Glue Trap Lights For Fly Control

Glue Board Fly Killers

What is a glue board? A glue board (aka sticky board or gluepad) is a piece of stiff card with very heavy adhesive on one side. It is inserted into a fly killer machine.

What is a fly killer machine? It is a device that attracts flying insects by shining ultra violet light and then traps them.

What is ultra violet (uv) light? It is light just like any other light. It just happens to be invisible to humans but not to flies, who are extremely partial to it and tend to eagerly fly towards it. Anyway, a fly killer machine attracts flies using its uv light. Some fly killer machines have electric grids that electrocute the fly while others have glue boards on which the fly is trapped. This brings us back where we started.

Once the fly is trapped, it is no longer a threat. Fly killer machines that use glue boards are often used in situations where silent operation is required. Fly killers that electrocute (or zap) the fly give out an unmistakable noise that lets everyone know that the machine has made a kill.

Some restaurants would prefer a more subtle operation where the fly discreetly flies into the fly killer machine and never comes out - and no sound is ever heard. Glue board fly killer machines are often made to mimic wall lights. Diners in a restaurant will not give these lamps a second glance, but they are not lamps in the normal sense.

They are difference between having a fly spreading germs and giving the restaurant a bad name and a restaurant that pays regard to hygiene and has a good reputation.

If you live near a field or know somebody that does, then you may be aware that they will get more than their fair share of flies (and wasps). Similarly, if you keep livestock, have stables or even a dog, you will have more than the average amount of visits from curious flying insects. The same goes if you live near a food production plant or a refuse dump.

For those who are in these areas, they too may prefer one of these discreet fly killer "lamps" instead of the industrial-looking zappers. Life is more comfortable in a fly-free environment. There is nothing worse than trying to entertain friends with a rolled up newspaper in one hand, at the ready. To be on constant guard when you should be relaxing is not ideal. Worse still is the fact that your unwelcome visitors - the flying ones, not your friends - will also spread disease.

They will typically visit animal droppings, or a trash can, and then fly around your kitchen, spreading germs that they have picked up on their feet or regurgitating their own saliva on solids that they need to soften in order to digest. Not nice - and completely avoidable if a fly killer machine is used.

Fly killers fitted with glueboards will use less electricity than zapper fly killers. In an age when electricity prices are rising this is an increasingly significant consideration. There are also those who like to count their dead flies. Why, you may ask? Counting how many flies are killed will give an indication of the fly killer machine's effectiveness and an idea of flying insect activity.

This is particularly useful to entomologists and other scientists and researchers, especially those concerned with the environment. Pest controllers will also use this method to determine the best place to site a fly killer. By moving the machine from one location to another they can count the amount of flies caught and determine the best place to site the machine. Manufacturers of fly killer machines, such as Insect-o-cutor. also use this method to test fly killer machine designs.

The method of trapping flying insects using glue has been with us for a very long time and way before electricity came along and gave us zappers. Hanging sticky papers is a practice that still happens today. It is much less common as most people would rather not see lots of dead flies hanging in their kitchen.

Not only did electricity give us zappers but it also gave us ultra violet lamps. These will attract the flies to the glue, whereas sticky papers tended to only work if there were enough of them or if the fly's seemingly random flight pattern happened to take it to the paper.

Glue board fly killers are used extensively around the world. If you knew very little about them before and know more now, then at least, when you next are harassed by a fly that refuses to be swatted, you know there is another way to do it.

by Vernon Stent

Vernon Stent is the content writer for Arkay Hygiene. Here is a glue board fly killer, and here is a glue board

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vernon_Stent

How To Select A Professional Pest Control Company

Selecting a Pest Control Company

If you have a problem with unwanted pests in your home, and you've exhausted all the self-help remedies you know, you may be considering hiring a commercial pest control company to deal with the problem. Hiring a professional might be exactly the right solution for you; but you need to do your homework.

First, how do you locate a company? Checking the yellow pages of your local phone book might be a good start; doing a keyword search on the Internet for your area could also work, and you have the added benefit of seeing what information the company provides, on itself and on pest control generally. Ask friends and coworkers for recommendations.

After you've developed a list of pest control services, and before you call these companies, start asking more questions of your friends and coworkers. Have any of them used these companies? What was their experience? Did the company in question solve their pest infestation issues? Were there any problems dealing with the company? Any problems in the home after the company performed their services?

Once you've narrowed down your list to a few potential providers, call them on the phone, and ask some more questions: does the company offer a free home evaluation and estimate of costs? Does it give you advice on what you can do to deal with the problem yourself? Is the company willing to answer questions readily?

Specific questions to ask: what kinds of chemicals are used? (If possible, have them provide written information on the chemicals.) What sorts of side effects or potential dangers do these chemicals have on family members, adults and children, and on pets? Do your family and household pets need to vacate the premises during the pest control treatment?

Make sure you ask whether the company offers nontoxic, natural pest control. The company should be willing to at least discuss the options; if its representative just dismisses the notion of nontoxic pest control without intelligently discussing the pros and cons of the natural remedies available, but just wants to get into your house and spray, beware!

With written information (or your own notes) in hand, do your own research on any chemicals that will be used - their effectiveness, their possible side effects, their potential toxicity. (The Internet is a great place to start for this.) If you have family members with serious health issues, particularly asthma or other respiratory ailments, make sure you know what the potential effect of sprayed compounds could have on them.

Finally, if you have any questions about the company's reliability, and you can't find anyone you know and whose judgment you trust to vouch for them, contact your local or state Better Business Bureau or Consumer Fraud Division, to find out whether there have been any complaints lodged against them.

Once you've hired a company, make sure you know who is going to be showing up at your home and when. Make sure they have proper I.D., and ask if you can be there to supervise the process or if you have to leave, and for how long.

And while you've got access to the professional treating your home, ask what you can do to avoid pest control problems in the future, particularly those involving destructive carpenter ants and termites. The guy (or gal) who actually does the work probably has insights into the subject that the office staff doesn't have.

by Aldene Fredenburg

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events.

Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aldene_Fredenburg

Spiders! Spider Biology, Identity, Control and Prevention Measures

I ran into a great resource the other day for not only controlling spiders, but tons of useful arachnida information and lots of pictures via a website and a PDF report that you can download from The OHIO State University website.

If you have ever wanted to know how to get rid of spiders in or around the house, here is just some of the pest control information information available there

Excerpted from OHIO State University site:

Control Measures
Control of spiders is best achieved by following an integrated pest management (IPM) approach that involves multiple tactics, such as preventive measures, exclusion, sanitation, and chemicals applied to targeted sites. IPM requires a thorough inspection of the building to locate the pest and its harborages. An inspection should be done at night if the species is nocturnal.

An important first step is to correctly identify the spider, as this determines which management tactics to adopt that take into account specific biology and habits. For example, if the spider is a web builder, control efforts should target its web because that is where this spider spends most of its time. On the other hand, active hunters are spiders that move about widely, and some species are most likely to contact insecticide-treated surfaces at ground level.

Within each of the following categories, particular tactics may be more or less applicable, depending on the species of spider:

Preventing spider bites
Shake out clothing and shoes before getting dressed.
Inspect bedding and towels before use.
Wear gloves when handling firewood, lumber, and rocks (be sure to inspect the gloves for spiders before putting them on).
Remove bedskirts. Move the bed away from the wall.
Don’t store boxes and other items underneath beds.
Exercise care when handling cardboard boxes (some spiders may inhabit the space under folded cardboard flaps).

Exclusion
Install tight-fitting screens on windows and doors; also install weather stripping and door sweeps.
Seal or caulk cracks and crevices where spiders can enter the house.
Equip vents in soffits, foundations, and roof gables with tight-fitting screens.
Install yellow or sodium vapor light bulbs outdoors since these attract fewer insects for spiders to feed upon.
Many web-making spiders set up residence near lights that remain on at night. Locate such lights away from the house or turn them off when not needed.
Tape the edges of cardboard boxes to prevent spider entry.
Use plastic bags (sealed) to store loose items in the garage, basement, and attic.

Sanitation
Remove trash, old boxes, old clothing, wood piles, rock piles, and other unwanted items.
Eliminate clutter in closets, basements, attics, garages, and outbuildings.
Store items off the floor and away from walls in basements, crawl spaces, attics, garages, and outbuildings in order to reduce spider harborage sites.
Eliminate household pests (prey) such as flies, ants, and cockroaches that attract spiders.
Do not stack wood against the house.
Remove heavy vegetation and leaf litter around the foundation.
Wash spider webs off the outside of the house using a high-pressure hose.

Non-chemical control
Capture the spider and release it outdoors. An effective technique for capturing hunting spiders is to place a cup over the spider and then slide a piece of paper underneath to entrap it.
Dust and vacuum thoroughly to remove spiders, webs, and egg sacs (dispose of the vacuum bag in a container outdoors).
Outdoors, use a water hose or broom to regularly destroy any webs that are constructed on or around the house. Spiders often move elsewhere when their webs are regularly destroyed.
Use a rolled up newspaper or fly swatter to kill individual spiders.
Use sticky traps or glueboards to entangle spiders.

Insecticides
There are many labeled pesticides for spider control. Some are labeled for homeowner use, while others are labeled only for the licensed, certified pesticide applicator.

Individual exposed spiders can be killed with a nonresidual aerosol spray, but any egg sacs will be unaffected. It generally is best to use a vacuum cleaner so that the egg sac is removed from the premises.

For web builders, insecticide treatments should be applied so that the chemical contacts spiders in their webs. A nonrepellent insecticidal dust is useful to treat webs because the dust clings to the silk and is likely to be contacted by the spider. Residual dusts can be applied to voids and inaccessible areas where spiders may hide.

A wettable powder or microencapsulated “slow-release” formulation of a residual insecticide can be applied to corners, behind and under furniture, behind stored items, etc. to control active hunting spiders. This approach also is useful to prevent establishment of new spiders. Aerosol flushing agents such as pyrethrins, though ineffective by themselves in providing long-term control, can cause spiders to move about so that they contact treated surfaces.

Residual liquid sprays can be applied to the outside perimeter of the home (including under eaves, patios, and decks; behind window shutters), cracks and crevices of decorative molding, undisturbed corners, and other suspected spider harborages. Residual liquid sprays applied to the outside perimeter of the home are not very effective for species that display web-sitting behavior.

The 'Spiders In And Around The House' Report, which has much more information, can be downloaded from the OHIO State University website through this link: Spiders In And Around The House

Pigeon Pests - How To Solve The Problem?

I seen this awesome post in the archives (2003) on another blog today and just had to pass it on. Here's the excerpt, Check out their blog over at:

Pigeon pests

After yesterday's post about saving the poor stranded pigeon, I couldn't help but feel I was being a bit misleading to my regular readers. While I don't condone leaving a helpless animal to die, I do feel pigeons on the whole are pests. Winged squirrels you could say. And we all know how I feel about squirrels.

So today's blog entry is all about my pigeon problem. Namely: They roost where they shouldn't and leave piles of you know what that smells pretty nasty. I come home from work and they are like the characters from "King of the Hill" sitting in a row on my window ledges for hours on end. And, trust me, jumping up and down and waving your arms at them doesn't phase them a bit.

So I went surfing. There are a lot of companies with pigeon spikes, like these from Bird-B-Gone (which also has a "Bird Jolt" to give them an electric shock)

Bird-X makes a Bird-Proof Gel that works on masonry and metal that you can apply with a caulking gun.

There are visual deterrents, like the scare-crow eyed balloons at FlyBye.com, expensive ultrasonic devices or you can create a barrier with bird netting.

The options seem endless. I think for my window sills though I'll have to go with one of the pigeon spike products... that seems harmless to the animal and in the clear plastic, probably hardly visible on my third story windows. Now it's just a matter of figuring out which brand to go with...

Had any luck keeping pigeons off your house? I'd love to hear your experiences.
--- Cleveland Weblogs/Homeowner

Yikes, Bedbugs!!!

BED BUGS! by Michael F. Potter, Extension Entomologist

Most householders of this generation have never seen a bed bug. Until recently, they also were a rarity among pest control professionals. Bed bug infestations were common in the United States before World War II. But with improvements in hygiene, and especially the widespread use of DDT during the 1940s and '50s, the bugs all but vanished.

The pests remained prevalent, though, in other regions of the world including Asia, Africa, Central/South America and Europe. In recent years, bed bugs have also made a comeback in the U.S. They are increasingly being encountered in homes, apartments, hotels, motels, dormitories, shelters and modes of transport.

International travel and immigration have undoubtedly contributed to the resurgence of bed bugs in this country. Changes in modern pest control practice - and less effective bed bug pesticides - are other factors suspected for the recurrence.

Description and Habits - Pictures and Continued Here

Control Pests without Harmful Chemicals

Control Pests without Harmful Chemicals
By Aldene Fredenburg

Garden and household pests - unwanted insects, including flies, mosquitoes, fleas, cockroaches, termites, and moths, and intruders like mice and rats - are annoying, destructive, and potentially harmful to the health of humans and pets.

But the use of chemical toxins to control these pests is a problem - who knows what some of these chemicals themselves can do to the health of our family members?

Luckily, there are ways to combat these invaders without resorting to potentially poisonous chemicals. Essentially, there are four approaches to pest control; used in combination they can go a long way to eliminating insects and rodents from one's home and outdoor environment.

First, make sure you're not creating the conditions that invite these pests onto your property. Standing water attracts mosquitoes; take a walk through your property and make sure you don't have bowls of water, discarded tires, and other receptacles that can contain rain water.

If you find them, get rid of them. Poorly stored food and stray crumbs can attract ants, roaches, and mice. Keep your food stored in airtight containers, wipe down counters, tables, etc., and sweep the floor frequently, discarding the refuse and removing in from the house.

Second, provide barriers, either physical or biological, to repel insects and rodents. Properly maintained and installed screens on windows and doors will help block flies and mosquitoes from the home.

Simple to use, nontoxic home remedies can repel insects; for instance a brew of catnip tea, sprayed in a solution around cupboards, baseboards, and other areas, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom, can repel cockroaches.

Third, you can add beneficial insects and other organisms to your environment. Adding ladybugs to gardens has been a natural remedy for years: ladybugs just love aphids, and will eat them before the tiny insects can ruin your growing plants.

Some people go so far as to add a gecko or two to their homes; geckos eat cockroaches, and will help keep an infestation under control; you'd have to make up your mind if you really want to live in the same house or apartment with a couple free ranging lizards. If you have small boys, chances are they'll be thrilled!

Finally, if all else fails, there are compounds, safe to humans with normal use, but deadly to pests, that will eliminate some insects for good. To rid your home of cockroaches, for instance, put containers of boric acid behind counters, in the backs of cupboards, in shelves, and other areas that cockroaches frequent.

They'll eat the boric acid and return to their nests, carrying more boric acid with them; the boric acid will kill them and the other inhabitants of their nests. Make sure you keep the boric acids away from children and pets.

There are also nontoxic, natural preparations sold commercially which can be used to repel or eliminate pests without adversely impacting your home environment. In short, there are many natural, safe options for eliminating pests that you can use to make sure your home is a comfortable, enjoyable environment for your family, not for unwanted guests.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aldene_Fredenburg