Termite Season is Here! Are You Protected?

            It was a great sound to hear birds chirping outside of my house this morning.  The signs of spring are beginning all around us.  Not only does spring bring birds, blooms, and baseball, it also bring bothersome pests!  Many insects spend the winter in a state of hibernation and emerge as the temperatures warm up.  Once out of hibernation, it’s time to mate and produce new offspring for the season.  In the case of ants and termites, this can often be seen as a mating swarm, or reproductive flight.  We've already had calls about termite swarms.  Are you ready?

Social insects, such as ants and termites, are organized into various castes, with each group having a particular function.  Workers make up the largest group, and consist of only females.  The workers are the ants you see at your picnic or the termites you find when you break open a piece of old wood.  Another caste is the reproductives.  These are both male and female winged insects and include the “kings” and “queens” of future colonies.  At certain times of the year, one being the spring, these “reproductives” leave their nests all at the same time looking for a mate.  This emergence of large numbers at a time is called a “swarm”.  When a homeowner sees this occurrence inside the home, it can be very frightening. 

   

Should you be concerned if you see a swarm of insects?  Most swarms will occur outside.  However, if you see a swarm occurring inside, this means the insects’ nest is either in your home, underneath your home, or very close to the structure.  In the case of ants, if worker ants have not been a problem, then you may not have reason for high concern.  Most swarms only last about one day.  Using a vacuum to control the large numbers of insects will probably be sufficient.  In the case of termites, however, seeing an indoor swarm is almost always an indicator of an infestation.  If you suspect you have termites, it is best to let a professional termite or pest control company handle the treatment.  Try to collect some of the insects to allow the pest control expert to identify your pest.  

Swarming termites; photo courtesy of www.inspectamerica.com

 Prevention is always the best treatment.  Starting a year round pest control and termite prevention program will help make sure your home is protected.  Don’t wait for the swarm in your home.  Mid-Georgia Pest Control looks forward to serving you.  Call us today to learn about our pest control and termite prevention and treatment plans to serve your needs! 

Grayson office: (770)962-4240

Griffin office: (770)227-5161       

Travel Tips for Bed Bug Protection!

Last week, we shared some photos and information about bed bugs in a hotel.  It's hard to believe, but many spring break trips are right around the corner.  Do you know how to make sure your travel accommodations are bug free?  Whether you are staying at the cheapest dive you could find or a 5-star luxury hotel, you need to know what to look for.  Here's some tips to help you have a peace of mind while traveling:

• Check the room for bugs, fecal spots, skins, and eggs near where people sleep and sit.
• Pull back all bedding.  Inspect the mattress seams and along mattress piping.
• Look between the mattress and box springs.
• Check behind the headboards and pictures above the bed.
• Look along the baseboards.
• Inspect night stands or other furniture near the beds.
• Check in the seams and folds of curtains.
• Inspect the closet before hanging up any clothes.  
• Keep items in your suitcase, not in the drawers.
• Place your luggage on a rack, rather than the floor or bed.
• Examine luggage before leaving and again when you return home.
• Place all laundry in dryer for at least 15 minutes on highest setting possible and then wash as normal.
• Notify Guest Services if you find any evidence of bed bugs during your inspection!   

With a little inspection and wisdom, you can enjoy your trip without the worries of sharing your room with unwanted travel partners or bringing home some hitchhikers in your luggage!

Bed Bug Breakdown!

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!  Unfortunately, that's not a cute rhyme if you are really dealing with bed bugs.  We recently treated a hotel near the airport for bed bugs, and it was intense!

Treatment for bed bugs must be very thorough.  The entire room has to basically be turned upside down to perform a complete inspection and treatment.  All bedding was taken apart and furniture moved.  Every nook and cranny was treated including the bed frame, box spring, tufts of mattresses, behind the headboard, baseboard cracks and crevices, under the carpet tack board, switch covers, lamps, chairs, desks, light fixtures, and wallpaper crevices.  We used a variety of products including aerosols, dusts, insect growth regulators, and residual liquid treatments.  We treated a total of three rooms, and each room took around 1 1/2 hours to treat.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed exclusively on blood.  As their name suggests, they are commonly found in beds and bedding.  However, they can be found in any place that people occupy like chairs, sofas, movie theaters, etc.  Adult bed bugs are light to reddish brown in color and have a flattened, oval shape.  They are most active at night and generally feed on their host without being noticed.  Itchy welts may appear on exposed skin areas.  Other health effects from bed bugs include skin rashes and allergies as well as psychological effects.

In addition to bites, some signs of bed bugs are fecal spots, blood smears on the sheets or mattress, and empty molted exoskeletons. 

Encounter with Argentine Ants!

My two youngest sons and I were recently at a car wash vacuuming out all the damage a family of 6 can do to a van!  My 4 year old needs to visit the restroom, and unfortunately, it wasn't going to be a quick visit!  Once in the restroom, we start to notice something on the walls.  It was ants, and they were all over the bathroom!  Along the walls, in the sink, on the door, everywhere.  So, I'm trying to hurry my son along while trying to keep my 2 year old from leaning up against the walls or sitting all over the floor.  I certainly didn't want these ants to hitch a ride back to our van with us!  I did manage to have a little photo shoot with the ants.  We believe these were Argentine ants.




Ants in sink

Ant trail along the wall



Closeup of one of the trails

Argentine ants are native to Argentina, but have spread globally, especially in Mediterranean climates with mild winters and moderate to high humidity.  They prefer moisture rich locations and can be found in a variety of places such as shallow mounds in the ground, in cracks in concrete walls, under debris such as logs and mulch, and in decaying tree cavities.  They will often invade homes looking for food.  They are light to dark brown and small in size (2-3 mm).  Argentine ants travel in distinctive trails along sidewalks, up sides of buildings, along branches of trees, etc.  The ants in the restroom were in definite lines along the walls as seen above.

The Argentine ant species is one of the most persistent and troublesome house infesting ant species.  They live in large colonies that consist of several nests and queens, all interacting together.  This allows them to cover a large area, often displacing other ant species and insects.  This in turn often disrupts the ecosystem of the infested area.  Unlike other ant species, Argentine ants do not swarm to mate.  Instead, they mate within the colony, continuing its growth.



Close up of Argentine ants: photo credit L. Brian Stauffer; www.illinois.edu