22
November 2016
ASK THE BUGMAN
Email questions to AskTheBugman. com or call( 505) 385-2820
I have mentioned in several columns that you do not need a pest control service spraying pesticides in and around your home in the winter. Some folks have asked me if they will get pests if they suspend their service. In actuality, there are some pests you may get all year long, and no amount of generic spraying will prevent them. Below I mention some pests you can get in the winter that do not come in from the outside.
Clothes moths won’ t come in your house in the winter, nor will any moths. They may come in during warm weather and infest suitable fabric. The larvae hatch and feed on the fabric, causing damage. There are several things you can do to prevent clothes moths. First, keep clothes and other fabrics stored in sealed, plastic bags. Next you can hang some repellents in the closets. Put dried lemon peels,
PRIME TIME
Controlling Pests During the Winter Months
cedar chips, dried rosemary or mint in cheese cloth bags and hang them in the closets. Make sure any carpets in the closet are clean and free of lint, animal hair or any organic debris.
If you already have webbing clothes moths, you should hang one Clothes Moth Pheromone Trap in each closet. It will attract and catch the male moths and stop the breeding process. Don’ t hang more than one trap or you will confuse the moths and they will just fly around, unsure where to go. The pheromone traps aren’ t effective against casemaking clothes moths. Dry cleaning all the clothes will kill all the stages of the moths as well as washing all infested clothing in hot, soapy water to kill the larvae and eggs. The casemaking clothes moth has three spots on each wing. The webbing clothes moth does not have the spots.
German cockroaches almost always come into homes by hiding in boxes or bags from a grocery store. They will feed on almost anything edible as well as a lot of things we wouldn’ t consider edible. They go from egg to adult in as few as 45 days and, if left unchecked, can severely infest a home or business. They are most commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms. When you
are controlling German roaches, you should use German Roach Pheromone Traps. The traps will attract and catch the roaches. They are available online.
American and Oriental roaches can come up the drains in the winter. It is best to keep all of your drains closed at night. If you haven’ t got a drain cover, fill a Ziploc bag with water and put it on the drain. That will keep the roaches out. They won’ t come in from outside in cold weather, so spraying the perimeter of your house with a pesticide is totally unnecessary.
Flour beetles are small, brownish in color and elongated in shape. There are several species that are potential pests in stored food products, and you may bring them home in foods you buy at the store. They feed on barley, beet pulp, breakfast cereals, grains, nuts, wheat, wheat bran, milk chocolate and dried milk. Good sanitation is key to controlling these beetles. Throw away any food you find that is infested with the beetles. There are other types of beetles and some moths that will infest food products, but the control methods are the same for all of them.
Fungus gnats are very small flies with long legs, long antennae and distinctly patterned wings. They are
dark brown or black in color. They are generally found in over-watered house plants where the larvae feed on fungus in the potting soil and moist organic material. The best way to control them is to let the plants dry out almost to the point of wilting before re-watering. That will kill the larvae in the soil. Then put an inch of aquarium gravel on the soil to prevent female fungus gnats from laying anymore eggs in the potting soil. You can also place a yellow sticky trap on a stick in the soil to catch the adult gnats.
There are a few other pests that you can bring home in the winter, but none of them, nor those already mentioned, require pesticide applications. If you have a pest control company, have it inspect your home for signs of any of these pests and areas where pests can hide. Do not let it just generically spray pesticides along your baseboards or around your home.
If you have any pest questions, you can contact me at askthebugman2013 @ gmail. com or call me at 505-385-2820. If you want to join my Bug Club, you can also visit my website, www. askthebugman. com. Or, follow me on Twitter @ askthebugman.
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