German Cockroaches...The cockroach of CONCERN

The German cockroach is the cockroach of concern, the species that gives all other cockroaches a bad name. It occurs in structures throughout the United States, and is the species that typically plagues multifamily dwellings.

The German cockroach is found throughout the world in association with humans. They are unable to survive in locations away from humans or human activity. The major factor limiting German cockroach survival appears to be cold temperatures. Studies have shown that German cockroaches were unable to colonize inactive ships during cool temperatures and could not survive in homes without central heating in northern climates. The availability of water, food, and harborage also govern the ability of German cockroaches to establish populations, and limit growth.

The German cockroach has three life stages typical of insects with incomplete metamorphosis: the egg, nymph, and adult. The entire life cycle is completed in about 100 days. However, factors such as temperature, nutritional status, and strain differences may influence the time required to complete a life cycle. German cockroaches breed continuously with many overlapping generations present at any one time. Under ideal conditions, population growth has been shown to be exponential. Actively growing field populations are comprised of 80 percent nymphs and 20 percent adults. The German cockroach is omnivorous, eating table scraps, pet food, and even book bindings.

German cockroaches adulterate food or food products with their feces and defensive secretions, physically transport and often harbor pathogenic organisms, may cause severe allergic responses, and in extremely heavy infestations have been reported to bite humans and feed on food residues on the faces of sleeping humans. In addition, some scientists suggest that German cockroach infestations may cause human psychological stress and that the stigma associated with infestations alters human behavior. For example, people with infested houses do less entertaining, and avoid the kitchen at night for fear of encountering a cockroach.

If you would like more information on these and many other pests please visit our website at http://www.swatpest.com/, or give us a call at 812-476-9708...We look forward to serving you.

Emerald Ash Borer Beetle

The Emerald Ash Borer is changing the face of Indiana by destroying it's ash trees. Below you will find information on what to look for to determine if you have an Emerald Ash Borer infestation.

What to look for:

1 - Dieback of leaves that begins in the upper third of the tree and progresses downward over time.

2 - Vertical splits in the tree's bark.

3 - D-shaped exit holes that are only 1/8 inch wide found in the tree’s bark on the limbs and trunk, the result of the emergence of newly formed adults.

4 - S-shaped channels found under the tree’s bark caused by larval feeding.

5 - Heavy woodpecker activity that is especially noticeable during winter months

6 - Water sprouts that appear at the tree's trunk.

7 - Worm-like larvae (immatures) found under the tree’s bark that can grow up to 1-inch long.

The Identification of an Emerald Ash Borer

Adult beetles are bright metallic green in color. Adults are one third inch long and one sixteenth inch wide. They have rounded abdomens and flat backs and are present from mid-May through late July.

Larvae are creamy white and have flattened, segmented bodies. Older larvae grow up to an inch long. They feed under ash tree bark from mid-summer through spring, damaging the ash tree’s vascular tissue.

Please call Swat Pest Management if you have any questions regarding the Emerald Ash Borer or any other pest control issue. We look forward to serving you! Call today - 812-476-9708

The Wolf Spider: Common household pest in the fall when they are looking for a warm place to overwinter. They are commonly found around doors, windows, house plants, basements, garages, and in almost all terrestrial habitats. They do not spin a web but roam at night to hunt for food. Wolf spiders are often confused with the brown recluse, but they lack the unmistakable violin-shaped marking behind the head. The wolf spider is shy and seeks to run away when disturbed.

Wolf spiders range from about 1/2 inch to 2 inches in length, hairy, and are typically brown to gray in color with various markings or lines. Wolf spider mothers carry their large egg sacs around with them. When the young spiderlings hatch they climb onto their mother's back and ride around until partially grown. Wolf spiders are not poisonous, though as with all spiders, bites may cause reactions in certain individuals.

Call Swat Pest for more information on the Wolf Spider at 812-476-9708

The Black Widow Spider

Black widows are notorious spiders identified by the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens. Several species answer to the name, and they are found in temperate regions around the world.

This spider's bite is much feared because its venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's. In humans, bites produce muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage—let alone death. But bites can be fatal—usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm. Fortunately, fatalities are fairly rare; the spiders are nonaggressive and bite only in self-defense, such as when someone accidentally sits on them.

The animals most at risk from the black widow's bite are insects—and male black widow spiders. Females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating in a macabre behavior that gave the insect its name. Black widows are solitary year-round except during this violent mating ritual.

These spiders spin large webs in which females suspend a cocoon with hundreds of eggs. Spiderlings disperse soon after they leave their eggs, but the web remains. Black widow spiders also use their webs to ensnare their prey, which consists of flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars.

Black widows are comb-footed spiders, which means they have bristles on their hind legs that they use to cover their prey with silk once it has been trapped.To feed, black widows puncture their insect prey with their fangs and administer digestive enzymes to the corpses. By using these enzymes, and their gnashing fangs, the spiders liquefy their prey's bodies and suck up the resulting fluid.

For more information, please call Swat Pest Management at 812-476-9708

Flea Treatment (as done by Swat Pest Management)

BEFORE SERVICE
In order to perform the most effective treatment, all floors must be free of all toys, clothing, and personal items.

All floor surfaces must be vacuumed before the service can begin. This is to include ceramic tile, vinyl tile, concrete basements and under beds and furniture. Couches and chairs should also be vacuumed. Any pet bedding should be cleaned or replaced as needed. Dispose of all vacuum bags or containers after each cleaning.

Make sure all pets are treated by a veterinarian approved program to prevent future infestations after our treatments are performed.

Since most cases of fleas are brought into the home from the exterior, we will also be treating the surrounding property. The yard should be cleared of all toys and personal items as well.

DURING SERVICE
The home must remain vacant for three hours after the treatments are performed. All occupants including pests may return home and resume normal daily routines after the time has elapsed.

AFTER SERVICE
Upon returning home a thorough vacuuming must be done on all floors. Just as before, the vacuuum bags or containers must be emptied after each use.

It will usually take more than one service to completely eliminate fleas from your home. The flea activity may seem to have slowed or completely stopped. But, the eggs and larvae will drop down below the carpet fibers and between cracks. Once they hatch, the infestation may start all over again.

After the first treatment, vacuum all floors daily. This will help remove all flea eggs and larvae from carpet fibers and cracks in flooring surfaces.

The House Centipede

House Centipedes have very long legs, and are often seen running (quickly) in basements and attics and other cool, indoor places. These centipedes hunt crickets, ants, roaches, sow bugs, and other small creatures. House centipedes are one of the few types of centipedes that are not commonly found underneath rocks and logs.

It is believed to be native to the Mediterranean region in Europe and has come to our part of the country from further south.

House Centipedes have a distinctive overall shape, with notably long legs. The general colors are yellowish brown hues, with three dark stripes running along the top of the body with lighter shading between them. The 15 pairs of legs are banded, becoming lighter toward their tips, with barbs that help hold onto prey.

Mostly encountered indoors in damp areas such as bathrooms, cellars, and crawl spaces. It will venture beyond these areas and is often seen quickly scurrying across people's floors or climbing a wall.
Indoors they are likely to be found at all times of the year provided they have warmth and available prey. To the North they will only be found outside during Summer.
Predatory on other arthropods, including cockroach nymphs, flies, moths, bedbugs, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, and small spiders. In short, they'll eat many things you'd probably much rather not have in your home.

Consider these beneficial in your home, since they rid you of other pests.
You'd be lucky to get a good look at one of these since they run away very quickly when approached.
House centipedes are aggressive predators to things their own size but are not considered dangerous to humans. Their small jaws (actually modified front legs) cannot easily pierce human skin. In the rare event you were bitten, pain and swelling may result, but it would probably be no worse than a bee sting.
If you're plagued by these, you should endeavor to rid yourself of their prey and attempt to close up as many entry points into your house as possible.

The Brown Recluse Spider

The Brown Recluse Spider, as its name indicates, has the ability of hiding at your homes in the darkest and smallest places it can find. This species of spider normally attacks its prey injecting venom along with their bite. The venom of this spider is powerful, it is used to kill other insects.

In the mature brown recluse spider as well as some other species of recluse spiders, the dark violin marking is well defined, with the neck of the violin pointing toward the abdomen. The abdomen is uniformly colored, although the coloration can range from light tan to dark brown, and is covered with numerous fine hairs that provide a velvety appearance. Both sexes are venomous. The immature stages closely resemble the adults except for size and a slightly lighter color. Whereas most spiders have eight eyes, recluse spiders have six eyes that are arranged in pairs in a semicircle on the forepart of the cephalothorax.

Brown recluse spiders generally occupy dark, undisturbed sites, and they can occur indoors or outdoors. In favorable habitats, their populations are usually dense. They thrive in human-altered environments. Indoors, they may be found in attics, basements, crawl spaces, cellars, closets, and ductwork or registers. They may seek shelter in storage boxes, shoes, clothing, folded linens, and behind furniture. They also may be found in outbuildings such as barns, storage sheds, and garages. Outdoors, brown recluse spiders may be found underneath logs, loose stones in rock piles, and stacks of lumber.

• PREVENTING SPIDER BITES
  1. Shake out clothing and shoes before getting dressed.
  2. Inspect bedding and towels before use.
  3. Wear gloves when handling firewood, lumber, and rocks (be sure to inspect the gloves for spiders before putting them on).
  4. Remove bedskirts and storage boxes from underneath beds. Move the bed away from the wall.
  5. Exercise care when handling cardboard boxes (recluse spiders often are found in the space under folded cardboard flaps).

If you have any questions regarding the BROWN RECLUSE spider or any other pests, please give SWAT PEST MANAGEMENT a call today at 1-800-894-8024. We look forward to serving you!

Little Black Ants

• Body 1/16 inch in length


• 
  Antennae have 12 segments with a 3-segmented club
  Shiny black


• 
  Workers prey on insects and feed on honeydew produced by plant sucking insects such as aphids.

Little is known of the life history of this ant. Colonies are moderately sized to large, containing up to 2,000 workers and many queens. Colonies consist almost exclusively of workers and brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) during most of the year, but winged males and females are produced during the summer. It is presumed that most nests are established by one or two queens. In the laboratory, queens may live approximately one year; workers may live about four months.

The little black ant, has highly adaptive nesting habits. Nests can be found in the soil in open areas of lawns or under objects such as stones, bricks, wood and logs. In buildings, they nest in woodwork, wall voids, masonry, and under carpets. At high population densities, little black ants may become widely dispersed throughout a structure and invade nearly every crack and crevice. They are highly visible on established foraging trails, particularly when they invade food cabinets and pantries.

Little black ant colonies in and around buildings generally are not numerous. They can usually be controlled by limited insecticide applications or the use of baits. Surveys should be done inside and outside to locate all nests. Outdoor colonies can be treated with a residual insecticide by drenching the nest sites, using a compressed sprayer. Nests in wall voids can be treated by injecting aerosol through cracks and crevices and around baseboards. If nests cannot be located, toxic baits can be effective when placed on foraging trails. It is a good idea to remove all liter and objects under which ants can nest and to seal all cracks in exterior walls where ants can enter.

Termite Control...By Swat Pest Management

Pre-Construction Treatment- This service provides termite control to your new home before you ever move in. This method of treatment is non evasive and is performed during the construction of your home. Once you move in you have less worry about termites damaging your beautiful new home for many years

Post-Construction Treatment- There are two kinds of home when it comes to termites, those that have them and those that WILL! We can help eliminate termites in your home no matter how old it is. SWAT Pest Management will treat your home with Termidor the leading termite control product. The termites will be eliminated in 3 months or less GUARANTEED!

Signature Plus Service- With the “Peace of Mind” program we will combine your pest management service with your termite service for one easy billing process. The structure will be treated with Termidor the leading termite control product. To eliminate any termite problem you may have. Monitoring stations will be placed on the exterior perimeter of the structure and your service technician will inspect these stations during your quarterly service. If a termite problem arises it will be detected quickly and taken care of quickly GUARANTEED!

Spider Mites

Spider mites are extremely small insects that look a lot like spiders. Most home owners miss seeing spider mites (due to their size) until there's an extremely large infestation. Spider mites like eating the undersides of leaves and sucking out the juice of the plant.

1. Remember that spider mites are very small. Female spider mites are the size of a ballpoint pen tip. Male spider mites are even smaller.

2. Check the underside of the plants surrounding your lawn for tight webs. If there's a large infestation, the spider mites may end up spinning webs around the plant.

3. Note speckled appearances in plants around your grass. Since spider mites are so small, they only leave tiny dots of yellow on leaves. However, they can make leaves drop or even destroy the plants. In lawns, clover mites tend to leave silver streaks in your grass strands. With large infestations, patches of grass will have a yellow, dead appearance.

4. Look for spider mites inside your house. Once it becomes warm, they will spread to your indoor plants. While they don't bite or spread disease, they do make red marks when killed that are hard to clean up after. And they'll kill your indoor plants.

Here at SWAT PEST MANAGEMENT we can take care of ALL of your pest control needs...Give us a call TODAY - 812-476-9708