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.

Clover mites!  These pesky little bugs can get into anything due to there small size.  Something that  looks completely sealed to you and me may look like a gigantic opening to them.  Clover mites are most active in the spring but if conditions are right they can be found year round, even on a sunny winter day.  And as all of St. Louis knows, our winters can go from a frigid snow packed day to a  50-60 degree day in a matter of days, this week being a perfect example of this.  In the springtime,  Blue Chip Pest Services will receive dozen of calls each day about these pests.  The mostly common descriptions include; small red spiders,  small red ants and something that leaves a red smear when crushed.  The fact is, this bug is a mite, they are not even in the insect family.  They are considered a nuisance pest because they do not bite or cause any structural damage to your home or business.  However, the Clover mite does have a red pigment inside their bodies that will stain surfaces if crushed or smashed. 

Clover mites suck fluids from grass, clover and other plants as their source of food.  Therefore, those of you who have sprinkler systems or have poor water drainage away from your home can have continual problems throughout the summer if not treated.

At Blue Chip Pest Services, our exterior pest control program focuses on those areas where pests forage and hide.  This includes creating a 6′ barrier out from your foundation and going 2-3′ up onto the foundation.  We also treat behind siding, around windows & doors and any other entry point that mites will use to enter a structure.   If you have a problem with Clover mites every spring, it is best to treat these areas before they have chance to gain a stronghold.

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

Fall is a great time of year, but colder temps tend to bring more pests into our homes as they look to stay warm, and look for possible food sources.  This influx of pests also causes an influx of spiders looking to follow their food sources onto or into our homes for the winter.  At Blue Chip Pest Services this is a time of year almost as busy as the spring thaw in April and May.

Most spiders are pretty harmless, and actually benficial to have around as they eat other pests.  Certain species of spiders however are not so welcome.  The one in particular for this part of the country is the Brown Recluse Spider.  The brown recluse spider gets its name from both its color and it behavior.  They tend to stay hidden most of the time, and only come out to feed.  The “reclusive” behavior makes them not particularly easy to find all of the time.

The reason that they are not welcome is the fact that their bite is very dangerous.  The venom causes a necrosis of the skin or deadening that may require surgery to correct.  I will not post pictures of it here because of the graphic nature of them, but they are easy to find on the internet.

They are identified by the “fiddle” shaped spot on their back.  They are light brown in color, and the spot is noticeable darker that the rest of the spider.  They are a little larger than the size of a quarter with legs extended and are not particularly hairy. 

They are often confused with the hobo spider, which will have two lines on its back that may appear to be wavy like the fiddle, but there is no definite “spot”.

Control of these pests is not difficult, it is however tedious in that you must treat all entry points into the home as well as any areas that they may use as a harborage either inside or outside the house.  Control is also achieved through harborage reduction both inside and out.  Things that can be done include:

1. Remove leaf piles from outside the home.
2. Seal cracks and crevices around windows and doors.
3. Make sure doors and garage doors seal tightly.
4. Eliminate as much cardboard as possible from inside the home or garage.
5. Seal clothes in plastic bins so that spiders don’t move into stored clothes or shoes.
6. Place stored items in garage or basement on shelves and slightly away from the wall so as to allow air flow between stored items.
7. Dust and knockdown webs regularly to force spiders onto treated areas.

Most bites occur when someone puts on either clothes or shoes that a spider has taken residence in, and they bite in response to being trapped / pinned by us.  Always shake or launder clothes before wearing them after long periods of storage or non-use.

Our regular pest prevention programs focus on the outside of the home to prevent their access in the first place to the home.  Treating under siding, into cracks and crevices, around windows and doors, even out into the yard around bushes and other plants.  If we do need to treat inside, spraying baseboards is a waste of time except in storage areas, basements, garages, and closets.  Materials must be placed into the hiding spots for these pests not onto long open spaces.

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