Bug Blog
Randy Bilesky talks to CBC, City News and The Weather Network about the recent SPIDER APOCALYPSE
Pest control specialist Randy Bilesky, owner of Go Green Pest Control and Exterminators has seen a 50 per cent increase in calls to his service this season over last.
“People panic … we get the phone call after someone has walked through a spider web,” said Bilesky. “They are sure it’s still in their hair, especially if it is one of the big hobo spiders.” Spider season is usually over by the end of September. But the long, warm summer has these uninvited guests overstaying a barely-there welcome, says Bilesky — and getting bigger in the process, he adds. “Spiders are huge right now, larger than I’ve ever seen before,” said Bilesky, who partly attributes their growth to climate change. “The spiders get a jump on summer by having a warmer spring and in fall the weather stays warmer longer, so they grow larger because there are more insects out there.” ‘Little feet running across the room’ The giant house spider and its relative the hobo spider are common throughout B.C. They are typically brown with a chevron pattern on their abdomen with a leg span that might seem, to some, like it’s a metre wide — but is actually closer to eight centimetres. Prevention before extermination: But Randy Bilesky, owner and specialist exterminator with Go Green Pest Control, is seeing plenty of fear right now. His company has had 39 calls so far this season, compared with 26 last year. And while his first step is to caution his clients on prevention — like filling cracks in ceilings and baseboards, and keeping doors and windows closed — all he hears from the front steps of his petrified clients’ homes is fear. “I usually get the blank look [that says], ‘I prefer something that’s going to kill them now. Or yesterday.'”
It’s not your imagination, spiders are getting bigger
It’s not your imagination, spiders are getting bigger
Pest control specialist Randy Bilesky has seen a 50 per cent increase in calls to his service this season over last.
“People panic … we get the phone call after someone has walked through a spider web,” said Bilesky. “They are sure it’s still in their hair, especially if it is one of the big hobo spiders.”
Spider season is usually over by the end of September. But the long, warm summer has these uninvited guests overstaying a barely-there welcome, says Bilesky — and getting bigger in the process, he adds.
“Spiders are huge right now, larger than I’ve ever seen before,” said Bilesky, who partly attributes their growth to climate change.
“The spiders get a jump on summer by having a warmer spring and in fall the weather stays warmer longer, so they grow larger because there are more insects out there.”
The giant house spider and its relative the hobo spider are common throughout B.C.
They are typically brown with a chevron pattern on their abdomen with a leg span that might seem, to some, like it’s a metre wide — but is actually closer to eight centimetres.
Arachnologist Catherine Scott, pictured with a black widow, says there’s no need to kill spiders. Instead, they should be relocated to the great outdoors. (Sean McCann/SFU)
“They are quite hairy and they are really, really fast,” says arachnologist Catherine Scott. “You can actually hear their little feet running across the room.”
People typically see the creepy crawlers in their homes in the fall because the males have left their web and are out searching for mates.
The likelihood one is within a few feet of you right now is high. But Scott says fear not — these spiders are completely harmless, and are actually good for your home because they eat other pesky insects like mosquitoes and flies.
“Spiders don’t come into your bed at night and bite you, that’s not a thing they do,” she said.
But Bilesky, an exterminator with Go Green Pest Control, is seeing plenty of fear right now. His company has had 39 calls so far this season, compared with 26 last year.
And while his first step is to caution his clients on prevention — like filling cracks in ceilings and baseboards, and keeping doors and windows closed — all he hears from the front steps of his petrified clients’ homes is fear.
“I usually get the blank look [that says], ‘I prefer something that’s going to kill them now. Or yesterday.'”
For the less squeamish, Scott advocates relocating the arachnids with what she calls the cup-and-card technique, where you put a glass over the spider, then slip a paper underneath it and deliver it back into the wild.
TERRIFIED TO TALK SPIDERS
We’ll soon see fewer creepy-crawlies trying to scare the daylights out of us, as the first frost spells the end of another spider season.
Going Squirrelly?
Yes, squirrels are just large rats with fuzzy tails, or are they? Unlike their cousins the rat, squirrels are not a nocturnal creature, spending the daylight hours collecting seeds and nuts, and avoiding predators. They seem relatively harmless until it’s your attic that they are looking to get into. Like everyone else, the first thing people do when squirrels are running around your attic is to google the issue and seek the cheapest way to get the squirrels out. Short of doing an exclusion on the roof it so much easier to by a live trap and hope to move the squirrelly fur-balls away. A popular idea is to use peanut butter in a live trap to lure in a squirrel. Although this does work, squirrels are very excitable and can easily injure themselves in the cage. Squirrels are used to flying through trees using branches like a gymnast in an aerial rope act. Often they will continue to run into the ends of the cage not understanding that they are trapped. Then when you release the poor squirrel in a nearby forested area, you may not realize that you’ve just released a new squirrel into a pre-occupied squirrel territory. So before taking matters into your own hands, try something as simple as using a visual deterrent first. Place a plastic owl, dog, cats, eagle or hawk in areas where squirrels are causing an issue and don’t forget to move them around before the squirrel figures it out that the plastic predator isn’t real.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/going-squirrelly-randy-bilesky/?published=t
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
Insect Armageddon
Around the globe there is a significant change in populations’ of butterflies, bees, beetles, and other insects and arthropods (invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton). Many people tend to think of animals as four legged creatures, but there are over a million species of insects that are the dominant form of animal kingdom. Too many of us (pest control), we have the good riddance mentality with the reduction of insects: less infestations, bites, stings, disease, and crop loss but scientists wager there are many times more insects out there performing roles that make life possible. Insects are the silent champions of most ecosystems, pollinating plants, breaking-down dead stuff, controlling weeds and providing food for other animals. First, in the 1990s, pollinators (bees) began to disappear, in 2006 moth populations declined, 2010 firefly lights began to puff-out, 2014 there was a 35 percent drop in the quantity of insects, 2017 saw a reduction of 75 percent in insect biomass in some areas, and finally this last year saw a reduction in the number of monarch butterflies sightings. Many scientists believe that specific insect population numbers are dying out rather than this being an overall trend. Reasons for this trend can be blamed on insecticides, loss of habitat and climate change.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
Halloween – Creepy, Crawly, Spooky and Scary
It’s no wonder that Halloween haunted houses are decorated with phony rats, neoprene bats, elastic spiders and sinewy spider webs – they are all creepy, crawly, spooky and scary. Imagine having these vexations in your home can be a real live nightmare – and unlike the Halloween adornments, real pests are well entrenched long after Halloween is over. Autumn is a prime season for pest infestations as spiders, ants, moths, silverfish, mice, rats and squirrels seek shelter from cooler wet weather. The image of a spider building a web in your bathroom, a bat flying around your living room, or silverfish swimming across your kitchen floor is all you need to qualify your house as haunted. Halloween is an annual celebration of all things gully, plastic spiders and fake cobwebs are meant to be startling, and it is real life pests that can cause bad dreams when they occupy your home. Here are some tips for preventing a pest from turning your house into a 24/7 365 house of horror. Seal cracks and crevices around the outside of your home, particularly where utilities enter your home. Keep your house clean and all food neatly stored away. Keep all landscaping and clutter at least 30 centimeters away from the perimeter of your house. Keep your garbage cans well sealed. If you see signs of an infestation in your home, contact us at gogreenpestcontrol.ca.
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/halloween-creepy…spooky-and-scary/
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Delta Ladner tsawwassen B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
When will Spider Season Reign End
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/spiders-bigger-and-more-numerous-this-fall-1.4880720
‘People panic:’ Expert says massive spider season upon us
CBC Meteorologist predicts when this season’s frightful reign will end
Cathy Kearney · CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2018 1:00 PM PT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago
Larger than normal hobo spiders have been seen darting around rooms and getting caught in people’s hair in Metro Vancouver this fall. (Sam McCann/SFU)
12 comments
It isn’t just your imagination. Scary sightings of larger-than-usual spiders are on the rise in Metro Vancouver this fall.
Pest control specialist Randy Bilesky has seen a 50-per-cent increase in calls to his service this season over last.
“People panic … we get the phone call after someone has walked through a spider web,” said Bilesky. “They are sure it’s still in their hair, especially if it is one of the big hobo spiders.”
Spider season is usually over by the end of September. But the long, warm summer has these uninvited guests overstaying a barely-there welcome, says Bilesky.
“Spiders are huge right now, larger than I’ve ever seen before,” he said.
The giant house spider, also known as the wolf spider, and its relative the hobo spider are common in Metro Vancouver and throughout B.C.
They are typically brown with a chevron pattern on their abdomen with a leg span that might seem, to some, like it’s a metre wide, but is actually closer to eight centimetres.
Arachnologist Catherine Scott says there’s no need to kill spiders. Instead, they should be relocated to the great outdoors. (Sam McCann/SFU)
“They are quite hairy and they are really, really fast,” says arachnologist Catherine Scott. “You can actually hear their little feet running across the room.”
People typically see the creepy crawlers in their homes in the fall because the males have left their web and are out searching for mates.The likelihood one is within a few feet of you right now is high. But Scott says fear not, these spiders are completely harmless, and are actually good for your home because they eat other pesky insects like mosquitoes and flies.
“Spiders don’t come into your bed at night and bite you, that’s not a thing they do,” she said.
But Bilesky, an exterminator with Go Green Pest Control, is seeing plenty of fear right now. His company has had 39 calls so far this season, compared with 26 last year.
And while his first step is to caution his clients on prevention — like filling cracks in ceilings and baseboards, and keeping doors and windows closed — all he hears from the front steps of his petrified client’s homes is fear.
“I usually get the blank look [that says] ‘I prefer something that’s going to kill them now. Or yesterday.'”
For the less squeamish, Scott advocates relocating the hairy behemoths with what she calls the cup-and-card technique, where you put a glass over the spider, then slip a paper underneath it and deliver it back into the wild.
Terrified to talk spiders
We’ll soon see fewer creepy-crawlies trying to scare the daylights out of us, as the first frost spells the end of another spider season.
CBC Meteorologist and scaredy-cat Johanna Wagstaffe said she’s too terrified to discuss spiders, but predicts their reign will end when that first frost arrives in early November.
‘People panic:’ Expert says massive spider season upon us
CBC Meteorologist predicts when this season’s frightful reign will end
Cathy Kearney · CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2018
Larger than normal hobo spiders have been seen darting around rooms and getting caught in people’s hair in Metro Vancouver this fall. (Sam McCann/SFU)
12 comments
It isn’t just your imagination. Scary sightings of larger-than-usual spiders are on the rise in Metro Vancouver this fall.
Pest control specialist Randy Bilesky, owner of Go Green pest Control & Exterminators, has seen a 50-per-cent increase in calls to his service this season over last.
“People panic … we get the phone call after someone has walked through a spider web,” said Bilesky. “They are sure it’s still in their hair, especially if it is one of the big hobo spiders.”
Spider season is usually over by the end of September. But the long, warm summer has these uninvited guests overstaying a barely-there welcome, says Bilesky.
“Spiders are huge right now, larger than I’ve ever seen before,” he said.
The giant house spider, also known as the wolf spider, and its relative the hobo spider are common in Metro Vancouver and throughout B.C.
They are typically brown with a chevron pattern on their abdomen with a leg span that might seem, to some, like it’s a metre wide, but is actually closer to eight centimetres.
Arachnologist Catherine Scott says there’s no need to kill spiders. Instead, they should be relocated to the great outdoors. (Sam McCann/SFU)
“They are quite hairy and they are really, really fast,” says arachnologist Catherine Scott. “You can actually hear their little feet running across the room.”
People typically see the creepy crawlers in their homes in the fall because the males have left their web and are out searching for mates.
The likelihood one is within a few feet of you right now is high. But Scott says fear not, these spiders are completely harmless, and are actually good for your home because they eat other pesky insects like mosquitoes and flies.
“Spiders don’t come into your bed at night and bite you, that’s not a thing they do,” she said.
But Bilesky, an exterminator with Go Green Pest Control, is seeing plenty of fear right now. His company has had 39 calls so far this season, compared with 26 last year.
And while his first step is to caution his clients on prevention — like filling cracks in ceilings and baseboards, and keeping doors and windows closed — all he hears from the front steps of his petrified client’s homes is fear.
“I usually get the blank look [that says] ‘I prefer something that’s going to kill them now. Or yesterday.'”
For the less squeamish, Scott advocates relocating the hairy behemoths with what she calls the cup-and-card technique, where you put a glass over the spider, then slip a paper underneath it and deliver it back into the wild.
We’ll soon see fewer creepy-crawlies trying to scare the daylights out of us, as the first frost spells the end of another spider season.
CBC Meteorologist and scaredy-cat Johanna Wagstaffe said she’s too terrified to discuss spiders, but predicts their reign will end when that first frost arrives in early November.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/people-panic-exp…r-season-upon-us/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/people-panic-expert-says-massive-spider-season-upon-us-randy-bilesky/?published=t
Bees, Bumblebees and winter vacations
Although bumble bees are thought to be the big brother to honey bees, their winter behavior and their protection devices are not. A colony of honey bees will keep their nest warm and safe throughout the winter, although smaller than a summer colony. They eat and work all winter long using up a large supply of stored food. Bumblebees, on the other hand are very similar to wasps and hornets, only newly mated queens survive by hibernating over winter. In the spring, both bees and bumble bees begin to pollinate flowers and rebuild their colonies. But, did you know that not all bees die after stinging? There are several varieties of bees including honey bees, bumble bees and carpenter bees that all sting when threatened. All stinging bees are females because the stinger is actually an altered ovipositor (transmitting eggs, preparing a place for it, and placing it properly). Bumblebees and carpenter bees have smooth barbless stingers similar to wasps and hornets, and are capable of stinging multiple times without dying. But for honey bees, using their barbed stinger is a one time event. The barbed sting gets stuck in the victim and when the bee flies away it effectively disembowel itself causing it to die. Once the barbed sting is detached it continues to pump venom into their victim. A non-allergic 160 lb person can tolerate over a 1000 stings. The bee’s sting is caused by an acidic compound in their venom called and the swelling is caused by histamines.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & Exterminators Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/bees-bumblebees-…winter-vacations/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bees-bumble-winter-vacations-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-bees-bumblebees-and-winter-vacations-1.23479902
Jack-o-lantern and rodents –Trick’em or Treat’em
Well we are bearing done on Halloween now and if you haven’t purchased your pumpkins yet – you best get on it. This year’s crop of pumpkins seems to be plentiful yet the prices seem to be higher than ever. Okay enough of that – carve up your pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern and you are done – nope. You may have forgotten about our furry friends – the rodents: hairy, scary and very hungry. Once one of the many ground dwelling pumpkin eaters get a hold of your masterpiece(s), all your creative work may lay in ruins. Skunks, squirrels, rats and mice are always looking for a quick prepared meal once the coast is clear. Here are a few tricks to protect the fruits of your labor from these creatures.
1) Get into your Halloween costume, stay still until one of the hooligans approach and scream BOO, this will work on rodents as well as trick or treaters.
2) Mix cayenne pepper with water, load up a sprayer and spray the area around the jack-o-lanterns.
3) Windex and Pledge: first spray with Windex, then Pledge.
4) Peppermint or Garlic Spray, google the recipe to make your own, again spray the pumpkins.
5) Spray vinegar on the pumpkins, I recommend pineapple vinegar – smells great.
6) Deer repellent, although very expensive this works well until the rain washes it away.
7) Blood meal, apparently squirrels don’t like this garden fertilizer.
8) Put mirrors around your pumpkin creations, most rodents are tricked by their reflection and will run away.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca & exterminators, Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/jack-o-lantern-a…ickem-or-treatem/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jack-o-lantern-rodents-trickem-treatem-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-jack-o-lantern-and-rodents-trick-em-or-treat-em-1.23478098
How do Ants Communicate?
How do ants communicate, first we must ask, why do they crawl in lines? Ants use pheromones (a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal or an insect, affecting the behavior or physiology of others of its species) to communicate with one another. A worker ant that leaves the nest to hunt for food will leave a path of pheromones for other ants to track. If a foraging ant finds food and returns back to the nest, it leaves a stream of pheromones. Fellow worker ants pick up on the pheromone and use the same path to find the food. When the next ants retrieve more food they also leave new pheromones, making the collective quantity of pheromones stronger and more prominent to even a greater number of foraging ants. If any ants encounter problems on the route they will leave panic pheromone which tells their fellow workers that there is a problem on the pipeline, be it death or injury. Ants will also communicate by bumping into each other!
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/how-do-ants-communicate/
gogreenpestcontrol.ca and exterminators Delta Tsawwassen Ladner B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-ants-communicate-randy-bilesky/?published=t
https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-how-do-ants-communicate-1.23475409
