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Brisbane Pest Control Blog | Household Pests - Ants - Part 3

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -1000

HOUSEHOLD PESTS - ANT TYPES IN BRISBANE & AUSTRALIA - PART 3

Tetraponera punctulata ants gang up on a moth caterpillar. Ants are major predators of other insects.(image from http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Insects/Ants)

In Australia alone there may be more than 3000 different species of ants, but so far only around 1300 have been scientifically named.

No one can live in Australia, without having personal contact with Ants. Australia is currently known to have representatives of 10 subfamilies, 101 genera and 1275 described species and subspecies.

The ant fauna of Australia is especially large and diverse. World-wide, there are 16 subfamilies, about 300 genera and about 15,000 described species and subspecies of ants.

Australia has:

10 subfamilies,
101 genera;
1275 described species and subspecies.

Australia has many ants! According to the CSIIRO, Australia has:

2/3 of the world’s ant subfamilies,
1/3 -third of its genera
15% of ant species.

While many Australian ants are found everywhere, others are among the rarest invertebrates in Australia. Numerous species have been encountered fewer than 10 times, and several are known from only one or two specimens

Queensland specifically:

About 23 of the 101 Australian genera are limited to coastal Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales
More ant genera have been found in Queensland rainforests than other areas in Australia site of comparable size.

Generic Ant Diversity in Australia (image supplied from http://anic.ento.csiro.au/ants/distribution_patterns.aspx)

The common species include:

Coastal Brown Ant , Pheidole megacephala

Southern Meat Ant , Iridomyrmex purpureus

Bull and Jumper Ants , Mymecia spp.

Green-head Ant , Rhytidoponera metallica

Sugar Ants , Camponotus spp.

Green Tree Ant , Oecophylla smaragdina

Spiny Ants , Polyrhachis spp.

Next Time, we will identify all these common species found in Brisbane, Queensland.

References:

http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Insects/Ants

CSIRO, 2013. Ants Down Under, viewed 14 May 2013, <http://anic.ento.csiro.au/ants>.

Learn more about Australian ants

CSIRO’s ‘Ants Down Under’ is an excellent site providing information on the biology, identification and distribution of Australian ants.

The Australian Ants. 2000. Their Biology and Identification. Monographs on Invertebrate Taxonomy Series Volume 3. S. Shattuck, CSIRO publishing.

Ants of Brisbane. 2007. Burwell, C.J. Queensland Museum, Brisbane. 68 pages

Brisbane Pest Control Blog | Household Pests - Ants - Part 2

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -1000

BRISBANE PEST CONTROL BLOG

HOUSEHOLD PESTS - ANTS part 2

Lets talk more about Ants. Generally ants are a nuisance to the property owner, rather than being a health problem. They are commonly observed around foundations and in walls, roof voids, kitchens, lawns and gardens, the wood of decaying trees, and rockeries.

FACTS: Ants belong to the group of insects that includes ants, bees, wasps, sawflies and wood wasps. In Australia, about 3000 species of ants are known.

Ants are social insects that live in more or less permanent nests. In relation to their feeding habits, ants may be predators, or scavengers or a general one (omnivorous).

As a group, ants are considered by many to be among the most successful of all insects.

PROBLEMS: Ants cause problems in buildings when they are in search of food and water. They construct nests in buildings and gardens. Ants seek water in dry conditions. When they forage for food water they send out large amounts of ants to gather this material. The result will be that you see large numbers of ants coming out over a small amount of time.

Ants will seldom cause structural damage, however they will use the decaying timber and excavate this timber ou to nest in.

Ants can nest on the external areas of buildings and excavate soil up through paved areas. They can leave an unsightly appearance for the homeowner and can also cause subsidence of the pavers if the infestation is large.

Some species of ants will occassionally attack electrical wiriing, attracted to the insulation by the magentic fields produced. when the ants anttack the wires extesnive damage could occur.

Ants may also present a health risk, mechanically carrying, on their bodies or in their digestive tract, diseases organisms causing dysentery, smallpox and a variety of bacteria, including Samonella. Such a threat can be very serious in the case of severe infestations in hospitals.

Some ants may bite or sting humans.

Next time, we will discuss and identify the most common ant pests encountered in Australia and more specifically Brisbane.

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Brisbane Pest Control Blog | Household Pests Part 1

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -1000

BRISBANE PEST CONTROL BLOG

HOUSEHOLD PESTS

We will spend the next few weeks writing more about HOUSEHOLD PESTS, including Cockroaches; Ants; Flies, Mosquitoes, Fleas, Bedbugs, Lice and Fabric Pests.

HOUSEHOLD PESTS

in common usage, the term household pests often refers to pests such as cockroaches, ants, flies, mosquitoes, fleas, bedbugs, lice and fabric pests.

The ways in whic these insects intrude on environments, & the types of problems posed, vary greatly.

Redlands Pest Control are interested in helping you treat and control the invertebrates , plus rodents. However other animal species or genera that have a history of living in, or invading, human habitation and causing damage to structures, eating human foods, acting as disease vectors, or causing other threats, include mammals, birds and reptiles.

We have compiled a list although not exhaustive that we will expand on in the next few weeks...

Ants

Argentine Ants

Carpenter Ants

Fire Ants

Odorous House Ants

Pavement Ants

Pharaoh Ants

Thief Ants

Bed Bugs

Bees

Beetles

Woodworms

Death Watch Beetles

Furniture Beetles

Weevils

Carpet Beetles

Fur Beetles

Varied Carpet Beetles

Spider Beetles

Cockroaches

Brown-Banded Cockroaches

German Cockroaches

Oriental Cockroaches

American Cockroach

Australian Cockroach

Centipedes

House Centipedes

Earwigs

Firebrats

Fleas

Flies

Bottle Flies

Blue Bottle Flies

Green Bottle Flies

House Flies

Fruit Flies

Vinegar Flies

Hornets

Lice

Moths

Almond Moths

Indian meal Moths

Mealworm Beetles

Rodents

Roof Rat

House Mouse

Norway Rat

Spiders

Red back Spiders

Funnel Web Spiders

Wolf Spiders

Huntsman Spider

Brush Footed Trap Door Spider

White Tailed Spider

Black House Spider

GOlden Orb Spider

St Andrews Cross Spider

Brown Widow Spider

Brown House Spider

Mouse Spider

Silverfish

Termites

Dampwood Termites

Subterranean Termites

Woodlice

Wasps

Woolly Bears

Next: .. more about Ants...

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Termite Damage found in Holland Park, Brisbane

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Termite Damage Found in Holland Park West, Brisbane (Photo by Redlands Pest Control).

SANITATION: Effective Pest Control: The Essentials for Food Processing Plants and Warehouses

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Courtesy of FoodSafetyMagazine.com

SANITATION
Effective Pest Control: The Essentials for Food Processing Plants and Warehouses
By Gary Huge

December 2011/January 2012

Today’s food plant pest control programs should be effective, fully documented and automated. To be effective, they must strictly follow a number of guidelines. These guidelines are being updated by an advisory council to the National Pest Management Association and are currently available.

Documentation programs are essential to analyze or review any trouble areas, service histories and records of all materials used on the premises. Many times, this will be the most important information that third-party auditors will examine.

Automation has hit the pest control industry in a big way. Rodent stations can be checked via portable scanners. All pertinent information can be entered in databases for historical reviews, and customers can view their data in real time over a secured database. This is convenient for quality control directors with multiple locations.

Pest control in the future will continue to be technology driven. Pest tolerances will be stricter. Pest control materials will be less toxic, and because of that, pest control technicians will be more professional.

An effective pest control program will depend on effective technicians. For instance, Dr. Murray Cooper taught me in the 1970s that entering an account from a different door and performing treatment in a counterclockwise (versus clockwise) direction will give the technician a completely different perspective, catching problems that might have been missed otherwise.

Another concept is to look in unexpected areas. Once I asked management for access to the roof of a multi-story candy manufacturing facility. No one had inspected the roof, so access was difficult. Once up there, we discovered hundreds of fecal pigeon samples and inches of toxic droppings. This was an unsanitary and unsafe situation. With other rooftops, there have been massive puddles that support huge housefly and mosquito populations.

Insect Pests
The common housefly is a known carrier of diseases and pathogens, including Listeria and even Salmonella. Houseflies reproduce rapidly; the current school of thought is that one pair of houseflies would have over 500,000 descendants over a 6-year period, though not all would survive. Another common food plant insect is the fruit fly, which reproduces just as quickly.

Flying insect control requires removal of breeding sites, such as the roof puddles mentioned earlier, and food sources. Garbage is a prime source for both food and breeding sites; therefore, dumpsters must be placed away from open doors. All standing water should be eliminated from processing and distribution properties. Keeping flying insects from entering buildings is difficult but essential. Screen doors work on standard doors, but not as well on dock doors. There are alternatives, such as air curtains and strip doors for dock doors. Air curtains are effective but must be monitored to be certain the airflow points outward, as I have seen many mistakenly pointing inward, sucking insects in. Strip doors are also effective if installed and maintained correctly, but too many times, I have seen them tied open to allow a breeze into the facility.

Indoor flying insect control can be achieved with electrocuters, sticky traps or baited flytraps but must be maintained correctly and cleaned periodically. Bulbs must be changed regularly, as most lose their effectiveness after 6 months. Cleaning is essential, as government agencies and auditors frown upon insect fragments and consider them proof that insects exist within facilities.

Insecticide fogging is another alternative but must be performed only by a licensed technician from a reputable pest management firm that is knowledgeable about pest management in food plants.

Another food plant pest is the cockroach, which is known to transmit diseases and bacteria. It is best to know which species you are fighting to know its breeding areas. You can determine the species by placing insect traps around the facility; be certain to map the traps so you can check and collect them all. You can then identify which species you have trapped and battle them accordingly. Be complete with your placement; set traps in electrical junction boxes, behind and beneath equipment, control panels and even floor drains if it can be done safely. Insect evidence is a critical finding in any food manufacturing or distribution facilities.

Rodent Pests
Probably the most notorious pest threatening the food industry is the rodent family. Rodents include rats and mice. They must be controlled in food plants and distribution centers because they damage food containers, contaminating food with rodent droppings and urine, and consuming food. The mouse most often found in our industry is the house mouse; the two most common species of rats are the Norway rat and the roof rat. Most rodents are nocturnal and reproduce rapidly, having 20 to 35 offspring per year.

Signs of rodent infestation include droppings, visual sightings, gnawing sounds, oil marks from their fur, tracks that can be seen in dusty areas with flour, gnawing of insulation and wires and urine stains that are detectable under UV light.

To effectively control rodents, you must eliminate their harborages, such as old pallets and retired equipment. I have even observed rodents living in the cabs of old delivery trucks. Remove all junk and keep the exterior perimeter free of weeds and debris. The next step would be the elimination of food and water sources. Following that, rodent-proof your facility to keep them from coming into the plant or warehouse.

Rodent control should include a combination of tools such as outside baits in secure/tamperproof stations, inside traps and large glue boards. Glue boards will catch rats, mice and the occasional invader such as grasshoppers or crickets. I have always found the “occasional invader” term humorous, personifying the insect as a gadabout of sorts, wandering around inside the facility.

Again, all traps and secure/tamperproof bait boxes should be regularly inspected and maintained. Number them and map them out. The bait placement will probably have to be increased during the winter months if activity increases. Inspecting the grounds for Norway rat burrows is very important. Burrows can be treated with rodenticides or toxic tracking powder, but this is a job for the professional.

Other food processing plant and warehouse pests include stored-product pests such as Indian meal moths and birds. However, treatments for these pests should always be customized. Stored-product pests may require fumigation, and bird control may require restricted materials. Both treatments call for a certified pest control operator.

As you can see, pest control has been and always will be about trained and motivated technicians. To preserve your company’s reputation, know your facility’s pest control program and always keep track of the documentation.

Gary Hugé is vice president of ASI Food Safety Consultants. He can be reached at GHuge@asifood.com.

Pests in your Home can Make you Sick | News | Pest Control Brisbane | Rodent Control Brisbane

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Pests Can Carry Up To 33 Kinds Of Bacteria.

German cockroaches are believed to be capable of transmitting disease-causing organisms such as Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., hepatitis virus, and coliform bacteria.”
Insects can serve as agents for the mechanical transmission of microorganisms, or as active participants in the disease transmission process by serving as a vector.
Studies conducted in healthcare environments have shown ants are capable of carrying E. coli, strep and staph.
Mice can transmit pathogens that cause diseases such as salmonellosis, a form of food poisoning.

Pests can make you sick. Literally. Studies show that pests like ants and cockroaches can carry a variety of bacteria.

Get protection from the experts in Brisbane Pest Control and Rodent Control.

Call Redlands Pest Control on 1300 361814 now for pest control Brisbane services that ensure the safety of your home and your family.

Mice & Rodents in Winter Months | News | Pest Control Brisbane

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -1000

With cooler temperatures outside, pests seek the warmth and shelter of your home.

Some pests you are likely to find invading your home to escape the cooler temperatures are mice and rats..

It is important to contact professional pest controllers to provide expert rodent control for you home for a number of reasons:

they carry diseases most notably salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected rodent faeces.
Food, clothing, furniture, books and many other household items are contaminated by their droppings and urine, or damaged by their gnawing.
House mice gnaw through electrical wiring, causing fires and failure of freezers, clothes dryers and other appliances

Click here for more information about mouse behaviours and reasons to control mice in your home:

Click here for more information about rats behaviours and reasons to control rats in and around your home.

Call Redlands Pest Control, 1300 361814 we are the experts in Rodent Control for Brisbane homes and are available 7 days.

Termite Barriers and Flooding Impact Advice | News | Termite Treatments Brisbane |

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Termite Barriers and Flooding Impact Advice | News | Termite Treatments Brisbane

Recent flooding throughout Australia has created concern amongst home-owners who have installed a termite barrier system previously in their home/property. Flooding could not only have a negative impact on the efficacy of a liquid termite barrier, but could also affect physical termite barrier installations.

Termites will be prolific with the high water levels encouraging their foraging for food sources, combined with the washed away soil and possibly barriers (physical barriers covered over with soil will encourage termites into entry points).

Professional Pest Controllers involved in the eradication and on-going maintenance of properties for termites, are already well aware that water, whether it be normal surface water, let alone flood conditions, will have an effect on termite treatments to varying degrees.

The very first consideration for a home-owner is to seek the advice of a Professional Termite Control person. It is well known that there are those who do specialise in termite control and those that do not.
Therefore, Bayer recommends that home-owners should take this into consideration when selecting just which Company they engage to deal with this extremely important issue.

Neville Hedge, National Termite Manager at Bayer Environmental Science has identified a number of scenarios where he recommends inspection and possible re-treatment. These are:

External soil barriers: if the soil has been removed, displaced, washed away; removal of the soil would result in the removal of the treatment.
External soil barriers (by drilling and injection): the effect of water in this situation may be difficult to determine and would depend on just what soil was actually washed away.
Soil, silt washed and is seen to cover the existing treated soil could allow termite access. It should be noted that physical termite barrier systems rely entirely on a physical inspection zone of a minimum 75mm around structures so that subterranean termites can be detected during regular inspections (as recommended by Australian Standards). Flooding that has resulted in soil and silt covering up these inspection zones must be addressed by lowering the soil levels back to the required 75mm level.
Reticulation Systems: a thorough inspection will reveal whether the system is either still in place or may have been severely compromised by damage to the actual system, including the treated soil and chemical injection stations.

Mr. Hedge said “There may well be other circumstances which need consideration.

An effective Termite Maintenance program can only by formulated following a thorough inspection, by a competent termite control person. Bayer advises home-owners to seek more than one opinion.
“Home-owners seeking more advice are welcome to call me on 1800 634 913”, Mr. Hedge added.

For Further Information:
Neville Hedge
National Termite Manager
Bayer Environmental Science
Tel: (07) 5586 2444 or 0417 362 488
Email: neville.hedge@bayer.com