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Signs of Fall and nuisance pests
By John Fulton

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[September 02, 2016]  All we have to do is look at a calendar, and we can see fall is coming at us rapidly. There are also many other signs, symptoms, and legends that predict the change in season and the severity of the winter.

The wooly bear caterpillar legend is one of the most often quoted. The banded wooly bear is black at both ends, and has orange and black stripes in the middle. The legend says the more stripes that are black in the middle, the more severe the winter. Science says more stripes are dark dependent on moisture conditions in the area and the age of the caterpillar. There are also nine US species. The banded wooly bear is the larvae of the Isabella moth. Other moth larvae in the group have different colored caterpillars.

Why are <b>cicadas</b> so noisy? | HowStuffWorks
Cicada

Of course, the first frost can be predicted by the singing of cicadas. “Six weeks from the first song of the dog day cicada comes the first frost.” Boy I hope not. That would mean next week is going to be very chilly. A yellow butterfly flying in your face also mean a frost, but this time it will be in 10 days.


cricket

There are some more meaningful signs. The buckeye trees have started losing their leaves in large numbers, and the crickets are “singing” – or trying to get into your home. Crickets are in the nuisance pest group, but are more troublesome than most since they make loud noises in the middle of the night.

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With nuisance pests, the best offense becomes a good defense. We can start with a barrier pesticide application on the foundation of the house (and the adjacent foot or two of soil around it) with something like permethrin insecticide. This puts down a barrier that insects crawl through when trying to get in or on your house. Insects may not die immediately, but shouldn’t last long after crawling through this barrier. In severe cases of insects congregating on outside walls, entire walls can be treated. Just make sure you test apply the chemical to a small section to make sure you don’t discolor siding.

Of course, if insects are already in the house the barrier won’t stop them. Inside the home, only aerosol products should be used. The safest of the group are the ones for flying insects that contain pyrthrins or their derivatives. These products basically kill insects that you get the spray on, and the sprays are inactivated by hitting the wall, floor, or other surfaces. You can spray the air in a particular room and vacuum up the dead insects in an hour or so. This is one way to get insects inside the house. Remember the toxic principles of pyrethrins and pyrethroids on dogs and cats, particularly with direct sprays.

Another useful tactic, particularly with ants and crickets, is to use baseboard type sprays. These products are typically labeled ant and roach type products, and may last for several weeks. Just spray in the high insect traffic areas, along baseboards, to put down a lasting barrier inside the house.

For ants, the bait stations also offer us the opportunity to kill the entire nests. The bait stations are probably the most effective, but should be used alone for at least a week. Then you can also use the baseboard type sprays. The idea is to let live ants get to the bait and take some to the nest.

For those that don’t like to use chemical products, the use of sticky boards (like the type used for rats and mice) offer an option. Place these in areas where many insects are seen, such as room corners and under stairs in the basement. The vacuum cleaner is also a good option for cleaning insects from draperies and the like.

[By JOHN FULTON, COUNTY EXTENSION DIRECTOR SERVING LOGAN, MENARD, AND SANGAMON COUNTIES]

 

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