I Hired an Integrated Pest Management Company for Controlling Pests in My Home

Ants, termites, cockroaches, oh my! Why are there so many pests and insects in North Shore? I don’t know but probably because of the climate, I guess. I moved to North Shore for the wonderful climate but I wasn’t aware that I would come in contact with these exasperating pests. However, now I know and am quite aware of these creatures!!
 

The climate and flourishing vegetation probably provide for a pest paradise in North Shore. Most of the pests here live outdoors. That is where they must stay. But sometimes they venture into homes as well looking for water, shelter and food. This is when they become a problem.

 I was facing a lot of problem with these creatures after moving to North Shore and so I made sure to control them.  The most common pests include cockroaches, ants, rats, mice, termites and fleas. For people like me, the tolerance level for these pests in homes is actually zero. I thus asked a professional pest control company in North Shore to deal with these pests. I hired an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) company for the job.

After all, IPM holds the key to eliminate the household pests. It basically suppresses or prevents pests without causing any sort of damage to the health, other living organisms and the environment. It only uses chemicals when needed. The three important steps of IPM include control, identification and prevention.
 

Prevention is basically the first and most important step. Usually, pests move into the homes seeking for water, food and shelter. So, these things first need to be eliminated to prevent them from entering the house. Pests even love damp and dark places where food is available readily. These areas need to be kept dry and free from any kind of exposed food materials. Opened food packaging must be stored in tightly sealed containers or refrigerator. Clutters like paper, piled boxes etc provide a shelter to the pests. Cluttering materials should be thrown away from house. The crevices and cracks that allow pests to enter must be caulked. Shrubs and trees, which touch the exterior of the home, must be trimmed.
 

Pest identification is even important and the next major step, which can help avoid larger pest problems in future. It is always essential to identify pests before applying the control measures. The IPM company that I hired implemented different control methods only after identifying the pests.
 

Guest Author Bio: Rowinnie Rios resides in North Shore. She often used to experience pest problems in her property. So, she very well knows how to deal with them. She recommends RIP Pest Management, a contractor of pest control in North Shore, to get in touch with for pest control services. 

Common Pests And Where Are They Usually Found?

A pest is a plant or animal that has a detrimental effect on human beings, their living conditions as well as their foods. Pests generally include animals that:

• Bite people. For instance, bed bugs. This pest is quite difficult and costly to control. The bites may cause great irritation to people and become infected when scratched.
  
• Attack and consume cereal crops and vegetables for instance grasshoppers and caterpillars
  
  
• Carry disease causing parasites and micro-organisms, for instance mosquitoes
  
  
• Attack and eat the station and farm animals. For instance foxes kill lambs, poultry and other species of native wildlife.
  
  
• Damage the stored food. For instance, mice and rats can eat grain in silos, biscuits or rice in homes and shops and contaminate the food with their urine and faeces.
   
• Damage clothing. For example, silverfish eats hole in the garments.
  
  
• Damage buildings. For instance, termites cause significant damage to timber in the buildings. 

There are a number of pests that are harmful to human beings. In this blog, let us discuss about the common pests and their living and breeding places.  

Flies- Rubbish, dirty benches and tables, food scraps, under eaves, open leach drains, open septic tanks, animal faeces and lawn clippings are the common places where flies live and breed. 

Cockroaches-Food scraps, rubbish, drains, dirty tables and benches, behind the fridges and stoves, kitchen and bathroom cupboards, leach drains, septic tanks and under the floors of old houses are the favorite places of cockroach.

Mosquitoes-You can often find mosquitoes in places like dark and damp places, car tins and tyres, leach drains/septic tanks, protected corners of the effluent ponds, water storage tanks and natural water bodies.

Fleas-This pest like to live in sandy areas. They require blood for breeding. They will bite human beings if they find no animals around. A lot of fleas are brought into houses by people’s clothes. They are even transported in bedding. You can generally find fleas on animals such as dogs and cars. So, it’s important to keep these animals out of house if you want to reduce the likelihood of infestation of these pests in your house. 

Mice and rats-Exposed food, rubbish, wall holes, kitchen cupboards and storage places are the common places where rats and mice live. They are even found in insulation, pipes, in ceilings, under the buildings and in the tress as well as gardens. 

Bed bugs-These pests are generally transported from one place to another on or in a person’s luggage. They hide in the beddings. They bite a person in bed during night and consume their blood for living.  Their bites may be quite itchy and when scratched can become infected. 

It is very essential to control these pests. Pest control is actually the action that is taken to keep the pest numbers down to a level where risk to people, environment and food is minimized. Many companies offer Integrated Pest Management in North Shore. Contact one of them for your pest control job. 

How to Keep the Stink Bugs Away of Your House?

Stink bugs is a shield shape insect. It can be seen behind the computer monitors and between the folds of curtain. Stink bugs enters into a home in a folk. They generally enter into houses with the intension of escaping from the cold. They search the holes and gaps inside the house to hide from cold. As these insects go in a group it turns out to be a tricky affair to kill them individually. Here are some of the techniques available by which you can restrict the access of stink bugs inside your house.


Methods of keeping the stink bugs away of your house:

• Make sure your screens are working in perfect order. The pest can crawl doors and windows panes for entering in your home. Start working on the screens of the doors and windows of your house if they are not in proper condition.
  
  
• Inspect whether any gaps are left in the window while being closed. These gaps are formed due to improper shutting of window screens. This bug can easily enter from these tiny little gaps.
  
  
• In most of the houses weather stripping gets loosen up. This is an easy option that can be fixed up easily. Inspect weather stripping of the doors and windows.
  
  
• Look at the door sweeps. It might get damaged due to ageing. Replace it as soon as possible.
  
  
• Use screens to cover the AC vents and chimney. It is a troublesome job. But this is an effective method to keep the bugs entering into your house.
  
  
• Keep the shutter of your garage closed. These bugs that can enter inside of your garage will get easy access to your house.
  
  
• Rooflines and Soffits and are the most accessible area in favor of stink bugs. Run a thorough examination by a professional pest control in North Shore to find any gaps, holes and rotten areas on those places. If you cannot reach upto the roofline, then ask the professional to make a proper strategy for encountering the bugs.
  
  
• Caulking gun can be used to fill the area air-conditioning vents, pipes, outlets and any other area which passes through the exterior walls. 

These are the various ways which you can use to restrict the entrance of stink bugs in your house.

What Is Meant by Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated Pest Management or IPM as it is popular called is a long term, preventative, low toxicity means to control pests. The approach to IPM relies on common sense practices. The program makes use of current, inclusive information on life cycles of the pests and their interaction with environment. This information in combination with the pest control procedures is used for managing pest damage by economical means and with least possible hazard to the property, people and the environment.

Though IPM was initially developed for agricultural industry, a number of libraries, museums and archives are finding the principles of Integrated Pest Management relevant to protection of their holdings. In fact nowadays the IPM approach can be applied to both the non-agricultural and agricultural settings like garden, workplace and home. It takes advantage of all the apt pest management options including the sensible use of the pesticides.

There are many advantages of IPM program over the traditional pest management program. Traditional pest management is as the repeated usage of chemicals without giving importance to the understanding of the species or the number of pests that are present. The advantages of Integrated Pest Management are:

1.Decreased usage of chemical application, which

• reduces the risks associated with the health of the people who are present in the premise where the chemical is applied 
• reduces the risk of deterioration and disfigurement of the holdings 
• can result in financial savings
  

2.Environmental improvements made to different facilities for implementing the IPM program. This enhances the long-term stability of holdings over protection against the pests.

3.Solution to the long-term pest related problems where chemical products haven’t worked.

IPM isn’t a single method of pest control but a series of pest management decisions, evaluations and controls. The companies that provide pest management in North Shore follow a four-tiered approach. The steps are: setting action thresholds, monitoring and identifying pests, prevention and control. 

Principles of Australian Integrated Pest Management System

The Australian Integrated Pest Management system revolves around six basic components. 

Control and not eradication

According to Integrated Pest Management, wiping out the entire pest population is not possible. The attempt can rather be unsafe and expensive. The IPM program thus gives emphasis to control and not on eradication. They first work to set up acceptable pest levels known as action thresholds and then use means of control when those levels of thresholds are crossed.

Prevention

Choosing things that are best for local growing conditions as well as maintaining the healthy crops is the first thing that’s done. Cultural techniques and plant quarantine like crop sanitation is the next thing. Beneficial bacteria and fungi are added to potting media of the horticulture crops that are vulnerable to the root diseases, reducing the requirement for fungicides greatly. 

Monitoring

Regular observation is very important. It may be in the form of inspection as well as identification. Visual inspection is used for monitoring pest levels and identification is essential for treating them. IMP also gives importance to record-keeping.
 

Mechanical controls

When pest infestation reaches an unacceptable level, mechanical methods are used as the first option. These methods include traps, barriers, hand-picking, vacuuming as well as tillage. All these methods disrupt their breeding. 

Biological controls

Natural biological methods and materials generally offer control with acceptable environmental impact. The primary approach is to promote the beneficial insects which parasitize or eat target pests.

Responsible use of synthetic pesticides 

Synthetic pesticides are only used when needed and only a certain times. There are many pesticides which are obtained from naturally occurring substances or plants. The active component in those pesticides is altered to offer increased stability or biological activity. Matching the technique of application to the pest, crop and pesticide is important. Low volume of spray minimizes the overall use of pesticide.
 

Historically, the main emphasis of IMP was on the agricultural insect pests but nowadays the program of Integrated Pest Management in North Shore are extensively being used for encompassing weeds, diseases as well as the other pests, which interfere with the management objectives for the sites like commercial and residential structures, turf and lawn areas, community gardens, home etc.

Some Tips to Control and Eliminate Cockroaches

Previously cockroaches used to be found in older homes and apartments. But this unhealthy creature has spread their wings into luxury hotel kitchens, new homes and almost everywhere. There are modern methods as well as traditional ones to control and get rid of them.

Keep your home as clean as possible. Cleanliness is detrimental for the growth of the cockroaches.
 

If you see cockroaches don’t panic. As a first step of defense you need to cut the water and food supply for those creepy creatures.
 

Dining table is the place where we eat. If you do not clean the table then it will attract the cockroaches. Clean the dining table top neat and clean. Same formula applies for the pantry in the office. The staffs of offices are also advised to keep their desks clean without keeping any food particles.

Before going to the bed check make sure there are no soiled dishes left on the sink or on the dining table. Cover the foods if not in use. If you do not have the time for washing the plates, put soapy water in the sink and keep the plate in that.
 

Boric powder is poisonous for cockroaches. This has been the successful method for getting rid of cockroaches. Mix boric powder with flour pellets, spread them over the floor.

Cockroach repellents come in pump or spray. The solution in the repellent can kill the cockroaches instantly. This spray is toxic in nature and can cause hazards to children.
 

However, I would always advise you to hire a company that offers professional pest control in Northern Beaches. Look for someone offering Integrated Pest Management services. These services generally don’t kill the pests but applies techniques that will control cockroach infestation in home ultimately helping you get rid of them.

Signs of a House Mouse Infestation

House mice usually have short hair which is gray, black or brown in color. Weighing about 12-30 grams, their length is about 20 cm from nose to tail’s tip. Normally, they make their home in the grassy or wooden areas and in the farm fields and prefer staying in dark places close to the food source. Quite inquisitive in character, they spend their entire day roaming in their territory, looking around things that are unique or new. When temperature outside starts dropping house they start living in warmer places. They use openings like pipe openings, gaps under the doors and utility lines to enter a home.
 

If you ever find a house mouse into your living space, make sure to get rid of it. It can reproduce very fast and eats anything that is available. So, it can destroy a lot of things in your home. 

1. There are a few indications, which will help you to understand that there is an infestation of mouse in your house.
    
2. If you ever see these kinds of species scurrying along the walls or running from an undisturbed hiding place, you should know that there is an infestation. You may probably seem them in the evening as they become more active during those hours but you can also see them roaming in the home at the time of the day.
   
   
3. You may find droppings, which are small pallets. This is usually found in places where these creatures have traveled or visited. About 3-6 mm in length, the droppings are rod shaped and may have pointed ends. Normally, people confuse mouse droppings with the droppings of cockroach. Although the appearance and general size of both the droppings are same, the droppings of cockroach are also not pointed.
   
   
4. When a mouse explores its territory, it often leaves behind its footprint on the surfaces. The unique pattern of the footprint is an indication that the creature has passed through. You can even find gnaw and teeth marks along edges of their traveled routes on corners of the objects.
   
   
5. During evening hours when it’s quiet and dark, you may often hear these creatures scratching within walls and gnawing, running across ceiling and sometimes even squeaking. 

So, if you have found out that there are mice in your Sydney house, take proper actions as soon as possible. Get in touch with a pest exterminator in Northern Beaches to control their infestation and get rid of them. 

How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally Without Using Toxic Sprays?

There are about 12,000 species of ants found all over the world. Most commonly found in and around homes, they are one of the most annoying pests. Usually these species are wingless. However, the winged forms exist at the time of colony reproduction or swarming. They are natural predators of several insect pests like fly larvae and flea, termites and caterpillars. But there are times when it becomes necessary to get rid of them especially when they enter homes in look out for food.

Here are some suggestions, which you should follow to get rid of ants naturally without using toxic sprays.

Like all other pests, ants too need water and food to survive. So, the first thing you should do to get rid of them is eliminate their basic necessities. If you do this, you will find that the number of ants to your home has reduced to a great number. To do this, you need to store the organic wastes and your food in sealed containers. Wipe down the countertops and tables regularly with a vinegar solution or mild bleach. You must also ensure to keep your kitchen neat and clean always. Don’t also forget to empty the dust bin every day.

Spot the cracks that are around the foundation of the home and use caulk to seal those points. This will prevent their entrance from outside. Places where electrical wires and pipes enter the house, spread boric acid to keep them out. The best way of keeping the ants from entering indoors is to locate their mound and destroy their colony.

Apply substances and scents which ants don’t prefer. How about using cinnamon, peppermint oil, vinegar, black pepper, whole cloves or bay leaves? They are being used largely by homeowners and companies that offer integrated pest management in North Shore. 

3 Effective Cockroach Trapping Methods

If you hate the sight of the roaches and want to get rid of them from your house-all you need to do is set a trap. It is a great alternative to bug spray. You can even save a lot of your money by doing this.

We are a company providing residential pest control in North Shore. We always suggest our customers to opt for trapping methods. Here we have discussed about these methods, which you can use to get rid of the cockroaches from your home.


Sticky tape and onion trap
Do you have some sticky tapes? Use them as a trapping tool. You will also need onion for it. Chop off a small piece of onion and put it right in the middle of the sticky tape. Make sure to place the tape in some dark place of your room and keep it overnight. In the morning, you will surely find many cockroaches being trapped. They will be stuck on that sticky tape.

Jar trap
If you don’t have any sticky tape in your house, you can use a glass jar for trapping roaches. But remember the jar must be like a spaghetti or mayonnaise sauce jar-a quartz size one with a slight shoulder. Duct tape all over it the outside portion except the underside portion and coat at least four inches down from top in the inside portion of the glass jar with petroleum jelly. Put a fruit that’s smelly like banana peel or anything other in the jar’s bottom and then place it outdoors or indoors wherever you have cockroach problem. The roaches will surely climb up and fall in without being able to get out from the jar. At this moment, you can pour some boiling water to kill those insects.

Once they are killed, flush them down the toilet and recharge the jar with more petroleum jelly and a new fragrant fruit or banana peel or anything other.

Red wine trap
This might be a bit costlier option than the other two methods that have been mentioned above but it is surely a better alternative than bug spraying. To put this method into effect, all you need to have is some red wine and a glass or container which is cylindrical in shape. The glass must at least be filled half with wine. You can even water and wine if you think it to be a bit costlier. Make sure to place the glass in a strategic position all over the night. 

Cockroaches will generally get attracted by the smell of wine and may fall inside not being able to come up instantly. They won’t be able to come up because of the shape of the glass and they will die probably because of the effects of alcohol. 

The Best Way to Control Cockroach Infestation at Homes in North Shore

Cockroaches are species, which are two inches long and are largely found in homes in North Shore. They carry various diseases and are regarded as pests. Those, which are found in tropical areas, are larger than the ones that are found in other kinds of climates. The cockroaches have six legs and two antennae. Some have wings even but most of these winged ones are unable to fly.

The various types of cockroaches that are found in Sydney’s North Shore include Smoky Brown cockroach, American cockroach, Brown Banded cockroach, Australian cockroach, Oriental cockroach and German cockroach. These species crawl around the house and gives an unpleasant look. They eat everything when hungry-pastes, glues, foods, paint, solid soaps and many more things and are a menace to the property.

To exterminate these unpleasant looking species, get in touch with a company that offers services of integrated pest management in North Shore. They will either advice you on how to eradicate them or may even come to your house for pest extermination. The specialty about these integrated pest management services is that they do not use chemicals or non-environment friendly products to control the infestation of cockroaches. They use methods like setting up a trap or obstructing the entry points from where the cockroaches enter the house and so on as their methods.

R.I.P. Pest Management, one of the popular integrated pest management services in Northern Beaches, always advises to set up a trap to control cockroach infestation. They use many trap methods like sticky tape and onion trap, red wine trap, jar trap, wine bottle cockroach trap and many others for controlling the invasion of these species in house. They also use many products to do away with these species but all are environment-friendly.

In our next blog, we will come up with the cockroach trapping methods in detail. Till then stay tuned to our blog!