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Although I doubt the eggs survived, there are two things that come to mind - chances are there will be fleas anyway if you have host animals, and the type of spray used would want to be one with a "growth regulator." Also, the pets would be well to have the proper flea drops applied (cat and dog drops are different, don't go cheap). The outside is the outside, overall those blocks are not any more than a minor blip in the ecology of your yard.
Any advice for stink bugs? Sometime last year we'd get 3-4 a day in the house for about 3-4 weeks. This year we've only had 3-4 in the past month but we fear that could change any time. But we still can't figure out how they are in the house. We have a jar of dish washing liquid and water - we just shake the jar, open it and scoop the bugs in there and close the lid until they drown below the bubbles.
When we bought our current house, the previous owner was very proud of the fact that "we have no bugs! None! I'm very good about that!" We moved in, thinking YAY! NO BUGS! Well, the first two months we battled with millipedes overrunning our kitchen floor every night - we'd get DOZENS of them. I'd clean one up, walk away to dispose of it and come back in and a brand new one would be in the very middle of the kitchen floor, like it dropped out of the sky. Very strange. We hired a bug service to come in and they took care of it - no more millipedes in the 8 years we've been in the house. But it was very clear to us that the previous owner was a complete liar about being "good" to make sure there were no bugs.
I was getting bites and kept checking, but I never did see one, but think we had at least one bedbug in our bed/bedroom. I went online and read that sometimes they select one person (me) and don't bite the other one (my hubby) for some reason. I guess the little b*stards are selective lol. I went online to see what the bites looked like and it described my bites (in a row on the abdomen, thighs, back, and upper legs. Every morning I was waking up to another few bites/clusters. It was a sickening feeling after reading about the horrors of people trying to get rid of bedbugs and not having any success.
Anyways, I decided to try my own tactics before hiring an exterminator to fumigate, etc. First, I bought two cans of household Raid and two boxes of Mule train Borax. (Borax works for killing fleas, so I figured why not bedbugs too?)
I removed all the bedding and washed it in hot water and dried it in a hot dryer. Then I vaccumed every square inch of my carpet, taking extra care to get right to the baseboards and around the legs of all my bedroom furniture. I also vaccumed, then lifted my mattresses and box springs and vaccumed in and around all the edges, wheels, railings, etc.
After that, I wound a scarf over my mouth, wore goggles on my eyes and sprayed every square inch of my carpets and used up both cans of Raid. Yes the smell was horrible and probably not too healthy, but I just kept going until I was done.
I shut the door and left the room undisturbed for about 3-4 hours. Then I shook the Borax carefully out on the entire carpet, between the mattress/boxspring, on the bed rails, around and on the wheels, layed it on THICK along every baseboard, and ESPECIALLY thick on the carpet around the perimeter of our bed to make a barrier between them and our bed. Also thick near any crack or crevass that a bedbug might hide in. I then got a broom and swept the Borax well into the carpet just where my husband and I walk so that we kept it to the minimum of being tracked around. We also both wore slippers to keep it from sticking to our socks or bare feet.
I waited about a week before vaccuming everything all over again, but I never did get another bite, so I think I fixed the dirty little critter from multiplying. (touch wood)
That was two years ago, and I've never had another bite on me. This might not work for a house infested with them, but I truly think I killed the one (or couple) that were in our bedroom. I think if this is to work, you've got to do what I've described as SOON as you can to contain them in one room.
Good luck! Please reply if this helped (or didn't) help you. I might have just gotten lucky by using the Raid alone?
Any advice for stink bugs? Sometime last year we'd get 3-4 a day in the house for about 3-4 weeks. This year we've only had 3-4 in the past month but we fear that could change any time. But we still can't figure out how they are in the house. We have a jar of dish washing liquid and water - we just shake the jar, open it and scoop the bugs in there and close the lid until they drown below the bubbles.
When we bought our current house, the previous owner was very proud of the fact that "we have no bugs! None! I'm very good about that!" We moved in, thinking YAY! NO BUGS! Well, the first two months we battled with millipedes overrunning our kitchen floor every night - we'd get DOZENS of them. I'd clean one up, walk away to dispose of it and come back in and a brand new one would be in the very middle of the kitchen floor, like it dropped out of the sky. Very strange. We hired a bug service to come in and they took care of it - no more millipedes in the 8 years we've been in the house. But it was very clear to us that the previous owner was a complete liar about being "good" to make sure there were no bugs.
Millipedes eat other bugs and can be reclusive. I wouldn't go so far as to call the previous homeowner a liar, just amazingly lucky (or someone else in the family took care of the millipedes).
I know of the stink bug you are talking about. Other than the normal garden variety squash bugs, they haven't made it here yet so I don't have a first hand knowledge and plan of attack. Like ladybugs, they do get through tiny cracks and like squash bugs, I suspect they like hiding on the underside of things. They don't have many predators because of the taste.
This has been a very useful thread for me. Somehow my 3 small indoor dogs brought in an infestation of ticks I have never seen since I adopted them. I am getting ready for an onslaught this weekend. I'm ready with the Delta dust, Ortho home defense, tick treatment for dogs, cut down tree in front of my house, grass is so low, I can see the dirt and am ready with goggles mask and cleaning all clutter. Please wish me luck. I'm so tired of getting bit. and yes, I pick them off my dogs every day I don't want to over treat as one exterminator told me, but I'm having a remodel in a few months so if I have to hire someone then I don't want them to be bit and get embarrassed. More than that I feel this infestation is giving me much stress. I can't even eat. Help!
moved from Oregon to the mountain in Ga. then after a year we moved to a lower altitude in Georgia and alas discovered Georgia has SCORPIONS !! Who knew?? Not me...........
have inside animals so need something safe to rid my house of the little buggers. Ideas?
Talstar is one brand but there are others. Nearly harmless to mammals, deadly to bugs and aquatic life; be wary of runoff from rain or garden ponds with fish.
It's labeled for use in restaurant kitchens. That'll give you some idea how safe it is. Read the label (instructions)!
This is what most professional exterminators use for day to day pest control.
It's a concentrate and gets diluted with water. A sprayer is required.
Bifenthrin is good as a barrier spray. On days when the asian lady beetles swarm the siding on our home, I use it on them and the cracks.
Yea, I use it under the eves to control spiders and around the perimeter with extra attention around doorways. Also spray interior where spiders build webs (corners, etc.) and all around the garage interior floor and ceiling. Keeps the bug at bay all year long.
After spending a week in Arkansas, I came home with a tick lodged firmly on my back. My DH and my dad worked a long time and couldn't dislodge the tick. In disgust, my dad cut him off. I developed the bull's eye rash which was treated with antibiotics and a few years later became ill with severe auto-immune problems. Doctor says there is no way of ever knowing if that tick bite caused it, but I have my suspicions... not that it matters now.
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