Yearly Archive February 5, 2019

The new evasive insect to hit the lower mainland is the subterranean termite, it has been an issue in the Okanagan for the last several years. They build their nests underground usually in wood that is in contact with the soil, where they tunnel through the wood that they are eating.  Subterranean termites only eat softwood, other cellulose material and a variety of other plant-based goods. Nests are usually found above ground, but if moisture conditions are available, they will build above-ground nests, bringing the water up with them. Subterranean termite nests can grow rapidly and contain thousands of members as they may have more than one egg-laying female. These pests can often infest homes for years undetected, indications of their presence include winged swarmers, mud tubes and evidence of damaged wood. An infestation begins when warm temperatures and substantial rainfall trigger a colony to send out a swarm of winged termites. The swarmers consist of winged reproductive males and females.  

https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-subterranean-termites-are-here-1.23623704

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/hear-ye-hear-ye-…ermites-are-here/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hear-ye-subterranean-termites-here-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Go Green Pest Control is warning that there has been a massive increase in the number of infestations lately, with the company recording a 55% increase in call-outs from last January. Delta has seen a immense increase in infestations from these pests, accounting for more than 25% of all call-outs. Silverfish can lay up to 20 eggs a day. Named for their silvery brown colour and the squirming movements that look like a fish, they are a household pest whose infestations are known for the devastation they cause.  They are especially attracted to paper and damp clothing. Commonly found in stored boxes in garages and sheds they are also drawn to warm, damp environments like kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms.  They are known for eating dead skin (our dead skin), wallpaper, books, and curtains and other items with starch, cellulose, and sugar. To help control silverfish vacuum weekly this helps to remove their food.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen BC., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/silverfish-update-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Wasps, crickets and cockroaches play a dynamic part in the cross-fertilization of the non-photosynthetic plant (a plant mostly lacking in chlorophyll or a functional photosystem). As we all know, wasps do play a role in pollinating flowers, but cockroaches and crickets are not generally seen as key pollinators. Wasps, cockroaches and crickets are all attracted to fermentation smells such as tree sap, and the nectar of flowers that have a fermented odor. Plants that don’t photosynthesize can live in settings where the sunlight hardly reaches, giving them an advantage over other plants. In these dark surroundings, bees and butterflies are rarely seen. This is probably why certain plants relies on wasps, cockroaches and crickets which look for food in moderately miserable environments, such as the forest floor.  Nearly 90 percent of flowering plants depend on bees and other insects for cross-pollination.   

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/meet-the-new-pol…ickets-and-wasps/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meet-new-pollinators-cockroaches-crickets-wasps-randy-bilesky/?published=t

As mating season approaches, we’re more likely to find and smell skunks around our homes. In mating season, like us humans, males don’t necessarily make the best choices and sometimes will shoot across traffic and make other life altering changes. While driving , especially at night when its dark and usually wets and raining, extra caution needs to be made because mating season really does bring out the crazy’s. Here in Delta we have a huge population of skunks and now is when we may smell them most rather than seeing them. At the tail end (yes I did say that) of January the mating season starts in earnest and at night the air may become right rancid with the chemicals that a skunk sprays: 2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, chains of carbon and hydrogen with the sulfur and hydrogen thiol group attached to one end.  Now from personal experience, skunks are honestly a fairly laid back animal as long as you don’t get them too excited. But having said that, if your pooch runs into a skunk, usually the gloves are off and the victory belt goes to the skunk, as your dog retreats with face full of sulfur and hydrogen thiol. If you happen to be put in this situation the ‘’googler’’ has many recipes for removing the skunk smell but here is one that is tried and true: mix 1 litre of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon liquid soap. Spray this on the effected area and rinse well with water.

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/oh-the-smell-of-…nk-mating-season/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen BC., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/oh-smell-skunk-mating-season-randy-bilesky/?published=t

https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-oh-the-smell-of-skunk-mating-season-1.23615823

Believe it or not, skunks and raccoons actually have terrestrial toilets called latrine sites, a communal location to routinely expel their urine and feces.  The animals use latrine sites as territorial markers, for ritual behavior, social networking and sanitation. These latrine sites are places where several animals use the same area repeatedly and sometimes at the same time. This is a major problem in Delta as these dump sites can become quite large and messy. Often in people back yards near fences, around trees and on roofs of homes, garages and sheds. Each animal leaves their calling card with different characteristics. Both sexes of raccoons visit latrine sites and often more than a few different ones weekly.  Besides being unsightly, they can be a hazard for both humans an pets because of pathogens and diseases can be in the feces such as roundworm and other disorders.  Always take care when cleaning or removing any animal wastes.

 http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/skunk-and-raccoon-latrines/ ‎

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.B., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skunk-raccoon-latrines-randy-bilesky/?published=t

There are several earth-friendly mole control options for our customers, with moles issues being one of the most prevalent calls me take through-out the year. While some people believe that heavy rains or even using a garden hose can eliminate moles by flooding their tunnel systems, moles are intelligent enough to avoid drowning. When a mole is establishing its tunnel system, what they do is they dig a very long and deep hole that then pops out elsewhere at a lower elevation, this is done so that when it rains, the water falls through and then drains out. But that’s not it either, they create an air pressure system with one space of their tunnel system where they can take shelter until the excess water drains. The rest of their gallery could fill with water, but that one air pocket will protect them until the water drains away. Instead of relying on a garden hose to eliminate moles, we offer other more effective earth friendly mole control options, such as a variety of traps and carbon monoxide.   

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/earth-friendly-m…-control-options/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/earth-friendly-mole-control-options-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Several people have taken to social media to express fear those ants have taken up residence in their neighborhood. There is a similarity between the native thatching ant and the European fire ant. European fire ants where found in Naramata in 2013 and currently a working plan to eliminate the invasive species in that community is happening.   Naramata is the only area in the interior of the province where the ant is found, as they prefer the wetter climate of the coast. The difference between an ant bite and a sting may not be apparent to most people. Fire ants (impressive fire ant) are tough to identify and many people confuse them with thatching ants which are native and tend to bite, not sting.  Thatching ants are quite good for the environment especially by removing pests from trees, but their aggressive nature and fairly large size can cause concern for some people. To survive floods, fire ants have evolved the ability to form living rafts on the water, this colony of fire ants is rafting in a flooded field. The isolated rafts of ants had spread out and connected up, creating a living bridge across the water to dry land.

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/beneficial-ants-…ear-penticton-bc/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beneficial-ants-naramata-near-penticton-bc-randy-bilesky/?published=t

The spring is just around the corner now and I was thinking about another year of being stung by wasps and red ants and where they stand of the ‘ouch that really hurt” scale. Well there is actually a scale that deals with is. They say that the concept of pain and distress is personal, the Schmidt Pain Index categorizes the least to the worst of the worst in insect stings. Justin Schmidt was an American entomologist back in the 1980’s and his work was around the order of insects. Most insects in the Hymenoptera order (order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants) have stinging capabilities. His pain scale ranges from 1 to 4 with “Level 1” being the least painful (bees, twig ants) and “Level 4” being the most painful (tarantula hawk, bullet ant, warrior wasp), and a thorough account of the stinging sensation. For an example the sting from the velvet ant -the cow killer ant, is described as explosive and long lasting and that you sound insane as you scream or also described as – the sensation of hot oil from the deep fryer spilling all over your entire hand. For the common honey bee, hornets and most wasps the rating is 2 but the paper wasp is bumped up to a solid 3.  

http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/rating-the-sting…-of-hymenopteras

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Ladner tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rating-stinging-pain-hymenopteras-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Bugs and insects use toxins to hunt prey or help evade predators. So are they venomous and poisonous, we often use this interchangeably, but do they mean the same thing? Spiders are equipped with venomous fangs that deliver their poison to prey or use against those that hunt them. Alternatively, some butterflies and caterpillars spread poison simply by being touched or consumed by another creatures. So the main difference between venomous and poisonous is how the toxins are delivered. Wasps, hornets, ants and bees are considered venomous because they inject their venom.  Stinging caterpillars, some butterflies and moths are considered poisonous because parts of their bodies have toxic materials that are hazardous if touched or eaten.

https://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blog-eerie-cockroaches-send-shivers-down-his-spine-1.23605161

 http://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/venomous-or-pois…-in-the-delivery/ ‎

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C., Randy L. Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/venomous-poisonous-its-all-delivery-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Cockroaches, next to rats are the nastiest creatures in the pest control business. These eerie crawlies are flat, brown and their shells are greasy to touch. Yes, just writing this sends shivers down my spine. Cockroaches can survive a nuclear explosion, their ability to withstand extreme radiation exposure comes down to their simple bodies and slower cell cycles. Cockroaches are well known for carrying many harmful germs from asthmas to deadly infections like Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The most common ones found in Delta are the German cockroaches measuring 15-15mm long, about the size of a shelled pistachio. German cockroaches prefer the indoors where it is warm and humid environment rather than outdoors. One thing about German cockroaches is that they are always near food or water. And speaking of food and water, a cockroach can live for a week without its head! the organs that control the vital functions can be found in the middle part of their bodies and  without a head they end up dying of thirst.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Tsawwassen Ladner delta BC Randy Bilesky BsF RPF CPA

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/delta-cockroaches-randy-bilesky/?published=t