Labor Day
9/1/2010
On Monday we celebrate Labor Day. For many, it’s the unofficial last day of summer. But of course that’s not the true reason for the holiday.

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Bed Bugs Biting NE Kansas
9/1/2010

Bed bugs have been creeping across the nation. Officials report a five hundred percent increase in bed bug cases nationwide in recent months. Kansas is no exception.

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Bedbugs Growing Problem In Midwest
9/1/2010

Schendel Pest Services' Michele Vance discusses the growing bed bug problem with KCTV 5 News Kansas City.

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Five Reasons to Protect Your Building from Pest Birds
8/17/2010
The general public's affection toward birds translates into a serious underestimation of the health risks and other costs associated with pest birds.  Most people look at birds in flight and see a serene, peaceful image.  But when those same birds choose to congregate or nest around your building, that peaceful image can quickly turn noisy, dirty and dangerous.  Below are five important reasons to protect your building from pest birds.

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Annoyed by Houseflies?
8/3/2010
The housefly may top of the list of annoying pests.  Their presence is almost guaranteed at a picnic, and they sneak inside our homes through open doors and windows. But not only are house flies a familiar disturbance, they are also a major carrier of communicable diseases. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) advises homeowners to take precautions to prevent these pests from becoming health burdens. 

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Protect Your Family and Pets from Ticks
7/20/2010
Summer is the prime season for tick infestations.  With both humans and pets spending more time outdoors, there is an increased chance of being bitten and bringing the ticks indoors.

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Moles, Gophers and Voles
7/6/2010
I’m excited to announce that Schendel has launched a new service program aimed at eliminating moles, gophers and voles.  These three pests create tunnels and holes underground, which not only make for unsightly lawns, but can be disruptive to the root systems of trees and plants.  Do you have any of these active critters in your yard?

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Celebrate the 4th of July without Mosquitoes
6/30/2010
Happy Independence Day!  Many of us will spend the holiday weekend outside, celebrating with picnics, fireworks, BBQ’s, and other activities.  Unfortunately, mosquitoes often put a damper on our outdoor celebrations.  This year especially, thanks to a warm, wet spring and early summer, we can expect mosquito activity to be worse than normal.

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Bed Bugs and Summer Travels
6/11/2010
Bed bugs continue to be a problem in all parts of the country, and as the summer travel season begins, we can expect the problem to worsen. 

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Keeping Memorial Day Pest Free
5/26/2010
The Memorial Day weekend is upon us!  School is out, the pools are open and the unofficial start of summer is here.  It certainly feels good after a long, cold winter. 

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Ants!
5/5/2010

They may be little, they may not scare people like spiders, and most don't bite, but if they are in your kitchen or bathroom, you know how annoying ants can be.  We receive more calls about ants than any other pest, especially in the spring.  As the weather warms, the ants venture inside looking for food.  With about 700 species of ants in the United States, most homeowners will see ants at some point.

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Schendel Celebrates National Pest Management Month
4/15/2010
Schendel Pest Services, along with the entire pest management industry, celebrates National Pest Management Month in April.  Pest control is one of those things most people don’t think about until they have a problem.  But consider this:  The life expectancy in the US rose from 49 years in 1900 to 77 years in 2000.  This dramatic increase is attributed to three things:  better sanitation, better pharmaceuticals/medicine, and better pest control. 

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Happy Easter And Happy Spring!
4/2/2010

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!  The long, dreary winter appears to be behind us, and has been replaced by beautiful spring weather.

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Warmer Weather Brings Termites
3/23/2010

Despite the snow many of us experienced this past weekend, spring is here and the temperatures are beginning to warm. In the world of pests, that means one thing—termites will soon begin to swarm. Because of the increased moisture we experienced this winter, there is an even greater risk of termite activity this spring

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Bed Bug Basics
1/21/2010
Bed bugs are back with a vengeance!  I just Googled “Bed Bugs” and my computer returned more than 2 million results, listing everything from medical sites to university extension agencies to pest control companies.  While residents of the East and West Coast were the first to experience a recurrence of severe bed bug infestations, these nasty pests are on the rise throughout the Midwest. 

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Schendel Offers Tips To Prevent Mice From Entering & Damaging Homes
1/11/2010
With high heating bills and snow to shovel, homeowners have plenty to worry about in the winter months. Yet winter brings one more concern that most homeowners rarely consider – that is until it becomes a problem. According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), winter is a prime season for rodent infestations with 24% of homeowners reporting mice infestations specifically in the winter.

Schendel Pest Services warns that rodent infestations can be more than just an annoyance.  Mice bring other pests, such as fleas, mites, ticks and lice, indoors, which can quickly spread throughout homes. More, these rodents can contaminate food sources with feces that can spread Salmonella and Hantavirus.


 

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Pestworld for Kids
1/5/2010

With students headed back to school after the Christmas break, this is a good time to share some information about PestworldforKids.org.  PestworldforKids.org is a website developed for teachers and kids by the National Pest Management Association that contains lesson plans, educational games, and even science fair projects.

Lesson Plans

Pests provide a fascinating entry point into many curricular subjects, including biology, ecology, environment and health.  Use these lesson plans to teach insect anatomy, the social life of termite, the scientific inquiry process, and more.  The lessons emphasize content and process skills, and support standards from the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.  Lesson plans are available for students in grades K-8.

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Winter Pest Q&A's
12/21/2009
Many people consider the pest business seasonal, and while pest problems certainly peak during the spring and summer, the winter brings its own unique challenges.  Like humans, insects and rodents need shelter from the cold weather, and our homes provide the warmth, food and water needed for survival.  

Below is a Q and A developed by the National Pest Management Association about what to expect from winter pests.  If you are having insect or rodent problems, click here to complete our online service request form, or call us for more information.  Homes protected by Schendel are PestZero guaranteed 365 days a year, not just during the spring and summer.

Will pest infestations this winter be worse than most winters?

Pests need food, water, and shelter, just like humans. If conditions are good for any of these, a population will thrive. If all three are available, populations will explode. As humans, we provide the shelter, whether it be our homes or places of business.  This is also why pest populations vary from region to region of the country. If there is a wet summer with abundant plant growth, expect to see more rodents, insects, and other pests. Dry summers will lead to winter ant populations seeking food and water.

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AIB Changes 2009 Inspection Standards
11/24/2009

AIB Changes 2009 Inspection Standards

The American Institute of Baking International (AIB) has made significant changes to its 2009 standards for inspection.  Schendel recently hosted a training seminar for our food grade clients with Al St. Cyr, AIB’s Head of Food Safety Education.  St. Cyr did a great job outlining AIB changes related to pest management programs, and I thought it would be helpful to summarize some of his comments here.  Since this is just a general overview, you should contact us directly if you have specific questions or concerns about the pest management program in your inspected facility.  Also, more detailed information about the changes can be found at www.aibonline.org/2009standards .

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Wildlife Poses a Growing Pest Control Problem for Homeowners, Especially in Fall
11/3/2009

Homeowners typically work to prevent smaller pests – notably rodents– from seeking shelter indoors during colder temperatures. Yet the unwelcome presence of other wildlife such as birds, bats, squirrels, skunks and raccoons often goes unaddressed despite the similar health and property risks these animals pose. 

Birds frequently harbor diseases such as Lyme disease, West Nile virus and histoplasmosis, a respiratory disease spread through infected bird droppings. Bats, raccoons and skunks are frequent carriers of rabies, which is potentially fatal if left untreated. In fact, as many as 40,000 people each year in the United States are exposed to animals that might have rabies, and must seek treatment as a result.

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Protect Your Building from Birds
10/19/2009

Having a few birds nesting around a sign or on a window sill may not seem like a big deal, but pest birds can cause costly damage, or even be deadly to humans and other animals.  Did you know that the nesting materials of birds--straw, twigs and grass--is highly flammable?  If birds build their nests inside electrical signs or other machinery, the risk of fire is great.  In fact, electric sign companies blame bird nests for most of their sign fires.

Pest birds can be found in many different areas of a structure.  Their droppings may be scattered here and there, or may be heavily accumulated in protected areas.  Nests and heavy droppings indicate a more serious problem, and the birds are often very committed to the site—their home—and can be difficult to remove.  Below are areas of buildings where it is not uncommon to find birds, droppings or nesting materials.

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Ten Ways to Keep Pests from Entering Your Home this Fall
9/21/2009

Cooler weather means pests are looking for a warmer place to live.  Fall is officially upon us, and while some homeowners might associate pest control with summer months, it’s equally important to take steps to prevent your home and family from pests during the cooler autumn months, as well.  Here are 10 helpful tips:
Keep tree branches and overgrown plants away from the exterior of your home.  These provide great protection to pests and even rodents seeking cover.

1. Remove potential rodent nesting sites from the outside of your home by reducing clutter.
 
2. Clean out your gutters and downspouts, applying a bleach mixture if appropriate to discourage conditions for re-infestation.
 
3. Ensure crawl spaces are completely sealed off from the inside of your home.
 
4. Close any vents along the foundation of your home.
 
5. Keep your garage door closed when it’s not in use.

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Summer Barbecues A Favorite Event for Pests
7/28/2009

Summer barbecues are as popular as ever, and these outdoor events frequently find unwanted guests in attendance – summer pests. It's important to remember that these “nuisance” pests can in fact pose serious threats to the health of your guests.
 
The May 2009 issue of Fast Company examined the popularity of summer barbecues in the United States, finding:

• 74 percent of Americans will host a barbecue to celebrate the upcoming Labor Day holiday.

• In the summer alone, the average American grill owner spends 4.4 hours barbecuing each week.

So often, homeowners forget that moving festivities with food and drink outdoors can bring pests to the party.  Ants, yellow jackets and mosquitoes are all attracted to the sweets of barbecue, and subsequently to those enjoying such fare.  These pests should never be allowed to join the festivities as ants can contaminate food, stinging insects send more than a half-million people to the emergency room each year, and mosquitoes can transmit West Nile Virus

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Pest Myth or Pest Fact?
6/23/2009

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Do It Yourself Pest Control?
4/29/2009

Do-It-Yourself Pest Control ?

A study conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina, quoted in the March 2009 issue of Parents magazine, suggests that parents should exercise caution before applying a do-it-yourself pest control treatment.  In the study, most of the kids whose parents used store-bought bug sprays had pesticide residue in their urine.  The theory is that non-trained and non-licensed users of pesticides (even the store-bought kind!) tend to over-apply the material.  Parents magazine went on to recommend that readers find a pest control company that employs Integrated Pest Management (IPM)-trained technicians, like we do at Schendel Pest Services.

IPM is a method of blocking bugs’ way into your home or business by targeting the pest, eliminating the source of the problem, and managing to control re-infestations with as little chemical as possible.   

If you are concerned about pests invading your home this spring, and feel as though you could handle your pest control needs on your own, here are some DIY pest control tips, courtesy of Parents magazine:

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Welcome to Schendel
4/23/2009

Welcome to our new website! We hope you enjoy the updates we’ve made to enhance the client experience for Schendel customers. The new site includes pest identification pages, tips on pest prevention, information on our pest management programs for commercial and residential customers, and much more. The most exciting new development for me is the introduction of this blog, the Schendel Buzz, as a way to communicate directly and openly with our customers.

For some time now, I’ve had a direct link to my email displayed on our website and printed on every service ticket. That email address is tellbrent@pestzero.com. I would like to thank the customers who have taken the time to write to me and share their experiences – the good, the bad, and the buggy. Please keep the emails coming! I assure you that I read and respond to each one personally. You’ll find the ‘tellbrent’ link near the bottom of this blog, and I encourage you to use it so that we may continue to improve upon the service we provide to our customers. Protecting health and property requires an ongoing partnership between us at Schendel and those whom we proudly serve, so please let us know how we’re doing.

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Tell Brent!

How was our service? Please let me know. Email your comments and concerns directly to me. I appreciate your feedback and value your business.

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