RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Warehouse Must Deal with Insect and Rodent Infestation

A New Hope, MN food warehouse was infested with rodents, insects and birds in July, according to a warning letter issued this month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA ordered the company, New Wha Ming Trading of MN, Inc. to correct violations within 15 days or explain why it needs more time.

During five visits in July, inspectors noticed live and dead rodents, including several in traps; droppings in 17 locations on food and elsewhere; nesting material and gnawed containers.

Bags of food were stained with urine. There were bird droppings on cans of condensed milk. Insects were found on bags and on a dead rodent.

Owner Weizhen Lin said Wednesday he had not received the FDA letter but the company is "working on the issues."

George Williams,
General Manager

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI

Click Image To Enlarge

The correct terminology is larva or larvae. For all intents & purposes they are MAGGOTS! I happen to snap this picture of something that happens in every city & town and that is flies. What you are looking at is about 2,000 maggots in some stagnant water in a garbage can cover. In about 5-7 days these 2,000 maggots will be 2,000 flies. Those flies will continue to reproduce in alarming volumes and at a very fast pace. In fact that 2,000 flies if uncontrolled & they survive can easily be 100,000 in just 30 days!!!

Most people see a roach or rodent in a restaurant, their business, or their home and they freak out and need something done immediately. It is the fly that should cause this type of reaction in people yet all we do is swat at them & do not give them a 2nd thought. We even joke about them….

Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!
What’s he doing?
I believe it is the backstroke.

Flies are one of the most disgusting insects on the planet and they are capable of transmitting so many diseases through the bacteria they contact. Next time you see a fly take it VERY seriously!

Allston-Brighton —

Neighborhoods in Boston, including Allston and Brighton, have reported a surge in bedbug complaints, especially as the parasites have become more prevalent in large cities across the U.S. in recent years.

During a seminar addressing the growing number of bedbug infestations in the city, Jonathan Boyar, principal of Ecologic Entomology, spoke to 20 residents and landlords at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on Feb. 22, 2010 about how to identify and eradicate bedbugs.

Many neighborhoods in Boston have had a rise in the number of complaints during the last three years, with Allston and Brighton just behind East Boston for the most. Housing Commissioner Dion Irish of the Inspectional Services Department said places with a large number of renters tend to see more bedbugs. But he said the problem has improved since before when 75 percent of complaints citywide came from Allston and Brighton. “It’s a highly transient place. It’s always going to be a problem,” Irish said in regards to the large college student population that contributes to high resident turnover.

Problems occur when residents take used furniture from the street, but Boyar said bedbugs can also come into buildings from clothing, luggage and other belongings. He urged the audience to avoid Dumpster diving and buying antiques, and to check rooms when staying at hotels.“The nicest hotels in America can have bedbugs. It’s not just seedy hotels,” Boyar said.

When there is suspicion of an infestation, Boyar recommended calling a reputable pest management company right away for an inspection that can cost anywhere from $250 to $500. He said the best pest control companies send at least two people to inspect the entire residence, but do not guarantee pest eradication because it is impossible to do so.

“If you don’t have folks going through this level of treatment, you’re going to have problems. This stuff is tedious,” Boyar said. “The guys that do this stuff love it. They can’t wait to see which one is worse than the next.”

Inspectors will check all crevices and furniture and if it is badly infested, they may suggest disposing of furniture, covering it with a plastic covering before bringing it outside. Clothing and other infested belongings can also be thrown in the dryer because bedbugs cannot survive conditions over 140 degrees.

While inspectors may use a pesticide, Boyar said to avoid over-the-counter bug sprays because they can “make a mess of the problem” since they don’t do a good job of killing all of the bugs. He also said that sometimes the bugs develop a tolerance of the over-the-counter sprays.

Landlords who own buildings with many infestations may consider fumigation or thermal treatments, but these can be costly.  Bedbugs can crop up in the most unexpected places. Boyar showed a videotape of bedbugs — they typically hide in small crevices until coming out at night to feed on humans. “They have a tendency to cluster. They’re looking for the same sort of environment,” Boyar said.

That environment is typically close to the bug’s food source, such as mattress seams, box springs, curtains or under baseboards and carpets. While they prefer warm surfaces, Boyar said bedbugs have been found on cool metal surfaces and can survive for a year without a meal, but tend to feed every two to four days.

What also makes bedbugs hard to detect, Boyar said, is that in most cases, people do not feel the bite while they are sleeping. And after it finishes feeding, the insect crawls away to digest its meal. Those who are bitten wake up to a row of bites that may appear the next morning or several days later.

WASHINGTON—The White House suffered a severe bedbug infestation last month after Vice President Joe Biden reportedly "scored" a discarded recliner chair that "someone was just throwing out" on the corner of Windom Road and 32nd Street. "It's plenty comfy, and I'll tell ya, they don't make 'em with levers like this anymore," said Biden, scratching at a series of red welts on his arms as he pointed out the pocket on the side that could hold both a remote control and a Coors tallboy. "It reclines all the way back. All the way. And you wanna know what else? It holds two people, if you know what I mean." Meanwhile, Senegal officials reported that their nation has been plagued by an outbreak of bedbugs since its president returned from a short stay in the Lincoln Bedroom.

Location: Wrentham, MA

Biting bugs are buzzing northward and asthma has spread like a dust cloud, but there are deep divisions about how concerned health and life insurers should be about disease and death caused by climate change.

So far, this corner of the massive industry has remained in the background of its climate debate, letting its counterparts who specialize in property losses worry in public forums about potential risks from rising sea levels and more powerful storms.

But there can be storms inside the human body, as well, scientists say, pointing to increases in malaria, heat waves, lung illnesses and other diseases spread by insects that are expanding into new territory as temperate climates experience warmer winters that are less likely to kill them.

The insects' spread could be a signal of new risks that are coming, says Paul Epstein, a doctor at Harvard Medical School who studies the health effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions.

"Beetles, stinging insects, mosquitoes are all responding much faster [than expected]. That's the kind of leading indicator in terms of health costs that should be looked at by the health insurers," he said. "The life and health folks have really not taken this seriously yet."

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FEMALE BEDBUGS ON THE MOVE…….(CENTRAL FALLS, RI)

This blog post is more on the scientific side versus the humor side but it warrants mentioning. It does shed some light on why bedbugs are so difficult to control and why they are so efficient at spreading to surrounding units. Recent research has shown some interesting data on female bedbugs in particular. They often wander off away from the main infestation area. Female bedbugs do not release an aggregation pheromone (a scent that tells other bedbugs to come to the crack or crevice). By doing these things female bedbugs have shown the ability to expand the population range, establish new infestation sites, and exploit new objects in their environment.

In a nutshell, we have even more proof of how insects have the ability to adapt to their environment & survive. Unfortunately with bedbugs they actually thrive. In the attached image the unit was heavily infested. The spider web on the outside of the door was catching female bedbugs as they tried to wander away from the infestation. As you can see the spiders are opportunistic and eating quite well on the abundance of bedbugs.

George E. Williams Jr., A.C.E.
General Manager – Staff Entomologist 

WHEELCHAIR BOUND BEDBUGS - (PAWTUCKET, RI)

Every so often a pest situation stumps you until you get that beautiful AHHAAA moment. This one was one of those classic ones. It was a multi-unit nursing home with bedbugs identified in three units after a full inspection identified bedbugs in just those rooms. We performed the first treatment and things went well. About a week later we got complaints in a new room and our inspection found bedbugs in this room. Did we miss the bedbugs the first time around? We now add this room to the treatment process. Our second treatment and the same exact thing happens, one week later we have another new room with bedbug activity positively identified? What the heck is going on???!!! All of a sudden it hit me!!!

The gentleman who’s room first had the infestation left the room when the treatment was being performed. He went to other rooms and one week later they had an infestation. But how? He was only out of his unit for 4hrs? I asked to see his wheelchair. Upon inspection I found the seat padding and frame was heavily infested with bedbugs! He was transporting bedbugs throughout the facility with his wheelchair! Every day in this industry I teach myself to expect the unexpected!

Mike “Spike” McGoldrick
Service Specialist

An outbreak of bedbugs sent suits at Universal Music Group and top talent agents from ICM scurrying from their Midtown offices. Executives from Universal and their Island Def Jam label, which boasts artists such as Rihanna and Jay-Z, were sent fleeing from 825 Eighth Ave. last month. Then, on Wednesday, staff at ICM -- which reps Megan Fox, Halle Berry and Mickey Rourke in LA and authors Patricia Cornwell, Nora Ephron, Toni Morrison and Candace Bushnell in New York -- were sent home after the critters scuttled into their offices below. A source said, "Universal had its three floors fumigated last month. But this week, a small area of the ICM offices directly below were found to be infested, so the office was evacuated and fumigated within 24 hours. They even brought in bedbug-seeking beagles." One source said the problem was building-wide. A Universal rep said, "We were aware of the issue and it has been resolved on our floors." No comment from ICM.

Read more: New York Post