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

In my last post I mentioned a product we were experimenting with to eliminate Beg Bug infestations. Unfortunately, after monitoring this product for eight weeks, we have come to the conclusion that it doesn’t provide the successful control we were looking for.

Back to square one.

Up to this point - Custom Care Pest Services hasn’t jumped into the Bed Bug world as much as we would’ve liked. There have been many potential customers that have called our office looking to have their Bed Bug problem solved. We have in most cases referred them to other companies that were treating with Heat or other methods. The reason we haven’t fully entered into treating for Bed Bugs is:

When we take a payment from any customer, we want to make sure that when we’ve left their home or business, we are confident that we’ve completely taken care of their pest problem. Unfortunately, we have not had that confidence using any of the products that have been on the market up to this time for Bed Bugs. That has also included Heat Treatments. We have seen many failed heat fumigations from companies the render this service.

There is hope out there (we hope) though. We are currently experimenting with an organic product called Cimi-shield. If this product delivers like the manufacturer claims, and we see the same results as other Pest Control Companies that have shared their success stories through their reviews, we may very well have the solution we’ve been looking for.

If you have or believe you have an issue with Bed Bugs, we are actively seeking customers to try this product on. Please call our office at 208-362-9098 and ask for Phil. We’ll see if this product can deliver the success that we’re hoping for at your home.

  PIGEON CONTROL

Of all the bird problems to solve, pigeons are the most common pest.   Below is a short list of methods used to control pigeons:

Netting Installation (all Activity):

There is nothing more effective than physically blocking bird pests from gaining entry into an interior space or part of a building. Netting off specific areas accomplishes just that. After the installation is complete, pigeons are blocked from re-entry to nesting, roosting or loafing areas.

Electric Shock (all activity):

Where pigeons roost along building ledges, electric shock tracks are highly effective. The tracks are installed, then activated.  As the birds land, coming in contact with the track, they receive a mild shock, unharmful yet unpleasant enough to force them to find other roosting places.

Bird Spikes (light activity):

Bird Spikes can be installed along ledges.  The spikes are plastic and sit upright on a strip of material adhered to a surface.  The spikes block birds from finding a comfortable 

landing/roosting place, forcing them to another roosting place.

Repellent Gels (light activity):

Where the above bird control methods aren’t practical, repellant gels are an option. Repellant gels are tacky in texture so the birds are repelled by the feel of the material on their feet.  Some repellant gels contain capsaicin ( a pepper plant derivative) which causes a light burning sensation so the birds will naturally leave that area. 

All of these methods are safe and effective  without harm to the birds. They can be used for most bird pests, including pigeons.  

Since winter is a quiet time for Pest Control companies here in the Treasure Valley, I thought I would take this opportunity to make a list of the pests we treat for as well as the cities we service.

Main Treasure Valley (Ada, Canyon & Gem Counties):

Boise, Id

Caldwell, Id

Eagle, Id 

Emmett, Id 

Kuna, Id 

Melba, Id 

Meridian, Id

Middleton, Id

Nampa, Id

Star, Id

Pests we treat for in the main Treasure Valley (Ada, Canyon & Gem Counties):

Spiders (All)

Ants (All)

Mice

Gophers

Meadow Voles

Earwigs

Fleas

Clover Mites

Silverfish

Termites

Cockroaches

Bat Bugs

Bed Bugs

Bees (go to idabees.org first to see if a beekeeper will remove colony)

Elm Seed Bugs

Box Elder Bugs

Sage Bugs

Paper

Wasps

Hornets

Yellow Jackets 

Birds & Bats:

 Bats - All

 Birds - Pigeons, Starlings & Sparrows

Pests we will travel out of our area to treat: 

Birds & Bats:

 Bats - All

 Birds - Pigeons, Starlings & Sparrows

This time of year, we are asked quite often “You do pest control in the winter?”.

Our answer is yes, and for some very good reasons.

First, there is a common misperception that there is no pest activity during the winter months. This isn’t the case. In addition to the expected calls we receive for Mice, we still get calls all winter long for Spiders, Box Elder Bugs, Sage Bugs, Cockroaches and Ants in the interior of buildings.

So, yes there is a need for corrective insect treatments even during the winter.

Second, our winter applications are very helpful in reducing the pest population that would emerge around your building in the springtime.

Here is how our winter applications accomplish this:

We dust your building’s crawl space (from the exterior vents) with Diatomaceous Earth - an organic long lasting insecticide. This will take care of those insects that have breached the exterior liquid applications and are trying to survive in the warmth of the crawl space.

We dust cracks and crevices around the exterior of your building where insects will try and survive the winter. An example of this would be behind your exterior lighting.

Because insects can successfully survive the winter under organic debris (like leaf litter and mulch), we apply residual granules to the landscape areas around the exterior perimeter of your building. The moisture from the winter rain and snowfall will activate the granules and release the insecticide. The insecticide will work it’s way down through the leaf litter and mulch and kill the insects that are in the top layer of soil. 

These three areas that are treated during the winter application will greatly reduce the emerging insect population round your building the following spring.