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Fleas
(SIPHONAPTERA) sub order (ctenocephilides felis) Fleas are known as ecto
parasite (external) Recognition features, small wingless insects Flattened
from side to side and living ectoparasitically on mammals and birds, usually
brown or black, the entire life cycle is spent in the vicinity of the
host, only the adult flea feeds from its host ,fleas will leave their
host from time to time to breed around the edges of the carpet, after
you have treated your pets, you must then wash all the animals beds, and
have the infective areas treated with a suitable chemical, several visits
may be required to ensure the breeding cycle has been eliminated from
the premises, Order, (hymenoptera) Wasps, Bees, ants There are approximately
120,000 known species through out the world of which, 6,500 of these insects
are found in the British isles, They are varied in size, appearance, and
habits, but the order can be split in to two well defined sub orders These
are the SYMPHYTA, in which there is no waist, and the APOCRITA, IN which
there is a very narrow waist, the order APORCRITA contains bees, wasps,
and ants, these insects live in social groups.
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Wasps (VESPULA VULGARIS, VESPULA GERMANICA)
Wasps Can make nest sites in the loft, in the trees, or below ground, mostly causing a nuisance to us, only the new queen will survive over the winter and start the new nest site in the spring, the young queen had mated last autumn, once she has visualized the surroundings she will then fly to a tree then back to the loft until she has made a mental map of the area, while catching flies, and chewing bark from fruit trees mixed with surlier which she will construct the new nest, she makes several honeycombed compartments to lay the eggs which she has carried, the wasp larva stays in the honeycomb until the final stages of growth has been completed, then they visualize the surrounding area just like the queen had to do, Wasps are very visual they have two compound eyes and three simple eyes on the top of there heads this enables workers and drones to detect ultra violet light from plants so that they can gather nectar from plants to process food..
If you should find a live wasp nest do not attempt to remove or destroy it, call in a technician to deal with the problem, he will have the necessary personal protective equipment, plus contact dusts, or residual sprays, they are all covered by coshh regulations 1999,
It is very important to remember each time you enter a loft space to look around and see if any nesting structures have appeared between early spring, and autumn, or check around the guttering to see if there are any wasps flying in or out, any vibration near the nest site will cause the queen to send out attack pheremones.
As we grow older we will become less immune to wasp stings, this symptom is called anaphalactic shock which can in some cases can cause death..
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Ants (LASIUS NIGER)
Black garden ants are the only indigenous British species that commonly enters houses they usually live in soil or under paving slabs, when an ant colony leaves the nest to forage for food they follow scent pheremones so that they can find a food source to collect, and then return to the nest safely by following the scent trail, however due to excessive Application of pesticides, garden ants also prefer to nest inside our houses, during the hot summer months ants take to swarming, mating in flight, and finding new locations to establish new nest sites, Ant numbers are on the increase , the industries ant was a quote from aesops fables he mentions how hard an ant colony works through the summer months gathering food to store, ants have a farmer cattle relationship with aphids, ants will protect, and shelter the aphids, while the aphid feeds on a plant they excrete honey dew which the ants harvest, leaves are taken to the nest and stored to grow a fungus which is used as food .
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Pharaohs Ants MONOMORIUM PHARAONIS)
Pharaohs ants where originally from the tropics, however they can survive in any
Centrally heated location, and are widely distributed through out the temperate regions,
These ants are looking for proteins, like blood or fat, they can survive in hospitals, zoos, domestic premises, and food manufacturing premises, because these ants are so small they can become a real nuisance with many nest, and many queens, each queen can lay up to 300- 350 eggs, residual spray treatments are not recommended, granular, or gel baits are available, treatment times for this ant can be very extensive depending on how long this current infestation has been left to establish its self.
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Cockroaches (BLATTA ORIENTALIS, BLATTELLA GERMANIC Oriental cockroaches prefer colder conditions so infestations will occur in basements and around
drains, they do not climb very well, however they are very common all over the world, adults can grow to 20-24 mm, they lay eggs which are detached from the adult, this egg lays hidden for two months until hatching, when hatching occurs inside the egg which is called an oothecae there are 16 to 18 nymphs, German cockroaches are light brown 13-16mm the egg lays on the back for one month and discarded just before hatching occurs an average of 35-40 young, laying an egg case separated from the adult was a new innovation which occurred 27 million years ago, occasionally are technicians find other types of cockroaches which are not common, like American, Australian, brown banded, (periplaneta Americana, peraplenata australasiae, supella longipalpa,naucilidas
Nigra, & panchlora species.)
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Masonary bees, osmia & andrena species,
These bees are solitary bees they make there nests behind the mortar between house bricks, chimney stacks, ridge tiles, and gable ends on roofs.
Honey & bumble bees (APIS MELLIFERA, BOMBUS LUCORUM)
Any pest controller would be very reluctant to poison these insects because they are harmless to humans unless provoked, bees are beneficial to the garden because they pollinate the plants and can be removed unharmed to a new location, some of are customers have homed bees that have been removed from a different location.
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Bed bugs (CIMEX LECTULARIS)
Bed bugs have been with us since we lived in the caves millions of years ago, when fully grown they are the size of a ladybird, bed bugs are nocturnal, hiding under seams around the bed or between the wooden frames, bed bugs go through an in complete metamorphosis, So the young bed bugs cannot be seen with the naked eye, because they are transparent until they reach adult hood, and they have acquired enough blood feeds to turn a reddish brown color, bed bugs can travel from other countries in your luggage, or they can lay dormant for over a year until the bed has for example been taken out of storage, and been placed in an other premises or a hostel, they can feel vibration or heat which attracts their attention, once full of blood they start to breed..
To treat an infestation can be extensive depending on how long the bed bugs have been left to breed, once bed bugs reach maturity they build up resistance to the chemicals,
if you suspect any activity, call for a technician immediately to identify the problem, and treat all the infected areas, when bed bugs are in the nymphal stage elimination of this insect is more effective because there resistance is low.To treat an infestation can be extensive depending on how long the bed bugs have been left to breed, once bed bugs reach maturity they build up resistance to the chemicals,
if you suspect any activity, call for a technician immediately to identify the problem, and treat all the infected areas, when bed bugs are in the nymphal stage elimination of this insect is more effective because there resistance is low.
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