Month: February 2025

What Are Odorous House Ants and What Do They Eat? 

Odorous house ants can be found across the United States, with a range that extends into Canada and Mexico. These tiny ants typically measure 1/16 to 1/8 inch long and have brown or black uniformly colored bodies. However, the most distinguishing characteristic of these pests is the distinct odor they exude if crushed. It’s a smell somewhere between rotting coconuts and blue cheese. 

Although they don’t pose a serious public health risk, odorous house ants can contaminate surfaces and all the foods they touch. Understanding the odorous house ant diet and their behaviors are the first steps to effectively preventing them, saving yourself and your family from their particularly smelly invasion.

Primary Components of the Odorous House Ant Diet 

Cutting off their food sources can help reduce the odds of ending up with an odorous house ant infestation. So, what are some of the main foods that attract these ants?

Sweet Foods and Sugars 

Odorous house ants are one of several species that are often referred to as common ants or sugar ants. That’s because they love eating sweets, including honeydew, a sugary substance that aphids secrete. Other preferred sweets include: 

• Sugar 
• Honey 
• Corn syrup 
• Maple syrup 
• Jams and jellies 
• Cakes, cookies, candy 
• Fruit 
• Nectar 

Protein Sources 

Sweets aren’t the only food items that attract these pests. They also eat meat, pet food, dead insects, and other protein-rich foods. 

Greasy and Fatty Foods 

Greasy, fatty, protein-rich foods can attract these ants. Foods like peanut butter and grease provide a dense protein source to support their development. 

Attractions for Odorous House Ants 

Understanding what odorous house ants prefer to eat is only part of the solution. It’s equally important to recognize how those foods could attract ants to your home.

Crumbs and Spills 

Crumbs and spills can be like an all-you-can-eat buffet for odorous house ants and other pests. Check cabinets, counters, sinks, floors, and other surfaces for evidence of food residue. Even relatively small amounts can provide sustenance for these pesky ants. 

Improperly Stored Foods 

Kitchens and pantries are popular spots for odorous ants to infest. Food that has been left out or not sealed in airtight containers can attract them in droves. 

Odorous House Ant Behavior 

Odorous house ants are known to establish multiple colonies, often entering homes and other buildings through tiny openings as they forage for food. Learning about their behaviors can help identify these ants and aid in creating a strategy to manage them. 

Foraging Habits 

These ants are notorious for continually foraging, both day and night. They establish scented foraging trails, which can help attract more ants to the area. These trails are often hidden from view in areas such as underneath carpeting, around door frames, and along the edges of siding. This foraging behavior often brings those nesting outdoors inside during warm weather months as they seek additional food sources. 

Nesting Behavior and Proximity to Food 

Odorous house ants nest inside structures and outdoors. Outside, they often choose areas like rock or mulch beds, wood piles, and under objects. Indoors, they tend to choose areas near moisture, warmth, and food sources. 

How to Best Prevent Odorous House Ant Infestations 

Working with professionals can help jumpstart your preventative measures. Expert technicians can provide a thorough inspection, identify potential entry points, and provide advice tailored to your unique home. Consider scheduling an inspection beginning the process. 

Because they often establish multiple nests with multiple queens and many workers, controlling an infestation once it starts can be particularly challenging. Taking a proactive approach and implementing a preventative strategy offers a more effective way to keep odorous ants out of your home. 

Eliminate Food Sources 

Once you restrict the food available to these ants, your home will become a lot less attractive to ants and other types of pests. A few ways to accomplish that include the following: 

Keep Surfaces Clean 

Avoid letting messes pile up or leaving crumbs and unwashed dishes in the kitchen. Wipe down counters and other surfaces daily, wash used dishes promptly, and sweep or vacuum frequently to reduce spills and crumbs. 

Proper Food Storage 

Use metal, glass, or hard plastic containers with airtight seals to keep ants out of your pantry. Storing food properly, including pet food, can help minimize the chances of an infestation by eliminating ants’ access to food sources. 

Address Entry Points 

These ants can get in through tiny openings. However, if you can trace their activity back to one point or spot it during an inspection, you can seal up cracks, gaps, and holes to create a more pest-proof home. Another option is installing Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems, which are permanent, chemical-free barriers that provide targeted protection. Additionally, trimming trees, shrubs, and other plants away from the exterior of the house can give odorous ants fewer ways to sneak inside your dwelling. 

Consult with Professional Pest Control Solutions 

It may be tempting to try to treat or control an odorous house ant infestation on your own. However, their habit of establishing multiple, interconnected colonies can make DIY measures ineffective. Partner with industry-leading professionals who provide exceptional service throughout the region to gain control of your home. Contact the Catseye Pest Control team today to learn more about our services.

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As chilly weather continues to plague much of the country including the DMV, we continue our adventures in the Belizean rainforests with eighteen adventurous students from the University of Maryland eager to explore the mysteries of Mayan culture and learn about fascinating creatures and plants in tropical ecosystems. In recent weeks we visited busy stingless bees pollinating bananas and fearsome assassin bugs patrolling vegetation in search of prey. This week, let’s get up close and personal with some nocturnal rulers of the epigeal realm.

While prowling around a landscape near Clarissa Falls, Belize we happened upon a golf ball sized hole in the ground. Using a time-honored trick to “fish” for tarantulas, we inserted a slender twig into the burrow. A large and beautiful red-rump tarantula emerged from her den to investigate the intrusion. Her glorious appearance provided students with an opportunity to see this magnificent rainforest predator up close.  She obliged us with a short capture showing no inclination for aggression whatsoever and glammed for the cameras as we examined her impressive powerful fangs. After a brief photo shoot, we returned her to her lair. While holding a large spider seems a bit extreme, we have visited red-rump tarantulas on previous trips to the rainforest and some bold students have had the opportunity to hold these marvelous hunters.

Using a time-honored trick of tarantula wranglers, we were able to coax a gorgeous red rump tarantula from her subterranean home by teasing her with a small twig. Once she emerged from her gallery, it took a minute or so to corral her and gently pick her up. Students were interested to see her magnificent fangs and this gentle giant seemed happy to oblige. After glamming for the students and posing for pictures, we thanked the tarantula, bid her adieu, and returned her to her gallery.

Much lore and misinformation surround these fascinating predators. Tarantulas are named after Taranto, a city in southeastern Italy on the Ionian Sea. In the 15th through 17th centuries, legends told of the fearsome bite of the Italian tarantula that caused a condition known as tarantism. Tarantism was manifested by heightened excitability, restlessness, and sometimes an irresistible urge to dash about. Legend had it that the disease could only be cured by listening to lively frenetic music, called the Tarantella, or by engaging in a frenzied whirling dance that could last several days – shades of Saturday Night Fever. The culprit behind this mischief was actually a wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, locally known as a tarantula. Wolf spiders belong to a family known as Lycosidae. True tarantulas such as the ones we encountered in Belize belong to a family of large hairy spiders know as Theraphosidae. These unusually large spiders sometimes measure almost a foot from tip to tip of their extended legs. They have remarkable longevity and can live in excess of thirty years. Their bite is memorable by virtue of some very large fangs hidden beneath the head of the spider. Fortunately, the bite of the red rump tarantula is not very venomous and usually results in a bit of localized swelling, pain, and itching rather than a wretched death.

This beautiful tarantula seemed as curious about humans as humans were about it.

Tarantulas have one of the most interesting mating rituals of any animal in the rainforest. The male tarantula is much smaller than his mate and to successfully sire a brood of young, he places his life at risk in the presence of a potentially hungry female. To complete his task, the male tarantula constructs a thin web on which he deposits sperm. Small leg-like appendages called pedipalps located near his jaws are used to pick up the sperm and carry it about. When he encounters a potential mate, he busts his best move which may include drumming, waggling of legs, and other gambols. This dance helps his mate recognize her suitor as a member of the same species. We all know how disagreeable it is to misidentify members of another species when we are searching for a mate. With the preliminary introductions out of the way, the male warily approaches the female and does his best not to get eaten. The male tarantula is equipped with special claws on his front legs that help him grasp the female while he uses his pedipalps to carefully place sperm into a pouch on her underside. Sometimes the male escapes this romantic encounter, but sometimes he does not and becomes dinner instead. 

The female tarantula lays several hundred eggs in a silken ball. These eggs are stored in the burrow and tended until they hatch. These large juicy arthropods would seem like a tempting meal for other predators in the jungle. However, in addition to sharp fangs, the tarantula has another potent defense. The abdomen of our tarantula was covered with a dense coat of hairs known as urticating hairs. When the human encounter became just a little too unsettling, the spider raised its abdomen and expelled hairs by rubbing them off with the hind legs. These irritating hairs can lodge in the eyes or nasal passages of a would-be predator and thereby thwart an attack. On several visits to the Belizean rainforest, we have encountered tarantulas, enjoyed their company, and returned them to their galleries. However, due to habitat destruction and collecting for the pet- trade industry, tarantulas in the genus Tliltocatl are threatened and are now protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora laws. These regulations prohibit the international trade of more than 34,000 species of wild animals and plants to prevent their extinction.

Reference

We thank Drs. Dan Gruner and Paula Shrewsbury and the hearty crew of BSCI 339M: Tropical Biology and Maya Culture for providing the inspiration for this episode of Bug of the Week. Special thanks to Mary Lanahan, Rayleigh Graves, and Paula Shrewsbury for providing images and videos used in this episode. Much of the information for this Bug of the Week came from Jerry G. Well’s delightful book “The Guide to Owning a Tarantula”.

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Eeek! You’ve seen a mouse or signs of a mouse infestation. Should you get some mouse traps and repellents or try some other mice infestation solutions? Discover why mice are such a serious issue when they infest homes and other buildings, along with tips for prevention and effective elimination.

Introduction to Mice Infestations 

Where there is one mouse, there are almost surely more, and mice infestations can be tricky to handle. Unless you get to the root of the problem, you could be dealing with these critters for far longer than is necessary or safe. Even in the short term, these tiny rodents can cause some big problems. 

Why Mice Are a Problem in Homes 

A mouse in the house can pose several significant problems, one of which is the potential for property damage. Mice love gnawing on everything, including wiring, insulation, and even siding. 

These curious little pests are notorious for leaving messes behind. Not only can they break into your pantry, but they also leave droppings practically everywhere they go. In both cases, one of the major concerns is the potential for contamination and the spread of germs and pathogens. Mice can spread dozens of potentially serious diseases, including: 

• Hantavirus 
• Salmonella 
• Tularemia 

Importance of Addressing Infestations Quickly 

The longer mice are allowed to run freely, the more damage they can do. Additionally, mice are known to reproduce rapidly. House mice, for example, can have as many as 35 babies per year, giving birth as frequently as every three weeks. With that in mind, it’s easy to see how even a relatively small infestation can quickly grow out of hand.

Identifying a Mouse Infestation 

Most mice are nocturnal and more active from just before sunset to a little before sunrise. Seeing live mice is a definitive sign, but it’s not the only one. In fact, you may see other common signs before you ever spot a mouse in action.

Common Signs of Mice in Your House 

Mice constantly gnaw on things, producing marks that can be smooth or rough. You might notice these marks on wood, drywall, plastic, and wires. Other signs of mice include:

• Droppings: Mouse droppings are usually small, up to 1/4 inch long, and appear like dark grains of rice with pointed ends. 
• Damaged Items: If you start noticing pantry items and other goods with unexplainable damage, you may have a mouse problem. 
• Tracks and Marks: As they scamper about, mice can leave oily-looking marks on walls and tiny prints with four toes in front and five toes behind. 
• Odor: An ammonia-like smell may signal a large infestation. 

Areas Where Mice Typically Hide 

With their ability to fit into small spaces, these adaptable, curious creatures can infiltrate virtually any area. Some common hiding spots include:

• Attics 
• Basements 
• Crawl spaces 
• Wall voids 
• Cabinets 
• Under large appliances 
• Closets 
• Garages and sheds 
• Inside insulation, boxes, and debris piles 

DIY Methods for Getting Rid of Mice 

Okay, you have confirmed you have a mouse problem. Now what? If you want to try to remedy the situation on your own, there are a few tactics you can try. It’s important to note, however, that eliminating mice can be very challenging, particularly with DIY approaches. 

Using Mouse Traps 

You might consider one of two traps: humane traps and snap-and-glue traps. The old snap-and-glue styles are rarely effective because adult mice can quickly learn to avoid them. Humane traps allow you to catch and release mice — preferably far from your property. The team at Catseye Pest Control can help determine the best type of trap and place the mouse traps in high-traffic areas like along walls and baseboards and behind garbage cans or appliances. 

Natural Repellents for Mice 

Some essential oils can act as a natural repellent, including clove and peppermint. Place several drops on cotton balls and place them in areas that mice frequent, including cupboards and behind appliances. Planting lavender or mint around the building can also help ward them off. Other anecdotal remedies include cayenne pepper, mothballs, and ammonia. 

Store-Bought Repellents 

Electronic repellents, including ultrasonic devices, are another option. These options are typically safe for use around children and pets, but their effectiveness varies. Sprays and pellets can be helpful, but like natural remedies, they don’t often get to the root of the infestation.

Professional Pest Control Options 

Although DIY mice infestation solutions may be tempting to try, you may reach a point when it’s no longer enough and you need a professional. Always consider the company’s reputation and approach to professional mouse control and check their credentials before partnering with them. 

When to Call a Professional Exterminator 

Everyone has a different tolerance threshold. Ideally, you might consider calling for professional mouse control services as soon as you notice signs of an infestation. The quicker you can eliminate the mice, the easier it will be to regain control. If you decide to try DIY methods and still have mouse activity, call a pro to come and inspect the property and assess the situation. 

What to Expect from Professional Mouse Removal 

The trained and licensed pest control professionals at Catseye can assess where, why, and how mice enter the building. They can identify the species and provide targeted treatments to ensure the infestation gets cleared up quickly and effectively. What’s more, professional mouse removal helps keep the people and pets in the home safer. Pest control professionals have the right equipment and expertise for the job. They can also guide you in preventative steps to avoid future infestations.

Preventing Mice from Returning 

At the heart of the most effective pest control plans is a thorough strategy to prevent pests from returning or ever getting inside. Eliminating existing pest is a given, however, our team at Catseye Pest Control wants to ensure that you do not see any reoccurring pest issues. Taking a proactive approach can help safeguard properties and your peace of mind.

Sealing Entry Points 

Mice can be like little magicians, breaking into seemingly impossible spaces by fitting through holes as narrow as a dime and cracks about the width of a pencil. Check everywhere, including inside and under cabinets, around vents and pipes, and around utility lines that run from the outside. Also inspect areas where the floor and wall meet, around rooflines and soffits, and around the foundation.

Seal small openings with steel wool and spray foam or caulk. For larger ones, consider screening, metal sheeting, or hardware cloth to prevent mice from entering or reentering the premises.

Maintaining Cleanliness and Proper Food Storage 

Cut them off from one of their main attractants (food), and your property will look a lot less appealing. Outside, make sure you use pest-proof garbage receptacles with tight lids. Also move composting bins 100 feet or more from buildings, keep grill areas clean, and move bird feeders away from homes and structures. Inside, practice sanitation and food storage strategies such as: 

• Keeping all food (including pet food) sealed in tightly lidded containers 
• Washing dishes and cleaning spills immediately 
• Disposing of trash regularly 
• Vacuuming and mopping floors to eliminate crumbs and residue 

Yard Maintenance Tips to Keep Mice Away 

Keeping mice out of the yard can help prevent them from making their way indoors. Consider taking the following proactive steps: 

• Remove hiding spots by keeping the grass mowed regularly and cleaning up debris piles, including leaves and wood piles.
• Cover possible burrow openings to underground nests with rocks and watch to see if they reappear, which indicates mice in outside areas. 
• Move woodpiles so they are a foot or more above the ground and at least 100 feet from buildings. 
• Trim shrubs and tree limbs near buildings to avoid providing mice with a runway and easy access. 

Contact Catseye Pest Control to Keep Mice Out of Your House for Good 

Knowing how to get rid of mice in the house is only one part of the equation. Putting that knowledge into action and dealing with infestations as quickly as possible are essential steps for keeping everyone healthy and safe. The single most effective mice infestation solution is prevention, followed closely by professional mouse control. Contact Catseye Pest Control today to get started.

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Last week we traveled to the rainforests of Belize to meet beguiling stingless bees. This week we continue our adventure in the rainforests of Belize where we meet two members of the assassin bug clan. In some of the most-watched previous episodes, we saw a ferocious assassin bug called the wheel bug dispatching stink bugs and impaling caterpillars with its terrifying proboscis. While strolling through an orchard at the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society we came upon a magnificent plantation of Inga trees. These beautiful trees, native to the American tropics, are favorites among foresters and coffee plantation owners by virtue of their rapid growth, delicious edible fruit, and ability to improve poor soils with magical nitrogen-fixing properties. In addition, some species have extrafloral nectaries, small glands that produce sugar-rich nectar to attract beneficial insects. Not only do these nectaries deliver an element of protection to Inga but they also provide a modicum of pest control to crops like coffee trees growing nearby. Despite their admirable growth characteristics and ecosystem services, Inga trees are not immune to their own pest problems. On several of the Inga trees patches of flocculant white wax coated the undersurfaces of leaves. Coatings of white wax are a telltale sign of sucking insect pests like scales, whiteflies, aphids, and mealybugs. We found oodles of white wax, but search as we might all the wax-producing insects had vanished. Roaming around the leaves were several pretty pale green, long-legged bugs with rows of black spots along their backs and patches of yellow-orange adorning heads, legs, and derriere. We could not pin down the identity of this beauty, but it had a strong resemblance to assassin bugs in the genus Zelus we met in a previous episode.

See the dense forest of tiny hairs on the forelegs of this assassin bug. Like biological Velcro they help the bug snare its prey. And look at that terrifying hooked beak, perfectly designed for impaling its victims. We found this gorgeous predator wandering the rainforest floor perhaps in search of a tasty invertebrate for lunch. On the leaves of a nearby Inga tree, other pretty assassin bugs rested amidst the waxy remains of a disseminated colony of sucking insects. As we tried to record this predator, it did its best to escape the nosy lens of the camera. 

Nearby, at the edge of the Inga orchard, a brilliant red assassin bug in the genus Saica prowled the leaves and grasses on the ground looking for something to stab with its extraordinary beak. Little is known about the feeding habits of these slender legged assassin bugs. Some of their relatives prey on spiders and other ground dwelling invertebrates. These assassins amble about on middle and hind legs thereby freeing up their front legs to capture prey. Their modified prey-capturing legs are called raptorial legs. The upper segments of the assassin bug’s forelegs were festooned with hundreds of small prickly hairs designed to help grasp hapless victims destined to fill the belly of the beast. But as I had a closer look at this tiny terror, I marveled at its beak, the business end of the assassin bug. Unlike other assassin bugs I know that have powerful but unremarkable beaks, this one had a baleful hook at the tip of its proboscis. All the better to impale and subdue its prey I suppose. So many tiny wonders are to be found in the tropical rainforests of Belize.        

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. Dan Gruner and Paula Shrewsbury and the hearty crew of BSCI 339M: Tropical Biology and Maya Culture for providing the inspiration for this episode of Bug of the Week. The fascinating references “Saica Amyot & Serville, 1843 (Reduviidae, Emesinae, Saicini): taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis with morphological characters” by Valentina Castro-Huertas and Maria Cecilia Melo, “Extrafloral nectaries of associated trees can enhance natural pest control” by M.Q. Rezende, M. Venzon, A.L. Perez, I.M. Cardoso, and Arne Janssen, and “Evolution of the assassin’s arms: insights from a phylogeny of combined transcriptomic and ribosomal DNA data (Heteroptera: Reduvioidea)” by Junxia Zhang, Eric R. L. Gordon, Michael Forthman, Wei Song Hwang, Kim Walden, Daniel R. Swanson, Kevin P. Johnson, Rudolf Meier & Christiane Weirauch, were consulted to prepare this episode.

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Pests in food establishments increase the risk of spreading foodborne illnesses that put diners’ health and safety at risk. The negative ripple effects can have damaging effects on a restaurant’s reputation and the business’s bottom line. To keep pests off the menu, it’s critical to develop solid restaurant pest control strategies and preventative measures.

Why Pests Are a Major Concern in Restaurants 

Restaurants are particularly appealing to pests because they have everything pests are looking for: access to food, water, and shelter. Infestations pose a threat to public safety, which is why restaurant owners and staff must work double-time to protect the premises. Otherwise, the long-term impact of pests in food establishments can have devastating effects on the business. 

The Impact of Pests on Customer Safety and Business Reputation 

Research suggests that more than half of all restaurant patrons will write negative reviews or social media posts after seeing a pest while dining. Additionally, seeing multiple pests or seeing pests near their food increases the odds that customers will never return.

Although the impact on the establishment’s reputation can be harmful, it’s even worse that pests literally put your employees and customers at risk. Pests can carry dozens of different pathogens, potentially contaminating preparation surfaces and the food itself. 

Common Pests Found in Restaurants 

Although restaurants can end up with any number of pests, three culprits stand out as the most common offenders. Explore each of these pests in a bit more detail to ensure you and your employees know what to look for and how to respond.

Rodents (Mice and Rats) 

Rodents are clever critters that are capable of slipping into restaurants through open doors as well as tiny cracks and gaps. Mice and rats can contaminate food and other surfaces with germs that cause Hantavirus and lymphocytic choriomeningitis. 

Cockroaches 

Cockroaches, including German, brown-banded, and American cockroaches, can be incredibly challenging to control. Cockroaches emit pheromones that attract more insects to the area, and they can easily enter through plumbing, exhaust vents, and incoming supply shipments. These pests seek out tiny cracks and crevices for shelter and reproduction, making it easy to contaminate utensils, surfaces, and equipment with harmful pathogens such as those that cause plague, salmonella, cholera, and more. 

Flies 

Flies, including house, drain, and fruit flies, leave feces everywhere they land. This poses a high risk of contamination of food and kitchen equipment with germs that can spread salmonella, E. coli, dysentery, typhoid fever, and more. 

Why Restaurants Are Vulnerable to Pest Infestations 

Restaurants are highly attractive sites for pests. In addition to offering up ample sources of food and water, they have plenty of spots that are suitable for insect and rodent nesting. Restaurants also have doors that frequently open, incoming shipments, and other areas that provide easy access. 

Abundant Food Sources 

Pantries, refrigerators, and freezers that are filled with ingredients are only a few of the food sources in restaurants. One of the biggest attractants comes from food waste — spills, crumbs, and mismanaged garbage filled with discarded food matter. 

Warm, Moist Environments 

Debris and moisture can accumulate where drains and floors intersect. Plumbing leaks and dark, damp spaces, including storage spaces and areas beneath or behind equipment, can also attract various pests. 

High Traffic and Access Points 

Restaurants can be like a revolving door of foot traffic, with patrons entering and exiting frequently throughout the day and night. Each time the door opens, a pest could theoretically slip through and wreak havoc. Other access points may be less obvious. Examples include air ducts, delivery and supply zones, unsealed areas in ceilings and walls, gaps and cracks around utility lines, and vents. 

Strategies to Prevent Pests in Restaurants 

To win the fight against pests, restaurant owners and employees must take proactive steps. A few of the key strategies for preventing pests include the following: 

Proper Food Storage and Handling 

Maintaining strict food handling and storage protocols is necessary to pass health inspections. Storing food properly, including in airtight containers, can also reduce the risks of attracting pests. 

Maintaining Cleanliness 

Sanitation is critical in maintaining a healthy, pest-free restaurant. Cleaning spills, regularly sanitizing behind and under equipment, and sweeping/mopping floors and counters daily can help reduce the restaurant’s pest appeal. Other actions include thoroughly cleaning the following: 

• Appliances 
• Food contact surfaces 
• Walls 
• Storage cabinets 
• Floor mats 
• Seats and tables 
• Counters 
• Cutting boards 
• Service areas 

Regular Inspections and Monitoring 

The sooner you spot pest activity, the faster you can gain control of the problem. Regular inspections and monitoring pest-prone areas can help catch infestations before they become widespread issues. It’s also the key to shifting strategies that don’t work to ensure maximum effectiveness. 

Sealing Entry Points 

Blocking access can go a long way to preventing pests in food service environments. Some tips include: 

• Seal gaps, cracks, and openings 
• Inspect packages and deliveries
• Ensure doors and windows close tightly; install weather stripping as needed 
• Replace broken windows, using tightly fitted mesh screening for windows you open

What Are Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategies 

Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies focus on prevention, first and foremost. IPM for restaurants relies on four primary steps: inspection, identification, treatment, and ongoing partnership with pest pros. This approach advocates for the use of chemical control as needed, with steps like exclusion and other forms of control prioritized. 

Importance of Health and Safety Compliance 

Pest control makes up about 20% of inspections, which means remaining pest-free is a high-stakes proposition. Remaining within state and local health codes is essential to maintaining a thriving business. 

Meeting Regulatory Standards 

Although the standards vary from state-to-state, restaurants must have established protocols for managing and preventing infestations. It’s also critical to have documentation of all service visits, inspections, corrective measures, and pesticide use. 

Avoiding Fines, Closures, and Damaged Reputations 

Failing to meet established health codes and regulatory standards can have costly repercussions. Maintaining a pest-free restaurant can help avoid forced restaurant closures, fines, and the potential loss of business.

When to Call Professional Pest Control Services 

Keeping your restaurant pest-free requires constant diligence and proactive monitoring. While the day-to-day operations and preventative strategies require employee training and involvement, partnering with reputable professionals from the beginning is essential. Routine professional pest management services provide regular inspections and expert support in preventing and controlling pests in the event of pest sightings.

Recognizing Signs of Severe Infestations 

Ideally, the restaurant already works with pros for regular inspections and treatments. If not, it’s critical to contact the experts at the first sign of any infestation, which could include: 

• Strong odors (musty or like decaying food) 
• Sighting of live pests 
• Droppings in and around sinks, cooking equipment, storage areas 
• Damaged food packaging 

Contact Catseye Pest Control to Help Keep Your Restaurant Pest Free 

When you choose a pest control professional to partner with, it’s vital to select one with a great reputation and a dedicated IPM approach. Catseye Pest Control has been a regional industry leader since 1987. We have earned a solid reputation with our commitment to excellent service and state-of-the-art pest control and prevention services.

Let licensed, experienced experts support your restaurant’s pest control strategy, leaving you with more time to handle other aspects of the business. Contact Catseye today to schedule a free inspection to begin protecting your restaurant from pests. 

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In the last episode, we visited non-migratory monarch butterflies enjoying benign temperatures in Florida while many of us shivered under bone chilling weather in other parts of the country. This week we head further south to Belize to visit amazing stingless bees in the tropical rainforests of Belize. Let’s go!

While visiting the Toucan Research Ecology and Education Society, we stumbled on a young banana tree in its blooming glory. There, amongst the blossoms, a bevy of stingless bees were busily pollinating a remarkable blossom. For many, the notion of stingless bees is an alien concept. I once had a viewer comment that these could not be bees because they did not sting. Well, a large clan of bees belonging to the tribe Meliponini are true bees with a wide distribution around the world. They live in colonies and make honey. Although they do not sting, they have other defenses which we will visit below. Typical nesting sites for stingless bees include tree hollows and crevices in the ground. Often these hollows have rather large openings. To limit access to the colony and facilitate defense, these large openings are narrowed to trumpet-shaped entrances constructed with a sticky substance called propolis, a mixture of wax and other materials. This creates a defensible portico where ants and other nest raiders, those that would love to enter the colony and plunder the honey, pollen, and baby bees inside, can be repelled.

In addition to natural cavities, stingless bees take advantage of human-made structures to build their nests. While visiting Mayan ruins at Xunatunich and the Jaguar Preserve in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, we discovered several colonies of stingless bees occupying cinder block walls of a building where small cracks in the mortar provided perfect entryways to the hollow cavities inside the walls. One colony in a cinder block wall was comprised of stunningly beautiful delicate bees in the genus Tetragonisca known locally as mariolas. They went about their business seemingly oblivious to students and a bug geek with a camera. However, a second darkly colored species of Trigona was not nearly as docile. The nest entrance was guarded by several workers that watched carefully and mounted a surprising attack when humans ventured too close. The assault consisted of dozens of workers flying into faces and hair of the nearby humans. They seemed to pay special attention to eyes, noses, and ears. Although they lacked stingers, their annoying bites were very persistent, forcing the intruders to vacate the vicinity of the hive. In his book “The Insect Societies”, E.O. Wilson describes accounts of stingless bees attacking human intruders. Some species eject an irritating liquid that causes a burning sensation to skin. This trick has earned them the local name of cagafogos, or “fire defecators”, in Brazil. So potent is this defense that it may dissuade very aggressive attackers like army ants from entering nests.

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits. And in the rainforests of Belize native stingless bees pollinate this non-native plant in addition to myriad native plants with which they evolved. Worker bees gather sweet nectar and rich pollen and return it to the hive to feed the queen and bee babies. When their work is complete and pollination is accomplished, the banana says goodbye to the blossoms and the bees.

A visit inside a stingless bee colony would reveal the queen busily filling brood cells with eggs, most of which will become workers. The life of a worker bee is a predestined regimen of tasks that change as the bee ages. For the first several days of life, worker bees are craftsman shaping and forming the basic building materials of the colony, wax and a wax-like material called cerumen. After a week or so and for several weeks thereafter, workers stock cells with food and have the heady assignment of feeding the queen. About this time, they also begin to produce wax to build the many structures of the nest. Soon workers enter guard duty at the nest entrance. Shortly thereafter, they take on the assignment of collecting nectar and pollen for the hive.

Typical nesting sites for stingless bees include tree hollows and crevices in the ground. In addition to natural cavities, stingless bees take advantage of human-made structures to build their nests. While visiting Mayan ruins we saw a colony of Trigona bees nesting in a crack in a palace wall. At the Jaguar Preserve in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, we discovered several colonies of stingless bees occupying cinder block walls of a building where small cracks in the mortar provided perfect entryways to the hollow cavities inside the walls. To limit access to the colony and facilitate defense, trumpet-shaped entrances constructed with a sticky substance called propolis create a defensible portico to repel ants and other nest raiders.

Worker bees are common visitors to many kinds of flowering plants in the Belize and many other Central American rainforests. I have captured some species and gently rolled them between two fingers. Don’t ask why I did this, but they emitted a pleasant floral odor before I released them. For centuries, ancient Mayans maintained colonies of stingless bees to produce honey used for sweetening foods and to produce a fermented drink similar to mead. Unfortunately, with the introduction of Africanized bees and domestic honeybees, the number of colonies of stingless bees has declined dramatically and husbandry of stingless bees is becoming a lost art. In addition, fragmentation and loss of natural forests in Central and South America threaten many species of marvelous stingless bees and the tropical plants they evolved to pollinate.

Acknowledgements and References

We thank Drs. Dan Gruner and Paula Shrewsbury, the hearty crew of BSCI 339M: Tropical Biology and Maya Culture, and our fearless guide, Wilford, for providing the inspiration for this episode of Bug of the Week.  The fascinating book “The Insect Societies” by E.O. Wilson, and the articles “Behavioural and developmental responses of a stingless bee (Scaptotrigona depilis ) to nest overheating” by Ayrton Vollet-Neto, Cristiano Menezes, and Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca, and “Maya Beekeeping Tradition Fades” by Stefan Lovgren were used as references for this Bug of the Week.

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