Don’t Let Pests Spoil Your Holiday Baking

One of the best things about the holiday season is all the home-baked cookies, pastries, cakes and other assorted treats that are served in a seemingly never-ending supply. There always seems to be room for just one more chocolate chip or gingerbread cookie!

Thanksgiving typically kicks off the holiday baking season and cookie and cake aficionados should keep one eye on the oven timer and another making sure unwanted pests don’t play scrooge when it comes to their baking efforts.

The pests that can threaten your holiday baking include various species of beetles and moths that invade and spoil the grain products in your pantry when they leave behind fecal pellets, cast skins and egg shells.
Indian meal moths are the most commonly encountered stored product pest in homes. Adult Indian meal moths are reddish to yellowish brown in color with reddish-brown wings that have a copper sheen to them. They are approximately ½ inch in length with a ½ inch wing span.

Indian meal moths are attracted to light and are often spotted flying in a fluttering pattern indoors. They will feed on whole grains, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, crackers, and dry dog food and bird seed.

Other important stored product pests include the merchant grain beetle and red flour beetle both of which enjoy feasting on flour, baking mixes, spices and nuts – all staples of holiday cooking, and the confused flour beetle likes spices.

When these nuisance pests gain access to your pantry they not only leave a bad odor and taste behind but they also render the baking and cooking food stuffs useless which can put a real damper on your holiday food plans.

Griffin Pest Solutions recommends aspiring pastry chefs follow these tips to prevent pantry pests from ruining the ingredients for their holiday pies, cookies and cakes:

  • Store your sugar, flour, spices, chocolate, coconut and other baking staples in tight-fitting plastic containers.
  • Check for signs of pest infestation such as torn/opened bags or a bad odor before you leave the grocery store.
  • When unloading your purchases make sure pests did not hitch a ride home in your shopping bag or container of cake or brownie mix.
  • Clean up food spills on kitchen shelves and counters immediately.
  • Rotate the baking supplies in your pantry and discard of any old or expired items.

If you have a problem with or have questions about pests in your home, call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/

Fall’s Bounty Includes Occasional Pests

Fall’s turning leaves and cooler temperatures make you think of football, hayrides and Halloween but it also marks a rise in sightings of stink bugs and other occasional pests around homes.

Stink bugs, spiders and ants seek to enter homes at the onset of cooler weather looking for overwintering spots. Griffin Pest Solutions encourages Michigan homeowners to take the necessary steps now to deny stink bugs and other fall pests access before they invade in droves.

Stink bugs were truly an occasional pest a few years back but they have quickly spread to more than 40 states, including Michigan. While mainly a significant threat to agricultural crops, stink bugs can be a major nuisance for homeowners.

What gives them their unique name? Stink bugs release a chemical alerting their fellow pests to an area they’ve settled in and they secrete a bad-smelling, bad-tasting fluid when disturbed or when crushed. Stink bugs will gather near windows, lights, TVs or computer monitors that throw off light and warmth.

Web-spinning spiders can be found in many locations in and around a home. And while spiders are quite beneficial to our eco-system – they eat unwanted insect pests – they are aesthetically unappealing and creep people out.

Spider webs – which are often regarded as one of the strongest natural fabrics and can be built and rebuilt overnight – are half as strong as a steel thread of the same thickness and more elastic. Spider webs are found in garages, carports, eaves, attics, sheds, around windows and other places around your home.

Griffin Pest Solutions offers the following tips to keep stink bugs, spiders and other fall pests from gaining access to your home:

  • Suck and Sweep Pests Away – Regular vacuuming or sweeping of windows, corners of rooms, storage areas, basements, and other seldom used areas to remove spiders and their webs. A spider’s soft body does not survive this process. When vacuuming for stink bugs indoors, empty the contents in to a plastic bag and dispose of them immediately.
  • Seal Cracks and Crevices. Seal cracks around windows, doors, electrical outlets, ceiling fans and light switches. Pay close attention to areas including around siding and utility pipes, underneath the wood fascia or other openings.
  • Inspect Packages and Boxes. Inspect items such as boxes of decorations and grocery bags before bringing them indoors. Plants and firewood are also as modes of transportation for spiders and other pests – store firewood off the ground and away from the house.
  • Maintain Your Landscape. Outdoors, you can eliminate pest hiding places and spider web-building areas by keeping your yard free of trash, leaf litter and overgrown vegetation. Make sure to trim shrubs and plants near the house and other structures to discourage pests from establishing a foothold and gaining easy access.
  • Eliminate Clutter. Spiders seek out secluded, undisturbed areas where they can build a web to catch their next meal. Attics, crawl space and storage sheds are prime locations. Keep these areas clean and clutter-free and seal boxes with tape to prevent spiders from scampering inside.

If you have a problem with or have questions about occasional pests call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/

The Signs of A Mouse in the House

rodents

With the fall season nearly upon us (fall officially arrives on September 22), rodents, particularly mice, become more active in seeking new sources of food, water and shelter in and around your home. Why is there a rodent “surge” this time of year?

Michigan’s dry, hot summer depleted many naturally occurring food and water sources and this causes rodents to explore their surroundings more aggressively in search of these necessities. And like humans, rodents also look for relief from the elements (i.e. heat) and associate cooler locations with water sources.

The house mouse is a curious creature and will readily explore your home using wall voids, utility pipes and wires, and heating and cooling ductwork to move around in search of their next meal. As a result, wall and cabinet voids near kitchen appliances (i.e. refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, etc.) and pantries are common nesting sites for mice.

And mice are patient invaders that will wait for just the right opportunity – a door left propped open, being a stowaway in a box of off-season clothes brought in from a storage area, an open bag of pet food or a dime-sized opening in the foundation or door frame – to enter your home.

How do you know if you have a mouse problem? Some common signs of a possible rodent infestation include the following:

  • Rodent droppings (usually black in color and ¼ to ½ inch long) and urine (best detected using a black light)
  • Chewed electrical, computer or cable wiring (a major cause of electrical fires)
  • Unexplained chewing or gnaw marks on carpet, upholstery, drapes, furniture and baseboards
  • Chewed on food product packaging in your pantry

In addition to the kitchen, what areas of your home are most vulnerable to attracting an unwanted rodent infestation? Griffin Pest Solutions identified the following “rodent hot spots” in homes:

  • Attached garages and storage areas above these locations where storage boxes, pet food and other items are found
  • Bathroom cabinet voids
  • Utility rooms and areas beneath, and within base voids of furnaces, washers and clothes dryers
  • In wall, ceiling and floor voids
  • In the insulation of attics and in the contents of the attic (i.e. storage boxes)
  • In basements and crawlspaces near utility openings
  • Firewood stacked next to the house and near a door

If you have a problem with or have questions about stinging insects call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/

Protecting Your Pet From Fleas and Ticks

fleas

With summer in full swing, everyone wants to spend as much time outdoors as they can and that includes family pets. However, there are threats to pets lurking in the great outdoors that Michigan homeowners need to be aware of.

Like people, pets are also at risk for the serious health complications that can arise from tick and flea bites, and Griffin Pest Solutions reminds pet owners to take the necessary precautions to protect Fido and Tinkerbell this summer.

Fleas are a common pet pest that can cause serious health complications. The itchy red bumps left by fleas can lead to excessive scratching, anemia, dermatitis and tapeworms. Fleas can be found indoors and outdoors and frequent areas where pets and other animals frequent in search of their next meal. Like most insect pests they require moisture to survive and prefer humid climates outdoors.

Once inside a home, fleas can become a problem and huge nuisance since they easily reproduce in bedding, carpets or furniture. And even though fleas are wingless they are prodigious jumpers and have been known to jump up to 6 inches. Fleas will jump on people’s shoes and clothing looking for a new food source if their preferred feeding source can’t be easily located.

Ticks are closely related to insects and spiders, and there are over 20 known tick species in Michigan (the American Dog Tick is the most commonly encountered tick in Michigan). In most cases, ticks feed on wildlife but pets (and people) can be bitten when they venture into popular tick areas including grassy shorelines, wooded areas, or fields near wooded areas. Ticks are rarely encountered indoors unless brought inside on the clothing of people or on the body of a pet.

Pets sickened with Lyme disease may suffer from fever, decreased appetite, painful joints, limping and lethargy, and in severe cases, kidney disease can also occur.

Good landscape management practices by homeowners including clearing leaf litter, keeping grass cut or creating wood chip/stone barriers between lawns and adjacent woodlands that are inhabited by wildlife may prove helpful in keeping ticks in check.

Griffin Pest Solutions recommends homeowners follow these tips to protect their pets from ticks and fleas this summer:

 Check pets frequently for ticks and fleas – be aware of excessive scratching and licking.

 Avoid walking dogs in tall grass, where fleas and ticks often hide.

 Bathe pets after walks or playtime with other animals.

 Frequently wash pet bedding, collars and plush toys.

 Wash bed linens and vacuum carpets, floors and furniture frequently.

 For on-animal prevention and treatment options, please consult with your veterinarian.

If you have a problem with or have questions about fleas and ticks call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/.

Celebrate a Pest-Free Fourth of July

crawling insects

Can your Fourth of July be Pest-Free?  Your Fourth of July agenda usually includes picnics, cookouts, fireworks and good times with family and friends. It can also include an “explosion” of unwanted pests that want to spoil your good times.

When people gather for their holiday celebrations it is given there will be abundance of food and beverages available. However, your guests aren’t the only ones angling to fill up their plates! Pests are drawn to the sweet, sugary desserts, fruit and soft drinks that are a staple of holiday functions, as well as the greasy leftovers that can be found on grills, serving trays and garbage cans filled with post-party trash.

Griffin Pest Solutions wants you, your family and friends to have a safe, enjoyable Fourth of July and offers the following tips to keep annoying pests from spoiling your holiday fun.

  • Flies – Flies are a common interloper to almost any backyard cookout or picnic. Keep these filthy insects from spoiling your picnic by covering your food with foil or tight sealing lids or set up the buffet inside a screened in porch or tent. Also, remember to clean up food and beverage spills since they are a major attractant to flies.
  • Ants – Like flies, ants are drawn to food, and food spills and leftovers. Ants thrive on sweet, sugary substances like spilled soft drinks. Cleaning up spilled food and drinks, and rinsing out cans and bottles before they go into the recycle bin or garbage can will deny ants their sought after prize.
  • Stinging Insects – Nothing can ruin a party like getting stung by a bee or yellow jacket. Griffin Pest Solutions recommends homeowners inspect their property before the party for any signs of nests in trees or under awnings and the eaves of your home. Also, cover food and beverage cans/bottled since many stinging insects are attracted to sugary substances and no one wants to swallow a bee that flew into your beverage!
  • Mosquitoes – These nuisance pests are regular holiday party crashers and eliminating standing water and keeping vegetation trimmed in your yard are ways to prevent mosquitoes from nesting. Using insect repellent or yard sprays containing DEET or eucalyptus oil, lighting citronella candles or turning on a ceiling or box fan to literally blow mosquitoes away from your deck or patio (mosquitoes are not good flyers) are ways to toss these uninvited guests out.

If you have a problem with or questions about spring pests call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/

Have a happy and safe, pest-free, Fourth of July!

April is National Pest Management Month

pest identification

Celebrate National Pest Management Month With Eight Great Pest Prevention Tips for Your Home

April is National Pest Management Month and Griffin Pest Solutions is joining fellow pest management professionals across the country in celebrating the valuable role the industry plays in protecting the public’s health, food supply and property from pests.

The dangers and annoyances pests bring to our everyday lives cannot be easily dismissed. The list of potential threats pest pose to property, food and people is very real. For example, did you know?

 Rodents can spoil food with their droppings and urine, and their chewing on electrical wires is a leading cause of house fires.
 Cockroaches contribute to asthma and allergies in children and adults.
 Bed bugs invade hotel rooms, dormitories, office buildings, apartment building and homes.
 Termites literally eat the wood – as much as a cup every two hours – in a structure without you ever hearing or seeing them.

That is why Griffin Pest Solutions’ highly-trained technicians work each and every day to help protect both our commercial and residential customers from these sometimes harmful but always annoying pests.

Spring marks a particularly busy time as pests emerge, looking for sources of food, water and shelter.  And, sometimes the simplest home improvements can be all that’s needed to help ward off infestations.  To assist homeowners in pest-proofing their home this spring, Griffin Pest Solutions offers the following

Tips:

1. Eliminate sources of standing water around the house, including birdbaths and in clogged gutters to help reduce biting mosquito populations.

2. Seal any cracks on the outside of the home with a silicone-based caulk, including entry points for utilities and pipes.

3. Replace weather-stripping and repair loose mortar around the foundation and windows.

4. Keep tree branches and shrubbery well-trimmed and away from the house. Overhanging branches can act as highways into the home.

5. Repair fascia and rotted roof shingles.

6. Keep mulch at least 15 inches from the foundation.

7. Keep basements, attics, and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry.

8. Store garbage in sealed containers and dispose of it regularly.

If you have a problem with or questions about household pests call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/.

For more information on National Pest Management Month, visit http://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/press-releases/april-designated-as-national-pest-management-month/