Stink bugs coming out! What do you do?

With the extended winter weather we experienced in March, the stink bugs stayed in for a little longer. But with the beautiful weather during this second week of April here in the Greater DC area, the stink bugs have finally emerged. I got home today and our bathroom door was locked and my wife was insisting I do something to fix the infestation. I’m sure I’m not the only husband out there being given this task today, so, I thought I’d offer a few tips on what you can do when a stink bug invasion has already occurred.

A picture of our skylight covered with stink bugs.

How to get rid of stink bugs:

1. Don’t use pesticides in the house to control stink bugs, it’s just not effective. It will cause other problems if you do, because the dead stink bugs will attract mice, carpet beetles and other pests to your home.
2. Use a vacuum, preferably one that can be emptied as soon as you vacuum them up. If you have a vacuum that uses a bag don’t let the bag sit with the stink bugs in it, it could start to stink. Preferably use a shop vac or a bagless vacuum and remember to empty it after each use, I prefer to empty it into the toilet rather than outside so they can’t reproduce.
3. Seal up your home, but wait until summer, you don’t want seal your house up while they are still in it because then you end up with dead stink bugs in your home. In June or July calk around windows and doors, around outlets and fixtures outside, make sure your soffits are closed up and any vents have screens.
4. Treat the exterior of your home to kill exiting stink bugs in the spring and keep them from reproducing in your yard. Then treat in the fall to prevent entry of stink bugs into your home. In the fall If you can keep stink bugs from congregating on the walls of your home they won’t release a “herd” pheromone that causes the walls to be covered by a blanket of stink bugs as you have probably seen before.

Unfortunately stink bugs are here to stay and there is no quick fix. If you have them in the house right now the vacuum is your friend, but if you use some of these tips hopefully your problem will be drastically reduced come this time next year.

Damien Sanchez
Owner DC Mosquito Squad

Virginia Tick Borne Disease Awareness Week

The Commonwealth of Virginia has officially declared April 7-13, 2013 to be Virginia Tick Borne Disease Awareness Week.

Tick related vector borne diseases, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis have been a source of human and animal suffering and illness in Virginia for many years. The Commonwealth of Virginia recognizes that tick related concerns and vector-borne diseases diminish enjoyment of the outdoors, public parks and playgrounds, tourism, hinders outdoor labor and reduces livestock productivity. It is important to encourage effective and environmentally safe tick control activities, and it is essential to facilitate communication and education among Virginia’s tick control professionals to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of tick control through integrated pest management in Virginia. The Virginia Department of Health, in cooperation with other state agencies and government organizations labor continually in public awareness campaigns to prevent the spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases through public awareness and education.

Here at Mosquito Squad of Greater Washington DC, we have long been aware of the prevalence of ticks and tick-borne disease here in the DC region. Virginia has been struck especially hard by the increasing number of infected individuals and the fast spread of Lyme disease. We are thankful to have partnered with the National Capital Lyme Disease Association to help raise awareness of Lyme and tick-borne disease issues here in our region. We’re also happy to be a tick control specialists in our region, and offer services that eliminate ticks on your own property. We believe awareness of the dangers of ticks & prevention is key in battling an increase in tick-borne diseases here in the DC metro area.

The proclamation for Virginia’s Tick Borne Disease Awareness Week was signed on February 19, 2013 by Secretary Janet Vestal Kelly and Governor Bob McDonnell. See the proclamation here for more information:

Tick Borne Disease Awareness Week

A special thanks to our wonderful employee Dale, who was persistent in contacting Governor McDonnell’s office about declaring an official tick borne disease awareness week in Virginia. We’re thrilled to see the second week of April declared as an official state-wide initiative to inform the public about tick borne disease.

At InfusionSoft Conference 2013!

Today kicked off the first day of InfusionCon (InfusionSoft Conference) in Scottsdale, Arizona! For the next few days our owner, Damien Sanchez, plus Jennifer & Olivia from our team will be at InfusionCon 2013 to attend the small business sales and marketing event of the year and learn from other entrepreneurs and experts. Damien has utilized InfusionSoft to help with customer service and marketing efforts and he is thrilled to get to attend InfusionCon and meet other entrepreneurs.

He’s excited to be there to learn and attend sessions, plus Damien will be a speaker and get to share how InfusionSoft has helped grow his business. Mosquito Squad of Greater Washington DC is proud to be the 5,312th InfusionSoft customer and a part of their 10K Customer Celebration last year.

So while Damien is rubbing elbows with Daymond John from Shark Tank, David Allen, Mari Smith, Amy Porterfield, and others, be sure to keep up with the conference on Twitter by following the hashtag #icon13 or check out the InfusionSoft blog which will have live blog updates of the conference. Our team at Mosquito Squad of DC looks forward to learning from the other speakers and attendees at the conference and bringing back that knowledge as we enter mosquito & tick season, our busiest time of year.

Mighty Dread Skeeter – Parody of “Casey At The Bat”

Mighty Dread Skeeter – by Dale Cobb (on staff at DC Mosquito Squad)
A parody based on “Casey At The Bat” by Ernest Thayer

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the neighborhood that day;
Mrs Brown was bitten badly while her children were out to play,
Mr. Smith was bitten 20 times, and others were the same,
The mosquitoes attacked this small town with painful deadly aim.

Men abandoned their yard work in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope, which springs eternal, in the human breast;
They thought, if only Dread Skeeter would come and knock ‘em flat
They’d put up even money, now, He’d make them go kersplat

The Bug Authority had tried, as did the Orkin Man,
And the former was ineffective and the latter shrieked and ran
So upon those stricken towns people grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance that Skeeter would arrive at.

Their mosquito invested town, but to the wonderment of all,
A motorcycle’s unmuffled roar tore through the urban sprawl;
And when the dust had lifted, and they saw what had occurred,
There was the Mighty Dread Skeeter having rounding Oak and 3rd.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Dread Skeeter, Mighty Skeeter, smiled and doffed his hat.

There was ease in Skeeter’s manner as he dismounted in this place
There was pride in Skeeter’s bearing and a smile on Skeeter’s face.
He donned his gloves and face-shield, He loaded his tank with care
For when he addressed the mosquitoes, there’d be not one left there.

Five thousand eyes were on him as he pulled the pack’s ripcord,
Five thousand mouths dropped open when its mighty engine roared.
Then while the writhing mosquitoes gathered in their dark formation,
Defiance gleamed in Skeeter’s eye, He targeted their location.

And now the piercing proboscis’ came hurtling through the air,
And Dread Skeeter stood a-watching it in professional grandeur there.
Then from his waist, he quickly drew his double nozzled hose
He fired once, the mosquitoes fell squirming in death throes

From the east, black with mosquitoes, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
“Get him! Get Skeeter!” the mosquitoes seemed to storm;
And it’s likely they’d a-killed him had Dread Skeeter been the norm.

But with a smile of charity great Skeeter’s visage shone;
He stilled the worried townsfolk; turned to taunt the mosquitoes on;
He drew his patent leather whip, soaked in Pyrethroid dew;
Lightning crackled as Skeeter flayed. One thousand fell, No…Two!

The maddened mosquito hordes, dive bombed Skeeter in reply
The people thought, this is the end, Dread Skeeter would surely die.
They saw his face grow focused; they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Skeeter would not fail, he was mosquito bane.

He clenched his teeth and drew one breath then set his STIHL to eight,
He opened up on the teaming horde and sent them to their fate.
The people could not see Dread Skeeter in the cloud of pestilence
But the very air was shattered by the force of the events…

Though he bested those before him and the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children play;
There is no joy in Skeeter’s heart – for Mighty Skeeter let one get away.

City of DC has 1st West Nile Case – Nationally Worst Year for WNV

DC Department of Health officials have reported the first case of West Nile Virus in the District of Columbia.

Nationwide, there has been an alarmingly high increase in West Nile infections. CNN reported that there have been over 1,100 cases nationwide, including 42 deaths. As of yesterday, Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012, there are now 9 cases in Maryland, 2 in Virginia, and 1 in DC. The Washington DC metropolitan area is known as one of the “buggiest cities” in the US, and due to our climate and terrain, the mosquito population is high. Because West Nile Virus is spread by the bite of an infected female mosquito, Washingtonians need to be extra cautious during peak infection months of August & September.

In order to eliminate mosquitoes and reduce the risk of West Nile Virus infection, Mosquito Squad recommends the five following tips:

1. Tip – Reduce standing water to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, including those underneath and around downspouts, in plant saucers and dog bowls.
2. Toss – Excess grass, leaves, piles, fire wood.
3. Turn – Turn over larger items like children’s sandboxes, wagons or plastic toys.
4. Remove Tarp - If tarps stretched over firewood piles, boats or sports equipment aren’t taut, they’re holding water.
5. Treat - Utilize a mosquito elimination barrier treatment around the home and yard, such as Mosquito Squad. Using a barrier treatment at home reduces the need for using DEET-containing bug spray.

If you’re worried you’ve been infected: 

People typically develop symptoms between 3-14 days after they are bitten by the infected mosquito. According to the CDC, only about one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness. Severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent. If you develop symptoms of severe WNV illness, seek medical attention immediately.

To find out more about West Nile Virus, visit our Mosquito-borne Disease page here and the CDC’s fact sheet on West Nile Virus.

Mosquito Squad of Greater Washington, DC, offers mosquito and tick control services for both residential and commercial clients inside the Beltway in the great DC region.  To find out more information about our barrier spray services and how you can “fight the bite” in your own backyard, please visit our website here.

World Mosquito Day

Today, Monday, August 20th, 2012 is World Mosquito Day.

115 years ago on this date (in 1897), British doctor Sir Ronald Ross made the historic discovery that Malaria was transmitted via female mosquitoes to humans.

After dissecting mosquitoes known to have fed on a patient with malaria, Ross discovered the malaria parasite in the stomach wall of the mosquito. Using malarious birds, Ross was able to determine the complete life cycle of the Malaria parasite, including presence in an infected mosquito’s salivary glands. Through his studies and research, Ross confirmed the transmission of Malaria parasites via infected birds to healthy ones by mosquito bites, a finding that implied the disease’s mode of transmission to humans. This finding and breakthrough in medicine, earned Dr. Ross the Nobel prize for medicine in 1902.

It is important to know, that mosquito-borne disease are still prevalent worldwide and are a global health concern. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates around 350-500 million cases of Malaria occur worldwide each year, and more than one million deaths are attributed to Malaria, constituting mostly of young children in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism.

For more information on World Mosquito Day, visit the Malaria No More website and view their “Guide to World Mosquito Day” video here.

Mosquito Squad is proud to partner with Malaria No More in the fight to make Malaria, No More. For more information on ways that you can help, please visit here.

 

First Case of West Nile Virus Infection in DC Region

The first human case of West Nile Virus for the DC region this season, was reported by Maryland health officials this past Friday, August 10th, 2012. A Central Marylander adult has been infected and is the state’s first confirmed case of the disease for this year. West Nile Virus has also been detected in a pool of mosquitoes collected in Montgomery County.

“West Nile Virus continues to threaten the health of Maryland residents,” said DHMH Secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein. “These findings remind us that there are basic actions we can all take to reduce our risk of getting infected.”

This is the first reported case of West Nile Virus in the Washington DC metropolitan area. West Nile Virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. In order to eliminate mosquitoes and reduce the risk of West Nile Virus infection, Mosquito Squad recommends the five following tips:

1. Tip – Reduce standing water to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, including those underneath and around downspouts, in plant saucers and dog bowls.
2. Toss – Excess grass, leaves, piles, fire wood.
3. Turn – Turn over larger items like children’s sandboxes, wagons or plastic toys.
4. Remove Tarp - If tarps stretched over firewood piles, boats or sports equipment aren’t taut, they’re holding water.
5. Treat - Utilize a mosquito elimination barrier treatment around the home and yard, such as Mosquito Squad. Using a barrier treatment at home reduces the need for using DEET-containing bug spray.

Mosquito Squad of Greater Washington, DC, offers mosquito and tick control services for both residential and commercial clients inside the Beltway in the great DC region.  To find out more information about our barrier spray services and how you can “fight the bite” in your own backyard, please visit our website here.