A word about "good bugs" - Ladybugs

Ladybugs, often called white waxy ladies:

When the waxy lady bug is in the larvae stage, the larvae will devour several thousand immature scale insects. As an adult lady bug, the bug will eat many other harmful insects. Sometimes we do get a bit carried away and will eliminate beneficial insects along with the harmful insects. Lady bugs are very
easy to identify: they are usually black with two red spots n the wing covers. Sometimes there will be yellowish spots or stripes on their backs. I the spring, the waxy bugs will return to devour scale.
Wintering over in leaves and beneath bark liter the lady bug will truly help you. Please do not destroy them; there is no danger to your home! We can all remember those winter days when we get several consecutive days of above average temperatures. The warmth of the sun on the house, especially the south west sides of the house, will often cause the waxy lady bug to suddenly appear in incredible
numbers. Again don’t worry; there will be no damage to your home.

Now an interesting question: just where were those lady bugs? If you want you could take the frames of your doors off on the south west side: guess where the bugs have been living? Good guess: behind the frame!

BAGWORM ALERT, Anne Arundel County and Mid-Maryland

Now is the time to find bagworms! The bags start off as very small silken containers on the underside of the stems on the trees. Most often the bagworms infest Leyland Cypress, Japanese maple and spruce (all varieties). Good description; the bags look like small pine cones! The bags are very difficult to tear open: they are silk!

How do you deal with bagworms? Some people simply pull the bag off and drop
the bag into a container of soapy water. This is not the best way! When the bag
is pulled off, there is a thread of the silk that holds the bagworm on the branch
that is left behind. The silken thread will stay behind and will girdle the tip of the branch: this silk will cause the tip to die off! There are therefore two problems
caused by the bagworm: the foliage that is eaten by the worm (from now until
mid-August) and the silken thread that is left behind on the tip of the branch
that can girdle the tip and cause the tip to die off. If you are going to do the job
yourself you must cut the bag off with a knife or use shears. You should never
just pull the worm off of the branch. Then drop the bag into the soapy water!!
You will have to do this for several weeks as the bags will be of varying size and
will continue to increase in size. The best time to deal with bagworms has long
passed: a dormant oil spray applied in late winter or very early spring will keep
the worms at bay.

You will also need to clean up the area under the infected trees and dispose of
the debris. Well, just what do you do if the tree is large and heavily infected or
there are just too many trees for you to deal with? There are sprays available,
most use Bt, a bacteria spray harmless to pets and children. Tall trees or too
many infected trees to deal with? No sprayer? Or no sprayer strong enough?
Contact us for assistance, we can spray now and offer you a tree and shrub plan to prevent future problems.

Ode to the joys of spring... Ants!

Look around at the splendor of your world. Surrounded by the blooms, new leaves and fresh mowed grass; what else could you ask for? Of course there are other things that come with the territory called spring. New hope, abundance, fragrance, the great outdoors and last but not least: ants, ants and still more ants! Whoa here fella, what do you mean an abundance of ants? Don’t we just have about enough of our friends the mighty ant?

Well the answer is actually the other way; ants, pre-date us, outnumber us and out weight us! Additionally, if we are not clean in our living areas our dear friends, the ant, will outlast us! Here are a few ideas: ladies start your engines: clean all of your counters including the range! After you have finished do it again! Ants must have something to eat and the mighty ant will travel great lengths to get that needed food. Please don’t feed the lions, tigers, gorillas or ants!!! They outnumber us, outweigh us and have been around much longer than us!

Spring time is time for romance. When you see swarming ants a mating ritual older than time itself has begun. The males seek out the females within the swarm. After the mating has occurred the males begin the death ritual: they have done their duty and will be dead very soon. The fertilized female will find a tiny crevice or other hiding place. She will discard her wings, form a small cell and will lay a few eggs.
The eggs will hatch and ah Ha; white grubs appear (very small by the way). The queen will feed the grubs and as the grubs begin to grow the grub morphs into a worker ant. The worker ant forages for food (these are the ones in your home!)As the workers develop and more ants are hatched there will be new females and additional males: ah ha again: the swarm appears and off we go again. Good old queen will live 10-20 years on average producing eggs the entire time.

Please be careful in the treatment of ant invasions! Residential products may not be the best for you to use. Contact us for professional guidance!!

White Tail Deer and Ticks

Ticks in our area generally involve white tail deer. We are aware that the deer population is a burden to the environment and presents a variety of challenges. One of the more serious challenges is the proliferation of Lyme disease. Lyme disease has more than doubled in the last decade.

The tick in question is tiny and is transmitted by white tailed deer. Not sure about you but in my neighborhood the deer roam about as though they were curious children. Problem is however, that these children cause havoc to the landscaping and have the additional prize of carrying ticks. The ticks are very small and do fall off of the deer into the environment. Just walking through the area gives the tick the opportunity to latch onto a blood source: you or a pet, your children.

Just what do you do to help prevent the disease? One easy thing is to keep weeds and brush at an absolute minimum in height. Don’t provide a place for the tick to wait for its next meal.

Carefully inspect your clothing when you come inside. Check for ticks on your person. Obviously wear long sleeves and a hat. If bitten by a Lyme carrier the bite area will develop a circular rash that will continue to grow. Best advice: go to the Doctor and get a diagnosis. Treated early there will be little chance for developing Lyme’s. Do not be stubborn and presume the rash will go away. The resulting
disease is not pleasant. Long term debilitating issues can develop. Why take a chance? Contact us, we will get someone over to your home and deal with the tick situation.

Gypsy Moths

Early spring through mid to late May is the time frame for Gypsy moths. The moths emerge as caterpillars and feed on the tender leaves of hardwood trees. Severe infestations can and often do result in complete defoliation of trees, sometimes conifers. Trees can usually survive a defoliation of one season while conifers seldom survive defoliation.

Gypsy moths are very close to being the number one pest for leaf defoliation in the United States, costing in the area of $50 million per year in the eastern United States into Canada. We are right in the affected area. The caterpillars feed at night and start at the top of the trees and work downward.

The moths are very light and move easily in the air. However, female GM’s cannot fly. The caterpillars will continue to feed for about 8-12 weeks going through a molting phase 5 or 6 times. Be aware that a mature caterpillar can eat 1 square foot of leaves per day. At the conclusion of the feeding stage in late
June to early July the caterpillar will pupate into moths by late July. As moths the Gypsy moth does not eat but searches for a mate. Each female will lay a single buff colored egg mass consisting of 100-1000 eggs. The female cannot fly in spite of having large well developed wings.

Identifying the moths is relatively easy. As larvae, or caterpillars, the Gm is rather large with distinctive markings. At a size of 2 ½" with yellow marked black heads and having 5 pairs of blue bumps followed by 6 pair of red bumps down the back the moth is easy to identify as a caterpillar. The pupa of the moth will be found hanging upside down motionless, suspended in place with a few strands of silk.

Be on the lookout, especially if you have oak or ash trees. Contact us if you thing you have found the distinctive caterpillars on your trees. The next 6-12 weeks are critical. We can determine the type and will notify the appropriate agency. We can and do take corrective action.

Bed Bugs and Ethics

We have learned that BED BUGs are difficult to get rid of. Yes, dogs can be trained to sniff out almost anything including BED BUGS. As we guessed last week, in the story line of the Doonesbury comic strip, the professional pest control professional, using a dog to locate the BED GUGS, found the bugs! We were spared the detail of the actual method used to rid the home of the bugs. However, in the end
the professional pest exterminator had to make an ethical call: declare the home to be bed bug free or essentially warn the home owner to keep a look out for the re-emergence of the BED BUGS in the future.

Trudeau said it simply through the mind of the BED BUG sniffing dog: being careful not to declare the home to be BED BUG free. As the professional said: "Hope you're not expecting company." Ethics are a very large part of any business. Ethical practices by a business will help the business be successful.

If you have a BED BUG problem (or you are unsure) contact a professional and trained service company.

I know our company does a very good job in the eradication of pests, including BED BUGS! Can we guarantee the total eradication of BED BUGS? Simply answered: No. Can we be nearly 100% successful:
Yes.

Again, if you think there are BED BUGS present: Call a professional! The bugs reproduce too quickly for you to try to deal with the situation yourself.

BOGMAN : The Continued Story of Bed Bugs!

Wow! , isn’t it wonderful! Our canine friends can be trained to sniff out anything, even bed bugs.

Our creepy, crawly non–friends are resting comfortably under the covers on the bed when in walks
a bed bug sniffing dog! The dog finds the bed bugs and whistles to let others know he has found the
enemy! One bug says:”This can’t be good” and the other responds “scatter”. Tomorrow we will most
likely see a pest professional on the scene or perhaps on Sunday!

A marvelous week and a very well done, basically accurate portrayal of the situation that many people
are facing. George Washington University, yesterday (11/18) announced that there is a problem at the
University in the dorm(s). Good news: the problem is being addressed by professionals! Bad news:
the University elected not to say anything about the situation to anyone except the students directly
involved. According to the students interviewed it appears that the university sprayed for the Bed
Bugs. This prompts questions: did the University use other techniques to deal with the clothing in the
rooms? How about behind the baseboards(of course the rooms might not have baseboards) Were the
students instructed to subject their backpacks, shoes, their dressers and all of the clothing stored in the
dressers to high heat (around 160 degrees is needed) in dryers? A question from yesterday in the strip:
what happened to the hitch hiker BED BUG? If the clothing is taken out of an infected room that clothing
must be taken out in a closed bag and taken to: one, the dryer, or 2. Thrown out immediately in the
dumpster. Was the vacuum cleaner bag thrown out?

Lovely week, let’s see how Michael Doonesbury handles the BED BUGS tomorrow or perhaps for the
biggest audience Sunday.

BED BUGS! If you have them: call a professional as soon as you can.

BOG Man, The Continued Story of the Bed Bug

Today, in Doonesbury, the family is beginning to take corrective action with the infestation.

Just how do you deal with a bed bug invasion? How do you get control? Specifically, what steps are
necessary?

The big ‘two’ of the situation: simply put: how and what! If you have followed the story line of the bed
bugs this week, BOGMAN, has discussed the situation from a moralistic point, now we will discuss the
how and what of the situation.

Is it true that high heat will kill the bed bugs? The answer: YES. Well isn’t that just great! Do you think
you can turn up the heat in the house to around 170 degrees? Just how to you deal with the baseboards
(yes the BED BUGS will be behind the wood). How about the furniture? The mattresses, box springs?
BEDBUGS are very small and very hard to see plus there are many, many of them!

Back to Mike Doonesbury’s mom, BOGMAN thinks Mrs. Doonesbury is playing the part of the pest
control professional (at least so far she is text book in her approach). The strip is funny and on the
mark. The situation being described is typical and very accurate. We are left, in the last frame,
with two BEDBUGS speaking to each other as hitchhikers would probably do. The traveler, the
hitchhiker, is leaving on a blanket and says: “I’m off” and the second bed bug, on the sheets of the bed
responds: “Safe travels”. I sure hope, for the sake of the home that Mrs. D puts the blanket in a plastic
bag and seals the bag!

Ah yes, pre-historic pest are hard to deal with!! See you tomorrow!

For help and useful information visit www.bladesofgreen.com/PestControl

BOGMAN On Bed Bugs, Day Three

The morality of telling one’s neighbors that your place is infested with bed bugs must be met head on!

BOGMAN was speaking with a friend and asked the question: “Would you tell your neighbors that you
have bed bugs?”

She answered quite openly ‘No, I would not tell.” Why not: “Because I would be telling them that my
house is dirty! Everyone knows that bed bugs come from a dirty house, just like all other bugs.”

Is this true of BED BUGS? BOGMAN thinks not! Quite clearly BED BUG infestations come from other BED
BUGS that have been brought into the home. Bed Bugs are considered to be hitch hikers and arrive to
your home quite quietly on clothing, in book bags, in boxes and any other way to get a ride.

Bed Bugs do bite, but so far, are not shown to carry disease however the bites are ugly and irritating.

If you have very young children you must be vigilant and take quick action when you find bite marks on
your child.

Back to the question of the day: Should you tell your neighbors that you have a problem with bed bugs?

Tough to say, but you do have an ethical dilemma; face your neighbor before the bed bugs are
transferred from your home to their home or say nothing. Reverse the question: would you want to
know about bed bugs at your neighbor?

Take no chances: call a professional! Visit www.bladesofgreen.com/PestControl