There are several signs to look for when inspecting your home for termites.  Luckily for us in St. Louis, we only have to deal with subterranean termites.  Why is that helpful? For one thing, they have to make mud tubs from the ground to anything above ground that they what to get into to.  These mud tubs are a clear sign of termite activity.  If they are found, start by breaking a small piece apart, if the termites are still using the tub, they will repair the break within minutes.

Another sign of termites is when they swarm.  Only a mature colony of termites will swarm.  If they swarm in your home you will find the termites near a window ledge. Most people find the dead bodies or discarded wings along the ledge as they will die off fairly quickly if trapped inside the house.

And last most common way people find termites is when they doing remodeling inside the home.  Most people find the activity when walls or flooring is removed during this process.  It is very shocking to find termite damage when it may have never been found if walls had not been disturb during the construction.

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.

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.

How to prevent mice from gaining entry into your house.  This is a very common question at Blue Chip Pest Services, especially around this time of the year.  As I mentioned in the last blog, once it starts to get colder out and mice no longer have a good food source, they tend to look in areas that they hadn’t explored as of yet. Yes, your house is a prime target.

Preventing a mouse from gaining entry isn’t as easy as you might think.  Mice have some excellent survival techniques that allow them to access areas that we might not even think of.  For example, they are excellent climbers; they can climb up a concrete foundation and tuck under your siding or continue climbing the brick all the way up to your soffit area for entry.  They also have the ability to squeeze through small openings.  Any hole they can fit their head into the body will contort and follow.  So, with information in mind, you really have to inspect your exterior thoroughly to find any and all possible entry points.  Although, sometimes that isn’t enough.

So. let’s get onto the prevention part.  There is no such thing as a rodent repellent spray. (Note: if you are a chemist, you know what your meal ticket can be.) The only way you can prevent mice from getting into your house is to protect it from the outside.  This can be done with exterior rodent stations.  The bad news for consumers is the government has restrict the sale of over-the-counter bait blocks because some consumers failed to use them properly and therefore caused poisoning with non-targeted animals.  At Blue Chip we offer services for those customers who already have exterior station but can no longer buy the materials to refill them; as well as for new customers who want to protect their home for rodent issues.

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.

The wet weather pattern in St. Louis this past spring and early summer has also helped ticks get a stronghold this summer.  Ticks can dry out and die if not able to re-hydrate before finding a host to feed upon.  Ticks have the ability attach themselves to a host and start  feeding without being detected for days maybe longer if on a pet.  Ticks use a technique called “questing” to find their host.  Questing is a technique that allows the tick to climb up plant or high grass and sit patiently with their top pair of legs spread open waiting for something to brush up on them so they can then hook their clawed legs onto the unsuspecting host.  Once they have successfully quested the tick can attach themselves to any area of the body but they are more likely to be found in areas that have hair.  

The most commonly found ticks in the St. Louis area are the American Dog Tick (pictured first) and the Lone Star Tick (pictured with both a before/after engorged tick).  Yes, we have other ticks but 90% of the ticks most commonly found will be one of these two.  Ticks can also transfer disease such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease.  Like any infestation of insects, the best approach is to attack the problem head on and repeat as necessary.  

With that being said, let’s first discuss some none pesticide techniques  that can help reduce chances of having a tick problem.  Having a well groomed yard can deter ticks from “questing.” Remember, in order to quest the tick must have grass  (or another plant) high enough to climb, and a well trim yard is not attractive to a tick.  If you have pets, make sure that are treated for ticks (as well as for fleas).  If your pet is treated, they can still have ticks attach themselves to your pet but they will generally die within 24-48 hrs due to the active ingredient in the tick treatment chemical.  If you and your family live in area that is heavily wooded or plan to go camping or some other activity that has you in an area that may have ticks, the type of clothing you choose to wear can prevent a tick from finding a good place to have lunch.  Wear clothing that covers exposed skin, tuck pants into you socks, put rubber-bands around the end of your long sleeved shirt and apply a mosquito/tick repellent onto any exposed areas as well as onto your clothes.

Now let’s discuss this in a good, better, best, treatment option as it regards to how to apply and as it relates to the results.  A good treatment for ticks is to apply a granular material in the areas of concern.  This will help knock down some of the population but you will will still see you fair share of ticks.  The reason why this is only a good treatment methods is because the ticks still have the ability to move about above the treated area and never come into contact with the pesticide.  A better treatment would be to purchase a very good concentrated pesticide to mix in a one gallon spray tank and apply the material liberally in the infested areas. Use this material and fan spray your entire yard (think of it as painting a wall, you don’t want to leave an area without paint), yes it time consuming but the results will be greatly noticed.  The BEST treatment method would require 99% of everyone out there to hire a professional company that has the ability to use a backpack fogger for this treatment.  The backpack fogger allows pesticides to be disbursed in areas a liquid sprayer couldn’t penetrate.  Using a backpack fogger the applicator has the ability to shoot material up into overgrowth and thick brush where ticks tend to quest, leaving the pesticide in almost every conceivable area that a tick would come into contact with.  So if you are having tick issue, hopefully you have taken some info out this blog to help you and your family have a more enjoyable outdoor life.  

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.