How Treat Bed Bugs; What do you Think ?

Bed Bug Heat Treatment/ Thermal Remediation kills all Stages of Bed Bugs, Eggs, Juvenile and Adult Bed Bugs.
McDonald Pest Control Will Provide a FREE BED BUG Heat Treatment [ Tampa Bay Area } in The Month of May 2012. Please Write a Letter to >   info@mcdonaldpestcontrol.com. Include; Name, address, Telephone # and e-mail. Tell Us why you think McDonald Pest Control Should provide a Free Bed Bug Heat Treatment. All Names and e-mail will Remain Confidential.   The Successful E-mail Will Be Contacted  on the 25th of May.

All Service Inspections are Confidential and  Service Subject to Protocol Provided By McDonald Pest Control Heat Treatment  Specialists.  There Are No Exceptions to Treatment Protocol.

How to Kill Bed Bugs in Clearwater and Tampa, Heat Remediation In St Petersburg and Largo.  Bed Bug Eradication in Dunedin ,Palm Harbor and Trinity. Thermal

Pest control specialists say vinegar is a common household item and there is likely to be a bottle lying around your home somewhere, even if you didn’t know it was there. Most people buy vinegar for one specific purpose but don’t need a whole lot of it, thus creating a huge amount of leftover vinegar with no purpose. So, what can you do with all that leftover vinegar? Turns out, quite a bit according to Tampa pest control experts!

Here are some great ways Tampa pest control experts say you can utilize your extra vinegar and get some cleaning done at the same time!

Got the washing machine blues? Add two cups of white vinegar to a normal cycle set to warm. In order to get the full cleaning effect, make sure you do not have clothes in the washer. Pest control agents say this will get rid of any stale water smells and help eliminate the crud that has built up throughout many washes.

Looking for an all-natural way to clean your rusty, lime-crusted tea pots or stained coffee pots? Pull out that bottle of vinegar and pour a half a cup into the tea kettle or coffee pot along with a healthy dose of hot water. Pest control specialists say you should allow the mixture to do its magic for a half day then brush out any deposits that have come loose and rinse thoroughly with water.

If it’s good enough for your coffee pot, then surely vinegar is good enough to eliminate those tough stains in your bathtub, washbasin or sink. Add some cooking salt to the mixture and scrub onto the offending surface and watch stains disappear!

Next time you are looking for a more au natural method to do some basic house cleaning, Tampa pest control technicians recommend just putting your trust in the tried and true method of vinegar!

Slugs are a formidable foe in the garden. Able to re-grow their head, they are hermaphroditic, and nocturnal, munching on seedlings, young plants, Hostas and Delphiniums while we sleep. Slug eggs can lay dormant in moist soil for many years and adults can follow slime trails to the same feeding grounds night after night. So, control of slugs is an on-going battle in the garden but one that is very winnable with less toxic methods.

The St. Petersburg pest control industry is fueled by the needs and desires of its customers. And as topics such as recycling, global warming and conservation become more prevalent, many St. Petersburg pest control companies are hearing from clients who are looking for the same quality of services without creating such a heavy carbon footprint.

Pest control companies are joining the band wagon and creating more environmentally friendly services. Even those clients who aren’t living “green” may find these services more preferable when they know their family or pets won’t be in danger when it comes to coming into contact with toxic chemicals.

Pest control treatments from mole baiting to bed bugs all have green remedies. For example, many St. Petersburg pest control companies now offer heat treatment to eliminate bed bugs. Instead of using a spray, heat is introduced into the environment to kill bed bugs no matter where they are hiding and in every stage of development. All without the use of chemicals.

Even if your St. Petersburg pest control company doesn’t offer all green services, they still may be able to offer natural remedies that aren’t official, but may work. But unfortunately, there are some St. Petersburg pest control issues that must be corrected with the use of chemicals. However, if you stress the importance of using non-toxic remedies, your St. Petersburg pest control agent may be able to help you find an alternative.

If you have any St. Petersburg pest issues and are looking for a plan of attack that won’t threaten the health of your family or pets, call your local St. Petersburg pest control company and ask for a consultation. Take this opportunity to discuss your concerns and find out if they offer “green” solutions to any of your St. Petersburg pest problems.

Scale insects can infest and damage many of the plants we grow in our landscapes and indoors. They feed on the sap of plants, and a large enough population can weaken a plant, damage it or even kill it.

These two characteristics make scale look like anything but a bug, and many gardeners don’t recognize that there is a problem until a plant is heavily infested and damage has occurred. Many people misdiagnose scales that cover themselves with white fuzzy material as a fungus attack.

Types of scale

There are many types of scale, but here are a few of the most common ones.

• Tea scale insects appear as a slightly fuzzy white and brown coating on the underside of the leaves. They are the primary insect pest of camellias and can also infest some hollies (notably Burford hollies).
• Florida wax scale looks like waxy, white domes about the size of a nail head and occurs on a wide variety of plants.
• Euonymus scale, on the other hand, only attacks species of euonymus and resembles tea scale.
• False oleander scale, which looks like small white bumps on the leaves, and magnolia scale, which appears on the branches as yellow waxy blobs about one-quarter to one-half inch across, both attack magnolias.
• Soft brown scale occurs on ficus or weeping figs and scheffleras and other plants indoors.
• There is also a scale that commonly attacks ferns, appropriately called fern scale, which appears as white dashes on the fronds. There are many other types of scale besides these.

What to look for

As scale insects feed on the sap of a plant, they excrete tiny droplets of a sugary liquid called honeydew. The droplets of honeydew fall and accumulate on foliage below, which can cause that foliage to look shiny and feel sticky. (It can also make objects under the infested plant shiny and sticky).

This rich food source does not go unnoticed. Ants, wasps and other insects may be attracted to the sweet honeydew.

Even more common is the growth of fungal organisms that produce a black coating on the leaves called sooty mold. These fungi feed on the honeydew and do not attack or directly damage the plant. Sooty mold, however, has an unattractive appearance and is often the gardener’s first noticeable sign of trouble.

Do be aware that other sucking insects, such as whitefly and aphids, also produce honeydew that can lead to sooty mold. And, sooty mold does not occur with all types of scale: Neither tea scale nor fern scale cause sooty mold.

Scales spread from plant to plant as newly hatched crawlers, which are very tiny, have legs and can move around. Crawlers are fairly easily controlled with commonly available contact insecticides. Unfortunately, scale crawlers are hard to detect. Most gardeners never notice them and miss the opportunity for control.

Many scales produce crawlers in the spring. Once the crawlers have settled down to feed, they create their protective covering and contact insecticides are largely ineffective.

Controlling scale

Scales are generally not one of those insect pests that will just go away eventually if you leave them alone. Control is almost always necessary.

The least-toxic, effective insecticides to control scale are oil sprays. These insecticides contain oil in a form that will mix with water. When mixed and sprayed onto an infested plant, the oil coats the scale insects and clogs their breathing pores. The insects are suffocated rather than being killed by a toxic material.

Brand names include heavier oils like Volck Oil Spray and light oils like Year Round Spray Oil, All Seasons Oil Spray and others. I like the light horticultural oils, as they can be used all summer.

For proper control, it is critical to apply the oil spray over every surface of the plant. If the insects are on the underside of the leaves and the oil is only applied to the upper surface, it will have no effect on them. Because scales are difficult to eradicate, a second, and even a third, application should be made following label directions.

Oils are also effective against aphids, whiteflies, spider mites and the crawler stage of scales. In addition to their low toxicity, oil sprays do not leave behind a residue that may be harmful to beneficial insects.

An added benefit of oil sprays is that they also help clean the unsightly sooty mold from the plant.

Once a heavy layer of sooty mold forms, it will not quickly disappear, even once the scale has been controlled. This is a good reason not to wait until there is a lot of sooty mold before you control the scale. But as the food supply is exhausted — that is, once the scale insects are dead, no more honeydew is excreted — the sooty mold will eventually weather off. Oil sprays can help speed the process along.

Systemic insecticides are another option for controlling scale.

These insecticides are sprayed onto the plant or applied to its roots. The plant absorbs the insecticide into its tissue, and it gets into the plant’s circulatory system and, eventually, into the sap. When the scale insects feed on the sap, they ingest the toxic insecticide and are killed.

Acephate (various brands) and imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control and other brands) are systemic insecticides that are effective against scale. Systemic insecticides provide an option for control when temperatures limit the use of an oil spray, or, in the case of soil-applied products, when spraying the plant is not practical (such as treating a large tree).

Always read and follow label directions carefully when using any pesticide.

Now is a good time to check your plants carefully for signs of scale. With luck, you won’t find any, but if you do, now you know what steps to take to deal with the situation.

THE BED BUG EVOLUTION: FROM CAVES TO COUCHES
The history of the bed bug offers clues to why bed bugs bite people, but don’t typically cause us severe health problems.
Bedbugs are thought to have evolved from insects that dwelled in caves, feeding on bats and swallows. When humans in certain parts of the world, especially in colder climates, moved off of the plains and into the same caves, bed bugs seemed to change preferred hosts and began feeding on humans as well. Early cave drawings seem to illustrate man’s interaction with the nocturnal pest, depicting people being awoken by tiny, crawling creatures.
Humans are nearly ideal prey for bed bugs. We have less hair than other mammals, which bed bugs prefer. Direct access to skin makes their feeding much easier. Based on historical research, scientists believe the parasite thrives at a temperature between 60 and 70 degrees, so rather than reside on its host, it feeds and returns to the cool, dark hiding places that it favors. More recent research at Virginia Tech indicates that consistently cooler temperatures may expand the lifespan of bed bugs. Human dwellings give bed bugs a perfect combination of a reliable food source and convenient, nearby harborage in cooler spots in mattresses, box springs, behind wooden headboards, in couch cushions and other furniture. Though not rapid breeders compared to many other pests, a bed bug population left untreated can become a critical problem in a matter of months.
Today, beg bugs are one of the few parasites that feed almost exclusively on human blood. This exclusive relationship may be one reason they don’t seem to cause disease in human hosts. They may bite the hand that feeds them, but they seem to do so without jeopardizing their food source.Bed Bugs invade Tampa, St.petersburg and Clearwater. Spring Break introduces more Bed Bugs to Residents of Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough County residents. FAmily Relatives and Out of Town Visitors Bring bed Bugs Home .

When you think of St. Petersburg pest control, you may not think of head lice, but they are certainly a St. Petersburg pest and they definitely need controlled if they find their way into your home. Lice are usually found on and in the hair and skin of a human. They bite the skin to drink blood and cause allergic reactions, including mild to severe itching.

These insects are the size of a sesame seed and lay their eggs in the hair of a human. Even though they are in your hair, you may not be aware of it immediately because it may take weeks for the itchy feeling to develop.

Bites are obvious if you’re looking closely enough and can be revealed by moving hair aside. Pest control specialists recommend using a comb to check through the hair of someone who is potentially infested, making sure to check around the nape of the neck and behind the ears.

Bites from lice are generally harmless, with the exception of causing an itching sensation. However, the incessant scratching can cause an infection and introduce germs into the small wound.

Lice are usually transferred by close contact with someone who already is infected. Despite the common association with sharing hats and pillows as a way louse is transferred, this is rarely true. In most cases, lice is transferred through head-to-head contact.

If you or your child should be unlucky enough to incur lice, your doctor or pharmacist can recommend a medicated shampoo to de-louse. Oftentimes the treatment will have to be re-applied because eggs are missed during the first treatment.

BED BUGS are not a Vector of any Known Human Diseases

The number of bed bug infestations has skyrocketed in recent years. Scientists speculate that the discontinuation of harmful pesticides, such as DDT, has allowed the pests to thrive and that increased world travel has spread them.

“To determine the presence of bed bugs, EMSL Analytical conducts DNA testing, which gives the most accurate and inexpensive results,” states Charles Li, Ph.D., Director of PCR and DNA Analysis at EMSL. “Furthermore, we can analyze the samples and deliver the results within the same day, so people can begin fighting them as soon as possible.”

Cities with the Highest Number of Requested Bed Bug Treatments

1.Cincinnati
2. Chicago
3. Detroit (+1)
4. Denver (+2)
5. Los Angeles (+20)
6. Columbus, Ohio (-3)
7. Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (+43)
8. Washington, D.C. (-3)
9. New York (-2)
10. Richmond/Petersburg, Va. (+6)
11. Houston (-1)
12. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Calif. (+35)
13. Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio (+1)
14. Boston (+4)
15. Dayton, Ohio (-7)
16. Las Vegas (-1)
17. Honolulu (+55)
18. Baltimore (-6)
19. Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, N.C. (+9)
20. Philadelphia (-9)
21. Atlanta (+24)
22. Lexington, Ky. (-13)
23. Syracuse, N.Y. (+25)
24. Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (+27)
25. Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colo. (+19)
26. San Diego (+13)
27. Seattle/Tacoma, Wash. (-3)
28. Omaha, Neb. (-11)
29. Buffalo, N.Y. (-16)
30. Pittsburgh (-3)
31. Indianapolis (-12)
32. Milwaukee (+6)
33. Charlotte, N.C. (+13)
34. Phoenix (+19)
35. Louisville, Ky. (-3)
36. Hartford/New Haven, Conn. (-16)
37. Grand Junction/Montrose, Colo. (+30)
38. Knoxville, Tenn. (+4)
39. Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Mich. (-17)
40. Nashville, Tenn. (+15)
41. Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, Calif. (+24)
42. Des Moines/Ames, Iowa (-13)
43. Salisbury, Md. (+46)
44. Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (-23)
45. Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa (-22)
46. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. (-20)
47. Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney, Neb. (-17)
48. Salt Lake City (-8)
49. Charleston/Huntington, W.Va. (-13)
50. West Palm Beach/Ft. Pierce, Fla. (+6)

McDonald Pest Control ; Heat Treatment, Thermal Remediation,                            Thermal Purification, Heat Sanitation, Bed Bug Inspection, Bed Bug Treatments, No      Pest Control Necessary,Reduce your Insecticide Exposure all Green Heat Treatment, one Day Treatment, Minimal Customer Preparation,   Specific DNA testing Available.     Save The Mattress and Box Springs, Cover and Preserve with Bed Bug Hypo allergenic Cover Box Spring and Mattress Encasement,  Save your  Furniture Couch ,chairs, Love Seat,Call 727 734-0963,,,727-458-2586,,  727-467-0370,, 866-455-2687 in tampa ,Hyde park, St.pete beach or Palm Harbor.

For more information on EMSL’s testing services, please contact EMSL at (800) 220-3675,

1. Do not throw away furniture. Moving mattresses, box springs or furniture disrupts bed bugs, causing them to scurry away and spread throughout the room. With each movement of the furniture, there is risk that you are depositing eggs and live bed bugs in different places throughout your home or place of, work. Moving furniture is one of the most common ways to intensify your infestation.

2. Do not assume that bed bugs only live in your bed. Bed bugs prefer to live near their host and are thus attracted to any place people spend significant amounts of time. While they are generally found in the bedroom, bed bugs have been known to nest in books, in couches and armchairs, and even behind light sockets. When agitated, bed bugs can travel up to 20 feet from their nest to the host in order to feed.

You may well have heard this idea being thrown around all over the place: apparently we unwittingly swallow a steady diet of spiders in our sleep. As our mouths loll open, passing arachnids find themselves strangely compelled to crawl in, where we cheerfully gulp them down without knowing. Makes you shudder doesn’t it? Well before you start wearing a surgical mask to bed, you’ll be pleased to hear that this is just an urban legend.

Over the past few years, the idea has been trotted out all over the internet and beyond. Some sources say the average is seven in an entire lifetime, while others insist it’s eight in a single year. Even the lowest estimates are significantly higher than the true figure – zero.

Although it apparently stretches back further, most of this urban legend’s spread is a product of the internet age. A very deliberate product, as it happens – it was put online specifically to show how quickly false information could spread on the internet. Way back in 1993, when the web was young, a PC Professional columnist named Lisa Holst wrote an article about how many false facts where circulating on the internet. To prove how readily they were believed and passed on, she deliberately put out a load of made-up trivia and watched it spread. One of these was the spider myth, taken from an old 1950s book of bug-based folklore. Appropriately, the spiders thrived on the web, and she found it took off much faster than even she had expected. It became one of the most widely-quoted urban legends on the whole internet, and spread offline to appear in books of trivia and even national newspapers.