First off, even the best, most current treatments only last so long. All chemical components immediately start to dissipate upon usage and when you add in the environmental elements (namely rain and heat), there efficacy can only be counted on for so long.

However, that is only half of the equation. Mother nature still has technology beat in many categories, on of which is pheromones. Pheromones are the naturally occurring chemicals and scents that most living things put out. They are critical in communal settings for a number of important functions, including mating, self-defense, and feeding. Ant pheromones (as well as those for many other common household pests such as bees and wasps) can last well over a year. Sometimes, in ideal conditions, they can exceed two years. As you can see, this beats out the effective time frame of available treatments.

New ants can pick up the scent trail of past ants

Sometimes, an ant problem never really gets solved. If an over the counter type of treatment is used, mostly just contact killing is occurring (despite what the sales information on the container says.) The problem just temporarily subsides. Other times, the root of the problem, the colony, is actually destroyed or killed out. In this case, the solution is off to a good start but not necessarily completely solved.

Even when the colony had been killed off, the pheromones of the deceased ants remain in the form of trails. These pheromone trails stick around as signposts to new ants strolling through the neighborhood. When they pick up on these scents, they are basically told, in simple terms, “hey, other ant’s have been here before, you should check it out!” And alas, if the stray forager likes what it finds, the start of a new colony is born. This phenomenon exhibits the importance of periodic, follow up treatments for a stretch of time. Subsequent and systematic follow up treatments will eventually form a barrier that new ants will not pass until the pheromones fully dissipate. While any ant can eventually crawl anywhere, everything you can do to make your house less attractive to new infestation will go along way towards better long-term pest management.

If you are ready to make your home less hospitable to ant and other pests, call us today!

Because of the pheromone trails that all ants leave, subsequent ants tend to stay on the same trail until they find what the original trail sought out – food or shelter.   Unfortunately, when the end of the trail is inside of your home, that can cause quite an annoyance for the homeowner.   The specific ants along this trail happen to be odorous house ants.

Just imagine when you see 5, 10, 25 or even 50 ants in your house, possibly trailing along the edge of a counter or baseboard.   That may seem like a lot but it is just the tip of the iceberg.   No wonder squashing (or is it squishing, oh well) a dozen or two seems to get you nowhere.

If you are ready to shut down the super highway of ants leading into your home, call us today and well put a prompt end to all the ant traffic you’re seeing!

This is a common question we receive.   Ultimately, if you take quick action and have a competent pest control company like All Pest take care of it for you, it likely won’t matter too much.   If we suspect that it has been a long-standing colony, either is capable of having done significant damage, although termites generally have the greatest destructive capabilities.

Once you delve into entomology, you could spend a lifetime learning the unique characteristics of each pest.   But for a quick and handy reference, nothing works better than a picture (it’s worth a thousand words and all that.)   Take a look below:

A sketch of a carpenter ant

A sketch of a termite

As you can see, the three primary differences are the antennae, mid-body and wings.   The termite antennae are straight instead of “elbowed” as with the carpenter ants.  In regards to the body, ants have the very narrow waist just below the legs versus the wider, straighter waist belonging to the termite.   Finally, termites possess two pairs of similar sized wings.   Carpenter ants, when viewing winged ones, have a smaller, back pair compared to the front pair of wings.   Although they are both small creatures, chances are you will be able to clearly notice one of these obvious differences.

In situations where the actual pests are not present but evidence of infestation is visible, look for differences if the look of the damage.

The primary reason the two respective infestations look different is that unlike termites, carpenter ants do not actually eat the wood.   They clear it out for tunneling.   Also, being the tidy pests they are, carpenter ants leave the debris, call “frass”, in piles outside of the infested wood.   This frass may also have soil and dead inspect parts included.   Termites, since they tend to eat wood from the inside out, can often offer less evidence of their presence. However, you may be able to spot a tube, an approximately ½” exterior tunnel of soil, wood and debris.   These tubes serve to protect the termites from predators when in exposed areas.

Regardless which pest you suspect you have or if you need us to help you determine which is pestering you, call All Pest today for a FREE inspection and estimate.

Portland’s carpenter ant season is just starting, and already calls are coming in fast and furious.

Carpenter ants mean business.   In just one year, a colony of carpenter ants could cause several thousand dollars of hidden, structural damage to your home.   That is really hard for most Portland homeowners to imagine since you usually never see more that a half dozen at a time.

The reason for that is because carpenter ants (camponotus) are nocturnal.   Go to the same location on your siding or foundation or wherever in the middle of the night and you will see quite a few more.   That being said, you still won’t see the full story because the ones you see will likely just be in transit.   They have a job and they are going about doing it.    If you could find and walk the entire trail (not likely since it is probably going through your wall) and end up at the nest, you would be appalled by the number of ants.

A Beautiful Carpenter Ant (well, as far as ants go!)

Always be on the lookout for signs of carpenter ants beyond just the ant.   They will leave pilings of a sawdust material after they have chewed through wood and this is a solid  clue to a nesting location.

And if you see a winged one, call All Pest Control ASAP.   Those foraging swarmers could just be scouting for a food source or a new sub-colony location, but they could also belong to an existing, well established colony in your home.   Colonies do not produce these until they are at least 3-6 years old, meaning if they did come from your house, they have been there for a long time and the damage could be significant.

Even your ears can help you detect carpenter ants.   A mature colony can create a gnawing or rustling sound coming from the walls.   Rest assured, one or two ants cannot make such noise by themselves.

No matter what the sign, the solution is the same.   Contact All Pest Control today for a free evaluation!

Photo credit to: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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Whether seeking warmth and shelter, attracted by bad sanitation or unknown garbage, the ready availability of good nesting material or whatever reason, we are constantly amazed by how clever and diligent mice and rats are in trying to gain access to areas they are not welcome.

Call us today – not only can we solve your rodent problem, we can help keep them from returning anytime soon!

Watch what National Geographic has to say about them.

Don’t put up with these uninvited guests and the diseases they carry any longer than you have to.   Start the process right now with the most thorough bed bug exterminations in Portland.

They go by many names but the result is always the same – they drive you crazy!   The odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile) is the most common ant problem in the Portland area during mid winter through early spring.

Many of us have grown up seeing them and calling them by various names – small ants, sugar ants, pavement ants, odorous ants, etc.   Interestingly, a name can often affect how we perceive a pest and the significance of the problem.   Some folks are lead to believe not much bad can come from something called a “small ant” or “sugar ant.”    However, odorous ant colonies, left untreated, can amass to a size of 50,000 to 100,000 ants.   That’s no small problem!

While not destructive like a carpenter ant, odorous ants have the ability to suddenly overrun any given room of your home.

Moist areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms are usually the first, but aggressive ants will soon be looking for other areas to move in to.The photo below shows what is common to see the first few days that an infestation becomes visible.   I say becomes visible because at this point, the ants have already been nearby for quite a while.

Odorous Ants on counter - just the beginning.

This is the stage where the homeowner might be surprised but not overwhelmed yet and might try to handle the problem with a paper towel, household cleaner or the nearest can of over the counter bug spray.

None of those options will solve the problem and one, spraying the wrong type of pesticide, can actually make the problem worse.

There is good news, however, for those in Portland with odorous ants.   If you see a small gathering of ants such as the one above, call a professional ASAP.   Prompt action will help fix your problem before the colony grows to scary proportions.

Are you ready to say goodbye to your ants?   Let All Pest Control help you today – get your FREE estimate.

Some homeowners will immediately see them inside of their homes.

Others will first see ant activity (whether Carpenter Ants or Odorous House Ants) outside, then see them start to show up indoors.   Let’s briefly address ant activity that is currently only showing up outdoors.

First off, please keep in mind that even though you only see them outdoors, that does not mean that they may not be indoors.   Most homes have plenty of areas that are out of sight where ants can be colonizing.   Examples of such areas can be wall voids, cabinetry voids, crawl spaces and attics.

Regardless, if you spot ants near your house, consider doing the following.   Walk the entire house perimeter and look for areas where shrubbery may be touching the siding.   As a general rule, a two foot boundary between plants and siding is best.   Also look for tree limbs that dangle near the roof or gutter line.   All of these contact points can very quickly become a super highway for ants to travel into your home in high numbers.

The simple mechanical chore of trimming back some greenery goes a long way as a preventative method to avoid interior ant infestations.    Happy trimming!

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Heidi_Ball]Heidi Ball

Nothing is much worse than seeing a cockroach scurry across the kitchen.They have been shown to transport a number of bacteria and viruses on their icky little bodies. They can cause some serious health problems and should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Termites and carpenter ants are a significant cause for worry. While they don’t carry the diseases that cockroaches do, they can destroy buildings and crops. Termites especially as they live in colonies from several hundred to several million in number.

In some places the battle of ticks and fleas is ongoing. Ticks can be found in tall grass and shrubs where they wait for an unsuspecting "host" to attach themselves to. They can transmit Lyme disease which indeed can be very serious. Fleas live off the blood of mammals and birds. They are great jumpers and also a great source of disease. They can transmit things as serious as the bubonic plague and also as awful as tapeworms.

Mites and bed bugs can bite and create painful skin irritation. Scratching an itchy bite from a mite can lead to secondary infection. Bed bugs feed on their host while they sleep. They use a sharp beak to pierce the skin and then feed on the blood. A full grown bed bug will feed for as long as 10 to 15 minutes. As horrible as it may sound, bed bugs are most frequently found in hotels or shelters. They are not a result of poor housekeeping or bad hygiene, they are just around.

Especially with those with allergic reactions to bees, having hornets’ nests or yellow jackets around their dwelling can be scary and dangerous. Hornets will sting repeatedly if their nests are disturbed.  Carpenter bees can also be a problem as they can drill into wood and nest in the hole.

Rats and mice can be a problem both indoors and out. Some rats, like the Norway rat, can weigh up to one pound and can be up to 18 inches long. They can cause extensive damage to buildings and homes as they can cause problems with the foundation and some of their nests can cause electrical systems to short circuit. They are large contaminators of food and can transmit deadly diseases. Mice can cause some of the same problems on a smaller scale, but carry the same disease risks.

If you are experiencing any sort of pest problem, dqpestcontrol.com ( http://www.dqpestcontrol.com) can help with   Nassau County Animal Control.  Heidi Ball is a freelance writer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heidi_Ball http://EzineArticles.com/?Pests-That-Need-Control&id=2075044

Another common pest in the Portland area that in worthy of quick action is the odorous house ant.   While not an overly destructive pest, they can get out of control very quickly.   They usually start becoming more prevalent in the Portland area during March and April. – Tom

Usually, it is just one or two that you spot the first time that you see ants in your home. “What is an ant or two?” you might say to yourself as you either squish it, grab it with tissue is preparation for flushing or personally escort it to the back door. You might not even see any more signs of them for days or weeks.   How soon the next sighting is depends a lot on what the Portland Oregon weather is currently like.

But then there is that terrible moment when you round a corner, focus on something that doesn’t look right, and then suddenly realize that there are a dozen or two or three ants crawling all over something not intended for them! A quick rush for a can of bug spray, window cleaner or anything handy that has a list of chemical names on it is almost always the next step.

Let me suggest something different at that point. Resist spraying anything in you household cupboard on them. I know that you want them either dead, gone or both as soon as possible but believe it or not, spaying them with that handy household chemical is counter-productive. The vast majority of the time, it actually serves to make the problem worse.

The reason for this is that when you see a few ants, you are almost always only view the tip of the iceberg.

Rarely is what you see all that you have. Consider the visible ants to be the welcoming committee, announcing their presence with authority that they have moved into the house. Killing a few does nothing to solve the real problem – the nest.

Even worse, however, is that most household chemicals will form a temporary barrier. While this might sound like a good idea, in effect what is has the potential for doing is stressing the ant colony, making them work harder and eventually show up elsewhere in the structure with even more vigor. Some species, such as odorous house ants, actually respond by budding, creating an offshoot colony with its own queen. If you have ever tried holding a beach ball under water, you will soon realize a similar effect with your ant. They will just shoot up more elsewhere with more force.

The best plan of action is to call a professional pest control company by the second time you see ants.

This first time could always just be some “crawl-ins” from outdoors but if you see them a second time, they are there to stay. Services usually are very reasonable and the sooner you call, the smaller and more affordable the eradication job is. Additionally, the problem is addressed immediately and you can be back to having an ant free house instead of fighting a losing battle for a month before call for help.

If you live in the Portland Metro area and have seen an ant or two, please give us a call and we will be glad to help.