Guaranteed Mosquito Control

Mosquito larvae and pupae live in water.  Various species have become adapted to living in practically all kinds of water except fast-flowing streams and the open portions of large bodieds of water, where there is considerable wave action. 

Mosquito larvae live in water, but they must either surface for air or obtain it from the underwater protions of plants.  Larvae have a well-defined head, thorax, and abdomen.  Larvae go through four instars, usually in a period of 4 to 10 days, to form pupae.  The pupa lives in water and, like the larvae, is quite active.  When ready to hatch, the pupa rises to the surface, and the pupal skin breaks.  The adult works its way out of the pupal skin and uses the skin for support until the body wall has hardened enough for the adult to be capable of flight.  Males usually emerge first and wait near the hatching point to mate with the females soon after they emerge.  Most female mosquitoes must have a blood meal before they can lay fertile eggs.  The adult female is the only stage that feeds on blood.  The mouthparts of the adult male are not suitable for blood sucking.  Therefore, their nourishment is normally derived from nector and plant juices.

Here are some general guidelines to follow to minimize the incidence of mosquites and our exposure to the diseases they transmit.

• Remove all standing water from your yard in such locations as childrens toys, saucers or flower pots;     clean or remove pool covers that is holding standing water; cover rain barrels with mosquito proof netting; and clean gutters and rain spouts.
• If you have standing water in your yard, you may apply larvicide to control mosquitoes in the larval stage. Your local Public Works Department may have larvicide tables available for you.  In Valdosta, Georgia they are available at 1017 Myrtle Street, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to  4 p.m. (publication: Valdosta City Beat, April -  June 2010 article)

When finished, click on the Send Questionnaire button that appears after the last question to send the form to Cowart Pest Services.

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Commonly referred to as “Termite Letter”  or  “Clearance Letter”

Please complete the following questionnaire which will be sent to Cowart Pest Services.  Note that this form  includes certain criteria in order for us to complete the inspection and have the paperwork at the correct location and time.

When finished, click on the Submit Information button that appears after the last question to send the form to Cowart Pest Services.

Thank you for your interest in Cowart Pest Services !!!

                           Pest Management is needed in every type of business.

• Restaurants
• Health Care
• Multi-family Dwelling
• Food Processing
• Supermarkets

• Distribution/ Warehousing
• Hotels/Motels
• Manufacturers
• Retail Stores
• Offices

Unwanted pests can enter your business in various ways.  Entry points may include doors, windows, vents, cracks and crevices, shipping/receiving areas and employee entrances and exits.  Roaches, ants, rodents and other unsightly pest are continually seeking sources of food, water and harborage where they can breed.  Trash containers, clogged drains and leaky plumbing are just a few attractive sources of food and water for pests after they have entered your establishment.

At Cowart Pest Services, we identify conditions in your place of business that may contribute to pest infestations, and seek to eliminate potential harborage areas necessary for pest survival.  Cowart Pest Services will inspect, advise and develop a program to meet your specific pest management needs.

Pest Management for Restaurants

A sure way to loose customers at your restaurant is by having insects or other pests invade the dining area, kitchen or restrooms.  Even when the food is well-prepared, roaches, ants rodents or other pests may drive customers away for good.  In addition to lost profits, your reputation may suffer irreparable harm/

Cowart Pest Services understands that pest management is critical to the success of your dining establishment.  We are committed to protecting you, your customers and employees.  We utilize Integrated Pest Management (IPM) so your patrons can enjoy a pest-free dining experience.

Pest Management for Health Care Facilities

As you would expect, the health care industry is very particular when it comes to pest control.  Hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes and other health care facilities are prime targets for pest infestations.  Cowart Pest Services understands that the highly sensitive environments of health care facilities require special knowledge, expertise, care and pest control procedures.

Cowart Pest Services is committed to protecting your environment and reputation, as well as the health and well-being of your patients, residents and employees.  With our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, we are committed to making your facilities more attractive with a pest-free environment.

Pest Management for Multi-Family Housing

No one wants to rent an apartment infested with pests such as roaches, ants or mice.  Apartment properties are highly susceptible to pest infestations.  Property owners and managers know the importance of maintaining a pest-free living environment—anything less and residents may move out.  Complaints from residents about pests take away from the time you need to manage your business.

Cowart Pest Services is dedicated to protecting you and your residents.  Our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program will safeguard your property against roaches, ants, rodents and other pests.

Our Program provides:

• A comprehensive inspection to check all areas for pest activity.
• An analysis and evaluation noting potential problem areas, inside and out.
• An identification of specific pests and conditions conducive to their activity.
• Sanitation recommendations to keep areas of your business clean and unattractive to pests.

• Maintenance recommendations to prevent pest entry into your place of business.
• Pest Control recommendations…first offering non-pesticide control methods such as exclusion, and then using materials such as baits, traps and monitors, if necessary, to eliminate infestations and prevent reinfestations.
• Ongoing monitoring, communication and program evaluation.

Ants usually have distinctly elbowed antennae, in which the first segment is called the scape.  It is followed by a series of segments which makeup the funicle.  In some species the last two or three segments of the antennae are enlarged, so they are referred to as a club.

The first two or three segment of the abdomen, where it attaches to the thorax, are much smaller than those which make up the rest of the body region, which is called the gaster.  This typically gives ants a rather “thin-waisted” appearance.  This thin waist is properly known as the abdominal pedicel.  The pedicel may consist of one or two segments, and each segment is somewhat enlarged on the upper surface.  This enlargement may vary in shape from a slight hump to a rather high, flattened, plate-like structure.  When trying to identify ants, it is very important to become familiar with the shape and segmentation of the pedicel, which is sometimes called the “node”.  It is an important characteristic used to separate ant species and identify ants from other types of insects.

The mandibles are the most conspicuous of the mouthparts.  They are supplied with well-developed musculature and are used to carry and break up food, for excavation of nests in wood or the ground, and as weapons for offense and defense.

Ant antennae are especially important organs because they have many sensory cells and spines.  They are particularly important for the senses of taste and touch.  Besides their need to detect and taste food, ants are known to use a number of chemical pheromones to communicate between individuals within the same colony.  These may be trail pheromones, sex pheromones, alarm pheromones or other types.  Many of these pheromones are actually blends of different chemicals and they are deposited or used in very tiny amounts.

Most structure-infesting ants either do not have the ability to sting, or retain it only to a limited degree.  A venom is associated with the sting which not only creates rapid, intense pain, but may cause serious allergic reactions in some people.

BIOLOGY

Ants have a complete metamorphosis, egg, larvae, pupae, and adult.  Eggs are almost microscopic in size and vary in shape according to species.  Larvae which hatch from the eggs are very soft, pear or gourd-shaped, legless, and off-white in color.  The head and the mouthparts are at the narrow end of the body.  Adult workers which tend the nest will move the eggs, larvae, and pupae around within the nest, and feed and groom the larvae.  After several days to some weeks of feeding, during which time several molts are completed, the larvae will enter the pupal stage.  Pupae resemble an adult ant, but are soft, white and do not move about or feed.

Adults require several days to attain complete maturity after emergence from pupae.  During this period, the body of the adult hardens and attains mature color.  Six weeks to two months or more are required for development from the egg to the adult stage.  The time varies according to environmental factors such as temperature, food abundance, disturbances, etc.

Ants live in colonies and have well-developed caste system for the division of labor between adult forms.  A newly mated queen digs a gallery to start a nest.  The queen seals herself in this cell and remains nearly dormant while the first group of eggs develop in her body.  When mature, the eggs are laid and hatch in the sealed cell.  Inside her body, the queen’s flight muscles are reabsorbed to provide energy for this long period before workers will be available to forage for food and feed the queen along with the rest of the colony.  The queen nurses and feeds the first group of larvae until they pupate.  Workers developing from these first eggs are always undersized due to the small food supply which has been available to them.  Workers of the first brood dig an opening out of the nest gallery and begin to forage for food, both for themselves and the queen.  With an additional supply of food available, the queen is then able to lay more eggs.  Workers, which are all sterile females, care fort the new eggs, larvae, and pupae in each succeeding generation. 

Successful colonies of many species often take more than one season to develop populations large enough to even be noticed.  It will often take one or two years for colonies to develop to the point where substantial numbers of new males and queens are formed.  These are usually winged forms called alates, or swarmers, which are capable of reproducing.  In some species there may be multiple queens in a mature colony, while others will have only one queen laying eggs.  If the queen should die at some time after the colony has become well established, a worker or one of the other female reproductives can sometimes begin to reproduce eggs and take over this function in the colony.

Ant colonies normally have three distinct adult castes – workers, reproductive females (queen) and reproductive males.  Workers are sterile females and may vary considerably in size.  When all the workers in a colony are basically the same size, the colony is called monomorphic.  When different sizes are present, the colony is termed polymorphic.  Some workers will have specific tasks due to their specially adapted features.

Queens are generally the largest individuals in the colony.  Unmated queens usually retain their wings, while the mated queens do not.  After the development of the first group of eggs, the queen is cleaned, fed, and otherwise cared for by the workers, so her primary function becomes egg laying.

Males perform no function other than to inseminate the queen.  In those species which have winged queens, males will also have wings.  The male dies within a few days of mating.  Mating may take place in the nest, on the ground, or in the air.  Adult males do not remain in the nest long and many are killed by predators and the elements without mating.

FEEDING HABITS

Some ants feed on a wide variety of food items, while others typically feed on a rather narrow range of foods.  Food preference may also change significantly during the course of a season, especially for outdoor species, or depending on the specific needs of the colony.   Period of high egg reproduction typically require foraging ants to bring back proteins to the queen or queens, while at other times foragers may prefer to gather sugars or greases for their own energy needs or to promote larval growth.

Adults are unable to ingest hard, solid food particles.  They ingest only the liquids which are sucked from the food material or smaller particles in suspension.  However, they can carry large food items in their mandibles, with or without help from other workers.  The youngest larvae must be fed on liquids, and liquid food is used for all larval instars in some species.  In many other species, old larvae are fed small food particles which they are able to ingest.  Foraging ants bring food or waste back to the colony and pass it to other nest-tending workers by a mouth-to-mouth process called trophollaxis.  Nest-tending workers then pass the food to larvae or the queens.  Workers may stimulate larvae to regurgitate liquid food, for use within the colony.

In nature, many ants obtain sugar by feeding on the sugary honeydew excreted by aphids or other sucking insects on plants.  Some ants tend, and even defend, these other insects as a food resource.  Dead insects, earthworms and other organisms are frequently flies and knats will be found on window sills and in light fixtures, so these will be good areas to place ant bait or to apply a residual insecticide spray or dust.  Some ants, such as the leaf-cutting ants, actually cut, strip and carry away plant leaf tissue.  This leaf material is carried into the nest mound and used as a substrate on which to grow fungi, on which the ant feed.  Other ants typically gather seeds as food.

MAJOR PEST SPECIES

Carpenter Ants  – These are among the most conspicuous of ants found in and around homes, being large and typically blackish or very dark-bodied.  Foraging workers have rather large mandibles with which they can bite or give a strong pinch.  Workers vary greatly in size, from ¼ to about ¾-inch long.  Many species are black, perhaps with some faintly grayish bands on the abdomen; others may have some brown or reddish coloration along with the black so they have a distinctly two-toned coloration.

These ants excavate galleries in wood which somewhat resemble the work of termites, but which can be distinguished by their entirely clean and almost sandpapered appearance.  These galleries are frequently hollowed in moist or unsound wood, although carpenter ants can burrow in sound wood.  Carpenter ants do not use wood for food, but hollow it out for nesting.

Carpenter ants cut galleries with the wood grain and prefer to follow softer areas of the wood.  The galleries are smooth and clean, hence the name “carpenter” ant.  Sometimes, the ants cut special openings which are called “windows”.

The occupied galleries are kept very clean.  Shredded wood fragments resulting from the excavations are carried from the nest and deposited outside.  Conical piles of these wood fragments, bits of soil and sand, portions of insects, dead ants, and other debris sometimes build up beneath the “windows” or other openings to the nest.  This “sawdust” is not always evident, however, as the ants may dispose of it in a hollow portion of a tree, void areas in a structure, or unused galleries within the nest.  When found during a carpenter ant inspection, this sawdust is often very useful as an aid in locating the nest.

Winged reproductive forms swam primarily in the spring, but may also do so at other times of the year.  There is usually only one egg-laying queen per colony.  It takes three to six years in most colonies, at which time 2,000 to 3,000 or more individuals will be present, for the winged reproductives or alates to form.  From 200 to 400 winged individuals are produced each year in a mature colony.

Foraging ants will travel 100 yards or more from the nest for food, and may wander throughout the house.

Carpenter ants are of economic importance because of the damage they do to structures, the food they contaminate, and their unsightly and unwanted movement inside and outside of buildings.  Their nesting activities can weaken building structures, although not usually as seriously as termites.  This damage can often be considered primarily a symptom of water damage and wood decay, as they usually will not extend galleries for beyond this softened wood and into the sound wood structures.

Argentine Ant  – The argentine ant is a severe pest in the southern United States and in California, although isolated occurrences have been reported in more northern areas.

Workers are 1/12 to 1/8-inch long and are light to dark brown in color.  Queens are much larger, being up to 1/6 to ¼-inch long.  Many fertile queens are present in each nest.  Mating usually takes place inside the nest, so winged forms are not usually found.  In addition to laying eggs, queens also clean and feed themselves, and are active in feeding and grooming immatures.

Nests are typically located in moist soil next to or under buildings, along sidewalks, or beneath boards and plants, and usually near good sources of both water and food.  Argentine ants prefer sweet foods, principally sugars, syrup, fruit juices, secretions of plants, and honeydew.  Worker forage for food along regular paths extending out from the nest and branching out to explore every portion of an area.  Foragers may enter houses in large numbers, particularly when conditions outside the building become too wet or too dry.

Workers are very aggressive and often eliminate other ants in an area.  However, different Argentine ant colonies can exist in the same area, so the number of colonies per unit area may be quite high.

Fire Ants – Many of the ants of this genus are called fire ants because their venom, injected by a stinger, causes intense irritation and may cause severe reactions in specially sensitive people.  Fire ants are very active and aggressive, and may kill youngwildlife or produce sores and nausea in humans.  Four species are commonly found as pest in the United States; the fire ant; the red imported fire ant; the black imported fire ant; and  the southern fire ant.

The southern fire ant is found in the southern states, from the Atlantic coast to California.  The abdomen is brown to black and usually the head and part of the thorax are yellow to reddish.  Workers are 1/15 to ¼-inch long.  Nest usually occur in woodwork or masonry of houses.  Foragers collect a variety of foods including meat, grease, butter, nuts, seeds, or vegetable.

The fire ant is also found in coastal areas of the southern United States, particularly in Florida.  Workers are highly variable in color and have habits similar to those of the other fire ants.

The red imported fire ant is an important agricultural, urban and suburban pest which typically nests in the soil, and makes characteristic earthen mounds.  Its presence in lawns, parks, cemeteries, athletic fields and similar areas brings it into direct conflict with people, where its aggressive stinging behavior makes it intolerable in most situations.  When mounds of this species are disturbed, workers appear to boil or swarm out of the ground in very aggressive defensive behavior.  They will sting any intruding animal repeatedly.

Workers are dark reddish brown in color and may be found in tow basic sizes, called major and minor workers, which are 1/15 to ¼-inch long.  Yard may contain one or more mounds and each mound may or may not belong to the same colony.  Large colonies can have up to 300-500,000 workers which forage over an area with a radius of over 100 yards.  Fire ants are both predators and scavengers, attacking and killing other insects and small animals, or feeding on dead animals.  They also feed on honeydew, certain parts of plants or plant secretions, and other sweet materials.  Control my be more difficult where more than one queen is present.  Colonies have been found nesting and foraging on upper floors on hospitals or other such buildings.

The black imported fire ant is similar to the other three fire ant species in behavior but is a darker brown color.  It is now restricted to a small area around the northern end of the border between Mississippi and Alabama.  Once quite common in the southern United States but has been displaced by competition from the red imported fire ant.

4.   Thief Ant  – This is one of the smallest household ants, being from 1/25 to 1/15-inch long.  Workers vary in color from yellow to dirty brown, and have a two segmented antennal club.  Thief ants are found over most of the United States.  They often live in nests of larger ants where they may feed on the larvae of their hosts, thereby earning their common name.  In homes their chief foods are greasy materials such as cheese and meats, although they occasionally feed on sweets.  Bacon, ham and other prepared meats are especially attractive to thief ants.  They may feed on stored seeds and dead animals.

This ant is so small that it may often escape notice around kitchen sink and cabinet areas.  Unobservant people may complain about the flavor of the food without realizing that it is infested with thief ants.  The ant usually comes in from outdoors, but may nest in cracks and crevices of walls or cabinets and commonly beneath tile and countertops in kitchens.  They are very persistent and may be quite difficult to control.

Pharaoh Ant  – Pharaoh ants are light yellowish to reddish-brown in color, with workers measuring 1/15 to 12/-inch long.  They are found in localized regions throughout the United States and parts of southern Canada.  They have become a common pest in many areas and an important source of business for pest management firms.  Pharaoh ants can be easily distinguished from thief ants by the presence of three segments in the antennal club.  They are an important pest in homes, apartments, hotels, grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities throughout much of their range.

Nest are rarely found, but occur between walls, under floors, above ceilings, behind baseboards and switch plates, in old trash, in folded bathroom linens, or outside in gardens and along walks.  Pharaoh ants nest in porous substrates in warm places near furnaces, heat ducts, and hot water pipes which are also near moist conditions or open sources of water.  Nests are very difficult to find since the ants forage widely from them, usually over established trails marked by trail pheromones.  Workers are frequently seen trailing along window sills, counter tops, and baseboards.

They will feed on such a diverse array of materials that use of the term “food preference” seems inappropriate. However, substances like syrups, fruit juice, hone, jelly, cakes, pies, greases, dead insects, or meats and blood are frequently fed upon.

Pharaoh ant colonies may be very large, with tens of hundreds of thousands of workers, and many queens.  Moderate-to-large-sized colonies will frequently bud to form numerous subcolonies, as a queen or queens and a group of workers (carrying brood) will move away from the larger colony and begin a new colony unit.

The mature sexual forms (males and females) are winged but do not fly, so swarms are never seen.  Mating occurs in the nest, throughout the year.  Occasionally, when a particularly good food source is found, especially close to the nest, some queens can be seen traveling to and from the food location.

Little Black Ant   – This is a very small (1/15-inch long), jet black colored ant found in all states.  Nests are normally located outdoors in relatively open areas.  These ants will also nest in rotten wood, wood-work, and masonry of buildings.  Colonies may become very large.  Most of their feeding is on plant secretions, but they will occasionally invade houses for food.  They will then feed on sweets, meats, bread, grease, vegetables and fruit.

Big-headed Ants  – The soldiers (workers which serve a strictly defensive function) of these ants have exceptionally large heads in relation to their body size.  The minor workers do not have enlarged heads but can be recognized by the shape of their heads, which narrow abruptly behind the eyes.  They are found in warmer and dryer sections of the United States, and have very similar habits to fire ants.  Nests are founding exposed soil or under cover, and in rotting wood.  Rarely nest indoors but may invade homes to forage for food.  They prefer meats, greases, and breads.  Have 12 segments in the antennae, with a 3-segmented antennal club.

Pavement Ant  – This is a small (1/8 to 1/16-inch long) blackish-brown ant, with paler legs and antennae. Readily visible on the head and thorax are parallel lines or ridges, which do not differ in color from the cuticle, but give the cuticle a lined texture.  There is a pair of small spines at the back of the thorax, and the body has sparse array of small hairs all over it.

This ant is an occasional pest in the southern United States.  Nests are usually found outdoors under stones, next to buildings and under cracks of pavement, although they are occasionally found in walls, under floors, and in insulation.  This slow moving ant enters buildings in search of food, with greasy and sweet materials being preferred.

Little Fire Ant  – This small tropical ant has been established in Florida and in California.  It is about 1/15-inch long, reddish in color, and characteristically moves around very slowly.  These ants are very sensitive to cold, appearing only in the warmest weather.  Their sting is very painful.

Little fire ants are a serious household pest, contaminating food and infesting unlaundered clothing and beds.  They nest in exposed or covered soil, rotten wood, plant cavities, trash, and occasionally in houses.  In the house, they prefer foods such as fats, peanut butter and other oily materials.

Harvester Ants  – These are comparatively large, red to dark- brown ants which range from ¼ to ½-inch long.  Long hairs form a “brush” under their heads.  These hairs are used to clean their legs and antennae, carry water and remove sand during excavation of the nest.  Harvester ants are found in warmer and dryer regions of the East and South.  They are normally found in fields or in laws, and only rarely invade the home.  Their severe stings make them pest when they occur in lawns.  They clear large areas of vegetation around their nest openings and gather seeds which they store in their burrows.

Leaf-cutter Ants  –  These ants remove foliage from vegetation and carry ti back to the nest.  Leaf fragments are chewed and added to large underground fungus gardens which provide the colony’s food.  In the United State, leaf-cutter ants occur in Texas, Louisiana and Arizona.  The length of the workers ranges from 1/12 to ½-inch, and they are dark brown or rust colored.  The dorsal part of the thorax has at lease three pairs of spines.

Acrobat Ants  – Ants of this genus hold their abdomen over their head or thorax when excited.  They are yellowish-brown or black, with a heart-shaped abdomen which is flattened on the upper side and curved below.  They are not usually found in households, but may wander inside from time to time in search of food.  Some species in this genus may be found in decayed or partially decayed wood.  They are seldom found in sound wood.

Odorous House Ant  – This is a very common household ant pest species which is distributed nearly throughout the United States.  Workers are 1/12 to 1/8-inch long and brownish-black in color.  This ant is frequently confused with the Argentine ant, but can be easily distinguished by its darker color and the fact that the front of its abdomen overhangs and hides the petiole.  When crushed, this ant gives off a very unpleasant odor.

Outside nests are usually shallow and found underneath a board or stone.  Indoor nest are frequently found in walls and underneath floors.  Colonies are large and each may contain several active queens.  Workers forage along regular trails.  The food habits of odorous house ants and Argentine ants are similar.  Odorous house ants tend to move indoors late in the year when honeydew, one of their primary foods, is less abundant.  Honeydew availability may also be reduced at other times, such as during and just after periods of excessive rainfall.

Velvety Tree Ants  – They are easily identified by their glistening, velvety-black abdomen, red thorax and brownish-black head.  Their nests are located in old tree stumps, cavities in trees, under tree bar, beneath stones on the ground, and occasionally within the walls of attics of homes.  Foragers commonly enter homes, where they contaminate foods in the kitchens and seek other insects for food.

Their bite is quite painful and the pain may persist for some time.

Pyramid Ants  – These ants are common in the southern United States and in California.  They vary in color from uniformly dark brown to brown with a reddish tint.  Workers have a distinct single tooth on their thorax, which causes the thorax to form a pyramid shape.  Workers are 1/15 to ½-inch long and are commonly found in gardens and flower beds.  They often tend aphids on ornamental plant, feeding on honeydew, but also frequently enter homes along distinct foraging trails.

Field Ants – The many species and varieties of these ants infest fields, lawns, and gardens throughout the United States.  Their length varies from 1/8 to ¼-inch and they may be brown, black, reddish, or have combinations of these colors.  Foragers prefer sweet foods, and also feed on other insects.

Field ants are most likely to be pests of recreational areas.  When infestations are heavy, individuals may wander into homes in search of food.

Some field ants capture the larvae and pupae of other ants and raise them in their own nests.  The emerging adults become slave to the field ants.  Thus, field ants are sometimes called slave ants.

Crazy Ant  -  This ant is found in scattered locations in all states.  Workers are about 1/10-inch long and dark brown in color.  Their legs and antennae are much longer than normal from other ants, in proportion to the other parts of their body.  These unusual features are good identifying characteristics.

The crazy ant cannot survive outdoors during cold winters.  Its habit of running aimlessly about the room accounts for its name.  Crazy ants nest in small cracks, crevices and voids inside, and wander throughout the building searching for food.  They prefer to feed on animal matter, grease, and other insects, but will readily eat sweets of all kinds.

False Honey Ant  – This ant is widely distributed throughout the United States.  The shiny workers vary in color from light to dark brown and are about 1/8 to 1/6-inch long.  They typically nest in clay soils in well-shaded areas.  The nest entrance is usually surrounded by coarse earthen pellets.  Within the nest, certain false honey ant workers are fed large quantities of sugary liquids by other workers.  They store this in their greatly distended abdomens and regurgitate to other ants as required.

Cornfield Ant  – It is common in cornfield.  In homes, it prefers sweet substances.  It also feeds on dead and live insects, plant sap, and honeydew.  Common nesting sites include rotting logs, stumps, under stones, and in exposed soil, but seldom in houses.  It often builds small craters in lawns.  This ant is the most common “picnic” ant in its range.

Large Yellow Ant  – Common from New England to the Midwest, is known as the critronella ant because of the odor given off when crushed.  Workers are reddish-brown color and about 1/5-inch long.  Winged reproductives swarm in basements and around house foundations in early spring, and are frequently mistaken for termites.  Outdoor nests are found in logs, stumps and under stones.  This ant may bring large piles of dirt to the surface of the ground at the entrance to its nest, either outdoors or indoors.  Aside from the debris created, no harm is done by this ant.  Foragers prefer sweets, but have not been reported utilizing human foods.

Other members of the order Hymenoptera, besides the ants, can become serious pest in and around our parks, homes, or other structures.  The pest management professional will encounter these pests from time to time, especially during warmer periods of the year.  Some are pests primarily because people are disturbed by their presence, while others are important because their presence in or near inhabited structures represents a true health and safety risk t people and pets. 

Some wasps species are social and live in colonies, while others are solitary.  Social bees and wasps develop colonies similar to those of ants.  These colonies have a queen that produces all the eggs, workers, and brood.  The social wasps that will be discussed belong to the family Vespidae and include the paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets. 

Solitary wasps do not have a colony group.  The adult female builds a cell for each egg that she lays and provisions each cell with insect or spider prey for the larvae to eat.  There are several families of solitary wasps, but the species most commonly encountered by pest managers belong to the family Sphecidae.  These include the mud daubers and digger wasps. 

As with bees, female wasps have their ovipositor, or egg-laying structure, modified into a stinger.  Wasps differ form bees in that most feed their young on animal matte, such as insects, spiders, or meat particles, and not on pollen.  Bees also have hairy bodies, while wasps tend to have smooth and apparently hairless bodies.  Professionals will occasionally be called on to control colonies of social bees, such as honey bees (family Apidae) or bumble bees (family Bombidae).  Carpenter bees (family Xylocopidae) resemble large bumble bees but have solitary nesting behavior. 

The most common hymenopterous pest species that may harm people directly include certain bees and wasps.  In contrast to most of our North American ants (except fire ants and harvester ants), these bees and wasps are frequently dangerous because of allergic response to their painful stings.  Stinging behavior is generally a defensive reaction, which can occur either when the colony is threatened near the nest area o the individual bee or wasp is trapped and threatened.  Foraging wasps of some species are more likely to sting people at some times of the year than others.  For example, yellowjacket workers are more apt to sting people during the latter part of their annual cycle, in August or September, for much of the northern part of the United States. 

The stinging process includes injection of a rather potent venom.  For some species, especially from the family Sphecidae, the venom serves the function of paralyzing or subduing prey, but sings of these wasps are not dangerous to people.  In addition to causing intense pain, vespid wasp or social bee venoms contain proteinaceous materials that can cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals.  Some people may even go into shock and die of suffocation as their lungs fill with fluid after being stung by a social bee or social wasp.  Fortunately, the percentage of our population allergic these venoms is quite low, probably less than 1 percent. 

Wasps and bees are considered beneficial insects in most circumstances.  Control measures are justified only on the basis of problems these insects may be causing in each given instance.  Control usually becomes necessary when a nest is located in a poor location relative to the safety, comfort, or other interests of people.  When social wasps or social bees are nesting in locations such as under the front steps of a home, in a school playground, or near the pole supporting a clothesline, an imminent hazard is created, and control is warranted. 

Wasps, Hornets, and Yellowjackets (Family Vepsidae) – The most dangerous species of stinging Hymenoptera are wasps of the family Vespidae.  A useful characteristic that aids in field identification of vespid wasps is that they fold their wings lengthwise when at rest, making the wings seem only half as wide as they actually are.  They also hold their wings separately, often parallel to the body, when at rest. 

These wasps are social insects that build nests of a paperlike material, call carton, which is a mixture of wood fibers and the salivary secretions of the female wasps.  Queens are inactive during the winter, hiding in protected niches under tree bark or in stone walls, attics, and other sheltered places.  In early spring, overwintering queens-called foundresses, since they establish, or found, the new nests and colonies each year – visit exposed surfaces, such as raw and weathered wooden fences or siding, or dead tree limbs where the bark has sloughed away.  They chew away wood fibers and combine them with salivary secretions to form the paperlike carton for nest construction. 

The nest is begun by the foundress as she builds a small number of cells and places an egg in each.  After the eggs hatch, larvae develop within the cells and are completely dependent upon the queen for food.  The queen forages outside the nest and brings food back to the larvae, caring for them in this way until pupation occurs.  Food for the larvae is protein, usually in the form of caterpillars or other insects.  Adult wasps feed on liquids such as nectar, honeydew and juices fro the bodies of insects fed to larvae.  After the first sterile female workers emerge, these workers take over the nest building and broodrearing, and the queen stays on the nest.  Workers are adult females as far as the structural features of their bodies are concerned, but their internal reproductive organs do not develop. 

Only one egg-producing queen will be present in the colony.  The workers protect and maintain the nest, forage for food and water, and care for the immature stages or brood (i.e., eggs, larvae, and pupae).  Typically, adult males and fertile females are produced by the colony during late summer or early fall.  After mating, the colonies die off and only the newly mated queens will find a protected location to overwinter. 

If the overwintering queen is able to survive the winter (many do not), she will try to start a new nest and found a new colony during the next spring. 

Paper Wasps – (Polistes spp) – The wasp build rather simple nest consisting of only one tier or layer of cells.   The cells open downward and are not covered.  Collectively, this layer of cells is generally called a comb.  Nests are usually suspended beneath horizontal surfaces, and commonly hang from eaves of houses and beneath window ledges or porch roofs.  Polistes nest are rather small, rarely over one foot in diameter, so there are seldom more than 100-200 workers on the nest at any one time.  Eastern species are typically a dusky brown color, marked with various shades of orange, or blackish with yellow markings.  Western species tend to be somewhat more strikingly colored, with the orange or yellow more predominant. 

Hornets – (Vespa and Dolichovespula spp.) Some of the most universally recognized and fearfully provoking social wasp nest are the large grayish-brown carton structures often seen hanging from a tree or bush.  These nest generally resemble a very large, inverted tear- drop or a “bloated” soccer ball.  The wasps which build such nests are commonly referred to as hornets, but are really yellowjackets.  The nest consist of several tiers of carton cells, each similar to the single tier of the Polistes nest in appearance.  A continuous paper envelope surrounds the whole nest.  There is generally a single opening at the lower tip of the nest.  As the nest approaches its final size, the new combs are built below the level of the opening, which will then be positioned on the side of the nest. 

The bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculate, moderately large and has whitish or yellowish markings on the front of the head, between the eyes.  The basic color of the body is black.  While aerial nesting wasps in the genus Dolichovespula are considered yellowjackets by most U.S. experts, they can be distinguished from the gorund or structure-nesting yellowjackets of the genus Vespula by the noticeable separation between the lower margin of the eye and the base of the mandible.    

The European hornet, Vespa crabro germana, is the largest paper wasp and the only true hornet present in the United States.  Its body is brownish and marked with orange.  This species was introduced along the Atlantic coast and has extended its range slowly into the Midwestern states.  It does not build exposed nests, but nest in natural cavities such as hollow logs or stumps, or in cavities within buildings. 

Yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) – Yellowjackets are the smallest (about ½-inch long) of the commonVespids.  Most species typically build their nests underground, so workers will come and go from the nest via an earthen tunnel which ends in a hole at the soil surface.  Underground nests are often started in an abandoned mammal burrow or a similar underground cavity.  The nest is expanded initially to fill the cavity, and then enlarged as the colony develops.  Particles of earth and small stones may be pile up around the opening of a burrow which houses a large colony of an underground nesting species.  Yellowjackets will often utilize available openings at or near ground level.  Situations are known in which yellowjackets have built extensive nests within voids of concrete block foundations, or below railroad ties used in landscaping around patios. 

A species which commonly nest in structures has spread widely across the northeastern and Midwestern regions of the United States.  It is the German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica, which apparently was introduced form Europe into the northeastern U.S. in the Northeast, the German yellowjacket is often found nesting in wall voids, attics, or crawl spaces; and it uses some available hole or crack in the exterior facing of the building as an entry point.  This creates difficult control problems for the pest management professional.  In the Midwest, the German yellowjacket usually nests in the ground. 

Yellowjacket nests resemble hornet nests.  As many as several thousand workers may be produced in a colony in one season.  Colonies in certain areas of California and southern Florida will persist for more than one year, so are called perennial.  These colonies will ultimately develop more workers than typical annual colonies. 

Some species of Vespula forage nearly exclusively on live prey such as flies, caterpillars, and other insects, while other species will forage strongly for meat form carcasses, garbage, and picnic tables to feed developing larvae.  Yellow jackets also forage strongly on sources of sugars or other carbohydrates such as beer, fruit (i.e., sliced watermelon, and sweet beverages at picnic sites).  Workers may also obtain sugars from the honeydew of aphis or scale insects.  As new queens are produced in the colony in late summer, they demand sugars from the workers, which then forage aggressively for honeydew and other sources of sugar. 

Many experts consider yellowjackets to be the most dangerous of the social Hymenoptera in the United States because of their nesting and foraging behavior, and the prevalence of allergic people. 

Nonsocial, or Solitary, Wasps (Family Sphecidae) – Sphecid wasps include only solitary nesting species.  This means that a single female builds a nest, or several distinct nests, often with several to many cells each.  No carton is used in these nests.  Each cell is provisioned with live prey before the cell is sealed.  When not flying, Sphecid wasps can be distinguished from Vespid wasps at a distance because they do not fold their wings and hold them separately, but lay on top of the other in a flat position on top of their bodies. 

Hornets do not excavate burrows in the ground, but a number of Sphecid wasps are known to do so.  The species which is most often mistaken for a hornet is the cicada killer, Sphecius speciosus.  It is a very large insect, which may be up to 2 inches long.  The body is black and strikingly marked with yellow, so that its general appearance bears some resemblance to a large hornet.  The female wasp excavates a large burrow about ½ inch in diameter.  Soil is known out of the burrow, leaving a small but unsightly mound of dirt at the entrance.  The cell is provisioned with food such as spiders, caterpillars, cicadas and other insects that have been stung and paralyzed.  The female then lays an egg on the food and seals the cell.  These are not social insects, so each burrow is the result of efforts by a single female.  The only real damage done by the cicada killer wasps is to lawns or flower beds, and the mental anxiety which may cause for the homeowner’s family.  Female wasps will not sting unless they are handled, but their sting can be painful.  Similar problems and behaviors are sometimes observed from a large black wasp of the genus Chlorion.

Certain Sphecid wasps construct their nests of mud, and are commonly known as “mud daubers”.  They are frequently observed visiting the edges of mud puddles during the summer, where they obtain mud to make their nests.  Their mud nests are often found plastered among the rafters of attics, garages or out buildings, or on the sides of buildings.  Mud daubers typically prey on spiders.  The chance of being stung by a mud dauber is rather remote, but their nests should be approached with some caution.  The insect or spider prey in these nest, along with the wasp larval and pupal cast skins, can support a population of dermestid beetles such as the cabinet and carpet beetles.  Some dermestid infestations of homes will originate in these wasp nest, so they should be removed and destroyed after control is achieved. 

BEES (Families Apidae, Xylocopidae, and Bombidae) 

Honey Bees  (Family Apida, Apis mellifera) – The most serious problems results when a swarm of wild bees locates a small opening or openings in an exterior wall, chimney, or behind some faulty flashing of a home, and then nests in a wall void or some other interior area. 

Honeybees may be various shades of yellow, black brown, or orange; with the head, antennae, legs and a portion of the abdomen being dark.  The body is covered with light-colored hairs, thickest on top of the thorax.  Worker bees are usually about 2/3 inch long.  This is a social species with three adult castes:  queens (only one lays eggs in each colony), drones (males), and workers (sterile females).  Individual colonies may have 20-50,000 bees. 

Social behavior is highly evolved in the honeybee.  In addition to feeding the larvae, workers also amass reserve supplies of home which can be utilized as food by all members of the colony during periods of adverse conditions. 

Honeybee nests are made of many wax cells which the workers construct.  As with yellowjackets and nests of other social wasps discussed previously, these masses of cells are called combs.  However, while some of these cells are used to house the immature stages (eggs, larvae, and pupae), others serve as a storage site for honey.  If honey bees become well established within the wall voids of a house, large amounts of wax and honey may collect within the wall.  As long as the bees are active, the workers keep the air moving inside the nest by fanning with their wings so the temperature remains below the melting point of the wax.  If the bees are killed, this form of air conditioning ceases to function.  In warm weather, wax within the wall void may become soft enough to melt.  The honey then seeps out of the storage cells, creating a mess.  If there is a sufficient amount of honey inside the walls, enough may be absorbed by plaster of similar porous wall material that an unsightly and virtually permanent stain may appear on the inside wall. 

Carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) – Carpenter bees resembles large bumblebees, but have very different nesting behavior.  They bore long tunnels into wood and divide these tunnels into cells where individual larvae will develop.  The common eastern species, Xylocopa virginica, resembles many of the bumblebees closely enough that they are often confused on casual observation.  This carpenter bee is black in color and marked with areas of yellowish hair, but the dorsal side of the abdominal segments (except for the apparent first segment) have no areas of yellow hair.  Other species of carpenter bees may be black, green, or somewhat purplish in color, and are variously marked with whitish, yellowish or reddish hair.  The dorsal surface of the abdomen is generally bare in these species also. 

The typical carpenter bee gallery has an entrance hole on the wood surface.  The gallery continues inward for a short distance, then turns sharply upward and runs in the same direction of the grain of the wood.  The female provisions the galleries by inserting a ball of pollen upon which the egg is laid.  The female then closes the cell by placing a mass of wood pulp in the gallery.  As series of cells are made as the bee works backwards, out to the gallery.  Females often enlarge existing galleries or use old ones, so very complex gallery systems are often made into the siding or window trim of homes, and in such cases the structural strength of tunneled timbers may be reduced. 

Carpenter bee nests are usually not difficult to locate.  Some of the more common sites chosen within buildings include siding, eaves, wooden shakes, porch ceilings, window sills, doors, and so forth.  Unpainted or well-weathered wood is much more susceptible to attack than hardwood or well-painted timbers. 

Carpenter bees complete one generation per year in most areas of the United States.  Tunnels are prepared and eggs laid in the spring.  Larvae and pupae develop in the closed cells in early summer.  Adult bees emerge in late summer and return to the same tunnels to hibernate for the winter months.  In the spring, the adults mate and lay eggs, completing the cycle. 

Bumble Bees (Family Bombidae – Bombus spp.) Bumblebees are social insects which generally nest underground.  They do not make holes in tunnels in wood, but will nest in abandoned mouse burrows under piles of grass clippings or leaves, stones, logs or other such locations.  They seldom become a problem of consequence except in situations where the nest are established close to a sidewalk, near a building foundation, or in some other location where conflict with people or pets is inevitable.  There are a number of species which may be rather commonly encountered, some of which are more likely to sting people than others.  Whenever the nest area is directly threatened, bumble bees will attack and sting the intruder as a defensive reaction.

Cockroaches produce odorous secretions form various points in their bodies which can effect the flavor of various foods.  Disease-producing organisms such as bacteria have been found in cockroach bodies.  Different forms of gastroenteritis appear to be the principal diseases transmitted by cockroaches.  These include food poisoning, dysentery, diarrhea and other illnesses.  The organisms causing these diseases are carried on the legs and bodies of cockroaches, and are deposited on food and utensils as cockroaches forage.  They also carry a wide variety of protozoans and other microorganisms inside their bodies, some of which may occasionally be involved in the spread of disease.  Cockroach excrement and cast skins also contain a number of allergens, to which many people exhibit allergic response such as skin rashes, watery eyes and sneezing.

Only a few of the cockroach species found in the United States routinely enter and infest our dwelling.  The most common of these are the German cockroach, American cockroach, oriental cockroach, brown-banded cockroach, smokey-brown cockroach, Austrailian cockroach, brown cockroach, woods cockroach, field cockroach, and the Asian cockroach.  Of these species the first five represent 95% of all cockroach management in and around buildings.

GENERAL BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF COCKROACHES

 Most cockroaches are tropical or sub-tropical in origin, generally living out of doors.  They are mostly active at night, during which time they forage for food, water and mates.  May be seen in the day time when a heavy population is present or when some other form of stress is placed on the population (such as lack of food or water).  Cockroaches ordinarily prefer a moist environment, and many species also prefer a relatively high degree of warmth.  Cockroaches which live in buildings are mostly scavengers and feed on a wide variety of food.  They are especially fond of starches, sweets, grease, and meat product; but will also eat a great variety of materials such as cheese, beer, leather, bakery products, starch in book bindings, glue, hair, flakes of dried skin, dead animals and plant materials.

 Cockroaches usually choose to live in protected cracks and crevices which provide a warm and humid environment.  Cockroaches are not social insects as are the ants and wasps.  Cockroaches generally forage individually for food and otherwise behave in a largely individualistic or non-social manner.

 A pronotum (a shield-like covering) projects forward over the head; their mouthparts are of the chewing type and are oriented downward slightly toward the rear of their body.  With their long spiny legs, they can run rapidly over most surfaces.  Specialized pads in their tarsi allow them to easily scale glass windows or walk on a ceiling.

 Besides their ability to move around inside and outside, and the fact that some species are good fliers, cockroaches are well known for moving to new areas via “hitchhiking.”

 Cockroaches develop by gradual metamorphosis that consists of three stages; egg, nymph, and adult.  The female produces a purse-shaped egg capsule, called an ootheca, which has two rows of eggs in it.  Nymphs work together to open the seam at the top of the egg.   The nymphs resemble the adults in appearance and behavior, but are smaller, do not have wings or wing pads, and frequently have a somewhat different color.  Newly molted nymphs are white, but will darken to the normal color within a few hours.  Nymphs under a series of molts; with the last molt, the wings are fully developed and he sexes are easily distinguished from each other.  The length of time for eggs to hatch, for nymphs to develop, and the life span of adults will vary (within each species) due to temperature, humidity, the quality of their diet, and other environmental conditions.

German Cockroach (Blatella germanica)

It is the most common species in houses, apartments, restaurants, hotels and other institutions throughout the United States.

Adults are pale to medium brown and about ½ to 5/8-inch long.  German cockroaches can be distinguished from other roaches by the two dark stripes on the anterior, dorsal portion ( pronotum) of the thorax.  The nymph has a light stripe which runs lengthwise down the top of the thorax.  Adults of both sexes have well-developed wings, but they never fly. Males are easily distinguished from females by the slender, tapering shape of the abdomen.  German cockroach nymphs resemble the adults except that they are smaller, wingless, and darker in color, often being nearly black.  A single light stripe running down the middle of the back is the most prominent marking on the younger German cockroach nymphs.

The female carries her egg capsule protruding form the rear of her abdomen until the eggs are ready to hatch.  Females which are carrying egg capsules are called “gravid.”  The egg capsule is slender and about 1/3 –inch long and tan in color.  Nymphs may open capsule while it is still attached or she may deposit it in some protected place where the young will be able to find food and harborage when they emerge.   The German cockroach is the only common house0infesting species that carries the egg for such an extended period of time.  Capsules removed from the female more than a couple of days before normal hatching time are unlikely to hatch unless they remain under conditions of very high humidity.  This is also true for gravid females which may be killed by an insecticide with several hours, to one day or more, from the time the egg capsule would normally be hatched.  The embryos in the egg capsule require a reasonably steady flow of water, usually form the adult female, to prevent death from desiccation or drying out.  Again, if the humidity is very high, desiccation may not occur, and the egg capsule can survive for a few hours or longer after premature dropping, or death of the female.

Adult females will usually produce from 4 – 8 egg capsules in their lifetime.  Each capsule contains 30-48 eggs.  It usually takes 20 -30 days from the time of initial formation of the egg capsule until it hatches.  Formation of the next egg capsule usually begins within a couple of weeks.

There are 6 or 7 nymphal stages, called instars, before the molt into the adult stage.  Completion of the nymphal stage under room conditions requires 40 to 125 days, depending on environmental conditions (diet quality, crowding, temperatures, etc.).  Adult German cockroaches can live up to one year, but most will die from various causes long before that time.

Nymphs have habits similar to the adult.  They are active mostly at night and hide in dark crevices mostly at night and hide in dark crevices during the day.  If seen during the day, the population is probably so large that the available harborage is already full, or food and moisture are in such short supply that daytime foraging is necessary.  This species usually hides in areas close to moisture and food, which means they are generally found in kitchens and other food areas.  They prefer to rest on wood than on metal or other smooth surfaces.

The German cockroach is a general feeder, but is particularly attracted to fermented foods and beverage residues (e.g., beer spills).  If water is present, adults can live about a month without food, but young nymphs will die of starvation within 10 days.  Without food or water, the adults die in less than two weeks.  Stressed from lack of food and water will cause the roaches to wander or forage for resources aggressively, even during abnormal period such as the daytime.

If infestations are sometimes found in areas not generally suspected of German cockroaches, for example, dresser drawers in bedrooms, it is usually caused by a very heavy infestation or by the repellent effects of insecticide applications.  They will find a food source such as scattered crumbs, soiled clothing, the glue on dresser drawers or on some cosmetic products.  If found outside in garage it is also usually due to a heavy infestation indoors.

The German Cockroach is so successful because:

1)      has a larger number of eggs per capsule than other species that infest structures.

2)      it also has the shortest period to develop form hatching until sexual maturity; thus, populations of German cockroaches will build up faster than other species.

3)      nymphs have a better chance of survival than do other species because the female carries the egg capsule during the entire time that the embryos are developing within the egg.

4)      Nymphs are smaller than most other cockroaches; thus, they are able to conceal themselves in many places which are inaccessible to individuals of the larger species.

5)      In the late 1950’s DDT and chlordane were widely used, and in many cases, some individuals of German cockroach populations exposed to these insecticides survived.

2.   American Cockroach – Periplaneta americana

The American cockroach is also known as the water bug, flying water bug and, in some areas of the South, the palmetto bug.  It is the largest  of the common species, growing 1 – ½ inches or more in length.  It is reddish brown, with pale brown or yellow border on the upper surface of the pronotum.  Both the male and the female are fully winged.  The wings of the male extend slightly beyond the tip of the abdomen, while those of the female are about the same length as the abdomen.

The female drops her egg capsule with-in a day after it is formed.  Can just be dropped indoors, outdoors or it may be glued to some surface with secretions from the female’s moth.  Egg capsules are formed at the rate of about one per week until from 15 to 90 capsules have been produced.  Each capsule contains 14-16 eggs.  At room temperature, nymphs will hatch out in 50-55 days.  In the process of hatching, nymphs will molt and leave their first cast skins in the egg case.

Young nymphs are grayish-brown and each will molt 9-13 times before reaching maturity.  After the first few molts, nymphs become more reddish-brown in color.  The time required to complete the nymphal stage varies from 160-171 days.  Under ideal conditions, an adult female can live u to 14-15 months; males live for a somewhat shorter period.

When indoors, the nymphs and adults are usually found in dark, moist areas and basements and crawl spaces as well as in and around bathtubs, clothes hampers, floor drains, pipe chases and sewers.  In basements they are usually found in corner areas high on the walls or in floor drains.  In the North, this cockroach is commonly associated with steam heat tunnels.

In the South, this roach is abundant in alleyways, yards, hollow trees and palm trees.  They especially prefer moist, shady areas.  Sometimes found under roof shingles or flashing, or even in the attic.  American cockroaches and other outdoor species may move indoors.

American cockroaches feed on a variety of foods, but decaying organic matter seems to be preferred.  They also feed upon book bindings, manuscripts, clothing and glossy paper with starch sizing.  Syrup and other sweets are also attractive.  The adults can survive tow or three months without food, but only about a month without water.

The adults have well-developed wings, but seldom fly.  They are capable of gliding long distances and will cover considerable distances if they take off from a tree or roof top.  American cockroaches have been reported to fly short distances.

3.   Oriental Cockroach – Blatta orientalis

The oriental cockroach is also referred to as the waterbug, black beetle or shad roach.  It is found in all parts of the United States.

Total length of this cockroach is about 1-1/4 inches for the female and 1-inch for the male.  The female has small, functionless rudimentary wings called wing pads.  The male’s wings cover about ¾ of the abdomen.  Neither the male the female can fly.  Adults are very dark brown or nearly black, and usually have a somewhat greasy sheen to their body.  Females are broader and heavier looking than males.

The egg capsule is carried by the female for about 30 hours, after which it is either dropped or attached to a protected surface near a food supply.  Females will produce an average of 8 capsules, each containing 16 eggs which will hatch in about 60 days under room conditions.

Nymphs molt from 7-10 times and the nymphal stages usually take several months to one year to complete.  The oriental generally has a seasonal developmental cycle.  The peak number of adults usually appears in late spring or early summer.  The number of adults in the population is generally quite low by the summer and early fall, due to natural mortality and the hatching of nymphs.  Few live adults are usually found in the population throughout the year, but if nymphs have not reached maturity by late fall or early winter, their development seems to slow considerably and maturity is not reached until spring. 

The nymphs and adults have similar habits and are found associated with decaying organic matter indoors and out.  They can be found in yards, beneath leaves, in dumps, in crawl spaces and in the mulch of lower beds.  They are also found in high moisture situations such as sewers, drains and dark, damp basements.  Both the nymphs and adults are sluggish and are usually located at or below ground level indoors.  They are seldom found on walls, in high cupboards or in the upper floors of buildings.

Oriental cockroaches feed on all kinds of filth, rubbish and other decaying organic matter.  They seem especially fond of garbage and the contents of discarded tin cans.  If water is available, they can live for a month without food, but die within two weeks without water.

Oriental cockroaches are generally found outdoors but if there is a period of drought they will move indoors.

4.   Brown-banded Cockroach – Supella longipalpis

This is one of the smaller cockroaches, rarely being more than ½ inch long.  It is light brown and can be readily distinguished from the German cockroach by the presence of tow lighter, transverse bands running from one side to the other across the base of the wings and abdomen in adult, and in the same position on the nymphs.  These bands may be somewhat irregular or broken and are more apparent on the young and the females than on the males.  The female has a broader body than the male.  Both male and female are both quite active and the adult male fly readily when disturbed.  Both adults and nymphs may jump when attempting to escape.  Frequently occur in the same buildings as the German cockroach.  Professionals must identify this species correctly, as control techniques are different for the two species because of their different behaviors.

A female brown-banded cockroach carries her egg capsule for a day or two, and then attaches it to a protected surface.  The egg case is purse-shaped, light brown in color and is cemented in place, usually to the side or under surfaces of infested objects.  Females will produce about 14 egg capsules during their adult life, each containing about 18 eggs. These hatch in 50-75 days, depending on temperature.  Under room conditions, nymphs mature in about 160 days.  Adults may live up to 10 months.

Nymphs and adult are generally found on ceilings, high on walls, behind picture frames and light fixture, or near motors of refrigerators and other appliances.  They are also found in light switches, closets and appliances.  They are also found in light switches, closets and furniture.  They do not require as close an association with moisture sources as the German cockroach.  This helps explain why they are founding other rooms other than the kitchen area and bathrooms.  These cockroaches dislike light and are not normally seen during the day.

The brown-banded cockroach prefers feeding on starchy materials.  However, they can be found feeding on almost anything, and have been known to chew on such non-food materials as nylon stockings (presumably for the residues of body oils and skin flakes).

When looking for brown-banded during an inspection, look beneath tables and chairs, dressers and chests.  Look also behind pictures, and picture moldings, on rough plaster walls and ceilings, and most especially on the ceilings and upper walls of cabinets, pantries and closets.

5.   Smokey-brown Cockroach – Periplaneta fuliginosa

Smokey-brown cockroaches are closely related to the American cockroach but are distinguished by their smaller size, being slightly more than 1-inch long, and uniform mahogany brown color.  They do not have any lighter coloration around the edge of their pronotum, as does the adult American cockroach.  Both males and females have wings longer than females have wings longer than their bodies.  Young nymphs have long antennae which are white at the tip.

Females lay a dark-brown to black egg capsule which contains 24 eggs.  The capsules are firmly attached to some object, although occasionally they may be found lying loosely on the ground or floor.  Each female produces about 17 capsules.  The smokey-brown cockroach will live for about 200 days at room temperature.

Normally, this cockroach feeds on plant material, but it can feed on almost anything that other cockroach species feed on more inside a dwelling.  It is commonly found living in decaying wood shingle roofs and in gutters where it feeds on decaying organic matter.  In attics, they are typically found living at the roof line.

Nymphs are usually brought into the house.  They can enter around doors and windows, through ventilation ports under the eaves of a house or any other small cracks or crevices which lead inside.

6.   Woods Cockroach – Parcoblatta spp.

Woods cockroaches are small, usually not more than 2/3 inch long.  Adults are dark brown with the sides of the thorax and the front half of the wings margined with yellow.  In the male, the wings are longer than the body, while those of the female cover only 1/3 to 2/3 of the abdomen.  The males are generally strong fliers, whereas the females do not fly.

Egg capsules are produced during the warm months and are deposited loosely behind the loose bark of dead trees, fallen logs or stumps.  The woods cockroach rarely breeds indoors.  The nymphs and adults are usually found outdoors beneath loose bark in wood piles, stumps and hollow trees.

Usually becomes a problem when firewood is brought indoors. They can be especially troublesome during the mating season, which is often May and June.  Male wood cockroaches are strong fliers and will come from considerable distances, often in large numbers.  They are readily attracted to lights at night, and accidentally gain entry indoors.  Woods cockroaches feed primarily on decaying organic matter.

7.   Australian Cockroach – Periplaneta australasiae

The Australian cockroach is rarely more than 1-1/4 inches long.  It is reddish-brown and can be distinguished by prominent yellow stripe along the outer front edge of either wing, and by a prominent dark spot in the center of the pronotum.

Adult females drop their egg capsule in a crack, crevice or other hidden area shortly after it is formed.  The eggs hatch about 30 days after the egg capsule is dropped.  There are approximately 24 eggs per capsule, but only about 2/3 this number usually hatch.  Egg capsules are dropped at about 10-day intervals.

The nymphs are strictly marked with distinct splotches of yellow on the dorsal side of the thorax and abdomen.  Nymphs move about under loose dark and in moist decaying vegetation, as do the adults.

It feeds predominantly on plant materials, although it will feed on various starchy materials in homes.

8.   Brown Cockroach – Periplaneta brunnea

The brown cockroach resembles the American cockroach except it has a broader body and less distinct markings on the thorax.  The last segment of the circus is short and blunt, when compared to that of the American cockroach.  Brown cockroaches occur indoors and outdoors, where they are found under bark of trees, in sewers, crawl spaces and similar places.  The brown cockroach normally feeds on plant materials.

Egg capsules contain an average of  24 eggs each.  The egg capsule is normally glued on a wall near the ceiling, usually in open places in either homes or commercial buildings.  Indoor, it seems to prefer sticking the egg capsule to cement or plaster, rather than wood.  Outdoors, placement of the egg capsules is similar to that of the American cockroach, in decaying wood.

9.   Field Cockroach – Blattella vaga

This is a small cockroach, slightly smaller than the German cockroach, less than ½ inch long.  Can be distinguished by a blackish area on the front of the head, extending from the mouthparts to between the eyes.  The field cockroach feeds largely on decomposing vegetation and is common in irrigated areas.  It normally lives outdoors occupying areas under stones, clumps of earth and similar locations.  Occasionally, however, it wanders into homes during dry parts of the year.

The egg capsules are carried by the female until they are ready to hatch.  The capsules are normally dropped outdoor.  If found indoors, they wander about on walls and floors and make no attempt to hide in dark cracks, as German cockroaches do.

10. Asian Cockroach – Blattella asahinai

Has been introduced through the Port of Tampa.  It is similar to the German cockroach, but has very different behavior.  It prefers to infest shaded and moist areas in the landscape, grassy areas and groundcovers.  Adults will fly quite readily and for relatively long distances.  They will fly to lights at night.  Because they will enter homes, they are a particular nuisance when they fly inside (into TV screens, onto people, etc.).  Also when they fly into backyard BBQ’s and other patio events.

COCKROACH DAMAGE

The presence of cockroaches is often detected by their damage, or by the fecal matter (called “frass”) they deposit.  The size and shape of the fecal matter is a clue to the type of cockroach.  The size and shape of the mandible marks are helpful in determining the type of cockroach has done damage.

Far more food is contaminated by cockroaches than they are able to eat.  Diseases are transmitted as a result of these habits.

Under most conditions outdoors, spiders are considered beneficial because they feed on insects.  However, they are undesirable to most homeowners when indoors, and the unsightly webbing spiders use to catch insect prey usually outweighs this beneficial behavior.

The black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius), is widely distributed over the warmer portions of the United States.  Females are usually identified because of their globular, shiny black abdomen with two reddish or yellowish triangles on the underside.  These reddish or yellowish triangles form a characteristic hourglass marking.  The abdomen is about 1/4 inch in diameter but may be as large as 1/2 inch when the female is full of eggs.  Males are much smaller and lighter colored, with light streaks on their abdomens.

The black widow’s web is an irregular mass of fibers with a small central area to which the spider retreats while waiting until its prey becomes ensnared.  These webs are frequently constructed underneath boards, stones, or the seats of outdoor privies.  They are also found along foundation slabs, behind shrubs, and especially where brick or wood siding extends close to ground level.  This spider does not usually enter residences, though it may do so occasionally.

Black widow spider venom contains toxins that are neurotoxic (toxic to the nervous system).  The severity of a person’s reaction to the bite depends on the area of the body where the bite occurs; the person’s size and general sensitivity; the amount of venom injected; the depth of the bit; the seasonal changes in venom potency; and the temperature.  The bite produces a sharp pain similar to a needle puncture, which usually disappears rapidly.  After a variety of other symptoms, convulsions and death may result with some victims, especially if the person is sensitive to the venom and no treatment is received.  An antivenom specific for the black widow is readily available to most physicians.

The brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa (Gertsch & Muliak), can also inflict a dangerous bite.  The initial pain associated with the bite is not intense and is generally less troublesome than a bee sting.  Within 8 to 12 hours the pain become quite intense, and over a period of a few days a large ulcerous sore forms.  This sore heals very slowly and often leaves an ugly and disfiguring scar.

The brown recluse is a soft-bodied and secretive species found in homes and other outbuildings.  The adult varies from 1/3 to 1/2 inch in length, with the arrangement of the legs producing a larger overall size of 1 inch in diameter or greater.  The body is yellow to dark brown and has a rather distinctive darker brown violin-shaped mark on the top of the cephalothorax, and a distinctive eye pattern.

Termite control specialist must be knowledgeable in; building construction, termite biology and behavior, the proper and safe use of chemicals, the use and maintenance of equipment, and safety.

The order Isoptera consists entirely of termites, which are primitive insects closely related to the cockroaches.  Termites are beneficial in nature, in that they help convert dead wood and other organic materials containing cellulose to humus.  Termites harbor one-celled organisms in their digestive tracts, and these organisms convert cellulose into substances the termites can digest.

Termites are social insects.  This means there is a division of labor between different types of individuals (castes).  Nearly all termite species have reproductive and soldier castes.  In many termite societies there is also a distinct worker caste, but in most of the more primitive species the typical duties of the workers (nest building, food gathering, and feeding of reproductives and soldiers) are handled entirely by the nymphs.

Workers and nymphs of subterranean termites perform all of the work of the colony and are the forms which do all of the damage to structures.  Soldiers serve only to defend the colony against enemies.  They cannot eat wood.  They, together with the reproductives, are fed by the workers.  Both workers and soldiers are blind.

Winged adults are referred to as the primary reproductives (often called swarmers).  They emerge form the colonies on colonizing flights during certain seasons of the year.  After these flights, a male (king) and female (queen) will pair up, lose their wings, and construct a small cell in the soil.  There they will mate, lay eggs, and rear the first group of workers.  The colonies where these primary forms are no longer present, supplemental or secondary reproductives without pigmentation or functional wings occur, often in large numbers.

Each termite colony is self-supporting and essentially independent of other colonies.

LIFE HISTORY

Termites develop via gradual metamorphosis from eggs which are laid by the primary or secondary reproductives.  Nymphs hatch form the eggs and undergo several molts through which different individuals develop into one of the various castes.  Four different castes can develop from numphs: worker, soldiers, winged (primary) reproductives, and supplementary reproductives.

In new colonies, numphs from the first small batch of eggs usually all become workers.  Workers are the most numerous individuals in a termite colony.  They perform al of the work of the colony, feeding the other castes, grooming the queen, excavating the nest and making the tunnels.  While in the process of making nests and tunnels and ingesting wood, they chew and eat wood, thus causing the destruction which makes termites economically important.  Workers are usually light-colored and do not have wings or any specialized structures.

Soldier termites serve specifically to protect the colony from its enemies.  Their heads are large, quite hard and have much larger jaws than are found in the other forms.

Supplementary reproductives of both sexes are wingless or have only or have only very short, non- functional wings.  These reproductives are developed as needed and quickly replace a primary queen who is injured or dies.  They usually develop in addition to the primary queen and become the most important source of eggs in the colony.  Supplementary reproductives, with a group of males and workers, may become isolated from the main colony and can establish a new colony, thus spreading the original infestation without being visible above ground at any time.

Primary reproductives (swarmer termites) are the caste most often seen by homeowners.  The winged adults are usually much darker than the other members of the colony.  All four wings are the same length and extend more than the length of the body beyond the tip of the abdomen.  Although functional workers develop in a few months, it usually requires 12 months of progressive growth for swarmer termites to occur.  Both male and female reproductives leave the colony in great numbers (swarms), usually in the spring and fall.

Environmental conditions must be just right before termites will swarm.  The temperature, moisture within and outside the colony, light conditions, and even barometric pressure influence swarming activities.  As a general rule, swarmers on warm, sunny days when the humidity is high.

After a brief flight, the wings are broken off and males and females pair and attempt to establish a new colony.

Actually, it is the supplementary reproductives which are responsible for the production of most of the eggs within a colony after it has become established.  In a colony of 1 million individuals, the queen may have laid as few as 10,000 of the eggs.  The supplementary reproductives are responsible for the rest.

 Swarmers can be identified easily from the swarmer ant first, ants have a very thin waist between the thorax and the abdomen while termites are broad waisted.  Second, termite wings are all the same size and shape, whereas the forewings of the ant are larger, longer and of a different shape than the hindwings.  And third, termite antennae are straight; ant antennae are elbowed.

THE TERMITE AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

Termites require specific environmental conditions to survive.  Most time moist soil or moist environments provide these conditions.  Moisture is critical to termite survival because all castes except the swarmers are soft-bodied insects which lose water very rapidly upon exposure to dry air.  As such, termites construct tubes (called mud tubes) when they pas over exposed areas.  Termite tubes serve to:  1) conceal the termites, 2) provide the termites a moist environment and 3) protect the termites from other enemies (especially ants).  Termites stay in contact with the ground unless there is a constant above-ground source of moisture.

The warm moist conditions which prevail within the closed system of the nest provide an ideal site for the growth of microorganisms, particularly fungi, which provide a source of protein and vitamins that is essential to the termite.  The accumulation of termite fecal material in the nest, in turn, helps to promote the growth of the fungi.

Each autumn the termites in the temperature zone normally respond to the gradual decreases in temperature by moving downward in the soil where the necessary conditions of temperature and humidity can be maintained.  In the spring, the colony then responds to increased temperatures and moisture in the soil above and again move upward.  In structures where warmth and moisture are present in winter months, termites may be present above ground the year round.

The type of soil has a great effect on the ability of subterranean termites to flourish.  Subterranean termites generally prefer a sandy soil over a clay soil.  However, they will survive in many types of soil.

Feeding

Subterranean termites have preferences in the type of wood that will be eaten.  The eastern subterranean termite prefers slash and loblolly pine while the Formosan termite prefers sugar maple and slash and loblolly pine.  The condition of the wood is also important.  Decayed wood is eaten faster and preferred over sound wood.  Termites working in the wood facilitate decay by increasing the moisture content.  Thus, termite damage is usually associated with decaying wood.

The major species of subterranean termites in the United States consume wood at approximately the rate of 2 to 3 percent of their body weight each day.  The average mature colony of eastern subterranean termites contains about 60,000 workers, while the Formosan termite colony contains 350,000 workers.  Under ideal conditions these colonies would consume about 5 grams (1/5 ounce) and 31 grams (just over one ounce) of wood each day.  Thus, it would take the eastern subterranean termite colony approximately 118 days to consume a one-foot length of 2×4 pine while the Formosan colony could accomplish the same thing in 19 days.

Communication in the Colony

Communication is needed in social insects.  This is accomplished in termites via chemical (pheromone) communication.  In fact, each colony develops its own characteristic odor.  Whether an ant or another termite from another colony is considered an intruder if it enters the colony.  An alarm pheromone is secreted by the colony that triggers the soldier termites to attack and kill the intruder.  The intruder is then walled off from the colony with fecal matter.

Sound is another means of termite communication.  Termite soldiers and workers band their heads rapidly on the surface of their mud tunnel or wood galleries when the colony is disturbed.  The vibration of the surrounding surface is perceived by others in the colony, and they too take up the banging activity.  This activity serves to mobilize the colony defenses just as the alarm pheromones mentioned earlier.

One of the primary means of communication is via trophallaxis, which is the mutual exchange of nutrients and transfer of food between colony members.  Trophallaxis permits the efficient use of nutrients within the colony, enhances recognition of colony members, distributes chemicals involved in caste regulation and transfers cellulose-digesting protozoans.  Termites exchange food from both the mouth and the hind gut.  When termites shed their skin during moltings, they also lose their hindgut contents, including the protozoa they need for digesting wood.  To get a new supply of protozoa, they must feed from the hind gut of other colony members.  The feeding of queens and soldiers by workers is also a form of trophalaxis. 

When foraging for food, it recruits others to the food source by laying a chemical (pheromone) trail.  As the food is depleted and the foragers no longer deposit the pheromone, the trail deteriorates and eventually is abandoned.

The proportion of the castes in the colony is regulated chemically.  In most subterranean termite colonies, nymphs or supplementary reproductives; and nymphs that have begun developing wing buds may actually lose them with additional molts and return to the water stage.  All these changes are chemically regulated within the colony, depending upon its needs.

SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES OF NORTH AMERICA

The large majority of termite damage which occurs in the United States is caused by subterranean termites.  However, in certain specific areas, non-subterranean species may be the principal problem.  Several species of the genus Reticulitermes comprise our most important and widespread group of subterranean termites.

The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, is thought to be the most common and widely distributed termites in North America.

Swarming begins as early as February in the southern states and as late as May or June in the colder areas.  Swarming form late fall, September to November may also occur.

The light southeastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes hageni, swarm from August to October in the northern part of its range and from October to February in Florida.

The southeastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes virginicus, have swarming flights in May or June with some fall flights in October and November.

The Pacific Coast subterranean termite, Reticulitermes Hesperus, is the most destructive subterranean termite on the West Coast.  This termite excavates galleries in wood similar to those of the eastern subterranean termite, spotting the wood with dirty, yellowish – brown fecal spots.  Shelter tubes are built but less commonly than by the eastern termites.  It is a slow-developing species, with the flight of reproductives not usually occurring from new colonies until after the fourth year.

The arid land subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis, is found in the dryer portion of the areas.

Another termite that has been found in the continental United States, as well as Hawaii, is the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus.  It ahs moved into more temperate areas via shipment of infested wood and wood products.

It is one of the world’s most aggressive and economically important species of termite, and has been reported to cause more damage to structures in Hawaii than any other wood destroying organism.  Although subterranean in nature, this termite is quite active when free of soil contact, if enough moisture is present to support the colony.  Control is much more difficult.