Tag: pest control

How to treat your pillows, sheets and mattress for lice

How to treat your pillows, sheets and mattress for licecredit

Lice (singular: louse) are wingless insects that live and lay their eggs (nits) in human hair. They can easily transfer from one person to another making them very contagious. Lice feed on human blood by sucking it from your scalp which makes your head feel itchy. They cling to hair strands and crawl down to the scalp whenever they need to feed.

A person can easily contract lice if they’re in close contact with someone who has lice in their hair, or by using their belongings such as hairbrush, towels, pillows or sheets. Although lice cannot survive without a human host for more than 24 hours, it doesn’t mean that it makes your belongings any safer.

If you’ve managed to get rid of lice in your hair, for instance, you need to make sure that your belongings – pillows, sheets, mattress etc where you lay your head down – are also lice-free.

Here are a few tips that can help you treat your affected pillows, sheets and mattress for a lice infestation:

Washing machine dial

Washing

Many people are under the false impression that merely washing your pillowcases or sheets will easily kill lice. It clearly isn’t true as you can thoroughly wash your hair many times but still don’t get rid of them unless you use an anti-lice shampoo. These tiny insects have six, strong claws which hold onto fabric or a strand of hair so tightly that simply washing is useless, even if it’s been through an extra-long cycle in the washing machine.

Lice can survive even if they’ve been immersed in the water for 8 hours. So it’s clearly established that lice aren’t killed simply by washing. Treating pillows and sheets for lice is quite tricky but luckily there’s a solution i.e. if your washing machine has a sanitise cycle. Lice can’t survive in temperatures above 55ºC/130°F for more than 5 minutes and the ‘boil wash’ cycle has a temperature of about 75ºC/165°F which will definitely kill lice and your belongings will be lice-free.

Tumble dryer with grey towel

Tumble-dryer

We understand that not every washing machine has a sanitise cycle but you can instead use a tumble-dryer. You can always kill lice by putting your pillowcases and sheets in the dryer. The average temperature in the dryer is 60ºC/135°F and as mentioned above, lice can’t survive in temperature above 55ºC/130°F.

So, after you’ve washed your bedding, put them in the tumble-dryer for a complete cycle, switching off the eco sensor mode. Your items will emerge dry and lice-free.

Vacuum cleaning a matttress

Vacuum cleaner

You can readily use a tumble-dryer or sanitise wash cycle as an anti-lice technique for pillowcases and sheets but it can’t be used for mattresses. It’s impossible to wash a mattress and then put it in a dryer. Many people might suggest anti-lice spray but remember that it’s highly toxic which means if you spray it on your mattress, you’ll be breathing in those chemicals for days.

Disinfect your mattress with the help of a vacuum cleaner. It sucks dirt and tiny particles from the most difficult of places and can draw out lice stuck to the fabric of your mattress.

Detergent with plastic scoop

Anti-lice laundry detergent

Another way to disinfect your bed linen is by using anti-lice laundry detergents. You simply can’t rely on a regular detergent to kill the lice but you can always use ones with special fragrances that lice hate. By using such scents, lice will be reluctant to reside in your bedding.

One such product is Launder Lice™. It contains tea tree and anise which lice don’t like. Bear in mind, this detergent won’t kill the lice, but it will definitely deter them from your bedding. You can spray it with natural essential oils such as eucalyptus and lavender to discourage lice.

Plastic bags in a woven cane laundry basket

Bag them up

There are some, often expensive, bedding materials that you can’t simply throw into the dryer or hot wash as they’ll be ruined. If any such items become infested with lice, there’s an alternative solution.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, lice can’t survive for more than 24 hours without feeding. Just bag up affected sheets and pillowcases very tightly for two days in a hot environment. Make sure to pack them tightly in plastic bags, so that the lice can’t escape to infect something else. Furthermore, the high temperature will contribute to getting rid of the pests.

Eliminating lice from personal belongings such as bedding isn’t an easy job but we’ve given you a few initial tips. Use these to disinfect any affected bedding and keep them lice free.

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Why do I suddenly have ants in my house? The most common reasons

Why do I suddenly have ants in my house? The most common reasons | H is for Home

At first glance, ants don’t seem to be extremely unpleasant insects – there are certainly much more dangerous and damaging ones, for sure. But when it comes to having ants in the house, the matter becomes slightly more serious. Having bugs in the kitchen or the bathroom are not ideal, and what’s more, it’s often difficult to get rid of them. Ants are, apparently, one of the most common insects that like to ‘invade’ homes. What are the reasons for that and how to stop it?

Ants reflected on shiny surface

Reasons for ants in the house

Ants are insects which occur in more than thirteen thousand different species. They’re ubiquitous and they live in large groups – that’s why we see them in every garden, playground or woodland. But sometimes cases arise where ants don’t stay in their natural habitats and they venture indoors in search of food or other nesting opportunities. They’re not an extreme danger, but they can be annoying and disturb the usual order; often to such an extent that employing chemical repellents is needed. No matter what the reason for ants in your house is, you might have a look at ways of eradicating them from the home at https://www.369bugs.com/.

Ants are known to be very ‘clean’ creatures – they normally cooperate and clean the area around their nest. If you keep any food leftovers inside your house, for example in the kitchen, it’s more than likely that ants will come and investigate. Sometimes you may not even be aware that there’s something rotting or spilt in one of your cupboards – the presence of ants may be the indication. Also, especially if you have children or pets, ants are likely to be attracted by the food spilt or left on the floors. Kids and animals can be especially messy in this way, so if you don’t want ants in your house it’s important to keep the interior as clean as possible.

Single copper colour ant

Leaky windows or hydraulic installation

One of the most common reasons for the unexpected ants in your house may be the problems with windows or doors; when they’re leaky, they become an ideal entrance for ants. They’re so small that it’s no problem for them to sneak through. The same goes for pipes, for example, in the bathroom; ants love a wet and humid environment, so it’s not a problem for them to infiltrate through the plumbing. This can sometimes be problematic as the pipework is usually joined together, for example in block of flats, so if your neighbours have ants, you’re also likely to have them. To read more about the hydraulic installation problems, have a look here.

Ants on dog food pieces

How to get rid of the ants

There are actually a few methods of fighting ants in your house. The easiest one is to conceal all the food that may be tempting to them – ensure you don’t leave anything uncovered. Close all the cabinets and cupboards securely, keep your rubbish inside sealed dustbins. Also, fix any gaps and leaks in windows and doors, so that ants don’t have any access to the building interior. If you see ants in your bathroom, consider fixing or improving the hydraulic installation. Examples of natural insect repellents include vinegar or oxygen bleach; if you want to repel the ants, put a little of these on the floor, doors and work surfaces.

If these methods aren’t enough and you still suffer from the ants’ unwanted company, use a chemical insect repellent, but contact a specialist in extreme cases. There are some repellent substances which may not repel a specific kind of insects or may even be harmful to humans and pets. If you’re not sure what to start off with, look at the guide on this website.

7 ands on a little pile of white sugar

Ants – a continuous problem

Ants are a species that are vast and varied, they reappear in places from which they’ve previously been repelled. Even if many of the workers don’t survive, the queen is likely to send other ant-workers to the same place. As a result, you may suffer from recurring ant attacks in your house. If the problem returns systematically, it’s an idea to think about some kind of long-term disinfection solution.

Even though ants may seem innocent, they might be really problematic for our households and everyday life. In search of food or humid places, they can come indoors regularly, and once they don’t get repelled, they continue to invade on a continuous basis. First, it’s advisable to reorganise space and habits, for example, by keeping food stored properly. If this doesn’t help, using more invasive and chemical substances may be necessary. But, all in all, these are just ants – if some of them appear in your kitchen or bathroom from time to time, it’s not a reason to panic – they’re only a natural part of our ecosystem.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about aphids

Everything you ever wanted to know about aphids | H is for Home

Aphids are incredibly small insects that are from the Aphididae insect family. There are well over 5,000 different species with several hundred of them being a direct threat to gardening and agriculture. Adult aphids are less than an 1/8 of an inch and are pear-shaped. The most common to be found on house plants are the light green ones, but they can also be found in black, grey, white and pink. In addition, once an aphid colony is established, the winged adult aphids will set off to infect other plants. Juvenile aphids look very similar to the adults and are just smaller in size.

Aphids covering the young shoots of a rose

Understanding how aphids damage plants

An aphid infestation can develop rather quickly and considering the insects are rather mobile they can travel quickly from one plant to another. In an outdoor garden, aphid colonies are usually tended to by ants which will feed upon the aphid honeydew, a sugary liquid that aphids secrete as they feed upon the sap of plants. Researchers have found that ants will transport aphids to new plants and believe that the ants are, in fact, farming aphids as a source of new honeydew. Aphids that are found on indoor plants tend to travel by flying or crawling to new plants.

Aphids cause considerable damage to plants by sucking the sap from new growth on plants. They’ll generally cluster around these fresh shoots, attaching themselves to the softer, young green stems. When this happens, the new foliage tends to look stunted or crinkled. Taking a closer look, one can visibly see aphids around the stem. If the infestation is severe enough, eventually the plant will begin to lose its leaves. Similar to mealy bugs, the honeydew that is secreted from the aphids will eventually encourage the growth of fungus and mould.

Illustration of the lifecycle of aphids

Understanding the aphid lifecycle

Aphid eggs that are found in the outdoors will generally survive through the winter by being attached to woodsy growth. When spring arrives the eggs will hatch into females. These females will give birth to nymphs without the process of mating in these nymphs have the ability to mature into adults in the matter of 10 days. The males will be born in the fall and mate with females in an effort to produce eggs in preparation for the long winter ahead. However, for aphids living indoors there is no winter season to slow their reproduction, which allows female aphids to continually produce nymphs all year long. One can easily see how quickly an aphid population can flourish out of control indoors.

Yellow aphids on a shrub

Dealing with and preventing aphids

Like many indoor and outdoor pests, defensive methods will usually work best. Having healthy plants is one of the best ways to combat an infestation as opposed to those that are weak and stressed. A general rule of thumb is to ensure that all of your plants are as healthy as possible to avoid a serious infestation.

However, if you do find aphids on your indoor plants, there are several control options that you can try with many of them being non-chemical:

  • Wash them away
  • Flick them off with a cotton swab or your finger

However, one of the best methods to fight light infestations is to simply dip them in water. If you have a plant that features delicate foliage, it is best to simply dip the entire plant in water to remove the aphids. Simply turn the plant upside down and dip the foliage into a bucket of room temperature water for best results.

Aphid on a person's thumb

Insecticidal soap

There are many insecticidal soaps that are available on the market or you can even create your own by using dish detergent. It is best to find a product that is going to be free of additives and perfumes that may be harmful to your plants. Slowly mix the soap into a week concentration with water. Simply take the mixture and spray onto plants, ensuring that the underside of the leaves are sprayed.

Aphid giving birth to live offspring

Applying neem oil

Neem trees provide this particular oil making it an entirely organic compound for your plants. However, it is still wise to use it according to its specific instructions. In addition to insecticidal properties, neem oil is absorbed directly into the plant to help control insects without any direct contact involved. The Environmental Protection Association has stated that neem oil is safe to use on food plants and ornamental plants.

Aphids on a stem

Home-made insects sprays

Organic Gardening magazine developed this all-purpose insect spray that has also been described in Rodale’s Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control. To create a batch of this spray you’ll need to combine one garlic bulb, a small onion and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a blender and process it into a paste. Then mix in 1 quart of water and steep for at least one hour. Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth and add a tablespoon of liquid dish soap and mix well. This mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for at least one week.

Aphids on a green stem

Rubbing alcohol

This is perhaps one of the more time-consuming methods, however, the aphids will die once they’re coated with rubbing alcohol.

Aphids on a plant with yellow leaves with pink edges

Removal of damaged plants

For indoor plants, it’s best to simply cut away any damaged sections of the plan that have been heavily infested and throw them away outdoors.

Pink aphids on a rose bud

Sticky traps

It’s possible to purchase strips of sticky paper that you can hang near your plants which will trap any insect as they stop by for a visit. These simple sticky traps are available from online retailers and local garden centres.

Aphids on a rose bud and stems

Chemical sprays

While it’s always best to avoid resorting to any type of chemical solution, a severe infestation may require the use of a spray. It’s best to look for sprays that are safe and contain a low toxicity level.

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5 ways to keep pests away as the summer heat rolls in

5 ways to keep pests away as the summer heat rolls in

Whilst spring has (supposedly) sprung, summer will be here before you know it. However, with the arrival of the summer season comes all of the dreaded summer pests. Even though a professional pest inspection is undoubtedly a good idea to give yourself the peace of mind that comes with knowing your home is already pest free, it’s a good idea to take steps to get ahead of a problem before you have one. Here are five ways to keep pests from becoming a problem this summer.

Dead cockroach on its back

  1. Check usual points of entry

Before the summer heat comes sweltering in, perform a thorough inspection of your home to see if there are any potential points of entry pests can use. Specifically, check screens, windows, doors and your foundation for signs of weakening or holes. Take care of them yourself, or have a professional do the job for you.

Group of ants

  1. Store food correctly

One of the reasons ants and roaches might make themselves at home with you is because you roll out the welcome mat. Put food in sealed containers, including cereal, snacks, sugar and the like that you might commonly leave out on your counters. This might feel like a bit of a hassle, but you’ll thank yourself when you don’t see a line of ants, buzzing house flies or skittering roaches in the middle of the night.

Bedbugs magnified under a microscope

  1. Change and check the bedding

To keep bed bugs and mites at bay ensure that you wash sheets & pillowcases on a regular basis. And don’t forget about your mattress. Fit washable protectors and also vacuum the mattress from time to time. If you plan on going away on holiday in the coming months, consider doing a bit of research into hotels or motels you plan on staying at – check if any reports of bed bugs have been flagged up in reviews. Even if they don’t, you should still visually inspect the beds and floors of your room before settling in if you have concerns. And keep your luggage elevated – you don’t want an unwanted holiday souvenir for your journey home! Despite taking precautions, infestation might still occur, so an effective bed bug treatment can sometimes still be necessary to counter persistent problems.

Fly paper with flies stuck to it

  1. Keep your kitchen clean

Besides properly sealing and storing food, it’s also best that you clean your kitchen as thoroughly as possible. Do a deep clean now that spring cleaning time is here, and get into the habit of sweeping or vacuuming, mopping and wiping down worktops regularly. Also, empty rubbish and recycling bins regularly – giving them a clean and disinfect inside and out each time.

Mouse with nuts in narrow gap between walls

  1. Keep your garden in good order

Do you have a compost heap in your garden? Although you can add your food waste to it, it’s wise not to include items such as meat, fish, oil and dairy products. These types of food encourage vermin – particularly rats. Rats are notorious for their breeding habits and, before you know it, you’ll have an extended family of rodents residing in your garden… or even worse, your house!

Need help keeping pests away throughout the year? Contact Terminix for professional help and to schedule an inspection this spring season.

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