Winterize Your Home and Save Money

Have your heating equipment serviced to makesure that it is operating efficiently. Improperly tunedheating equipment can waste hundreds of dollars ayear in fuel or electricity.
Clean your chimney if you have a fireplace. Expertssuggest that you have the chimney cleaned afterburning four cords of wood, more frequently if you usewood softer than oak. Besides being a fire hazard,dirty chimneys can smoke back into the house, forcingyou to open windows and doors, which let heat out.
Turn off outside water faucets at a cutoff or insulatethe hose bibs to prevent pipes from bursting.
Weather-strip all doors and windows. Make surethat all windows are fully closed.
Keep the thermostat set low at night. Setting thethermostat back 8 degrees will save 8-10 percent of heating costs according to the U.S. Department ofEnergy. If you have a heat pump, you might need aspecial set back thermostat.

Keep your garage door closed when it is cold,especially if you have a heated room above thegarage. This will also help to keep rodents out.
Seal cracks and holes in foundations with cement orsilicone based caulking.
Seal any area larger than a crack with steel wool or copper wool and then foam insulation. Theinsulation will keep the cold out and the wool willkeep rodents from entering your home.
Keep firewood outside and bring it in only whenyou are going to burn it. Not only will you keep ahuge cold mass outside but also you will reducechances of insects coming in with the wood andbecoming active as they heat up to room temperature.

Protect Your Wardrobe from Fabric Pests

Winter is the time when you take out those heavierclothes you stored away for the summer. If you find there are small jagged or frayed holes where the fur orwool liner of a coat looks worn, you are dealing with the larvaof a fabric pest. The most common fabric pests are Varied Carpet Beetles who received their name because of the color pattern on their back.
Adults are small, hard-bodied, oval beetles, about 1/8 inch long. Their body is black, covered with a pattern ofyellow and white scales. Varied Carpet Beetles are foundthroughout the world. Adults are strong fliers and mainly eat avariety of outdoor flowers, pollen, or shrubs. They may comeinto houses or businesses and deposit their eggs on nearly anynatural animal or plant materials, on which the larvae then will feed.
They select protein based fabrics such as wool, angora, silk, hair,furs, feathers, leather, or as their name indicates, carpets which maycontain any natural protein fiber. The larval feeding is what causes all ofthe damage. Larvae of these beetles are up to 1 /4 inch long, brown-to black,

and covered with a lot of yellow-brown hairs. There are tufts ofspecial hairs (hastisetae) on top, near their back end that can cause itching inhumans. Larvae may burrow through packaging materials when seeking food.They are found in bird nests, accumulations of pet fur or human hair, inaccumulated dead insects or lint, and even in the nests of social bees and wasps.These larvae may wander a long way from the site of the infested material source,when they are looking for a place to pupate, or when their population is large.
The key to controlling Varied Carpet Beetles, and similar fabric pests, is to find theprimary site of the infestation and eliminate it. A thorough inspection by our technician should befollowed by good sanitation practices. Infested materials such as rugs or tapestries may be treatedor dry cleaned using the same temperature ranges as suggested later in this issue for killing storedproducts pests. We are ready and able to help you pinpoint any such infestation by these beetles,eliminate it, and advise you on their future prevention. A cleaning of the home or office air ductsystem may also rid the source that is supporting the infestation.

Pests in the Pantry

If you have ever poured cereal into a bowl then watched with alarm as several pieces began to crawl up the side of the bowl, you may have already discovered stored product infesting beetles. A variety of small insects live and feed on the same foods we do. Adults of many of these pests fly toward lights and may be found in other rooms or floors quite a distance from your food storage areas. These pests do eat at least a small amount of the food they infest, but their presence, their droppings, cast skins, and certain chemical excretions contaminate much more of the food and sometimes cause allergies in those persons who ingest them.

Is There a Mouse in the House?

By this time each year in the U.S., domestic rodents will have already found places they plan to spend the winter; and this may very well be in your home with you! The house mouse (Mus musculus, L. - Latin for "little thief") is the most common pest in and around human dwellings and businesses. They damage and destroy materials by gnawing wires, eating your food, and attacking decorations such as holiday wreathes. They account for many unexplained fires in structures because they can chew through wires. To some, mice may look cuddly, but they are known to carry over 20 different pathogens of human disease, not to mention their association with ectoparasites (ticks and fleas).
The house mouse is about three inches in length, and is gray with dull white belly fur. An adult weighs about an ounce, but eats often and is constantly leaving droppings and urine droplets as it forages for food, mates and harborage. Mice also breed rapidly. A house mouse is mature within 35 days after birth, and can have a first litter of up to eight pups at 60 days old. Individuals usually live only about a year, however, if all their offspring were to survive and reproduce at a similar rate, one pair of house mice could potentially produce a population of more than 500 young in one year!
Mice are acrobatic and can jump about a foot straight up from a standing position; they can jump down more than six feet without getting hurt. An adult mouse can squeeze through a crack or hole as small as 1/4 inch (the size of diameter of a #2 pencil) and can quickly climb straight up

an eight-foot wall of brick or wood paneling in less than half a minute. Even though one mouse doesn't eat much, as their population grows, they can eat a surprising amount of food. They can also damage food containers, and their droppings and urine contaminate a lot more food than they eat. In one year, one mouse produces up to 18,000 droppings; it will deposit hundreds of microdroplets of urine every day as it marks its trails.
If you see mice or other rodents, or their signs such as droppings in your house or business, don't panic. The wisest thing to do is to call a pest professional. We can help determine what rodents you may have, where they are entering the structure, and the extent of the problem. We can help you plan and carry out an effective rodent control program that will protect you, your family, your customers, and your property.

Red Flour Beetle

Confused Flour Beetle

Common Invaders ... Check the Line Up

Red Flour Beetles

These beetles that get their name fromtheir red color, are small, about 1/8 inchlong, slender, reddish- brown beetles withwing covers, and can only fly shortdistances. Their head is held straightforward, with compound eyes and antennaevisible. Their antennae have an abruptthree-segmented "club" at the end. Thesides of their thorax are rounded. Thesebeetles feed on a range of processed grainmaterials such as flour and various cereals.Although this species probably originated inthe Indo-Australian region, they are one ofthe most common stored product beetles,and can be found worldwide. In the U.S.,they are most common in the southernstates. They are attracted to lights, and alsoto flour that has high moisture content.

Confused Flour Beetles

The confused flour beetle is about 1/8inch long, slender, reddish brown beetleswith hard wing covers. The adults havewings, but they have never been observedto fly. These beetles look so similar to thered flour beetles that their common namecomes from their often being "confused"with red flour beetles. Their head is heldstraight forward, with compound eyes andantennae visible. Their antennae have agradual, four-segmented "club" at the end.The sides of their thorax are almost straight.
These beetles feed on a range ofprocessed grain materials such as flour andvarious cereals. Although this speciesprobably originated in Africa, they are nowone of the most common stored productsbeetles and are distributed worldwide. Inthe U.S., they are much more common innorthern states than red flour beetles. Theyhave also been found infesting old, moldedrodent baits.

Beetles Be Gone

To eliminate these pests you must findthe source of the infestation. Checkpackages you seldom use, items likecereals, grain products, nuts, flour, raisins,spices, dry pet food and birdseed. Make ita habit to thoroughly inspect all such itemswhen you first bring them home from yourgrocery store. Pay special attention to all ofthe same items, and brand names, from thesame store where any previously infesteditems were bought.
Store all susceptible foods in tightlyclosed containers. You should considerheating or freezing all susceptible food itemsyou have had for 60 days or longer. Heatinginfested materials to at least 140 degreesFahrenheit for more than one hour will killall stored product pests. Make sure that themiddle of the material is held at thattemperature for at least that period of time,or longer. Freezing the food item throughoutto 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below for atleast four days will also kill all life stages.You should place dry food in a ziplock typeplastic bag before freezing; this preventscondensation after removal from the freezerand subsequent thawing. Most foods can beeaten safely after pantry pests have beenkilled and removed, such as by hand sortingor sifting. For more information visit theNational Pest Management Association'sWeb site at:www.pestworld.org.