Earwigs – What You Need to Know October 21, 2013 - By: Nathan Woolf If you’ve ever moved around boxes in the basement, lifted up a landscaping stone around your home, or emptied out a flower pot, you’ve probably seen an earwig wiggling away from you in a panic. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably recoiled at the sight of them, as well, because these little guys have an appearance that makes people’s skin crawl.Other than simply looking scary, what does an infestation of earwigs mean to you and your home? Don’t worry – the Blue Sky team is here to help you out. Read on for more must-know information about these creepy-crawly pests.Related: What If I’m Still Seeing Bugs After Spraying?Why “Earwig?”The name “earwig” probably derived from the old wife’s tale that they like to burrow into people’s ear canals and lay their eggs, causing great pain, madness, or even death. Fortunately, this just isn’t true!While earwigs do prefer dark, small, and enclosed spaces, there’s never been a case of death by earwigs. While they may pinch if handled, they are not dangerous or poisonous, and do not have an affinity for crawling into ear canals to nest.What do they look like?Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, and there are nearly 2,000 species found in the Americas, Eurasia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Their distinguishing characteristics include:An elongated, flattened bodyTwo pairs of wingsCerci on the back of the abdomen that are long and pincer-shapedEarwigs are perfectly adapted to a lifestyle of crawling into tight spaces, and though they have wings, they hardly ever use them. Depending on the species, earwigs can be extremely small up to a couple of inches long.What damage can they cause?Earwigs aren’t picky when it comes to diet. They can eat a wide variety of organic material, including plants, other insects, fruits and vegetables, and even trash. Despite their voracious appetites, they very rarely invade the food products you have in your cupboards or damage the structure of your home.Even though earwigs eat plants, there is some debate about whether they are harmful or beneficial to crops and gardens. While they do eat plant material, they also feed on harmful pests. There have been reports of crop damage from earwigs, especially in flowers, corn and peaches.Earwigs do not transmit diseases to humans or other animals. Though they can use their cerci to pinch, the pinches are usually very minor and cause little discomfort, and they do not “sting.”Even though they are fairly innocuous, no one likes to see a nest of squirmy, six-legged invaders in their home.Where do they live?The good news is that earwigs probably won’t like the parts of your home that you spend the most time in. Since they prefer small, damp, dark spaces, you are more likely to find them hiding out in a basement, garage or shed than in your bedroom or living room. They are usually most active at night.Female earwigs lay their eggs in secure, humid and concealed spaces, such as under a rock or along the foundation of a building. When earwigs enter your home, they will probably try to hide under things that aren’t moved often and provide secure shelter.While they may come inside your home, earwigs need abundant moisture to complete their life cycle. Look for them in areas of your home that get plenty of moisture – flower pots, along the foundation of your home, in landscaping, around pool areas, or even in your shower drain! Here in many people tend to water their landscaping often or have a swimming pool. That moisture combined with warm desert temperatures creates ideal living conditions for the earwig, and their numbers have increased in well-irrigated parts of Arizona. Earwigs are some of the deepest nesters of all the common Arizona pests.How can I prevent them?There are many things you can do to reduce the presence of earwigs – and other pests – around your home.Keep your landscape looking clean, and get rid of any piles of yard waste that might be lying around.Avoid over-watering lawns and flower bedsSeal small cracks around the foundation of your home, and seal your doors and windows If you’ve seen lots of earwigs in or around your home, you can be assured they are probably not causing any damage. However, you may still want to have us treat your home for earwigs so you don’t have to live in fear when you’re moving furniture, gardening or cleaning! Pest control for earwigs can be effective when it’s applied to their nesting areas. Blue Sky uses a backpack sprayer to treat for earwigs. This allows us to penetrate deep to where they nest. Contact us to find out more about our thorough earwig treatment process, and rest easy knowing you won’t have any unwanted earwig roommates in your home. We serve the entire Phoenix area including Gilbert, Mesa, and Scottsdale.
Top 5 Signs it’s Time to Call an Exterminator May 8, 2013 - By: Nathan Woolf Most Phoenix residents expect to have to call in a pest control expert at some point, but you may not know which pest problems require professional treatment and what you can handle on your own. Scorpions and termites are very common in the area. Unfortunately, many of Arizona’s most destructive pests are great hiders. Knowing what to look for when inspecting your home for pests is an important aspect of Phoenix homeownership.What happens if you do have pests in your home? When should you call an exterminator and when can you handle pest control yourself? Which pests should you get rid of in your home and which can be beneficial to the flowers and plants in your garden? Living in Phoenix, it’s good to know which pests pose an immediate danger to your home or family. Here are the top five signs that it’s time to call an exterminator. Note: all photos were taken by our field technicians from homes in and around Phoenix.Termite mud tube coming up through carpet1) You Notice Mud Tubes In Your Home or On Your Home’s FoundationTermites travel between their colonies and homes and other structures via mud tubes. Mud tubes are usually the first visible sign of a termite infestation that a homeowner might notice. To look for mud tubes, examine the foundation of your home, including the block wall. Look at all visible support beams and joists in your home. Long tubes that look like dirt or dried mud are a sign of termites in your home.Termites can do significant damage to your home’s structure over time. Be vigilant about inspecting your home at least twice a year for signs of termites and take preventative measures by hiring a pest control company to do a yearly inspection of your home. Homeowners can also re-establish the termite barrier installed around new homes. This barrier breaks down over time and is an excellent preventative technique.2) You Have Bed Bugs (or suspect you do)Bed bugs are a hot topic right now, and for a good reason. Over the last several years, news stories about bed bug infestations in metropolitan areas have caused a fear of these pests across the United States. Bed bugs are hitchhikers; they can easily come into your home on luggage after a trip or when you have visitors. They love zippers. Bed bugs can also enter your home on used furniture, mattresses, or even clothing.Adult bed bugs are visible to the human eye, but they are excellent hiders and generally come out only at night. Many people first realize they have bed bugs when they start to notice bites on their skin. These bites are often present in clusters or small lines on your skin. However, more than 30% of people don’t react to bed bug bites. Inspect your home and mattress thoroughly for signs of bed bugs, and if you suspect you have a bed bug infestation, give us a call. It takes and expert and special equipment to eradicate these pests.3) You Hear Crickets ChirpingWhile crickets themselves do not pose a direct threat to your home’s structure or your family’s health, they are a food source for scorpions. The bark scoprion is a dangerous pest that is common in the Phoenix valley. When we are called out for scorpion control, one of the first things we do is reduce the cricket population around a home. If you hear crickets chirping in your home at night, a pest control company can help you minimize the cricket population to help keep scorpions away from your home.A scorpion sting is painful and can be life threatening to very young children and adults with health concerns. The best course of action you can take to keep your family safe is to seal entry points into your home and reduce scorpion food sources, including crickets and spiders, around your home.4) Bees, Wasps, or Hornets are Crawling into a Block WallBees and other flying insects are beneficial to your flowers and other plant life, however if you start to notice a large bee population around your home, you should call an exterminator for a professional inspection. Many bees in the Phoenix Valley are Africanized Bees. Africanized Bees defend their hives aggressively and are the most dangerous pest we deal with frequently in Arizona. Stings can be life threatening to people who are allergic or receive multiple stings.Bees, wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets love to build hives in hollow parts of perimeter block walls, eaves of your home, or up high in the trees. These hives are exceptionally difficult to access and eliminate them is best left to the professionals.5) You Notice an Increased Number of SpidersEncountering the occasional spider is a normal part of life in the Phoenix Valley, but if you start to notice a large number of spiders in and around your home, you should call an exterminator to inspect your home for spiders that pose a health risk to your family. Black Widows are a prevalent spider in the metro area, and they can produce up to 3,600 spiderlings in a single summer. Like crickets, spiders are also a food source for scorpions, so controlling the spider population around your home is an important aspect of preventative scorpion control.If you have any concerns or questions about a pest infestation in or around your home, give us a call to nspect your home and help you develop a plan for pest control. Preventative pest control treatments and yearly inspections can help protect your home from damaging termites and pests that pose a danger to your family and pets.
Kid and Pet Friendly Pest Control March 15, 2013 - By: Nathan Woolf Many people are concerned about the safety of their children or pets when they employ a pest control company to exterminate or perform pest prevention treatments. At Blue Sky Pest Control, all of our services are pet and family-friendly and environmentally safe. Here’s what you need to know about environmentally friendly pest control.In Phoenix, extermination and pest control prevention services are a fact of life. Homeowners in Arizona need to think about prevention and treatment for common dessert pests including scorpions, termites and earwigs. However, with pest control, many homeowners are concerned about the impact of the chemicals used to treat pests on their kids, pets and the environment. You shouldn’t have to live with harmful chemicals just to keep pests at bay. Safer alternatives that are more effective for pest treatment and preventative pest control are available.We do pest control throughout the metro area from our offices in Phoenix and Gilbert. Whether you live in Peoria, Scottsdale, Glendale, Queen Creek, or farther out in a town like Surprise, we can do family and pet-safe pest control.Environmentally Friendly Pest Control ApplicationAt Blue Sky Pest, we treat areas where pests frequent and nest, reducing and controlling the pest population in and around our home. By treating pests at the source, we minimize the amount of pest solution around your home, while also effectively and quickly knocking down pest populations and controlling their ability to re-establish themselves around your home.Related: Is Pest Control Pet Friendly? Our custom and personalized pest treatment plan is specifically developed to treat the pests around and in your home. In other words, a one-size fits all approach to pest control is not an environmentally effective and family and pet safe solution. With a customized plan, we target pests where they nest to control the population, as well as at common entry points into your home to protect your home from pest invasions.Our treatment plan also can include an analysis of your home and suggestions for making your home less likely to be inhabited by pests. For example, we might recommend replacing old weather stripping on a door in order to seal your door off from pest entry.Green Pest Control SolutionsThere are several ways to employ environmentally friendly and family and pet safe pest control and pest prevention. One option is a natural or USDA organically certified product line. These products offer a unique, synergistic blend of essential oils that effectively control pest populations. Blue Sky Pest offers Natural and Organic pest control solutions for families concerned not just about family and pet safety, but also concerned about environmental impact. In fact, while a natural or organic pest control solution treatment might cost more upfront, the properties of such a treatment actually last longer, which might result in long term savings.Alternatives to Pest Control Sprays and TreatmentsOnce your home and surrounding area have been treated with an all-natural organic solution for pest control, encouraging natural predators is another option for prevention of pest population growth in Phoenix. For example, birds and bats regularly feed on insects. As a result, if the area surrounding your home is hospitable to these predators, you may notice a decrease in the number of pests you see throughout the year.Strongly scented plants, including many herbs, are natural pest repellants, making your garden a great solution for preventative pest control year round. Another chemical free solution for environmentally friendly pest control is a heat treatment, which raises temperatures within a sealed off rom to kill most pest populations.Another option when considering green pest control is to not treat the pests. A good example of when this might be a reasonable decision is in the case of bees. Bees and beehives are great for flowers and the environment, so removing a hive might not be something you choose if environmentally friendly pest control is of concern to you. In the case of bees, you must decide if the benefits to the environment outweigh the cons. For example, if someone in your family is allergic to bees, the benefits for removing a hive outweigh the benefits for keeping it. It is important to note that this is not an advisable solution for many Phoenix pests including termites, scorpions and bed bugs.Related: Organic Pest Control in Phoenix Keep Your Family’s Safety when Controlling PestsThe best thing you can do for environmentally and family friendly preventative pest control in Arizona is call a reputable pest control company and ask them about the solutions they use. At Blue Sky Pest, all of our pest treatments are environmentally friendly and safe for kids and pets to be around. Furthermore, because we customize our treatment plan to each homes individual needs, we are able to minimize the chemicals needed and treat pests at their source, rather than spraying your entire home and the surrounding area for pests. If you’re considering your options for green pest control, give us a call to learn more about your options.
5 Reasons for Beehive Removal + 4 Reasons to Leave it Alone January 23, 2013 - By: Nathan Woolf Finding a beehive on your property can be a disconcerting experience. Removing a beehive can be difficult, expensive, and even dangerous. Don’t panic just yet, though. Just because you’ve found a beehive does not automatically mean that you have to remove it. Read on, and consider the pros and cons of removal before making up your mind about what to do.We do bee and wasp control throughout the entire Phoenix area. If you need other pests removed, we can get rid of them for you. That includes spiders, ants, mice and rats, cockroaches, and more.Related: What If I’m Still Seeing Bugs After Spraying?Reasons to Remove A Beehive1. AllergiesIf you, a member of your family, or a guest that regularly visits you is allergic to bees, then removal is pretty much a necessity. Bee venom allergies can cause a variety of unpleasant and even life-threatening medical reactions. If you are the allergic party, we strongly advise you to keep a safe distance from the hive. Even after the hive itself is removed bee activity may continue for a day or two. Be sure the coast is clear before re-entering the area following a removal.2. Inconvenient LocationEven if nobody in your family is allergic, bee stings are still painful. Because of this, sometimes the hive sits in an inconvenient location that necessitates its removal. If the beehive is located close to a door or window, then the odds of bees finding their way inside, or swarming on anyone leaving the house, become too high to be ignored.3. Structural DamageSome types of bees, like the carpenter bee, often build hives inside house walls. These bees bore holes in wood and can cause serious structural damage. These hives need to be removed straight away before they infiltrate too deeply into the walls, increasing the extermination price and even lowering your property value.4. Perfume, Aftershave, Cologne and DeodorantIf you or any member of your family habitually wears perfume, cologne, aftershave or scented deodorant, then you are probably better off removing the hive. Scents like these can confuse bees into thinking that you are a walking floral arrangement. Stings often result from this confusion.5. You Already Raise BeesMany people raise bees as a hobby. If you raise your own bees then you need to remove any wild hives that you find, so that they don’t crowd your bees out of the picture.Reasons to Keep A Beehive1. You GardenIf you have a garden then you want to seriously consider keeping the beehive instead of getting rid of it. This holds true whether you have a flower garden or a vegetable garden. Bees pollinate plants. They form an integral part of the lifecycle of most flowers and vegetables. You’ll be doing your garden a great favor by keeping bees close at hand, making it more productive.2. KarmaIf the hive is far away from the house, and nobody in your family is allergic, then why bother the bees? They aren’t likely to hurt anyone, and by leaving them alone you are disturbing your local ecosystem as little as possible, and doing the bees a good turn. Besides, leaving them alone saves you time and money.Related: Arizona Bee Removal3. Environmental ResponsibilityWild bee populations all over the world are in decline. While scientists have no firm idea as to why this is so, they are all agreed on the fact that this decline can put a serious strain on both wild and cultivated plants all over the world. If you leave that wild beehive in place then you are doing your part to keep the environment functioning smoothly.4. Bird WatchingIf you are an avid birdwatcher, then you should consider leaving the hive alone. Many unusual and beautiful birds sometimes feed on bees, such as the ruby-throated hummingbird and the Olive-sided flycatcher. Keeping the hive in place will help attract these birds to your property.Removing A Beehive ConclusionThere are a variety of reasons to remove or not remove a beehive. If you aren’t sure what to do or how to remove a beehive at your home or business, give us a call or click here to get a quote. We do bee control throughout the entire Phoenix area including Gilbert, Peoria, Mesa, and Scottsdale.