Bio-Tech Pest Control

Bio-Tech Pest Control - Pests

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ANTS

The family name of ants is Formidicae, which is derived from the fact that their juices contain formic acid. There are at least 33 species of ants in New Zealand, and 10 of them are native. Most are found in northern districts, but they can be a problem to householders as far south as Christchurch.

The three sections - head, thorax, and abdomen - are very distinct ants, and ants have long feelers and chewing mouth parts. However the eyes are well developed only in males. A colony of ants has three castes:

Queens for egg laying.
Winged males and females and
Workers or sterile females.

The winged females and workers are usually armed with stings to defend the colony, and the workers forage for food. All the other ants are dependant on them for food, water, hygiene and protection.

CONTROL
Bio-tech Pest Control realise that not all pest control problems are the same and we will taylor make solutions according to your individual needs,
Every situation is different and requires different methods of control, please phone us today for all your solutions.

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HOUSE FLY
Musca domestica L.

DESCRIPTION
House flies are 3/16 to 5/16 inch long and light grey with four dark stripes on the back of the thorax (segments right behind the head with legs and wings attached). They only have two wings and the fourth longitudinal wing vein has a sharp upward turn. The head is dominated by large red-brown compound eyes which are surrounded by a light gold stripe. Short antennae emerge from between the eyes. They have sponging mouthparts.

House fly larvae or maggots are spindle shaped and creamy white. They have dark mouthhooks at the head end and breathing slits at the tail end that look like a 'wavy W.' House fly larvae are 5/16 - 7/16 inch long when they change to the brown seed like pupal stage.

BIOLOGY
Female House flies lay their eggs in a variety of moist, rotting, fermenting organic matter including animal manure, accumulated grass clippings, garbage, spilled animal feeds, and soil contaminated with any of the above items. The eggs are laid singly but in clusters of 75 to 150 eggs. A female may lay more than 500 eggs in a lifetime.
The eggs hatch within a day and the young larvae burrow into the breeding medium to finish their development in from three days to several weeks depending on the temperature and quality of food materials. Larvae that are about to pupate migrate to the drier portions of the breeding medium where they remain as pupae for three days to four weeks before emerging as adults. Under the most optimum conditions House flies can complete their entire life cycles in less than seven days.
The adult flies may migrate to uninfested areas up to 20 miles away but most stay within one or two miles of their birthplace. Adult House flies have a very general appetite and feed on foods ranging from excrement to human food. They feed on liquids but can eat some solid foods by liquefying it with regurgitated digestive tract fluids. They have been associated with a great number of filth related diseases.

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RODENTS - RATS AND MICE

Rodents are a troublesome pest, invading many homes each year especially in winter. The rodent concerned is either the House Mouse (mus musculus), the Norway Rat (rattus norvegicus), or the Roof Rat (rattus rattus). Any of these can enter homes or businesses and cause serious damage to equipment or food and other material.

DROPPINGS
The presence of rat or mouse faeces are one of the best indications of an infestation. Norway rat droppings are the largest, ranging up to 20mm long and 6mm in diameter and vary in shape. Roof rat droppings are smaller, average 13mm in length and are more regular in shape. Mice droppings are small, about 6mm in length.

Mice are prolific breeders, reaching sexual maturity in 35 days, the average litter size is 6 and they have 8 litters per year. They are excellent climbers and can run up most rough walls. They can jump 30cm high and jump down 2.5 metres without injury. They can survive in cold storage facilities at -10 degrees celsius. They can also slip through a 6mm hole.

Norway rats reach sexual maturity in 2-5 months, the average has 7-8 young and they can have 3-6 litters per year. They can jump vertically more than 77cm or 120cm horizontally, they are also very good swimmers.

Roof rats reach sexual maturity and have similar litters as the Norway rat. They are excellent climbers and jump at least 150cm diagonally and move with ease along telephone cables. All rodents are primarily nocturnal in habit and are very cautious. They often will shy away initially from new objects in their surroundings.

Mice usually defecate whereever they travel, but mostly where they feed. They usually nibble food where as Norway rats prefer meat, fish and cereals and are gluttons when feeding. Roof rats on the other hand prefer fruit, vegetables and cereals but all species will eat practically anything. Mice territories are small usually no more than 6.0 m in diameter whereas Norway and Roof rats will travel up to 45.0 m to feed.

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GERMAN COCKROACH
(Blattella germanica L.)

Description
Adult German Cockroaches are 1/2 to 5/8 inches long, pale brown or tan in colour, with two parallel black streaks on the pronotum (shield-like segment behind the head). The adult males are somewhat narrower when viewed from below than the females.

German Cockroach nymphs, 1/8 inches long when they hatch are almost uniformly dark except for a light area on the back of the second and third segments. As they grow, this light area becomes larger until as mature nymphs they have two parallel black streaks separated by a light tan area.

Biology
German Cockroaches are the most common household insect found in the United States. This pest is usually found infesting the kitchen or bathroom, but has the capability of living in any portion of any heated structure. They are usually found in dark, scheduled harborage areas such as under cupboards, behind cabinets, in wall voids, or around motor housings in appliances.

The adult female produces four to eight camel brown egg capsules in her lifetime, each of which is about 5/16 inches long and contains 30-40 eggs. The female carries the egg capsule partially with her abdomen until just before the nymphs are ready to emerge. If the egg capsule is dropped prematurely the developing roaches within will die of dehydration.

The nymphs emerge from the egg capsule in 28 to 30 days and they feed and live in the same areas as the adults do. Nymphs molt six to seven times before becoming adults.

There are three to four generations per year with each generation averaging 103 days. Cockroaches feed on all types of food and just about anything else with nutritional value found in a home.

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WASPS

There are several kinds of native wasps in New Zealand which have evolved here and have never become a nuisance. In contrast there are now four social species which have been accidentally introduced in recent years and which are classed as pests.
Social wasps live as colonies in nests of honeycomb-like cells. The Asian paper wasp and the Australian paper wasp build small nests, about the size of a pear. The Asian paper wasp has been found in Nelson but the Australian paper wasp remains confined to the north of the North Island. The more widespread German and common wasps live in large colonies, about the size of a soccer ball, but which can become huge if they manage to survive over winter.

The German wasp was introduced with US aeroplane parts in the 1940s and the common wasp arrived only recently but is already widespread. These two are very similar in appearance, and both have the characteristic black and yellow colouration. German wasp nests are grey. Common wasp nests are brown.

Why are wasps a problem?
New Zealand has some of the highest densities of common and German wasps in the world. They have no natural predators here, our winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them.
They present a particular ecological problem in beech forest where they are voracious consumers of honeydew. In beech forests there is an estimated average density of 12 nests, or about 10,000 worker wasps, per hectare. This makes the biomass of wasps in these areas higher than that of all native birds, plus stoats and rodents, put together. Honeydew is produced by a native scale insect and is an important food for native birds, bats, insects and lizards.
Wasps also prey on insects and have even been seen killing newly-hatched birds.
They are a nuisance to forestry gangs, and a worry to tourist operators. Wasps are unwelcome guests at summer picnics and barbecues. No-one finds a wasp sting a fun experience and some people have an allergic reaction.

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BEES
(Apis mellifera L.)

Description
Honey Bees are social insects that live in colonies with as many as 60,000 members. They have three castes or types of individuals in their colonies, Workers, Queens and Drones.
The Workers are 7/16 to 5/8 inch long, have well developed heads with two short antennae, and large eyes. These insects have a fuzzy yellow brown to black appearance because they are covered with fine hairs. They have two pairs of wings, the hind pair being shorter than the front pair. The workers have a barbed stinger at the end of their abdomen that they use to sting people. or animals threatening the colony. The abdomen has a striped appearance. Honey bees have six legs with the back pair modified for the collection and transport of pollen. Honey Bees have a tongue-like mouthpart which allows them to collect nectar in flowers. Queen bees are the largest members of the colony, measuring from 5/8 to 13/16 inch long. They look very similar to the workers except that they are larger. The drones are about 5/8 inch long and much stouter and darker than the workers or the queen.

Biology
Each caste has a role to play in the maintenance of the colony. The Queen is the only fertile female and she produces all the eggs for the colony. The drones serve only to fertilize the Queens. They are driven off by the workers after they have served that purpose. The workers do all the work in the colony. They collect nectar and pollen from plants, which inadvertently helps man because they pollinate the flowers, allowing the plant to produce fruit. They also make honey and fashion honey comb from wax that they secrete. The Queen and all the bee larvae are fed and cared for by the workers. As you can see, the workers are aptly named.

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Proud to have been servicing Taranaki for over 15 years

PH 06 758 0041
or 027 575 4362

Bio-Tech Ltd, PO Box 7132, New Plymouth