Bug Bites

This is the first post of “Bugman’s Bug Bites.” In it I will mention simple pest control methods you can use around the home and any latest important pesticide news. Feel free to share it with your friends or post it on your Facebook wall.

If your cat gets ear mites, simply dab a Q-tip in some vegetable oil or olive oil and rub it on the inside of the cat’s ear where the mites are. The oil will smother the mites. Be careful not to let it run into the cat’s ear.

A couple of years ago I was called out to a home that a pest control company had treated for carpenter ants. The homeowner had some little bugs in one room but the pest control guy said they weren’t anything to worry about. He was wrong. The very small insects were Lathridiid beetles, which feed exclusively on mold. I told the owner what they were and that he had a mold problem somewhere in the rooom. It turned out he had a water leak in a wall he wasn’t aware of and had to get it fixed. If you find several insects you can’t identify in your house, get them identified. If you want you can send them to me and I will identify them for you and tell you whether or not they are something to be concerned about. Go to my website for information on how to send bugs for identification.

If you have fungus gnats coming out of your house plants, all you have to do is let the plants dry out almost to the point of wilting and then rewater. Then put about an ½ of aquarium gravel on the potting soil to prevent female fungus gnats from laying any more eggs. You can get yellow sticky traps in a garden shop to put in the potting soil to catch the adult moths.

If you live in CA, FL, AZ, NM or anywhere else that drywood termites are found and you get them in your house, please do not consider a structural fumigation with Vikane. Vikane (sulfuryl flouride) is a serious greenhouse gas and also leaves an invisible residue of flouride on everything in your house. The only safe and effective way to control drywood termites is with XT-2000 orange oil. If you can’t find anyone in your area that uses XT-2000, let me know and I will help you find someone.

When catching mice with snap traps, the best bait to use is a piece of Slim Jim. Slim Jims are beef jerky sticks available in any grocery or convenience store. Mice love them. They can lick peanut butter off the trap and cheese dries up and is useless. If you use live traps to catch them, oatmeal is the best bait. Never use rodenticides.

There are approximately 42,000 cases of pesticide poisoning every year in the United States. Please don’t use pesticides unless you absolutely have to. Pesticides should never be used in or near schools or day care centers.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING