Kill Roaches With Parasitic Wasps

Imagine having the skill to do brain surgery without any tools. How easy would it be to incapacitate someone, make them willing to do what you want (be easily led), and slow down their heart and bodily systems so that they can live a long time without food or water? It sounds like wild science fiction, but, in fact, the entomology kingdom is stranger than fiction.

The Ampulex compressa Parasitic Wasp

The Ampulex Compressa Wasp uses this unique technique for survival. They wasp will land on a roach and sting the brain. The roach goes into a trancelike state. It is alive, yet willing to cooperate with the wasp.

Since the wasp cannot lift or move the roach, it simply grabs the roach antennae and leads it into the wasp burrow.

The wasp then lays eggs on the underbelly of the roach. Since the roach metabolism is slowed way down from the brain sting, the roach will live until the eggs hatch. When the eggs hatch, they eat the live roach. Sounds gross, but it is fascinating.

The other interesting fact is that humans have not been able to reproduce the effect that the wasp has on the roach. Humans have been able to slow down a roaches metabolism, but not nearly as efficiently and long lasting as the parasitic wasp does it. Somehow, years of evolution work fantastically and work even better than human experimentation. Since I don't particularly love roaches, I am somewhat appreciative to this little wasp for killing some roaches.

For more interesting facts, please visit Roach Killer or another favorite outdoor site called Outdoor Showers

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Roach Control

Roach Control

Control Roach Entrances

The best way to control roaches is to eliminate their entry. The only problem is that it is impossible to prevent them from entering your home. Fortunately, there are precautions that will make it easier to prevent roach entry.

Paper and Plastic Bags

Roaches like wood products a lot more than plastic products. Many people bring roaches home in paper bags from the grocery stores or from shipping containers. If possible, use a clean "green" bag from home or use plastic bags.

Shipping Containers

Shipping containers come from all over the country. You could map out the product path before it comes to your door, but that is downright impractical. Instead, be aware that shipping containers will often contain roaches. It only takes one roach filled warehouse to infect lots of other buildings through transportation.

What that means, for you, is to open shipped products outside and throw the paper containers away immediately.

Door and Windows and Cracks

A roach can slip through the tiniest crack. If you have open holes, in your home, it will make it easy for them to enter. For example, some people have a small space under their front doors and windows that don't shut tightly. Some hot and humid areas have roaches that live in wood piles and at the neighbors. The roaches will come to your home and look for a way inside. Make sure that all cracks and crevices are tightly sealed off. It will help tremendously.

Control the Nest

There are millions of ways to control roaches, but you don't want to forget about the nest. The only effective means for roach control is to get rid of the nest. I will repeat that again because it is forgotten by so many people. The only way to have effective control is to get rid of the nest.

Roaches multiply so fast that you can have thousands of them within a very short amount of time. You can kill a few here and there, but that will not do what you need done. Imagine a constant baby factory. That's what a roach nest is. A single female roach can produce twenty five to thirty thousand offspring a year. Imagine what happens with someone that has a few hundred roaches. You can get into the millions in a short amount of time. Do you see why killing a few here and there isn't going to help that much?

Fortunately, there are roach control products that are great at killing the nest. The best product is a boric acid bait paste that attracts the roaches. Then, they take it home to the nest and eliminate the source of the roaches and that's the way to do it.

For a super heavy infestation, a combination of a boric acid bait paste and a bucket of boric acid dust working together will product great results. The most likely place to check for the nest is: 1- The water heater and 2- Inside the walls.

Control Water and then Food

Roaches, like any life form, have a stronger need for water than anything else. Most nesting grounds are close to a water source. It makes sense. The ideal conditions are what the roaches look for when making a nest. People with leaky pipes, dripping sinks, or leaky water heaters and that leave food laying out are the most attractive places for roaches to "set up shop".

You can see that a roach has a certain degree of intelligence. In a large apartment complex, they will often put the nest next to a leaky water heater. It keeps them safe, hydrated, and warm. The nest is not arbitrarily put anywhere. The roach scouts do a good job of locating good nesting spots.

Secondly, after you control for water, make sure that all your food is locked down. That means putting it in tight containers that the roaches can't get into. Food should not be left out. Finally, don't forget that the refrigerator needs to have the food in tightly sealed containers, as well.

Final Tips

Roach control is an important aspect of a pest free home. People that live in hot and humid areas should be more careful to take precautions. The easiest precaution is to treat once a year with boric acid roach paste. That way, the minute a roach walks into your home, it will be eliminated.

For further information, please visit Roach Control or you may also wish to visit Boric Acid

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristy_Snow

Winter Roach Control

Roaches like humidity and warmth. They can survive just about anything, but cold weather makes a significant reduction in their reproduction. In addition, like humans, roaches prefer to be out and active in warmer weather.

The ideal temperature for reproduction is around 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This is about the perfect temperature. Think of an incubating egg. It needs to be a bit toasty, but not scorching hot. A balmy 86 will do the job nicely.

Reproduction is based on the life cycle and it is very sensitive to small temperature changes. For example, if the temperature drops five degrees, the roach reproduction life cycle is cut in about half. If you take it down another five degrees, you cut the cycle down by another half. So, in other words, for a ten degree drop in coolness roach reproduction will decrease by 3/4.

Evidence of temperature on roach reproduction is the relatively higher numbers of roaches in hotter and more humid states than colder states. States with harsh winters have the least number or cockroaches.

How Does This Affect Me?

One thing that roaches do is come indoors for the winter. They like a hot spot under a water heater, a stove,or the pantry. Areas with a lot of outdoor roaches will simply come into the home for the winter. Mechanical controls and boric acid dust in concrete cracks can help keep them from walking into your home and reproducing successfully..

Winter Treatment

One mistake people make is to forget about their roach problems in the fall and winter. A lot of people see a reduction in their appearance because they are less active and not producing as steadily.

For many people, the roaches they saw so many times in summer and spring are still there in the winter. The out of mind mentality, does not produce the best results.

Instead, when roach numbers are down, it is a good time to go for total elimination. For example, you might put some good boric acid roach bait near the nest for easy access. You could also put down some dust in the concrete cracks for when they try to come into the house for warmth.

One thing for sure, it is easier to eliminate a smaller inactive population than a larger active one. This winter, don't forget to put out some fresh boric acid roach bait.

For further information, please visit Roach Control

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristy_Snow

Mechanical Roach Killer

Have you noticed that many insects look shiny or glossy on the outside? This is partly what makes many insects so beautiful. On the other hand, this shiny coating of wax is also what keeps the ugly insects alive! Please don't be offended if you are think cockroaches are cute.

Mechanical versus Toxic

A mechanical kill is different from a toxic kill. In this case, a mechanical kill, for a cockroach, is to remove the outer waxy coating of the insect. What this does is dehydrate the insect. The other option might be to catch a bunch of roaches and put them in your food dehydrator. Now, of course, that's a joke (in case you didn't get it).

A toxic kill is to spray some type of insecticide or fumigate. This type of kill is less desirable because it is more toxic to human occupants, insects can develop resistance, and it rarely takes care of the nest. In other words, it is an ongoing thing instead of total elimination.

Types of Mechanical Kills

Boric Acid

You can purchase roach bait with boric acid in it. The bait can work in three ways.

1- Internally, eating boric acid is like a human eating nails. It will irritate and destroy the inside of the cockroach.

2- In addition, some boric acid will get on the exoskeleton and destroy the outer waxy coating.

3- The bait is taken back to the nest to eliminate the source of the problem.

A good bait is the best solution, but there are other types of mechanical kills available.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is actually ground up fossils from millions of years ago. These tiny fossils have sharp edges that can only be seen with a microscope. When you look at the ground up fossils it just looks like flour.

You can actually purchase food grade diatomaceous earth. Some health food enthusiasts actually eat it. You should know that most diatomaceous earth is not food grade and so you need to check on that before consuming it.

Diatomaceous earth works by mechanical kill. When insects walk over it, some of the sharp edges stick to the insect. The sharp edges work at removing the outer waxy coating. Some formulations add pyrethrins, from the chrysanthemum flower, to aid in agitating the insect. The more the insect is agitated the more quickly the insect will become dehydrated.

Mechanical Prevention

Part of mechanical safety is to prevent insects from coming into your home. It is important to keep food in containers that don't attract insects. The windows should be repaired. The doors should not leave extra space for insects to crawl into the home. The outside of the home should not have entry points for insects. This is a simple task, but many homeowners forget about cracks and crevices that are long-term problems. If you have an insect problem, you should spend a bit of time cleaning everything up and making sure entry is as difficult as possible.

Best Roach Strategy

The best way to kill roaches is with boric acid roach bait. While this is a safe way to kill roaches, the safest product to use would be food grade diatomaceous earth. Finally, make sure your home is not attracting insects. Keep food put away and eliminate cracks and crevices.

For further information, please visit Roach Killer or you may also visit Boric Acid