St. Louis Pest Control Information

First Ant Swarm of 2012

Gary — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:55:58 +0000

It’s official, Blue Chip Pest Services received its first Odorous House ant swarm call for the 2012 season. Trust me when I say this is not normal. And even though we had a spring like 68 degree day last week that shouldn’t have been enough to cause a swarm. But it did.

Normally a swarm won’t happen until early spring when we have several warm days stretched together with a little bit of rain. This type of condition (warmth and rain) after a long winter makes for an excellent swarm environment for ants and termites.

Hopefully this is an isolated incident. This is normally the one time of year most homeowner or business owners don’t have to worry to much about insect issues in or around their property. But if by some unnatural occurrence you too get a ant swarm, give us a call or get you DIY supplies at one of our three locations.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Putting away christmas decorations? Look out for Brown Recluse spiders.

Gary — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:07:39 +0000

With the holiday season coming to an end most of us now have the task of putting all the decorations away until next year. This is an excellent opportunity to get rid of all those cardboard boxes and upgrade your storage container to one that is more pest friendly. Plastic storage containers help items stay dry, dust free and eliminates resting sites for brown recluse spiders and silverfish.

Unlike most insects that enter your home, the brown recluse will seek out undisturbed areas the hide out and rest. For those of you who store cardboard boxes in the basement, the garage or attic this article is really for you. Cardboard boxes provide an excellent hiding area for the brown recluse. Because most boxes do not seal as well as plastic containers the brown recluse can easily find it’s way under a loose lid or an ill fitting seem. Unfortunately for us, the next time we reach into the box there could be potential for the spider to bite us if we accidentally corner it or brush up against it.

So, if you have any concerns about brown recluse spiders or have had sighting or problems in the past, I strongly suggest using this type of storage container. Now, this in no way means that a spider couldn’t get into a plastic storage container, but it does drastically reduce the odds of this happening. The better your container lids sits on the rim, the better your odds will be.

Lastly, if you have a brown recluse problem, just using a plastic container will not solve your problem. Because the brown recluse spider bite is so dangerous, this is one pest that I do recommend the D.I.Y.’ers to hire professional pest control company come in to eliminate the problem. It isn’t so much that the chemicals will be better than you can get at one of out retail stores, its the application of the materials in to the right spots and knowing what to look for that can only come from experience.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Storing Firewood Inside May Not Be Such A Good Idea

Gary — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:00:14 +0000

These cold evening temperatures mean one thing to a fireplace owner – a warm fire and a comfortable spot on the couch. Unfortunately, this scenario may mean something different to the creatures who have made an overwintering home in your firewood stack outside your home.

There are a lot of insects that will use firewood as an overwintering home. These can include millipedes, pill bugs, beetles, spiders, and even some wildlife like snakes and mice. They will find cracks in the wood or crawl under a loose piece of bark and so on. That’s why it is not recommended that firewood be brought inside the house and stacked for a future burning. Once the firewood starts to warm up in the house those insects who were in a somewhat dormant state will also began awaken and become active. This is why it not uncommon for people who have brought in firewood to suddenly see an increase in pests that they normally hadn’t seen all winter long.

It is recommend that you only bring in the firewood that will be thrown directly onto the fire. Otherwise, you may be surprised as to what was hiding where you could not see.

On a side note, make sure that your firewood pile is stored either away from the home, or on a rack as pictured. This will keep termites from using the firewood as a bridge to enter the home undetected.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Family Finds Snake in Christmas Tree

Gary — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:13:28 +0000

Did you see this story on the news recently (video)? Luckily for us, the weather in Saint Louis is much to cold for this to happen here.

The biggest problem we have to deal with this time of the year is a Christmas mouse. With all the goodies pack under the tree a mouse could make its home right there without anyone knowing it was there. A mouse could easily get enough fresh water from the tree stand, nibble into a wrapped box of chocolates or into a cracker, cheese and sausage box from Pepperidge Farms and so on….

Now that I think about it, maybe that is where the tradition of shaking the present really came from. It wasn’t that they were trying to figure out what the present was, they were really trying to scare the mouse out first before opening it.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Wasps – An Over-wintering Pest

Gary — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:45:26 +0000

Most people do not think of Wasps as an over-wintering pest. But the fact is, only new queens too be will survive the winter to start a brand new colony all over again next spring. In the wild these wasps will find tree hollows or natural crevices to crawl up into to ride out the cold winter months. Those wasps that live in urban areas some times pick our homes for this over-wintering activity. They tend find there way into attic spaces and chimneys. At Blue Chip, we receive calls in the late fall from people who think they have a wasps nest in there chimney. In most cases though, it is over-wintering wasps coming through the flue looking for a spot to over-winter. In most of this cases, running a fire will force them to look else where.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Boxelder Bugs – An Over-wintering Pest

Gary — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:31:19 +0000

Boxelder bugs are insects that primarily live on Boxelder Maple trees in the spring, summer and fall months. As with most other over-wintering bugs this insects do not cause any structural issues. They too will congregate on the sunny side of house and try to find a suitable crack or crevice to gain entry into your wall void. Once spring comes, they will leave your house for their natural habitat.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Cluster Flies – An Over-wintering Pest

Gary — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:21:26 +0000

A cluster fly is best described as an over-sized house fly. They do not bite and are truly a nuisance pest. This fly will congrete in 100′s and sometimes in 1000′s. They become a great nuisance as they become very active on mild winter days. Like other over-wintering pests, these flies go for the first light outside the void that they were in and sometimes that light is from inside our house.

The best way to try and control these flies is prevent them from entering the structure. Make sure caulk is good around windows and doors, utilities entering the home are sealed tight and there are no structure defects in the siding or soffit area of the home. If cluster flies are a yearly problem in your home, use a pesticide to treat the sunny side of your home monthly during the fall months before they gain entry into your home.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Asian Lady Beetles (Ladybugs) – An Over-wintering Pest

Gary — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:38:43 +0000

Asian Lady beetles can become very annoying this time of year, as they need to seek out shelter from the winter cold or they will die off. Most people who get a lady bug infestation tend to have light colored homes, with nice open space around there home for the sun to hit it fully. Do not be alarmed if they choose your house to infest, as they do no structure damage. Unfortunately, they can stay active throughout the winter and enter the house through cracks or cervices and become a nuisance.

Once inside a void (you wall) it not recommended that any treatment be made to kill this insect because the insects can attract a species of bug in the spring to feed upon their bodies. Once this new species is introduced, they can cause damage more damage to things in your home than the lady bug ever could. Plus, if you don’t mind vacuuming up a dead bug here and there through the winter all the over-wintering pests will leave in the spring.

The best way to prevent them from entering your home is to make sure that as many cracks and crevices around your home a sealed tight with caulk or a similar material. Using a pesticide around windows, doors, and in the eves will help as well. At, Blue Chip, we use a pressurized power spray unit to apply pesticides in these areas to help limit the number of insects that are able to make there way into your home. And for the D.I.Y.’ers, our retail stores sell the materials you will need to tackle this problem head on.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

What Is An Over-Wintering Pest?

Gary — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:59:47 +0000

An over-wintering pest is a insect that does not die off in the winter time. These insects will seek out a crack, void or hollow to ride out the winter cold. Most of these over-wintering pests will find these places to hide out in the wild but unfortunately some of these insects happen to find our homes as inviting as we do. Over-wintering pests that are most commonly found in the St. Louis area are the Boxelder Bug, Asian Lady Beetle, Cluster Fly and Wasps. These insects most commonly congregate on the sunny side of the house. The reason they choose the sunny side is that the winter sun will heat up the wall void to give them some warmth. Once the insects have gain entry into your home they can become a nuisance all winter as they will become active during warmer winter days. The insects, once active, will go to the first sign of light. The bad news for us homeowners is that the first light they see first may be coming from the inside and not the outside. When this occurs, you will find dead (sometimes alive) on your inside window sills.

On my next couple of blogs, we will talk about each on of these commonly found over-wintering pests in more detail. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

Flying Squirrels – In St. Louis, really?

Gary — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:25:48 +0000

Did you know that St. Louis has Flying squirrels? It’s true. But just because they are called flying squirrels, that doesn’t mean they can fly like a winged bird or bat.

Flying squirrels have extra skin that stretches from their hands to their feet. They use this extra skin to glide from tree to tree or from the tree to the ground. They are not commonly found because of the small population size around the area and their nocturnal habits.

The Flying squirrel is smaller than a regular squirrel, it’s about the same size of chipmunk. It has large eyes for its body size and is not as mobile on the ground as regular squirrel. They feed on berries and nuts mainly, but will feed on other items as they are available.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.