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Monthly Archives: August 2019

BMSB

The brown marmorated stink bug, otherwise abbreviated as BMSB, is an invasive species; as it was introduced to the US from Eastern Asia in the mid-90s. It is also known as the East Asian or yellow-brown stink bug. The BMSB was first collected in the United States in Allentown, PA in the fall of 1996, but was not identified until years later in 2001. From there, it quickly spread east. Today, BMSB has been identified in 44 states including Washington DC. The stink bug’s native range includes China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Stink Bug Odor

BMSB is aptly named by the odor they emit when they feel threatened. It is thought that this odor aids in protecting against predators. The bugs produce the smelly chemical in a gland on their abdomen. Some species can actually spray the several chemical inches. The smell has often been compared to potent herbs like cilantro.

Interestingly enough, the composition of the odor is comprised of chemicals commonly used as food additives and is actually present in cilantro. This smell can linger for hours so it is in your best interest to try to avoid the bugs or carefully sweep or vacuum them up if they have entered your house.

Physical Attributes

Stink bugs are characterized in several different ways. They are described as “large and oval-shaped” and “shield-shaped”. Adult BMSB can reach almost 2 cm in length and are almost as wide as they are long. Their legs extend from their sides, which makes adult bugs appear even larger. The BMSB is brownish in color with lighter bands on their antennae and darker bands on their wings.

Adult stink bugs are strong fliers and fold their wings on top of their body when they land. The wings of nymphs are not fully developed but they do appear as they become an adult. Mature wings are an identifier of adults.

The nymphs are very tiny when they first hatch and are yellow and red in color. As they mature the yellow fades to white. Nymphs have bright red eyes during this stage of their lifecycle. They molt or shed their skin 5 times as they mature. Nymphs become larger each time they molt. By their final molt, the nymphs are almost as large as adult stink bugs.

Habits

In general, adult BMSB feed on fruits and the nymphs feed on leaves, stems, and fruit. The life cycle of BMSB typically involves mating, then reproducing, and feeding from the spring months to late the fall. Upon the cold temperatures, stink bugs seek shelter to spend the winter in a dormant phase known as ‘diapause’.

BMSB search for overwintering sites in late fall before the weather conditions change drastically.  They spend the winter in diapause inside homes or buildings, usually within the walls, attics or crawl spaces. However, diapause may not be the total competition of their season. If the weather warms up for long enough, overwintering stink bugs may be misled in thinking it is time to exit diapause and become active once again. Stink bugs will then reemerge in early spring and become active.

BMSB mate and create up to 3 generations per year depending on their habitat. Colder areas only see one generation each year, whereas warmer areas will likely see two or three. Stink bug females typically lay 20 to 30 eggs. These eggs are light green and barrel-shaped, attached side-by-side in a mass on the underside of a host plant’s leaves. The eggs will hatch within four to five days and from there the nymphs will begin to feed.

Signs of an Infestation

In most cases, homeowners will first detect stink bugs by their large invasions in the fall months. Finding large numbers of living or dead stink bugs is also a sign of an infestation. Stink bugs will show themselves on sunny sides of homes where they enjoy warming themselves. Farmers often detect an infestation by the damage caused to their crops.

Threats

The BMSB cannot sting and is also unlikely to bite humans or animals. The stink bug’s mouthparts are grouped into the piercing/sucking category, but they do not use blood as a food source like mosquitoes, bed bugs, or biting flies. Their mouths are not structured in a manner that allows them to bite through human skin.

Stink bugs are relatively harmless to humans, though they do have the potential to spread throughout the country. This could result in harm to the agricultural industry, as they destroy crops. BMSB can cause damage to fruit trees, ornamental plants, and gardens, but they are more of a nuisance pest than an actual threat to humans. They do not spread disease or cause structural damage.

To avoid a potential infestation of these pests, proper exclusion is of the utmost importance. Hogarth’s is well-versed in varying types of exclusion for residential and commercial properties. We will seal entrance holes around pipes, windows, ridge vent and soffits. It is important to note that exclusion alone will not always fix the issue; the home will need to be treated to keep every BMSB away from the structure. Call us today!

Raccoons: “Trash Pandas”

Raccoons are medium-sized mammals that are about 2-3 feet in length. They have round, stocky bodies and their coats are made of salt-and-pepper colored fur. Raccoons are known best for the “bandit mask” of black fur around their eyes, and black rings around their fluffy tails. They have a 5-fingered paw with opposable thumbs, allowing extreme cheekiness.

Nicknamed “coons” for short, we rarely spot these mammals during the day because of their nocturnal lifestyle. Raccoons live throughout the United States but have become increasingly common in the forested eastern portions.

Habitat and Diet

Raccoons prefer to live in forest areas close to a body of water. Although commonly in association with water and trees, we also find them around farmsteads and livestock watering areas. Typically these mammals like to den in ground burrows, brush piles, hollow trees, muskrat dens and runs, abandoned buildings and barns, dense clumps of cattail, haystacks, and crevices in rocks. They are also notorious for overtaking parts of homes, including attics, chimnies, and hollow areas beneath porches to make dens.

Raccoons are omnivorous, which means they consume both plants and other animal meat. This includes berries, fruits, nuts, frogs, fish, crayfish, mussels, insects, turtles, mice, rabbits, muskrats, and even bird eggs. Raccoons usually have one litter of young each year, usually born in late spring or early summer. One litter can yield between three and five young, called kits. They can live for 12 years in the wild and even longer in captivity. They do not hibernate per se but do become inactive during severe winter weather.

Signs of a Raccoon Infestation

There are both visual and audible signs of identifying a raccoon infestation. Damage to a home’s shingles, insulation, lumber, electrical wiring, walls and other parts of the structure are telltale signs that a raccoon has taken up residence. Another indication of an infestation is the presence of scat, stains from urine, or nesting materials.

Additionally, raccoons often ransack and make a mess of garbage in cans while they search for food. If a homeowner notices trash randomly dispersed about the property, raccoons could be to blame. Pawprints may also be visible throughout the property.

In some cases, raccoons will destroy bird nests, kill poultry, and cause damage to gardens and agricultural crops, so any signs of these types of activities can also mean there is an infestation. Hearing loud thuds and noises from movement can also signify a homeowner may have raccoons in the home.

Dangers of Raccoons

While not all raccoons carry rabies, they are major hosts of the rabies virus throughout the United States, especially in the eastern states where their populations are continuously increasing. It is important to note that just because you see an active raccoon during the daytime, it does not necessarily signify it is rabid. That being said, there are key indicators that a raccoon may be infected with the rabies virus. Key symptoms of a rabid raccoon include apparent confusion and disorientation, wet and tangled looking hair, leg paralysis or difficulty walking, significant aggression, and production of loud, strange noises. Rabid raccoons are likely to foam at the mouth and have watery eyes.

In addition to the rabies virus, there are other harmful diseases that raccoons can carry and potentially transmit to humans; this includes roundworm, an intestinal parasite. Roundworm transmitted through unintentionally ingesting one of their microscopic eggs.

Raccoons also pose a severe threat to property. They will damage homes and other structures, especially when they try to enter through chimneys or attics that they target as potential den sites. Raccoons can even tear off shingles or boards to gain access to an attic or wall space as they have opposable thumbs.

How to Get Rid of Racoons

There are numerous precautions that homeowners may take to try to avoid a raccoon infestation from taking afoot. Firstly, raccoons can gain access into homes through holes, uncapped chimneys, broken vents, and other openings near/on the roof, which is why homeowners should regularly inspect these potential points of entry. Loose shingles and siding should also be repaired upon noticing. It is also helpful to have a licensed wildlife technician (if your builder hasn’t) install a chimney cap or mesh cover over exposed openings to prevent the animals from entering.

Homeowners should always store trash in sealed areas or containers, ideally in a locked shed, garage, or outbuilding. Raccoons are very cheeky and are easily able to open garbage cans; if they are left out in the open, it is imperative to have tightly fitting lids to avoid attention from hungry raccoons. Homeowners should also remove bird seed, feeders, and fountains, as they are sources of sustenance to raccoons. Likewise, brush, built-up debris, and leaves can serve as perfect hiding spots and dwellings for raccoons; it’s essential to rid the yard of these piles regularly. Also, consider storing firewood, which raccoons can use to build a shelter, at least 20 feet from the house during the colder seasons.

If you suspect an infestation and require additional information, contact a licensed pest professional to properly inspect the property and buildings. From there, they will formulate a plan to get rid of the raccoons. Please note that homeowners should not attempt to address an infestation themselves, especially since these mammals may be rabid or carrying raccoon roundworm and other diseases as mentioned above.

Shoo, flies!

Contrary to popular belief, there is a variety of species of common flies. In fact, there are over 20,000 in North America alone! While we’d thoroughly enjoy discussing the differences between all of the fly species, we wanted to focus on the two we deal with most regularly— the house fly and the cluster fly.

House Flies

The house fly is by far one of the most common pests we find in and around homes. It has a worldwide distribution and is extremely prominent throughout the US. We consider these insects to be not only nuisance pests while buzzing in and around homes— but they also have the potential to carry diseases. They have relatively brief lifespans; however, they have the ability to quickly reproduce in numbers, leading to large house fly populations if not properly identified and effectively controlled.

House flies are usually grey in color and have four black stripes on their thorax. Adults are about 1/8-1/4 inches long. They have slightly hairy bodies, a single pair of wings and compound red eyes, which contain thousands of individual lenses that give them broader vision. Female house flies are usually larger in size than males and they do not have teeth or a stinger.

Housefly eggs closely resemble grains of rice; these eggs will hatch into larvae, or maggots, that range in size from about ¼-3/8” long. Maggots are cream in color and appear to be greasy. When entering the pupal stage, maggots become dark and develop hard outer shells, as well as legs and wings, ultimately emerging as full-grown adult flies.

Signs of an infestation

The most common sign of a housefly infestation is the physical presence of the flies themselves. You may also see larvae crawling out of their breeding material as they pupate. Along with seeing the insects, people may hear them around the home. House flies produce buzzing sounds which are a result of their two wings beating together.

If you suspect to have a house fly infestation in your home, it is important to contact a licensed pest control professional in order to conduct a proper inspection, specifically looking for any places where house fly eggs deposit. Since house flies enter from the outdoors, internal breeding sites are uncommon. However, garbage rooms and trash compactors provide an ideal environment for house fly breeding and should be routinely checked. If the breeding site(s) are not thoroughly cleaned or removed, the problems with these pests will persist.

Once the breeding site has been remediated, eliminating the existing adult flies is the next step. A pest control professional will develop a treatment plan based on the circumstances of the infestation; this may include the use of fly bait, applications, or traps.

To prevent a house fly infestation from occurring in the first place, vigilant and constant sanitation is a necessity. Regularly removing trash and using adequately sealed garbage receptacles can help to deter any house flies from residing around waste bins. Additionally, pet waste must be taken care of immediately to prevent the development of any further breeding sites. Finally, all doors and windows should have fine mesh screens in order to avoid house flies from entering the home. If screens are already present, make sure there are no visible rips or tears.

Cluster Flies

Cluster flies, on the other hand, are slightly larger and thinner than house flies at 3/8 of an inch in size. They are a dull grey in color (not metallic like some other fly species) with golden hairs on the thorax and a grey checkerboard pattern on the abdomen. When resting, their wings usually overlap over their backs. If you crush cluster flies they may smell sweet, like honey!

These flies have a unique life cycle. The larvae live in soil where they are internal parasites of earthworms. Consequently, structures with large lawns or those near fields are more likely to have problems with overwintering cluster flies. There are four generations a year, but we only consider the late-season adults as pests as they move inside structures in late summer or fall. Adults feed on flowers and are not attracted to garbage, feces or dead animals.

Cluster flies are slow-moving, especially when they become active indoors on warm winter days (when the heat fluctuates) or in early spring as they look for a way outside. They head for light and often end up clustered around windows or in ceiling light fixtures.

We can control cluster flies by creating barriers in mid-to-late-summer to prevent their entry: treatment of the exterior with a repellent residual, as well as pest-proofing of openings, especially around the roofline. It’s critical to time the residual application before fly entry in your area.

Once the flies are inside, control is difficult, and results are often disappointing. Avoid killing them in inaccessible voids because the dead flies can attract beetles. Vacuuming, sticky traps, and light traps can remove wandering flies.

Signs of an infestation

During the cold winter months, cluster flies often congregate around windows or doors on warm days or when the heat is increased, prompting frantic calls for service. Controlling cluster flies indoors can be difficult as populations are frequently hiding in hard-to-reach voids or attics. Indoor insecticide applications are often impractical and result in large numbers of dead flies that are attractive to secondary pests such as carpet beetles. Usually, exclusion is the best solution but should be complete by the early autumn, before the insects make their way indoors.

Completely sealing every entry point is difficult, especially because cluster flies enter near the roofline through soffit or ridge vents. Exterior surface applications of appropriate repellent insecticides can be helpful in deterring them, but applications should be made before aggregations of flies begin to appear on the building. In many cases, we instruct clients to vacuum any carcasses popping up in homes.

No matter the fly, Hogarth’s Pest Control and Wildlife Removal has the skillset to not only curb an infestation but the necessary exclusion and clean-up work required to keep any home fly-free. If you have noticed an issue with house or cluster flies in your home or business, please give us a call. We have been keeping Northern Michigan homes free of these pests for 25 years!

Oh, Canada (Geese)

Canada geese are a familiar late summer/fall sight beckoning the onset of autumn with their arrow-shaped flight pattern pointed south. Michigan is the home to over 330,000 Canada geese. Some stay year-round, many more are just passing by. Michigan’s hunting season for this bird runs on various dates from September through February.

The large, black-necked Canada goose with its signature white chinstrap is an extremely familiar and widespread bird of fields and parks throughout the entire country. Thousands of “honkers” (aptly nicknamed after the sound of their calls) migrate north and south each year, filling the sky with long V-formations. But as lawns have become increasingly abundant, more and more of these now grassland-adapted birds are remaining in urban and suburban areas year-round, where some people have begun to regard them as pests.  Canada Geese are fit for aquatic life; their long neck, sizely body, large webbed feet, and broad, flat bill make for the ideal waterfowl. Their black head with white cheeks and chinstrap fades into a black neck, tan breast, and brown back.

Canada geese live in a variety of habitats near water, grassy fields, and grain fields.

Canada geese particularly seek out lawns for two reasons:
1) They can digest grass
2) When they are feeding with their young, well-manicured yards, give them a full, unobstructed view of any approaching predators.

Because of these reasons, they are especially abundant in parks, airports, golf courses, and other areas with expansive lawns throughout Michigan and the surrounding states.

Diet

In spring and summer months, geese concentrate their feeding on grasses. During the fall and winter, they rely more on heartier foods such as seeds, including agricultural grains, and berries— seeming to be especially fond of blueberries in particular. They also happen to be very skilled at removing kernels from dry corn cobs. Canada geese dabble for food in shallow water by tipping forward and extending their necks under the surface. During much of the year, they live in large flocks, and many of these birds are related to one another.

Mating

They mate for life as ducks and other waterfowl species, with meager “divorce rates,” and as a result, pairs remain together throughout the years. Geese mate “assortatively,” meaning larger birds choose larger mates and smaller ones choose smaller mates; in any given couple, the males are usually larger than the females.

It is quite typical that Canada geese will not breed until their fourth year; less than 10% of all geese produce as yearlings; this is because most pair bonds are unstable until birds are at least two to three years old. However, there is documentation of extra-pair copulations.

In the spring, pairs break out from flocks and begin defending territories. The spacing of these pairs is variable and depends on the availability of nest sites, and population density; where the population is vast, and even after a great deal of fights birds might end up nesting in view of one another, as some populations are somewhat colonial.

Threat displays of geese may involve ‘head pumping’; the bill will be open with the tongue raised, and there will be hissing, honking, and vibration of neck feathers. When/if an intruding goose doesn’t retreat, geese may grab each other by breast or throat and hit each other with their wings. This type of fighting may result in injuries as Canada geese have teeth and can be quite strong.

Canada Geese and their young

The female selects the nest site, builds the nest, and incubates the eggs. In many cases, she will brood goslings in cold, wet, or windy weather and while they’re sleeping for the first week after hatching. The males guard the nest while the females incubate.

Soon after hatching, goslings begin pecking at small objects but spend most of their time sleeping and feeding. They will remain with their parents at all times throughout the first year, though in some cases “gang broods” form, especially in more southern states. These will include at least two different broods, and sometimes five or more, that travel, and feed together, supervised by one or two adults.  As summer dwindles and birds become more social, they may gather in large numbers at food sources. Where food is scarce or inconsistent, it is likely they will compete with displays of aggression and fights.

Migration

During the winter, geese can remain in northern areas with some open water and food resources even where temperatures are frigid. Geese that breed in the most northern reaches of their range tend to migrate long distances to overwinter in the more southern parts of the range, whereas geese breeding in the southern United States migrate lesser distances or not at all. Individual geese tend to return to the same migratory stopovers and wintering areas each year. Spring migration may be difficult to follow because of birds that over-winter and movements between overnight rest stops and feeding areas. However, the bulk of spring migratory patterns tends to move north behind the retreating snow line, where the temperature is averaging 35 degrees Fahrenheit and above.

Migrating flocks generally include aggregations of family groups and individuals, in both the spring and fall. Flights usually begin at dusk but may start at any time of day, as the birds fly both night and day. They travel in a V formation, with the more experienced individuals taking turns leading the flock.

Control

We see these birds all over Michigan, always in the least ideal places. Golf courses and those with homes near bodies of water most often complain of their droppings which are abundant and unsightly.

As we mentioned above, Canada geese do have a permitted hunting season, however, outside of the season, it is best to use herding dogs to eradicate the issue. Noisemakers and other persistent, consistent deterrents will ensure a flock does not return. This must be on a consistent, even yearly, basis if the property seems to be a hot spot for Canada Geese.

Hogarth’s Pest Control and Wildlife Company is NWCOA-certified for Geese removal and has a Border Collie on staff— an ideal tool for these types of jobs. The key to remediating a Canada goose problem comes down to consistency. As we mentioned above, these birds frequent the same locations for food and rest each year. It is important to set up a deterrent program that will continuously remind the geese that they are not welcome on the property. We work with you depending on the needs of your property, so give us a call today!