Stored Product Pests

Stored product pests infest a wide range of foods including flour, whole grains and seeds, crackers, processed cereals, peas, beans, nuts, dried fruit and spices. Among the common stored product pests are:

Pea Weevil

Larder Beetle

Confused Flour Beetle

Mediterranean Flour Moth

Indian Meal Moth

Drugstore Beetle

Granary Weevil

Saw-toothed Grain Beetle

Yellow Mealworm


Rice Weevil




Correct identification of stored product pests is important in order to know where to apply treatments. Some insects, such as Granary Weevils, spend their entire life cycle in the food, therefore control steps can often be limited to disposing of the infested products.

Others, such as the Mediterranean Flour Moth, leave the food when it is time to pupate. They spin cocoons in the corners of cupboards and cracks, therefore control measures must be planned to take this into account.

Monitoring

Visual Inspections

Storage areas should be inspected carefully for signs of infestations, inside and outside of the packaging or containers. During the inspection, potential problem areas should also be noted. This includes containers of old or stale products, spilled food and hard to clean areas that could provide refuge for insects.

Pheromone Traps

Insect sex pheromones and aggregation pheromones are available for a variety of stored product pests. The pheromones are in lures that can be used in different designs of traps. For stored product moths, the lures are usually placed in delta traps like the one pictured here.

Other trap designs are used for stored product beetles. It should be noted that none of these traps are a means of control but rather just monitoring devices.

Always avoid touching the pheromone lure when setting out the trap because traces of the pheromone can be spread around the area, making the trap ineffective.

Pheromone traps should be placed away from doors and windows to avoid attracting insects from outside and may be hung from the ceiling or placed on a shelf.

Action Decisions

Prevention

For households, once an infestation is cleaned up (see Control below) further infestations can be prevented by:

- freeze grains, flour, dried fruit and other dry foods from bulk food stores in the household freezer for a week before transferring to the cupboard

- store food in insect proof containers of glass or strong plastic with tight fitting lids

- clean kitchen counters and vacuum the insides of cupboards to remove spills and debris

Sanitation

Maintaining clean conditions is the best control. All spills should be cleaned up immediately.

Reduce Humidity

Grains should be stored in a cool dry area. Except for the Mediterranean Flour Moth which can tolerate very dry conditions, most stored product pests are not likely to be a problem in dry conditions, where relative humidity is below 6%.

Barriers

Insect screens should be installed on exhaust fans, windows and other openings to keep flying insects out.

Control

Sanitation measures (discussed above), along with regular visual inspections usually provide sufficient control of stored product pests. In many instances no pesticides will be needed to achieve good control.

Physical Removal

Destroy infested materials. For some species, such as Granary Weevils removing the infested material provides sufficient control as they do not live outside the material.

Heating or Freezing Treatments

Where feasible, extremes of heat or cold can be used to kill insects in infested food. To eliminate an infestation, food should be kept in a freezer long enough to be frozen at the center of the container for at least 4 days.

Heating to 150 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven for 20 minutes also kills insects.

Preferred Pesticides

Sorptive Dusts

Diatomaceous Earth can be applied to cracks and crevices of storage areas where pupae and other stages of some stored product pests hide.

Pyrethrins

Pyrethrins can be applied to equipment motors to kill hiding pests or by ULV machine to storage areas.

Other Pesticides

Other pesticides should not be required for most stored product pests. If required in the case of severe or persistent infestations, pesticides must be chosen with careful attention to label directions. Few pesticide products mention stored product pests on their labels. By law only pesticides labeled for use in the appropriate areas (e.g. food prep and storage ares) and for this group of insects (e.g. stored product pests) can be used.

Practice Your Pest Control Skills

Want to practice your pest control skills? I found this fun little game at Miniclips and had to share it.

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Bird Control For Homeowners

While birds can be enjoyed at times in the park or on the beach, when they get too comfortable where you live, bird control becomes necassary.

Our intentions are not to harm the birds, but rather just control the areas we don't want them living in.

Reasons To Control Birds

• Diseases being passed to employees/customers/residents.
• Money spent on cleaning.
• Damage to building or equipment.
• Dangerous, unsanitary droppings.
• Parasites like mites, fleas, and ticks are getting into the building.
• Drains and gutters are clogged with droppings, nesting materials.
• Health inspectors have issued/may issue us a warning.
• Complaints by customers or tenants.
  

Bird control

Many birds are friends of mankind. You might even build them houses and baths. In exchange some birds eat mosquitoes and other harmful insects. But when birds congregate on buildings, they become nuisances.


Their droppings are not only unsightly, but can harbor bacteria or corrode roofs. Nests can block air vents or present fire hazards.


A professional pest control service can provide products which discourage birds from gathering where they're not wanted. Or, if necessary, they can be trapped and relocated to a more suitable area.


Woodpeckers are a special case. Besides the annoying sound they make, they can destroy wood shingles.


Again, a pest control service is your best bet. They have products which are odorless and invisible, but taste terrible to the woodpeckers. If a woodpecker is attacking your home, it's most likely trying to get at the insects that are inside the wood. A professional pest control service will be able to inspect your home for these pests as well.



HOUSE SPARROWS

House Sparrows are the most abundant songbirds in North America and the most widely distributed birds on the planet. House Sparrows are not actually sparrows, but are Old World Weaver Finches, a family of birds noted for their ingenious nest-building abilities.

STARLINGS

Starlings were brought to North America from Europe in the late 1890s. Since that time, they have greatly increased in number and spread across most of the continent.

Adult starlings are chunky birds the size of robins. In summer their plumage is glossy purple-green with numerous white markings; the bill is yellow.

During the winter, the back feathers are much darker and edged in light brown. The bill also darkens to bluish-black. Color is identical for both sexes. The starling's most prominent feature is an unusually short tail.

Favorite foods include fruits and seeds, both wild and cultivated. Insects and other invertebrates make up about half the diet, especially during the spring breeding season. Wintering flocks often concentrate in great numbers at feedlots and livestock shelters. They consume and contaminate livestock feed and water, and "whitewash" buildings, facilities and animals with their droppings.

In winter, flocks of up to 2,000 birds can consume 1 to 2 tonnes of feed in a month and contaminate or spoil an additional 500 to 1,000 kg of feed. Starlings can also transfer many diseases between livestock animals, particularly swine.

PIGEONS

Pigeons have become an urban bird, and highly depended on humans for food, roosting and nesting areas. Pigeons are most commonly found around feeding areas, parks, schools, city buildings, bridges, homes, and many other structures.

Prevention

The removal of roosting niches and the sealing of any crevices, large openings, and entrances in high areas aids in effective control.

Available water sources, such as rooftop air conditioners, should be eliminated by screening.

Never leave food or water sources exposed outdoors.

Keep garbage containers closed.

Dispose of garbage on a regular basis.

Control

Physical Exclusion:

Netting is the best single method of reducing bird roosting, nesting and feeding. not subject to bird acclimation (i.e. they can't "get used to it") It is economically feasible over life of netting; best of all neighbours love nets compared to other bird scaring methods; There is significant cost outlay at first with on-going operating and maintenance costs.


Spike strips and wires are popular methods to prevent bird roosting on ledges. The are relatively inexpensive and not difficult to install but if not properly located they are useless.

Sound Devices:

Propane cannons, whistling or pyrotechnic pistols, predator mimicking sound generators can be effective for farm crop and fruit damaging birds , but not suitable in urban applications.

Visual Devices:

Streamers and flashtape, Scare-eye balloons

These devices can be effective on some species but not effective on robins or waxwings; cheap, relatively easy to install but are useless if not installed and maintained properly.

Hawk silhouettes, stuffed owls, etc: more realistic units on market now; cheap and easy to deploy but areonly effective for a short period of time and require very frequent moving.

Flashing Lights And Mirrors:

These are effective against starlings; solar powered units are available that require little maintenance besides frequent moving around. Lights are good at dusk and dawn only; mirrors are only good in sunshine

Trapping:

Traps can be made or purchased. Although trapping is a slow and expensive process, it is an effective means of controlling the pigeon population in a given area. Rooftops, common roosting areas, and feeding areas are generally good places for trapping.

Small traps are effective, but large walk-in types are better. It is important to bait the traps with the kind of food the birds are eating. Whole corn and grain sorghum are generally good baits.

Nearly constant maintenance of traps is needed to separate and release within 24 hours all migratory birds and non-nuisance birds.

The responsible person must understand and comply with applicable directives under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

American crows, brown-headed cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, starlings and house sparrows may be trapped and killed but it will not greatly affect local bird numbers.

Falconry:

This is an effective control if there is sustained activity in a large area. It is not suitable for most urban bird pest problems.Birds of prey are not pets and require significant investment in time and training for falconers. If hiring a service a long-term commitment is necessary and can be expensive.