Keep Watch for Masonry Bees - Do Not Mistake Them for Wasps

At Key West Pest Control, we are keen to promote the interests of the bee population. All life is dependent on the pollination of crops and plants as carried out by the bees. Indeed, a view frequently attributed to Albert Einstein states that if the world bee population were to die out, then humankind would become extinct around four years after. It has been recognised and proved that the bee population is experiencing severe diminution owing to climate change and disease. For this reason, we would like to highlight the importance of protecting the masonry bee. Everyone can play their part in protecting the masonry bee simply by not killing them. People frequently kill masonry bees because they are similar in appearance to, and are mistaken for, wasps

 Masonry (or "mortar") bees are solitary creatures that do not nest in a colony but favour singular holes in the ground and occasionally in walls and in mortar joints, soft bricks and stones. We host around 20 different species in Britain. The most commonly found species of masonry bee is Osmia rufa (the red masonry bee). In order to enhance the germination of eggs, masonry bees favour south-facing, sunny points. On an annual basis, their nests are established in spring or summer (according to species) and usually contain between six to twelve eggs. Each egg is provided with pollen and nectar is usually sealed with the use of mud. The following year the new adults will exit and repeat the cycle. As mentioned they are similar in appearance to wasps and somewhat similar to the honeybee. Only the females have a sting, which they will not use unless we accidentally apply pressure to them such as squeezing them or sitting on them.

If there is a dense aggregation of masonry bees in a building they may cause damage to the fabric of a building. In such circumstances professional action may be required. A serious problem would be signalled by multiple nesting holes and large numbers of the bees around a wall of a building. Another indication would involve the discovery of flakes of mortar and freshly detached pieces of stone or brick. Mortar bees, however, are now thought be much less detrimental to buildings than was previously thought to be the case. Usually therefore professional intervention is unnecessary. Taking into additional consideration the great value the masonry bees add to the environment as pollinators, we would seek to encourage professional control as a last resort.

            A handful of holes will not cause significant damage to the fabric of your business or domestic premises. Masonry bees are opportunistic creatures, often using pre-existing holes and crevices such as beetle borings in timber, space under roof tiles, within locks, behind ventilation grills and in old holes made by nails. The female is attracted to areas situated with a multiplicity of other females present. They are known to use their mandibles to excavate or enlarge holes ejecting debris behind them as they progress. Problems to the fabric of your business or domestic premises would arise if water were to get into a system of holes and freeze during winter, resulting in freeze-thaw action. In rare circumstances birds might disrupt masonry if attempting to feed on the larvae.

Mortar joints affected by masonry bees can be cleaned out to a depth of 15mm and repointed, ideally in late summer or autumn. This will aid in the breaking of the cycle as female masonry bees commonly prefer to re-use their natal nest sites. New mortar should not be too strong for the bricks or stone, but hard enough to discourage the bees. In some cases, it has been known that temporary use of a fine netting over walls is a practical deterrent: this method ought to be employed in the spring when bees are searching for nest sites. We would urge you to provide artificial nesting boxes on or near walls  - this will help entice bees away from them and prevent re-colonisation. These boxes can be home-made from dried clay soil indented with holes. Manufactured kits are available from suppliers. 

Spiders: Nature's Own Form of Pest Control

Spiders: Nature’s Own Form of Pest Control

 

Globally, there are literally thousands of species of spider in existence; it is likely that many species have yet to be discovered. In the UK there are approximately 650 species. Only a handful of these might be encountered within your business or domestic premises. The vast majority of spiders to be found within the UK are harmless, including those that you are most likely to find in your home and workplace. These spiders – those fund in the UK – are not considered to be pests; indeed, it is worth taking into consideration that we treat them as being quite the reverse. Spiders, as is commonly known, spin webs in order to catch insects on which to feed. The insects that spiders are most likely to catch in their webs are, in most cases, considered to be pests. All manner and species of fly are caught by spiders, and sometimes wasps. The advice of Key West Pest Control, therefore, is to avoid destroying spiders’ webs and to avoid killing spiders. Spiders can rightly be considered to be nature’s own form of pest control.

 

The spider species that you are most likely to encounter around and about you domestic and business premises are: the Zebra Jumping Spider; the Cellar Spider; the European Garden Spider; the Giant House Spider; the False Widow Spider; the Wolf Spider. Here follow some facts about these species of spider, which are worth considering the next time you encounter one with a mind to preserving it.

 

Zebra Jumping Spiders (Salticus Scenicus) are named for their black and white markings and can be found all over Britain and Europe. The adult body length, excluding the legs, varies from 5-9mm for females and 5-6mm for males. The distinctive black and white stripes are formed from black and white body hair. The power of their vision is remarkable: they have eight eyes. The two forward eyes are the largest.

 

The Cellar Spider (Pholcidae) is colloquially known as the daddy longlegs spider. Its proper name is given owing to the fact that it is primarily found on the ceilings of rooms or cellars. Adults are 2.5cm in length and have four pairs of long legs and two body parts. The cellar spider will rapidly shake its body on the web when it is disturbed. The legs are very long and thin.

 

Wolf Spiders (Trochose ruricola) hunt at night but spend the day concealed, usually amongst moss and decaying matters. The adult female is approximately 8 mm in length and the male - 6 mm. They are generally between brown and grey in colour.

 

European Garden Spiders (Araneus diadematus) are found across the UK and all over Europe. They are colloquially known as the ‘cross spider’ because of a distinctive white marking on the abdomen.

The adult body length, excluding the legs for females varies from 6 -20 mm and from 5 - 13 mm for males. Colouring can range from light yellow to a very dark grey. All European garden spiders have the distinctive, mottled white markings across the abdomen resembling a cross.

 

The Giant House Spider (Tegenaria gigantea) has an adult body length ranging between 11-18mm for females excluding legs and for males from 10 - 14mm. They are mainly brown in colour on the body with conspicuously hairy legs, palps and abdomen. They are generally found during the Autumn months scampering across the floors of your business or domestic premises in search of a mate

 

False Widow Spiders (Steatoda) have a brown bulbous abdomen with pale markings. The females grow to 15mm. False Widow spiders will only bite in defence if they feel threatened.

 

It's Heating Up - Watch Out for Cluster Flies

Cluster Flies.

 

The ambient temperature is increasing in the UK because it is spring. It is well worth, therefore, being vigilant about the problem of cluster flies. During the summer, cluster flies inhabit and breed in fields, largely in rural areas, and do not pose a significant problem to home owners and business proprietors. These flies are parasitic on earthworms; their larvae live within the soil. The larvae emerge as adults at the end of summer.

 

Cluster Flies are commonly so-called because of their habit of forming clusters, or multiplicities, when they are in a state of hibernation. They are found throughout the UK; although they can be found predominantly in rural areas. The eponymous clusters form during the autumn months and are found in the upper rooms, attics and roof spaces of domestic and business premises. Under natural conditions, without the human interference in conditioning the environment according to our needs, the cluster flies would hibernate in dry, sheltered, secluded areas such as under loose bark or within the main trunk and branches of hollow trees. It is quite possible to encounter mixed populations of species of cluster flies within the same premises. While there is a specific species of cluster fly (Polleniarudis), business proprietors and home owners may experience problems with four other species. These vary in size and colouration. It is important to stress to those experiencing problems with cluster flies that the cause of the problem is by no means one of poor hygiene. In addition, it is far from practicable to attempt to control cluster flies outdoors or, indeed, to control the areas in which they breed.

 

Following their period of cluster fly hibernation during the winter, the survivors of the winter, under natural, non-synthetic conditions, would emerge the following spring in order to return to grassy fields such that they might continue their life cycle. Owing, however, to the reshaping of the environment by man and the consequent construction of business and domestic dwellings within close proximity of open spaces and fields, they tend to congregate, or cluster, on these buildings. The cluster flies especially prefer sunlit, south-east facing, light coloured walls. When temperatures begin to fall in the afternoon the cluster flies tend to manoeuvre themselves into crevices in order to obtain shelter. Such crevices can include those found within window frames and those under the eaves within the roof space. They emerge the following day when the temperatures rise again. As autumn approaches and the general ambient temperature decreases they remain inside the building, and in large numbers.

 

The overall tendency of the cluster flies from year to year is to return to the same building: why? – we do not know; it is something of mystery. There is little point in affixing fly screens to windows and doors as a preventative measure: this specie of fly will generally squeeze into small cracks in window frames and between roof tiles. The annual return to the same building may be the result of preferred wall colour, of the detection of remaining pheromones, or some other reason; but it is not because of poor hygiene.

 

Little can be done to prevent the infestations – even repointing and sealing is largely ineffective. If they want to get in, they will get in. A simple aerosol insecticide spray is all that is required to kill all of the cluster flies with which it makes contact. This method, however, will not kill those hibernating in cracks and crevices: it will not be sufficiently penetrative. Small infestations of cluster flies in your business or domestic premises can be dealt with in the use of a vacuum cleaner, that is, if you do not wish to use a spray. Again, this will not get to those flies still hibernating in the hidden areas. For large-scale cluster fly control, call Key West Pest Control. Our operatives are furnished with the latest techniques and technologies contrived towards the control and elimination of cluster flies and other pests.

 

Encouraging the Bee Population

Encouraging the Bee Population

It is the beautiful month of May and the activity of bees is reaching its annual peak. At Key West Pest Control we are keenly conscious of the plight of the world bee population, which has seen worrying diminution in recent years. Bees are of significant importance to the UK economy; they play a key role in pollinating our arable crops. Approximately 35 per cent of our diet depends on the pollination of crops by bees. A view frequently attributed to Albert Einstein states that if the world bee population were to die out, the human population would follow suit some four years after. In addition, bees play a significant role in the maintenance of our gardens (especially in our vegetable plots) and in our parks by pollinating vegetables and flowers which would otherwise be unable to produce seed.

In the UK, there are two chief types of bee with which most of will have some familiarity: The Honeybee and the Bumblebee. Both populations have experienced massive declines in recent years for a variety of different reasons. Consequently, it is worthwhile learning the difference between the two.

The Honeybee

The Honeybee, of which there is only one species in Europe, are those bees that inhabit hives, the maintenance and survival of which depends on the attention and cultivation of beekeepers in order to produce honey. In physical appearance, honeybees are slimmer and smaller than the Bumblebee. Compared with the Bumblebee the Honeybee has a closer resemblance to a wasp. They have a short tongue, which is better suited to the extraction of food from flowers with open shapes. The cultivated Honeybee population in Britain has seen population depletion as a consequence of the varroa mite. This mite has spread rapidly through the bee hives of Britain since arriving here in 1992.

The Bumblebee

We are blessed with 24 different species if Bumblebee in the UK. For many they are a source of great affection owing to the familiar characteristic of their fluffy bodies. The broad range of different species is characterised by a multiplicity of specialisations: they have different lengths of tongue because they feed from a variety of different shaped flowers. The wild UK Bumblebee populations have experienced declines because of the use of toxic insecticides, unfavourable weather conditions and a reduction in grassland which has previously been rich in wildflowers thus reducing opportunities for nesting and feeding.

How to Encourage the Bumblebee Population in your Garden

While Honeybees are frequently to be found in our gardens, the wild Bumblebee, and the encouragement of the size of its population, is of greatest interest to the UK gardener. There is much that can be done by the gardener to save the Bumblebee from decline – consider that fact that, taken together on aggregate, cultivated gardens equate to over a million acres in the UK. If every gardener were to install a bee house in their garden and saw to it that a good range of trees, flowers and shrubs relevant to the survival of the Bumblebee were planted and cultivated we would help to reverse the decline of population by increasing food and shelter. If you have opted to encourage bees in your garden, and at Key West Pest Control we would urge you to consider this as a course of action, it is vital that you steer clear of using insecticides. Insecticides tend to kill pollinating insects such as bees (along with the intended target)

Bee Friendly Flowers

If you have opted to aim to encourage the bee population in your garden the best course of action is to plant a broad variety of pollen rich flowers with different flowering periods from early on in the Spring to late Summer. It is also important to ensure that the flowers you plant have different flower shapes. The majority of double flower forms lack sufficient pollen or nectar, and access to it is limited from the perspective of the bees; it is best to avoid these. Your aim should be to ensure the presence of at least two different flower species at any time during the early Spring to late Summer period. Generally speaking, any variety of Scabiosa or a wild a flower is most favourable.

Making a Bee House

Many species of Bumblebee simply prefer piles of wood in your garden for nesting. Leaving an untidy pile of logs, branches and stems in a secluded area is all that needs to be done for some species. Others prefer a grassy bank in which to nest. Leave the grass to grow tall and ensure that pollen rich plants are nearby

The Mason Bee prefers to nest in thick stems or holes in wood. Making a bee house is a simple process. Take hollow bamboo canes or stems of thick brambles, or dried Japanese knotweed stems and ensure that the bee entrance points face downwards in order to avoid the rain. A sheltering roof above will help. It is important to fix bee boxes in a south-facing point in your garden that is out of direct sunlight. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made bee box from a retailer.

Good luck!

Spring Has Sprung! (Watch Out for the Ants)

Ants

Spring has arrived and the ambient temperature of our natural environment is generally increasing. While a young man’s mind turns to thoughts of love, colonies of ants turn to thoughts of foraging, which can inadvertently cause a nuisance in your home or commercial premises

Taking both the natural and man-made, synthetic world on the whole, the vast majority of ant species can be found to inhabit warm, hot countries that experience plenty of sunlight. The climate experienced by the UK is not suitable for most species found in the world. The small number of species found in the UK can, however, be source of consternation and inconvenience when they have entered your domestic or commercial premises.  Garden ants and Black ants are not considered to be serious problem because they are not thought to carry diseases. Problems can arise from their presence in your domestic or commercial premises because they might carry unsavoury material into your buildings from where they have been foraging. Taking into account this consideration, we might well reflect that we would not be overjoyed to find them marching through our food cupboards.

It is typical of ant behaviour for them to march across a wide ranging area in search of food. They will follow well established trails that cluster around a source of food and might lead through commercial and domestic property therefore can cause a nuisance. The origin of such trails can be identified by small plies of earth and matter around holes in soil and at the base of external walls. You can take action yourself in order to prevent the nuisance once detected. You should:

1.       Identify the point at which the ants are entering your premises and seal off this entrance

2.       Clear away and cover/ seal foodstuffs which might act as a source of food for ants

3.       Clear and clean sticky, sugar-related residues on work surfaces. Ants are attracted to sweet food

Certain facts about different species of ants are worth considering if you are to identify them

Pharoah Ant

•Workers 1.5–2mm long, yellow–brown with brown abdomen.

•Males 3mm long, black and winged.

•Queens 3.5–6mm long, dark red in colour with wings.

•Black eyes. 2 small segments at the pedicel.

Lifecycle:

•Multi–queen colonies.

•Swarming can take place at any time of the year.           

•Winged adults seldom fly so rarely seen. Wings are soon lost after mating.

Habits :

•Well–defined trails are laid which are often associated with heating systems. Feeds indoors on high protein foods — meat, fats, blood, dead insects, etc.

•Swarming characteristics — new colonies are often formed through nests that have been disturbed e.g., as a result of insecticide spray treatments. Each queen produces up to 3500 eggs in its lifetime.

•Nest locations — deep seated in cavities in heated buildings. Often found in hospitals. Associated with humid conditions. Colonies can range from a few dozen to 300,000 individuals.

Garden Ant

•Workers 4-5mm long.

•Queens 15mm long.

•Dark brown-black in colour.

•1 small segment at waist point (pedicel).

•No sting present.

•Queens over winter in soil. The eggs are laid in late spring and the larvae hatch 3–4 weeks later.

•Larvae feed on secretions from the queen’s salivary glands until the first worker ants emerge.

•Worker ants continue with larval care, nest building and food foraging.

•Fertile males are produced later in the season.

Habits :

•Foraging worker ants follow well–defined trails around food sources. Sweet foods are preferred but high protein foods will also be taken.

•Swarming characteristics – mating between queens and fertile males takes place on the wing during late summer and the males perish after mating.

•Nest locations – often outdoors in soil and below paving slabs on the sunny side of buildings. Nest locations can be identified by the presence of finely powdered soil around nest exit holes.

A small garden ant problem might be easily dealt with via the use of DIY products. Multiple infestations or even one large infestation of, for example, Pharoah, Fire or Ghost ants will require professional preventative services in order to ensure that it will not recur. That’s where Key West Pest Control comes in. We will identify the particular species of ant in the infestation and calculate which type and power of insecticide to apply to the problem such that it will not happen again. In such a situation we always act in such a way that causes no harm to your family and pets.