Calling In The Bug Man

From field to home to commercial establishments, humanity has sought to control pests for centuries either by natural or artificial methods. The most common artificial means range from fly swatters to insecticides, whereas human intervention has produced some of the most effective natural solutions that can "improve, enhance, accelerate or augment" a pest situation.

Fossils indicate that our more common "pests" predate our arrival, but they were not always seen as such. Cave-dwellers recognised them as a protein additive to their diet (as do some primitive cultures today), but as time progressed and crops began to be planted, insects, rodents and such began to be seen as a threat to our survival.

Sometimes insects themselves were used to control other insects – such as in 1200 B.C. in China, where predatory ants were put to work ridding caterpillars and wood-boring beetles from citrus groves.

Pete Jameson is ready for any pest situation too, armed with 28 years of knowledge and experience in the industry. In business for himself now for the past nine years with Dynamic Pest Control, his work includes solving insect and rodent infestations as well as inspections and preventative measures.

Commercial jobs represent a large portion of his business, and he's now coming into the busy season with residential calls.

Inspections are important to help prevent an infestation of insects or rodents (such as mice, rats, grey squirrels and the like), as holes, cracks or any opening could be fixed and thus provide a barrier against this type of invasion.

With routine commercial inspections (restaurants, apartment buildings and such), bug traps, set to monitor any type of this activity that may occur, are checked and appropriate action taken if necessary.

Ants and spiders are at the top of the complaint list for this time of year, and silverfish in a high humidity basement can also be a problem. Place floor items on pallets or something similar to allow proper air circulation, or remove items from the floor altogether, and silverfish will simply dry up and die.

Bed bugs present the biggest problem in terms of exterminating, and international travel is often a key source. "They are coming back with a vengeance," says Pete. "People travelling and everything and they're bringing them back. Bed bugs are quite immune to a lot of chemicals that's out there now. We have to treat around the baseboards; we have to pull out the light plugs, we have to dust behind there. We have to steam the bed and everything. The people have to vacuum all around and they have to wash all their clothes and their bedding – everything. Getting people to do that is a job in itself."

"Cockroaches used to be a big problem, but now it's very controllable with bait. We don't spray for that anymore."

In terms of spray, sometimes a second application is necessary. There are green products on the market, but because often "customers want it done the right away" other options are usually chosen (he's often asked to triple the dose). And the toxins from non-green products?

"If you follow the labels it's not toxic. It's a pesticide, but the people have to be out of the house. It starts from five to six hours. If you have allergies or whatever they have to be out for 24 hours or on the advice of their doctor. There is a residue, but once that residue is all dried up there is no problem."

The problem Pete and his team often encounter are those who have accessed information from the Internet, and believe they know more than the pest manager. What they fail to take into account are area regulations that these licensed professionals with extensive training in the industry, must follow.

The information gained from the Internet may be for the U.S., and even there remedies and practices can vary from state to state.

If the problem can be fixed without spraying, that is the preferred course of action – however, he believes that the misconception exists that pest management professionals "apply too much pesticides." Chemicals are only used as a last resort. Do-it-yourselvers can not only use too much product, but damage surfaces within their home by incorrect application.

Challenges aside, Pete enjoys the people he meets through his work.

Taking care of anything wild in your home or business usually means calling an exterminator, but Pete Jameson stresses again that prevention is key.

"It's a lot better," he says, "if you can stop them from coming in."

Article provided by Dynamic Pest Control