Around Ausitn, ants are one of the toughest pest control problems, and the newest ant on the scene is the rasberry crazy ant.
One of the first things that people ask is why it's called a rasberry ant, and it's a pretty simple story. The rasberry crazy ant is named after Tom Rasberry, a pest control operator, who discovered the ants here in Texas.
This species is notable for a couple of reasons:
- Huge numbers
- Attraction to electricity
- Incredibly tough to effectively control
As with fire ants, one of the most important areas to keep an eye on is around your air conditioner. These ants are attracted to the electricity, Dr. Mike Merchant shared some of the most compelling theories as to why on his blog, but no matter the reason, in large numbers they can cause shorts in the electrical components of your air conditioner, which no one needs in Austin in July.
The rasberry crazy ant is a small light brown ant, but unlike fire ants, you won't see the rasberry crazy ant in mounds. That isn't how these ants live. They live in groundcover like the mulch around many houses, but they don't make mounds. They show up in huge numbers and are very resilient. Many of the traditional pesticides seem unable to give control, and with the size of the populations, bait is relatively impractical due to the amount that is needed to control such a large population.
Truth be told, we haven't see a lot of the rasberry crazy ant yet here in Austin. though Houston has faced the ant for the past couple of years. There is some debate as to how likely these new ants are to take up residence in Austin, since some experts seem to think that Austin may be too dry. If we are lucky, that will be the case, and the instances that we have seen of the rasberry crazy ant may prove to be isolated, but that certainly isn't clear. Either way, it's still a good idea to keep an eye out around your air conditioner, other electrical areas like well pumps or pool pumps you may have, as well as the foundation of your house for ants. If they are there, it's only a matter of time before they are on the inside, especially as the summer gets dry and ants explore the indoors looking for moisture.
I can’t tell you how many times my friends have asked me about how to get rid of ants this time of year. With the rain showers followed by beautiful sunny days our town is seeing lots of ant activity. Generally there are many different actions we can take to minimize pests in and around our home. Some are easier said than done, but all these steps are totally attainable for us all.
1) Trim back all foliage and trees from the house. Your ornamentals might not look like it but, they are a highway for ants and other pests to reach your home and find a path inside. Also keep the lawn mowed and make sure the soil grade is lower than the slab around the home. Taking these steps will help to create a barrier between your living space and ants.
2) Keep entry points to a minimum. This is a tough one but a little caulk goes a long way. Seal up any cracks and crevices that may allow pests from the outside into your home.
3) Cleanliness is next to “antlessness”. Ants really aren’t too complicated. They are looking for food, water, and shelter. Your kitchen is a great place for the food. Any sugar spilt while fixing your coffee will lure ants in, so be sure to wipe down kitchen surfaces with household cleaners and limit temptations for ants.
4) Another reason cleanliness is so important when considering how to get rid of ants is tied to their method of communication. While ants looking for resources, they lay down a pheromone trail for others to follow. This is why we see trails of ants to the picnic basket and back to the colony. Household cleaners will destroy the pheromone trail, helping to prevent other ants from the colony from finding their way back.
These are all fairly easy home maintenance activities that will reduce you and your family’s exposure to ants and other pests.
If these steps have been taken but you are still having issues it may be time to introduce a treatment plan. If so, click here for some great options!
For a lot of people, even before they know if they have termites they wonder what the options are for getting rid of termites. Most people know they don't want to have a termite problem, but they don't always know what having a termite problem means.
Termites are small white insects, about the size of ants, they live in soil and they consume cellulose material. Wood is the material most people are worried about but they will eat paper, boxes, and other things that are cellulose based. They build a shelter tube that looks like a small mud tube, usually smaller than a 1/4 inch wide, and they use that tube to travel. They dislike being exposed to the fresh air so if you break open a tube, they will head for safety and rebuild. That means you won't see them walking around on your counter or something like that, if you see bugs out and about, likely they aren't termites. Termites will look basically like this:
Because termites need access to the soil, most termite tretments are designed to treat them there. In my mind there are three basic options for termite treatments once a house is constructed (there are some different ones for before a house is constructed that we can talk about in a different post.)
- Repellent Pesticide
- Non-Repellent Pesticide
- Bait Systems
Repellent Pesticide was widespread as a treatment 10-15 years ago. Basically how the treatment works is a chemical barrier is applied to all known soil access points. That barrier repells the insects and they stay away from it until it breaks down. The termites that are trapped inside will not be able to live without access to the soil, and the termites in the soil will not pass through the repellent barrier.The main challenge we had with these sorts of materials is that there are a lot of potentially hidden access points for termites, and once the easy to find accesses were treated, termites tended to find other access to the structure, thorugh cracks, or penetrations through slabs like plumbing lines that are tough to treat effectivey. For that reason, repellent pesticides are not my first recommendation.
Non-repellent Pesticides are applied in much the same way, but the action is different. Many people have heard of the popular product Termidor, but there are a number of these materials, you may also hear of Premise or Altriset which are non-repellent but just aren't as widely known. These materials take advantage of the social nature of temites. They are designed to avoid detection by the insects and to have a slower action, even up to two or three weeks. I know at this point you are thinking that doesn't sound better, but what happens is that time lapse allows termites to take the material and distribute it throughout the colony, and by the time the material has taken affect, it is deeply entrenched in the colony. This gives you a more extensive impact.These are probably the most popular termite treatments in the Austin area.
Bait Systems are a popular treatment as well. Bait stations are placed into the soil at set intervalls around the structure, usually something like 10 feet apart, and those stations contain material termites are looking for, as well as a bait that will work in the same way the non-repellent products work. These systems tend to have a slower action than even the non-repellents, but they can be very effective. They do require ongoing servicing of the stations, usually once every three months, but the nice part is, if you want to remove pesticide from your yard, you simply remove the bait stations.
Feel free to comment with any questions you may have, I'm happy to answer.
Hope this was a helpful overview.
Termites are one of the insects that I get questions about most often, expecially from new home owners. Many people want to know how dangerous they are, how much damage they can do, how often their house should be looked at, if they should treat it now, how much the treatments are...all sorts of questions. The challenge is, termite risks can vary greatly, and the cost of treatment can as well. The best advice I have for anyone who has a question about termites is have your house inspected. Which leads me to my first point about what you should expect from a termite inspection; it should be free. If a treatment is needed, that will be where cost is discussed, but where I live, in Austin Texas, you should be able to contact a pest control company and receive a free inspection pretty easily.
A good termite inspectior looks for three basic things
- Current activity
- Past Activity
- Potential access (and they will likely refer to that as a conducive condition)
Current activity would be actual termite and their mud tubes. The tubes are thin, usually not wider than 1/4 inch, and termites use them as tunnels to get from the soil to the structure. By breaking them open you will be able to see termites if they are active. If you don't see termites, its unlikely that tube is active.
Past activity is just old damage, and it tells us if there has been an issue with termites in the past. Because termites are not the only wood destrying inscet, its critical to distinguish between termite damage and other wood destrying insect damage like carpenter ant damage for instance.
Potentail access is avaliable in every structure, but its the trickiest to talk about. There are tons of variables, and in every structure there are going to be areas that are not accessible to an inspector. Termites can access spaces as narrow as 1/32 of an inch. They can't go directly through the concrete of a monolythic slab, but any place where concrete was poured around something, how plumbing is generally run, termites can use that space as an access point. Also any time a slab foundation is cracked, that crack provides enough space for a termite access point. In these cases, in which visible access to the access point itself is not avaliable, what an inspector is typically looking for is damage, because the problem isn't visible until the structure is in fact damaged. Becasue of this, some people who have a lot of inaccessible areas like to take a preventative approach and treat. The ongoing inspection is still important, but you are simply less likely to have an issue if the structure is treated. In additional to the hidden areas, termites can use fences, decks, and soil that is at a higher grade than the siding, just to name a few.
Basically what you should expect from a termite inspection is a thurough inspection of your home for current activity, past damage and for potential access. At that point, a professional pest control person would be able to clarify what sorts of risks termites pose to your home and you can make an informed decision about how to prevent or stop termite damage.
I hope it was a helpful overview. Feel free to comment with questions, I'm always happy to answer them.
Thanks for reading!
Finding out that you have termites in your house can seem like a pretty traumatic experience to some people. The fact is that where we live and in most parts of the United States, termites are a fact of life. As long as we build structures out of wood based products we will have to deal with termites. Think of it like this. Your home has either had a termite treatment or needs a termite treatment. Sounds kind of extreme but it is true. The good news is that the question of how to get rid of termites can be answered with ease. Hire a trusted professional that is licensed and has the proper tools to tackle the job. When choosing a termite control company you should ask for references and choose a company with lots of experience. Experience is one of the key factors do to the many different types of construction found in our neighborhoods. I would ask for a complete diagram of the structure outlining the whole treatment plan. Every structure is a little different and some have major differences. There will most likely be trenching, concrete drilling, holes cut and or drilled in walls, and list goes on. Make sure that you know what chemical will be used for the treatment. Will they use a generic, or a name brand? Name brand chemicals are backed by the manufacturer that makes them and most generics are not. The chemical should be a non-repellent product. Non-repellents allow the termites to continue to forage without even realizing that they are actually transferring the chemical back to the colony with every trip they make. Ask about the warranty that comes with the treatment. Make sure the company offers a warranty that id renewable. There are two main reasons the warranty should be renewable. A renewable warranty extends the time period each year it is renewed and it insures that the company will return to inspect the structure each year to make sure the termites have not returned.
Follow these steps when considering how to get rid of termites in your house.
- Locate a company with lots of experience and references
- Ask lots of questions
- Review a written plan of action with a diagram
- Ask about the chemical to be used
- Ask about the warranty
There are many common household pests that must be addressed throughout the year. Ants are becoming the number on pest around the country that must be treated in order to maintain the population. There are many different species of ants and they all have different patterns of behaviors that you must be familiar with in order to understand how to get rid of ants. These species include fire ants, carpenter ants, sugar ants, rover ants, pavement ants, acrobat ants, leaf cutter ants.
When deciding how to get rid of ants you need to first determine what type of ant you are dealing with. To determine what type of ants you are dealing with you can refer to information collected and presented by Texas A&M on Urban and Structural Pests.
Once you determine the species you will know more about how to get rid of ants at your home and work. Ant infestations can be difficult to control and you must implement a combination of strategies that depend on the location of the nest and the ant’s preferred kind and source of food. When determining how to get rid of ants, you may need to use a combination of steps
- Good sanitation will help to eliminate food sources and the pheromone trails that will bring more ants.
- Sealing your living space with caulk can help to eliminate entry points for ants and other pests.
- Locate the active nests. Once you locate the nest you can take steps to eliminate the active nest. This can be done with the use of insecticides and the application of bait. These products will kill foraging ants and will destroy nests, eliminating the queen.
- All of these suggestions should be used in unison in order to prevent further infestations and keep ant pupulations under control.
By utilizing these suggestions you should never again have to ask anyone how to get rid of ants!
There are often many reasons to have professional pest control services but I am going to concentrate on three for this post.
- Property protection – There are many pests in our community that can cause damage to our homes, office buildings and even the vehicles that we drive. The first that comes to mind for me are termites but there are many others. Carpenter ants nesting in structures cause damage. Bees build hives in wall voids and then fill them with honey. Mice build nests under car hoods and then chew the electrical wiring up. The list can go on and on as far as the kinds of damage pests can cause in your structure.
- Health issues – There are the more obvious diseases like tick transmitted Lime Disease and the mosquito transmitted West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and many others. Other health concerns include rabies from animal bites, Hantavirus which can be transmitted through rodent bites or even from breathing the dust associated with rodent fecal matter. Another concern associated with pest is that of allergies. Roach droppings, dead roaches, rodent droppings and other types of pest related issues can be associated with pest populations.
- Environmental Protection – Yes I said environmental. Professional pest control operators are trained to use the right products in the right places and at the right time to avoid over using chemicals. Many times the professional pest control operator can point out conducive conditions that can lead to population build up. He or she may be able to recommend or even do structural alterations that prevent pest entry. Using the services of a professional pest control service also helps avoid having containers of pesticides stored around your living environment.
There you have it. Three reasons to have pest control services around your property. If you have questions or would like more information about pest control service for your property follow the link below and contact us today.
We often get asked how to get rid of little black ants. Little Black ants are often the source of frustration for most home owners as well as many business owners. It seems like they are here today and then gone tomorrow only to be back the next day.
While these little guys have the ability to nest within a structure they are most often found nesting somewhere on the exterior. When one ant finds a food source it will leave a pheromone trail all the way back to the nest that tells all the other workers in the colony, “Hey follow me to the buffet”. Keep in mind that a spot of bacon grease can feed a colony of little black ants. A few drops of Cool Aid or soda can do the same. Once that pheromone trail has been established there will be more and more ants on the way.
Removing the food source is probably my first thought when someone asks me how to get rid of little black ants. That doesn’t have to mean that you have a filthy home or business. The smallest particle of food can attract the attention of the colony. Try the following steps first.
- Using a disinfectant or similar product, wipe down all the surfaces where the ants have been observed.
- Clean the surfaces with two thoughts in mind – Removing the food source and the pheromone trails.
- Check inside and out for cracks that are giving the ants access to the interior
- Wash these areas to remove the pheromone trails and then seal the cracks
Sometimes these little black ants will be nesting inside the structure in wall voids, attics, under cabinets and similar places. This can make eliminating this frustration very difficult to say the least.
Good luck with your little black ants and if you would like a free inspection or if you have questions feel free to contact us here at this link.
Mike Matthews
Bug Master
What would be 3 tips on how to get rid of termites? As far as tips and advice, this is probably one of those subjects best served as a preventative rather than in remediation. Getting rid of termites can be pretty tricky at best and without some very specific training can be very frustrating and costly. The cost can add up in chemical cost from buying more and more chemicals and from the structural damage that continues until the termites are stopped once and for all. There are things that you can do to help prevent infestation by termites.
Termites eat wood for the cellulose so they have to have access to the wood. Barriers can be placed between the wood and the soil preventing the workers from having access to the wood itself. This is most often done during the construction of the structure. Barriers can be physical or chemical.
There are conditions that can make one structure more vulnerable to infestation than another. In the termite world these are most often referred to as conducive conditions. There are many things that can make a structure conducive to termite infestation. In fact there are very few residences on the market that are not conducive in some way, somewhere. Do a regular inspection of the property looking for wood to ground contact, soil lines that cover the lowest level of bricks, leaking pipes or other sources of moisture. Firewood stacked next to the structure, scrap lumber or even cardboard boxes. There are many conditions that can make one home easier to infest than another. Think like a termite and look for conditions that provide easy or hidden access for termites to enter the structure. When you find these conditions, eliminate them.
A termite treatment performed by a licensed termite technician is another way to prevent infestation. The treatment is usually the same whether it is a preventative or a remedial for an active infestation. The big difference between the two will be the cost of repairs associated with an active infestation.
What are my 3 tips on how to get rid of termites?
- Prevent
- Prevent
- Call in a professional.
If you have other questions about termites or any other pest, please browse our site or post a comment here.
Have you ever wondered if there are any mosquito repellent plants that you could use around your home? Well, the answer is yes!
Mosquitos like to hang out on bushes and shrubs, so looking at the plants you have around your house is a great idea if you are having mosquito problems. You landscaping could be encouraging your mosquito problem!
It's not always realistic, but if you can think about using some plants that won't attract mosquitos, and in these cases, even deter them.
Some of my favorite mosquito repellent plants are Citronella Grass, Peppermint, Rosemary, and Marigolds.
Citronella Grass is a tropical grass that looks like a long monkey grass but it gets to be really big—up to 6 feet tall in fact. Plants that big aren’t always fitting in yards, but if you have looked into the mosquito repellent candles, you likely recognize the name citronella, and that’s because these plants are used to make those candles.
Marigolds are another great mosquito repellent plant for your flower beds. It’s a beautiful flower, and the plant produces a scent that is repellent to mosquitos. Some people aren’t fond of it either so you many want to make sure you like it before adding the plants to your garden.
Marigolds
For more tips and tricks about mosquitos download out mosquito guide here.