General pest control at Cloverdale WA 6105

Today we did a pest control service at a residential property at Cloverdale WA 6105.

Pest issue

The customer had a problem with small black ants entering the house at different areas such as kitchen, bathroom, laundry, etc. They were crawling through cracks where the windows and sliding doors were installed. He also noticed German cockroaches in the kitchen, especially under the kettle.

Small black ants on a dinner plate in the kitchen

Pest Management Solution

External ant treatment

As the ants were entering the house from the outside, we thought it best to properly treat the source external ant problem, first.

We sprayed the external floors such as driveway, sidewalk, paved and sandy areas with a residual non-repellant ant pesticide solution. Where we found any ant mounts, we pumped some of this pesticide solution into the soil. This pesticide solution is mostly water, but it contains tiny, suspended particles that get distributed together with the water when it is sprayed. Later the water dries leaving just these micro-particles in place. As it is non-repellent, the ants don’t know that it is there and don’t understand what it is. They pick up and collect the particles as they walk around and dig through the soil. These particles then interfere with their nervous system resulting in spasms and inability to move or function, and then they just die.

We then sprinkled granular insecticidal ant bait around the same areas: driveway, sidewalks, paved areas, near the garage and front door. This is a sweet palatable bait that ants just love to eat.

External cockroach treatment

For the external cockroach treatment, we selected a different residual non-repellant pesticide solution that is highly effective for cockroaches (and also other insects). This pesticide solution works similar to the ant treatment. It is also mostly water and contains tiny, suspended particles that get distributed together with the water when it is sprayed. Later the water dries leaving just these micro-particles in place. As it is non-repellent, the insects don’t know that it is there and don’t understand what it is. They pick up and collect the particles as they walk around. These particles then interfere with their nervous system resulting in spasms and inability to move or function, and so they eventually die. You might spot them shivering on the floor – then you know that we got ’em!

Internal ant treatment

To treat the inside areas, we sprayed a residual non-repellant pesticide solution to selected areas such as: window and door frames, walls up to one meter high and along cornices. We then applied dots or lines of professional highly palatable (and expensive!) ant insecticidal bait to areas where we thought that the ants might be walking, such as near window frames and sliding doors.

Internal cockroach treatment

To treat the German cockroach problem, we applied highly palatable (and expensive!) cockroach insecticidal bait dots to selected areas where the German cockroach is usually found, such as under the kettle, under the toaster, piping under the sink, door hinges, and under table corners.

We also pumped a repellant insecticidal dust under equipment such as dishwasher, fridge, clothes washer, and also into the roof void. This dust then flows throughout the roof void and settles on most surfaces. The insects such as cockroaches and spiders try to move away from this dust but if they touch it then then collect the dust particles on their body, interfering with their nervous system and causing death within a few days.

Insect monitoring

After applying the pesticides, we installed three insect sticky traps around the kitchen to catch insects such as cockroaches. We can then later inspect these traps and see what kids of insects are visiting the house at night where nobody is around.

We also installed two moth sticky traps (pheromone-based attractors) in the pantries. These attract the moths, and they stick to the trap. So we can then identify the exact type of moth that we are dealing with and also reduce the quantity of moths in the kitchen.