ants in your house

Why Are There So Many Ants In Your House?

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Although ants are not usually dangerous, they are one of the most common pests that can infest your home. But that doesn’t mean you want them around. Below are seven reasons why you might see a lot of ants in your house and how to get rid of them.

1)   You have too many plants inside your home

Plants can be beautiful and a lovely way to decorate, but plants also attract a variety of unwanted insects. If you are having a problem with ants, it may be best to keep these plants on an outdoor patio or garden area instead of in your living space.

2)  High moisture levels in your home

Most insects, including ants, love water and a moist environment. If you live in an area with high humidity or one that has a rainy season, reduce the humidity level inside your home with a dehumidifier. Run it daily to create drier air quality which will significantly reduce the attraction for ants.

3)  You have a messy house

Most insects and ants love to live in a messy house. There are lots of things to use with which to build nests and hide in, making it very attractive. It is recommended to regularly clean your home – wipe off kitchen counters, vacuum rugs, put away shoes, throw away old newspapers, etc – in order to eliminate anything the ants would enjoy living in.

4)  There is leftover food on your counter

Food particles are a welcome mat for ants. Ants are omnivores, which means they will eat anything they can find, especially sweet or moist foods. Make sure to put food away in the refrigerator or in air tight canisters.

5)   High temperatures outside

You don’t like being out in the heat and neither do ants. As the temperature rises, ants will try to come into your home. Make sure the environment isn’t welcoming and they won’t stay for long.

6)  Your house has cracked walls or open windows

If you see a line of ants coming in, try to find the source. If you notice a broken window, an open window, or a crack in the wall, have it fixed as soon as possible because this may be how they’re getting in. Close up any access points to keep these pests out.

7)  You have a pile of wood leaning against your house

Many insects love to build their nests in wood. Keep wood piles away from the perimeter of your home by at least five feet to eliminate ants from getting in.

Keep these seven points in mind when you’re trying to eradicate ants and other pests in your home. Consider calling a professional pest control company if you’re having trouble getting rid of them. Professionals have proven strategies to remove and destroy insects quickly and easily. By the way, do you know that EcoRaider products are also used widely by pest management professionals in eradicating ants?

bed bug bites

How To Tell Bed Bug Bites Apart From Mosquito Bites

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Insect bites of varying origin are uncomfortable no matter where they spring up. The really irritating locations can be on your stomach, your ankles, or behind your ears. Distinguishing between the two most common bites, that of the mosquito and the bedbug can be difficult. And once you find the bites, what do you do about preventing further annoying bedbug bites and mosquito bites? There is a way to tell the difference and there are certain precautions and steps that one can take to do their best toward the prevention of future issues typically presented by mosquitoes and bedbugs.

Understanding Mosquito Bites

A typical mosquito bite usually presents with a reddish, raised welt on the skin. The area around the welt can be warm to the touch and the bite itself will be itchy. The welt can increase in size after the initial bite, but after time the welt does go down, leaving behind an itchy red dot.

To keep mosquitoes at a minimum, cut back any tall grassy areas and eliminates any standing water. Both of these attract mosquitoes. If you must be outside during dusk or dawn, which are peak mosquito times, use the most effective insect repellent that you can.

Understanding Bedbug Bites 

Often noticed during early, waking hours, bedbug bites can look a lot like mosquito bites but frequently appear in groups of three to four. No known diseases are associated with these bites and they don’t itch on everyone. Stress and anxiety, however, do tend to go hand in hand with bedbug infestations. No one wants bedbugs in their home or the stigma that goes along with them. If you do notice bedbugs in your home, there are a number of remedies with which to combat them.

To check for bedbugs, look for reddish or dark brown spots of blood on mattresses, headboards, furniture, inside tables, behind hanging picture frames, in electrical outlets, seams of curtains or carpet, box springs, and bed linens. It is possible to pick up these nasty creatures in other public areas and bring them home with you so be on the lookout. Always check hotel rooms as these are the likeliest places to find the kinds of infestations that may inadvertently end up in your home.

Of course, the main objective is not to be bitten by any bug of any kind at any point in time. Knowing full well that this is a lofty if not unachievable goal, hopefully, this has helped you determine whether you have a bedbug problem or are just being terrorized by those pesky mosquitoes again – and what to do about it either way.

Seattle-Based DESC Uses EcoRaider® to Control Bed Bugs in Homeless Shelters

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Bed bugs are a tough problem to deal with in any scenario. But in public shelters bed bugs can could potentially cause the homeless to move away from using the facility, giving it a bad name.

Sondra Nielsen, Director of Facilities and Asset Management for Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), wanted to avoid that situation when she started realizing that synthetic chemicals were unable to kill bed bugs in her shelters because a resistance had been built up to them.

DESC is a nonprofit organization of nearly 600 professional staff, board members, and community volunteers fighting to serve every aspect of Seattle’s homeless. According to Nielsen, once the pesticides were unable to solve her problem she turned to EcoRaider based on a referral.

“It’s been huge for us, it’s been tremendously huge for us,” said Nielsen. “EcoRaider was recommended to me by Dr. Fang Zhu at Washington State University and I then asked our pest management company Eden Pest Control about it and they were preliminarily using it in some locations already.

“But based on Dr. Fang Zhu’s research showing it was very effective against bed bugs I was convinced it would make sense to use EcoRaider and in the end, we would have to perform fewer treatments and save money by using it in our shelter environments. That’s exactly what happened, EcoRaider eliminated the bed bug infestation in our main shelter and two of our smaller shelters and although periodically we have hitchhikers we do not have infestations.”

As Bed Bug Operations Manager for Olympia, Washington-based Eden, Michele Cruzat has been focused on controlling a pest infestation that has been penetrating just about every type of customer sector – from hotels, hospitals and apartments to senior-living centers, residential homes, and apartment complexes.

The strains of bed bugs were completely resistant to pyrethrins and pyrethroids, leaving Cruzat without a solid bed bug solution until she continued using EcoRaider.

“Using EcoRaider made a huge difference for us,” Cruzat said. “We were using conventional chemical products – we tried many things and none were getting it under control and we were treating every two weeks. Once we started using EcoRaider we saw a difference immediately.

“I’d say within a few weeks we a drastic reduction in the bed bug population. We haven’t seen a bed bug infestation again in any shelter – at this point we are spot treating every two weeks with EcoRaider and it’s working incredibly.”

According to Cruzat, who has crews covering much of the Seattle and Olympia markets, her technicians are so convinced that EcoRaider is the product of choice for eliminating bed bugs that it has become part of regular protocol.

“EcoRaider is great to use in sensitive areas. With most products, you can only use them in cracks and crevices but with EcoRaider you can use a broad spectrum – you can spray full areas and that’s super valuable to a pest technician. We love the product.”

EcoRaider, available online and at distributors throughout the country, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. The product, named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology, offers PMPs a variety of benefits. Its uncompromising field performance comparing to leading pesticides are proven in recent report by USDA IR4 Public Health Pesticide Program.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, visit http://ecoraiderusa.com/ or call (201) 751-0011. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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EcoRaider® Announces Ron Wyandt as West Coast Sales Representative

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Reneotech, manufacturer of EcoRaider botanical insect control products, announces the hiring of Ron Wyandt as West Coast Sales Representative.

Wyandt, a full-time sales representative with 14 years of experience working for pest control distributors, started working with the New Jersey-based manufacturer in January. He lives in Sacramento, California and will cover Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Missouri, as well as his home state.

“Ron brings a wealth of experience, integrity and connections in the structural pest control industry to support the growth of EcoRaider,” said Todd Zon, vice president of Reneotech. “We are pleased to have him join our growing team and look forward to great results from his efforts.”

Reneotech has two products designed for professional pest control, EcoRaider RTU and ER-22 concentrate. Both products are used by Pest Management Professionals as an efficient and green solution that delivers both a quick kill and strong residual for bed bugs and other pest control needs.

About EcoRaider
EcoRaider is the only natural solution that kills bed bugs with 100 percent efficacy. EcoRaider has no signal words, is 100 percent natural, and is safe for children and pets – making it the ideal protocol product for every green program and it can be used in various settings, including schools, health-care facilities, and public spaces.

Ron can be reached at ron.wyandt@ecoraiderusa.com. For more information, visit http://ecoraiderpmp.com/ or call 1-800-338-0212. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“Thinking” Like Bed Bugs Will Help You Kill Them Effectively

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One of the things that our customers bring up to us the most when calling in for orders is the question: “How do I eliminate bed bugs completely?” The answer: “It’s not easy.” To rid your home of bed bugs once they’ve arrived, you need to make sure you use the right tools and employ the right methods.

An article in Pest Control Technology magazine written by Dr. Michael Potter of the University of Kentucky recently pointed out that people need to “think like a bed bug” in order to try to prevent and kill bed bugs. It provides some tips to help us to determine some best tactics when fighting bed bugs. As Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist widely credited as the author of The Art ofWar, stated around 512 B.C: “to defeat the enemy, you must know the enemy.”

Like a lot of things in life, getting the proper perspective is important in being able to get a handle on how to address a situation. In this instance, it was about how to learn more about bed bugs and how to better control them.

Dr. Potter’s article discussed tracks of individual bed bugs in a laboratory test arena. Bed bugs cover a lot of ground at night even when not stimulated by a host (top image). Note how they tend to follow the edges of the test arena. Movement is more directed when a heat source warmed to human body temperature is provided (bottom image). (Haynes et al. 2008, PestWorld)

What does this mean when treating for bed bugs?

It means that treating the edges, joints and seams offers you a better chance to kill bed bugs than simply treating the surface. Some typical areas that need to get sprayed: baseboards, carpet edges, joints, seams and edges of sofas, chairs, mattresses and bed frames.

Once bed bugs find a host, they tend to move directly toward it because they know there’s a meal. So spraying around sleeping areas 1-2 hours before bed time will reduce issues of biting and kill more bed bugs. Treat around your mattress, along the legs of bed frames, and anywhere your bed touches the floor … that will increase the chance that bed bug getting in contact with EcoRaider liquid, which is the key to kill them.

EcoRaider is a proven green product that had the best performance against bed bugs of all natural products tested, according to an independent study done by Rutgers University. Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) are trained in how to kill bed bugs, but for consumers, you need to “think” like bed bugs.

There is another short cut, that is to download the treatment instruction and watch the demonstration video before treatment. Both are available by clicking here.

To read Dr. Potter’s full article, click here.

Green Bed Bug Product, EcoRaider, Draws Rave Reviews at Public Housing Conference

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EcoRaider, the pest control industry’s top green solution for controlling bed bugs and other insects got rave reviews at a national public housing administrators conference in Las Vegas.

PHADA, the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association, held its annual convention in Las Vegas and EcoRaider was a central figure since it is widely used by public housing executives from around the country. EcoRaider was well received because it kills bed bugs quickly with minimum risk and environmental impact, giving housing authorities a ready-to-use product that delivers long-lasting performance with a fast control of the infestations.

Public housing is plagued by bed bugs. Tenants typically have a transient background, so they have been on the move more than most people and have a greater chance of coming into contact with bed bugs.

EcoRaider has helped public housing authorities control bed bugs quickly and effectively. Officials turn to EcoRaider because it kills fast and leaves a strong residual.

Debra Krueger is the Executive Director of The Mercer County Housing Authority in western Illinois. She depends on EcoRaider and considers it a powerful tool to protect the tenants of her public housing units.

“EcoRaider is a great product for us,” Krueger said. “It’s really important to have a green product because we have elderly and disabled residents. Not only has this worked for us in helping kill bed bugs and other insects but it has made my employees feel better. That’s been huge for us.”

New York is one of the areas of the country hardest hit by bed bugs. Robert Landry, Executive Director of The Glens Falls Housing Authority, uses EcoRaider to keep bed bugs from his tenants.

“It’s big to us and we’re tree huggers so we’re environmental by nature. It’s also a protocol that we bid that out every three years that they use chemicals that are environmentally friendly. We attempt to do that with everything we do and that’s why EcoRaider is good as a green product. It works great for us.”

Martha Carlson, Owner of Maritech Pest Control, uses EcoRaider when she protects The Brunswick Housing Authority in Brunswick, Georgia.

“We started used EcoRaider as a contact, quick knockdown type of application, mainly in areas where there were not enough bed bugs to warrant breaking out a vacuum cleaner. EcoRaider’s knockdown is superb.”

Studies have shown that bed bugs are developing a resistance to pesticides. In tough areas like public housing, having a product that delivers performance immediately is important. In 2014 USDA’s IR4 PHP Program confirmed EcoRaider’s performance in a field study by research entomologists for eradicating bed bug infestations in public housing buildings.

In addition to being a popular bio-insecticide with consumers, EcoRaider is used frequently in hotels, hospitals, cruise ships, multi-family, senior living and assisted-living facilities.

About EcoRaider
EcoRaider is a highly efficacious botanical-based broad spectrum bio-insecticide with proven effectiveness for bed bug control. It can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various settings, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, visit https://ecoraiderusa.com/ or call 1-800-338-0212. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Be Prepared for Ant Season!

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How many times have you left a crumb or a drop of something sugary on the counter and then later noticed ants were present? Everyone has! It’s the season that ants are now foraging and looking for food indoors again – so you’ll notice a good number of ants starting to reach the perimeter of your home, near every entry door as well as around the entire outside of your home.

It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or a single-family home, perimeter ants are an issue. EcoRaider is the solution to help you with an all-natural method for killing perimeter ants on contact! EcoRaider is ideal for ant control for a number of reasons:
• Kills ants on contact in 1 minute!
• Repels ants for up to 4 weeks
• Prevents ants from entering a structure
• Disrupts ant trails and feeding
Remember, EcoRaider is safe for children and pets, making it the ideal ant and bed bug control product for the home. It can be used both throughout the home – even in sensitive areas like the kitchen – as well as around the home’s exterior.

For more information, call (201) 751-0011. Also, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Why Natural Pest Control is The Healthy Choice

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While there are a lot of companies that will tell you that a pest control product is not going to perform if it is natural or green, that is not the case. In fact, there have been many solutions for pest issues over the years that have been pesticide free.

What’s important about a green pest control product is that it reduces the effect that a pesticide has on both human beings and pets. Green pest control products – like EcoRaider, for example – deliver a solution that is not only good for the environment, but it’s safe for people of all ages and pets, as well.

Pesticides, however, cannot make that same claim. According to Penn State University, the long-term effects of pesticide exposure and poisoning can range from a mild skin irritation to a coma to death. In many cases, the school stated, overexposure to pesticides leads to chronic coughing, wheezing and sneezing.

Respiratory symptoms and problems are another effect from exposure to pesticides. But with the advent of high-performing green products like EcoRaider, you can limit your pesticide exposure by choosing to use a product that the professionals in pest control consider to be the best performing green product in the industry.

EcoRaider proves its value from a natural standpoint in a number of ways:

  • All natural ingredients – a bio-insecticide that simply works.
  • Pests cannot become resistant to EcoRaider because it is green. Bugs and insects typically only resist man-made pesticides.
  • Groundwater contamination is lessened significantly with reduced pesticide use because green pest control products are natural and organic.
  • Eliminates the possibility of oral, inhalation and eye exposure to a chemical not meant to be in contact with the human body.

EcoRaider is a ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

 

For more information, call (201) 751-0011. Also, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Chicago-Based Rose Pest Solutions Relies on Using EcoRaider® to Control Bed Bugs

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rose-logo

For the fourth year, Chicago has been placed on top of the list of cities with the worst bed bug problems. For Rose Pest Solutions, it’s nothing new.

What has been new is the use of EcoRaider bio-insecticide as a green, natural solution for bed bugs. Rose handles much of northern Illinois and has affiliated pest control firms in other nearby markets such as northern Indiana.

According to Bill Hastings, Director of Special Services for Rose Pest Solutions Chicago, EcoRaider has made a big difference in their bed bug protocol.

“We use EcoRaider as part of our heat treatment services for bed bugs,” he said. “We spray EcoRaider before applying heat to immediately knock down the bed bug populations … EcoRaider has helped us increase our percent control and reduce our bed bug callbacks.”

Hastings says that his technicians tried out the product and came back requesting to use it regularly and that’s how Rose implemented it into its program.

“I gave it to several of our technicians to use and their feedback was, ‘We want more of this stuff,’ which is usually a sign it works,” said Hastings. “I went out and tested it myself and had bed bugs dying four to six seconds after coming in contact with the product which impressed me.

“It acts quickly and fits into our integrated approach to bed bug management that includes heat and conventional pesticide treatments,” says Hastings. “We take it with us on our inspection visits and if we spot bed bugs can we apply it to stop the spread of the infestation and provide the customer with some immediate emotional relief.”

EcoRaider, available at distributors throughout the country, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. The product, named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology, offers PMPs a variety of benefits. Its uncompromising field performance comparing to leading pesticides are proven in recent report by USDA IR4 Public Health Pesticide Program.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

College Cities Continue to Experience a Rise in Bed Bugs as EcoRaider® Kills in the Hardest Hit Markets

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One of the most aspects of colleges and universities that bed bugs have going for them is the transient nature of students. As each new semester and school year comes and goes, so do new students – some from throughout the country and others from international destinations.

What this does is create a major opportunity for bed bugs to travel from person to person, dorm to dorm and in many cases, university to university. For the last 10 years, bed bugs have experienced a major comeback that has become a tremendous financial problem for colleges and universities.

Each year, a major pest control firm ranks the top bed bug cities, with the top being the worst city in the country based on the amount of bed bug jobs that were performed there. For the 4th year, Chicago has been given that dubious distinction.

In Chicago and surrounding areas, students attend Northwestern, DePaul, Loyola, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago among several other universities and colleges in this top bed bug market.

And while this problem has really been listed more as an epidemic in the greater Chicago area, one firm has found a true solution to managing bed bugs.

Rose Pest Solutions, one of the leading pest control firms in the Midwest, has been using EcoRaider Natural Bio-Insecticide to protect its clients from bed bugs. Bill Hastings, Director of Special Services for Rose Pest Solutions Chicago, says EcoRaider has made a big difference in their bed bug protocol.

“We use EcoRaider as part of our heat treatment services for bed bugs,” he said. “We spray EcoRaider before applying heat to immediately knock down the bed bug populations … EcoRaider has helped us increase our percent control and reduce our bed bug callbacks.

“I gave it to several of our technicians to use and their feedback was, ‘We want more of this stuff,’ which is usually a sign it works,” said Hastings. “I went out and tested it myself and had bed bugs dying four to six seconds after coming in contact with the product which impressed me.

“It acts quickly and fits into our integrated approach to bed bug management that includes heat and conventional pesticide treatments,” says Hastings. “We take it with us on our inspection visits and if we spot bed bugs can we apply it to stop the spread of the infestation and provide the customer with some immediate emotional relief.”

On the top list of bed bug cities, Chicago is followed by Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York and Columbus, Ohio to round out the top five – or the worst five. Those four additional cities are home to schools such as USC, UCLA, Loyola Marymount, NYU, Columbia, Fordham, St. John’s, George Washington, Georgetown, American and The Ohio State University – not to mention smaller universities, colleges and technical schools.

STUDENT FRIENDLY

EcoRaider is unlike most products on the market, it is a natural, green solution that does not stain linens or bedding and is safe for college students. It is used in many sensitive areas because it is safe for use – especially dorms

EcoRaider, available online, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. It is also available to professional pest control operators through national distributors. It demonstrates as the only natural product that kills bed bugs with 100% efficacy based on a research paper published by The Entomological Society of America’s Journal of Economic Entomology – it allows bed bug control with a green, natural product.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

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