The Buzz on Spring Household Pests

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bee activity is increasing with the warmer temperatures. Although carpenter bees resemble bumble bees, the two can be readily distinguished from one another because carpenter bees have shiny bare abdomens, while bumble bees have yellowish hairs on their abdomens. The male bees are easy to identify because they have white spots in the center of their head (between their eyes) and they are typically seen hovering around prime real estate (from a carpenter bee's perspective) watching for the girl bee of their dreams and chasing off rival males at the same time. Males bees do not sting but their aggressive behavior can intimidate people.

After mating, the female bee goes hunting for a new place to build a nesting gallery. Choice locations include wooden porch rails and balusters, wooden planks and solid wood siding (even "repellent" woods such as cedar). The females handle the workload and excavate a nearly perfectly round hole and gallery that typically follows the wood grain. She then makes a ball of pollen, sticks it into the gallery and deposits an egg before constructing a partition of chewed wood debris and other materials. She then repeats this process until the gallery is furnished with each of her "children" having their own room (but no internet or cable TV). At that point, the females die and so for most of the summer, no activity is seen. The offspring will emerge in the late summer/fall and hang around before finding a sheltered location (like an abandoned gallery) where they pass the winter.

We still do not have any pesticides that provide long-term protection of wood for the duration of the bees' activity. It's also difficult economically and from a safety perspective to spray all of the exposed overhead wooden areas to protect them from the bees. We still recommend the tried and true method of dusting individual holes with a pesticide dust (some wettable powder formulations are labeled for this use, too) and then seal the holes (to keep out moisture).

We have additional information online at: http://insects.ncsu.edu/Urban/carpenterbees.htm

Paper Wasps

Overwintering paper wasps (Polistes spp.) queens are starting to become active. This is another situation where insects show up indoors and people think that they're entering their homes from outside. For the most part, the wasps have spent the winter in wall voids, attics, and crawlspaces. As a result, as the weather warms and they become active, some of the wasps accidentally stray indoors (instead of heading to the great outdoors) and people assume that there is an active nest in their wall, attic or crawlspace. The wasps are usually slow moving (you would be too if you had slept all winter!) and simply buzz about looking for a way outside but that creates this appearance of being aggressive. Although these wasps can sting, their main goal is finding:  a) food; and b) a place to build a nest. They are an easy target for a rolled-up newspaper!

The wasps that do make it to the outside (or were hiding out under bark, tarps, etc.) will often be seen hovering around the house exterior, particularly near chimneys and other vertical objects. This attraction to vertical objects often makes cell phone towers and similar structures the object of their attention which can be disconcerting to workers hundreds of feet up servicing these structures. Hereto, people assume that there is already an active nest and simply can't find it. Spraying broad areas of house siding, deck, etc. is not going to stop this activity.

The wasps are busy scoping out perspective nesting sites. If you have clients concerned about getting stung, wasps can be treated with a wasp & hornet spray that propels the chemical about 15-20 feet. Exercise caution as you spray overhead.

Also, remind people that despite their reputation for stinging, these wasps are actually beneficial and prey on caterpillars and other insects that would likely be chomping down on their flower or vegetable garden later in the year. So, focus on nests that may pose an imminent hazard. Trying to eradicate every wasp is neither practical or (more importantly) environmentally sound. For more info, please visit:

http://insects.ncsu.edu/Urban/paperwasp.htm

March Madness (Insect Style), by Mike Waldvogel

Termites. It's finally spring (at least in theory!). Rain earlier last week coupled with our warmer temperatures are a great prelude to termite swarming. Most of what people see are termite swarms outdoors which, as I have said in numerous past years, is just nature's way of reminding you that termites are all around you. It does NOT mean that you should spray your yard (which won't really help anyway); nor does it mean you need to have your house treated. HOWEVER, if you haven't had your house treated or inspected in recent years, then having it inspected might be a good idea. You can do the inspection yourself if you're confident (i.e., you're sure you know what to look for) and careful about checking the foundation (crawlspace and exterior) which may require pushing back fiberglass insulation so you can check wood framing that rests on the foundation. You should also check "critical areas" around plumbing. Calling a professional to inspect your house has its obvious advantages in that pest management professionals can probably be efficient in inspecting your home. Remember, a termite treatment isn't needed unless you find evidence of termite activity, although some people may decide to act proactively and have their house treated.

On the other hand, if termites swarm indoors, then you most likely have an infestation that should be addressed within a few weeks. Bear in mind, that even if you find swarmers, you don't need to rush on making a decision. Call a few companies, and get their assessment of any problem and an estimate of the cost to treat the house (if needed). Depending on the size and nature of your home's construction, termite treatments range from $500 to $2000 plus. Take the time to make an informed, well-founded decision about the type of treatment and warranty being offered. Damage repair warranties sound great but read the contract and understand that the warranty excludes "existing damage" which means damage that is identified as already present at the time of their initial inspection (this should be noted on the diagram they present to you with a proposal to treat the house) OR damage that wasn't visible at the time of the inspection (e.g., inside a wall) and there are no live termites present when the damage is discovered. While this may sound unfair, it's simply a matter that the company can't be accountable for damage that wasn't visible/accessible when they initiated the warranty and so there's no way to know when it occurred.

Serious termite damage takes years to occur. Many companies can take 7-14 days to get around to treating a customer's house during peak termite activity. So, if your floor was going to fall in because of termite damage, it would happen regardless of whether you have the house treated today or in 2-3 weeks. However, if there is significant structural damage due to termites, then you may want to do repairs before proceeding with any treatment in case the repairs require any soil excavation (which could also disrupt any termite treatment in the process).

We have more information about termites at: http://insects.ncsu.edu/wood.htm

Mosquitoes. You may be wondering how the cool/cold wet weather impacts pests, such as mosquitoes, and whether that means we'll have fewer mosquitoes. You will see mosquitoes out there even with some of our projected cooler temperatures, but those mosquitoes are species that overwinter as adults and respond more quickly to rises in air temperature.

In most of NC, our major problem is the Asian tiger mosquito; it spends the winter as an egg, which means it needs water (for the larvae to use as a habitat), plus temperature (water and air temperature), and an increasing day length to trigger activity. So, we still have time before we start seeing any real problems. However, this is the time of year to be thinking "habitat modification," which simply means a bunch of things you need to add to your list of spring chores:

• Get rid of (or repair) those objects that collect water. Fix tarps covering boats, cars, etc. so they don't collect water. If you're going to use rain barrels to collect and conserve water for use in your garden, make sure they have been cleaned of all leaf debris and other organic matter and that you cover them with screening to keep out debris and exclude mosquitoes.

• Clean out your gutters which trap water, along with leaves and organic debris, that attract mosquitoes (for egg-laying purposes).

• Clean out drainage ditches in front of your property. They're meant to catch and drain run-off, not become breeding pools for mosquitoes.

• And convince your neighbors to do the same because mosquito control takes a community effort. Mosquito control is a good example of the phrase "It takes a village" because everyone has to participate and it only takes one proverbial "village idiot" to make the collective effort fail.

Ticks. We're still a few months away from "tick season" but that doesn't mean some won't start wandering about looking for a meal. Mow back any taller weeds on the fringe of your yard to cut back on habitat favoring field mice and other hosts of the common ticks that we have here. When you're finished mowing/trimming back those weeds, don't forget to check yourself over for ticks. Better safe than being tick food!

Ground Bees Active But Pose No Threaten to People or Yards, by Steve Frank, NCSU Extension Entomologist

As I write this my front yard is abuzz with small bees. Many are flying around just above the ground while others fly back and forth to redbuds and camellias gathering pollen.

Although these bees do not generally sting, I watch as mothers nervously cross the street with strollers. Neighbors pass by and comment "Watch out for all those fire ants" referring to the small mounds that dot my sparsely vegetated lawn. Others offer suggestions on how to rid myself of these dangerous beasts that are "tearing up your lawn."

The bees I am watching are ground nesting bees in the family Andrenidae. All the species in this family are solitary and nest in the ground. Solitary means they do not maintain vast hives with hundreds of workers like honeybees or yellow jackets. A single female bee builds the nest by burrowing into the ground. She prepares larval cells where eggs will be laid. Mothers provision each brood cell with a mixture of pollen and nectar (called bee bread) that serves as food for young larvae. After laying an egg she closes the brood cell and starts another. After completing several brood cells the mother will seal the entrance and leave the nest to begin a new nest. After a few weeks she will die leaving the next generation safe in the ground.

Bee emerging from its mound (Photo: S.D. Frank).

In the spring, bees complete development and emerge as adults that dig their way out of the ground and forage for pollen and nectar to provision their own nests (see photo above). The visual spectacle of these bees is produced largely by males who swarm over nests trying to mate with newly emerged females. The other noticeable aspect of these bees is the small mounds of dirt excavated for each nest.

Hundreds of small mounds created by bees.

Hundreds of small mounds and swarms of bees often trigger calls to exterminators or landscape professionals (see photo at right). Homeowners fear that they will be attacked and stung as they bend over to pick up the paper and they believe that the bees are actively damaging their yard and want them gone. This is not the case.

An ovipositor is the organ female insects use to insert eggs into substrates such as leaves, wood, soil, other insects, or in our case brood cells. In social insects such as honeybees, most of the females are workers that do not mate or lay eggs and thus have no need for an ovipositor. However, they do need to protect the nest from invaders. Therefore, the ovipositor of these social species has evolved into a stinger to ward off threats.

With this in mind it is easy to understand why the threat of being stung by the ground nesting bees in my yard is so small. First, the bees swarming around are mostly males. Males don't lay eggs and thus do not have an ovipositor, modified or otherwise. The female bees are responsible for all aspects of nest construction and provisioning and are busy digging and foraging. Since the ovipositor of ground nesting bees is necessary for laying eggs, it is not well developed as a stinger, if at all. I won't say that you will never be stung because this would encourage some fool to torment bees until they proved me wrong. However, I have handled these bees quite a bit and have never been stung (see photo below).

Bee held safely for a portrait (Photo: S.D. Frank).

These bees prefer to nest in dry, sparsely vegetating areas. Therefore, if you have bees nesting in your lawn it is because the grass is thin and the soil is dry. The bees don't make it this way, they just take advantage of the conditions. If anything the bees are providing a valuable service by aerating the lawn!

The behavior and habitat preference of these bees leads us to the most promising ways to reduce their abundance in a particular yard. First they like dry soil they can dig nests in. Therefore, irrigation over the 3-4 weeks bees are active will encourage them to find other nest sites and reduce their abundance the following year. In addition, they like thin lawns with plenty of bare spots. Thus, you can take measures to improve the density of your grass to make it less appealing to bees. Native bees are an important part of ecosystems and food production. We should take steps to protect these bees or at least use non-lethal means to encourage them to nest somewhere else.

New brochure on IPM for Schools and Child Care Facilities now available.

A collaborative effort between NCSU, Texas A&M and Syngenta has produced this new IPM publication - "An Ounce of Prevention!" covering IPM for Schools and Child Care Facilities. 

"AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION" Brochure

Proper Use and Maintenance of Insect Light Traps

If maintained and used properly, insect light traps (ILTs) can be very effective at both capturing and monitoring for flies. ILTs allow for easy identification, because generally, intact flies are preserved in the sticky traps. The following maintenance and use tips will help ensure your ILTs are working to the best of their ability:

Light Trap Location. Location and proper positioning are main factors in successful light trap usage:

Install lights on the same wall as entryways, if
possible (Photo: Mike Waldvogel, NCSU

• Install traps either on the same wall as the entryway (see photo at left), or on a nearby perpendicular wall. The attractant light should not be seen from the outside to avoid attracting outdoor flies.
• Avoid other light sources that could potentially compete with the trap. Try to avoid placing ILTs in brightly lit areas, if possible.
• Insects need to be able to see the light, so make sure that there is nothing placed in front of the ILT that would substantially block the light.
• For day-flying insects like house flies, install wall-mount or corner-mount light traps low.
• Ceiling-hung traps work better for night fliers like stored product moths.
• Install ILTs along the path to stored or processed food. Narrow hallways are good installation sites. ILTs are most effective where flying insects are funneled into narrow spaces.
• In food-processing areas, place ILTs so as to draw insects away from the food. Do not install ILTs over exposed food or near food prep surfaces. 
• Place open tube electrocuting traps near back doors that lead to garbage areas and dumpsters but are not near food or customers.
• To capture Drosophila (fruit flies), place an ILT that contains a sticky board low behind counters or behind beverage or salad bars. 
• Place ILTs in drop ceilings or attics to trap overwintering flies, such as cluster flies. 
• Don’t place ILTs near air blowers or in areas where there are strong air currents. 

Trap Maintenance. Be sure to dust off the lamps and the guard door on a regular basis. Use a wire brush to remove insects from the grid. The lamps, reflector and grid should be periodically washed with warm, soapy water. Inspect the trap for signs of electrical problems like damaged wires, cracked insulators, scorched transformers or loose electrical connections. Most ILTs will automatically turn off the electricity when the trap is opened for inspection or maintenance. However, it may be necessary to unplug the unit before cleaning.

Collection trays should be emptied and cleaned regularly. Dead insects left in the collection tray may attract dermestid beetles, so don’t wait until it’s full of insects to empty the tray. A small paint brush can be used to brush insect parts out of the catch tray and other parts of the trap.

Many ILTs use glue boards rather than a collection tray. Glue boards that are dusty or full of debris and insects will not be ineffective and should be changed. Even if the glue boards are clean and empty, they can dry out over time. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations for replacement of the glue board.

Most manufacturers recommend that lamps be replaced at least annually. The effective life of a lamp is about 7,000 hours or 9½ months of use. Even if the light appears alright, it may no longer attract insects. It’s good practice to replace the lamp in the spring to ensure they are most effective during peak season.

Examine the catch. Examine traps regularly. An increase in trap catch or the appearance of a new pest may indicate a developing pest problem somewhere in the building.

Use and promote IPM. Fly management will get an extra boost if other pest control strategies, such as exclusion and sanitation, are integrated with ILTs. Discuss with and educate your customers about the issues that may be contributing to a fly problem. Provide recommendations for minimizing these conditions. In addition, take advantage of any opportunities for some up-selling. For example, you might recommend the use of fly fans (air curtains) and/or vinyl strips at exterior doors and loading docks.

The Buzz About Paper Wasps

Common paper wasp (Polistes spp.)
Photo:  Russ Ottens, Univ. of Georgia

The cooling weather will soon bring an end to activity for Polistes or paper wasp colonies. There are

several species of paper wasps, but the common ones are brown in color with yellow stripes on their abdomens. The workers (who will die soon), along with next year's crop of queens, are starting to bail out of their nests. The surviving queens will seek out some place to pass the winter. All too often our houses, and other structures, become the location of choice.

You may begin seeing wasps outdoors hovering about the eaves and soffits on warm afternoons. At some point, the wasps may make their way indoors, and things can get more exciting. The wasps are often seeing moving about slowly and bouncing off windows, ceilings, light fixtures, etc. Cold weather seems to stop the activity, but quite likely on subsequent warm days you will find wasps flying about indoors or again spot them outside around the roof area.

A few things to keep in mind:

First - seeing the wasps does not mean that there is a nest in a wall; however, there may be a nest outdoors on a roof overhang, under a porch, in/on a tree or some other protected area.

Second - since these are queens looking for overwintering sites and not workers defending a nest, they are not aggressive and so stinging incidents are rare unless you have a "close encounter of the Polistes kind," such as I had when I laced up my running shoe one morning only to discover that a wasp had crawled inside there during the night.

Third - spraying indoors is an exercise in futility because there simply isn't a specific target area you can treat. Spraying the exterior of the building also has limited value because there are so many gaps accessible to the wasps.

Best advice: keep a rolled-up newspaper handy. Be patient; let the wasp land then smack it.

For further information about paper wasps, check out:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note144/note144.html

http://insects.ncsu.edu/Urban/paperwasp.htm

Kudzu Bugs on the Move Again

Kudzu bugs aggregating on structure searching for 

overwintering sites (Photo:  Dan Suiter, Univ. of Georgia)

Kudzu bugs will soon be moving out of soybean fields, which means you may begin seeing them aggregating on or inside structures. The kudzu bug's fall movement indoors is very similar to what we've experienced since the 1990’s with the Asian lady beetle. The major difference between the two insects is that the Asian lady beetle is actually beneficial as a biological control agent because it feeds on aphids and other plant-feeding insects. By contrast, the kudzu bug's primary food source (aside from kudzu) happens to be field crops, such as soybeans, where they can significantly impact on yield. The kudzu bugs fondness for soybeans is one reason why we could see significant numbers of them invading homes and other buildings, even in rural areas. In more urban areas, there are plenty of other hosts, such as wisteria and privet. The insects are quite mobile; they are able to catch rides on wind currents, as well as automobiles, trucks, trains, and planes. This helps explain why this pest has managed to spread in about 4 years from the north-central Georgia to most of South Carolina, North Carolina and on into Virginia (plus west into Mississippi).

At this point, we still do not have anything new to report in terms of recommendations as to how to address this problem. Kudzu bugs are attracted to light-colored surfaces but that certainly doesn't mean that brick buildings or those with dark-colored siding will escape the bug invasion. While shortcuts and easy solutions would be nice, there simply aren't any.

The emphasis still has to be on exclusion because chemical control is only partially effective and relies primarily on targeting the insects that are aggregating on surfaces. Preventive sprays are not recommended because they simply won't be durable enough to last the weeks during which these insects will be actively seeking overwintering sites. If you feel a treatment is required, stick with targeted treatments of critical areas: windows and doorframes, soffits, and eaves. If you choose to treat using a pyrethroid insecticide, remember to follow new label requirements. For the latest label changes, visit:  http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reevaluation/environmental-hazard-statment.html.

For more information about the kudzu bug, please visit our website: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/kudzubug.htm