Last week I re-visited the Odorous House Ants because it is the most active pest right now. We are actually getting calls now for all three types of ants we deal with here in the Valley. They are the Odorous House Ant (OHA), Pavement Ant & Carpenter Ant.

One thing I forgot to mention, which applies to all three Ants is please don' t spray the trails of Ants with an insecticide. Even though the spray you have says that it controls Ants, it will probably make it more difficult for a professional to solve you pest problem.

If you have a trail and have to do something before a we are able to get out to you, please just wipe up the Ants with a wet paper towel and flush them away - Thank you

Since we're deep into winter, it's a good time to talk about a pest that shows up this time of year. It's the Odorous House Ant. You might be thinking, Ants in winter? Yes, and if you're seeing Ants this time of year,  it's usually the Odorous House Ant (OHA). 

In winter, this small black Ant will move it’s nest into exterior walls of buildings. Their nests can be found around plumbing where hot water pipes emit warmth. Like most pests, winter also decreases the OHA's food sources, so whether they are being drawn inside for warmth, or managing its dwindling food sources, the Odorous House Ant will find its way into places like bath and kitchen walls.

When winter's in full swing, and you’re seeing little black Ants near plumbed areas of your home, or running on countertops near faucets, you're most likely being visited by Odorous House Ants.  

Regrettably, OHA's are a difficult pest to eliminate. You'll probably need professional help. Non-specific insecticides don't work and store-bought products won't eliminate this pest. Many of our customers have called us after trying these products.

If you're finding ants in your home or building this time of year, give us a call. We can quickly identify them and get rid of your pest..

Phil

For my final posting of 2014, l want to take this opportunity to  say Thanks.

Thank you to a great staff - Brent, Bruce, Janette & Ryan. You make my job easy.

Thank you to great customers. We appreciate you choosing our company for your pest control needs.

Thanks to Idaho - I appreciate that our state is so business friendly.

I hope 2014 has been a good year for you. My best to you this holiday season, and together, we'll look forward to the good things of 2015.

 Phil Coulson

With each season change here in the Treasure Valley, the pest problems change too.  We’re just finishing up with the fall Spider calls and without pause, the mouse calls have begun.

From all indications so far, mouse calls will be high this year. With colder air coming, mice will be looking for warmer places to nest.

Here are some helpful hints for you to consider for reducing mouse activity in and around your home.

1) Inspect the exterior foundation of your home. You want to look for any entrances, like holes or small spaces.  A mouse can enter through much smaller openings than most people consider so here's a good rule-of-thumb:  if a #2 pencil can fit through the hole or space,  so can a mouse. If you find any openings, seal them up. I don’t recommend using expanda-foam, since mice easily chew through the foam. We suggest using Copper Mesh or steel wool. 

2) Check exterior doors--especially the garage door---for access points.  Install weather stripping or door sweeps to block entrances.

3) Since Mice feel more comfortable in an environment where they can move from place to place hidden from their predators, it helps to reduce debris around the perimeter of your house.

Those are a few of the most common tips for blocking mice from entering your home. 

As always, if you have any questions or need our services to help you with mice or any pest problem, give us a call.  We're here to help. 

Thanks to all our great customers!

Phil

The Treasure Valley has plenty of Spiders.  This pest can be broken into two  groups---hunting spiders and web-building spiders. These two categories depict how spiders catch their food. The hunters hunt and the web builders build webs, then wait for their prey to show up in their webs.

Here is a short list of spiders in the Treasure Valley for each group:

WEB BUILDERS:

     Black Widow

     Hobo

HUNTERS:

     Grass 

     Wolf    

     Yellow Sack

Most times, it’s the Hunting Spiders that people spot, since they are moving around, foraging for food. But late summer is mating season for spiders so Web-Builders are also out and being seen. The only difference is that Web--building spiders aren't hunting prey.  They are hunting a mate. 

Here are some ways to decrease the number of spiders around your home or building:

1) Reduce yard waste around the perimeter of your structure

2) Place glue traps in the house and garage to help catch foraging males

3) An exterior residual application of spider control barrier

4) Let us help you with your spider problems

I hope your summer is going well as we move forward!

Phil

In the last few weeks, our phones have been ringing with calls about wasps and hornets. 

Customers are telling us that they are suddenly discovering wasp and hornet nests around their homes, nests that have most likely been undetected until now.

Each spring, impregnated female wasps and hornets are the only members of their colonies to survive the winter.  As temperatures warm, these queens begin relocating to build new nests. These new nests go unnoticed until late summer, simply because they are small.  As they grow in size, their numbers also increase and by this time of year, size and activity are both easily noticed.

Custom Care can control these nests in one treatment. Within 24 hours of our application, the nest will be eliminated—guaranteed.

Elm Seed Beetle

For the 3rd straight year the Elm Seed Beetles are invading the Treasure Valley again, and so far, this year is the biggest infestation yet. Our phones have been non-stop with calls about this annoying insect.

I would like to cover our experience with elm seed beetles and how we manage treatment for this pest.

We focus our treatment on the exterior of your building where the elm seed beetles congregate. This outside treatment initially lowers the number that will move indoors but it won’t completely eliminate them. I usually explain to our customers that we can exterminate 100% of the Elm Seed Beetles on your building today but a whole new batch can fly in tomorrow. When a new batch arrives, they will be affected by the residual insecticide that was applied, but the effect of treatment will take some time, usually several hours.

Looking at the exterior walls after an application, you may still see Elm Seed Beetles on your building.  This doesn’t mean the treatment isn’t working.  It just means the treatment is still under way.

After this treatment, there is usually an estimate of 70% reduction in the numbers of elm beetles both inside and outside.  Some infestations require a booster treatment in two to three weeks after the initial treatment. The necessity of this second application is dependent on the level of Elm Seed Beetles pressure coming from yours and your neighbors property.

I hope this information helps with any problem you may be having with Elm Seed Beetles. We would be happy to help you in any way, answering any further questions you may have or scheduling a treatment.   

A continued great summer!

Summer is approaching and you know what that means - the pests will be knocking on your door soon.

I’m not talking bugs here. I mean the summertime door-knocking Pest Control sales people. These pests are usually young College students looking to earn some money during the summer  months. They pull on your heart strings to help them out by switching from your current Pest Control company to theirs.

The problem is that these pests promise a lot of things their company can’t and won’t deliver on. When you realize this though, it’ too late, you’ve already committed to a 1 or 2 year contract.

Here at Custom Care Pest Services we never door knock residences. Your home is your escape from the world and we respect that. We don’t make promises we can’t deliver on and we never have contracts. We have to earn your business each time we’re out to your home.

So before you help out one of these young college students, consider the fact that you will committed to their Pest Control company long after they’re back at the dorms.

When people see a line of Ants on their counter tops or on their floor, their normal reaction is usually to spray the Ants then call a Pest Control Company. While this approach would be fine with other pests like Spiders and Earwigs, it actually make the process more difficult to control Ants. Most, if not all of the over-the-counter Insecticides that can be purchased at the local hardware store are from a class of insecticides called Pyrethrins. This type of spray will kill some of the Ants but:

1) It won't solve the problem. I won't kill the whole colony, just a small percentage of them.

2) In certain cases it will just move the Ants to another part of the building or even split the colony into 2  and now your problem is worse.

Please call a professional before spraying and save yourself an unneccessary headache.

Good luck and please call us if we can help with your Pest Issue!

Phil

Spring is here and our phones are ringing!  So far, the calls we've been receiving have been mostly for:

Bed Bugs

Birds

Box Elder Bugs

Carpenter Ants

Clover Mites

Odorous House Ants

Pavement Ants

Spiders and even Ticks

We're here to help you with your Pest Issues. We will do all we can to solve you pest problem in an efficient, quick and successful manner.

Please call or write if you need our service.

Thanks and here's to a long spring!

Phil