24 Hour Vigil

MONITORING TRAPS HELP PINPOINT COCKROACH HARBORAGE SITES QUICKLY AND EASILY

The pursuit of a solution to a particular pest problem is sometimes easy and other times difficult. But it's never dull. It's amazing how much physical effort and brain power must be used to "outwit" such simple creatures as insects which rely totally on instinct. Quality pest management truly depends on a thinking service technician.

Cockroaches, by far, cause most of the headaches for those who seek to eliminate them. Other pests present their own unique problems from time to time, but Blatella Germanica and its compadres are the true bane of many technicians.

The basic philosophy for eliminating a cockroach population is really quite dimple. If one finds and treats all of the cockroach harborages in an infested building, elimination is at hand. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. Cockroaches have a long head start on mankind in the instinct department, plus their remarkable reproductive capacity is difficult for the pest control industry to overcome. Their small size also allows them to take advantage of innumerable harborage sites within a structure. Nature is definitely on the cockroach's side. However, since the cockroach ahs only a few rather simple nerve ganglia to direct its actions, it shouldn't be able to outwit a human, should it?

When a large cockroach population is present, it's easy to find harborages to treat. After that first treatment, however, finding the remaining harborage sites can be difficult. Similarly, when a customer reports seeing a cockroach in a room, finding where it came from can be frustrating. What's the answer? There is no single answer to this dilemma. However, monitoring traps, properly used, can help quickly pinpoint the location of cockroach harborages. Additionally, these traps can serve as "sentinel" devices, alerting the service technician to the presence of new infestations of cockroaches and other pests. This article will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages to using monitoring traps and provide several tips for using them properly.

WHY MONITORING? Monitoring programs offer numerous benefits to PCOs. For instance, monitoring traps provide a constant vigil within a structure. A service technician, in actuality, spends very little time in a customer's home or business. If he/she spends two hours servicing the account each month, what happens during the other 718 hours of the month? Sure, the customer can tell the technician where pests were seen, but is that enough? It's helpful, but additional information is needed. Monitoring traps are capable of catching pests every hour of every day. Although the traps can't tell the technician exactly where the infestation originates, it can point him or her in the right direction.

Monitoring traps do not discriminate - they will catch any arthropod unlucky enough to venture onto the trap, as well as lizards and other small animals. This advantage allows for the timely detection of infestations which the technician probably did not know existed. This knowledge can result in stopping a problem before it becomes too serious.

The major downside to monitoring traps is their expense. Some traps are less than 10 cents each, while others cost more than 20 cents apiece. When service technicians use monitoring traps improperly, the money spend on them is literally wasted; the traps can't be reused. Therefore, the manager of a pest control operation must be sure his or her employees are well trained in the proper use of these traps.

WHY SO MANY DIFFERENT TRAPS? Monitoring traps come in many different types. A number of manufacturers are currently producing sticky-type traps. Some are large. Some are small. Some have an adhesive strip on the back. Some don't. Some are scented with an attractant smell. Some aren't Remember, all traps will catch insects, but each person must decide which trap they prefer to use.

The most common form of monitoring trap is one which folds into a tent shape. This type of trap includes the Mr. Stocky trap and the Zone Monitor. One disadvantage of this style of trap may be that is allows contact with only one surface. Woodstream has introduced a trap that places a sticky surface against two surfaces. This may improve the chances of cockroaches being captured once they encounter the trap.

The placement of a food attractant on the trap or the presence of a scent does little to increase the trap catch for cockroaches. Proper placement of trap is the key when monitoring cockroaches. A piece of banana on a trap, however, may be helpful in attempting to monitor fruit flies. Baiting may also be helpful in monitoring some species of ants.

TRAP PLACEMENT. A study performed at Texas A & M University (PCT, June 1992) demonstrated that traps placed at floor/wall junctures greatly increased the number of cockroaches captured by a trap. When technicians place traps in the middle of a cabinet or in an open area under a stove or shelf, they did not achieve the greatest benefit from the trap.

Many monitoring traps have an adhesive strip on the back for attaching them to vertical surfaces. The Texas A & M study also suggested that traps placed onto vertical surfaces (i.e., the wall of a cabinet) are less likely to capture cockroaches then traps placed onto horizontal surfaces. It is not always possible, however, to place traps on horizontal surfaces. Traps often can be removed during cleaning if placed on the floor where they are easily accessed. In these situations, attachment to vertical surfaces is generally recommended.

The key to good results when monitoring cockroaches is the placement of traps as close as possible to likely cockroach harborage sites. There is little benefit in using monitoring traps when cockroach populations are large. In such cases, it is relatively easy to determine the presence of cockroaches and their harborage sites.

Begin using traps after the initial service has decimated the population and in situations where no infestation is evident. Monitoring traps are also useful in those areas where frequent inspection may be difficult, for example, locked areas or inside machinery which must be dismantled to inspect.

When using traps to monitor cockroaches, you need to think about the biology of the target species. If outdoor-living cockroach, such as the smokybrown, are the target, traps probably should be placed near points of entry and in attic areas near soffits. The presence of oriental cockroaches might require the traps to be placed in basement areas rather than on upper floors.

Monitoring traps are most often used for keeping track of German cockroaches. This cockroach is most likely to harbor near sources of moisture. This means that a trap placed in a cabinet under a sink is more likely to catch cockroaches than one placed inside an upper cabinet. Other recommended sites to place these traps include behind/under stoves, behind refrigerators and under kitchen equipment near drains.

Where the customer reports seeing cockroaches is another important consideration in determining where to place monitoring traps. In the aforementioned case, the service technician should thoroughly inspect the areas to try and find the harborage. If the harborage where the cockroaches are originating from cannot be found, then a monitoring trap may be useful. One or two traps should be placed as near to the suspected harborage site as possible. The trap should always be aligned in a corner (i.e., the floor/wall juncture). The purpose of the trap is to determine if cockroaches are actually living in the area and, if so, what species is present and which direction they might be traveling from.

READING MONITORING TRAPS. An experienced service technician can look at the insects captured and gain insight into the nature of the infestation. No hard-and-fast rules exist for "reading" traps, but certain generalities apply to virtually all monitoring programs.

1. The easiest thing to determine is the type of pests which have been captured.
2. If cockroaches have been captured, which life stages and how many of each stage are present? If younger nymphs or only adults are captured, it's probably a new infestation. If all if stages are being captured in varying numbers, a stable, well-established cockroach population is probably present in the account.
3. Are the cockroaches trapped on only one side of the trap? If so, the cockroaches probably came from that direction. If both sides of the trap have cockroaches, then harborages could be present on either side of the trap.
4. If a series of traps have been placed, it's possible to narrow the site of the harborage to the area around one or two particular traps. Bear in mind that cockroaches generally travel only as far as they need to for food and water. A Harborage used by German cockroaches should be within 10 to 12 feet of the traps where they were captured.

MISTAKES TO AVOID. What follows is a list of some of the more common mistakes made with monitoring traps.

• The trap is placed in a wet area or in an area likely to become wet. These traps are usually ruined by moisture.
• Traps are placed in areas where they become dusty or dirty. Dirt or heavy dust can adversely impact the "sticking power" of traps, allowing insects to escape capture.
• Traps are placed in open areas at floor level. These traps may be removed by cleaning personnel or "confiscated" by employees who may want to use them for themselves. In homes, pets or children may play with the traps which can be a concern for the customer.
• Traps are placed in areas with heavy infestations. These traps are monitoring tools. Why use them where you know a problem exists?
• Traps are not placed as close to likely harborage sites or entry points as possible. The farther the trap is away from likely harborages, the less likely it will catch something.
• Traps are not placed along edges and corners. Most insects prefer to travel along an edge or corner such as a baseboard.
• The technician places traps in an account, then forgets where he/she placed them. It's a good idea to record where traps are placed or to draw a graph when dealing with some accounts such as a hospital. One way to keep track of traps is to place a small colored, adhesive dot on the wall, on the outside of a cabinet, on the edge of the false ceiling, etc., where they trap is placed. This reminds the technician that a pest management device has been placed in the area. It is important that the dot be placed in an inconspicuous area. (This is a good idea to use for glueboards, bait stations and other such devices.)

BITING INSECTS. A great use for monitoring traps is for those situations where a homeowner or a customer's employees complain of insect "bites." In these situations, it's not a good idea and may be illegal to apply insecticides if the target pest is unknown. Don't assume that fleas are the culprit.

Place monitoring traps in the areas where people report receiving "bites." It's safe to assume that if arthropods are crawling around the area and onto people where they can bite them that some of the arthropods will be captured in a monitoring trap. Use traps which have a white background because it is easier to see tiny insects, mites, etc., which have been captured.

Monitoring traps can be useful tools in targeting the presence or location of an infestation. Used improperly, these traps can cost a considerable sum of money without providing a significant benefit to the PCO or customer. For this reason, it's important that service technicians understand how to use monitoring traps efficiently and effectively. If it helps to solve a particular pest problem, monitoring traps can be a service technician's best friend.