PRIME TIME
ASK THE
BUGMAN
Email questions to
AskTheBugman.com
or call (505)385-2820
I
t is getting warmer and bugs are
active. Occasionally they wander
into homes or businesses and make
some people nervous. In most cases,
these invaders are not going to infest
your home or do any damage. They will
simply wander around and are probably
looking for a way out.
But sometimes a pest, such as ants or
cockroaches, will become a nuisance.
This can be controlled by inspecting
your home around the outside and
sealing any areas where insects or
spiders can get in. There are also baits
available for roaches and ants, and they
are much more effective than using
pesticides, which are rarely effective
and can be potentially hazardous to your
family.
I have had people ask me how
to control most pests without using
pesticides. There are lots of options.
Below is a short list of how some pests
can be controlled without a can of bug
Warmer Weather Brings
Increased Bug Activity
spray or an exterminator.
• Cockroaches (beer and duct
tape)
• Ants (peanut butter and jelly,
grits, Coca Cola)
• Earwigs (newspaper)
• Silverfish (baby food jars and
flour)
• Paper wasps (brown paper bags,
Avon Skin So Soft)
• Bed bugs (alcohol, water & dish
soap, hair dryer)
• Head lice (salt water, hair dryer)
• Fungus gnats (aquarium gravel)
• Fruit flies (vinegar)
• Carpet beetles (dirty socks and
cheese)
• Spiders (peppermint essential
oil)
• Almost all pests (water and dish
soap).
There are a lot of other non-toxic
products you can use on almost all pests.
If you have pests you want controlled
without using pesticides, I will help you.
If you call a pest control company make
sure they can positively identify the
pest to species level and offer methods
of control besides routine spraying of
pesticides.
If they want to use pesticides and
convince you it is OK, then make sure
they don’t use toxic pesticides in which
the active ingredient is a synthetic
pyrethroid. Some companies refer to
synthetic pyrethroids as organic, but they
are not. Synthetic pyrethroids have been
proven to cause leukemia and lymphoma
in children and can cause a pregnant
woman to have an autistic child. There
are safer pesticides available.
If you hire someone to kill weeds,
make sure they are knowledgeable
May 2017
about the species of weeds they want to
control. The person using the herbicide
should know the identity of the weeds
to make sure they are using the proper
herbicide. However, if you have weeds
in your yard, you can control them with
vinegar, salt and dish soap and don’t
have to use toxic herbicides.
If you have any questions you can
contact me at askthebugman2013@
gmail.com or call me at 505-385-2820.
BRING THIS COUPON IN
FOR A FREE SMALL
CHILLI CON QUESO
WITH ANY MEAL PURCHASE
S adie ’ S of N ew M exico
6230 4 th S treet Nw
L oS r aNchoS d e a Lbuquerque , NM
S adie ’ S e aSt
15 h oteL c ircLe Ne
a Lbuquerque , NM
S adie ’ S oN a cadeMy
5400 a cadeMy r d . Ne
a Lbuquerque , NM
(505) 345-5339
(505) 296-6940
(505) 821-3388
www.SadiesofNewMexico.com
Here’s to dancing the night away.
Or at least the afternoon.
While a lot of things change over the years, some
things don’t. And getting older doesn’t mean you
have to stop doing what you love. So we encourage
our residents to keep on doing their thing while we
take care of the rest. For more about independent
living, assisted living, transitional memory care or
memory care, please call 505-349-0027.
Al, 87
This feels like home. ®
PalmillaSeniorLiving.com | (505) 349-0027
10301 Golf Course Road NW | Albuquerque, NM 87114
A SPECTRUM RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
PAL Prime Times April17
15