Technical – Page 28 – Pest Management Professional

Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

Most Wanted: Drywood Termites

Drywood termites (Kalotermitidae) have committed offenses through insidiously cryptic infestations. Attacks cause significant cellulose consumption, which causes structural and wood...

Sheperspective: How Big a Threat is One Bed Bug?

Which spreads more bed bugs: Visiting infested hotels or picking up discarded furniture? It has been a long time since...

Callback Cures: Re-Evaluating Termite Treatment Do-Overs

When it comes to callbacks, few pests raise as much concern as termites. The advent of modern treatment technologies has...

Time is Money: Keep your Nozzle Clean

You’re on the job when, suddenly, you notice the pesticide isn’t coming out of the compressed air sprayer smoothly, evenly...

Ask the Expert: Chipmunks, Mice, Bed Bugs and Cockroaches

Q. I’m baiting for mice on the exterior of a residence at the request of the homeowner. Recently, chipmunks have been...

Conducive Conditions: What’s Wrong with this Picture?

As a pest management professional, you should be on the lookout for potential problems in and around the areas you treat....

Most Wanted: Oriental Cockroach

The Oriental cockroach (Blatta Orientalis) has committed public health violations resulting from septic contamination of structures and food. Aliases: “Asiatic Cockroach,” “Shad Roach” and “Waterbug”...

Did You Know? American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos

⦁ Crows are intelligent and can learn to count, talk, solve puzzles, and create and use tools to solve problems....

Never make an application for a pest that doesn’t exist. Photo: ©istock.com/animatedfunk

Bed Bugs: Perfect Parasite, Perfect Storm

Why is the bed bug the perfect parasite? Look at its profile: ■ While feeding, they inject an anti-itch compound...

Ask the Expert: Birds, Biting Insects and Yellowjackets

Q. A homeowner has a bird mite problem, so I removed a bird’s nest from the gutter and treated the...

Fact vs. Fiction: Starlings

Fiction: All blackbirds are starlings. Fact: As with most common names, several species are referred to as blackbirds. Starlings (Sturnus...

Fact vs. Fiction: Tropical Rat Fleas

Fiction: Any flea affecting rats can carry bubonic plague. Fact: Bubonic — as well as septicemic and pneumonic plague —...

Adult deer tick. PHOTO: Scott Bauer/USDA ARS

Ask the Expert: Ticks, Carpet Beetles, Wasps and Snakes

Q. Some companies in my area are spraying lawns for tick control, which I don’t think is necessary. I concentrate...

Photo courtesy of, and copyrighted by, Gene White, pmimages@earthlink.net

Fact vs. Fiction: American Cockroach

Fiction: Water bugs are just big cockroaches. Fact: American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are mistakenly identified as water bugs (they’re not...

Most Wanted: Distinguished Termites

Species: subterranean termite (Reticulitermes spp.) Distribution: many areas of U.S. Environment: found in soil, moist areas Behavior: constructs shelter tubes,...