In August and September stinging insect activity increases dramatically. This is due to tiny colonies started by 1 queen in spring, growing and building to their maximum size this time of year. Below are pictures of a underground Yellowjacket hive a technician treated this morning.
With stinging insect activity increasing, we are offering a $15 discount to local customers for our stinging insect services. Make sure to mention the discount when you call for service!
920-348-6010, info@terminatorpc.com
(Cambria, Randolph, Friesland, Fox Lake, Beaver Dam, Waupun)
Photos: Austen Rohda
Catchmaster PRO
July 17 at 7:03 AM ·
Not all mosquitoes are created equal! Here’s a quick, shareable graphic to help you understand the different stages of some of the most common mosquitoes. Learn more about our mosquito management tools here: https://bit.ly/2WDjAqW
This morning one of our technicians found and removed an inactive Bald-faced hornets nest from a new property. Bald-faced hornets are not your typical stinging insects!
Bald-faced hornets are social insects, although not true hornets, and are most visibly active during the day. colonies of bald-faced hornets may contain between 100 and 400 members at their peak. Bald-faced hornets build paper carton nests in the area of the queen’s choosing, typically at least three or more feet off of the ground, and usually in trees, shrubs, on overhangs, utility poles, houses, sheds or other structures. These nests can be as large as 14 inches in diameter and more than 24 inches in length!
Unlike other stinging insects, bald-faced hornets do not reuse their nests season after season—the new members will rebuild them each time from new materials.
Bald-faced hornets are aggressive and will attack anyone or anything that invades their space, unlike other stinging insects that may only rarely sting when they feel extremely threatened. This makes bald-faced hornet removal, which should be left to a professional for safety, somewhat difficult. These hornets have smooth stingers, so they can sting over and over again, whereas other stinging insects, like honeybees, are only able to attack once before their stinger falls off.
https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/stinging-insects/bald-faced-hornets
Photos: Alexandra Grage
Learning Time: Mice Edition
*Mice can fit into a gap that is the size of a pencil or 1/4 inch!
*Why do mice chew on anything and everything they can? Because their teeth never stop growing, meaning they need to constantly grind them down.
*Female mice can birth up to 15 liters in one year. While being able to get pregnant again just 24 hours after giving birth.
*Mice that have been studied have been shown to visit up to 30 different food sites on an average night. Sampling a little bit of everything along the way.
*All that eating somehow turns into up to 70 bathroom breaks (#2) a day!
*It is estimated that 21,000,000 homes in the United States are visited by mice between October and February.
Well, I'm off to check my house with a pencil, if you don't want to end up a part of the 21 million homes or think your lovely house might be at risk for invasion, give us a call at 920-348-6010 and let the professionals handle the dirty work.
Like and Share this post to learn about rats next!!
Although the snow here has been kind enough to hold off, don't expect the same kindness from those sneaky rodents. The cold is not the only thing trying to creep into your house, so give us a call today at 920-348-6010 for an evaluation and quote and let the professionals make sure your home stays pest free!
Learning Time!
Ekbom Syndrome/Delusional Parasitosis
One of the most fascinating things we have come across while working in the Pest Control Industry is a condition called Ekbom Syndrome or Delusional Parasitosis. This is a mental condition in which individuals have a persistent belief that they are infested with living or nonliving pathogens such as parasites, worms, mites, bacteria, fungus, or other bugs, when no such infestation is present. Along with this belief, they usually report tactile hallucinations know as ‘formication’, a sensation resembling insects crawling on or under the skin. Another form of this illness is called delusory cleptoparasitosis, where the person believes the infestation is in their dwelling, rather than on or in their body.
Ekbom Syndrome/Delusional Parasitosis is classified as a delusional disorder, and although the cause is unknown to medical professionals, it is thought to be related to excess dopamine in the brain. This condition is usually diagnosed when the delusion is the only symptom, it cannot be better explained by another condition and has lasted a month or longer.
This condition is rare and is observed twice as often in women than men with the average age of people with the disorder being 57 years old. Most dermatologists will see at least one person with Ekbom Syndrome/Delusional Parasitosis during their career, which makes you wonder how many people are not seeking treatment with this illness.
We at Terminator have encountered multiple situations like this in the nearly 30 years we've been doing business. Most cases that we have dealt with are on the mild end of the spectrum, and usually brought on after having encountered an actual pest related situation (stayed at a hotel that had bed bugs, have a pet with fleas, knows a friend/family member with an infestation, etc.) We are usually presented with dozens or hundreds of specimens of the "bug" (usually just fuzz, skin, food crumbs and other debris) and pointing at every piece of lint or fuzz on their bed or furniture saying, "That's one right there!". If our inspection (or multiple inspections) does not find any pest evidence and we find no bugs when examining the specimens given to us, using our microscope, we do not make a pesticide application, no matter how much they insist.
These situations can be exceedingly difficult to handle as I am sure you can imagine... We have empathy for people that are dealing with this as it is very real to them. Many of them even claim to feel intense pain from the "stings" or "bites", have disposed of thousands of dollars’ worth of furniture, bedding, carpeting, etc. thinking it was all infested. In addition, some people douse their house and sometimes themselves with pesticides and other cleaning agents to eliminate the pests. They are persistent, almost demanding that we treat the house for the perceived pests. When we run into these situations, we explain to the person that we must see and identify the pest before we can develop a treatment strategy. No pest….no pesticides!
To learn more about this illness, here are a few links to explore:
https://ent.uga.edu/content/dam/caes-subsite/entomology/documents/publications/hinkle-publications/EkbomCurrPsychiatryRpts.pdf
https://npmapestworld.org/default/assets/File/Resource%20Center/NPMA%20Library%20Updates/2007%2003%20Delusory%20Parasitosis%20or%20Ekbom's%20Syndrome.pdf
NPMAPESTWORLD.ORG
npmapestworld.org
Thought we'd share some of the fun pictures from our Terminator Pest Control Christmas party! Remember, it's only fair that if you work hard, you play hard.
Would you rather be the bed bug or the cockroach pictured below? On the weekends, I'm a bed bug. 😴
Good Morning Facebook friends!
We are always looking to expand our reach into our local communities and help as many homes and businesses stay pest free as possible, so if you have a person or business in mind that could benefit from our services, send them our way and receive a $15.00 credit when they mention you told them about us!
If you have used our service and haven't had the chance to do so yet, click the link to leave a review and help others figure out who the best pest control professionals in town are!
Our Website: www.terminatorpc.com
Our Phone Number: 920-348-6010
Our Email: info@terminatorpc.com
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Learning Time: Pest Exclusion (eliminating entry ways for pests)
You will see in the pictures some exclusion work that our technicians have either noticed needs to be resolved or have been able to fix themselves. If you would like to learn more about what pest exclusion is and why it is important, keep reading!
Pest exclusion is an essential component of any pest management plan. No more blanketing a property with powerful chemicals to wipe out an infestation. Today, more people are choosing to apply the principles of IPM (Integrated Pest Management), a more holistic and healthy form of pest control that works with the biology, environment and natural life cycle of pests to help eliminate pest problems. One of the most important ingredients in IPM is known as ‘exclusion’. This is a preventative measure that involves sealing up areas of your building where pests are likely to enter. This essentially denies pests the ability to enter the structure in the first place.
Unfortunately, because insects and rodents are small and sneaky, many buildings are littered with cracks, holes and other entry points that make great doorways for pests. The first thing we do at Terminator Pest Control is thoroughly inspect the building for vulnerable areas and fix the problem wherever possible, or work on a plan with you to get the problem resolved.
If your building looks anything like the pictures posted, or you suspect you need some pest exclusion work, reach out to us at 920-348-6010 or info@terminatorpc.com and let your local pest professionals come fix the issue or help you figure out what needs to be done!
