Dealing with Fleas

20/06/2016 by Acacia Pest Control

Ancient pests

In 2014, a professor at Capital Normal University in Beijing, Chungkun Shih and his colleagues discovered the oldest known flea. The ancient parasites [known as Pseudopulicidae] were unearthed in 165-million-year-old mud sediments in northeastern China.

Pseudopulicidae had huge, 0.8 inch-long (2 centimeters) bodies with long tubes for sucking blood and sharp, saw like teeth. Those ancient fleas quite likely fed on the blood of thick-skinned and feathered dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic Period

modern flea So drawing a line from those Jurassic fleas to our modern twenty first century versions one thing stands out – adaptability!

For this insect to adapt from then living on huge dinosaurs to now thriving on cats and dogs is quite impressive.

So to combat these guys we need to adopt a strategy with multiple angles of approach.

A one hit wonder of “just flea bomb the joint” or the good old “slip on a flea collar” just won’t cut it, results wise.

How to beat fleas?

Controlling fleas is not that hard, for our Acacia Pest Control team members. We have access to a couple of very good product formulations that allow us to guarantee our results every time. In fact we give six months warranty on all our flea treatments.

Looking at my diagram to the right you can see the two points in the flea life cycle that we target – the pupa and adult flea.

When the adult female lays her eggs- up to 50/day, on strands of grass, twigs, carpet, etc the eggs hatch in 2 to 3 days. The larval stage is around for 5 to 10. Then the larva spin their cocoon and pupate inside. Now the waiting begins, the pupae sit and wait [sometimes for months] for movement and vibration. This vibration is the moment when they hatch and the adults emerge. This is the point that our control starts. The pupae are protected inside their cocoon, but the moment they emerge they are susceptible to our products.

The young and mature adults are controlled within a few days by our slow acting but long lasting products. However there is a time delay involved as the eggs, larva and pupa cycle has to complete before we see our susceptible adults and the control happens.

Help us help you

You the home owner can play a part and speed the flea control process up!

If you create the vibrations- mowing lawns, vacuuming the carpets or holding a dance party for twenty 5 year olds, the movement and vibrations will stimulate the pupae to emerge in a short period of time, possibly hours. Otherwise the pupae can sit for quite a while and you will likely have adult fleas presenting themselves months later.

This can be quite frustrating, so better to hold the party and speed up the whole process.

In a nutshell

Basically, modern fleas can take weeks – sometimes months to complete their life cycle, depending on their environment. So when we carry out pest control for your flea problem, it will really help you to create ‘good vibrations’ to quicken the life cycle, make them susceptible to the pest control products and therefore create a much faster result.

Who is Creeping Around Your House?

18/02/2016 by Acacia Pest Control

Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax Robustus)

You may not want to know it, but pests are as much a part of the fabric of a home as the carpet or curtains. That’s not to say your home is infested with destructive termites or disease-transmitting cockroaches. However, a recent study from North Carolina State University in the USA tells us we are definitely not alone.

The study evaluated the biodiversity of arthropods in homes, and found that humans share their residences with more than 500 different kinds of green blooded visitors. Various insects, spiders, mites, centipedes, and others…

Dr. Matt Bertone, an entomologist with the North Carolina State University Plant Disease and Insect Clinic and a researcher on the study, says “most homeowners think their living spaces are sterile environments, but that is not always the case”.

“Our homes host far more biodiversity than most people would expect,” Dr. Bertone told the Entomological Societies “Entomology Today” website. “We share our space with many different species, most of which are benign. The fact that you don’t know they’re there only highlights how little we interact with them.”

Researchers went room to room in homes to collect living and dead arthropods for the survey. In all, they found on average 579 different arthropod morphospecies (animal types that are easily separable by morphological differences) from a total of 304 different families.

On average, homes in the study played host to nearly 100 different arthropod species belonging to between 24 and 128 distinct families. What pests topped the charts when it came to infesting homes? According to the study, the five most commonly encountered pests were:

Flies
Spiders
Beetles
Ants
Book lice

While the number of creeping, crawling, and flying pests may appear threatening, the reality is that most of these pests are merely wanderers who inadvertently gain access to home interiors through an open window or door or on cut flowers or plants. They don’t constitute a full-fledged infestation.

Another point researchers wanted to emphasize was that most of these unwanted pests are not equipped to live indoors, and that they die off fairly quickly.

For pests such as mice, bed bugs, or cockroaches that do decide your home is a suitable place for an extended stay, the residential pest management experts at Acacia Pest Control Pty Ltd have proven solutions that will give them the boot and then keep them away.

If you’re having a problem with pests in your home, call Acacia Pest Control on 1300257774 or send an email to info@acaciapestcontrol.com.au

One of our Pest Managers will follow up to answer any questions you may have.

Horses, Bees and SLSC’s !

07/10/2015 by Acacia Pest Control

A Paradox you might never have considered.

This list was developed by the Australian Museum in Sydney. Museum staff rated animals out of 10 based on the threat they pose, combined with the likelihood of encountering one.

Danger rating: 10/10

Box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri)

Danger rating: 9/10

Honey bee (Apis mellifera).3. Irukandji (Carukia barnesi)

Danger rating: 8/10

4. Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

5. Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis)

6. Saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

7. Sydney funnel web spider (Atrax robustus)

Danger rating: 7/10

8. Blue-ringed octopus (Genus Hapalochlaena)

9. Coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)

10.Common death adder (Acanthopis antarticus)

Australia’s worst killers!

Here in Australia, about 20 people a year die from horse riding accidents.
Around 10 people per year in Australia die from European Honey Bee stings after going into anaphylactic shock.
And around 300 people a year drown.

So the best advice I would give anyone about keeping relatively safe in Australia would be don’t worry too much about scary creatures.

It would be more like “swim between the flags” if you are going to take a dip at the beach.

Swim with friends in our rivers, lakes and dams, and keep an eye on the children when near water.

References used.

Australian Museum in Sydney

Australian Geographic

SLSC Australia

The Rubbery Facts of People’s Perceptions

24/07/2015 by Acacia Pest Control

myths

If I had ten cents for every remedy I have been told on how to “fix pests” I’d have a Ferrari, possibly two!

For some reason every third grandmother in town has a good old fashioned solution to get rid of pests.

Some of the best ones are:

Ants: Bicarb Soda or talcum powder spread down the driveway – [I think the white powder is the key?]
Spiders: Vinegar and water 50 / 50 sprayed onto external walls- [I’m still working this one out?]
Termites: Just throw the damaged timbers in the fire – [only misses 99.99% of the colony who are safe in their nest down the street]
Rats: Flour and concrete mixed together dry, and a saucer of water nearby. [I can see the theory behind this one]
Mice: Apart from good old mouse traps [that get 50% less than the reproductive rate of the colony] Greased sticks over bins full of water with a piece of cheese as lure.

I don’t know what percentage of the mouse population the above stick over bins of water accounts for but my worry is, what do you do with all the dead mouse infused water? Call the EPA for advice?

What I do know is that I get to hear all of these fantastic stories as people are booking my services.

Usually it is the frustrated wife, having waited for her spider warrior husband [or wife] to get results and given up. Or it might be the annoyed tenant who has endured weeks or months of ant infestation while the landlord spreads various white powders around the place.
One of the latest incarnations recently is the electrical device that gets plugged into the power socket behind the couch or in the hallway. We see lots of these devices, blinking away-doing not very much it seems, as we are carrying out our treatment regimes in homes. The apt answer to the question “do these electrical gizmos work?” is, “well we see a lot of them, but why are we there”? I am happy to listen to science based advice, and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki’s advice is that rodents have the same frequency of hearing as humans and if you sat on a couch with one of these behind you trying to annoy rodents out of the house, you would hate it too. That and the evidence of the home owner calling us is fairly strong that they are not too effective.

So putting aside people’s many and varied perceptions and embracing science I can say that we will guarantee our outcomes, I will get results and I get those results quickly-and they are long lasting.
That is our non-rubbery guarantee, still don’t have that Ferrari 🙁

Pest Control and your Family’s Health

17/06/2015 by Acacia Pest Control

Protecting our family

Pest controlling products are designed to specifically target pests that are found in the home. So surely they are safe? But there is still a nagging suspicion that they may not be, especially for our children.

Cleanliness and pest control are important for the health of your family, domestic pets and your home, and you need to use them to prevent all kinds of illnesses and diseases stemming from common pests, you need the answer to: ‘how safe are these products really?’

The most dangerous pest control products are mostly the DIY methods.

Due to ignorance and inexperience, the most dangerous pest controlling products are those that can be purchased off the shelf. This is a real trap and a situation where products used incorrectly can be a lingering trap. The reason for this is because if they are use d improperly, [diluted incorrectly or applied carelessly], the products that would otherwise be safe and effective can instantly become highly dangerous and hazardous.

This is the same for many cleaning products- oven cleaners, drain cleaners, de-greasers, concrete cleaning products, automotive engine cleaners, common bleach are all highly toxic to humans. Not to mention petrol, used automotive oil, leaking torch batteries, emissions off new carpets or plastic appliances, heating food in plastic take away containers, all of which are known toxicants or cancer causing agents.

The unwitting homeowner might innocently use a DIY pest control or cleaning product in the wrong area of the home. For instance, spraying a pesticide in or around an area where food cooking utensils are kept can be dangerous. However, your average homeowner may not know this and the result is contaminated food and often, illness.

When you employ the services of a professional pest control company, the pest control products are not dangerous.

Professional pest control companies are experts in their knowledge and safe use of pesticides, rodenticides, insecticides, termicides and other products but most importantly the techniques required to apply them safely. Pest control products and the users of these products must be registered with the Department of Human Services here in Victoria – this ensures the products are safe and will be used in a safe manner.

Our pest control technician will know exactly how to handle the products, how to dilute the ingredients and more importantly place the product safely. This will ensure that the end product is not harmful to anyone who comes into contact with it but ultimately harmful to the targeted pests it was designed to control.

Pest control products are designed to affect the target based on bodyweight – meaning that, when used correctly, they cannot affect anything bigger.

This means that your baby, toddler and pets are safe, unless they weigh the same as the targeted pest! The reality is that a pest control product in its concentrated form can be lethal to a baby or small child. However the registered application method and a pest controllers training and techniques would ensure that contact between the two will never ever happen.

Furthermore, a professional pest controller will inform you of how to reduce the potential of a future infestation.

For more information call Acacia Pest Control on 1300 257 774

Are there termites in our Geelong region?

15/05/2015 by Acacia Pest Control

Are there Termites in the area?

In short: YES INDEED!

Where are termites?

I get asked this question quite a lot: Termites are found in every mainland state. Tasmania does have grass eating termite species but these are generally not invasive into homes.

Our Geelong, Bellarine and Surf coast region has quite a few invasive [to homes] termite species. Two of our local termite species can be found in homes causing massive damage to structural timbers. The rest are usually only found outside in living or decomposing trees.

Termites behave a little like honey bees in their basic routines. Like bees they have a central colony in which the single matriarchal Queen resides with her male drones. She is locked in this breeding chamber for her whole life and becomes one of nature’s best egg laying machines. Our termite queen can live for 25 to 28 years. In her later years she can lay over 800 eggs a day. She can often oversee a population of 2.5 to 3 million workers in her extended colony.

Like bees, the workers [sterile females] leave the colony as the day warms up [in summer here in Geelong they operate all night too] travelling from the colony to the food resource. This food resource can be over 100 meters from the colony and the worker might spend an hour in travel time. Over the next few minutes the worker then harvests her load of food, turns tail and heads back to the colony with the much needed food for her siblings. Like the bee every worker, soldier, nymph and reproductive is her sister or brother.

The worker termite never stops, she needs to tend her colony harvesting food, feeding the soldiers, the queen, nymphs and larva. She cleans up rubbish, helps build new sections of the nest, stores food for the winter months and disposes of the sick and dead. Her life is short, only a few years, but very eventful and productive.

termites1 Soldier termites are the Amazonian warriors of the colony, these girls have attitude. They are quick to rush to a fight and defend to the last their sisters and mother. Soldier termites have three defensive tools to draw from, numbers in their ranks, a set of formidable mandibles to attack and hold with and some species have a chemical warfare ability. A pore on top of their head that exudes a sticky acidy substance. The most common foe of termites are predatory ant species, black ants, bull dog and sugar ants.

Soldier termites have a much easier life than workers, but there are far fewer of them in the colony. A young colony might have only one soldier per 200 workers, a mature colony usually has a ratio of one to every twenty workers. The life span of soldiers is usually 2 to 3 times longer than a worker five to eight years.

The soldier is the termite caste that the pest control technician uses to identify the species at hand. The size of the body, she shape of the head, flat or domed and the mandibles are some of the key indicators as to the species. Good pest control technicians can even tell a sub-species by what termite soldiers do and how they behave.

Identifying key points like where the damage timbers are in the home, what it looks like, termite faecal pellets, the colour of packing mud, termite behaviour and the physical look and behavioural habits of the termites themselves.

Having this ability to identify species and sub-species gives us clues as to how best to successfully combat this invasive and destructive pest.

Treatments-what do you do?

The treatments we use; the physical and chemical tools we have and the way we use them is tailored to each home differently and we need to have an insight into how the termites work too.

Homes are built in different ways, slab on ground-raft slab, waffle pod, in-filled slab are three common but very different concrete slab on ground home slabs. Then there are suspended floor homes, timber, concrete, brick base and steel stumps. Retaining walls in sub-floors is another consideration along with soil types, drainage issues, water tank overflows, hot water vents etc.

Do you use baiting systems to control termites?

Our local termite species are far too timid to play this game! Be warned baiting will never be an option or a solution to protect your home from our local termites.

How should we protect our home?

Nine times out of ten a liquid barrier treatment is the best option to protect buildings from termites. These barriers are long lasting and very effective. We have been installing liquid barrier treatments for over 15 years and have complete success.

You might also need to modify different aspects to parts of your home, this is usually improved drainage, fixing plumbing issues, slightly changing landscaping or removing watering systems..

Warranty?

Acacia will always stand by our work, we are a small business here in Geelong and our reputation is our guarantee.

End of this Blog-Thank you for reading. Cameron@acaciapestcontrol.com.au

Red Back Spiders of Geelong & Bellarine

21/08/2014 by Acacia Pest Control

What you may or may not know.. [or were too scared to ask ?]

The redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is a species of venomous spider indigenous to Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders.

Mainly nocturnal, the female redback lives in an untidy web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or inside human residences.

It preys on insects, spiders and small vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. It kills its prey by injecting a complex venom through its two fangs when it bites, before wrapping them in silk and sucking out the liquefied insides. Male spiders and spiderlings often live on the periphery of the female spiders’ web and steal leftovers. Males live for up to six or seven months, while females may live between two and three years.

The redback is one of the few spider species that can be seriously harmful to humans, and its preferred habitat has led it to being responsible for the large majority of serious spider bites in Australia and is particularly neurotoxic to vertebrates.

Food scraps and lighting attract insect prey to areas of human activity, which in turn bring the redbacks to the same “human living” environments.

Early local reaction to a Red Back bite

From a Barwon Health article written by Dr Julian Stella, “Spider bites are not an uncommon entity in Geelong…especially in the warmer months”. Red back spider bites are well represented in the region, and are easily identified by severe pain in the local bite area. This pain can often spread to significant proportion of the body and usually includes the lymphatic system.

Symptoms can also include hypertension [high blood pressure], nausea, abdominal pain and severe headache. “Prolonged events may require emergency treatment in the ED of specific antivenom”.

There is an established population of redback spiders in Osaka, Japan,^[36]^[57]^[58] thought to have arrived in cargoes of wood chips.^[59] In 2008, redback spiders were found in Fukuoka, Japan. Over 700 have been found near the container terminal in Hakata Bay, Fukuoka City.^[60] Dispersal mechanisms within Japan are unclear, but redbacks are thought to have spread by walking or by being carried on vehicles.^[58] In September 2012, a woman was hospitalised after being bitten in the Higashi Ward of Fukuoka City.^[61] Signs warning about redback spiders have been posted in parks around the city, as Japan previously had no dangerous spiders.

Able to tackle huge opponents

The redback spider is responsible for far more envenomations requiring antivenom than any other creature in Australia.

Estimates of the number of people thought to be bitten by redback spiders each year across Australia range up to 9,500 or 10,000.

Rare complications include seizure, coma, pulmonary edema, respiratory failure or localised skin infection. Children, the elderly, or those with serious medical conditions are at much higher risk of severe effects and death resulting from a bite.^[82] Infants have died within hours of a bite, but adult fatalities have taken up to 30 days.^[106]

Children and infants may be unable to report being bitten, making it difficult to associate their symptoms with a spider bite.^[103] Symptoms seen in infants include inconsolable crying, refusing to feed and a general erythematous rash.^[107]^[b] Muscle aches and pains, and neck spasm are often seen in children over four years of age.

Severe pain usually persists for over 24 hours after being bitten, and symptoms of envenomation may linger for weeks or even months. Here is the kicker, some patients who have had a Redback spider bite have taken months or years to recover from depression. Some have become suicidal and taken their own lives due to the effects of prolonged pain and onset depression.

Based on the toxicity of LD 50 of 0.27–0.91 mg/kg one average [0.08–0.10 mg of venom] can kill 200 to 300 mice.

Best solution- call Acacia Pest Control, we can put a big lid on the potential of any spiders surviving on your property for 6 to 8 months.

Acacia V Red Foxes

06/03/2014 by Acacia Pest Control

After release in 1833 and thriving very nicely for 181 years, foxes are winning the battle against humans.

Tasked with protecting the districts native fauna, domestic pets and farmers stock from these guys. We find red foxes to be an awfully good combatant.

Even with their position near the top of the local food chain, these animals have very few enemies apart from man, but are still very shy.

Mr Invisible outside your place, last night.

This shyness of not wanting to be seen is helping them no-end in the battle against humans efforts at control. Generally their invisibility has the effect of stopping control measures in their tracks. I for one get to see this in action-repeatedly. From weekend farmers to urbanites who are rarely out of an evening, few if any foxes are seen. And with this lack of paw-sight I hear- “no foxes here on my place” or “never seen a fox here ever”.

Well I can tell you now- foxes are abundant around the Geelong and Bellarine regions.

No one has ever done a formal survey in this geographic area for fox population density but several land care groups, government departments and local councils put resource into the problem.

So the fox problem is in hand right, effort is being made by some, all should be under control?

Well no – far from it ! Why?

Part of the issue is the “I have no foxes” attitude, and that attitude is everywhere. The fox’s strategy of being invisible is working very well here.

The other part of the issue is politics and bureaucracy, believe it or not a curtain of regulations covers what we can do to control foxes. Six pages of federal regulation covers the use of fox bait in Victoria. Then four more pages of regulation are added by the state government, then a couple more from local councils. Result ? Foxes are afforded protection from our best control tool [Fox baits] in many locations under these constraints.

Impending doom for poor old Penny and her mates.

Ok next tool – trapping- yea right ! To trap a fox in say an urban backyard, where five out of six chickens have been taken in the last week.

And poor old Barbara is now a nervous wreck, sitting on her perch too scared to look outside. Well we [me the professional] need to sit down and write to the state government environment minister and ask his permission to trap in your backyard!

I then need to write an application to the Victorian Police and attach to it a whole lot of explanation as to why I need to shoot a trapped fox in your back yard.

Why do I need to shoot Mr Fox?

Well the DEPI [another state government department] who are supposed to look after the environment, have kindly asked us to:

1. Not transport dead or alive any feral animals off any property. And

2. Please dispatch any trapped foxes humanely by using a .22 rifle.

I think when they came up with this little gem they forgot to consider the implications, mentioned above.

Ok-next tool?

That’s it, no more effective control measures are available.

The result is that foxes in the urban areas [the highest populations now are in the suburbs] are pretty much protected by our state government.

And foxes in the peri urban areas and beyond are basically invisible.

Unless you are a sheep farmer, or someone who is trying to find small Australian native animals in the wild.

Luckily we here at Acacia Pest Control are made of sterner stuff and are prepared to spend the hours required writing applications to various government departments. Well truth be known over the years we have templated the process and know how and who to send them to.

We can and do have success in removing foxes- despite all the protection they get from the various government departments.

So if you have an issue or just want to do the good neighbour thing and protect the environment.

Call Acacia Pest Control- Melbourne, Geelong, Western Districts and Surfcoast

On 1300 257 774 or

email: cameron@acaciapestcontrol.com.au

Mobile / SMS 0404897783

Thanks for reading.

Cameron Skedd

Geelong Region’s Mozzies…How to Fight Back

25/10/2013 by Acacia Pest Control

Beat the bites.

Hands up who likes Mosquitoes?

I don’t know of too many people who actually like mozzies- I can only think of one and I think he was more passionate about the frogs that eat them. Correct me if I am wrong Stuart [Parks Victoria]?

Most of us, who are less passionate about frogs, find it hard to see the up side of the little biters. Certainly having them join us for the periods we spend in the garden, at a BBQ or by the pool can be painful. But it is not something we no longer have to put up with. There is hope.

Strategy for combat

What can we do to win the battle and swing the war back in our favour?

Mozzies breed in water-

so clean up standing water in the yard
Put fish in ponds, etc -mozzies can tell if there are no fish present and will lay eggs
Screen water tank inlets and overflows

Proof the building-

Add or fix fly screens on windows and doors
Keep doors closed that don’t have screens

Treatments to fight back the invaders-

We apply residual barriers to reduce the massive invading hordes from thousands to dozens
We treat the whole yard, foliage, lawns, fences, external walls, pergola roofs, etc
Our specialized application equipment and the correct product choice give up to three months protection

Whilst we cannot stop the invading armies of flying mosquitoes from coming onto your property we can make a big difference to your outdoor enjoyment.

Any mosquitoes that breed on or hang around your property as residents will be knocked from pillar to post by our tactics. Numbers will drop by 90% in the first few hours of us visiting your property and any that drop in for a visit will not last long. The yards will become an invisible and inhospitable mine field to mozzies and flies.

Fighting battles in areas of activity : Ocean Grove; Barwon Heads; Jan Juc; Queenscliff; Point Lonsdale; Geelong; St Leonards; Connewarre; Torquay and Bellbrae.

Armed with this information you and I can make a massive difference to the quality of your own outdoor living experience.

Cameron

Acacia Pest Control, Grovedale 1300 257 774