In recent years mosquitoes have been associated with the threat some species bring with them known as the West Nile Virus. Mosquitoes normally begin to emerge around May or June when the temperature warms up along the Wasatch Front.

Homeowners may reduce mosquitoe breeding grounds by eliminating standing water on their property. 

Extrol provides your Yard Guard service program to assist with the control and elimination of mosquitoes.  Your yard guard program runs from May through September as a monthly application.  Extrol is able to apply a blanket broad spectrum treatment to your property to control mosquitoes as they land and breed on your home turf.  It can be quite challenging for a homeowner to get good and adequate coverage of their entire property by themselves.  Extrol has the equipment to cover large areas quickly and thoroughly to protect against mostquitoes around your home and yard.

Is spraying for bugs really toxic?  Click this link and tell us what you think.

http://theyresearch.com/2008/03/19/they-say-spraying-for-bugs-is-toxic/

German Cockroaches

The German cockroach is the leading pest cockroach along the Wasatch Front.  This roach is normally found in either multi-tenant dwelling buildings such as apartments or in restaurants.  The pest population numbers for this roach can be quite staggering.  A single female may have 35,000 offspring in the course of a year between her own young and their offspring.  German cockroaches tend to dwell in the kitchen and bathrooms of buildings.  The reason is that there is normally a plentiful supply of both food and water in these areas.  They prefer to nest close to these food and water sources and when they are not out looking for food and water they will lounge in a comfortable crack or corner until it is time to feed.

This formidable pest can be very difficult to control.  Since it has the ability to conceal itself in the most minute cracks and to hide on the inside of machines and walls it may very difficult to reach them in many instances.

Controlling the German Cockroach.  Control of the German cockroach can be a complicated process.  There are a number of tools at the disposal of the pest management professional.  Any number of products from sprays, dusts, baits and growth regulators may be used alone or in conjunction with one another to achieve control and elimination of this insidious pest.

This tiny pest measures in at approximately 1/30 of an inch.  Clover mites are small but they can bombard your home in very large numbers.  Some homeowners may experience infestations numbering in the thousands.  They are normally red in color.  Clover mites have a tendency to invade the south and west sides of homes where there is sunlight exposure to the structure.  Large numbers may be found coming through windows and doors and then spreading onto floors and counters.  Clover mites are not a destructive pest nor do they bite.  If you smash them they may leave stains and residues on light colored surfaces.

Controlling the Clover Mite.  Large populations of this pest may be partly reduced by vacuuming.  In addition residual sprays specifically labeled for this pest should be applied indoors with attention around entry points and problem areas.  On the perimeter of the structure careful attention should be given to the base of the structure, especially the cracks at the base of the building where eggs may be deposited.  A barrier of a few feet out and away from the foundation is helpful in significantly reducing these pests.  Extrol has the equipment and specific products to deal with clover mites.  Organic options available upon request.

The common house centipede is normally about an inch or a little better in length.  These “occassional invaders” will normally be found in damp areas of a structure such as a crawlspace or damp basement.  House centipedes are found in relatively few numbers, sometimes one to two or up to as many as half a dozen to a dozen in a home.  The common house centipede would indeed have a difficult time breaking the skin to bite a person, although it has happened on occassion.  The bite has been compared to that of a bee or wasp sting.  Their bite is not lethal to children or adults.

A thorough inspection of the structure would reveal the best formulations to use and the best locations to place the insecticide application(s) to contol  this pest in your home.

Carpenter ants are considered a wood destroying insect.  Carpenter ants do not attack and destroy wood as a food source.  Instead of eating the wood they bore it out to use it as a nesting site.  Compared to a number of other ant species carpenter ants tend to be larger in size than most ants.  Carpenter ants like to nest in wall voids, attics, and ceilings inside your home.  In the outdoor environment carpenter ants are inclined to nest in dead or decaying wood.  Railroad ties tend to be a very appealing outdoor location for them to take up residence.

Controlling the Carpenter Ant. It is important, so far as possible to locate and destroy colonies at the source.  Sometimes this is very difficult to achieve indoors because nests can be embedded deep inside wall voids and other hard to get areas of the structure.  In many cases a combined strategy of spraying, dusting and baiting is involved.

Extrol will normally only engage in carpenter ant remedy under the conditions of a service program.  It may take time to locate and destroy multiple colonies on a specific property and many times the problem may extend to adjacent properties.

Extrol is a Bird Barrier solutions provider.  Click here to identify and learn more about your particular pest bird.  Extrol will analyze and customize a solution for your specific bird problem.

Bees are considered a beneficial insect.  They produce honey and provide pollination to plant life.  If you are dealing with a bee problem your best remedy is to contact a bee keeper that may be willing to remove the problem for you at no charge.

Contrary to popular belief termites are a problem along the Wasatch Front.  We are considered to have moderate termite pressure in this area.  Along the Wasatch Front we deal with the species known as the Western Subterranean Termite (Reticulitermes hesperus).  The term subterranean is used to specify the location of colonies which are typically located underneath the soil surface anywhere from a few inches to a few feet.  This species of termite can be found clear up into southern Canada.

These termites will feed on anything that is cellulose based which is what wood is comprised of.  Termites may be found feeding on wood beams, cardboard boxes, the paper attached to sheet rock and a number of other sources in a structure.  There is an increased probablity for feeding on any of these items if they are exposed to moisture. 

The history of treatment for this pest has evolved over the last several decades.  Since the early 1900’s treatment methoeds were designed to control termites by applying a chemical to the wood and to the soil that was designed to kill the foraging termites if they received enough exposure to the chemical application or simply repel them from the structure if they did not receive a large enough dose to kill them.  This method was never able to get to the heart of the problem which is the colony itself.

Eventually baiting systems were designed and introduced.  They began to gain momentum through the 80’s and 90’s.  Some companies would implement a combined repellent and baiting solution for a structure.  The baiting allows for foragers to take the bait back to the colony to wipe it out at the source.  Bait systems also enable some level of monitoring capability.

In approximately the year 2000 a new line of products were released into the marketplace.   This was a breakthrough in termite treatment technology.  It was the introduction of non-repellent termiticides.  The benefit of these new products is that they are undetectable to the termites.  With the old repellent chemical technology termites could detect breaks in the chemical barrier.  An anology I often like to use is the comparison of the chemical to a burner on a stove.  If you slowly moved your hand to the burner you would detect the heat of the burner and back away from it before you were burned or you would try to go around it if you needed to get to something.

Slow-acting non-repellent termiticides are the dominant method of choice among todays professionals.  These products are very effective at eliminating termite colonies in approximately 8-12 weeks.

Bats can pose a number of threats and problems to homeowners and to other structures where people reside and dwell.  Bats can carry rabies which can be lethal if it goes undiagnosed in a person.  The threat may arise when bats that are nesting in the walls of a structure find access to the interior.  Sometimes people find that a bat is inside the building and then just try and push it outdoors.  If a bite occurs during the night when a person is sleeping this is a time when exposure may have occured without the individual having knowledge of it.  The best strategy in this situation would be to have a professional capture the bat and have it tested for rabies.

Extrol implements mechanical barrier strategies that allow the bats to leave the structure and not to return.