Sending a child off to college this fall? Arm him or her with information about preventing and responding to bed bug infestations.

It’s true—college dorms and student apartments are not immune from bed bug infestations, reports Washington Post columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget. But forewarned is forearmed; a little prevention—and a lesson in what to do if the worst happens—can help keep bed bugs from ruining your child’s college experience, here in our Sacramento pest control region or anywhere in the country.

California’s Healthy Schools Act of 2000 (Assembly Bill 2260) put into place right-to-know requirements such as notification, posting, and recordkeeping for pesticides used at public schools and public child day care facilities. For more information, including a copy of the laws, go to DPR’s School IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Web site: http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/overview/faq2000.cfm.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation provides a lot of useful information for parents, schools and pest control professionals, including Frequently Asked Questions about the program, and an attractive, fun school-year pest control calendar full of information about controlling all types of pests, from to rats and mice, to tree pests and turf weeds. E-mail school-ipm@cdpr.ca.gov to receive a hard copy.

Here are just a couple of the Frequently Asked Questions about DPR’s School IPM Program and the Healthy Schools Act:

What is a pesticide?

Under state and federal law, a pesticide is any substance that controls, destroys, repels, or attracts a pest. Pesticides include insecticides, insect repellents, miticides, herbicides, fungicides, fumigants, nematicides, rodenticides, avicides, plant growth regulators, defoliants, desiccants, antimicrobials, and algicides. More…

Does the Healthy Schools Act have a list of approved pesticides for use by schools or child day care facilities?

The Healthy Schools Act does not establish a list of pesticides approved for schools or child day care facilities. However, DPR does maintain a list of pesticides that are prohibited for use in schools or at child day care facilities. See DPR’s Web site (www.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm, click on “Pesticides Prohibited from Use” in the column on the right). More…

First day of school is just around the corner here in our Sacramento pest control region—here’s wishing you and your family a safe, pest-free 2011-2012 school year!

The two most common rodent invaders are mice and rats.

 In our region of Central-Northern California, the two most common species of pest rats are the roof rat (Rattus rattus) and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), neither of which are native to California but originated in the Far East and spread across the globe centuries ago. The roof rat is the smaller of the two, averaging 5 to 10 ounces in weight, gray to white in color, with a pointed snout, long ears and a black tail as long as its body. The Norway rat is stockier, weighing 7 to 18 ounces, grayish in color, and with shorter ears and tail than the roof rat.

The roof rat is a good climber, nests in trees and dense shrubs, and may take up housekeeping in your attic, the space above dropped ceilings or even in high cabinets. The Norway rat is a burrower and indoors usually sticks to basements or ground floor spaces. You may spot its nest lined with shredded paper, fabric or other fibrous materials.

Although both these types of rat are common in our region, and highly adapted to residential neighborhoods and urban environs, our Earth Guard customers complain most frequently of the roof rat.

Sometimes depicted as funny and cute in popular media such as the Disney-Pixar movie “Ratatouille,” in fact Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus pose serious health and safety problems for home- and business owners. Rats eat and contaminate human and animal food and whatever container or packaging it is stored in; they gnaw on and ruin wooden doors and cabinets, chew through electrical wires and shred insulation to use for their nests. One of our customers recently had to place a service call to her security alarm company when a sensor stopped working; the mystified technician finally found a place in the attic where a rat had chewed through the alarm system wiring.

Rats also carry diseases such as murine typhus, leptospirosis, trichinosis, salmonellosis (food poisoning), ratbite fever and even plague that can be transmitted to humans and other animals.

The first signs of a rat infestation may appear in your yard or garden before the critters have moved indoors. Once they move into your yard, they will eventually move inside, so it’s preferable to catch them early. Common signs of rat activity outdoors include:

• Droppings near pet food containers or dishes or recycling bins;
• Nest materials in wood piles or brush piles;
• Burrows near compost heaps or garbage containers;
• Signs of digging under fences, sheds or doghouses;
• The sight of a rat traveling utility lines or fence tops at dusk;
• Rat carcasses in your outdoor pool or hot tub or dragged to the door by your family dog or cat.

Indoors, you may hear noises coming from your attic, especially at dusk or dawn, or discover a nest inside drawers or behind boxes in your garage, or you may see smudges along walls, pipes or rafters.

Homeowners and business owners can take some common-sense measures to prevent rat infestations, including keeping pet food containers and garbage containers tightly sealed and the areas around them picked up and clean.

Bird feeders also are attractive to rats. Another of our customers, who had multiple bird feeders in her backyard, noticed that the seed-covered bird bell she hung in one corner of her yard would repeatedly disappear almost overnight. She would replace it, and by the next morning, it would be eaten down almost to the plastic hanger. Hungry birds, she thought. The one evening, she happened to be looking out the back door just as dark was settling in and heard a rustling in the leaves above the bird bell. Grabbing a flashlight, she quietly walked over to investigate. The beam of the flashlight revealed an acrobatic roof rat, hanging upside down from the branch, nibbling away.

Storing wood off the ground and eliminating clutter and debris from around building foundations also will discourage rat activity. Roof rats, such as the acrobat caught eating our customer’s bird bell, may use overhanging tree branches, pergolas or dense shrubbery such as star jasmine or ivy as a highway to your roof, where they may find entry to your attic around eaves, pipes or chimney flashing. Trimming trees to leave 2 feet or more between plants and between branches and roof helps discourage these travels. Sealing, screening or plugging openings around wiring conduit or pipes with steel wool or sheet metal, both around your roofline and at foundation level, also are effective at keeping rats out.

Once rats have moved in to your home or place of business, the best way to eliminate them is with the traditional snap traps. A major infestation may require the use of poison bait, which should only be administered by a trained pest control professional. Although customers sometimes request it, the use of live traps is not a good idea. Because the rats are not native to our environment, they cannot be released outdoors, where they pose a danger to humans, pets and property and—because they are an invasive species—to the native ecosystem. In some areas, rats have been known to decimate wild bird populations. Live traps also accumulate bodily waste from the rodents, creating a health hazard for our pest control technicians.

For more information about rats and how you can prevent or eliminate infestations, give our office a call 916-457-7605 (877-328-4468 toll-free) or e-mail us at contact@earthguardpest.com.

Although the bite of the agrarian sac or yellow sac spider commonly found in our homes is not fatal to humans, this type of spider is believed to be responsible for more bites than any other spider, usually when trapped  in ones clothes or bedding. The bite stings and causes a red welt and irritation similar to a mosquito bite. (If any insect bite causes a severe or unusual reaction, contact a physician immediately.)

The sac spider typically builds its sac-like web in corners, behind shelves and framed pictures and can sometimes be spotted running across walls or ceilings. It is light yellow with a darker stripe down the center of its upper abdomen and, like most spiders, has eight eyes arranged in two rows at the top of its head, difficult to see with the naked eye.

Most spiders are not dangerous and can usually be eliminated by removing their webs and/or eggs. Spiders seen out in the open during the day are unlikely to bite people.

Although we often hear reports of the brown recluse spider in our North-Central California region, in fact the brown recluse doesn’t live in California. The only recluse spider native to California lives in the Southern California desert and is less toxic to humans than its close relative, the non-native Chilean recluse spider, which has become established in Los Angeles County. Recluse spiders have a violin-shaped mark on their heads, which may or may not be easily distinguished, and have only six eyes. They are active at night and tend to stay hidden in dark, undisturbed places like storage boxes or old clothes or shoes.

The only California spider known to inflict serious injury to humans is the black widow, which usually is found outdoors in hidden locations such as in wood piles or underneath porches or sheds. Take care when you’re outside gardening, especially at this time of year, when the weather is still warm and sunny. The black widow’s web may not be visible in the sunlight, and you can easily stick your fingers into the wrong place.

The adult female black widow has a shiny black body, slender black legs, and a red or orange hourglass-shaped mark on the underside of a large, round abdomen. The body, excluding legs, is 5/16 to 5/8 inch long. 

The best way to prevent spiders in your home is to vacuum up webs and avoid clutter build-up that can provide hiding places. To prevent spiders from entering your home or commercial building, seal foundation cracks and other access holes, keep window and door screens in good repair, and keep areas around the building foundation free of clutter.

If you are troubled by a spider infestation, our trained pest management professionals will make a free home inspection, identify the type of spider, determine the best method for safely eliminating them from your property, and follow up with regular de-webbing or other treatment to prevent their return. Some of the information in this article was obtained from the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Visit http://www.earthguardpestcontrol.com for more information, call us at 916-457-7605 (877-D-BUGIN-U toll-free) or e-mail us at contact@earthguardpest.com.

Pest control is a highly regulated industry requiring extensive and continuing training of personnel. During training, technicians learn about the life cycles and habits of each species of household pest, and more to the point, they learn what kinds of treatment are most effective in eliminating infestations, how to prevent recurrences, precise quantities of chemicals to apply where necessary, and how to handle and dispose of chemicals with the least impact to homes, people, pets and the surrounding environment. Few home- or business owners, regardless of how much online research or reading they do, achieve the level of knowledge and skill that each pest control professional receives in order to be licensed. And the results of well-meaning but non-professional pest control efforts can be disastrous.

As a recent Sacramento Bee article reported, researchers have found high concentrations of pyrethroid pesticides in the American River and many area creeks that feed into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, one of the most significant ecosystems in the world and a source of drinking water and agricultural irrigation for much of California. The source of the pesticides: urban Sacramento. Scientists believe consumers may be overapplying pesticides to their lawns, gardens and homes or pouring or rinsing them down the drain.

Whereas a householder may figure, if a little is good, more is better, a trained pest control professional assesses the situation, determines the most effective treatment to meet the customer’s needs and cost considerations, and then applies a precise amount of pesticide to a defined location. And a pest control professional is trained in safe disposal and storage of unused chemicals, the source of far too many accidental poisonings and other household tragedies.

Since 1987, Pest Control Operators of California has conducted a public service campaign, Chem-Safe, to educate consumers about the proper handling of household chemicals. The U.S. Poison Control Center estimates that half of all accidental poisonings in the United States are caused by household chemical such as cleaners or pesticides. Every year hundreds of thousands of California Children under the age of 5 years of age are poisoned in the home with household chemicals and medicines.

As proud members of Pest Control Operators of California, we at Earth Guard urge you to handle and dispose of all household chemicals carefully and to consult a trained pest management professional to assess and address pest problems in your home or business. You can learn more about Earth Guard by visiting http://www.earthguardpest.com. Here are some safety tips from PCOC:

PCOC Safety Tips for handling Household Chemicals
• Keep all chemicals and pesticides locked up and out of reach of children.
• Use pesticides and household chemicals in accordance with manufacturers’ directions.
• Don’t saturate: using twice as much of a product does not mean it works twice as well.
• Don’t put products in unlabelled bottles or cans—keep them in their original containers.
• Never play chemist! Don’t mix products together because poisonous or explosive chemical reactions may occur.
• Always wear protective equipment such as goggles and gloves when using chemicals or pesticides.
• Avoid breathing mists or vapors, especially from aerosol products.
• Keep children and pets away from the area being treated or cleaned.
• Wash carefully after handling chemicals and pesticides.
• Dispose of the products carefully: containers tossed in the trash may still contain harmful amounts of the product.

There are some 200 species of ants in California, but fewer than a dozen are common household pests in our area. Of those, the most common is the Argentine ant, a dull-brown ant about 1/8-inch in length. Less common but also significant pests are the pharaoh ant, the odorous house ant, the thief ant and the southern fire ant. If you step on an odorous house ant, which is dark brown to black and about the same size as the Argentine ant, you may recognize it by its strong odor. Carpenter ants are black or red and black and larger than the Argentine ant at ¼ to ½ inch in length and, because they hollow out and nest in wood, can do significant damage to homes and buildings. Our L.A. neighbors are dealing with a serious problem from the red imported fire ant, which has recently established a population there; they have not yet been found in Northern California.

Most of the ants we see are easily recognizable. However, in the warm spring months, mature ant colonies produce winged ants, which travel away from the nest to mate and form new colonies. For that reason, ants are sometimes mistaken for termites.

Inside your home, ants may feed on sweets such as sugar, honey or fruit juice, or on fats and meats. Your first sight of ants may be of a long chain of them leading from the food source inside your home to their nest outdoors or in the cracks and crevices of your home.

Ants often make their trails on pipes or wires and enter buildings via cracks and crevices. Caulking can help prevent ants from entering your home. Rinsing out soft-drink and juice containers before putting them into the recycling bin and storing sugar and syrups in airtight containers also helps.

Your local pest control professional can assist you by identifying the type of ant or pest problem you have, assessing the best way to eliminate it and prevent future invasions, and helping you decide upon the right combination of pest control services for your household or business.

For a free pest assessment and estimate from our licensed, bonded and certified pest control professionals, contact Earth Guard Pest Services, (916) 457-7605 or toll-free (877) 328-4468, contact@EarthGuardPest.com.  

Source: University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program

Our environmental roots run deep at Earth Guard, so we’re glad to see our neighbors and communities embracing a greener way of life. We started out as a “green” termite pre-construction treatment business before branching out into other areas of pest control. Today, we’re proud to be EcoWise© certified, a third-party certification program created and funded by several Northern California government agencies and environmental organizations.

But as we begin to educate our customers about what “green” pest control really is, they often are surprised by what they learn:

1) It costs more. Typically “green” pest management solutions carry a higher price tag, for the simple reason that they are more labor-intensive and time-consuming than traditional pest control methods. For example, green services may include placement and periodic checking of monitoring stations or glue traps. Typically, green pest control methods add 10 to 20 percent to the cost of treating a home or commercial site. On the other hand, many “green” techniques, such as pre-construction wood treatment or proper sealing of a home can result in cost savings over the long run.

2) It’s more than simply using an environmentally safer product. While scores of new green products are coming on the market every day, there’s more to green pest control than that stuff coming out of your sprayer. Green means using an entire arsenal of techniques together, from sealing or screening to prevent invasions to carefully targeted applications of the safest and most effective products.

3) The customer has to do his or her part. Traditionally, the customer has picked up the phone, called his local exterminator, and said, “Take care of it.” True green pest management depends on the customer to ensure foods and other attractants are stored properly; that vents, electrical conduits, windows and doors are properly sealed; that basements and crawlspaces are kept moisture free.

Truly green pest control means protecting your home or property most effectively with the least possible impact to the environment. We’re excited about our customers’ interest in green and about the pest control industry’s continued commitment to professionalism, effectiveness and integrity.

We at Earth Guard take seriously our mission to provide reliable, safe and cost-effective pest management services for the benefit of our customers, our neighbors and our community. Our team works hard to stay informed about the newest, most effective pest management techniques available. We are committed to protecting your home or business from dangerous pests with the least possible impact to our environment and our planet.

We’ll be using this blog to tell you about new products and services, to keep you informed about issues and trends in the pest control industry and to get your feedback on our company and our work. We hope you’ll visit often!

Remember, plain and simple, we’re here to serve you.  We’ll do our best, each and every time we visit, to restore your home or business to a clean and invader-free environment.  We want you to sleep well at night knowing your family is protected and your property safe and sound.