We would like to take this time to express our appreciation to everyone who has helped us achieve this accomplishment. We have met so many wonderful people along the way and have made many great friends as well. It has been a pleasure doing business with each and every one of you and look forward to servicing your pest control needs for many more years to come.

Again HUGE thanks goes out to all of you who have made this possible!

Sincerely,

Tina Moore, Jim Moore and Rick Cassidy.

HAYS PEST CONTROL WAS FOUNDED BY JOHN HAYS 03-01-1991

The earwig has a forcep-like tail that make them look dangerous, but they are quite harmless to us, though if picked up and restrained the adults can give a slight pinch with their forceps. They use these forceps to defend their nest, capture prey, and probe narrow crevices.They are fast runners and may emit a foul-smelling, yellowish-brown liquid from their scent glands when disturbed or crushed. They are most active at night time and are often found around lights preying on other small insects that come to the lights. During the day they are usually hiding in moist, shady places beneath stones, boards, sidewalks and debris. They are often found in clusters hiding in dark crevices like door or window frames. Normally they live outdoors and do not establish themselves indoors.The earwigs will often hitchhike in laundry baskets, cut flowers, luggage, newspapers, lumber etc. They prefer moisture and may migrate indoors during long periods of prolonged heat and drought looking for a cool and moist habitat. After entering the home they feed on sweet, oily or greasy foods or houseplants. 

If your home is being invaded with earwigs the first attempt to control them would be on the exterior. Since they breed in soil chambers and spaces under landscape stones and timbers, reducing mulch layers and landscape structures can help reduce populations. Eliminate damp, moist conditions in crawl spaces under houses, around faucets, around AC units, and along house foundations. Rain gutters and spouts should carry water away from the house foundation. Change your landscaping from mulch to gravel or ornamental stones, this creates a clean, dry border immediately around the foundation walls. Use caulking compound, putty and weather stripping around doors, windows, pipes and other entry sites especially at ground level. 

Liquid sprays, dusts, and granular insecticides are effective when used as perimeter exterior treatments. Always read the pesticide label and follow directions and safety precautions or call us and we will take care of these nuisance critters for you!! 

Carpenter bees excavate galleries in wood to create nest sites. They do not consume wood. Carpenter bees typically are just nuisance pests that cause cosmetic rather than structural damage to wood. Considerable wood damage can result from many generations of carpenter bees enlarging existing galleries in wood.

Carpenter bees are large, robust and three-fourths to one-inch long, black, with a metallic sheen. The thorax is covered with bright yellow, orange, or white hairs, and the upper side of the abdomen is black, glossy, and bare. The female has a black head, and the male has white markings on the head. Carpenter bees have a dense brush of hairs on the hind legs.

Carpenter bees resemble bumble bees, except bumble bees have dense yellow hairs on the abdomen and large pollen baskets on the hind legs. Various species of bumble bees and carpenter bees are similar in size. Bumble bees typically nest in the ground whereas carpenter bees nest in wood.

Carpenter bees are solitary insects that do not form colonies. Male and female carpenter bees over winter as adults within their old nest gallery. Adults emerge in the spring (April and early May) and mate. There is one generation per year.

The males are not long lived, and the female carpenter bee prepares the nest. Gallery construction is a time and energy consuming process, and the female will preferentially refurbish an old nest rather than excavate a new one. When constructing a new nest, the female uses her strong jaws to excavate a clean-cut, round nest entrance hole on the lateral surface of wood in an exposed or unexposed location. This hole is slightly less than 1/2-inch wide, approximately the diameter of her body. She bores into the wood perpendicular to the grain for one to two inches then makes a right angle turn (~90) and excavates along the wood grain for four to six inches to create a gallery (tunnel). She excavates the gallery at the rate of about one inch in six days.

The female bee creates a series of provisioned brood cells in the excavated gallery. The larval provision consists of a mixture of pollen and regurgitated nectar formed into a ball. The female forms a food ball at the far end of an excavated gallery, lays an egg on top of the mass, and then walls off the brood cell with a plug of chewed wood pulp. A female often creates six to 10 partitioned brood cells in a linear row in one gallery, and she dies soon thereafter. Larvae feed on the pollen/nectar food mass, which is sufficient food for them to develop to the adult stage.

The life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult) is completed in approximately seven weeks, although developmental time may vary depending on the temperature. The new adults typically remain in their gallery for several weeks then chew through the cell partitions and venture outside in late August. They collect and store pollen in the existing galleries, but also spend much of their time just huddled together inside a gallery. These new adults hibernate in galleries because they require shelter during the winter. They then emerge the following spring.

Carpenter bees nest in a wide range of softwoods and hardwoods, particularly if the wood is weathered. The bees can more easily tunnel through woods that are soft and that have a straight grain. Carpenter bees attack structural timbers and other wood products, including fence posts, utility poles, firewood, arbors, and lawn furniture. In buildings, carpenter bees nest in bare wood near roof eaves and gables, fascia boards, porch ceilings, decks, railings, siding, shingles, shutters, and other weathered wood. The carpenter bee entrance hole in wood may not necessarily be in an exposed area. For example, the inner lip of fascia boards is a common site of attack. Nail holes, exposed saw cuts, and unpainted wood are attractive sites for the bees to start their excavations.

Carpenter bees are noisy. These large bees create alarm when they dive-bomb or fly erratically around humans. These are male bees, which are territorial but harmless because they lack a stinger. Only females have a stinger. Female carpenter bees are docile and are reported to sting only if handled.

Carpenter bees create a nuisance by excavating round entry holes in wood and depositing yellowish to brownish streaks of excrement and pollen on surfaces below entry holes. They also produce coarse sawdust from their borings. The carpenter bee gallery system is confined within the wood and hence is not visible.

Carpenter bee damage to wood initially is minor, and carpenter bees seldom cause consequential structural damage. However, their repeated colonization of the same wood can eventually cause considerable wood damage. Carpenter bees preferentially refurbish and enlarge an existing tunnel instead of boring a new one, and a gallery can extend for 10 feet if used by many carpenter bees over the years.

Carpenter bees sometimes construct new tunnels near old ones, with infestations persisting for several years. This complex system of tunnels can result in extensive damage to wood. Wood replacement is necessary when the strength of structural members, posts, poles, and other wood products is reduced due to carpenter bee damage.

Carpenter bees also may be indirectly responsible for unsightly wood damage when woodpeckers riddle the wood with holes searching for the developing carpenter bees to feed upon.Keep all exposed wood surfaces well painted with a -polyurethane or oil-base paint to deter attack by carpenter bees. Wood stains will not prevent damage. Consider using aluminum, asbestos, asphalt, vinyl siding, and similar non-wood materials that are not damaged by carpenter bees. Seal existing gallery entrance holes to discourage carpenter bees that are looking for potential nesting sites. A non-insecticidal management approach is to deny carpenter bees access to their galleries by sealing each entrance hole. Thoroughly plug the hole with caulking compound, wood putty, or a wooden dowel affixed with wood glue. If possible, also fill the entire gallery system with a sealant. Carpenter bee galleries are a critical resource, since the bees spend much of their time inside a gallery, and they require its protective conditions to survive the winter. Bees that are trapped inside a caulked gallery typically will not chew out due to behavioral constraints. This barrier approach has promise for reducing future carpenter bee infestations.

In new nests, the single female often can be swatted and killed, or she can be captured and crushed or otherwise destroyed. Larvae and pupae can be killed by inserting a sturdy wire into the entrance hole and probing into the gallery as deeply as possible.A chemical treatment using an appropriately labeled insecticide can protect wood for short periods, especially in the spring and summer when carpenter bee nesting activity is apparent. Dust formulations typically provide residual effects and are effective due to the nature of carpenter bee gallery construction. Precisely inject the dust directly into each nest entrance hole and as deep into the tunnel as possible and also apply it to the adjacent wood surface. Wait for a few days before plugging entrance holes since adult bees should be allowed to pass freely to distribute the insecticide within the galleries. Newly emerged bees also will contact the dust when attempting to leave their gallery.

For use as a preventive, an insecticide should be applied to wood in early spring before carpenter bees begin excavating nests. The insecticide kills the bees that contact it on the woods surface. However, a preventive approach has limitations because of the difficulty in applying a chemical to all exposed wood on the house where bees could nest. Furthermore, such insecticides usually degrade in a matter of weeks or months so repeated applications are needed to maintain a lethal dose of the insecticide.

CARPENTER ANTS DO NOT EAT WOOD, they often remove quantities of it to expand their nest size. Nests are usually established in soft, moist (not wet) decaying wood often caused by rain, leaks, condensation etc. Occasionally they are in an existing wood cavity or void area in a structure that is perfectly dry. Workers cut galleries in the wood, expanding the nest size for the enlarging colony. Galleries are irregular, usually excavated with the wood grain into softer portions of the wood. The walls of the nest are smooth and clean with almost a sandpapered appearance with shredded sawdust-like wood fragments (frass), carried from the nest and deposited outside. These piles of wood fragments may contain parts of insects. When a nest is located in a wall you can sometimes hear a dry rustling sound caused by ant mandibles not from chewing wood or eating food but as their form of communication, especially if the colony has been disturbed.

When 20 or more large winged or wingless ants are found indoors, in the daytime near one location, it is possible that the colony is well established in the home and the nest may have been extended into sound wood, sometimes causing structural damage. If only one or two large wingless ants are seen just crawling around they may be only foraging for food with the nest located outside. Outdoors they are frequently seen running over plants and tree trunks or living in moist, partially rotten wood stumps. Look for ants traveling from a tree or a stump to the structure. They may travel over tree branches or vines touching the roof, electrical and telephone wires, fences next to the house, piles of firewood, logs, or railroad ties nearby or hollow living trees with entrance knot holes, etc. Workers are most active around the midnight hour traveling from their nest to a food source following trails but no particular trail leading directly to the nest.

Carpenter ants are among the largest ants found in homes and live in colonies containing 3 castes, winged and wingless queens, winged males and different size workers. Winged males are much smaller than winged queens. Wingless queens measure 5/8 inch, winged queens ¾ inch, small minor workers ¼ inch and large major workers ½ inch. Workers will have some brown on them and the queens are black. Workers have large heads and a small thorax while adult swarmers have a smaller head and large thorax. Carpenter ants have a smoothly rounded arched shape to the top of the thorax when viewed from the side and a pedicel between the thorax and abdomen consisting of only one segment or node. They have constricted waists, elbowed antennas and the reproductive’s forewings are larger than the hindwings, transparent or brownish and not easily removed. Adults are usually black with some red, brown or yellow on parts of the body and legs. Eggs are about 1/8 inch long, cream colored and oval. Larvae are legless and grub-like, later pupating in tough silken, tan colored cocoons referred to as “ant eggs”.

Winged male and female carpenter ants (swarmers) emerge from mature colonies usually from March to July. After mating, males die and newly fertilized females establish a new colony in a small cavity in wood, under bark etc. The colony does not produce swarmers until about three years later. A mature colony after 3-6 years has 2000-4000 individuals.

In later generations, workers of various sizes are produced into major or minor workers, that are all sterile females. Males formed are winged swarmers. Large “major” workers guard the nest, battle intruders and explore and forage for food while smaller “minor” workers expand the nest and care for the young. Workers when disturbed carry off the larvae and pupa which must be fed and tended or they will die. In a mature colony there is usually one queen with 200-400 winged individuals produced as swarmers. Workers have strong jaws and will bite (sharp pinch) when contacted.

To help prevent an infestation of carpenter ants homeowners should trim all tree bushes and branches so they do not touch or come in contact with the house. Correct any moisture problems, such as leaking roofs, chimney flashing, or plumbing etc. Replace rotted or water damaged wood and eliminate wood to soil contact. Remove dead stumps within 50 feet of the home. Seal cracks and crevices in the foundation where utility pipes and wiring occur from outside. Store firewood off the ground and away from the home and only bring in enough firewood that will be used rather quickly. High moisture conditions must be eliminated to help control carpenter ants, prevent future attacks and prevent wood decay.

The German Cockroach is the most common roach found in homes, restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals and buildings where food is stored, prepared, or served. They eat food of all kinds and may be brought into the home on egg cartons, soft drink cases, bags of potatoes, used furniture etc. They will move from structure to structure during the warm summer months. These roaches can develop into large populations and live throughout the home, generally they will be found in the kitchen and bathrooms. They can contaminate food, damage wallpaper and books, eat glue from furniture and can produce an unpleasant odor.

During the day these roaches may be found hiding, clustered behind baseboard moldings, in cracks around cabinets, closets or pantries, in and under stoves, refrigerators and dish washers. If clusters of roaches are seen during the day, that is a sign that the population is LARGE. Both the nymphs and adults are very active and can run very quickly. They have a high need for moisture and usually travel 10-12 feet from their harborage for food in water in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, etc. preferring the darkness.

Adult German Cockroaches are about 1/2 to 5/8 inches long and have wings but rarely fly. They are oval shaped with spiny legs and long antennes. The adults are light tan to medium brown except for the shield behind the head marked with two dark stripes (seperated by a lighter stripe) and run lengthwise on the body. Wings cover the entire abdomen of females and all except the abdominal tip on the males.

The male is light brown and boat shaped and the female is slightly darker with a broader more rounded body.

Young roaches (nymphs) are wingless and nearly black with a single light stripe, separating two black bands, running about halfway down the middle of the back. Egg capsules are light tan and less than 1/4 inch long.

The female German Cockroach carry the egg capsule protruding from their abdomen until the eggs are ready to hatch, they then drop the case in a secluded location. The German Cockroach produces more eggs and has more generations per year than other roaches and only a few roaches are needed to develop into a very troublesome infestation.

SANITATION is CRITICAL in trying to get control of the infestation of the German Cockroaches. Unclean living conditions from housekeeping neglect is the major factor of a roach infestation. Though as mentioned above you can bring these unwanted critters in from the stores without even knowing it. We recommend that you start with the scrubbing and cleaning of areas inside and beneath cabinets, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, cupboards, pantry shelves and food storage bins. Be sure to get in the cracks and crevices to remove any droppings and eggs that the roaches have left behind. Do not leave scraps of food on unwashed dishes on counter tops overnight. Keep all foods in tightly sealed containers, rinse out cans and bottles before throwing them away. Clean up any spilled foods and liquids. Do not leave pet food out overnight in a feeding dish. Dispose of all dead roaches when they are found. When removing the trash from your home transfer into tightly sealed cans away from the house.

Once all of these steps have been taken then it is time to call in the professional pest control technicians so they can start you on a pest management plan to eliminate the roach infestation completely. It is VERY important to complete the sanitation process thoroughly and regularly if you want an effective treatment with quick results.

Drain Fly also known as A Moth Fly

These flies can sometimes appear suddenly and mysteriously and can become a huge nuisance to us in our homes.

Adult flies may become so numerous indoors that they congregate at windows, darken lamp shades at night, fall into our food, and accumulate around showers, bathtubs, sinks and floor drains, especially in our basements. Outdoors they will stick to fresh paint and plug sewage filter beds (intakes and drains), getting into the eyes, ears and noses of people in the area. Since these flies originate in filthy conditions there is a possibility of health issues. Bronchial asthma can be caused by inhaling fragments and dust of dead flies.

Adult drain flies are very small, 1/5 to 1/6″ long. They are fuzzy, dark or grayish insects with the body and wings densely covered with hairs. They are weak fliers and make irregular, hesitating flights only going a few feet at a time in short, jerky lines.

Drain flies reproduce in polluted, shallow water or in highly moist organic solids. The eggs, larvae and pupae can be found in the muck, slime or film that often accumulates on the sides of the drains and overflow pipes in the home, or in sewage disposal beds, septic tanks and moist compost. They have also been found in dirty garbage containers, rain barrels and tree holes.

During the day, adults rest in shaded areas or on walls near plumbing fixtures and on sides of showers and tubs. Most activity occurs during the evening when these flies are seen hovering about drains and sinks. They may breed in large numbers at sewage filter plants and may be carried by wind to nearby homes up to a mile away. The adults are small enough to pass through window screening.

Drain flies do not bite humans but may become a nuisance inside of the home. In some cases it can take persistent effort to eliminate this kind of infestation. A homeowner would need to concentrate on eliminating larval breeding sites from drains in floors, sinks, wash basins, bathtubs, etc.

To detect if the drain flies are indeed coming from a drain we suggest you cover the opening of the drains with glue boards in the evening. With heavy cardboard form it into a circle that is slightly larger than the drain cover and place the glue boards on top of that so that they do not adhere to the floor, sink etc. Leave those in place overnight or for a few days if possible to catch the flies.

Often the most effective method to eliminate the problem is to clean the drain pipes and traps to eliminate the rotting matter, which will eliminate the larval food source. The product that we highly recommend is DF-5000. When applied this product will cling to pipes and traps. It will rapidly attack and destroy the organic matter that supports the drain fly development.

An alternative method would include cleaning pipes and traps with a stiff, long handled brush. It is best to remove the drain trap and use a snake in clogged drains to clean the pipes.

Also by cleaning dirty garbage containers, wet lint under washing machines and even standing water in containers under houseplant pots can be a help to eliminate this problem. On the exterior of the home inspect around the air condition units, bird baths or any shallow stagnant pools of water. All these areas could be breading grounds for the Drain Fly’s.

Finding droppings, fresh gnawing and tracks indicate areas where the mice are most active.

Adult fleas are about 1/16″ to 1/8″ long and are dark reddish-brown, wingless, hard bodied with three pair of legs and are flattened vertically or side to side allowing easy movement between the hair or fur on your pets. They are difficult to crush between your fingers and are excellent jumpers. They can leap vertically up to seven inches and horizontally up to thirteen inches. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts and spines in the body projecting backward. Eggs are smooth, oval and white. Larvae are 1/4″ long, slender, straw colored, brown headed, wormlike, bristly-haired creatures with 13 body segments that are legless. They have chewing mouthparts, are active and avoid light. Pupae are enclosed in silken cocoons covered with particles of debris.

Termite Swarmers or Winged Ants?

The following information will help you determine if you have found a Termite Swarmer or an Winged Ant:

WINGED ANTS WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

1) Elbowed antenna-bent at an angle

2) A narrow pinched in waist

3) Two pair of wings (the front wings will be larger)

TERMITE SWARMERS WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

1) Straight, beaded antenna

2) Broad waistline

3) Two pair of wings, both equal in size and they will fall off very easily

　When a Subteranean Termite Swarm happens the homeowner will typically experience a large number of winged termites in or around the home. They usually swarm on a nice day after a recent rain in the early spring. It may go on for hours and it can happen on more than one occasion. If this swarm happens in the interior of the home they will normally fly towards light to get outdoors. They will usually fly around, shed their wings and die on the interior of the home. These type of termites (swarmers) will not reinfest the structure.

On the exterior of the home the male and female termite swarmers shed their wings and will pair up when a suitable mate is found. They will then search for a suitably damp piece of wood or soil where they will start their new colony.

When an ant swarm happens this is because mature ant colonies, usually 2-3 yrs old, have produced winged reproductives to fly out and start new colonies.

The swarming of ants is different from the termite swarms. Males and females leave their nest and the female is inseminated, the male then dies. The newly fertilized female then searches for a suitable nesting site.

Pavement ants have small swarms and can happen daily or every few days and sometimes can go on for weeks at a time.

                                       While ladybugs are considered beneficial to us because they live outdoors and feed on plant pests they can still become a nuisance.

Adult Asian Lady Beetles can vary in color from tan to orange to red, they often have black spots on their wings. These Beetles mainly live in trees, woods and forests. During the spring and summer the larvae and adults feed mainly on aphids, consuming 100′s per day.                                                                                                                                                       

As Fall approaches us the adult beetles leave their summer feeding site and look for protected places to over winter in. Unfortunately many of these places will be our homes. Swarms of ladybugs typically fly to these structures anywhere from September through November, depending on our weather.

They are mostly seen on sunny days following periods of cooler weather. Most activity is in the afternoon and the intensity may vary from one day to the next. They seem to congregate on the sunnier sides of buildings. Homes that are shaded from the afternoon sun are less likely to find this sort of infestation.

When the beetles are seen on the structures they are looking for cracks and crevices for protected places to spend their winter, which could be your attic, wall cavities and other locations on or in the home. They can usually gain access into the homes by cracks around your windows and doorframes, behind facia boards and exterior siding. Homes with many cracks and openings are more prone to have this sort of infestation. By sealing cracks, openings and around your utility pipes and wires you can help prevent such infestation from happening. You should do this in the late spring or summer before the adults begin to look for their winter homes. Repairing the cracks around the windows, doors and soffit areas with caulk or another sealant, also repairing window screens and installing screening behind attic vents will help keep them from entering. Some gaps can be sealed with foam, cement or copper mesh and weather stripping for under your doors. Gaps of 1/8 ” or less will allow the entry of these beetles.

When the temperatures warm up in the late winter/early spring the beetles become active again. As they awaken they often attempt to get back out to the outdoors. Lady bugs are attracted to light which explains why you will see them around your windows and light fixtures. These beetles DO NOT reproduce indoors they are the same beetles that have entered in the Fall months.

Once the beetles are indoors the best possible tool you can use and have on hand is your sweeper!

If you just can’t live with the infestation that may have already happened inside of the home you can purchase bug sprays or foggers but the vacuum is still the most sanitary and effective way to rid of them. Also something to consider is having the exterior of the home sprayed in the fall by a licensed professional pest control company which can help prevent these pests from entering. During late winter and early spring is not the proper time to do this sort of treatment, the best time of the year is late summer to early fall before the beetles gain access. But this will not prevent every single beetle from entering, that is up to you and finding the source of their entryway. This can be very time consuming for some homeowners and may not always be 100% effective.

     But try to keep in mind that these are beetles are beneficial to us!!