Restaurants are a potential buffet for house mice and other rodents.
Photo: ©iStock.com/Dieter Meyrl
Q: We just landed a restaurant account with a heavy mouse infestation. Can we use tracking powder in the wall voids? Can we use it anywhere else in the building? What options do we have?
— JOHN O., ILLINOIS
A: The label is your legal guide. It permits use in commercial food-handling establishments, but tracking powders may only be applied to prevent contaminating food. The label does indicate wall voids and between floors as acceptable application areas.
Other options include bait stations, traps and glue boards. If the mice are living in wall voids, the tracking powder should quickly provide a high degree of control. However, the mice not harboring in wall voids must be eliminated using one or more of the alternatives above. Tracking powder of any type should not be exposed in food areas.
Q: We service a townhouse complex. The buildings are two stories tall, with cedar shake siding on all sides. There’s an outbreak of four-lined silverfish (Ctenolepisma lineata). It’s mostly on the upper floors, although they’ve also been observed outside at night on the siding. Unfinished attic space is above the second floor. Where do you think they’re coming from, and how should we approach the problem?
— RICK C., ALASKA
A: I would suspect the attics are the source of the silverfish. There might be a moisture problem from either roof leaks or inadequate ventilation. If you have access to the attic spaces, you can power dust them, spray the underside of the roof sheathing or apply one of the dry baits available. A power spray of the exterior siding also would help, but the challenge is to find a product labeled for such a widespread application. If you don’t have access to the attics, an exterior siding application is probably your only option, plus crack-and-crevice applications in the affected living units.
Q: Is this going to be a good termite swarming season?
— KYLE H., OKLAHOMA
A: I wish I knew. Swarming has been limited in many areas for years. However, the termites are still there. I don’t know of any scientific studies that indicate why swarming is not what it used to be, only a great deal of speculation.
That’s why I encourage companies to install monitors around customers’ homes to find the termites (Editor’s Note: See Paul Hardy’s how-to article for details). If you rely on swarming for leads, you’ll fall behind your competitors.
Email your questions about insect identification and pest management technologies and techniques to Dr. Mampe at dentomol@aol.com. They will most likely will be printed and answered in one of Pest Management Professional’s upcoming Ask the Expert columns.
InTice 10 Perimeter Bait is a mold- and moisture-resistant, effective and economical broad-spectrum bait for indoor and outdoor use. Its proprietary bait matrix attracts and kills a wide variety of ants, including carpenter ants, cockroaches, crickets, earwigs, silverfish, millipedes, sow bugs, mole crickets, snails and slugs. InTice 10 Perimeter Bait is the only 10 percent boric acid granular bait on the market, which the company notes cuts application rates in half, saving time and money for the service professional. For perimeter and turf use, only 1 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. is needed. The active ingredient lasts up to 90 days outdoors and will not break down from heat or ultraviolet (UV) light. InTice 10 is available in 1-, 4-, 10- and 40-lb. packs.
The 5 x 10-lb. cases of InTice 10 Perimeter Bait now include a 1-lb., fully labeled, reusable shaker jar. InTice 10 is a mold- and moisture-resistant, effective and economical broad-spectrum bait for indoor and outdoor use. Its proprietary bait matrix attracts and kills a wide variety of ants, including carpenter ants, cockroaches, crickets, earwigs, silverfish, millipedes, sow bugs, mole crickets, snails and slugs. It is the only 10 percent boric acid granular bait on the market, which the company notes cuts application rates in half, saving time and money for the service professional. For perimeter and turf use, only 1 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. is needed. The active ingredient lasts up to 90 days outdoors and will not break down from heat or ultraviolet (UV) light.
Taurus SC (9.1 percent fipronil) use directions include up to four applications per year at the 0.03 percent dilution rate for exterior use. The product is labeled for use on ants, beetles, black widow and brown recluse spiders, boxelder bugs, centipedes, cluster flies, cockroaches, house crickets, millipedes, pillbugs, silverfish and termites.
The broad label of BorActin Insecticide Powder, the original non-repellent dust, allows for a wide choice of application methods such as a liquid spray, foam, or as a mop solution or drain treatment. The product combats such crawling insects as cockroaches, ants and silverfish, as well as drain flies. It can be used in residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural applications, including both food and non-food areas and for darkling beetle control in poultry houses. Precision milling in pharmaceutical grade equipment yields a superfine, odorless powder with no clumping and superior “dustability.” BorActin contains 99 percent boric acid as the active ingredient and is not corrosive to stainless steel. It remains active until removed, and will not break down in heat or ultraviolet (UV) light. It is sold in a 1-lb. bottle, a 5- and 25-lb. pail, and in a box of 36, 4-oz. mopping packets.
Cyzmic CS is a slow-release, microencapsulated formula containing lambda-cyhalothrin and CSI’s CapVantage technology. CapVantage allows immediate release of some capsules for quick knockdown, while other capsules are made to diffuse the active ingredient over a period of weeks, giving Cyzmic CS a long-lasting residual. The broad use label includes applications for structural and perimeter pest control, including food handling, animal housing, turfgrass and ornamentals. Cyzmic CS targets ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, silverfish, spiders, stink bugs, darkling beetles, ticks, flies, fleas, scorpions, bed bugs and other labeled pests.
Established in 2012, ZappBug’s portable heat treatment chambers are designed to kill bed bugs and other pests quickly and effectively. Operating between 120°F and 155°F, the units are considered to be safe for most household items, including clothing, luggage, bedding, shoes, books, and more. They are designed to kill 100 percent of bed bugs in all life stages (including eggs, nymphs and adults), and also work on a wide variety of pests such as moths, carpet beetles, fleas, lice and silverfish. Pictured is the mid-sized ZappBug Oven 2, ideal for luggage and household goods.
