Aapex Pest Control In the News/Prevention Tips

HOW TO PREVENT OTHER PEST:

- Read and follow label directions.
- Protect yourself and others from contact with any pesticide.
- Never eat, drink, or smoke while using any pesticide.
- Do not allow food, trash, decaying wood, etc. to remain in or on your property.
- Cover or seal trash tightly.
- Do not accumulate trash or debris.
- Cut back limbs, shrubs, and vines that touch or overhang your property.
- Stack firewood off the ground.
- "Weatherize" your home. Seal all possible pest entry points.
- Close all gaps larger than 1.4 inch.
- Check for and remove structural damage such as moisture damaged wood. Water damage can cause weak spots in the roof. Animals may enter through the

weakened area. Repair damaged windows and screens.
- Look for holes where roofs overlap.
- Keep gutters clean.
- Shuffle stored items regularly and keep boxes tightly sealed in plastic bags.
- Check Storage area for rodents.
- Keep gutters clear.
- Keep all areas where food is prepared, stored, and served clean and free of crumbs and grease. Garbage can lids should be kept closed and secured.
- Before storing end-of-season clothes,make sure they are clean.
- Drawer and cabinet liners, paper grocery bags, and even wallpaper can be a source of food to pests.
- Carefully check for pests in furniture, boxes, paper, and other items brought into your home.
- Chimneys are the single largest opening in a typical home and are frequented by squirrels, raccoons, and birds. Consider chimney caps or wire mesh to cover.
- Areas where pipes, cables, and wires enter walls and soffits should be sealed completely.
- Install 1/4-inch wire mesh (hardware cloth) over attic, roof, and crawl space vents in order to prevent entry of birds, bats, squirrels, rodents, and other wildlife.
- Be sure to wear gloves when cutting and installing hardware cloth, as the wire edges are razor sharp.

Bed Bug Prevention & Elimination Service preparation Checklist
Customer:_______________________ Service Date:____________________
In order to ensure the satisfactory delivery of service, the Customer must cooperate in the preparation and fallow-up of Apartments/areas to be serviced. The customer acknowledges that he/she has read and understands the preparation items as stated below, and agrees to perform all preparations as required.
______________The service warranty will be compromised until the rooms are completely prepared as set out herein_____________
While preparing the premises for the bed bug service, customers should:
1. Prepare to vacate apartments to be treated for a period of 4-6 Hours ( if Needed)
2. Detach, but leave in room, all items attached to walls (pictures, light fixtures, outlet covers, headboards, etc)
3. Vacuum floors using crack and crevice tool under wall baseboard. Remove vacuums cleaner bag and discard outside
4. Vacuum seams and general surface area of all mattresses and box springs. If sofa contains foldout sofa bed, vacuum and remove mattresses for treatment. DO NOT FORGET UNDERSIDE OF BOX SPRING.
5. Vacuum seams and general surface area of all sofa and chair cushions.
6. Remove cloth cover from bottom of box springs, and living room furniture.
7. Remove cushions from sofas and recliners. Turn sofas and chairs upside down and place in middle of room away from walls.
8. Repair any loose wallpaper and baseboard covering.
9. Remove all mattress tags.
10. Bedding and clothing must be placed in plastic bags, put in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes, then placed in a DIFFERENT plastic bag, and returned after treatment!
11. Empty and remove clothes and personal items in, on, and around nightstands and dressers!
12. Other_______________________________________________________________________________________________
***Property Maintenance preparation of premises and equipment for return will include***
13. Pull carpet away from wall along all baseboards in bedroom(s), Living Roosam, & Hallway!
14. After treatment, seal all unnecessary cracks and crevices in the apartment/home with caulk or other sealant.
15. Reattach or replace all furniture, fixtures, lights, headboards, etc., to their original location.
16. Steam clean carpeted areas.
17. AAPEX PEST CONTROL will install bed cover encasements.

Resident Signature __ ___ ______Unit#_____ __Inspector’s Name (Print)_____________________________Date_________

move.

TRAVEL TIPS:

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
• Encase your bed with a protective covering, which prevents them from entering your mattress or box spring and makes it easier to detect them. SEE Protecta Bed Brochure.
• Place plastic lawn and leaf bags in the trunk of your car so that you can seal your suitcases after you leave a hotel.

AT THE HOTEL (or HOME)
• Check mattress seams, look under corners of box spring and use a flashlight and a small mirror, if necessary, to look behind the headboard. Bedbugs are flat, brown, wingless insects. After a feeding, they are purplish-red and more cigar-shaped. Young bedbugs are smaller and nearly colorless except after feeding. Fecal deposits (composed of digested blood) look like a scattering of pepper. If you detect signs, contact the management. Low-level infestations are difficult to detect.
• Do not put luggage on the bed or floor. Use the luggage rack or set it in the tub. Keep the clothing you have worn in a sealed bag separate from your other clothing.
• Don't forget to put luggage in plastic bags before loading into the trunk.
• Most suitcases can be hand-washed. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends using soapy water and the hottest water possible -- 100 to 120 degrees. Use a scrub brush or old toothbrush along the seams and folds. Carryall and Duffle bags need to be put in the drier (high heat) for at least 30 minutes.
• Some experts say you can freeze bedbugs; others disagree. The core of the articles being treated must reach a minimum of 23 degrees for at least five days. Most household freezers are set between 20 and 30 degrees. If you're uncertain of the freezer temperatures, keep items frozen at least two weeks.

WHEN YOU RETURN

• Keep luggage out of the house or in plastic bags while you unpack. Because high heat kills bedbugs and their eggs, wash and dry items at the hottest setting the fabric can withstand. For dry cleaning, keep items in plastic and tell the cleaner that items may have been exposed to bedbugs.
• For non-washable items and smaller suitcases, consider investing in a PackTite unit, a collapsible chamber that heats to 145 degrees. It can accommodate an overnight bag, computer bag or other non-launderable items

BED BUG FACT SHEET

Here Are Just Few Reasons For The Current Bed Bug Epidemic:
• Lack of public awareness and education about these hard to kill pests
• Embarrassment, guilt and shame about reporting the problem
• Failure to detect early signs of bed bug infestations
• Growing bed bug resistance to MOST insecticides
• Proper treatment is expensive. People try to cut corners and only make things worse
• Increase in international travel
• Some individuals don’t react to bed bug bites at all
No matter what the reasons are, the question YOU should be asking yourself is this: What should I do if a bed bug infestation occurs in my home, apartment or rental property?
FOR BEST RESULTS YOU MUST CALL A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL; Having the necessary training, experience, and equipment, we know how to safely eliminate bed bugs.
Bed bugs are nocturnal. This means they are active at night. That’s when they tend to emerge from their hiding places, to seek a human blood meal.
Bed bugs reproduce at an extremely high rate. Male bed bugs force themselves on the females during a process called traumatic insemination. Many males will attempt to mate with a female simultaneously which can be fatal for her. Once impregnated each female bed bug lays 5 eggs a day on average. That equals 150 EGGS EVERY 30 DAYS (5X30 = 150).
Because of the male bed bug aggressive mating habits, females tend to migrate away from any one location and lay eggs randomly in and on clothing, bedding, shoes, slippers, bed frames, inside mattresses, box springs, night stands, electronics, books, mail, paper, CD’s, DVD’s, items on the wall and electrical outlets. We recommend using garbage bags or totes to isolate these items during the treatment process. Clear bags and totes allow for easier identification of stored items.
The eggs hatch in 7-10 days. They are HUNGRY. The 1st stage instars (nymphs) and all subsequent instars must have a blood meal in order to develop to the next state. They are tiny and clear, but you can see them. They locate us by the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat which radiates from our bodies.
1. Heat (<113F) will kill all stages of bed bugs including eggs. Use your washer and dryer on the highest temperature setting. Dry cleaning is another option, but you must inform them about the bed bugs.

2. 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in a spray bottle will kill bed bugs (not eggs) on direct contact. Bed bugs come out to feed every few weeks, so retreatment is critical. Bed bugs can survive for up to 13 months without a blood meal.