St Louis Pest Control Blog

Japanese Beetles In St. Louis

Have you seen Japanese beetles around your home in St. Louis as of late?  I know I have.  They love to eat the leaves of my banana trees and elephant ear plants.  But I am luckier than some people because my infestations tend to be on the low side and I can easily keep them in check by picking them off the plants and throw them into a water bottle filled with soapy water.  The soapy water doesn’t allow for surface tension and the beetle easily drowns once it is in the water.

Controlling heavy infestations can be difficult due to our inability to reach tall growth were they may be feeding.  And to top it off, whatever we control one day, we could wake up to a whole new infestation (and possibly a bigger one than the day before).  Because Japanese beetles start off as grubs, it is possible to kill a good portion off in spring before they emerge if you treat your yard with a grub killer.  The bad news is, just controlling grubs in your yard will not keep them from flying over from a neighbors lawn and onto your plants.

So what kind of treatment works best? Any treatment that will allow you to apply a pesticide to those favored feeding sites.  They do make pesticides containers that you can attach to the end of your hose and most of those would control Japanese beetles, but the problem you may have is that it will not allow you to treat higher than 10-15′ in the air.  And as most of know, infestations in some ornamental trees can be must higher than that.

The best treatment option for Japanese beetles is to hire a professional company that can utilize a back pack mist fogger to blow material up and into the high foliage around your home.  Now you may be wondering if this treatment is fool proof? And the answer is no.  Will it greatly reduce any future damage to the plant? Yes.  But the longer you wait to control them, the more damage that can be done.  And in some extreme case, your plant may never recover.


June Bugs (Beetles) – Why are they so bad in St. Louis this year?

June bugs, why are they so bad in St. Louis this year? Well, you can thank Mother Nature for this one.  Since our winter was so mild, the ground did not go through a hard freeze  and the result is more pupae cases of June Bugs made it through the winter.

You see, after June bugs mate, they lay their eggs into the soil were they hatch out into small “C” shaped grubs.  These grubs will then feed on the roots of grass sometimes killing patches in the middle of your yard.  In the late fall, the grubs will then pupate to ride the winter before they emerge as adults in late springs as adults to start the whole the process over again.

The adults themselves are often found dead below lighted areas in the morning as they are attracted to lights in the night.  The adult June Bug feeds on foliage and in some case of heavy infestations they can damage a tree by eating all the leaves.

In cases of heavy infestation, Blue Chip’s back-pack mosquito and tick treatment, can help greatly because we can target the foliage up and into most trees and bushes where the June Bug will feed.  Other methods of control for the D.I.Y.’ers, include using a granular product in your lawn labeled for the control of grubs would help greatly.


St. Louis Mole Control – Traps vs Baits

Which is better, mole traps or mole baits? This is a question we get a lot at our Blue Chip Pest Services retail stores here in the St. Louis area. Well, to be honest, I would have to say both. They both have advantages over each other, but when it comes down to killing moles, they both work.

The advantage of mole baits over traps is that they are very easy to use.  You do not have to mess with all the mechanisms of a mechanical trap.  You simply find a active run and bait it.

The advantage of traps is that they are more cost efficient and can be used over and over gain.  Once a mole is caught, you can reset it and put into a new area.  Baits can only be used once and they’re gone.

No matter which method you decide on, the most important step is to locate a active run.  Just because a run is new doesn’t always mean it is active.  Moles will actively dig new surface runs looking for good feeding areas.  If they dig a new run that does not produce a lot of worms (and such) they may not return.  The best way to find out if the run is active is to step down on one spot of the run and wait 24 hours to see if the mole pushes that spot back up.  If it does, then focus your attention on that run with either the mole bait or trap.  If  the depressed area never gets popped back up, then move to another run until you get the results your looking for.  Moles also like to follow structure like sidewalks, driveways, and plant edging.

And after all this you still don’t have any luck, call in the professionals at Blue Chip.  We’ll take back your yard for you.


Why Are Brown Recluse Spiders So Bad In Saint Louis

Why are Brown Recluse spiders so bad in St. Louis?  I would like to give you awesome explanation as to why, but the simple answer is because Missouri falls completely into their range area.  Just like in other parts of the country, we don’t have to deal with some of the other bad insects they have because we aren’t in that range area.

The reason Brown Recluse spiders are so hard to get rid of is because of their reclusive behavior.  They will seek out dark protected spaces to rest.  Sometimes these dark protected areas are not easily accessible, and once a Brown Recluse finds a good resting spot it may be some time before they need to leave and hunt for food.  Unless they come into contact with the treatment area, it will not control them in the least.  That is why anytime you have a Brown Recluse problem, it is very important to use sticky traps in dark undisturbed areas of your home as a way to monitor their activity.  Good places to put sticky traps include under a dresser, under the headboard, in closets, behind furniture, garage and basement (especially above drop ceiling if you have one).

There is one thing I must mention about the Brown Recluse spider in St. Louis, this pest is very difficult to eliminate.  I strongly recommend to any D.I.Y.ers to hire a professional company if this is the one pest that you can’t get rid of.  This spider’s reputation is nothing to take lightly.  Its bite can cause serious damage.


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