They may be creeping in your home and you don’t even realize it… They spend all their time eating away at the wood and never get tired… what are they? TERMITES! These wood destroying insects can be in your home for years without you even realizing it! Also known as the ‘silent destroyer’, a termite is an insect that eats wood as its main source of food. They build satellite colonies away from their food source and then travel to their food source to eat the wood from the inside out. If this food source is your home, you have plenty of reasons to worry!

What kind of damage can termites do?

Because termite damage isn’t obvious to begin with, their damage is usually overlooked for YEARS. As they begin their feeding on the wood in your structure, you may never even realize they are present. Eventually they hollow out the wood in your home’s structure, making it look water or weather damaged and packing it full of ‘mud’, which is really just termite excrement. Wood can look saggy or droopy and wood that has extensive termite damage can become structurally unsound.

What are signs of termites?

As we already mentioned, it can be challenging to recognize a termite infestation until the problem becomes out of hand. Some signs of termites may include:

• Mud tubes along walls- these tubes are used by termites to travel to your home from their colony, which is usually located outside and away from your home. Since termites dry out easily, the mud protects them and keeps their delicate bodies moist.
• Painted wood that has termite damage looks blistered and the paint can peel.
• Shed termite wings are a sign that termites have ‘swarmed’ in or near your home. These ‘swarms’ are what happens when the reproductive termites fly up out of the ground and attempt to find a mate. Once a mate is chosen, the termites drop to the ground, their wings fall off and they go in search of a place to build their new colony.
• Wood that has termite damage may sound hollow when tapped on.
• Door and window frames with termite damage look like they are sagging.
• Termite damage can present like water damage, but if you look closely, you may see termite mud seeping through cracks or fractures in the wood.

CALL NOW!

The German cockroach is one of the most common roaches found in apartment houses, restaurants, and hotels. German cockroaches (eggs included), are “brought in”, usually on man’s belongings, luggage, boxes or packages.

All it takes is bringing in one egg capsule, six months later you have an infestation.

German Roach Control & Treatments
German Roaches & Sanitation
When beginning your German roach control program, sanitation is one of the first things to consider. German roaches only need a small amount of food to sustain them.

Remove indoor trash or keep them emptied.
Keep trash dumpsters clean.
Make sure food is not left in sink stainers and frequently run the garbage disposal.
Keep dishes clean, no residue of food remaining.
All kitchen appliances (microwaves, toasters, ovens, refrigerators and stoves) should be maintained in a clean condition so that it is food free and grease free.
All pet food needs to be picked up.
No food left out.
Sweeping or vacuuming of any food particles or crumbs.
Clean any crumbs or food particles in your kitchen cabinets.
Inspection : Look for Evidence
When inspecting for German cockroaches, thoroughness is very important. It is important to place the insecticides as close to their runways and harborages as possible. Their excrement looks like black pepper.

A flashlight would be a handy tool to check the following places.

• Cracks and Crevices
• Behind and under refrigerators
• Behind and under stoves
• Behind and under microwavesa and toasters
• Under tops of tables
• Behind and under sinks
• Cabinets-corners and cracks and crevices
• Motors of refrigerators and soft drink dispensing machines
• Switchboxes and electical outlets
• Under and behind cafeteria counters and soda fountains
• Cash registers
• Telephones
• Vegetable bins
• ecycling bins
• Meat counters and check-out stands
• Meat cutting blocks
• Anywhere else conditions are favorable.
• Every situation may be different, inspect all places with favorable conditions

Mosquito control manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Mosquito control is a vital public-health practice throughout the world and especially in the tropics because mosquitoes spread many diseases, such as malaria.

Mosquito-control operations are targeted against three different problems:

Nuisance mosquitoes bother people around homes or in parks and recreational areas;
Economically important mosquitoes reduce real estate values, adversely affect tourism and related business interests, or negatively impact livestock or poultry production;
Public health is the focus when mosquitoes are vectors, or transmitters, of infectious disease.
Disease organisms transmitted by mosquitoes include West Nile virus, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus, Everglades virus, Highlands J virus, La Crosse Encephalitis virus in the United States; dengue fever, yellow fever, Ilheus virus, malaria, and filariasis in the American tropics; Rift Valley fever, Wuchereria bancrofti, Japanese Encephalitis, chikungunya, malaria and filariasis in Africa and Asia; and Murray Valley encephalitis in Australia.

Depending on the situation, source reduction, biocontrol, larviciding (killing of larvae), or adulticiding (killing of adults) may be used to manage mosquito populations. These techniques are accomplished using habitat modification, pesticide, biological-control agents, and trapping. The advantage of non-toxic methods of control is they can be used in Conservation Areas.

Monitoring mosquito populations[edit]
Adult mosquito populations may be monitored via landing rate counts, or by mechanical traps. For landing rate counts, an inspector visits a set number of sites every day, counting the number of adult female mosquitoes that land on a part of the body, such as an arm or both legs, within a given time interval. Mechanical traps use a fan to blow adult mosquitoes into a collection bag that is taken back to the laboratory for analysis of catch. The mechanical traps use visual cues (light, black/white contrasts) or chemical attractants that are normally given off by mosquito hosts (e.g. carbon dioxide, ammonia, lactic acid, octenol) to attract adult female mosquitoes. These cues are often used in combination.

Monitoring larval mosquito populations involves collecting larvae from standing water with a dipper or a turkey baster. The habitat, approximate total number of larvae and pupae, and species are noted for each collection. An alternative method works by providing artificial breeding spots (ovitraps) and collecting and counting the developing larvae at fixed intervals.

Source reduction[edit]
Since many mosquitoes breed in standing water, source reduction can be as simple as emptying water from containers around the home. This is something that homeowners can accomplish. For example, homeowners can eliminate mosquito breeding grounds by removing unused plastic pools, old tires, or buckets; by clearing clogged gutters and repairing leaks around faucets; by regularly (at least every 4 days) changing water in bird baths; and by filling or draining puddles, swampy areas, and tree stumps. Eliminating such mosquito breeding areas can be an extremely effective and permanent way to reduce mosquito populations without resorting to insecticides.[1] However, this may not be possible in parts of the developing world where water cannot be readily replaced due to irregular water supply.[citation needed]

Open water marsh management (OWMM) involves the use of shallow ditches, about 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 2 feet (0.61 m) deep, to create a network of water flow within marshes and to connect the marsh to a pond or canal. The network of ditches drains the mosquito habitat and lets in fish which will feed on mosquito larvae. This reduces the need for other control methods such as pesticides. Simply giving the predators access to the mosquito larvae can result in long-term mosquito control.[2] Open-water marsh management is used on both the eastern and western coasts of the United States.

Rotational impoundment management (RIM) involves the use of large pumps and culverts with gates to control the water level within an impounded marsh. RIM allows mosquito control to occur while still permitting the marsh to function in a state as close to its natural condition as possible. Water is pumped into the marsh in the late spring and summer to prevent the female mosquito from laying her eggs on the soil. The marsh is allowed to drain in the fall, winter, and early spring. Gates in the culverts are used to permit fish, crustaceans, and other marsh organisms to enter and exit the marsh. RIM allows the mosquito-control goals to be met while at the same time reducing the need for pesticide use within the marsh. Rotational impoundment management is used to a great extent on the east coast of Florida.