Bug Blog
Going Batty – Bats in your Attic
Similar to all the wild life we have in Delta; our local bats also look for comfy places that are quiet and near their food. So let’s add bats to the list of creators that like to use our attics as home, which include: rats, mice, raccoons, squirrels and a host of insects. The problem with owls is that they can be noisy, they may roost in large numbers, their guano (feces) can mark ceilings and grow fungus that causes respiratory infections, and of course they attract other pests. So if you want to intervene you can take steps to keep these horror show actors from occupying your attic. So all you have to do is look up. Inspect the roof, soffits, fascia and air vents for holes, cracks and spaces in tight corners of your roof. Also check for torn screens in ventilation screens (a favorite entry point for squirrels). Believe it or not, bats can get into spaces that mice have a hard time getting into; as they can contort their bodies in order to squeeze through openings as small as 1.5 cm. They like to be at least 2.5 meters off the ground. Bats do not have the ability to gnaw or chew their way through boards and drywall. Capping your chimney is also a good idea as they like to roost there as well, plus this will eliminate other birds, rats and squirrels from accessing your house. If you already have bats in your attic, do-it-yourself bat repellents don’t work so call a pro in as these creatures are a protected species.
go green pest control.ca Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-going-batty-bats-in-your-attic-1.23311210
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/going-batty-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Summer Travel without Bedbugs
Spring and summer brings with it perfect prospects for a nomadic life. Regrettably, some dwellings might set you up for an evil time once you get home and unpack your travel gear. Bedbugs, yes bedbugs – not an easy thing to spot even for a pro like me when you’re staying at a hotel, motel or a b&b. If your accommodations have a bedbug or bedbugs, it’s likely that you won’t know until the following morning or once you get home. These insects come out at night and head right for your carbon dioxide, sweat and heat from your body or otherwise directly at your head and torso. Over 95% of bedbugs spend their days waiting hidden away at the top of the mattress, headboard or around the general area of the head of the bed. They’ll also instinctively know that if they get into your luggage, that they have a very good chance of starting a new colony in YOUR home. But hotel beds and the like aren’t the only places you can pick-up a bedbug, they are also waiting in libraries, school classroom, a doctor’s office, a hotel lobby, a taxi or on the guy that comes to fix your dishwasher. Because they can endure for months without a bloodbath, almost like they were hibernating, they wait until a well-timed opportunity to hitchhike a lift on your suitcase or belongings. So, it’s a noble notion to check your vacation room before unpacking your gear and rechecking it again when you get home. Some pre-emptive guidelines to keep in mind when travelling:
1) Look under the bed sheets for tiny red-brown or black spots, this is their feces
2) Look under the mattress and box spring as bed bugs like to hang out together.
3) Once you get home remove all of your belongings and inspect for bed bugs, then throw all your clothing in the washing machine and dryer at high heat.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/summer-travel-without-bed-bugs-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-summer-travel-without-bedbugs-1.23310345
Fleas and your Pets
The cat flea is the most common flea found here in Delta and the country for that matter. When fleas get into your house on the back sides of your cat or dog, they will target you as well, causing itchy bites as they feed on blood. Fleas can go without a blood meal for a long time, so if you thought a good way to get rid of them is to starve them without access to a dog, cat or yourself, then you will have a very long wait of over 4 months. However, the females can’t reproduce until they’ve had a blood banquet – but once she has then she will lay her eggs within one or two days. Once she begins laying eggs, she is capable of laying over a 1000 eggs. The eggs only hatch when the conditions are just right, the warmer the better. Fleas can jump as high as 22 cm off the ground. Once they’ve latched onto your cat or dog they rarely leave unless they are killed off or decide to leave themselves. Fleas are a nuisance pest that can spread diseases and cause worms in animals. Go green pest control.ca can inspect your home for fleas, identify the treatment areas and do what necessary to eradicate them at every stage of their life.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fleas-your-pets-randy-bilesky/?published=t
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
Soil Saving Composting – the good the bad and the ugly
Everybody wants to do it, but most people are unable to do it right, composting is a brilliant way to dispose of waste (garden and kitchen), is odor-free, generates garden soil essences and will not entice vermin like rats and mice. Here in Delta, the city sells Delta’s Backyard Composter Program and Soil Saver composters for $35 but just buying one doesn’t ensure that you will become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Once you have set-up and are using one of these composters there are many things that can go wrong. If you discover rats looking for a free meal near your composter, you aren’t doing it right. The things that make composting a foul buffet for vermin is not taking care of your compost, too many fats, meat, dairy and moisture in your pile. It all comes down to controlling the moisture levels, which is the key to effective and sanitary composting: too much green waste and the compost pile can get wet. When moisture levels rise past 75 percent, the oxygen is displaced and generates an environment for anaerobic metabolism (energy in the absence of oxygen). The by-product of this anaerobic process is carbon-based acids that smell like rotting food and this attracts the neighborhood rodents. You need to break up the compost materials to let the oxygen flow which means a ratio of one part green organic waste (kitchen scraps) to two parts brown carbon producing waste like leaves or manure. The perfect composing moisture content is 55% which can be achieved with the 1:2 ratio of green to brown. The best brown waste is horse manure because it has a lot of frothy carbons that create the proper ventilation, its high nitrogen materials and lots of bacteria that are perfect for composting.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner tsawwassen B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/soil-saving-comp…bad-and-the-ugly/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/soil-saving-composting-good-bad-ugly-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Wasps and Victoria Day Long Weekend
This Victoria Day Long Weekend will be a good time to spend with family and friends and of course a couple barbeques, but our recent hot weather has brought out the mosquitos and wasps. Wasp nests and the sheer number of the wasp population have begun to grow rapidly and your BBQ might be wooing calamity. Here are a few hints so that you and your guests don’t get stung. Wasps will think you are a target if you bathe with strong-smelling soap or use perfume. They also love textured clothing, especially of the black variety. Wasps only need an access point the diameter of a pencil in order to get in and start construction in your walls or attic. If you find wasps in the ground all you need to do is water the troublesome area for a couple days. If your pride and joy – your lawn, attracts wasps yearly, just water your lawn daily in early spring. Here is a quirky solution I’ve used to keep away the wasps, make garlic tea -simply put a ½ litre water and a garlic head into a pot and microwave them for 3 minutes. Once cooled down, remove the garlic and pour the water into a spray bottle then go ahead and spray all the areas you will be entertaining your guests outside. To avoid wasps and their stingers in the Delta area this Victoria Day long Weekend, contact go green pest control.ca today to schedule an inspection.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wasps-victoria-day-long-weekend-randy-bilesky/?published=t
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/wasps-and-victor…day-long-weekend/
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-dealing-with-wasps-this-victoria-day-long-weekend-1.23304261
Rats and Mice – Do’s and Don’ts
You woke up because there was scratching noises coming from the ceiling of your bedroom, in the middle of the night. There are not many things worse than finding out that rodents are in your house, yet you can’t figure how they are getting in and what kind of mess they are leaving. Here are couple ways to guard your house from rodent invasion this late spring and summer. I will start with the things that actually work. Begin by removing all garbage, firewood and food (dog and cat food) from the outside of your house. Act fast once you have discovered rodents in your house, they reproduce quickly and grow fast. Use gloves when cleaning up feces and urine from rodents. Also use gloves when handling poisonous rodenticide bait and bait stations, and keep these baits away from children and pets. Okay now the don’ts. Don’t assume that there is only one rodent in your house, so if you kill one keep tying as there is likely more. When using rodenticide baits, always put them outside, in Tier 1 lockable bait stations. Don’t over bait snap traps and use snap trap baits (peanut butter, bacon and ketchup) that are high in protein and fat content. And finally don’t waste your money on ultrasonic rodent repellers, even if people say they work – which they don’t, the rodents will just stay away from the immediate area where the repellers are plugged in.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rats-mice-dos-donts-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Garbage Bees- A new colony begins NOW!
In these warmer days of spring, a queen wasp emerges from its winter hibernation. The number one priority is to find suitable locations to build new nest, likely near the location that she was born. The new queen lays both queen eggs and drone eggs and by the end of the wasp season she will have laid as many as 1,000 new queens for the next year. She makes a small nest to begin her new colony until new workers take over foraging and taking care of her. She must search for food to feed her first worker larvae. If you notice an enormous numbers of wasps near your home or garden then it is likely that there is a nest nearby. A wasp nest in summer/autumn can contain many thousands of wasps. Wasps “generally” do not attack or sting unless they feel threatened, harmed or you are close to their nest. When they do attack, wasps and hornets are aggressive and will sting repeatedly. Wasps’ behaviour will change in late summer as their need for more protein increases, therefore this is when you are more likely encounter them. It is important to treat a wasp nest as soon as you see the new nest. Removing a wasp nest is a multifaceted procedure and necessitates professional help. To avoid the risk of painful wasp stings and allergic reactions, go green pest control.ca strongly advises you not to try to remove a wasp nest yourself. Remember, treating a wasp nest can result in serious injury to yourself or others if you incite a wasp riot.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. randy Bilesky BsF CPA gogreenenvironmental.ca
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/garbage-bees-a-n…olony-begins-now/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/garbage-bees-new-colony-begins-now-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-wasps-sting-repeatedly-during-an-attack-1.23298850
RCTWCS – Rodent chewed through wire covering Syndrome
The latest generation of rats – Gen Alpha loves soy-based wiring of newer vehicles. Rats that are seeking shelter discover a vehicle engine compartment is exactly what they are looking for, and then, they find the soy based wiring. Why soy, well it is environmentally commendable, as car manufactures are trying to be greener. Soy-based wire coating is only one of the many natural products used, such as sisal and flax for insulation and seat cushions made from coconut shell materials. Rats chew through wires in vehicles for nesting materials and to sharpen their teeth. Rats chewing through wires can cause problems from the vehicle not starting, to running poorly – with the check-engine light on, as well, rats nesting materials could even start a fire when exposed wires get hot. This type of damage isn’t covered under warranty and some insurance companies may only cover the damage if owners pay the deductible. People try moth balls or pepper spray in the engine compartment but the fumes can be unhealthy. Alternatives included peppermint oil, rodent repellents, copper screens and capsicum electrical tape. One of the best ways to reduce rodent damage is to reduce the number of rats in your area. Keep tight fitting lids on your garbage cans, don’t leave your pets food or water outdoors, clean up their feces, keep garages clean, get rid of bird feeders or at least keep the ground below them clean and finally remove wood piles and ivy from buildings. Give us a call at go green pest control.ca, I guarantee our work will cost a lot less than the mechanics bills and all the inconveniences that come along with rogue rodent activities.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca gogreenenvironmental.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/rctwcs-rodent-ch…overing-syndrome/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rctwcs-rodent-chewed-through-wire-covering-syndrome-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Pavement Ants, Again!
Although these little ants live inside, they get their name because they spend most of their lives under cracks in pavement, bricks and pavement stone. Pavement ant nests can be as large as 5,000 participants and have numerous queens. These pesky ants will eat virtually everything, including other ants, insects, grease, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts, cheese and plastic. This ant gets its name because it most commonly nests in soil under slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways but can be found indoors in the foundation and walls of your house. The pavement ant can sometimes be confused with the grease ant that lives year around indoors and is a little smaller than the pavement ant. To help rid yourself of these freeloaders: eliminate standing water as insects like the pavement ant and mosquitoes are attracted to moisture. Keep tree branches and other shrubs away from the house. Check to see if there are cracks or openings around the bottom of your structures and seal them with chalking. Firewood and debris should not be stored up against your house. Ants love wet stacks of wood. If your ants are worrying you, give us a call at go green pest control and we will have a trained technician come out and put the boot down on your pests.
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/pavement-ants-again/ gogreenpestcontrol.ca gogreenenvironmental.ca
Tsawwassen Delta Ladner Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pavement-ants-again-randy-bilesky/?published=t
