I recently moved from western Pa. to Virginia. I am used to several stink bugs but this is ridiculous! We are renting a 100 year old home that had stood vacant for at least a year. I am spending several hours a day trying to vacuum them out of the windows in the house. They come back every 2 hours. There are hundreds of them daily. What do you recommend for such a serious number of bugs?

For starters you need to read our Stink Bug Control article which goes over everything you’ll need to know regarding this pest.

Stink Bugs: http://www.bugspray.com/article/stinkbug.html

Since you’re only renting the home, I’m not sure you’ll have any benefit from dusting. But I know inside aerosol treatments and outside liquid treatments will definitely help.

So using this strategy, I would say to start by applying the Phantom aerosol inside in every room where you see activity. You should treat all the windows, baseboards and crown moldings you can reach. Phantom is odorless and slow working taking a good 3-5 days to take it’s toll. During this time it will be spreading to all the stink bugs in the nests which means when it does start working, the impact will be brutal to the local population. If you do a good thorough treatment, you’ll see incredible results within a week.

Phantom Aerosol: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz

I also suggest setting up 2-3 Stink Bug Traps. One per room where you see stink bugs will really help cut down on the amount of vacuuming you’re doing. Just make sure to turn off all the lights when using the traps and only run them at night.

Stinkbug Trap:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/pheromone-and-food/asian-ladybug-light-trap

Lastly, get the outside of the home treated with Cypermethrin and Spreader Sticker so you have in place a residual to get any exiting the home. This in turn will have a positive impact in that there will be that many less returning next fall.

Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

Spreader Sticker: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/additive/spreader-sticker

Pump Sprayer: http://www.bugspraycart.com/good/pump-sprayers

Last summer we were hearing some strange noises in our attic. At first it sounded like a lot a bees or something. Next, we heard something like a big item being dragged across the ceiling. We got someone to go up there and look and they told me it was entirely too hot up there for anything to be living up there and they did not find anything. This went on for awhile (during the day and night) and then it just went away. Well last night it seems like what ever it was has come back. First it sounded like something was trying to chew through the ceiling and then it stopped. A few minutes later it sounded like something was being dragged across my ceiling. What could this be?

There is a long list of animals that will move in and use attic spaces for nests and homes. The short list includes bats, flying squirrels, mice, opossum, raccoons, rats and squirrels. Based on the sounds you hear, I would guess raccoons but there is no way to know for sure unless you got up there and met the animal face to face or get a visual on it as it’s either leaving  or entering the home.

So to stop the intrusion, there could be several fixes. But no doubt one of the quickest and easiest to employ is the use of ultra sound. Basically these are devices which emit a sound that people can’t hear but animals can. And they don’t like it.

So if you were to install one of these in this space and kept it running 24 hours a day, whatever the animal might be will surely leave and not return as long as the unit is kept turned on.

The best unit for this application is the TRANSONIC USD. Designed for use inside the home, it costs pennies to run a month and works well on most any animal. Get one of these installed and you should be able to keep the animal out.

More information on each of these animals can be found in our online articles and as you’ll see, the one common control method listed in each is the use of Ultra Sound.

Bats: http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/bats.html

Flying Squirrels: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page359.html

Mice: http://www.bugspray.com/mice.html

Opossums: http://www.bugspray.com/article/racoonopposum.html

Raccoons: http://www.bugspray.com/article/racoonopposum.html

Rat Article: http://www.roof-rat-control.com/rat-control

Squirrel Article:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/squirrels.html

Our contractor mentioned putting linseed oil on our cedar. Does it have the ability to repel carpenter bees? This is a new home under construction in Arkansas. Thank you.

Linseed oil will not stop carpenter bees. Linseed oil is a good way to treat unfinished wood like cedar and it can help prevent early wood degradation (like cracking and rot). But don’t mistake the use of linseed oil to replace traditional, proven methods that work on carpenter bees. The fact is that wood bees love cedar and any home that has cedar siding, cedar trim or any cedar components on the outside is likely to be attracting all kinds of pests including wood bees.

The good news is it’s easy to repel wood bees – even from cedar. And you review our Wood Bee article, you’ll learn we have two sprays that can be used.

The first is Cypermethrin. This is a concentrate that’s mixed with water and can be sprayed over siding, overhangs, soffits and basically anywhere female carpenter bees are scouting looking to build a nest.

Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

Treatments can be done as frequently as needed but most applications will provide 2-4 weeks of repellency.

We also have a paint/stain additive that can be applied when using either. You can add it to linseed oil too if you’ll be using it on your home.

NBS won’t kill anything but it uses plant oil extracts for an active ingredient that have been found to repel insects and when used on a homes exterior, NBS will repel wood bees too.

Basically you’ll add one jug to every 5 gallons of linseed oil applied and it should help deter bee activity for a year.

NBS Repellent:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/additive/nbs-paint-additive-16-oz

NBS can also be mixed with water and sprayed over the homes siding and any plants where wood bees are active.

Lastly, if you do ever get wood bee nests, be sure to dust their holes with the Drione Dust listed in our article. Using Cypermethrin or NBS to treat existing nests will NOT work at all.

Wood Bees: http://www.bugspray.com/article/carpenterbees.html

I have black crickets everywhere and they’re pretty good sized. What are they and what do I do?

These are FIELD CRICKETS. Typically they’ll live around the home, up under house siding, under mulch or pine straw and in flower beds. Once established in these areas, some can start migrating inside. The good news is they’re fairly easy to control.

So for the outside, you’ll need to bait the flower beds and any mulch or pine straw with Maxforce Granules. This bait will last 1-2 months and black crickets love the stuff. They’ll readily eat your offering and die.

Maxforce Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/granule/maxforce-gran

Next you’ll want to spray the siding on the home with Conquer. This odorless concentrate is mixed with water and should be sprayed on your siding and foundation wall, being sure to focus your application where black crickets are likely to enter. This will be around doorways, windows and garages.

Conquer: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/conquer-esfenvalerate

For inside the home, you’ll need to treat around the points of entry as well as any cracks or crevices where you think some might be nesting. Conquer can be used inside and is cost effective for treating large areas. But if you have a lot of hard woods or tiled flooring, PT-Phantom might be better suited. It’s an odorless aerosol that goes on dry and ideally suited for hard surfaced flooring.

Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz

Lastly, if you have any crawl spaces close to where you’re seeing activity, they could very well be harboring nests. These areas typically hold a lot of moisture and though you can spray them with Conquer, dusting them with Deltamethrin Dust will provide a lot more effective. Deltamethrin Dust will last 6-12 months and does well in moist areas.

Delta Dust: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/deltamethrin-dust

Related articles:         CAMELBACK CRICKETS          FIELD CRICKETS          MOLE CRICKETS

All pest control articles:         PEST ARTICLES

Our arborist says we have Zimmerman Pine moths larvae in our Austrian Pine – do you have any product to help deal with them?

Due to the fact that specimen labels for pesticides include a finite list of target pests, it’s sometimes not easy to find a specific insect listed. Such is the case with Zimmerman Pine Moths.

Fortunately there are a few products that work well at controlling local infestations because how the Zimmerman moths infest trees is similar to many other pests. And the treatments for these other pests will work equally well on the Zimmerman moths.

The first is a spray concentrate that can be mixed with water. Known as Bifen, this product is widely used for controlling all kinds of insects found on turf, shrubs and trees. It’s odorless, mixes easily with water and can be applied with any standard pump sprayer. Add some Spreader Sticker to the tank mix to insure you get good bark and needle coverage which is important for pine moths.

Bifen IT:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/bifen

Spreaders:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/spreaders/scatterbox-spreader

Pump Sprayer: http://www.bugspraycart.com/good/pump-sprayers

Now if your Austrian pine is 15 feet tall or less, you should be able to get adequate coverage with most any pump sprayer.

But if your tree is 20 feet tall or more, you might find Cyonara RTS an easier option to use.

Cyonara comes with it’s own “hose end sprayer” like container. Basically it attaches to your garden hose and once connected, you’re able to use the power of your garden hose water flow to spray out the Cyonara. The concentrate inside the jug is automatically mixed with the water flow so you get the right mixture applied every time. This means you can generally spray a lot higher compared to using a pump sprayer and this could be important if your Austrian pine is tall.

Cyonara RTS:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/cyonara-32-oz-rts

Lastly, since the pine moth larvae will be burrowing into the bark of the tree, you should use a systemic once a year to get the tree embedded with a treatment that will protect it against such attacks. Dominion 2L is ideal for this application. It’s easy to use, lasts a whole season and will work on anything trying to bore into its bark or suck its sap.

Dominion 2L:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/dominion-2l-termiticide-insecticide

Hi. I just got 3 chickens. My problem is I need to spray the exterior of my house in the summer to keep bugs (especially red spiders and furry centipedes) out of my daughters basement bedroom. What would be safe to use? The chickens will be kept penned 30 ft or so from the house, but may occasionally roam. I don’t want them to get sick or anything from bug spray. Thanks much!!

Most any of our products can be used safely around chickens and other animals. Especially if you’re only spraying the exterior of the home. You see, when spraying the exterior siding of structures, the spray will only be on the siding so there won’t won’t be any chance of exposure to people, animals, etc.

With that being said, the Bifen would be a fine product to use which is listed in our Centipede article:

Bifen IT:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/bifen

Centipedes: http://www.bugspray.com/centipedes.html

Now if you feel you’ll be spraying the ground and other areas besides just the side of the home, go with Essentria IC. This material is made using food grade actives and won’t pose a hazard to chickens or other wildlife – even if they come in contact with treated surfaces.

Essentria IC3: http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/liquid/eco-excempt-gal

Both products can be sprayed using any regular type pump sprayer and using it this way should provide 3-4 weeks of insect control.

Eliminator: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/eliminator-gallon-sprayer

We live next to KY Lake (large lake) and have the insect (in the picture below) coming to our house (attracted by light) in huge swarms. The good news is they don’t bite but we have to blow off our deck (sometimes 1″ deep pile by our doors). They don’t live very long. Can you let us know what they are and how to treat (if possible). Are they coming from grass or from the lake? Thanks for the help.

These look to be a species of midge. Basically they’ll become active in the spring, typically live around ponds, lakes, etc. and will arrive in massive “swarms” when the conditions are right. Most species don’t bite (though some do) and since they look a lot like mosquitoes, people tend to panic when they’re seen.

The good news is they’re easy to control.

And the preferred method of midge control is to use a fogging machine and a misting concentrate that’s okay to use around lakes, ponds, etc. Depending on the size of the lot you need to treat, any of the  following fogging machines will work.

For small areas (5,000 sq/ft or less), the Mini Fogger will suffice:

Fogmaster Mini Fogger: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/fogmaster-5330-120-volt

For 5,000 sq/ft to 20,000 sq/ft (1/2 acre), the FM6309 will be strong enough but it will require a power cord.

FM6309:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/fogmaster-6309-120-v

Anything larger than 1/2 acre, get the Back Pack Mist Blower. It’s plenty powerful, portable (gas operated) and makes the task easy to handle. I treat my 1 acre lot in 10-12 minutes for mosquitoes and other flying pests and this machine makes the task manageable.

Back Pack Mister: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/solo-mistblower-backpack

As for what to fog; the Essentria IC is labeled for use around boat docks and over water like ponds and lakes. Made with food grade active ingredients, Essentria IC is safe enough to be used as frequently as is needed and won’t pose any threat to the aquatic life, people or pets. In most cases you’ll get 10-14 days of control once the problem has been reduced but expect to treat more frequently this time of year. But you are able to use it as much of it as you want so there is no chance of over applying it.

Essentria IC3: http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/liquid/eco-excempt-gal

Now how much product will it take to treat? Expect to use 2-3 gallons per 1/2 acre if you have a decent amount of vegetation; less if it’s a wide open space. And be sure to treat everything in the landscape since midges can thrive in plants, mulch, rain gutters, etc. Basically anywhere moisture can accumulate.

Worth mentioning is a juvenile growth hormone concentrate that can provide extra long protection compared to the Essentria. You won’t be able to use it over the water but you can use it within 100 feet of the waters edge so if you have a lot of vegetation where you suspect the midges might be nesting away from the water, use Nylar to get extra long protection. Basically treatments with Nylar will last a month or more and in the long run, greatly reduce the need to be fogging with the Essentria.

Nylar: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/igr/igr-nylar

Hope this helps; give us a call if you have any other questions. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290.

A pest/rodent has chewed into the fascia board near the roof of my house. I have never seen it, so I am not sure if it is a squirrel, chipmunk, or rat.

My property seems to house more than it’s share of squirrels and something burrows quite a bit in my lawn. I have seen chipmunks on the property also. How do I know what to use that will kill and/or get rid of the pest so that I can repair the board? I’m afraid to use poison because I don’t want it to smell. The attic is barely a crawl space so it will be difficult to set traps. Any suggestions?

First, if you read our squirrel and rat control articles, you’ll learn we generally don’t recommend using any kind of poison because there is a good chance the animal will die somwhere inaccessible and cause your home to stink. This should be avoided at all costs.

Squirrel Article:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/squirrels.html

Rat Article: http://www.roof-rat-control.com/rat-control

Second, in both these articles you’ll learn that what we do find to be very effective for any small rodent is a live trap. Such traps work great for chipmunks (which I suspect are doing all the digging and creating burrows in your lawn) as well.

Now don’t worry; live trapping is both easy and effective. And as you’ll learn in our squirrel article, rarely needed to be done inside the home. In other words, setting the trap just above the fascia on your roof or just below on the ground would be fine for capturing anything that might be foraging up to your fascia boards.

Now you didn’t mention if you have pets (dogs or cats) or bird seed in the yard, but I’m betting you have one or the other. You see, both squirrels and rats love pet food. And they love bird seed. So what we have found is that most any home with either food will dramatically increase their chance of getting either rats, squirrels or chipmunks so I’m guessing that either you or one of your neighbors has one of these food sources just outside the home and in close proximity to where you’re seeing all this activity.

And if there is some bird seed in the yard or pet food available on a deck nearby, it would no doubt explain all the rodent activity. But either will also make a great bait to live trap with so if you have some readily available, use it as your bait in any of our live traps listed in our articles.

Now based on the amount of activity you’re describing, I’d say to get one of the “better” traps we sell and that would be one of these:

Live Trap: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/cage/live-trap-5-x-5-x-18

Also get some Pecan Paste to help attract target animals but be sure to fill the trap with either pet food or bird seed as this is important. The paste is just a way to insure they don’t miss the set.

Pecan Paste: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/lure/pecan-paste

Lastly, start trapping outside and don’t quit till you can go at least 2 weeks without capturing any rats, squirrels or chipmunks. My guess is once you can go 2 weeks without capturing anything, your local population of unwanted animals will be removed and at that time you will be able to close up the hole in your fascia board without having to worry about locking something inside. Good luck!

Greetings, as we walk through our grass in central NJ , we have these tiny little white winged biting insects. There are many…many of these. What are they and how do we treat them? They leave these tiny welts all over when they bite. We also have dogs so we would something that is effective but safe.

Not sure what they can be since the description fits a lot of lawn type flying pests that can live around any home. Remember, most any turf has plenty of food and moisture to host a lot of insects and if you’re not treating it on a regular basis, something is going to move in and take over. This is why doing regular pest control around the outside of the home is important.

Mind you nothing extreme is really needed but if you were to apply some granules every 2-3 months, it would no doubt keep things from living there so nothing would have a chance to start nesting and ultimately, causing a more acute problem like you now have.

It’s kind of like brushing your teeth; yeah, it’s a pain to do every morning and night but if you don’t, dental issues will develop. Well, with insects, if you don’t treat around your home on a regular bases, something will move in and eventually get established. And if left to do as they want outside, it’s only a matter of time before they find their way into living spaces. For this reason, a regular maintenance pest control program being done around the outside of any structure is effort and cost well invested.

So what could these little bugs be? My initial guess is thrips or some kind of gnat. Both can infest lawns in large numbers and both can bite. But there are many other insects which can do the same thing so again, I can’t be sure what you’ve got without having a specimen to inspect.

But what I do know is that regardless of what this pest might be, you can knock it out and get control of the problem  if you treat both the turf and grass/vegetation in the yard. This will involve two kinds of products; granules and spray. I say this because if this pest is nesting in the grass, it’s larvae will have to feed in the ground or in the grass blades. So if you treat both, you’ll kill the adults and get the larvae hatching from any eggs so effectively, you’ll break the life cycle and in the process, knock them out.

And to accomplish this task, you can use Complete Lawn Granules and Cyonara RTS.

The Complete Lawn Granules should be applied monthly for at least 2 months in a row and every other month thereafter once the problem is gone. Immediately after applying the granules, spray over the top of the same areas with Cyonara RTS. The spray will immediately kill whats active now and help to activate the granules. The granules will take a week or two to make it down into the ground where they will intercept anything that might be developing in the dirt and out of sight. Just keep the pets off the area for an hour or two following the treatment but once the area dries, people and pets can walk and play over the treated area like before with no undue risk or hazard.

Lawn Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/complete-insect-killer-granules

Cyonara RTS:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/cyonara-32-oz-rts

More about just how safe these products are to use can be seen here:

Product Safety: http://www.bugspray.com/about-us/who_is_bugspray.html#safe_for_the_home

I am going to place an order for the Viper Cypermethrin and I have 2 questions about the product. Does it have an expiration date/shelf life and what strength do you recommend for kudzu bugs? Thanks, Jeff

In general, most all of our products will last at least 5 years when stored in a cool, dry environment like a closet or basement. Viper is no different. So when purchasing, we recommend not getting more than you expect to use in 3-4 years. This insures it will be fine and yet still allow you to take advantage of the economies of scale (the larger the size, the less it will cost per oz).

Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin

Now when treating for kudzu bugs, it’s best to start using it at the rate of 1 oz per gallon of water per 800 sq/ft of surface area being treated. This would be what we call the “cleanout” rate. Once they’re gone and you’re only treating for “maintenance” (to make sure they don’t return),  use 1/2 oz per gallon.