STORE FLOUR, MEAL, PET FOOD PROPERLY TO PREVENT PEST INFESTATION

What can I do about the moths I see in my flour and corn meal?

A number of pantry pests can invade stored food products.  These are probably Indian meal moths but there are a number of food-infesting beetles too.  These pantry pests are a growing problem as more families are storing extra food for disaster preparedness, threats of bird flu, or even buying in larger quantities from warehouse-type stores.  Dispose of your infested flour and meal and take care to buy from stores that are sanitary, have a high turnover of flours, beans, and dried fruits, and frequently rotate their stock.  Store these products in tightly closed containers preferably in the refrigerator and dispose of the original packaging.  Store pet food in bins as well and separate it from human food.  Don’t forget decorative arrangements of dried wheat, corn or seed-bearing plants are often sources of rice weevils or pantry pests.  Call your pest management professional to treat infestations.  Don’t try to treat them yourself with over-the-counter spray insecticides as you may contaminate other foods.

How can I avoid lady bugs this fall?

These lady bugs (Asian lady beetles) can be a nuisance as they invade homes and offices to spend the winter.  They can’t be tolerated in hospitals or food processing facilities because they are seen as a contaminant.  Recent studies have confirmed some people are allergic to exposure to lady bugs and suffer nasal congestion, asthma, and eye irritation. For sensitive individuals, your pest management professional can offer exclusion and other preventive chemical measures to reduce and eliminate these populations which tend to start in early October.  Spend time now to caulk cracks around doors and windows to exclude these lady bugs.  Vacuum the lady bugs rather than touching them.  Most of the allergens are in the yellowish stain the beetles secret when they are disturbed.

My neighbor does his own pest control and feels the chemicals he can buy over the counter are the same as your industry uses.  Is that true?

Yes, many of the products you see at hardware and garden centers contain the same active ingredient as the products the pest management industry uses.  The difference is the concentration of active ingredients and formulations.  Consumer products are “general use pesticides”.  Licensed certified pest control operators can purchase and apply “restricted use pesticides”. Pest management professionals are trained to observe laws and environmental practices and can use their knowledge of insects to target pesticide applications for optimum effectiveness and with a minimum use and waste of pesticide.  In my experience, homeowners tend to use more product than necessary and may contaminate household surfaces.  The pest management industry has specialized calibrated equipment to inject products into crevices and voids.  Pest management professionals have protective clothing and lighting and experience in entering attics and crawl spaces.  They are trained to adjust their applications for wind and weather and understand the importance of not applying pesticides in or near air conditioning or heating vents, ducts, or electrical outlets.  They are constantly on-the lookout for live electrical wires and other hazards in crawl spaces and basements and have coveralls, hardhats, respirators and other tools that are often expensive or unavailable for the general homeowner use or purchase.

Lee A. Tubbs owns EnviroGuard Pest Solutions, Inc. in Tennessee and operates as Daisy Pest Control in Georgia.  He is among several industry representatives who are contributing columns that will appear in the Real Estate section on Sundays.  E-mail Lee at jreynolds@timesfreepress.com.