Seasons Change

With the approach of the fall season, the days shorten, the nights cool, and the lives of many insect and spider species change. Since it’s August, and the temperatures may be in the 90s, I bet this is not something that often comes to mind when you are out "in the field" providing quarterly pest management services for your customers

Maybe it should…When’s the next time you’re scheduled to be back out to your customers’ home or business? It’s likely October or November if you don’t get a callback before then. In this article we’ll take a look at some service strategies and planning that may help you better prepare and anticipate pest activity in and around the homes of your customers as the seasons change.

WHAT’S GOING ON? One of the first things that should come to mind in planning preventive service strategies is to consider what potential target pests will show up at your customers’ property prior to your next service visit. As cool weather approaches a variety of pest activity naturally occurs. Of course this will vary regionally according to the area of the country in which you live. Some of the insect pests normally encountered may include cluster flies, crickets, reproductive wasps leaving nest sites, boxelder bugs, elm leaf beetles, ants or maybe just millions of Asian lady bird beetles. Various spiders, some "hunting" spider species or even black widow spiders, may also be of concern as cooler temperatures create a need for these critters to find a "comfort zone."

Insect and spider populations are often at their highest levels during the late summer. In addition, many insects and spiders mature later in the year, and their presence is often much more evident as temperatures cool than during other seasons of the year.

INDIVIDUAL SITE ASSESSMENT. No mater where you live there are a variety of construction types and landscaping differences that directly affect the potential pest population in, on and around each structure. Whenever I pull up to a home or business for an inspection or service visit I first like to sit back and take in an overview of the area, the property and the structure to get an initial impression of what type of pest concerns might be present and anticipated. This includes current pests that may be on site and pests that may be present prior to my next scheduled service visit. I need to review factors such as what’s on the adjacent property; landscaping materials; construction type; condition and age of the structure; and even the types of trees and shrubbery present on the property. These are some of the factors that directly influence pest population levels and movement. I also like to note potential paths of travel that may lead insects and spiders up to the structure.

Always "think 3-D" and look up, down and around. Landscape features, such as shrubbery, a rock border, fencing, landscape timbers, tree limbs touching the structure or even flower beds, can all act as "travel corridors" that can direct seasonal pests toward a structure. I also note how the structure is positioned on the property. Remember that the preferred sides of many fall season pests will be the southern and western exposures due to slightly higher warmth in those areas.

Structural concerns often center on construction favorable for potential pest entry. Some of the potential points of entry include unscreened foundation vents, gaps around the edges of automatic foundation vents, potential gaps around all doorways, gaps under edges or junctions of siding, loose wooden siding, gaps around the under edges of soffits, loose fascia boards missing or loose fitting window screens or storm windows, gaps and/or unscreened attic louvers.

SERVICE STRATEGIES. During training we’ll often say that we like to inspect, monitor and evaluate our findings and then take action based upon our findings to render our pest management service programming. In actuality we should add one more step in this process. That is, we should anticipate potential pest pressures that may be present prior to the next service visit. This principle holds true for service at any time of the year. By keeping this evaluation process in mind the actions we take in providing service should be directly impacted. Some service strategies that you can implement now that may impact what goes on two or three months down the road may include:

• What are the sealing needs to exclude pests?

• Which sites need preventive treatment or service? Consider treatment of sites such as roofline over hang areas, around window and door openings, or under decks to target exterior perimeter spider populations.

• Target pest "resource sites" (areas on the property where pest populations may live and build up adjacent to and away from the structure). By treating these areas, pest population movement on or into the structure may be greatly reduced.

• Consider the use of liquid microencapsulated products that may have maximum extended residual effectiveness.

• Incorporate the use of insecticide dust formulations applied directly into gaps and cracks on the exterior of the structure that may serve as pest harborage and entry points.

• Always consider what materials applied at a particular site might be most effective and length of anticipated preventive control.

• Be prepared to provide the service. If you don’t have the equipment to work with then you are not going to deliver maximum results.

CONCLUSION. I always like to say that there are many insect and spider pests that we deal with that are a lot like Goldilocks in the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" story. In the story, Goldilocks liked everything "just right" — not too cold and not too hot. Most insects and spiders that we deal with in structures feel the same way.

By anticipating pest movement, and the potential pest prevention needs of a particular account, we can often lessen the impact of pests attempting to be in and around structures as cool weather approaches. By keeping these facts in mind we may also find sales and service opportunities that prompt us to take action and deliver a superior service for our customers.

The author is owner of McNeely Pest Control, Winston-Salem, N.C. He can be reached at smcneely@giemedia.com.