How To Prevent & Control Silverfish?

Silverfish is a common pest in many households across Australia, especially in areas like Castle Cove, Central Coast and Northern Beaches. They are usually bluish-silver or brownish-grey in colour and can grow up to the length of 19 millimetres. Their favourite hiding spots include attics, bathrooms and kitchens - any place that is damp and dark. They love to feed on shampoos, cellulose, dead insects, silk, linen and residual glue. They can move as well as reproduce quickly, which allows them to spread throughout a place within a short period of time.

 Although silverfish are nocturnal and their infestation can sometimes go unnoticed, they can be prevented and controlled by implementing several measures, some of which have been discussed below:

Reducing Humidity

Silverfish need a continuous supply of moisture for ensuring survival. By reducing this one basic necessity of theirs, it is possible to control them significantly. Basements and attics must be ventilated properly, and dried with the help of dehumidifiers or stand fans. Leaky faucets and pipes must be fixed or replaced. If there are no pets or small children in the house, placing silica gels in holes, cracks and corners can also help.

Elimination of Food Sources

Silverfish are known to snack on a wide range of things including starches, cereal grains, paper, book glue, cotton, linen, silk and even mould. Therefore, it is important to sweep, mop or vacuum diligently for removing food crumbs that can act as effective food sources. All magazines, papers and books must be kept in metal trunks having tight lids. Rugs and carpets should be cleaned regularly for removing mildew.

Regulation of Light & Heat

Common silverfish normally cannot tolerate too much light and heat and prefer temperatures ranging from 21 to 27 degrees Celsius. If the inhabitants can tolerate it, the infested area may be heated above 27 degrees and then cooled to 15 degrees. Light can be used for forcing the pests into areas where they can be easily tackled.

Blocking Entry Points

Caulking or plaster can be used for blocking cracks or holes where silverfish are suspected to reside. These holes are where the pests lay and deposit eggs. Blocking up the crevices will prevent them from coming out. Careful attention must be paid to small cracks between the floor and runner board.

If infestations persist even after resorting to above mentioned tips, it would be better to contact professionals dealing with pest control in Castle Cove or other parts of Australia. However, steps must be taken to determine whether the pest control firm being considered is efficient enough for taking care of the infestation or not.

5 Types Of Common Pests Found In North Shore

Pests are very common in North Shore. You cam find  a wide variety of pests in both commercial as well as residential structures here. However, at the same time there are a number of companies that offer Pest Control in North Shore as well. So, all you need to do is just get in touch with one of them to make sure there are no pests in your property.

Pests that are most common in North Shore include:
Cockroache : There are about four hundred species of cockroaches found all over the world. Around six kinds of cockroach species are commonly seen in North Shore. These pests invade homes as well as commercial structures to a great extent. They are basically nocturnal creatures and are thus seen mostly at night. At daytime, they conceal themselves with cracks, crevices and warm places. It is very important to get rid of these pests because they can transmit harmful bacteria by contaminating human food.

Rodents : Rodents, especially rats & mice, are pests that cam damage both residential and commercial structures severely. Other than damaging properties they can also transmit a number of diseases. Some of the diseases even resulted in deaths of human beings. They are creatures that have evolved as well as adapted themselves to live in close proximity of human beings for food and shelter. They are typically nocturnal creatures and go about looking for food mainly at night. This doesn't mean they are not visible during day time. Only when human activity is less or their nest is overpopulated do they appear at day light.

Bed bugs : Bed bugs are one of the most notorious pests to humans. The adults can grow up to a length of 4 to 5 millimetre and have rusty red oval shaped bodies. They are mainly nocturnal and feed primarily on blood. Their bites can trigger itchy skin rashes and allergic reactions. Bedbugs are most likely to be found in the sleeping quarters of motels, hotels, backpackers’ hostels, etc.

 Fleas : Fleas are tiny bloodsucking insects and often exist as parasites on the bodies of dogs, cats, pigs and other mammals. In households, they can be annoying pests for their nasty habits of biting humans on lower legs and ankles. The bites may result in irritations that can last for days, because the saliva of fleas is an anticoagulant.

Matured fleas are usually about 4 millimetres in size, having brownish bodies and jaws equipped with sucking and piercing mouthparts.

Wasps :  The major pest among the different types of wasp found in North Shore is the European wasp. It can be easily recognised by its bright yellow coloured bodies covered with black bands. Their favourite nesting places include bottom of trees or areas near the ground. They can deliver multiple excruciatingly painful stings when disturbed. Wasps are more common during the months of January to March.

How to Free your House from Termites?

If you are thinking about how to deal with termites without spending much, at first calling up the professionals in Central Coast and seeking their help to chase the pests away from your house might seem like an expensive affair. But think again. Do you really want to take a risk and try to save the situation on your own? Most professional exterminators have adequate knowledge and the right tools for controlling the nasty wood borers and prevent them from coming back again.

However, if you are adamant about going for a DIY, here are a few measures that might probably work out for you.


Orange Oil

Obtained from orange peels, orange oil contains an active substance called D-Limonene which can kill a wide range of insects by destroying their exoskeleton and cell membranes. Drill tiny holes into the suspected areas and inject a small amount of orange oil in each of them. Results may start to become conspicuous after a few days or even a couple of weeks.


Electrocution

This is another effective method to get rid of termites. Purchase an electric device and electrocute the pests through pre-drilled holes.

Sunlight

If the high activity areas of termites are wooden furniture pieces, then this trick can be what you are looking for. Take the furniture outside and place in a spot receiving direct sunlight. Because termites prefer moisture and darkness, the heat and light will definitely kill them.


Microwaves

Buy a portable microwave device and treat the infested areas for about 10 minutes. A couple inches of wooden board may require treatment for around 30 minutes or more than that.


Nematodes

Nematodes are tiny worms, that look for hosts and burrow into their bodies, killing them within an approximated duration of 48 hours. They are generally not a threat to plants, animals or pets, and are capable of destroying entire colonies of termites as well. Buy some nematodes from a local home improvement shop and spray them in the activity ground of the wood borers.


Cardboard Trap
You can even use cardboard as an excellent bait for termites. Take a few sheets of cardboard, pile them on top of each other and spray them with a little bit of water. Place them in the infested areas and when they are full of the pests, take the bait outside and simply incinerate as many times as needed.

Although the above mentioned tricks may just work, but full-blown infestations can be really difficult to tackle without the help of a professional firm dealing with termite control in Central Coast.

How to Control Pests in Food Industry?

Pest management is an important aspect of any food processing facility because infestations can easily put the product as well as reputation of the business into jeopardy. However, in order to achieve pest control in such environments, it is essential to take special precautions and implement the ethics of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) so that the treatment methods do not threaten safety of the food.

For an IPM to be successful in a food plant, root causes of the infestation must be addressed. Some fundamental tenets of an IPM program are as follows:

Inspection

In order to keep food processors free from the clutches of pests, weekly inspections must be conducted focussing on areas suspected as their activity spots - storage areas, receiving docks, break rooms of employees, recent ingredient spill sites, etc. Identification of the potential entry ways, sources of water and food, and harbourage zones is also necessary.


Preventive Action

Once the inspections have revealed vulnerabilities, steps must be taken imperatively for addressing them before real problems spike up. A compelling prevention measure is exclusion, that is, carrying out structural maintenance for blocking entry ways detected at the time of inspections. Proper sanitation should also be ensured for eliminating the water and food sources.

Identification

It is important to identify the most problematic species so that more efficient ways of elimination can be determined without causing damage to other harmless organisms. Most professionals dealing with pest management in North Shore always begin with correct identification of pests that are in question.

Treatment Selection

IPM encourages the use of natural methods for control, such as trapping or exclusion. Chemical methods should always be the last resort, and that too when nothing else seems to work. Even if chemicals are used for control, they must be applied in mild formulations only in the targeted areas. However, focussing on the natural options can ensure that least threat is posed to the food items and their surrounding environment.

Monitoring

Since pest control is a persistent process, it requires constant monitoring of the facility to prevent further infestations and eliminate the existing ones. The staff of the facility must watch closely every day for any signs of infestation. They must also be aware of the sanitation issues affecting the IPM program.

Documentation

Documentation is also an important tenet of any IPM program. Important documents must be maintained containing information about scope of the service, pest activity, corrective action, trap layout, pesticide usage, etc.

Working of an IPM Program

Integrated Pest Management in North Shore is commonly resorted to for controlling pests using economical means without any hazard to the environment, property and people. IPM programs generally use current and comprehensive information on life cycles of pests as well as their interaction with environment. This information is then effectively combined with the available control methods. The approach is applied to agricultural settings, and also non-agricultural ones including homes, workplaces and garden.

An IPM program is not just any single control method, but an elaborate array of evaluated pest management measures. For practising IPM, professionals aware of potentials for infestations usually follow a meticulous four-tiered approach. Those four essential steps are as follows:

Setting Action Thresholds

Before taking any step to control a specific pest, IPM sets a threshold for action, a point where environmental conditions or pest populations will indicate that action has to be taken. It is not always necessary to exercise control measures if only a single ant or spider or any other pest has been sighted. The level upto which these pests are not a threat to economy is critical for guiding future decisions for control.

Monitoring and Identifying

It is important to recognise the fact that all insects, weeds or pests do not require control. Many insects and pests can be innocuous, but some are also harmless and even beneficial. An IPM program works to monitor and then identify the pests accurately, in order to make suitable control decisions along with the action thresholds. Effective inspection and identification can help to eliminate any possible usage of pesticides that are unnecessary or of the wrong type.

Prevention

Since prevention is always better than cure, IPM programs follow an approach to manage crops, lawns and indoor spaces so that the pests may not become threats. For example, in domestic and commercial settings, elimination of residue such as food spills and crumbs, sealing of cracks and crevices, and proper cleanliness must be ensured to keep pests away. In a horticultural crop, it may mean use of cultural methods like rotating between various crops, choosing varieties that are resistant to pests, and growing pest-free rootstock. These measures are, indeed, very effective and can reduce the expenses of pest management significantly. They also present very little or zero risk to human beings or environment.

Control

If inspection, identification and the thresholds indicate necessity of action, preventive methods can be of no use. A typical IPM program, on detecting an infestation, evaluates proper, less risky and effective methods for controlling it. Some can be used for disrupting the functionality of pheromones to prevent their mating, while other methods include augmentative control method or trapping.

Health Risks From Cockroach Infestations and their Prevention

Cockroaches are the most common, gross and nastiest among all types of pests that invade homes. Not a single household in the whole world is spared from the intrusion of this filthy insect. These disgusting creatures can be encountered in many places such as kitchen sinks, pipe holes, garbage piles, corners of heavy furnitures and appliances and toilets.

Besides bringing fear and social embarrassment, cockroach infestations also pose various health risks because they carry millions of bacteria and other infectious agents. These microbes can cause a wide range of diseases from food poisoning to diarrhoea. The various ways in which cockroaches can cause health hazards are as follows:

Food Contamination

Just like omnivores, cockroaches can eat anything for survival. Their diet consists of food materials, dead plants and animals, glue, paper, soap, leather, hair and even faecal matter. While rampaging around a household at night, they pollute open food sources by excreting in them, leaving behind egg shells and depositing dead skin.

Transmitting Disease-causing Bacteria

When cockroaches feed on exposed food, they vomit out sputum and other digestive juices which contain disease-causing bacteria and germs that live within their guts. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria commonly found in the saliva of cockroaches, causes various diseases to human beings like sepsis, digestive problems and rectum infections. Another bacterium known as Salmonella, causes typhoid and food poisoning.

Allergies

Besides contaminating food, cockroaches can also cause different types of allergies. Their body parts and sputum secretions are known to have various kinds of allergens that may trigger skin irritations or unwanted reactions. The common problems include watery eyes, sneezing and rashes. Sometimes the allergens can also worsen breathing problems in asthma patients.




Invading Body Parts

Cockroaches are known to enter body orifices of human beings when they are asleep. Small ones can intrude into nose and ears of sleeping people. Apart from that, there are some species which even bite humans. Sometimes they might even nibble on toes, fingernails and other soft body parts, leaving wounds.

In order to prevent these health risks, one must exercise suitable control methods for eliminating cockroaches from household and prevent future infestations. Regular cleaning is very important as well as effective for keeping them at bay. Garbage bins should be kept covered at all times. Food stuffs must be stored in sealed containers. In case of large-scale infestations, the responsibility of treatment should be handed over to a skilled pest exterminator in Northern Beaches.