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In this issue…
1. Cluster Flies
2.
Fruit Flies
3. Bedbugs
4.
Black Widow Spiders
5. Quick
Facts
...still more pests come to visit inside our homes during the colder months...
Often confused with the common House Fly, Cluster Flies are roughly the same size. Some characteristics do differentiate the Cluster Fly from the House Fly: they fly somewhat more slowly than the House Fly, they almost always fly toward windows on the warm side of a structure and their wings overlap almost completely when at rest.
Cluster Flies breed in the ground outside of buildings during the warm weather (late Spring into early Summer) using earthworms as a food source for the immature larva (maggots). The flies later pupate (go into the cocoon stage), then hatch as adult flies. In temperate areas, often in late August, these flies begins to migrate indoors finding any small cracks or crevices that permit entry into structures. These may include areas around window frames, doorframes or eaves. Entry tends to be on the same, warm, sunny side (often the southern or western exposure) of the structure as the flies later emerge from.
During the Fall, Winter or Spring months, these flies may emerge, particularly on warm, sunny days. The flies appear at windows buzzing and "clustering" around those areas to the dismay of the occupants. This fly can become a problem in virtually any structure and they have, on occasion, been a problem in sensitive areas such as hospitals, where they are especially unwelcome.
Cluster flies, face flies and blow flies are difficult to control once they have gained access to homes because they hibernate in wall voids and other inaccessible places. For best protection and treatment try these procedures:
1. Exclusion: Close and seal as many openings as possible through which the flies can enter. This procedure is time consuming and may require a dedicated long term effort. Window screens offer no protection from Cluster flies because they crawl into the home through small openings in the walls of the building. These same over wintering flies get into rooms during the winter and spring months entering through window pulley holes, around the baseboards and through other small openings in walls. A thorough inspection for locating and eliminating all possible entry points is a must, but will not guarantee success.
2. Surface Spray: A professional pest control technician can apply a surface spray to surfaces in attics, basements, closets, store rooms and other areas where the flies congregate. These sprays also are effective if applied to the outside of the house in the fall when the flies collect in these areas before entering the home. The technician will pay special attention to the areas beneath the eaves and around the windows and other areas where flies are likely to seek entry.
3. Crack and Crevice Treatment: Your pest control technician can treat cracks and crevices to compliment the surface spray. This method is only necessary if there are areas to be treated that cannot be fully treated with a surface spray.
Fruit flies are small, red-eyed, 1/4 inch long flies commonly associated with overripe and fermenting fruits and vegetables. However, fruit need not be present to have fruit flies, as they can originate from other sources.
Fruit flies can reproduce anywhere there is fermenting organic matter that stays consistently wet or moist. Like other flies, the fruit flies develop from larvae, and fruit fly larvae must have moist, fermenting organic matter in order to survive. The most likely of such sites in the home is a slow-moving or seldom-used sink, bathtub, shower, or floor drain in which a layer of slime (gelatinous film) has built up above the water line. Other moist accumulations of fermenting organic matter are possible and should be considered. These include wet areas under dripping pipes and refrigeration equipment, garbage containers, and discarded bottles and cans. Regardless of where the flies originate, they will be seen at windows and at sinks, as they are attracted to light and to moisture. Another source may be from nearby produce fields where melon and other fruits or vegetables are left rotting.
Fruit flies are best controlled by locating and eliminating the source of the infestation. Persistent presence of fruit fly adults indicates the larvae are developing nearby. Fly breeding areas are occasionally very difficult to locate and perseverance and imagination will be required. Refer to the list of possible breeding sites given above. One way to check individual drains is to cover the drain with a plastic film (e.g., "Saran Wrap"®) taped to the floor or fixture. If the flies are breeding in that drain, the adults will accumulate underneath the film within a day or two. There's little you can do to treat the source if the source is a nearby crop and fruit flies are so small they can enter through and around window screens.
The most effective method to eliminate fruit flies developing in drains is to clean the inside of the drain pipe to eliminate the organic matter. Clean slow-moving drains with a stiff brush or other tool. Drains that cannot be scrubbed can be rinsed with water under high pressure or "sterilized" by slowly pouring boiling water down along the sides of the drain pipe. Another possibility is the use of a bacterial drain treatment that biodegrades the organic matter. Follow label directions carefully for best results. There is no benefit to treating drains with bleach or ammonia.
We have two types of Fruit Fly Traps available on our retail shelves. One type can be installed outside windows that remain open to trap flies before they move through the screen, the other traps them after they get in. Call or stop by for more information. We will deliver our products locally free of charge.
"Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." This old saying may be becoming newly relevant. Bedbugs, which feast on human blood at night, are biting back in developed countries around the world.
Travelers and immigrants have been widely blamed for reintroducing the parasites. "With nowhere in the world now more than a few days away, it is easy to see how infestations of these insects may suddenly appear almost anywhere," said the Pest Management Consultancy. The ban of DDT as a pesticide has also made it more difficult to treat infestations of bedbugs.
No bigger than an apple seed, the bedbug is descended from plant-feeding insects that evolved skin-piercing mouthparts for sucking up blood. They are thought to have first gotten a taste for human blood when cave-dwelling humans lived beneath bug-infested bat roosts.
Bedbugs are notoriously difficult to locate. They hide in mattresses and furniture, under floorboards, and even inside electrical equipment, emerging to feed only when it's dark. Adults can survive up to a year without blood, allowing infestations to persist through periods when properties are vacant.
Side effects of bedbug bites include itchy body swellings. In rare cases-usually involving people living in poverty-severe infestations may lead to severe blood loss, due to the volume of feeding by hundreds or even thousands of bedbugs. While studies have shown that HIV can survive on bedbugs' mouthparts for up to an hour, the insects are not known to be vectors for disease.
Treatment for bedbug infestation is not an easy matter and definitely one where professional pest control is a must! If you see signs of bedbugs, don't wait but call a professional immediately. Bedbugs will not go away on their own and the infestation will get worse rapidly.
At this time of year, spiders of all kinds start heading closer to your home to take refuge from the chill. Sometimes they manage to make it indoors, where you may come across them. There are some things you need to know about this pest that may clear up some misconceptions.
Spiders do not attack in herds. Spiders do not lay in wait and attack people. Spiders do not lift the covers at night and crawl into bed to bite people as they are sleeping. Some spiders can jump but they are not intentionally jumping at humans to attack them. A spider generally bites a human because it was scared and bites to defend itself. Spiders generally prefer to live in undisturbed areas such as corners of the house or the eaves or in the garden where they can catch insects in peace.
All spiders have some amount of venom with varying degrees of potency. The fangs of a spider are hollow. The venom is injected through the fangs into the victim (usually an insect). The venom will rapidly paralyze the victim and aid in digestion. Fortunately, most spiders are not dangerous to humans because their fangs are either too short or too fragile to penetrate human skin.
If a black widow spider bites a person, do not panic! No one in the United States has died from a black widow spider bite in over 10 years. Very often the black widow will not inject any venom into the bite and no serious symptoms develop. Wash the wound well with soap and water to help prevent infection.
This doesn't mean you should live in comfort alongside black widows, or any other spider for that matter, that have moved in for the winter. Contact a pest control professional, who can target areas of your house that he knows these pests prefer. You'll sleep like a bear all winter!
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