Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Use soapy water in a spray bottle to clean counter tops and wipe up ant trails.
• Follow trails to find entry points. Temporarily close with petroleum jelly or duct tape. Use silicone caulk for a permanent seal.
• Use commercial baits containing boric acid, borax, or sulfuramid (follow all label instructions). Do not spray near baits because ants will be repelled.
  • Try different kinds of bait. Argentine ants change their food preferences frequently. If one bait is not working, try another.
  • Do not leave bait out after ant trails have disappeared.

Prevention

• Good sanitation is very important (See pages 6-9.)
• Destroy scouts whenever you see them.
• Empty garbage often and keep sweet, protein-rich, or greasy items in the refrigerator.
• Don’t leave pet food out all day or night. If this is not practical, place pet dishes in a low backing pan filled with soapy water.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Nests are difficult to find. It's better to hire a licensed pest control operator to find and destroy the nest. Less-toxic controls a professional may use include: treating wall voids with diatomaceous earth, silica aerogel, boric acid, or borate (these also work for prevention), vacuuming ants from the nest, treating nests directly with a small amount of pyrethroid insecticide, and/or using heat treatment.
• After a professional has completed the work, be sure the damaged wood is replaced with borate-treated wood.

Prevention

• Control moisture by repairing all water leaks inside and out. Make sure the house is adequately ventilated.
• Store firewood on a metal rack away from the house.
• Keep vegetation and tree branches pruned away from building.
• Have a professional treat vulnerable wood with borate.
• For more suggestions, see pages 6-9.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Shake, brush, and air infested materials. Thoroughly clean infested fabrics: dry-clean, submerge in hot (120°F) soapy water for 2 to 4 hours, microwave for 4 minutes on high (do not microwave any metal, e.g., buttons, zippers, etc.), or freeze in sealed plastic bags for 3 days at 0°F.
• Thoroughly vacuum infested areas. For wide-spread infestations, consider hiring a licensed pest control operator to apply heat treatments.

Prevention

• Regularly shake, brush, and air fabrics, rugs, and furniture. This is especially important for anything in storage.
• Store woolens and other materials only after they have been thoroughly cleaned. Store in tightly sealed containers or plastic bags.
• Animal, bird, and insect nests can harbor moths. Remove them from the house.
• Regularly vacuum cracks, crevices, closets, shelves, upholstery, and rugs.
• Caulk cracks where lint might accumulate. (Moths are attracted to lint.)
• Keep windows screened.
• Throw away badly infested materials in sealed plastic bags to prevent re-infestations.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• For minor infestations, locate hiding places by using sticky traps.
• Use commercial baits or baited traps containing abamectin, boric acid, fipronil, or sulfluramid (follow all label instructions). Do not place them in the open, but along edges (where the counter meets the wall, the wall meets the floor, etc.).
• Vacuum cracks and crevices and around motors of appliances to remove roaches, eggs, and food particles. Apply a light dusting of boric acid powder (roaches will avoid clumps) under refrigerators and stoves, and in cracks and crevices. When using boric acid, be sure to read the entire label carefully and follow all directions.
• For severe infestations, hire a licensed pest control operator.

Prevention

• Good sanitation is extremely important. (See pages 6-9.)
• Seal cracks, crevices, and openings - especially around pipes.
• In heavy infestations, remove all garbage from the house each evening.
• Remove pet food at night.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• For your pet, use pills containing lufenuron or products containing fipronil or imidacloprid that are applied to the skin in one small spot. Ask your vet or pet store. These products are effective and have a low acute toxicity for mammals. Use these products only during flea season to prevent fleas from becoming resistant to the chemicals.
• Comb pets with a flea comb. Dispose of fleas in sopy water.
• Vacuum carpets, furniture, and floors. frequently to pickup eggs and pupae (larvae coil themselves around carpet fibers and are difficult to remove).
• Use commercial flea traps made of a light bulb and sticky paper.
• Spot-treat problem areas with an insect growth regulator such as methoprene to arrest flea development.
• If necessary, hire a licensed pest control operator to treat your carpet.

Prevention

• Restrict pets to specified areas and vacuum those areas frequently.
• Flea comb pets throughout the year.
• For more suggestions, see pages 6 and 7.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Find and remove material in which flies are breeding (see above).
• Hang sticky fly paper from the ceiling; replace when covered with flies or when dried out.
• Use a fly swatter.
• Vacuum up slower moving flies.
• Use commercial fly traps. Bait with decaying meat, fish, or eggs.

Prevention

• Good sanitation is very important. (See pages 6-9.)
• Promptly remove animal droppings. Seal in a plastic bag before disposal.
• Install screens on windows and doors.
• Keep garbage cans and dumpsters tightly covered and clean. Odors can attract flies from a great distance.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Use sticky pheromone (sex lure) traps to detect and help control adult moths.
• Dispose of infected food products in sealed plastic bags.
• Vacuum and clean storage areas.
• If you suspect contamination, but find no evidence, freeze grain products for 2 to 3 days. Dried fruit can be submerged in boiling water for 5 seconds.

Prevention

• Do not buy products in broken or damaged packaging.
• Inspect newly opened food packages for webbing or cocoons. Return infested packages to store.
• Place newly purchased bulk items in the freezer for 2 to 3 days before storing in refrigerator or cupboards.
• Store all food (including pet food and bird seed) in tightly sealed containers.
• Keep bulk foods in the refrigerator. Buy only as much as you can use in 1 or 2 months and wash containers before refilling.
• Keep storage areas dry and free from spilled flour, grain, and other food.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Find and drain standing water. Sources include: buckets, barrels, cans, tires, gutters, clogged roof gutters, tree holes, etc. Pour water on the ground.
• Electric bug zappers are not effective for mosquito control and kill large numbers of beneficial insects.

Prevention

• Eliminate standing water. This is the single most important tactic for preventing mosquitoes.
• Clean bird baths with a wire brush and change water at least once a week.
• Keep swimming pools and hot tubs chlorinated and covered when not used.
• Hire a tree care professional fix tree holes that accumulate water or drain yourself and fill with sand.
• Store tires inside garages or sheds or dispose of them properly. Tires are hard to empty of water and can contain millions of mosquitoes.
• Keep basements dry.
• Install screens on windows and doors.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• To remove a spider from your home without killing it, cover it with a glass and gently slide an index card under the glass, then release the spider outside.
• Vacuum spiders and their webs or use a broom to remove webs.
• If possible, eliminate the spiders' food supply. If they are feeding on fruit flies, store ripening fruit in paper bags folded over twice and sealed with a large clip. If spiders are building webs around a porch light, use a yellow bulb to reduce e the number of insects attracted to the light.
• Teach children and adults to respect spiders. Do not let them tease spiders or poke their fingers into dark crevices, especially in the basement or woodpiles.

Prevention

• Vacuum or sweep regularly.
• Install tight fitting screens on windows.
• Reduce clutter.
• Move firewood and debris away from the foundation.
• Shrubs, vines and tree limbs should be clipped back from side of building.

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

Prevention

• Eliminate water sources that can cause wood decay such as soil contact, water leaks, clogged or damaged roof drains, etc. (See pages 8 and 9.)
• Remove tree stumps, buried wood, and all debris (including paper and boxes) from under and around the building (See pages 8 and 9.)
• Hire a licensed pest control operator to:
  • Inspect building regularly.
  • Treat vulnerable wood with borate or replace damaged wood with borate- treated wood.
  • Use diatomaceous earth, silica aerogel, or silica aerogel combined with pyrethrin in wall voids, crawl spaces, or attics.
  • Install sand barriers (sand particle size, shape, and installation are critical to this method).

Detection

Less Toxic Controls

• Use commercial traps. Bait house-shaped traps with liverwurst. Bait cone- type traps with sweet liquids. Before emptying, seal traps in plastic bags and freeze overnight or set in the sun for several hours.
• Hire a licensed pest control operator to treat nests that directly threaten humans. They should use a very small amount of a pyrethrin insecticide, remove nests from walls or eaves, and seal access holes in walls.

Prevention

• Keep garbage cans sealed.
• Remove fallen fruit.
• Install screens on windows and doors.
• Never swat at a wasp. Move slowly to gently brush it away.