Monthly Archives

October 2019

Keeping Your Home & Pumpkins Safe from Pests this Halloween

By | blog, Insects, Rodents, Tips & Inspirations, Trapping Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments

Halloween pest control can help keep your holiday festive.

Halloween Pest Control - Cota

It’s October, a chill is in the air and homeowners are busy decking their halls with spiders, rats and other creepy crawlers in preparation for Halloween.  It is about the only time of the year that pests are an acceptable décor choice around the home.  Holiday displays aside, here are some tips for keeping the real pests at bay this year.

Spiders – better out than in

Did you know that spiders can actually be a beneficial pest, particularly in your garden? Perhaps not the best news if you suffer from arachnophobia. It’s true though, spiders in your garden play a pivotal role in keeping down the number of plant-killing bugs and may also prevent you from being stung while working in your garden. However, very few of us want to share our homes with these creatures.

Spider pest control tips

  1. To keep spiders out of your home, consider performing some exclusion work, filling cracks and crevices, sealing gaps and openings around the home and replacing door sweeps that may no longer provide a strong seal.
  2. Another great line of defense against indoor spiders is your vacuum cleaner. Suck up any visible spiders and be sure to remove cobwebs around your home as well.
  3. Finally, consider monitoring your home for spiders with our glue traps and boards. Place our glue trays or boards in out of the way areas to find what’s really creeping around your home this fall.

Halloween Pest Control - Rat Facts

Halloween Pest Control – Keeping the Rats at Bay

Much like spiders, rats can enter your home through relatively small cracks and holes. Did you know that a rat can squeeze its body through a hole the size of a quarter? There are a couple of actions you can take to keep rats away. First, fill any holes or gaps you find around the perimeter of your home. Second, keep your plumbing in tip top shape. Like many other pests, rats are drawn to moisture and a leaky pipe can be the water source needed.

Beware the Pumpkin Eaters

Lastly, be careful where you place that seasonal pumpkin. Pumpkins are a huge component of Halloween Pest Control.  Pumpkins left outdoors are a great food source for rats, mice and other rodents and will also draw pests to your home particularly as the pumpkin begins to rot.

Pumpkin pest prevention

  1. Display pumpkins in a cool, dry place to prevent mold and rot from setting in early and attract insects.
  2. You can protect your pumpkins with a simple mixture of bleach and water. Simply spray this mixture on a carved pumpkin each day before Halloween for an easy, effective pest management practice to keep fruit flies and other insects at bay.
  3. To avoid your pumpkin serving as a food source for rodents and squirrels in the area, try coating the pumpkin inside and out with hot pepper sauce.

We hope these tips help you to enjoy the Halloween season where the only pests you see are a part of your seasonal décor.

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster® brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/

Additional Halloween Pest Control Resources

Looking for more Halloween pest tips?  Gest some mosquito tips from our own Captain Stan (aka the Mosquito Man) here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/halloween-mosquito-prevention/

Learn more about pests at Pest World, the official site of the National Pest Management Association here: http://pestworld.org/

Halloween Mosquito Prevention

By | Insects, Mosquitoes, Trapping Tips | No Comments

Don’t let mosquitoes take a bit out of your fun this year – use these 4 Halloween mosquito prevention tips to enjoy pest-free trick-or-treating!

Ah- Halloween!  The season of gremlins and ghouls is upon us, and costumes and candy rule the day!  However, if your locality has not experienced a heavy freeze, nasty mosquitoes will still be out on Halloween. Here are a few tips from Vampire Captain Stan to minimize your exposure whether you are dispensing candy or seeking it yourself.

Halloween Mosquito Prevention - Mosquito Fun Facts

4 Easy Halloween Mosquito Prevention Tips

  1. If costumes permit, cover as much of your exposed skin as possible. Limit access for the blood-seekers (mosquitoes, not vampires!)
  2. If needed, use a mosquito repellent that has an EPA-registered active ingredient (https://www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/prevent-mosquito-bites.html)
  3. Mosquitoes love entering houses through open doors. When answering the doorbell, don’t leave the door wide open while giving treats.  Invite the visitors in or go outside with them.  If weather permits, you can set up your candy store outside or in the garage but be sure and protect yourself!
  4. Many kinds of mosquitoes are highly attracted to white light. Consider using yellow ‘bug lights’ or perhaps even super cool Halloween bulbs in your outdoor fixtures.  This will help limit the mosquitoes attracted to your front door as well as to your property.

Happy Haunting and remember:  Safety First!

Captain Stan Cope (aka the Mosquito Man) is our Vice President of Technical Services.  Learn more about Stan here:  https://catchmaster.com/introducing-captain-stan-the-mosquito-man/

Additional Resources

For help with mosquito season 2019 & beyond, discover Catchmaster® mosquito management tools:  https://catchmasterpro.com/product/final-feed-mosquito-bait/

Finally, learn more about mosquitoes from the NPMA here: https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/mosquitoes/

Catchmaster Pestimonial – Envirosafe

By | Insects, Pestimonials, Rodents, Uncategorized | No Comments

Catchmaster Pestimonial – Envirosafe

In this edition of our Catchmaster Pestimonial series, Veteran PMP Gary Pietrucha says the Catchmaster® brand listens to its customers, creating a corporate culture that values relationships and drives innovation.

The Value of Relationships

Relationships are important to Gary Pietrucha, owner and president of Envirosafe Pest Management, Itasca, Ill. Upon launching his company in 1988, the veteran PMP knew he wanted to operate a “boutique business” providing high-quality, environmentally sensitive pest control services, but one which also maintained close ties with its customers and employees as it grew.

“From the day I started, I wanted to be directly involved in the business,” he says. “I wanted to be large enough to handle major accounts, but small enough to know what was going on in every facet of the business. I didn’t want to lose track of my customers or employees. I wanted to be that ‘go-to’ person for both of them, and I think I’ve been successful.”

Catchmaster Pestimonial – The Value of Glue Boards

Those are also qualities Pietrucha values in his vendor relationships, which is why he thinks so highly of AP&G, manufacturer of the popular Catchmaster® line of products. Pietrucha says one of the reasons AP&G has been successful for so many years (the company was founded in 1952) is they listen to their customers.

A longtime proponent of glue boards, Pietrucha says he uses these valuable IPM tools in a variety of accounts, from warehouse and distribution centers to food-service facilities.

“Glue boards are an amazing pest control resource,” he says. “Us old-timers remember taking a gallon of bulk glue and making giant glue boards designed to capture large numbers of rodents. They were effective in reducing populations, but they looked unprofessional.”

Thanks to companies like AP&G, however, glue boards have become more sophisticated and increasingly effective over time. Today, the New Jersey-based company offers a comprehensive line of adhesive products, including rat glue boards, mouse glue boards, custom glue boards and glue trays.

“Glue boards are a very simple devices with multiple uses,” Pietrucha observes. “We use them in a variety of different applications and they also offer a number of public health benefits. Rodents not only get stuck on the boards, but the pathogens and parasites that reside on those rodents also get stuck.”

Catch Zone™ Pest Boundary Roll – A Timely Innovation

Catchmaster Pestimonial - Catch Zone

“I also use Catch ZoneTM in a number of accounts,” Pietrucha says. Perfect for clean outs and protecting large, sensitive areas, Catchmaster® Catch ZoneTM comes in 60-foot by 12-inch rolls that can be cut easily to conform to virtually any space, providing a first line of defense against both rodents and insects.

Pietrucha was so impressed with the product that he wondered if it could be adapted to control rats by applying a thicker layer of glue. “I asked Dave Johnson, my sales representative, and he listened,” Pietrucha says, shaking his head in amazement. “I’m small potatoes, just a little pest control guy from Itasca, but they listened to me! They took my comments to heart and helped me out. Now I can level the playing field against rats. I can put this long strip of glue out there and provide very effective rodent control.”

Catchmaster Pestimonial - Pallet Image

Learn more about our Catch Zone™ Pest Boundary Roll here: https://catchmasterpro.com/product/catch-zone-pest-boundary-roll/

Learn more about Envirosafe here: http://www.pestmgmt.com/

Read other stories in our Catchmaster Pestimonial series here: https://catchmasterpro.com/?s=pestimonial

Special thanks to the team at PCT Magazine for their contributions to this article: https://www.pctonline.com/

Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)

By | Insects, Mosquitoes, Tips & Inspirations | No Comments

Eastern Equine Encephalitis – History

Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), also known as sleeping sickness, was first recognized in 1831 when 75 horses died in Massachusetts.  The EEE virus was first isolated from horse brain in 1933.  Human cases were recognized in 1938 when 30 children died in the Northeast US.

Geography

Most cases occur in the Eastern US or Gulf Coast states as well as the upper Midwest.  Many cases are associated with hardwood swamps.  The virus is maintained in a mosquito-bird-mosquito cycle.  In the summer and early fall it is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes .  These mosquitoes are referred to as ‘bridge vectors’, as they ‘bridge’ the virus from birds to humans.  The virus cannot be transmitted human to human.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis - Mosquito Fun Facts

Eastern Equine Encephalitis – Impact on Public Health

About 30% of those who get Eastern Equine Encephalitis die, and those who survive have significant neurological impairment.  Those over the age of 50 and under 15 are at increased risk of severe disease, and infection provides life-long immunity.  There is no vaccine for humans.

Clinical illness presents in two forms:

  • A systemic illness, with symptoms much like influenza, that lasts 1-2 weeks with complete recovery
  • An encephalitic (inflammation of the brain) illness with restlessness, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and coma.

2019 Update

The average number of cases per year is about 7.  However, in 2019 there have already been at least 27 cases in 6 states with 11 deaths (as of October 3rd).  Cases so far by state with deaths in parentheses include Massachusetts – 11 (4), Michigan – 8 (3), Connecticut – 4 (3), Rhode Island – 1 (1), New Jersey – 1, North Carolina – 1.

Captain Stan Cope (aka the Mosquito Man) is our Vice President of Technical Services.  Learn more about Stan here:  https://catchmaster.com/introducing-captain-stan-the-mosquito-man/

Additional Resources

For help with mosquito season 2019 & beyond, discover Catchmaster® mosquito management tools:  https://catchmasterpro.com/product/final-feed-mosquito-bait/

Finally, learn more about mosquitoes from the NPMA here: https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/mosquitoes/