RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

This is happening more and more! The company below is linked to the Massachusetts company that did the same exact illegal actions. They broke the law by using a product inconsistent with its labeling. They used an agricultural-exterior product indoors plus not labeled to be used for bedbugs!!! They also used undocumented citizens (illegal aliens) for the labor.

Bottom line is that if you choose a company based soley on the cheapest price you get what you deserve! Bedbugs require expertise and a company with experience + integrity. That plus you should always check their licenses, references, web site, member of local and national pest management associations, etc. YOU GET THAT PLUS SO MUCH MORE WITH EHS….the industry leader in bedbug elimination.

DEP Fines Newark Company $860K for Using Hazardous Chemicals While Spraying for Bedbugs

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has levied a $860,000 fine against Newark-based TVF Pest Control for “misapplication of hazardous pesticides in residences to control bedbugs” during work done in Jersey City and other locations.

The fine comes on the heels of a DEP investigation last summer that found TVF used chemicals not appropriate for indoor use in at least 50 residences and apartments in Hudson, Essex, Hudson and Union counties between January and June 2010.

In addition to the main fine, the DEP is looking to permanently revoke TVF’s pesticide business license and the individual applicator licenses for owner Josimar Ferreira and employee Javier Godoy. The DEP also has charged TVF $10,625 for the cost of the department’s chemical sampling in this matter, and levied a $10,000 penalty against TVF corporate officer Marta Braga for an applicator licensing violation. TVF and the individuals may continue to operate pending the outcome of an administrative hearing, provided a request for a hearing is filed with DEP within 35 days.

“This is an issue of public health and welfare,” DEP commissioner Bob Martin says in a statement. “The DEP is sending a strong and clear message in this case that when companies put residents at risk by intentionally misusing pesticides in dealing with bedbugs they will be dealt with severely.”

The DEP’s investigation, which began after Massachusetts officials told DEP officials that TVF was the subject of a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) probe in that state, found that the company was spraying Malathion and Carbaryl inside homes and apartments, both of which are hazardous chemicals not approved for indoor use.

“We want pest control companies and individuals to address the bedbug problem in a safe, responsible manner,” Martin says. “They should use only registered pesticides and employing smart, approved housekeeping practices and non-pesticide techniques to control the troubling insects.”

In announcing the fines, the DEP points out that New Jersey residents have the right to obtain notification information from companies to identify chemicals used to control pests in their residences.

“The DEP urges residents to arm themselves with information about pesticides used in their homes,” DEP assistant commissioner for compliance and enforcement Wolf Skacel says in a statement. “Also, we are cautioning that pesticides can only be used in strict accordance with the product label. Persistent bedbug problems sometimes prompt companies or desperate residents to use substances that can create hazardous situations, leading to potential health problems that are far more serious than bedbug bites.”

If TVF has applied liquid spray to control bedbugs in your residence prior to July 2010 and no one has contacted you yet, the DEP wants to hear from you immediately at 609-984-6513 (or 609-984-6914 for Spanish speakers).

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Bug Bombs No Match for Bed Bugs, OSU Research Reports

Over-the-counter "foggers" or "bug bombs" may do little to kill bed bugs if they're already infesting your home, according to new research from scientists at The Ohio State University.

Over-the-counter "foggers" or "bug bombs" may do little to kill bed bugs if they're already infesting your home, according to new research from scientists at The Ohio State University.

The study appears in the June 2012 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology, a peer-reviewed publication of the Entomological Society of America. "There has always been this perception and feedback from the pest-management industry that over-the-counter foggers are not effective against bedbugs and might make matters worse," Susan Jones, an urban entomologist with the university's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and a household and structural pest specialist with Ohio State University Extension, said in a prepared statement.

"But up until, now there has been no published data regarding the efficacy of foggers against bedbugs."

Here's what the study, in part, concluded, according to the news release: Jones and research associate Joshua Bryant evaluated three different fogger brands obtained from a nationwide retailer, all of which have pyrethroids as their active ingredient. Only one of the foggers is specifically labeled against bedbugs. The other two are labeled for use against flying and crawling pests in homes, but can be used to treat bedbugs in many states, Jones said.

Experiments were conducted in three rooms in a vacant office building on Ohio State's Columbus campus. The researchers used five different bedbug populations collected from homes in Columbus between 2010 and 2011. Additionally, they included the Harlan strain -- which has been laboratory-raised since 1973 and is susceptible to pyrethroids -- as a control.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

What do you see??? To the untrained eye you see nothing but to me I see something that 99.9% of the population would overlook. It’s a decaying rat carcass in leaf/grass debris. I am on a property doing a termite inspection and I look around the surrounding area and find this dead rat about 25FT from the building.

I investigate further and find several rat burrows nearby and alerted the property manager who was thrilled I took the extra effort to uncover this. As a result we were able to nip this potential situation in the bud and protect our client.

Sherlock Holmes = You must train yourself to observe what others overlook.

Martin Hussey
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Mice need dark warm areas to create nests (harborage). They absolutely love to get inside air filters, engines, etc. No matter if it is your lawnmower, motorcycle, or car they will find it. The two pictures attached to this show you how amazingly fast they are at setting up shop in these areas. This is my car and it was in my driveway for JUST ONE NIGHT and I opened the hood the next morning to add washer fluid and found this damage!

As you can see they tore the felt hood + battery cover up to make a nest. This is a VERY SERIOUS & DANGEROUS issue because they can cause the vehicle to malfunction at any point. It can lead to a crash or fire at any time. It is virtually impossible to repel or rodent proof these things from rodents as there are over 100 entry points for a mouse to get into a car engine. Call EHS as we do have some creative solutions for issues like this.

Bruce Lopes Jr.
Service Manager

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Famous Brooklyn Pizzeria Has Again Been Closed by the City Health Department

One of Brooklyn’s most beloved — and frequently shuttered — pizzerias has again been closed by the city, and the owner says he’s happy to get the time off. “The only time I get to relax is when they close us,” said Domenico DeMarco, the owner of the legendary Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J in Midwood, who jokingly posed with his daughter behind the gate of his restaurant as if in prison after the Health Department forced them to close last week.

But the violations are no joke.

The city reported the 46-year-old pizzeria at the corner of E. 15th Street, known for it’s drop-dead Sicilian pie, racked up 67 violation points during last week’s inspection and was cited for mouse droppings “throughout the kitchen,” enough to shut the store and require the owner to take a course in food protection. Once the place is cleaned up and proof is provided to the city that the course has been completed, the world-famous joint will be allowed to reopen.

The DeMarco family argued it was caught off guard by the inspection thanks to what they called a perfect storm of bad timing and new city rules.

“The person who was supposed to come in and clean on Nov. 16 wasn’t able to make it, because they had a medical emergency,” said Margy DeMarco, who works alongside her father in the shop. “The inspector came that day.”

She also blamed a paperwork-related delay thanks to the massive Occupy Wall Street protests in the city on Thursday for keeping the shop closed longer than it should have been, and claimed she is now waiting on the city to reinspect the restaurant so the family could re-open it.

Pizza lovers who for years have waited up to an hour just to get their hands on an expensive-yet-mouth-watering slice were understandably devastated by the closure, and some reasoned that a ticket-happy city was simply making an example of their favorite pizzeria.

“It’s a symbolic shutdown just to strike fear through everybody else,” said Scott Wiener, a Di Fara disciple who leads pizza-tasting tours around the city.

And all the pizza-lovers we talked to vowed to return as soon as the shop reopens, mice or no mice.

“Is it worth risking rodent-borne illness?” wondered Josh Bauchner, a Di Fara enthusiast. “Certainly.”

That risk could remain: when one of our reporter’s visited to the pizza shrine on Monday, a mouse scurried under the oven, leaving us wondering if the next time we go back (and we will!), will we be getting toppings … or droppings.

It’s the third time the pizzeria has been closed by the city because of uncleanliness since 2007, and each time mouse droppings were involved. Back in 2007, it was closed twice between March and June.

The restaurant had received a B rating from the city prior to this week’s closure.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Rat Attacks Baby’s Face

A baby boy left sleeping in his stroller outside a Copenhagen apartment block was bitten on the face by rats this week.

The boy was left sleeping in his stroller in the courtyard of an apartment complex in the center of Copenhagen on Wednesday evening. Apparently this is common behavior in Denmark, despite the cold and other obvious dangers. As soon as the parents discovered the baby’s injuries they called an ambulance and the toddler was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.

The boy’s father later told reporters from Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet newspaper that the youngster had been bitten by rats on the face, close to his eye. Other residents from the apartment complex also told the reporters that there was a current vermin problem as dozens of rats try to escape the harsh winter conditions looking for somewhere warm to hide.

Rats are known to attack babies, and they will go for the soft tissue areas such as the eyes. There have been more than one case of death caused by rats eating babies.

Source; Morningstarr

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Near South Side Bakery Closed After Inspectors Find Rats, Unsafe Food

A Near South Side bakery was shut down after city inspectors found something customers aren’t too fond of - rats and food stored at unsafe temperatures.

Mayor Daley’s Dumpster Task Force shut down St. Anna’s Bakery, 2158 S. Archer Ave., Thursday due to a rat infestation and unsafe food holding temperatures, according to a release from the city’s Dept. of Streets & Sanitation.

Inspectors visited the bakery in response to a complaint about rodent activity and found more than 70 rate droppings throughout the kitchen. Inspectors also found St. Anna’s had problems with the temperatures in their walk-in cooler.

Food temperatures ranged from 50 to 60 degrees and more than 400 pounds of food had to be thrown away, the release said.

St. Anna’s was closed for the critical violations of inadequate pest control and for failure to protect foods from contamination. The bakery must correct their rodent problems, revamp their housekeeping and pest control programs and repair their cooler before they can request and pass a detailed re-inspection.

Source = Chicago Sun Times

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Recently awarded the “Green Buildings Product Seal” from Green-Buildings.com, the Leaf Defier gutter protection system from FXI Building Products Corporation helps improve storm water management, enhance building durability and prevent pest infestations by allowing water and fine particulates to flow freely through gutter systems while keeping leaves and other debris out, the firm says.

Designed with high-performance urethane polymers, Leaf Defier is easily inserted into gutters to ensure leaves, twigs, pine needles and other possible obstructions and animal food sources are kept from entering and clogging gutter systems. As a result, water flows readily through the foam filter insert, into the gutter valley and out the downspout to virtually eliminate overflows.

In addition, recent research within the pest management field has confirmed the potential benefits of Leaf Defier, which if used properly can change conducive conditions away from pests, the firm reports. In fact, Leaf Defier can help solve problems by preventing all forms of pests from entering the gutter cavity, including insects like mosquitoes that breed in standing water or carpenter ants that can build nests in moist wood caused by clogged gutters. EHS is an authorized installer of the Leaf Defier system.

George Williams
General Manager

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI