Bug Blog
City Rats are the Real Fat Cats
Over the last millennium, rats have become one of the worlds most despised and prosperous pests in our civilization. Both urban and suburban rats have consistently lived next to human civilization without any concerns of becoming extinct. Rats living in cities have a much richer and consistent diet than rats living in the country. Urban rats have access to more food sources including – a lot of meat, don’t have to share those sources with other animals and they also benefit from cities’ built-up landscapes, which provide plenty of places for rodents to hide and enjoy their stolen meals. Cities are home to higher numbers of trash-producing humans, meaning their rat residents have access to a wide variety of second-hand food sources. Country rats face few competitors when scrounging for food but they have a limited diet, with little to no meat, competing with omnivorous and herbivorous scavenging animals. It is interesting to note that there is a link between rodent diets and human population density.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy L Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/city-rats-real-fat-cats-randy-bilesky/?published=t
False widow spiders, what not to fear?
The false widow spider (Steatoda Nobilis) can be spotted this time of year (autumn) as the weather gets wet and colder. This widow has some likenesses to the black widow spider, but is clearly identifiable as it has cream markings on its abdomen that resembles a skull. They grow as long as 1.6 cm in length with a leg span of another 3cm. Being nocturnal (coming out in the night), this spider is rarely seen during the day – hidden in cracks and crevices in it web. Normally they are an introverted spider favouring warm environments where they wait to do their hunting. Similar to most spiders, they will bite if provoked but their venom is not particularly potent. Usually the only symptom is pain at the site which may radiate away from the bite. It ordinarily lasts between one and 12 hours, and rarely for more than 24 hours. Often, the symptoms are no worse than the pain of a wasp sting. The best way to control most spiders is by keeping your house clean and tiding, removing any live or dead insects. Go Green Pest Control and Exterminators does offer a false widow spider removal service.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca and Exterminators, Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/false-widow-spid…what-not-to-fear/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/false-widow-spiders-what-fear-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-false-widow-spiders-what-not-to-fear-1.23466991
Mice Infestation Session
Those inquisitive petite mice that spent the summer scavenging outside are now looking for a warm home to hide, eat and nest while the weather turns to rain and dark days. Mice are attracted to warm air that escapes a home, which may be carrying the smell of food with it. Approximately 75 percent of all the homes in Delta have had a rodent run through in the last year, regardless of the age of the structure, how expensive it is, how messy or clean it may be. Mice can get though a gap the diameter of your thumb, any gap under a door, garage door or a crack in the foundation of a house is open door for mice. But, 80 percent of the time, mice will merrily scamper through an open door when you are not looking. In most cases, mice head right for the kitchen or pantry, following the scent of food. Although most rodents are inherently scared of everything, mice seem to lack the gene that tells them to stay away from humans, as rats do. Mice will happily scurry around the kitchen while you may be standing right above them. Usually, the first indication that you have a mouse infestation is the telltale feces they leave behind the size of a grain of rice, but dark brown. Besides leaving their droppings everywhere they go, mice also urinate constantly. Mice mature in about one month and have the ability to reproduce every 30 days.
gogreenpestcontol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. , Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mice-infestation-session-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-mice-looking-to-warm-up-in-your-house-1.23465346
It’s a tough life for Silverfish
The average lifespan of silverfish is between 3 months and 8 years. Their survival includes avoiding predators, surviving without food and producing a lot of little silverfish. These little bugs can go without food for almost a year living on stored internal fat, as long as they can get access to water. As a nocturnal insect, they can avoid most of their predators that hunt by the day such as earwigs, centipedes and spiders. Their silver colour acts as a camouflage in dark locations helping them to avoid predators. They have a tough outer shell that makes it hard for predators to kill or eat them. And finally, silverfish produce a lot of sweat, allowing them to slip over surfaces quickly and wedge themselves into small cracks and crevices to hide. Highly adaptive insects, silverfish have the ability to find food in our homes, eating paper, wallpaper, clothes, fabrics and glue in books. But that’s not all; they will also eat mould, dandruff and other insects. A female silverfish can produce up to 100 eggs in their lifetime.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Ladner Tsawwassen Delta -Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-it-s-a-tough-life-for-silverfish-1.23464749
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-tough-life-silverfish-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Animals Hoards
In this business, we occasionally get called out to a house, for a pest issue, that happens to be a hoarder house. Now the definition of a hoarder is roughly anyone that feels the need to find, collect, keep or pack any and everything – but is rarely organized i.e. pack rat. In the local animal kingdom, as summer dwindles, many animals begin preparing for winter by hoarding food. Of course, squirrels usually come to mind when we think of amassing food, but other animals stockpile food as well. The local Vagrant shrew strategy for making sure their stored food doesn’t go bad is to inject its prey with toxic saliva that paralyzes the animal until it gets around to eating the comatose victim. Our moles store live earthworms underground by tearing into their heads causing a debilitating injury; the worms are then unable to escape. Moles can have as many as 500 worms stockpiled this way for those cold nights in the trenches. Ants will prey on all kinds of insects, including other ants, bringing back the bits and pieces of the dead insects to be stored in their nest. The body parts are stored just under its mound to dry, making insect jerky that is consumed later. Also, some ants store food in an organ called the “crop” or social stomach. The dry food is mixed with little digestive enzymes that can be stored for days before it is regurgitated for its fellow ants. Fiddler crab accumulation carrion and dregs, containing food particles, in their burrows for rainy days when foraging becomes difficult. And finally, let’s put a plug in for the squirrels. We all know about the seeds and nuts those squirrels amass, but did you know that squirrels pick and dry out mushrooms, storing them right next to the nuts in their pantries.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators, Ladner, Tsawwassen, Delta, Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/animals-hoards
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/animals-hoards-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-these-animals-stock-up-for-winter-1.23462100
The growth of Soldier Ants
In most ant colonies, the ratio of worker ants to soldier ants remains constant at 90-95 % worker ants to 5-10% soldiers. Ant colonies maintain the balance between soldiers and worker ants by regulating the growth of the undeveloped wing discs in larvae stage with a pheromone. The difference in the size of soldiers and minor workers is caused by the short-term occurrence in the larval stage of a rudimentary wing discs. This rudimentary organ appears only briefly during the final stages of larval development in the soldier ants. It is the rudimentary wing discs that regulate the rapid growth of soldier’s heads and bodies producing soldiers with larger heads, mandibles and bodies. The colony is able to speed up the number of soldier ants produced if the nest requires more soldiers for protection.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Delta Ladner Tsawwassen Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/growth-soldier-ants-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-the-growth-of-soldier-ants-1.23462049
Evict unwanted Pests this Fall
Along with the cooler wet weather, autumn tends to generate an upsurge in the amount of pests and other rodents in your yard and but even worse, into your home. The normal suspects we find this time of year are mice, mole, voles, rats, squirrels, skunks, raccoons. The things that make us all uneasy about these four legged anti-pets are that most of them can bring diseases, parasites, and fleas, into your home. The bigger MMA sized pests, like raccoons and squirrels, can rip off shakes and shingles, destroy fascia, push-up soffit material and tear the tops off garbage cans in search of food, water and shelter. The number one way to prevent rodent issues before they occur is to limit water sources and completely illuminate any food outside your home, for example: bird seed, fallen fruit, pet food (and just stop feeding squirrels and raccoons). But once you hear those scratchy feet thumping around your attic or between the walls, during the day or night it’s time to consult the professionals. The calling card of most rodents include the smell of urine, ripped up insulation, torn wires, chewed plastic water pipes and nesting materials like paper and twigs. These things can all point to a rodent infestation – so you don’t want to wait too long to take action. Contact Go Green Pest Control.ca and Exterminators a free inspection and to learn more about how we can tailor a treatment plan to fit your particular requirements.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Delta Ladner Tsawwassen Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/evict-unwanted-pests-this-fall/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evict-unwanted-pests-fall-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-evict-unwanted-pests-this-fall-1.23458605
Rodent Bumper Crop
Delta homeowners should steady themselves for an assault of lethal and filthy animals as the cold wet weather sets in. This time of year is when hordes of rodents look to leave the fall chill by looking for shelter inside your home and this autumn is set to be one of the worst yet for squirrels, rats and mice. Here at Go Green Pest Control and Exterminators have already become so busy with rodent infestations that we’ve had to start turning jobs down. The best advice we can give for anyone with pests inside their home is to call a professional for help. We’re already have triple the amount of enquiries this year, compared to last year. An outbreak of giant rodents was caused by the hot weather this summer and now they want to come indoors to escape the cold. Mice breeding season has just ended and pregnant females will be very anxious to find a safe shelter. Mice are adept of spreading nasty diseases with their feces, urine and saliva. There are an estimated 150 million rats in Canada, and an increasing number have become super rats – resistance to retail store-bought poisons. And after a hot summer, we are expecting a growing number of these poison-immune mutant rats to get into homes all over Delta. Rats carry all kinds of diseases and bacteria, some as bad as Weil’s disease. Rats’ teeth grow continuously which is why they’re always chewing to keep their teeth short and sharp. So they can make short work of electricity cables causing fires and water pipes causing floods. You may not find squirrels as revolting as mice and rats, but for squirrels fall and winter is mating season and they want their nests in attics. Squirrels will often enter a home by chewing beneath the gutter or merely pushing up the soffit materials. Once they’re in a home, they like to tear up insulation, chew through wires and plastic pipes and leave feces and urine.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rodent-bumper-crop-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-rodent-bumper-crop-1.23462057
Why are dead cockroaches always belly-up?
Have you ever noticed that most insects that you find dead in your house are belly up, or more specifically cockroaches? In the wild, outside of your house, it is not to likely that you will ever find a cockroach belly up because it will usually perish to a predator or die hidden in the weeds. Once a cockroach has made its way into our homes, it is most likely going to encounter a lot of smooth surfaces, be it tiles or wooden floors. Similar to turtle that happens to end up on its back, the same thing happens to cockroaches. In theory, a cockroach may be able to rock until they flip over, but they can’t always right themselves without a little help. In the great outdoors, they are usually in amongst branches, leaves, rocks, dirt and a lot of uneven ground. The cockroach merely grabs onto these and makes their way back into an upright position. A cockroach on your tile or hardwood flooring doesn’t have the ability to reach out to a twig or other natural assisting elements to right itself. So, if they are stuck on their back long enough without food or water, they die.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & exterminators Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/why-are-dead-coc…-always-belly-up/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-dead-cockroaches-always-belly-up-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-why-are-dead-cockroaches-always-belly-up-1.23454470
A little Batty in your Attic?
So you hear noises in your attic, okay you have squirrels, rats or mice. But after it’s been checked out there are no rodents in the attic, then its most likely bats. Bats don’t usually seek out attics of houses for roosting rather they get there for any number of reasons. First, if they are scared or startled, they may seek refuge in your attic, chimneys, and holes on your house. Some bats are so small that they can fit through openings as small as 2 cm diameter. Next, bats will seek nesting sites that are close to sources of food and water and because your attic is the right temperature and dry, it may be the perfect location. Bats will travel up to kilometer in search of a nesting location. If the noises created by bats are keeping you awake, there are many exclusion techniques found on google that are definitely do-it-yourself solutions, but first be advised that bats here in B.C. are a protected species. You will have to wait until the bats have left before closing off the entry points. It is also recommended that you be cautious around bats as they can carry rabies and that their feces can contain pathogens which can cause histoplasmosis.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca and exterminators Delta Ladner Tsawwassen Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-a-little-batty-in-your-attic-1.23452814
