Pests of Summer

Published 11:34 pm Wednesday, May 17, 2006

With summer now upon us, insects have once again claimed local yards as their own. For the most part, these insects are harmless, even beneficial. But some can make real nuisances of themselves.

“We live in the insects’ world. Every single back yard in Georgia can have as many as 10,000 insects in it. We don’t even see most of them. Only 3 percent are harmful. The rest are beneficial,” said Louis Dykes, Murray County extension agent.

Ants

“The largest problem, the thing we get the most calls about, is ants,” said Jeff Puckett, general manager of Dalton’s Integrated Pest Defense.

Argentine ants, carpenter ants and other species can invade homes.

Michael Moreland, president of Dalton’s Executive Pest Services, says a professional exterminator can apply a bait-typed poison at the point of infestation and outside the home if ants are a problem.

“They’ll take it back to the colony and feed the other ants and the queen,” he said.

Experts say there are several ways to reduce the odds of ants infesting your house. Obviously, don’t leave food out. And seal any cracks around doors and windows.

Experts say fire ants generally aren’t a household pest, but their stings can make garden work unpleasant.

Many people deal with fire ants by pouring gasoline on their hills. Some even set them on fire.

But Dykes says that’s dangerous and largely ineffective.

“The queen can be two or three feet underground and probably isn’t going to be affected. The other ants will just move her and start over again somewhere else,” he said.

“In order to destroy fire ants, you have to destroy the queen,” he added.

Dykes says the best way to deal with fire ants is with a bait-type poison. There are numerous types available. Dykes says the best time to put bait out is the late afternoon, when the ants are foraging.

“You can put as much bait out as you want in an area with fire ants. Within a two-hour period, they’ll take it all back to the hill and the queen,” he said.

About two weeks later, he says, you should come back with a mound treatment pesticide to kill the rest of the hill.

“At that point they are so weak they can’t run off and start a new hill like they would if you just stuck a stick down the hill and poured insecticide down it,” he said.

Surprisingly, Dykes says one simple thing you can do to keep fire ants out of your yard is to mow it once a week.

“Fire ants do not like to be disturbed constantly, and if you are mowing on a consistent basis, they’ll move,” he said.

Mosquitoes

Keeping the grass cut can also help battle mosquitoes.

Dykes says the biggest thing to remember about mosquitoes is that they need water to lay their eggs in. Remove standing water and you eliminate mosquitoes. Dykes also recommends:

• Removing cans, buckets, children’s toys and even bottle caps from your yard since they can hold water.

• Change water in bird baths and wading pools once a week.

• Clean gutters and drains.

• Drain or fill pools, puddles and ditches around the home.

If you are bothered by mosquitoes, Dykes says an insect repellent containing DEET can help keep them away.

Ticks

DEET can also help repel ticks, another summertime nuisance.

Dykes says ticks, like mosquitoes, are attracted to body heat, and one can latch on just about anytime you are walking in the woods or in grass.

“You need to check yourself when you come in, and have someone else check your back and your hair and places you can’t see,” he said.

Some ticks can carry serious diseases. Dykes recommends that if one latches on, have a doctor remove it and save it for identification should you start showing any disease symptoms.

Wasps and Yellow Jackets

Dykes says these insects generally should just be ignored unless they are a real problem.

“If the nest is out in the woods, just leave it alone. If it’s on your house, that’s the time to treat them.”

Dykes says the only way to treat them is to destroy the nest, and the best time to do that is at night.

“They need light to fly,” he said.

Dykes says there are several wasp and hornet sprays that propel a stream up to 10 or 15 feet. Just saturate the nest with one of those, but only in the dark.

“If there’s light, they’re going to fly right at you,” he said.

Many people are also dealing with carpenter bees now. They bore holes into wood and lay their eggs.

Unfortunately, Dykes says there isn’t a whole lot that can be done about them.

If they’ve already laid their eggs, you can treat the tunnel with insecticide and close it up with wood putty.

Dykes says some local exterminators have also found that treating raw wood with commercial water seal may keep carpenter bees away.

Termites

Termites are actually a year-long problem. But people tend to notice them most in the spring. That’s the mating season for termites, and they swarm.

“That’s probably what we’ve been getting the most calls about lately,” said Moreland.

Exterminators have three basic methods for dealing with termites: liquid repellents, baits or a combination of the two.