulate pesticides and dusts.
• How safe are pesticides?
  While no chemical is entirely safe, companies in the U.S. do not use products that are prohibited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This agency evaluates all possible risks and sets specific guidelines for permissible use of pesticides.

Winter Pest Tips

It’s cold outside. During freezing temperatures insects and rodents want to be outside just about as much as we do. Their goal becomes finding warmth and shelter anyway they can. Unlike insects, mice and other rodents are not capable of going dormant for the winter. Mice actively work on building warm nests year round. Oftentimes they will find refuge inside of an old rodent burrow, behind insulation in your walls, or worse. Rodents such as mice might even decide to move in with you.

•  To prevent rodents from roosting in the eaves or attic, repair and patch any holes or other damage.

• Clean out gutters and overhangs, where rodents can also build their nests.

• Store yard waste like leaves and other debris away from the house prior to disposal. These materials are popular nesting materials.

• Outside, much and firewood hold are popular hiding places for rodents. Store these at least two feet from exterior walls.

• Keep pet food, birdseed, and grass seed in a sealed metal container. Mice can gnaw through plastic and eat seeds.

• Common entry points are around pipes, where small cracks are frequently just large enough for a mouse to squeeze through. Block holes with steel wool, and seal it in with something like expanding insulation foam when possible.

• In the house, eradicate clutter that can hide mice and rat nests and provide material for the nests themselves.

• Periodically check the corners of your garage, basement, pump room, furnace room, and any other storage areas. It is in these areas that you will often find feces that will indicate whether or not you have a problem.

It is just this time of year that we see a huge spike in mouse calls; homeowners and business owners alike who call panicked that “an entire family of mice came out of nowhere” and that they are now living amongst them. Not just living- eating, urinating, defecating, possibly spreading diseases and leaving their mark on your possessions, and even affecting the air that you breathe.

 If you currently have mice, please call a professional. You may be inclined try over the counter baits and traps, but much of the offerings are ineffective and may leave you chasing your tail. If you are inclined to take preventive measures before such a problem arises, here are some helpful tips for you.

If you do not currently have a mouse problem (or don’t know that you have one) preventive pest control in the wintertime may be looked at by some homeowners as a nuisance. Sometimes it’s just easier to justify paying for a service after you already have a problem. Remediation services are almost always more expensive after a problem has occurred or become serious in nature. In the case of sump pump backup systems, burglar alarms, and renters insurance a lot of people only invest in such systems after they have dealt with some kind of loss or catastrophe. However more and more people are realizing that preventive measures are cheaper than actually fixing serious problems after they have occurred.

The same is true in pest management. It is much easier to catch a mouse problem in the early going if you have regular maintenance going on at your home. Do not let a mouse problem spiral out of control. Call SafeShield today and have us take a look at your home. Oftentimes we will find something before you do, and you will be glad we did.

Pest Spotlight

Spiders can be quite a threat for most homeowners. They can make their home anywhere in yours, settling under random items lying on the ground, in your garage, attic, deck or in other areas throughout the home. Spiders can be easily identified. They have eight legs, two body regions, and do not have wings or antennas. These invaders can make their way into your home many different ways, including using branches and shrubs near your home’s exterior as paths into your house.

Pest Spotlight

Mice can pose major problems for homeowners. They come looking for food and warmth. Mice can enter homes a number of different ways, but gaps under doors are the number one way. Mice can get into your food, damage walls and even ruin fabrics. These invaders are best controlled by using traps. Be sure if you do use traps to use different baits and place them where the mice are most active. Be sure to place the traps in places where children and pets can’t access them. To be proactive, seal all cracks and holes and install weather strips on your doors to prevent new mice from entering. If you have seen multiple mice, it could be because you have a more serious problem and should consult a professional.