Peskies Pest Control Montgomery Alabama Podcast

Have you ever peeked into your crawl space only to feel like you needed a snorkel and a flashlight? In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, hosts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin tackle the hidden nightmare happening beneath so many homes: poor lot grading, runaway runoff, and persistent moisture issues. They break down why modern building trends often make drainage worse, the costly risks of planting heavy landscaping right up against your foundation, and how standing water turns your crawl space into an open invitation for termites, camel crickets, and other destructive pests. Tune in to find out why proper water management is your home’s first line of defense against costly structural damage and unwanted intruders.

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Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke: How many houses do you think have poor irrigation—or not irrigation, but um, drainage—in Alabama? Just if you had a number. And I’d like to have like a irrigation, or not—I keep saying irrigation, I’ll probably keep saying that, but drainage specialists, water specialists on on here to tell us, but I I would assume that it’s a lot.

Travis McGowin: Well, if you really look at look at the houses that we go to, it seems like more and more these days, you know, they’re they’re trying to sandwich and put houses in in very creative areas. Um—

Michael Wienecke: Oh, that’s a good point. Man, I saw one in Bluff Park the other day, and I just shook my head because the house is higher than the neighbor’s house, so all that water is just going to go pouring into that crawl space.

Travis McGowin: Right, it’s like uh, “Okay, well, you know, you bought this lot or you own this lot. Yeah, we’ll stick a house here no matter, you know, what the the cause or the cost or the repercussions for any of the other surrounding properties.” And and I I do though, I see they’re they’re sandwiching these houses, they’re sandwiching them on really weird grades and slopes, and I would definitely venture to say that the grading of the lot and the management of runoff is is not always appropriate, and we see that a lot around the outside of houses and then even underneath houses in crawl spaces as well.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, I mean, yeah. Well, I mean, they’ve got to put in more more drainage now, and I don’t think that I think they account for so much water, but unfortunately Alabama is uh, you know, it could snow tomorrow, or or it could be 105 degrees. So, we just have so much just change in weather, I I don’t think they account for the amount of water that we actually get, ’cause you’re seeing so many of these new homes with like these—I’m glad you said that about the grade, like these stair-stepper grades, and I mean water is going to go to the path of least resistance, so it’s just going to travel downhill. I’ve never understood that.

Travis McGowin: And I can’t even—

Michael Wienecke: Elaborate, please. Tell me.

Travis McGowin: (Laughs) I am not a contractor, so… Uh, but I can say that I have been underneath quite a few houses and in crawl spaces, and and you’ve been there as well, where you just you stick your head into the access and you’re like, “Oh god,” because—

Michael Wienecke: Put a snorkel on.

Travis McGowin: Yeah. Uh, if there’s not standing water, then it’s like a mud hole, or you know, you can even see where the water has carved its own pathway underneath some of these houses, and you’re like you’re just waiting because you know that it’s slowly eroding the dirt from underneath the house.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, yeah. I’m glad you brought that up. So, I I’d like to bring up something, too. Just um, would you would it is it better to have like bushes right up—like if you have a garden section next to your house or like a flower bed section, front, side, whatever it may be, would you recommend flowers there or like heavy heavy uh bushes, if it’s like right up against the house?

Travis McGowin: Mm, neither is mine (laughs). Because—

Michael Wienecke: Burn it all down! Burn it all down!

Travis McGowin: I I’ll be real honest with you, I’m very lazy when it comes to landscaping because the less that I have to fool with, the less lawn work has to be done, but I’m not a big fan of landscaping near the structure for multiple reasons. Um, I I’ve seen many times where landscaping holds moisture, uh it blocks sunlight, there’s no evaporation against the bottom of the structure, you end up with growth on the side of the bottom of the structure. And then not to mention, it’s a pest harborage area. If it’s not managed properly, it grows up against the side of the structure, it’s a pest pathway. There’s just so many different reasons why I think that there doesn’t need to be vegetation. And and I know everyone loves their beautiful vegetation and their lawn and landscape, but there’s so many reasons to not have it against your structure of your house.

Michael Wienecke: Well, I’m glad you said that, ’cause you know the big bush right by my front door?

Travis McGowin: Mhm.

Michael Wienecke: It’s gone. Well, it’s it’s going. It’s going.

Travis McGowin: I am so proud. Oh, oh, okay, I’m I’m so proud.

Michael Wienecke: That’s a big root! Whoever put that there, I I just I’m with you, I the less is better sometimes, you know?

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. Like I said, pest harborage area, moisture harborage area, um and then not to mention—

Michael Wienecke: Termites, I mean, just flow, water, water, too.

Travis McGowin: Well, depending on the species of shrub or tree that it is, I have even seen some people that I presume when they built their house, they were like, “Oh, it’s a great idea, we’ll leave this tree right here.” And then—

Michael Wienecke: Crape myrtle.

Travis McGowin: (Clears throat) We’ll we’ll say crape myrtle just because you said that, but years down the road, the crape myrtle has grown up and it’s, you know, rubbed a hole in the side of the eave of the structure because it hasn’t been managed properly. Or if it’s some other type of tree, I have seen where it’s grown up so large uh next to the base of the foundation of the house that it is actually like pushed the foundation, pushed the brick, or pushed the siding or whatever in the house and has actually started to damage the base of the house as well.

Michael Wienecke: Yep, I would 100% agree. Um, just not a good idea. You know, some small small bushes, I I’d be okay with that, with some shallow roots, but just do your research. I wouldn’t, you know, plant an oak tree right up to my house. Not a good idea.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, but ultimately, we’ve we’ve harped on the the lack of moisture management around the house and underneath the house, but you know, what we really need to talk about as well is why this is important. Like, why is managing all of this important from a pest control standpoint? And I think one of the major ones that people fail to realize uh is is termites, for starters. I mean, that is a huge one right there.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, so so big. Well, that’s what I that’s why the why, I’m glad you said the why. The why is is why are they building homes this way? ‘Cause I don’t know. I don’t know why they’re layering it down, but to me, if you’ve got a a home that’s being, you know, tiered down on a stair-stepper, and then like you said, they’re all being slabs now, I don’t think crawl spaces are are really a thing anymore that are being built.

Travis McGowin: Uh, I see it occasionally, but it’s definitely not as um not as normal as it used to be back in years past.

Michael Wienecke: Is that more of a Montgomery thing, or?

Travis McGowin: There’s a lot of older homes in Montgomery that have them. Um—

Michael Wienecke: But the new homes are not being built, no new homes.

Travis McGowin: Vast majority of the ones that I see now in our area do not have crawl spaces. Not saying that they all don’t, but a large amount of them don’t anymore.

Michael Wienecke: Gotcha. It seems like even builders aren’t doing uh underground basements very much. It’s kind of hard to Everything’s kind of ground level and then going up. So—

Travis McGowin: And I mean, basements can be a significant issue, too, if moisture is not managed properly.

Michael Wienecke: Tell me about it. Tell me about it. My second house, we’re we’re still dealing with that. So, um, yes, and slab homes make it even even worse for termites, because again, the the way they get in is is just uh harder to see.

Travis McGowin: Uh, exactly. So, I mean, you and I have talked plenty of times about termites and how, you know, the foundation of a house settles over time. Of course, the increase in moisture, and especially if it’s eroding the ground underneath the foundation, if that’s an issue, then obviously, I think that you’re going to end up with a risk of having more structural settling, more cracks in your foundation, and cracks in foundations make easy easy access points for termites. I mean, they can fit through uh a crack the size of a credit card, and I know we’ve said it multiple times on this podcast in different episodes, but um, not only termites there, but especially in crawl spaces, moisture high moisture content is going to be a big thing for a lot of bugs. You know, we talked the other day about um different species of flies breeding in the standing water. How many times have you been underneath a crawl space and seen large cockroaches running around under there, especially in a damp and moist location? Um, other high-moisture insects: crickets, silverfish, earwigs, um especially, you know, those types of things. I mean—

Michael Wienecke: Camel crickets.

Travis McGowin: Oh, uh man, all the time. All the time, people underneath it. But uh, you know, high moisture content, (chuckles) high moisture content is going to, you know, create a place that they want to stay and they want to be, and then, in turn, eventually, they’re coming to your house, in into the living space as well.

Michael Wienecke: Well, yeah, and I mean, so let’s talk about the water itself, because even your like your house when it fills up, just picking on you for a minute, your backyard’s like a bowl right there, you know? It just fills up and it’s it’s like a second swimming pool.

Travis McGowin: (Laughs) Yeah. In years past, the if you were standing at the front of our property, the right side of the property was really, really bad, and in very significant rain events, because we’re lower than some of the properties around us, we do get a lot of runoff from other properties, but I will say we we did take some trees out in in years past, and and that seems to help it dry and it seems to have helped it a lot. So, but yes, our our property being the elevation is different, we we do get an extreme amount of runoff, um thankfully—

Michael Wienecke: Not into the house, though, yeah.

Travis McGowin: No, right. (Clears throat) Thankfully, at this point, all of that usually goes around either side of the structure, and and trust me, there have been some significant rain events that I have wondered if it would creep up to the house, and and it did not.

Michael Wienecke: Trench it! Trench it!

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I mean, sandbags, you know, whatever.

Michael Wienecke: God, my Bluff Park house, man, I’ve been there, done that. That’s uh horrible.

Travis McGowin: I remember because your house had the sloped driveway, and I mean, it was like everything from the street and the driveway ran straight toward your garage.

Michael Wienecke: And again, I’d like to ask builders why they did that. Like my house now, it it’s still the the ground is higher than than the home, and having to divert water around the outside and driveway and all that kind of stuff, it just doesn’t make sense. I feel like it should all be that Dr. Seuss, where it’s all big humps and they’re sitting on top of the hill, you know, no water, everything shedding off. Um, but—

Travis McGowin: Exactly. But again, it comes back to lot availability and lot line, and sometimes, I mean, hey, we’ve got X amount of parcels or lots in this one neighborhood, we have to build, so here we go, we’re going to put houses wherever we can put them.

Michael Wienecke: That’s true. Well, it’s just to me it should be I feel like a house should be up on a hill and everything should be running off that house, and it should make it for easy drainage. But again, like you said, no houses. But I’m seeing it more and more. Every house I go to has got, (clears throat) you know, unfortunately, gutters clogged. That’s a huge one, ’cause if your gutters are clogged, it’s running over the side, it’s it’s ruining the soffit, it’s ruining the fascia, it’s also getting all over—it’s not doing what it’s intended to do, and it’s it’s just also backing up the um the drainage there.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, and there’s there’s no denying that moisture moisture causes a massive problem, especially when it’s allowed to sit and it’s not managed properly.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and then you can have other issues, like your house starting to sink, or you’re starting to, you know, um I don’t remember the name, bio- biopheasance or something? It’s like where the uh the water breaks down the uh the block and it turns into almost like powder.

Travis McGowin: Mmm. Could cause a problem.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, I’m You have to look that word up, I’m not going to do it, but it’s it’s something like that.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one.

Michael Wienecke: Yes, I learned it from a crawl space company. But um, again, water can do a lot of damage to the home.

The post The Moisture-Pest Connection: Protecting Your Foundation, Crawl Space, and Home appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

Welcome back to the Peskies Pest Control Podcast! In this episode, hosts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin take a deep dive into the world of the American cockroach—from wild stories about roach-infested stadium concrete covers to skin-crawling encounters inside tight crawl spaces. The duo breaks down why these giant pests prefer moist environments, how natural harborage areas like pine straw and firewood attract them, and the most practical steps you can take to keep them out of your home. Tune in to learn why “American roaches come low,” what risks they pose to your family’s health, and how simple moisture control can make all the difference.

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Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke: But today is the American roach. The longest, fattest, ugliest roach there is.

Travis McGowin: It probably doesn’t appreciate you calling it that, all of those mean things.

Michael Wienecke: Well, it’s funny because a long, long time ago I was being trained, and that’s how I was taught, that it had a, a large halo on its, on its head, and it was the biggest, just like, you know, Americans seem to be.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I would say between them and Smokey Brown, they’re… Most of what I see between the two are, are about, you know, the same or similar in size. Um, but fun story. I saw, I was at the football field last night, um, calling the game, and then afterwards the stadium got cleaned up, and then I was able to leave. And as I go to get in my truck, I crank my truck up, and I turn my headlights on, and I go to drive away, and there’s like a big concrete, um, and almost looks like the entrance to a well, like, you know, you’d see on someone’s property, um, big concrete cover, big circular, um, piece of concrete going into the ground.

Michael Wienecke: Like a sewer?

Travis McGowin: And it could be. I mean, you know, we don’t have sewer out there, but, you know, we do have, I guess, septic system, what not. But…

Michael Wienecke: Outhouses?

Travis McGowin: We’re not that rural. Um, so I look at it and it’s moving. And I took a video, and I’ll have to show it to you, but there were roaches scrambling all over the outside and going into this, uh, piece of concrete. I’m talking about all over the place. It was actually pretty epic to see. So much so that I stopped and pulled my phone out and like videoed this.

Michael Wienecke: That’s nasty.

Travis McGowin: Why wouldn’t I?

Michael Wienecke: Well, and that’s why we always say, you know, American roaches come from below. You know, we see them a lot more in cellars, in basements, uh, wet, damp areas such as that.

Travis McGowin: Right. Yeah, there, there, uh, there’s a significant population, it appears, um, in that area now. So, yeah, it was kind of gross, actually.

Michael Wienecke: Well, um, are you, are we treating that area?

Travis McGowin: No, we don’t treat the school.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, I thought, I thought it was at the football field.

Travis McGowin: No, no. Well, I mean, it’s close to the high school stadium, but no, we don’t treat anything at the school. They have their own people they’ve, you know, low-bid contracted with.

Michael Wienecke: Well, all right then. Well, so let’s talk about how they enter your house in general. I mean, uh, we’ve talked about cracks, crevices, doors, windows, but, um, talk about some, uh, nature obstacles. Natural obstacles. There we go.

Travis McGowin: Na- natural obstacles?

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, some things that customers could do to help with, um, not letting American roaches in their house in the first place.

Travis McGowin: Right, so first thing that comes to mind for me is trying to ensure that none of the areas around your property are harborage areas or places that that they want to live or stay, you know? And what that could look like is maybe not having so much pine straw or mulch, uh, and especially high amounts of moisture around those as well. Um, but just, I think eliminating some of the harborage areas is a really great start.

Michael Wienecke: I mean, firewood around the house is a big one for me, cuz we see, we see that a lot. And I can just remember just as a kid watching, you know, like a stack of wood, you’d remove it for for the fire or something, and uh, roaches would come out of the woodwork. Literally. So, just for that, termites, I mean, ants. I mean, really, any kind of pest, you don’t want a bunch of wood that you’re gonna burn that probably was cut up and has some type of, uh, insect or larva already in it. So, want to keep that as far away as possible. Um, good seals on the windows, trees not touching the house. Um, that’s gonna be a big one, cuz again, those, those roaches can, they can fly, but I mean, they’re fairly weak flyers, so they’re gonna do more, more crawling. And then, of course, your, uh, water, water, na-, you know, um, like when it rains, your, your standing water issues and stuff like that. You don’t want any major saturated areas around your house all the time.

Travis McGowin: Right. Right. Yeah, all, all of those things are going to make it less—I’m not going to say they’re not going to show up at some point.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, they’re still gonna get in. That’s why we come.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, and, and especially, especially if you have wooded areas around your property, um, those, those types of things, you’re going to have these roaches around, especially here in the South and in, in Alabama. But eliminating all of those things will certainly help, and, and, and try to make the outside of your property a lot less attractive. I mean, you know, and to go even kind of deeper into making parts of the structure look less attractive, how many times, Michael, have you been in a crawl space inspecting a house and, you know, you look up and, you know, there’s a whole pile of roaches just on a beam or under the subfloor, and, you know, they, of course, you shine a light on them and they scurry away and what not? But how many times has that happened?

Michael Wienecke: Well, thank you for bringing that back up, cuz uh, it’s happened a lot. But there’s no bigger, um, I don’t know, anxiety for me than, than laying on a low crawl space, and then you, you start crawling and you get under under there, and you get to the subfloor right there, and there’s like 20 American roaches just probably a foot, foot and a half from your face, and you’re just inching, you’re like, “Please, please just don’t fall on me.” Um, but no, I mean, it’s, it’s mostly houses what at least what we see with the crawl spaces is, uh, moisture, doesn’t have a moisture barrier, isn’t encapsulated, isn’t getting getting good airflow. Um, you know, contrary to, uh, I guess, what, 1930s, 38s, 40s, something like that, just having holes at the bottom of your house is not enough to, uh, to dry out your home.

Travis McGowin: Well, no, I don’t think that, I don’t think that it has ever been enough to, to dry out your home, ever.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, no. No, and you’ll see people in the South, it’s funny, cuz they’ll, they’ll shove one side because they think one side’s getting more airflow, when really it’s just not enough period. I mean, it, it should be sealed and it, we—that’s a whole ‘nother discussion, but it should be sealed and a dehumidifier and all that kind of stuff, but anyway.

Travis McGowin: Right, exactly. Um, I just, I, I go in so many, and it’s funny from a crawl space perspective. You know, you, and you can attest to this, too. So, you’ll go into these crawl spaces, and you will either, it’ll be dry as a bone and dusty.

Michael Wienecke: Those are my favorite.

Travis McGowin: And then, like, you know, dust is floating everywhere, and if you weren’t going to wear some sort of respiratory protection, then it would be just, you know, pretty terrible. But…

Michael Wienecke: Always wear respiratory.

Travis McGowin: Right, right. But then, you go into some, like I went in one yesterday, and the yard slopes downward, and the back of the house, you know, faces that downward slope, and I got underneath it, and every bit of dirt under there is wet. Um, and fun fact, they had live termites last year before we treated, and they don’t anymore. But, but everything is sloped downward, and so all of this, you can see in the dirt where the water has ran, and so there’s, everything’s like saturated under there. It’s not standing water, but you can see that the water runs right up underneath the house, and it’s just a, just a nasty, damp, muddy mess under there, and you think roaches are not going to enjoy something like that?

Michael Wienecke: Oh, all the organic matter, all the water they, they need. I mean, just, just it’s a, uh, it’s a haven for them. Kind of a spa.

Travis McGowin: Right, absolutely. And, and they’re going to, they’re going to come down there, and they’re going to enjoy it.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and that’s just proper maintenance. And, and that’s one thing I’d love to bring a builder on here and talk to him about building construction, cuz I don’t understand, first of all, Birmingham alone, it just seems like every Birmingham home, older Birmingham home is in a flood zone, or just has flood issues or or water. Same with, you know, Bluff Park has some, too, but, you know, these older homes, I’m just surprised they didn’t think about drainage a little bit more.

Travis McGowin: Right. And, and there again, it’s, it’s amazing how many times you, you get under these and like I said, dry, wet, whatever, but, you know, everyone just assumes these, these vents are just adequate, and they’re not. I mean, yeah, they’re going to provide some airflow, but they’re not adequate. But, um, to, to move on, though, what are some potential, uh, drawbacks of having these American roaches in terms of, you know, danger to your family or, or what, what are some drawbacks?

Michael Wienecke: Well, they’re really scary, um, they’re huge, they fly. Uh, they can spread all kinds of diseases. I mean, these guys are in dumpsters, cellars, uh, you know, walking around some pretty nasty, uh, stagnant water. It just, I, biggest one is just gonna be your contamination of food. Um, that’s, that would have been my biggest concern, Salmonella.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, they, they’re gonna spread, you know, c- obviously, they’re, they’re low to the ground, um, they’re no strangers to filth or mess, so they’re gonna crawl through things that you don’t want associated with your surfaces in your house, your food supply.

Michael Wienecke: Kind of like that video you made, uh, behind the, behind the, uh, the strip mall.

Travis McGowin: Uh, yes. They’re gonna find stuff like that. For those who did not see that video, it was human feces, um, which was really, really nasty. But, you know, they’re, they’re going to find their way into these things, and then they’re going to find their way into your property. And if they crawl across your countertops, your tables, crawl into, you know, some food or something like that, they’re going to transfer germs, uh, which is a big risk potential for making you and your family sick. And not only that, but they’re gonna, you know, eat and salivate all over whatever they find. They’re gonna, you know, poop everywhere that they go, uh, they’re gonna leave eventually egg sacs wherever they’re, they’re at and attach them and leave them. And then you’re gonna have more roaches. So, I mean, it could just balloon to be a big health problem for your family.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, and those egg sacs don’t go away once they hatch, either. They’re kind of glued in there, and it, it would take a scraper to get those things off, so.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, they, they, I don’t know how they plaster those things, but they, they really do a great job of making sure that they’re not going to go anywhere. Like…

Michael Wienecke: Yeah. And, and I’ll say this, too, about, uh, American roaches. You know, it’s, it’s, we don’t see many infestations of homes with American roaches. It’s, it’s just kind of like they’re seeing one every night, or two every night, or three every night, but they’re coming in and coming out, you know, and it’s, it’s just giving them a reason to come around that property, because we’ve got some, some rot or, um, you know, some drainage issues in the bottom basement or something like that.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I, I will say that I, I can agree with you there, too, that, that I have never seen a massive infestation of them or anything in, in a house, typically. Um, I’m more likely to have seen them infesting like a detached garage or a shop.

Michael Wienecke: Commercial.

Travis McGowin: What?

Michael Wienecke: Commercial. Commercial properties. Yeah.

Travis McGowin: Oh, and years ago, uh, I used to have a detached storage building, and I remember going out there one night, I had to get something, and I opened the door, and on the inside of the door, it’s old, you know, wooden storage shed, but on the inside of the door, there were, you know, American roaches, and you saw them just kind of scurry out of sight, and they were just hanging out in that shed. But I’ve, I’ve never quite seen that. I’m sure somewhere it exists, but I’ve never quite seen that, um, anywhere else, you know, in terms of a house or something like that.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, yeah. I’d agree with that. So, again, you know, keeping that along with getting a, a routine pest control, keeping that yard trimmed, keeping everything, uh, water well shed around the property, I mean, you’re going to be in really good shape doing that. And, of course…

Travis McGowin: Absolutely.

Michael Wienecke: Your nice, you know, door seals, window seals, cuz they can fly. I mean, it’s, it’s not uncommon to see them in an attic, but our, our kind of, the way we like to say it is American roaches come low, Smokey Brown roaches come high, and German roaches just come everywhere. So…

Travis McGowin: Yeah, and it’s funny, I remember I did a, uh, I did an initial knockdown ULV fog treatment on a house in Montgomery, and, uh, this was for German roaches, and, uh, I remember afterwards, after doing the fog treatment, I went back in a couple hours later, and, you know, of course there’s dead German roaches everywhere. And then I look in the kitchen floor, and there’s this one poor little American roach…

Michael Wienecke: He’s in the wrong place. He’s in the wrong place at the right time.

Travis McGowin: He was like, like, which one of these things was not like the other? And, uh, poor, poor fellow just was, you know, in the wrong house.

Michael Wienecke: Well, again, if you’re having an issue with, uh, with American roaches or any other pest problem, give us a call.

The post Pest Control: American Roach Prevention appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, hosts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin broadcast on-location right outside a residential home in Montgomery, Alabama, where a full-house thermal remediation is underway. From the spike in bed bug infestations following peak travel seasons to the science behind using a 500,000+ BTU propane heater to destroy pests and their eggs in a single day, Michael and Travis break down why heat treatment is the ultimate “one and done” solution. Tune in as they discuss practical travel inspection tips, dismantle the stigma surrounding pest infestations, and share a few hilarious past mishaps involving fire departments and unexpected flea encounters!

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Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke: Travis, I feel like bed bugs are on the rise. I feel like we’ve done so many bed bug jobs. I’m losing count.

Travis McGowin: Um, things are heating up. See what I did there?

Michael Wienecke: Heating up! I like that. Yes. Just in case anybody’s listening, we do heat treatments, so that’s why I said that.

Travis McGowin: No pun intended. No pun intended, like I said. But yes, I would say over the last, what, two or three weeks, we’ve done four or five now.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, and I think it’s due to a lot more people traveling. I just think people are traveling more.

Travis McGowin: Well, and I think you’re going to only see more of an increase in that simply because the holidays are coming up—October, November, December. Peak travel season, people going visiting with their family. You know, the potential of someone bringing something into your house as they come in to visit, or even family members—you know, some families like to take a big family trip for the holidays. Maybe they go, you know, to the mountains or whatever and they stay in a big cabin or something together. Whatever that looks like for their family, there’s definitely a risk that these bugs can travel. Unbeknownst to them, and then of course, when they realize it, a lot of times it’s just too late.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, 100%. I mean, by the time you get them, what, I’d say a month to three months is when they start really showing themselves.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, absolutely. And depending upon what size the bed bug was, what life stage the bed bug was prior to you, you know, bringing it home with you. And for those that don’t know, we’re actually sitting outside of a house right now while we speak that we’re currently doing a heat treatment for. And I think it’s a great place to talk about, because earlier on this morning before we got started, we were interviewing and talking with the owner of the house. And, you know, we asked some normal questions that we ask most clients, which is, “Any idea how you got them? Do you travel?” And that’s the first thing that she said was, “Oh, we travel all the time.”

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, yeah. And the consultation’s so important. I mean, we talk about this in every aspect of pest control, but asking those questions, “Hey, when’s the last time you went out of town? When’s the last time somebody came over?” We’ve had somebody bring bed bugs because their mother-in-law came and stayed for a month. So, unfortunately, unwelcomed guests on both sides can be, can not be great for your home.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. So, you know, there’s a lot of people who for work or for family, they travel all the time. They have to stay in hotels, they have to stay in Airbnbs or rental properties in general, and they find themselves, you know, at risk—or I would at least say at higher risk than your average everyday human being who’s a homebody. So, let’s discuss a little bit—we’ll talk for a minute here in just a second about what it is we’re doing with this house and how we’re moving the heat in and what it’s doing. But what are some ways that you can mitigate or potentially mitigate this from even being a problem in your own house, especially if you find yourself where you don’t have a choice, you have to travel, you have to move abroad and stay at random places?

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, I’ll tell you what I do. So when I go to a hotel or if I’m out of town or something like that, I hang all my luggage up. Some people put it in the bathtub; that’s also a really good way to, you know, if you’re that worried about it. But I hang everything up, I try to put everything in a hanger in the closet. I do an inspection as well, so looking through cracks and crevices—just a quick inspection of the bed frame, behind the headboard. Doesn’t take that long, about five minutes. If you’re that worried about it, though, I would—if you travel a lot, I would carry, I don’t know the scientific term, but bed bug cups. They go up under the bed frame, and they’ll catch the bed bugs so you’d know right then and there. And then you could just talk to the hotel staff, and I think you’d have a free stay for however long you want.

Travis McGowin: You would definitely be likely relocated to a different room, for sure. But yes, some due diligence when you first arrive at this property—there again, whether it’s a rental house, whether it’s a hotel, whatever it is. A little bit of due diligence, just a few minutes of giving a good inspection around, like you said, the headboard, the mattress. Another really typical hotspot for bed bugs is if you have a window near the bed that has curtains. Looking in those curtains behind them, and especially up towards the top of the curtain where it attaches to a curtain rod above the window. Those are some hotspots that I typically find bed bugs in when I’m doing inspections. So giving it that good look-over can save you lots of money, lots of pain and frustration in the long run, and definitely will ease your mind, for sure.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and a lot of times it’s not even a bed bug that I’ll see; I’ll see a cast skin. And if I’m in a hotel or I’m somewhere and I see a cast skin, that’s a confirmed bed bug as far as I’m concerned.

Travis McGowin: Oh, well, I mean, it had to get there somehow or another. And of course, the only way a cast skin comes is from it being shed from a live bed bug. It would be unlikely for a cast skin to end up behind a bed in a hotel being brought by someone’s luggage or something like that; it would just be very unlikely to happen. So, definitely worth doing the due diligence, and I like your suggestion about hanging things up in the closet. At a minimum, use the luggage rack. Even if you’re not in a position where you can hang stuff up, get that stuff up off the ground. Don’t put your luggage on the bed; don’t put your luggage maybe on top of the dresser or things like that. I would keep my luggage towards more towards that closet, hang it or put it on the luggage rack, and that’ll save you in most cases, too, I would say, unless it was just an extreme infestation where they were in the closet. That would be unlikely, I would say, especially in a hotel.

Michael Wienecke: We’ve seen it.

Travis McGowin: We have, but—

Michael Wienecke: But it’s a really—I mean, you got dead bed bugs and live bed bugs in the top ceiling cracks and crevices of your house by then, so.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. So, we’re here in Montgomery this morning. Got here around 7:30 this morning, met with the client that owns the property. And of course, we had the interview, like we said a few minutes ago. She said that they travel a lot, they also host a lot of people in, whether that’s family or friends. So they’re not exactly 100% sure where they got the bed bugs. But we can talk about for a minute the setup a little bit and give people a little bit of an idea of what the methodology is, because we’re doing the whole house.

Michael Wienecke: Yes, we’re doing the whole house. I want to go into the consultation a little bit. So this lady was ready to burn her home down! She said—

Travis McGowin: And I quote!

Michael Wienecke: “I will burn it down if we can’t get rid of these.” So that’s one thing that’s so great about the heat and, again, why we chose it, is because you can be back in your home the very next day, where with these other treatments, you have to come, inspect, treat again, and you have to cut off that life cycle, where we are destroying that life cycle all in one 130–140-degree—

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. And anyone who’s listened to any of our content previously knows, and I say it a lot, but there’s no chemical that can penetrate the egg of an insect.

Michael Wienecke: I thought you were going to say “an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.”

Travis McGowin: You’re going to butcher it every time. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That goes back to making sure that where you’re staying doesn’t have bed bugs or that you’re putting your luggage where you can’t bring them back. But there’s no chemical that can penetrate the egg of an insect—we’ll specifically say bed bugs because that’s where we’re at right now—but I mean, that goes for cockroaches, fleas, whatever lays their young in an egg. So those chemical treatments historically are going to take longer because you’re killing off life cycles of adult, nymphal stages, and then you’re having to essentially wait until these eggs hatch before you can ever touch them again. So you’re really just prolonging this life cycle development that you’re trying to mitigate, and it can take sometimes months before you can ever get rid of them.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and I’m glad you brought that up. So let me—let’s talk about heat for a second, too, because obviously that’s what we do. Not all heaters are the same!

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. Space heaters from Walmart or a department store are not the same as what we’re using today.

Michael Wienecke: I’ll never forget it when I walked into a nursing home that was infested with bed bugs, and they showed me their heating unit, and it had caught fire several times. And we walked away from that one. But again, not all heaters are the same. I believe you have some oil-heated heaters, I think you have some propane-heated heaters, and then I think you have some gas ones. We use propane, 500,000 BTUs. It cooks them pretty quick.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. So we have—and if you go on our website or look on YouTube, we’ve got several videos on it, and you can actually see the system that we use. But essentially, it’s a big barrel turned over on its side with a large fan unit that forces air through it, and then of course it has a very large burner on the inside that does shoot flames. We have two large 100-pound propane tanks that we usually hook to this and draw from during the whole treatment. And it forces air across that burner—and I mean, I’m looking at our temperature right now coming out of the barrel of the heater is 250 degrees. It was 280 earlier when we were preheating and getting things up to temp. And she’ll go even higher than that. Of course, we don’t have any desire to burn or damage things.

Michael Wienecke: I don’t know how high it’ll go, and I don’t want to find out.

Travis McGowin: I don’t think we want to test that! But I know that the adjustment knob for the output of the heater—I’ve never turned it all the way up and don’t plan on it, because we’re not here to be destructive, of course; we’re here to just kill bugs. But I mean, right now the barrel temperature says 253 degrees on the nose. Now, of course, we’re running ductwork into the house, so there’s going to be some heat loss. So, you know, if you’re running 250 degrees out of the barrel, where it comes into the house, I mean, you might be looking at 190 coming out of the ductwork. But tell us a little more about the efficiency of this, from how we make this more efficient and maintain temperatures.

Michael Wienecke: So the biggest way is just going to be, obviously, capping off all the cracks and crevices. Depending on the house—this one we were able to do it—but we’re recirculating through. We’re pumping heat through the right-hand side of the house through the window, and then we’re recirculating all the way on the left-hand side of the house, clear across the other side of the home, and pulling that heat. So we’re reusing our heat, and it’s kind of saving us on propane. Not only that, it’s also able to control that heat on a constant source. So it’s more of like a convection oven, if you will.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. Recirculating is more efficient from a propane usage standpoint, but from also maintaining that temperature in the house. If we did not recirculate this heated air through the structure—and Michael and I have seen this firsthand, which is why I would say 99% of the time we’re going to recirculate unless it’s just absolutely not an option—what happens is that fan that’s inside the barrel of that heater forces air into the structure and creates positive pressure. So if you didn’t pull the heat out of there recirculating, then what would happen is that it would force its way out of some gap or crack or crevice, and you would, for one, push heat out of the structure instead of pulling it through our ductwork and recirculating. And it’s just not going to heat as efficiently. If you’re pulling, let’s say, it’s 85 degrees outside and you’re pulling 85-degree air into this heater, well, the heater’s having to work harder to heat the air. You’re forcing it into the structure, it’s blowing back out because it’s positive pressure, and then you’re using more propane as well. It’s just not efficient. So we want the house to heat as efficiently as possible, and it’s actually, you know, we’ve been cooking now for, let’s see, it’s 11:00, so what, two and a half, three hours now?

Michael Wienecke: We’ve been cooking. Yeah, so a good thing to bring up there, too, is you can’t just come in here and heat the house up to 300 degrees all in one setting. It has to be a very slow—and I’m emphasizing on 300 degrees; obviously, we’re not going that high—but we can’t just push all this heat in in one setting. It has to be a very slow, methodical way that we set up our fans. We have a great YouTube video on that, but we set up our fans, and we’re trying to create—is it a Venturi effect?

Travis McGowin: Vortex.

Michael Wienecke: Vortex, yeah.

Travis McGowin: I guess it’s similar, but Venturi usually refers to water.

Michael Wienecke: With water, yeah, yeah. Bringing my firefighter knowledge in as well. But yeah, so we want a vortex. We want every room to kind of swirl and create almost like a tornado of heat. That’s going to be the best way to get rid of these guys.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, absolutely. And so think of it, with the holidays coming, we’ll use the reference of a Thanksgiving turkey. So if you have a turkey that you have thawed out and you’re ready to cook it, and you put it in an oven, and let’s just say you, for some crazy reason, have that oven at 450 degrees, and you stick this turkey that’s what, let’s just say 50 degrees by the time you put it in the oven—you’ve thawed it out and you’ve let it sit to try to get closer to room temperature—but you put it in at such a high temperature, you’re going to cook the outside well before the inside’s done. And so we try to look at it like that. I mean, you have all the contents in the house: you have beds and mattresses and box springs and headboards, you have couches and chairs and all of these different things. Plus, you’ve also got the floor, the walls, the ceiling—

Michael Wienecke: Wine bottles!

Travis McGowin: Wine bottles, yes, which are prone to leak when they get hot. Or explode. Yeah, anything pressurized. But you’ve got all of these things slowly absorbing the heat that you’re putting into the structure, and you want it to absorb. You don’t want to cook the outside of a couch, but the inside never gets hot enough. So you’ve got to really circulate the heat, you’ve got to start it at a decent temperature, you don’t want to start it too high. You want everywhere that these bed bugs could potentially go to hide to be hot. You don’t want them to be able to escape that heat anywhere. And eventually, you know, I would say at 150, 160 degrees in the house, I mean, it’s almost instant kill on any surface that they touch.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and something else I’ll say that’s kind of a bonus for this is not only are we killing bed bugs, but we’re getting rid of any odor that’s in this house. If you smoked in the house, if a dog used the bathroom for a couple years in the house, it can get that odor out.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, so heat’s going to cause those molecules, whatever that odor molecule is attached to, the heat is going to lift it. And Michael and I can attest—

Michael Wienecke: We’ve done smokers’ houses, and they don’t smell anymore.

Travis McGowin: Right, but when you go in to check the temperatures every little bit, I mean, it dang near burns your eyes.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, you’re off-gassing. Everything’s off-gassing, because everything has an ignition temp. So that may be 190 degrees that that table’s going to catch on fire, where that blanket may catch on fire at 145 degrees.

Travis McGowin: Right, right. So it’s definitely a science to it. From a temperature control standpoint, from a circulation standpoint, it is definitely not going and buying a run-of-the-mill heater and sticking it in a room and hoping for the best. I think a lot of people think that just heat in general is going to solve the problem. But if you went and bought one or two or even three space heaters and stuck them in a room—

Michael Wienecke: You’d burn the house down.

Travis McGowin: Well, for starters, a lot of these space heaters have a safety temperature; they’re going to cut off at a certain point anyway, and for good reason. But even if you had one that didn’t, you’re not circulating the heat. So you may heat the front face of the bed, but you’re not going to get it all the way around the mattress, so the bed bugs, when they start to get hot, are going to move. And so you’re just not going to get the kill that you’re looking for with household items like that.

Michael Wienecke: No. And I mean, these guys can get in cracks and crevices, like you said, behind wall voids, behind outlets, behind picture frames. I mean, they can get—you’ve seen them in a counter crack and crevice at a gas station before.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, in the countertop at a gas station, and I think that was one of the employees that brought them in her purse or something like that. You know, and it’s funny, too. So let’s talk a little bit about the stigma surrounding bed bugs.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, and the customer today brought that up, you know? She was like, “We’re not gross people, we don’t know how we got it.” And that’s one thing that I really want to emphasize is that it’s not—no pest issue is really brought on by just being gross. Like, a rodent can get in your home just like a bed bug can get in your home. We could get it just as much as anybody else. However, if you go looking for things like used furniture off the side of the road—I was doing a bed bug job over in Pelham the other day, and a guy, all the stuff that they were throwing away was on the side of the road, and he pulled over and started looking at the furniture!

Travis McGowin: Ooh.

Michael Wienecke: And I was about to say, “I wouldn’t touch that.”

Travis McGowin: I should have stuck a business card in the frame of the bed! But funny story, actually. We did a bed bug job a few years ago, and occasionally—and you’ve seen this, too—customers got fire alarms, smoke detectors. The heat treatment can set them off. I don’t think it’s necessarily the heat as much as it is the blowing around of dust and objects in the air. But we were at this one house treating the entire house. It was hot—I think June or July, hot outside, hot inside. And so we were sitting in the front yard under the tent in the shade cooling off after just checking the temperatures, and I could hear the smoke detectors start to go off in the house. I just went in there; I know the house is not on fire, of course. As we always do when something like that happens, we always go ahead back in and take a look and make sure nothing’s going on, and nothing was. And I told the other technician that was there with me, I said, “Get ready for the sirens.” He just kind of laughed, and sure enough, about 30 seconds to a minute later, you could hear the sirens from the fire engine coming that way. So obviously, they had not shut their alarm off or put it on test mode like we had asked, and the fire department was headed our way. So I stood up when they came around the curb, and fire truck pulls up. You and I have done this many times. People are slinging all their gear on, packing out, everything else. And I walk up to the officer’s side of the truck, and he had opened the door, and I looked at him and I said, “Hey man, the house is not on fire; we’re doing a bed bug heat treatment.” And he grabbed the door, looked at me, slammed the door back closed, and they left! Because they were not in any way, shape, or form about to walk into that structure!

Michael Wienecke: I don’t blame them a bit! I wouldn’t take bed bugs back to the station.

Travis McGowin: Right, which I just thought was hilarious. Now, should they have gone in and investigated? Probably, but they saw all of our equipment and everything else, so I think they knew we were legitimate. But it was still funny to me.

Michael Wienecke: Oh, yeah! I’ve had the fire department show up on multiple different jobs in Birmingham, Homewood, Hoover… We’ve been doing this a lot.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. It’s inevitable. There again, we try to ask the customer, “Do you have a fire alarm with your smoke detectors?” Most people just have smoke detectors with no monitoring. But if you have monitoring, you need to call your monitoring company, you need to get it put on test mode or paused for the day so that we can do what we need to do. And then that way, we’re not triggering emergency services that could be potentially helping someone else. But just the look on his face when I said “bed bug heat treatment” was priceless. Everybody jump back in the truck and left, and they did not come back. And I think we called the homeowner and asked them, “Hey, you need to call your alarm company again.” “Oh, I already did.” “Well, you need to call them again.” And we set the alarm off again at some point, and they never showed back up, so I guess it worked.

Michael Wienecke: They put themselves on test!

Travis McGowin: Yeah, they were like, “We’re going to write that address down; we’re not going back there today.” But anyway, it was quite entertaining, but that just shows you, going back to the stigma—had they walked in and investigated the house, would they have taken bed bugs back to their station? Absolutely not. It’s just the fear of knowing that they’re there. We do inspections, and we’ve never taken them back. The only thing I’ve ever taken back to my house is fleas.

Travis McGowin: I have taken—oh lord, I hope my wife doesn’t listen to this—I have taken fleas back…

Michael Wienecke: German roaches?

Travis McGowin: Oh, no, no, no! But I have taken fleas back to my house one time. I had a really, really bad infestation at an apartment complex here in Montgomery that we no longer service. The single worst I have ever seen, it was that bad. And so I noticed throughout the day as I looked down at my pant legs while I’m in the truck, there’s fleas. So what I’ll do is usually just pick them and throw them out the window.

Michael Wienecke: That’s a lot of picking!

Travis McGowin: It was. So I got home and went into my master bathroom to change. And when I changed clothes, I put some shorts on and noticed that there were fleas jumping on me, which evidently what I think happened was they got down into the cargo pockets in my pants. So I immediately took my pants and threw them in the bathtub, and could see fleas bouncing in the bathtub. And I immediately got product to treat the bathroom, and the wife was none the wiser. So this will be proof as to whether or not she listens to our podcast as to whether or not I get accused of bringing fleas into the house!

Michael Wienecke: See, we were in Bluff Park and I brought them. That’s when we were living in Bluff Park and I brought them, and I told my wife, and we vacuumed and we treated and we got rid of them.

Travis McGowin: Thankfully, it was limited to the bathroom, which was the hard floor, and thankfully I had the reaction enough to throw them in the bathtub. So the one or two or three that I had on me from outside the bathtub, I disposed of, and then I treated the bathtub, washed the clothes, and never had another problem. So I didn’t have to go full-scale flea treatment like we do with most houses. But it is a risk or hazard of the job: bed bugs, fleas, German roaches. There’s always the potential there, but that’s the only time I’ve ever brought something home in six years now.

Michael Wienecke: Well, fleas are pretty common. And maybe that’s what we’ll talk about on our next podcast. But one thing back to the bed bugs, I want to emphasize this, is this is one of those things, you know, we try to preach that you can do some of this stuff yourself and you can control this yourself, but I personally would not recommend anyone doing this themselves.

Travis McGowin: Not a heat treatment. Definitely not a heat treatment. I think that that is a risk-reward sort of deal if you really want to look at it that way. We as a company understand the risk of how we’re doing this. We also understand the payout and the rewards of it and how effective it actually is.

Michael Wienecke: And you get a warranty! We give a 90-day warranty.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. And not only that, but we have the appropriate items to do it. We show up with the appropriate items, and we’re definitely not showing up with anything from a department store. Our system was specially made, specially ordered out of California—GreenTech Heat. And so I definitely get concerned when people hear, “Oh, well, all you got to do is apply heat.” Well, that’s part of it, but it’s the appropriate temperatures and the appropriate application and circulation of it for the appropriate time. And that’s something that space heaters are just not going to give you.

Michael Wienecke: Well, you’ve got to get enough pressure and enough of that Venturi or recirculating or whatever you want to say around—

Travis McGowin: Vortex.

Michael Wienecke: Vortex, excuse me! I’m on two different wavelengths right now. I’ve also been up since 3:00 AM, so. But you’ve got to get that to be able to do, again, that convection is just so important, because if you’re like National Lampoon’s and you cook that turkey where it just pops open dry, it’s not going to solve your problem.

Travis McGowin: No, absolutely. Like I said earlier, there’s a science to it, there’s a method to it, and it is very, very effective. That’s why as a company when we started discussing the treatment of bed bugs and if we were going to do that, that was why from day one we went ahead and opted for heat. We have never tried to do this any other way.

Michael Wienecke: No, and I wouldn’t, because if I had bed bugs in my personal home, I would want them gone at the snap of a finger, and this is as close to that as we can get.

Travis McGowin: Absolutely. So again, if you have bed bugs or you think you have bed bugs, today we’re in Montgomery, tomorrow we might be in Birmingham or Clanton or Auburn or wherever else that we’re licensed to treat in—

Michael Wienecke: Whoa, we’re licensed everywhere to treat! All 50 states!

Travis McGowin: Well, that’s the good thing about the heat treatment is that it’s not a chemical treatment.

Michael Wienecke: I’m waiting for like a Hawaii phone call, you know, something we can go on a little trip.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, load it up on the Peskies airplane, right? But no, if you find yourself in the predicament of thinking that you have an issue with bed bugs, give us a call. If you’re in Birmingham, (205) 470-8161; if you’re in Montgomery, (334) 595-9055. Let us come out and take a look, let us discuss your treatment options, let us be the provider of relief for you and your family. One-and-done treatment: start that morning with bed bugs, come back home that evening with no bed bugs. We also offer very convenient financing options for those that qualify, so we try to make this as painless as possible. You’ve already went through enough anguish having them in your house; we can solve it for you so that you can get a good night’s rest that night when you come back in.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and I’ll say this, too: again, that warranty is so important. And just with every pest problem that we have, there can certainly be flare-ups, and we’re not immune to that. So we have had to do reservices on bed bugs, and we honor exactly what we say. We come back, we retreat, and if they’re not satisfied, we come back until they’re satisfied.

Travis McGowin: Well, guaranteed. It’s on the back of every vehicle: you’ll be 100% happy or you won’t pay a penny. And that’s the way we are. We’re going to make sure that we do our best work for you, because that’s what we’re advertising and that’s what we give to each and every one of our customers.

The post Don’t Burn the House Down: A Professional Guide to Bed Bugs appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, hosts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin dive deep into the murky world of household plumbing to answer a simple yet unsettling question: what’s in your drain? From hair-clogged shower drains and dried-out guest toilets to hidden breeding grounds in garages and commercial kitchens, they uncover the real causes behind pest infestations like drain flies and fruit flies. Tune in to discover why bleach isn’t the quick fix you think it is, how structural plumbing issues can trigger surprise fly surges, and practical steps you can take to keep your drains clean and pest-free.

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Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke: So what’s in your drain, Travis?

Travis McGowin: Probably moisture, crud, and buildup, I’d have to guess.

Michael Wienecke: I would have much rather heard “which drain,” because I have multiple different ones.

Travis McGowin: Well, I mean, that too. I mean, obviously, there’s, you know, drains everywhere in your house—bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms… Sometimes people have them in their garage. I mean, there’s, you know, potential for drains to be in quite a few places.

Michael Wienecke: And in our line of work, we see a lot of things in drains that shouldn’t be in drains.

Travis McGowin: (Laughs) Absolutely! I mean—when you get right down to it, when you think about drains, you think about bathtubs and sinks. That’s probably about as far as your mind goes, but if you really wanted to get to the reality of it, toilets are drains too.

Michael Wienecke: That’s very true. That’s very true. I was thinking more of a shower drain, and if you’re married or, you know, have a sister or what—if they’re, you know, most…

Travis McGowin: Anyone with long hair.

Michael Wienecke: Anyone—(laughs) I think women because my wife, but my shower—my shower drain has—has hair all—all in it.

Travis McGowin: Oh, yeah. And it—it’s amazing how quickly it builds up. And, you know, no offense to my wife or any other female, but sometimes it’s like, “Dear Lord, how are you not bald?”

Michael Wienecke: It just keeps on growing, man! I—I don’t—I’ve often thought that myself. But, you know, with hair in that drain causes a lot of issues, other than just, you know, gagging while you’re cleaning it out.

Travis McGowin: Oh, it always has a very nice, pungent odor to it when you pull it out of the drain.

Michael Wienecke: It’s so funny watching—like, I’ve seen videos of people, you know, trying to be manly and take it out of the drain; they’re just like about to just lose it.

Travis McGowin: Gag—gagging the whole time. (Laughter) It is, it’s gross. It’s gross.

Michael Wienecke: As firemen, we’ve seen a lot, so I feel like—I feel like we can handle a lot. But hey, on—on a side note, since we’re talking about gagging, we just got a puppy, and—and it—it used the bathroom in the garage this—this morning. So when I went in there, I—I almost lost it. And I was like, I guess I’m just getting old, I don’t know.

Travis McGowin: Was it like, the smell permeated the entire room?

Michael Wienecke: Yes! Well, it—I guess it’d been sitting there since, you know, whenever it did. And it was just like, “Oh!” It just hit me in the face. But… Now we have flies, you know? Had to take care of that today.

Travis McGowin: So, you know, with drains—and we’ll—we’ll harp a little more on the shower drains and, you know, hair buildup in the drains. I’m sure you’ve been in this position where you pull the drain cover off and you go to pull the hair out, but like, it’s literally not just hair. It’s this very long, just—it’s like it keeps going and going, and it’s like whatever hair you had, and then whatever growth is on that and buildup is on that, it—it just stretches like way down into the drain. Um, you know, the dead giveaway sign for us is when it starts to back up and not drain properly while you’re using your shower, and then inevitably you pull the cover off and it’s just like this long growth buildup with hair and all manner of other mess on it. But I mean, think about any drain.

Michael Wienecke: You’re painting an amazing picture.

Travis McGowin: I know, right? I—I should’ve taken a picture—I’ll take a picture next time and send it to you.

Michael Wienecke: We—we have plenty of video footage of drains. Plenty.

Travis McGowin: But moisture—moisture’s the, you know, to me—obviously you got matter and—and items that get put into a drain, but moisture is to me the key ingredient, and it’s—it’s always gonna be there. I mean, drains have moisture in them by design, constantly.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and the problem is moisture or lack of moisture can bring on problems.

Travis McGowin: Right. So I’ve—I’ve seen it both ways. I’ve seen where, you know, the moisture sitting in the drain along with some organic material of some sort has caused a buildup, and then you end up with some sort of flying insect that gets down in it, and they start to breed and—and, uh, you know, set their larvae in there and just really go to town on making that a habitable place for them. And then I’ve seen on the opposite end of the spectrum where a drain or a—a toilet or what have you doesn’t get used on a regular basis, and so eventually that water evaporates out of it, and then whatever is beneath or behind that drain has fair room to come up the drain and into the living space of the house.

Michael Wienecke: Oh man, we did a house in Mountain Brook years ago, and it was a—a renovation. And the guy—we—he hadn’t used the upstairs—the entire upstairs—in forever, and all of a sudden one day opens that door and millions—millions of them. It took—it took about six treatments to get it—get it gone.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I’ve even had a customer that has guest—you know, guest rooms with guest bathrooms in their house, and obviously, you know, have not had anyone come to stay with them in a while, and so the bathroom was just kind of overlooked—you know, out of sight, out of mind. And I went in there to treat, um, on a regular service, and I’m like, “What are these all over the floor, the window sill, and everything?” And it was literally little like drain flies or phorid flies, whatever—it’s been a while, so I don’t remember exactly what it was, but the toilet was completely dry. There was no water in it, and it just had completely evaporated out. And so they were able to go back and forth down into that drain, and of course, this is out in the—out in the county, so there’s no sewer or anything, it’s septic system. And I’m sure they were just able to go and make their way down in there and breed and do whatever they wanted to do.

Michael Wienecke: Drain flies are the most disgusting, cute thing buzzing around in the air. (Laughter)

Travis McGowin: I’m assuming when you say “cute,” you’re referring to the owl midge, if I—if I had to guess. With furry wings…

Michael Wienecke: No, no, no, drain flies have like—the bunny—the bunny ear wings.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, the little fur—like the little furry-looking wings.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, the drain fly.

Travis McGowin: Right. Those are a lot of times—they’re—they’re part of a midge family, though, and—and so if you look it up, and look up an “owl midge,” that’ll be what you’re looking at.

Michael Wienecke: They look kind of cute. You’ll have to show me exactly what you’re talking about.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, just go to Google and type in “owl midge.”

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, okay, owl midge.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, do it right now so the listeners can hear.

Michael Wienecke: I’ll—I’ll do it—I’ll do it later. I’ll do it later. I’ll take your word for it. But anyway, it’s a cute bunny ear little thing, but they’re disgusting because they come right out of, uh, the nastiest part of the drain.

Travis McGowin: Right. And they’re breeding down there, they’ve got their larvae down there, their food source down there. And—and then, of course, inevitably, they’re landing in it. And then they’re going and landing all over your surfaces and landing on you or—or everything else, so…

Michael Wienecke: Kind of like that YouTube video you did on the—the defecation in the—behind the parking lot.

Travis McGowin: That is a classic! I don’t care who you are, that’s a classic.

Michael Wienecke: It’ll never beat the squirrel video. (Laughter) So let’s talk about, um, something I’m seeing a lot of right now, and that is fruit flies. So I want people to understand that those fruit flies are not breeding on the fruit. They are breeding in the drains, in the garbage disposal… I mean, this whole thing’s about drains, so we could be talking about, you know, anything. Where are fish breeding? The drains—we’re talking about drains, gotta be the drains.

Travis McGowin: So—so it can—it can definitely be the drains. I—I would even take that one step further and go on to say anywhere with—with some moisture content. Um, I have had a customer in Montgomery that actually had them infesting her garage. And, yeah, and that was kind of strange because there weren’t any drains, there wasn’t any…

Michael Wienecke: A lack of drains. A lack of drain.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, so here’s what it was, though. I—I told her, I said, “Look, if you’ve got this many, there’s a breeding site somewhere. Like, there’s—there’s no way around it.” And she racked her brain for a minute, I—and, you know, she couldn’t come up with anything that she thought’d be a breeding site. And I said, “Well, do you mind if I inspect and look around?” And she said, “No, that’s fine.” So I start going through the stuff on the shelves in the garage, and I come to this Walmart bag that’s like, kind of tied up. And you know how it is when you find a breeding site, and you just touch it and open it, it’s like (whoosh sound), like, you know, here they come. And, uh, I don’t know what was in that bag because it had decomposed down to mush so much in that hot garage, but that was the breeding site. And—and she was mortified; she didn’t know what it was, and so, course, obviously we disposed of it, but she had no clue that it was even there.

Michael Wienecke: Sounds like a rodent got in there and died or something.

Travis McGowin: I don’t know, or she does plant a lot, and I don’t know if it was some kind of flower bulbs or something that had decomposed or—whatever it was, it was mushy and decomposed, and they were loving it.

Michael Wienecke: Did you taste it?

Travis McGowin: No. Uh, the odor was pleasant enough to know that I didn’t need to taste it.

Michael Wienecke: You gotta get the age, you know? It’s been here a while.

Travis McGowin: Is that—is that how you do it? I’m gonna need you to make us a video on how—how it is you age things by tasting them.

Michael Wienecke: Brody would’ve tasted it. (Laughter)

Travis McGowin: But yeah, it—she was—it started to where she was noticing them in her house, and then she went and purchased like fly tapes and stuck them all in the garage and caught a whole bunch of them on fly tapes, too, and it was just never-ending, could never get a hold of them. And that was why; she just didn’t eliminate the breeding source.

Michael Wienecke: Well, and I think it’s just important to say, you know, drains are used for one thing, but we’ve got to keep them clean. Um, and bleach is not the way to keep your drain clean, so let’s talk about some practices on just keeping a clean drain.

Travis McGowin: To—you know, like I said, drains are going to have moisture in them. Uh, I’ll pull from another experience that I had with a—a commercial-type kitchen in Montgomery at a place we service. And they had these, um, rubber floor mats with the circle holes in them, you know, the non-slip floor mats?

Michael Wienecke: Those are the worst for German roaches! We talked about that in the German roach podcast. Ugh, they’re horrible.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, they’re—they’re terrible for German roaches, for sure.

Michael Wienecke: For everything.

Travis McGowin: But what had been happening in that kitchen was, is they had stuck one of those mats down on the floor over the top of one of the floor drains. Um, and so the floor drain had like a box with, of course, like, um, a drain lid on it that would let moisture through, but then the drain itself sat down in this inset box in the slab of the building. And man, when I tell you—I probably still have pictures of it somewhere—but when I pulled, and finally found it, and pulled that rubber mat up and looked, and took the cover off, like, just the growth and the crawling and flying going on from that one drain. And I went and got the staff, uh, person who’s over the kitchen, and I was like, “Hey, I want you to see something.”

Michael Wienecke: They’re like, “Oh, we’ve never seen that before!”

Travis McGowin: And literally, that’s what it was, like, “I didn’t even know that drain existed.” And I’m like, “Yeah, well, the flies do.” And, uh, now ever since then, that drain has been completely spotless; they have kept it immaculate. But it was—it was a nasty mess when I pulled that back.

Michael Wienecke: Well, in restaurants especially, because things go down drains in—in there that they just, you know—there’s a lot going on in a kitchen, let’s just put it that way.

Travis McGowin: Oh, I mean, everything from food to, you know, stagnant, nasty mop water, to grease and—and that sort of thing. I mean, there’s, yes, there are all types of things that get pushed down into those drains. And—and then, you know, they—they—they get all that mess down in there, and then they don’t drain properly or completely like they’re supposed to, and I’m sure you’ve seen backed-up drains just like I have. I mean, it’s—and then of course, then odors start to develop, and then flying insects come, and it—it’s just a vicious, terrible cycle.

Michael Wienecke: Yeah, so I mean, the best thing is just get something that’s gonna eat away that organic matter down that drain, something that’s gonna be, you know, biodegradable and all that—all that.

Travis McGowin: Right, they make, you know, a plethora of different products that I guess have enzymes in them that will break down that organic growth and buildup in those drains. And ultimately, with the goal of obviously eliminating odors and, um, keeping flying insects from having a place where they can take up root and—and breed.

Michael Wienecke: Oh yeah. Well, and—and again, if it’s an issue, let’s talk about treatment, too. I mean, with—with us, we’re gonna put a—an adulticide and IGR down there. We’re gonna stop that complete breeding cycle as well as treating the current—the current flying issue. However, if it goes past that, you know, you get another issue after treatment, then we’ve got a drain issue, or we’ve got something way down there that needs to get addressed.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, I’ve even had a customer that had their slab in their house had shifted, and it cracked their master drain, their—their, um, PVC drain in the slab—it cracked it. And so, they were consistently having a fly problem in their house. We treated it, it got a little better, and then it came right back; we treated it, it got a little better—just a vicious cycle. And after a time or two, I—I ended up telling the customer, “Have you ever thought about the fact that you may have a plumbing issue?” And it was—it was like a lightbulb went off in his head. He was like, “It’s funny that you say that because we’re currently working with insurance to see, because we’re gonna have to get our slab busted up and get our master drain fixed because it’s cracked—they scoped it and saw that it was cracked.” And I said, “That’s probably where the hang-up is, where all that stuff that’s supposed to be draining is not draining, and you’re getting these flies.” And sure enough, they got the drain fixed, um, the slab fixed, and they haven’t had a problem since.

Michael Wienecke: I had a situation over off 280, and it was same situation. We treated, we treated, finally told ’em it was a drain issue. I got under there in the crawl space, took out the cleanout, shined a light, and you could see the bend, the bow of where the pipe had just—so it was—I’m sorry, it was bowing down, so everything was just sitting here, and you could actually see the crawlies, um—I call ’em crawlies, you know, the—the larvae just squiggling all around in there. And I was like, “Oh, well, we solved it without—without pesticide.” So they had got a plumber in and got it—got their—their pipe, uh, positioned in the right direction to drain, and they—it’s been solved ever since.

Travis McGowin: I even went underneath a house one time for a wood infestation inspection in the crawl space…

Michael Wienecke: I’ve been to a few of those.

Travis McGowin: Yeah, just a couple. And they actually did not know that they had one of their drain pipes underneath there leaking or dripping or something. And so there was a big puddle of moisture underneath the crawl space, and it—you talk about the crawlies—it was literally moving. There were thousands of larvae just squirming inside of this nasty, wet, stagnant pool under there, and I mean like I said, thousands of them. And I remember when I got back with the client that I was inspecting the house, I asked him, I said, “You ever had a fly issue before, drain flies, anything like that?” And they were like, “No.” I said, “Unless you get your crawl space issue fixed, you will… because they were already, you know, underneath the crawl space on like the subfloor and the floor joists and all those places.” And so I told him, I said, “Uh, you got a leak, and it’s got a pool of water that is breeding these flies. So if you haven’t seen any in your house, give it time, you will, and it’s gonna be bad.” And I don’t know if they ever got it fixed or not, but hopefully they did.

Michael Wienecke: They can just Delta Dust it every six months, it—it’ll be fine. (Laughter)

Travis McGowin: Yeah, let’s—let’s not solve the problem, let’s just Band-Aid—Band-Aid solutions!

Michael Wienecke: Oh, me! (Laughter)

The post The Hidden World of Drain Flies & Breeding Sites appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, pest control experts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin share their wildest, most extreme job stories while diving into the reality of dealing with German roach infestations. From nightmare house calls and common DIY treatment mistakes to the surprising ways roaches invade clean homes, they break down why quick fixes don’t work and what it really takes to solve a serious pest problem.

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Podcast Transcript: Michael Wienecke: What’s the worst German roach service you’ve ever had?
Travis McGowin: Ooh, I’ll be honest with you. I have one that still stands out in my mind that I went to in Montgomery several years ago. Uh, it was a residential property in, um, the northern part of Montgomery, and it was—it was bad. So, when they called about the infestation, on the phone, the lady advised me that, you know, it was mainly in one room. They’d been seeing them in the living room, um, and maybe a little in the kitchen.
I walked into the house, and she looked at me, I looked at her, and I looked around the room, and I said, “This is, uh—this is a little bit more than just the living room and the kitchen, isn’t it?” And she said, “Yes, sir, it’s the whole house.” And I said, “Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking.” When I—when I tell you that there were German roaches in every single room, pretty much every single corner, any appliance, uh, piece of electronics, any piece of furniture, it—it was—it was the most, to date, since I’ve been doing this, it was the most significant one that I have ever walked into.
Michael Wienecke: Were they trying to cure the problem themselves?
Travis McGowin: You know, I—I don’t know 100%. I don’t remember seeing anything that gave me that indication, um, that they were trying to remedy it themselves. But, you know, that—that’s the problem, right? Is that when people get in too deep with some of these pest problems, you know, and specifically German cockroaches, and they try to remedy it themselves, a lot of times they exacerbate the problem and make it worse, and they move it from not only just being in one room to being in multiple rooms, to being in the whole house because they’re using the wrong products and the wrong methods.
Michael Wienecke: 100%. So, um, I—I think that that would be the number one way that we get called out is that, would you say 90 days after trying to treat it themselves, it becomes an explosion that started probably in the kitchen or maybe in the bathroom, and now they’re seeing them in their bedroom, or they’re seeing them in, uh, you know, closets, things where they wouldn’t see them? And, uh, let’s explain why—why that’s happening.
Travis McGowin: Well, I’ll—I’ll give you an example. Another, um, German roach infestation I went to that was actually in a mobile home. Uh, when I got there, I believe they told me I was, um—or I was with the third company that they had called. And, uh—
Michael Wienecke: Wow.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, absolutely. So, they were pretty desperate to get rid of them. I remember asking them—and I—and I typically ask most people this question, um, “All right, so after the other companies treated, did they ever come back?” And, of course, no, they did not, because, uh, I guess they thought that, um, this treatment for this customer was one and done, which it wasn’t.
Michael Wienecke: Travis, it’s called a clean-out, okay? It’s—it’s a $199, and you’re good to go for the—for the next—
Travis McGowin: Oh yeah, you’ll never have roaches again. Right, okay.
Michael Wienecke: That’s—that’s right. Hey, they label it all day long. I’ve seen—I’ve seen the, uh—what are those things called? The yard signs. I’ve seen them.
Travis McGowin: Well, we’ll go into in a minute why that’s not actually typically possible for German roaches. But, uh, but then I followed up with the question, “After they sprayed, was the problem any better, or did it get worse?” And the answer is most always, “It got worse.” And, uh, followed up by the third question, which is, “All right, so they started—you said they started in the kitchen. But after they sprayed, were they still just in the kitchen?” And that’s when the homeowner, of course, advised me that, no, they had moved, and that they had been in other rooms off of the kitchen as opposed to just being in the kitchen where they started.
So, inevitably, what probably happened is the previous companies used a product that should never have been used. They got a little instant gratification by seeing some dead roaches. Um, but in reality, Michael, you and I both know that what happened was is that they just caused the infestation to relocate due to the product that they used that they should not have used.
Michael Wienecke: Look, Bifen’s a great product. It’s a great product. It’s just not the product.
Travis McGowin: Well, how many—how many times—
Michael Wienecke: ‘Cause that’s probably what’s being—I mean, let’s just face it, that’s probably what’s being used.
Travis McGowin: How many times have you heard me say, and anyone who’s listened to this podcast for any amount of time has heard me say, just because a product says it can be used for something doesn’t mean a product should be used for something.
Michael Wienecke: That is my favorite, um—like if—if I’m having a consultation with a customer and we’re, you know, they’re dealing with German roaches, and we’re having—that’s my—that’s kind of my first question is, “What products are we trying to use or what products have we been using ourselves?” But it’s going to be a pyrethroid chemical, and it’s going to say it lasts for what? Is it 12 years or 12—12 months. 12 months.
Travis McGowin: Mm, yeah. That’s one of my favorites, when you and I both know that a lot of those, uh, more generic products that they use last the, you know, if—if at all last 30 days, depending upon the environment that they’re sprayed in.
Michael Wienecke: No. I wouldn’t even say 30 days. 12.
Travis McGowin: 12 days?
Michael Wienecke: 12 days.
Travis McGowin: So, yeah. And so what—for—for as an example, so what I did in that extremely bad situation—and let me paint a little more backstory. So, the house was completely infested. Um, so we did actually initially perform a clean-out service. I’m not—I’m not trying to knock that to anyone listening. I’m not knocking a clean-out service. I’m not knocking a ULV fog. I’m not knocking any of that. It has its pur- purpose and its place. It does. And in this particular situation, we needed a significant knockdown on the population immediately. Um, it was ex- it was out of control.
So, you have this family living there. It was a mother and—and her adult daughter, and then the daughter’s two children, so the lady’s grandkids. Um, so you had a—a family of four living there, and they literally, I mean, just were sharing—actually, I won’t even say sharing the house with roaches. Roaches were basically—they were—they were guests of the roaches at this point. It was that bad. So, I went in, uh, the—the homeowner, the family—
Michael Wienecke: Could you—could you smell them?
Travis McGowin: Heh, yeah. Yeah. Smell—smell-o-vision, is that what—that what we’ll call it?
Michael Wienecke: Smell-o-vision? No, it’s—
Travis McGowin: Yeah, you know, if you see something, you know, you—you watch these TV shows like Hoarders or something like that, and you see they’ve got significant German roach infestations, I’m like, “I know exactly how that house smells right now.”
Michael Wienecke: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes, I can relate. Yes.
Travis McGowin: Yeah. So, I went in, uh, initially, the first treatment I did, I ULV fogged. Um, left for several hours and then came back that same day, but later on in the day after everything had dissipated, and then started our normal treatment with, uh, you know, with different liquids and—and then some bait and some different products. And, um, I will tell you, when I opened the door after the initial clean-out ULV fog, the amount of dead German roaches on the floor was—was pretty significant. Um, and there was even, uh, an American roach dead, and I’m—he was like the only one. I’m like, “Well, buddy, you just picked the wrong house.” Like, heh!
Michael Wienecke: That just goes to show you the, uh, the infestation level between an American cockroach and a German cockroach right there.
Travis McGowin: Sure. Uh, and I’ve got—I’ve still got photos from this infestation that I took. So, this next time I went in there, I—I did the normal treatment, um, and then I went back, you know, usually our protocol’s 30 days. So, the next time I went back, um, the—the population, the activity was significantly, significantly reduced. But that’s the unfortunate part is that after that last time, I never got to go back. Um, they—they canceled service, um, by no fault of us. I—I think that they saw improvements, they thought it was better, didn’t want to pay for it anymore, and so they canceled service. And, uh, so I can only imagine that they probably ended up maintaining German roaches even after that because we didn’t get to follow through with our treatment protocol. But I—I do know this: it was significantly better than when I found it, when I left it. Heh.
Michael Wienecke: Well, that’s, yeah. So, yeah. I mean, that’s—that’s all you can ask for. I mean, we have so many German roach services that we do, and I try to always let customers know that, hey, we—we need to stick this through. Even one roach—I mean, one roach can produce how many? 40? 46, babies?
Travis McGowin: Yeah, I mean, it—it—it varies. But I think here another key point to remember and why what we were talking about a few minutes ago about the clean-out service being one and done is not a good idea: Michael, can any pesticide penetrate the egg of an insect?
Michael Wienecke: No.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely correct. No, it cannot. So, if you go in and you, let’s just say, you go buy a store-bought little fogger canister that people like to buy, or even a pest control company comes in and ULV fogs, once that product’s gone, it’s gone. It doesn’t penetrate the eggs. So, after you’ve killed—even if you killed every bit of the adult population, you still didn’t get the eggs. So, the eggs are still going to hatch, and the eggs are still going to, you know, continue to further along the population of this German roach infestation.
Michael Wienecke: Look, I’ve got to go off on a little tangent here. Please stop—please stop using those things in your crawlspace. Heh. Please! I mean, I crawled a crawlspace the other day, and there was 17 of those things in there. And I’m like—I mean, I’ve got a respirator on and a suit on, and I’m definitely safe as far as that, but it’s just, first of all, that’s way overkill. And second of all, there’s nothing to kill in the crawlspace.
Travis McGowin: Well, I actually had a customer the other day tell me that every so many months they buy foggers and set them off in their house per—just—just to make sure. Yeah. They said that she’s overkill on bugs, and—and maybe she—maybe they’re only termites with us, I can’t remember. Maybe—I think they said they handle the other stuff on their own, obviously. So, but she said that they—every—every few months, she will go buy foggers, set them off, and leave the house. Just—just because.
Michael Wienecke: Inside?
I mean, I just, again, not my—I don’t recommend it. We don’t recommend pesticide in your home or—or any insecticide or—or any chemical unless you need it. Um, but I—I definitely wouldn’t fog it just to fog it.
Travis McGowin: So, I think another—here’s another thing, and you’ve probably heard this, too, when speaking with clients or potential clients. I think there’s this, um—and I—and I hear this repeated from a lot of folks, but I think there’s this stigma that, “Oh, I have roaches, I’m dirty.”
Michael Wienecke: Oh no, not at all. Not at all.
Travis McGowin: Right. And I hear—and I hear people say—say things like, “I’m not dirty. I’m not dirty.” And—
Michael Wienecke: That’s like having rats and saying you’re dirty. That’s not fair at all.
Travis McGowin: Right. So, the—the thing is, people need to understand, it—it’s the same way with residential property, it’s the same way with restaurants and commercial properties: you don’t necessarily have to be dirty or have an unkempt house or an unkempt business to have these insects. They—yes, they thrive on dirty environments. Yeah. They thrive on dirty environments. If you have a dirty environment for them, the likelihood that the infestation’s going to balloon into this really big problem quicker is—is almost 100% chance. But these insects can travel to your home super easy and infest under your nose before you know it, even in the cleanest of homes. That’s what I want people to understand, just because someone has some German roaches does not mean that they don’t keep a clean house.
Michael Wienecke: I was about to say that. Yes.
No, not at all. I mean, I—and throwing that out there, and this is something that I personally do myself, but look. Look behind—if you’re buying a new refrigerator, just look at the appliance and make sure you don’t see any egg sacs, uh, glued to it, or something just strange that—that looks kind of alien-like. Um, or just a roach. Um, or if—I mean, hotel, motel, I mean, look, because if you put a bag down there and they get in that bag, then they can come to your house. I mean, we—we see it all the time. You know, uh, I—I had a house, what, probably $3 million home that—that had them pretty bad because they bought a refrigerator, and who knows where they came from out of the refrigerator, but they, uh—they got the prize.
Travis McGowin: You know, that’s a typical one I see, too. Uh, the—with the creation of—of online marketplaces, Facebook Marketplace, you know, um, Craigslist, if that’s even still really a thing anymore, uh, eBay. But, you know—
Michael Wienecke: Oh man, mm.
You just brought it back, Travis. Heh! You just brought it back!
Travis McGowin: I know, right?
Michael Wienecke: People probably like, “Craigslist, what is that?” No.
Travis McGowin: I’ll give you a throwback: The Bulletin Board.
Michael Wienecke: Oh, is that that magazine? The—the—the country—
Travis McGowin: Yeah. Yeah, I used to—I used to look through that as a kid. The Bulletin Board.
Michael Wienecke: I did, too. I bought so many—I bought so many four-wheelers off of that. I forgot about that. Man, that was—that’s a long time.
Travis McGowin: But second-hand furniture, second-hand appliances, that’s—there’s nothing wrong with that. But you just have to do your due diligence when you get it before you bring it into your home because I—I had a lady—I’m not going to say the business where she got it from, uh, but I had a lady, um, get a refrigerator from a rent-to-own establishment and ended up with German roaches in her house from this reputable place, you know, that you can get items and rent-to-own. She got a refrigerator. So, uh, the other thing, too: cardboard boxes. If you’re ordering things online, I mean, keep in mind, these boxes sit in warehouses in boxes. They get shipped on, you know, 18-wheelers and box trucks and things like that. And you can’t control, um, you know, what insects might or might not be in these places. And, you know, you bring your cardboard box in. My advice to people is, hey, when you order something, open the box, get your item out, and then dispose of all the trash. Don’t leave it sitting in your house for days or weeks at a time. I mean, these are, you know—these are ways, simple ways, that you can help yourself avoid a potentially very frustrating infestation of an insect.
Michael Wienecke: Well, I mean, that’s how all these insects and—and rodents and—and everything has—it’s come from shipping routes, and it’s come from travel and all that. So, um, it’s no different than with the deer. It just goes from state to state to state. Now, some can survive cold, some can do better in the heat, so on and so forth, so.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely. But, you know, my—my advice to anyone that feels in—in over their head, uh, feels like they just can’t get ahead of the insects, um, you know, is unsure where to start or unsure where to go from, you know, trying to buy store-bought products that just haven’t worked or have made the problem worse, call yourself a pest control professional that has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to use products on the market that are effective against insects like German roaches, um, and not only just the product, but proper product placement, knowledge of how to use that product and where to apply it, because that’s just as important as the active ingredient itself.
Michael Wienecke: I would say the most important.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, if you don’t get it where it needs to go, then, you know, you’re just spinning your wheels. I mean, you’re still going to be stuck in the same problem or the same situation. Um, and, you know, get someone reputable that is very well-versed and knowledgeable on the safe use of that product, too, because, obviously, we’re coming in to try to get rid of something that is a detriment and a harm to your family, um, from a health perspective. The last thing you want is for someone to come in and be a detriment and a harm with the products that they’re applying as well as with the insects that are already there.
Michael Wienecke: 100%. Well, and I mean, I’m glad you said something about the health of the—the roaches. I mean, those roaches crawling all over the food, salmonella, you know, the droppings, you’re breathing all that. The, uh—the little flakes, you know, that they—that they like to—to cause over time, you, you know, you’re breathing all that, you’re ingesting all that. So, uh, definitely, definitely a health issue.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, and, uh, that really bad infestation that I went to years ago, um, heh, when I started doing the regular treatment later that afternoon after the fog, the—the family had gotten home, and the two children, which were probably under the age of like four or five years old, were running through the house barefoot, and there were dead German roaches all over the floors.
Michael Wienecke: Ooh.
Oh my.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, so you can get that mental picture, heh, too. So, um, but I—I really did feel bad for them because I thought to myself, if—if the individuals living in that house did not have some sort of respiratory problem or other health problem associated with these, if they didn’t already, they, at some point, would without help.
Michael Wienecke: Well, and that type of infestation that you’re describing, heh, I’ve had quite a few, and it can take up to a year to get rid of. I mean, those guys are in every crack and crevice.
Travis McGowin: Oh, they were in the wall voids at that point.
Michael Wienecke: I’ve been on—I’ve been on some where you open the door, and they just hit the brim of your hat, and they’re just falling off the brim of your hat, and you’re like, “Well, I don’t need to—I know what we got.” Heh!
Travis McGowin: Right. Right, it—it makes it real simple to identify. Um, definitely, but—
Michael Wienecke: Yes. Yes.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, they’re—they’re definitely a big nuisance, they’re definitely a big health problem and a health risk, and, uh, it’s just not something that you want to share your living space with.
Michael Wienecke: Yep. So, hey, fun fact real quick, and then we’ll hop off this, but, um, I was over in Columbiana, and I experienced my first ever, uh, Asian roach. I wouldn’t say—I wouldn’t say infestation, but Asian roach, uh, um—I don’t know, they were just coming out of the pine straw. They were coming out—they were coming out like crazy.
Travis McGowin: Where—where have you been? Heh! Man, I couldn’t—I couldn’t tell you how many times I have been spraying, uh, doing, you know, exterior services and—and been treating around the outside of a house and hit pine straw or mulch and had them come out of the woodwork.
Michael Wienecke: Man, I have not seen one in Birmingham. I’ve not seen one in Vestavia. I—
It scared me ’cause I was like, “These are German roaches!” And what—and then, uh, they were flying! And I was like, “German roaches can’t fly!” So, I started—I started kind of, you know, getting my nerd—nerd-up book out there, and, um, yeah. So, Asian roaches, they’re flying all over the place. So, I even put in my notes, heh, I was like, “Uh, just treated, you know, Asian—” They were—they were everywhere. I have never—I didn’t know—
Travis McGowin: They go climbing up the sides of the house and everything, I mean, big and small, they just come out of the woodwork.
Michael Wienecke: Well, they seemed to all be the same size on—on my end, but I was just—I was worried about them flying into the—to the office that we were treating and everything. I was like, “Oh my god, this is—this is horrible.”
Travis McGowin: Yeah, they’re, uh—uh, for those that don’t know, they are kind of an imposter. Um, they look identical to a German roach, except they typically only live outside. Uh, they do fly, whereas German roaches do not fly. Uh, and German roaches have to live inside, whereas Asian roaches like your areas in mulch beds and pine straw beds underneath, uh, where the decaying vegetation, moisture is. Uh, but yeah, they can—they can give you quite a—a jump there when you, you know, treat them with a product, and then all of a sudden, I mean, just literally 30 of them come right out from underneath pine straw where you’re treating at. I mean, there’s right there—
Michael Wienecke: Oh, thousands! Thousands! I mean, I was just talking about in like a couple feet span there.
No, Travis. I don’t—It—it—it worried me for a minute. It was thousands! Heh!
Travis McGowin: Oh yeah. Well—
Michael Wienecke: They started dying off, but again, it was—it was quite—quite, uh, remarkable. I know you’re in—over in Montgomery, you always talk about them, but we don’t see them here, so.
Travis McGowin: Oh, you can have them. Heh!
Michael Wienecke: Well, we got them! We got them, they’re here. So, eventually, they’ll be in Birmingham and everywhere else, I’m sure. Coming to a town near you.

The post Why DIY Pest Control Makes German Roach Infestations Worse appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

On this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast:

Beat the summer heat with pest control experts Michael Wienecke and Travis McGowin as they spin a candid, humorous conversation about all things arachnid. From myth-busting brown recluse fears to sharing hilarious close encounters with wolf spiders and explaining why traditional sprays don’t always cut it, this episode dives into the practical dos and don’ts of managing spider activity around your home. Tune in for expert advice, a few cautionary lake house jokes, and a realistic look at why these eight-legged neighbors might not be so bad after all.

Watch this on YouTube!

Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke: How hot has it been outside?
Travis McGowin: Can you… can you say expletives on here?
Michael Wienecke: It’s been… Well, I think you can say hell on here. I mean, it’s—that’s a—that’s a fair one. That’s a fair one.
Travis McGowin: Is the… is the devil’s armpit a good enough analogy?
Michael Wienecke: Ooh.
Travis McGowin: It’s uh… it’s pretty—it’s been pretty warm out here the last couple weeks.
Michael Wienecke: I will say, some of the places I’ve been to have also been stinky, so that’s fair. That’s fair.
Travis McGowin: Well, I mean, when you… when you are performing services and your clothes go from saturated to dry to saturated to dry over and over again multiple times, um… it’s… it’s pretty… pretty terrible.
Michael Wienecke: Yes. Yes, it is. So, today we want to talk about spiders, man. We are dealing with some just hellacious spiders. Spiders are everywhere.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, the… they are. Um, you know, and I understand that… I think you said you like spiders, right?
Michael Wienecke: Man, I love spiders. Spiders… spiders are one of the most beneficial insects in all…
Travis McGowin: Well, I agree with you in… in that regard. I think the… the vast majority of the population would heavily disagree with you in… in love of spiders, actually.
Michael Wienecke: Oh, I have a really awesome video of a spider jumping out of the couch and… and at me as I was videoing it. So, I’ll… I could send that to you if you want to pop it up there real quick.
Travis McGowin: The only way I want to see that is if you screamed like a girl.
Michael Wienecke: I screamed like a grown man.
Travis McGowin: No, the… you know, spiders, obvious—obviously, you know, you’ve got the vast majority of them being very beneficial, the vast majority of them are not venomous, and most of them, you know, don’t even bite. Of course, you know, here in Alabama, most folks, when they think of spiders, their… their brain automatically jumps to one of two, you know, either being the black widow or the brown recluse. And, you know, in my encounters in pest control, the vast majority of spiders that you encounter are neither one of those two spiders.
Michael Wienecke: It is so rare to see a brown recluse or… or a black widow. I mean, if you stick your finger in a… a hose pipe or a crack or crevice outside, or just start picking up logs without… without gloves on, you’re probably going to meet a brown recluse or a black widow. But nine times out of 10, it’s going to be a… a wolf spider, excuse me. I lost my… my train of thought… thought there.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, but I think most… I think most people, uh, automatically put spiders into this… this dangerous box. Um, now granted, there was… there’s a kind of a funny story. When I was a teenager still living at home with my parents, our… our house had always had this like darker-colored brown carpet. Um…
Michael Wienecke: So, it… so, it didn’t show stains!
Travis McGowin: I… I mean, I wouldn’t go that far. Uh, but it always had this dark brown carpet, and of course, what color is a wolf spider? Dark brown. Dark brown with black on it, you know, so uh they blended really well. And I remember there was one… one evening where I had went into my bedroom and uh and walked in to the doorway and turned the light on, and there was this massive wolf spider, uh, standing essentially in the doorway. And of course, I think I scared the wolf spider just as much as the wolf spider kind of scared me and startled me, because I wasn’t expecting there to be this massive spider. And uh so when I turned the light on, the spider came running directly at my feet, which I didn’t have any shoes on or anything, and uh so I picked up, you know, kind of jumped, picked up my foot, and the spider’s still running towards me. And when my right foot came down, the foot came down right directly on top of the spider, and uh of course, you know, I came down on the floor and then immediately picked my foot back up. Well, my… the spider had actually curled up and went underneath the… the little gap between my toe and the beginning of my actual part of my foot in that little, you know, raised area where your toes are, and he balled up…
Michael Wienecke: They are survivors. They are survivors.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, he did. So, he balled up, and then as soon as I picked my foot back up, he popped his legs out and scurried, you know, scurried off. And of course, then I hunted him down with a vengeance and killed him. So, uh, yeah, I… I mean, I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge spider fan. About the only spider that I actually am kind of fascinated with and will actually usually let live, I really… I really like the garden spiders, the… um the garden spiders…
Michael Wienecke: The orb… the orb weavers and stuff?
Travis McGowin: Um, the orb weavers are… are in my opinion kind of annoying. Um, you know, they’re usually going to attach themselves up in a corner on the side of the house, come out at night, make this ginormous web, and then go and hide during the daytime.
Michael Wienecke: But they’re beautiful.
Travis McGowin: They are, but they make a mess on the side of your house, which I’m not real thrilled with. Um, but…
Michael Wienecke: Let’s talk about that for a minute. So, they make a mess on the side of your house. They build a big web, right?
Travis McGowin: Yeah. Every night.
Michael Wienecke: And that protects against what?
Travis McGowin: Insects.
Michael Wienecke: Every single flying insect.
Travis McGowin: Yes. Yeah, and… and you’re right. Um, so… so, spiders in… in that regard are… are, you know, of course, very beneficial. Obviously, they have uh… they have a purpose in the world, for sure. Whether or not most people agree with that, you know, that’s a totally different story, so…
Michael Wienecke: Well, and that’s… that’s kind of the what this… this talk was about. I mean, we remove spider webs around the house. It’s… it’s more of a vanity thing, I would say. You know? Most people do not want spider webs around the house. However, with the 105-degree heat, we’ve had extra, extra, extra spider webs around people’s houses.
Travis McGowin: Right. You know, I understand they… they make… they make a mess. Of course, they’re being, you know, more opportunistic. They’re… they’re finding a place where bugs are going to frequent, whether that’s close to an exterior light, um, you know, that’s going to attract bugs that they can catch and… and subsequently eat after that. So, they’re, you know, they’re being opportunistic. Uh, I… I do totally agree that they have their place in nature. I mean, you could look at a lot of insects, uh, take termites, for example. I mean, in nature, termites have a very important job. We just don’t want them in our house, eating our house, you know. They need to break down old, decaying wood and return it to the soil and all those good things. Uh, the one I don’t understand is a… a mosquito, but that’s a totally different topic. We won’t… we won’t dive off into that one. I… I still don’t understand the point and purpose.
Michael Wienecke: Of a mosquito?
Travis McGowin: Yes.
Michael Wienecke: I mean, bats love ’em.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, I understand, but if there’s one insect that exists only to feed bats, I think we can do without them. Bats eat a lot of other things, too.
Michael Wienecke: I mean, getting way off topic, but don’t bat guano and isn’t that a pretty helpful thing for the whole food chain? I mean, I think you’re… It’s like you step… You go in the primordial soup, you step on a flower, and everything’s different when you get back. So, you know, you have to… You have to be careful on what you wish is gone and… and here.
Travis McGowin: But… but no, I mean, spiders are going to be opportunistic, you know, whether they’re… they’re a spider that… that builds these big, elaborate webs, like you said, the orb weavers, or… or here in Alabama, uh, over the last several weeks, we’ve really had an uptick in what, you know, people call the banana spiders. Um, you know, that you’re inadvertently going to walk face-first into their web, and, you know, they’re… they’re like this big. Um, you know, they’re gigantic, and… and, uh, of course, the webs are really, really strong and sticky, so it’s a picture forever to try to peel it off your face, and, you know, if you haven’t had a heart condition up to that point in your life, you will have a heart condition because, you know, having a spider that big in your face is probably not going to be a comfort zone for most people. Um, but, you know, some of the… some of the other ones, like we were talking about, wolf spiders, uh, especially if you don’t have your… your weather stripping towards the bottom of your… of your door sealed up really well, you know, they’ll sneak right through those little gaps, cracks, and crevices and get in. Um, the really fun thing about the… the wolf spiders being, you know, that they tote their babies on their back, and that can be kind of unsightly, too.
Michael Wienecke: Especially when you squish ’em.
Travis McGowin: Yeah, because you think you’ve done this good thing, you squished this big, nasty-looking spider, and then all of a sudden, little teeny-tiny babies go crawling everywhere, and then it’s just like a big stomping spree all over the, you know, the place until you feel like the floor’s not moving anymore. So, yeah. But I mean, people need to understand, too, that… that infestations of spiders, um, are not… are not really all that common. I think, Michael, you’ve dealt with some uh brown recluse infestations before in some houses. I mean, in… am I incorrect there?
Michael Wienecke: I think in 10 years, I’ve done serious, serious brown recluse infestations maybe… maybe 10 or 20. And… and black widow, I’ve never seen a black widow infestation. I’ve seen a brown widow infestation. I think you have, too.
Travis McGowin: Yes. Yeah, I have seen some pretty significant, um, mainly around the exterior of the house, but I have seen some pretty significant, um, brown widow issues. Uh, had a house in particular that I… I counted roughly 60 to 70 brown widows that I killed around the outside of the house, between just being on the exterior, uh, of the structure itself, being on furniture on the back porch, um, and… and that was pretty significant. But I think the 3 months later at the next quarterly treatment, I came back and I think I found three.
Michael Wienecke: That’s awesome. Yeah, I had one out in Attalla. Attalla, we still… we still service him, and I was doing a termite inspection, and every… it was built with cinder blocks, and every cinder block had a brown, uh, repeat… I’m sorry… a… a brown widow in it.
Travis McGowin: Well, you know, the brown widows are… are like this, I guess, kind of offshoot of the black widow. Um, they’re not nearly as poisonous or anything like that. It’s probably going to be painful if they bite you, but I don’t think it’s going to be one of those things where it likely sends you to the hospital like a black widow probably would. Uh, but they’re terrible at hiding. You know, the… I always said like the… the brown widow, I think, is the black widow’s really, really dumb cousin that doesn’t, you know, pick great hiding spots, because a black widow genuinely, I feel like, does not most of the time want to be found. The brown widow… the brown widow will literally like weave this little web like right there in your face, um, and… and like hi- trying to hide in plain sight, and they’re just not great at that.
Michael Wienecke: Yeah, I mean, a black widow bite, that… it all comes from just sticking your hand in a crack or crevice that, you know, one’s in, and it’s just… it’s biting you out of… out of fear.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely. Yeah, most of the time, like I said, they don’t want to be found. Um, especially brown recluse, too. I mean, the vast majority of the population could probably count on one hand, maybe, how many times they’ve seen a… a genuine brown recluse in their life that… that was actually that spider and not a confused breed, you know, mistaking a wolf spider or a southern house spider or… or something like that, uh, for a brown wid- uh, a brown recluse instead.
Michael Wienecke: Well, and I’m sure, you know, other states and… and stuff like that, and even other cities, but here in Birmingham, you know, the Birmingham metro, I mean, I… I don’t see many brown recluse.
Travis McGowin: Right. So, let’s talk a little for just a second. What can… what are some things that customers themselves at their properties can do? Obviously, these are, you know, we look at them like wild animals, but wild insects, if you will, they… they… they’re not going to abide by a rule that we set or anything, but what are some things that customers can do to attempt to either, you know, lessen the pressure that spiders put on their house or lessen the activity that spiders, you know, uh, have around the outside of their house and then subsequently getting inside their house?
Michael Wienecke: So, step one, uh, do not buy a lake house.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely! Absolutely. Your… your docks, your exterior of your house is going to be covered a lot.
Michael Wienecke: There is… there’s not a… you know, just joking aside, but there is not a single lake house that we don’t see that it just… it’s every… you can move it, you can de-web it, you can… you can spray it, you can treat it, a week later, they’re right back because you have so many flying insects around those lake houses. Um, and they just kind of become part of the house.
Travis McGowin: Yeah. Like I said, they’re… they’re acting as nature… A decoration. A decoration. Yeah, if you’re ready for Halloween and, you know… Um, but they’re acting as nature intended them to act. I mean, they’re… they’re trying to survive, and they’re, you know, trying to lessen the insect population. Um, but another one that comes to mind for myself, and this can be pretty prevalent in the lake houses, but just houses in general, is the use of exterior lighting on your house.
Michael Wienecke: Oh, that’s a big one. That’s for any… roaches, um, any kind of a… a nocturnal type of flying insect is going to come towards your house. I mean, termites. Termite… You see it in Louisiana all the time, you know, these termites are just swarm in these lights.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely. Um, so, we… we highly advise people, uh, cause I think, Michael, you could probably tell—say this, too, but people who leave their exterior lighting on on their house all evening, all night long, through the night into the morning time, you’re… you’re going to have a significant amount of pest pressure and spider pressure more than you would if you turned them off. Now, there’s going to be… there’s going to be some things you can’t prevent. For example, uh, light that bleeds through the window to the outside of your house at night, I mean, obviously, you can put up blinds and curtains and try to minimize that, uh, but ultimately, it’s going to be hard to prevent any light from escaping the… the from the inside to the outside of your house. But ensuring that your floodlights and your different light fixtures on the outside of your house, your porch lights, those types of things are turned off is going to probably be a pretty big help in lessening that pest pressure on your house.
Michael Wienecke: Well, and also check your windows. You know, I can’t tell you how many customers will go around and see a… a window from the… from the top slid down, and their window’s unlocked, and they don’t even know it. And I’d imagine it’s because of the pressures in the home, and it’s just pushing that window open a little bit, but we see it all the time. Um, so that would be a big one, too.
Travis McGowin: Absolutely. And then, of course, you know, spiders are obviously looking for things to eat. That’s, I mean, that’s how they survive. So, limiting, I would say, too, limiting the amount of insect harborage areas around the outside of your house, right there directly around your house, in your flower beds, and… and those types of areas is probably going to also help limit the amount of spider pressure that you have, because anywhere that insects can hide, obviously, spiders are kind of praying on those other insects, uh, so anywhere that you have that these insects can hide or live and make this little insect community, if you will, it’s going to be a place where a spider goes, “Oh, well, I’m going to go get, you know, lunch or dinner.” So, I think that would be helpful, too.
Michael Wienecke: Well, and let’s talk about, you know, the landscape, too, because if you are in Greystone, for instance, or Chelsea, so, you know, a big, wooded area, um, I… that’s just kind of what’s coming to my mind right now. Uh, just a big, wooded area, and your house is on the backside, you know, of just this big, wooded, tall trees, I mean, these… these spiders balloon, and I’ve seen it. It’s… it’s amazing. They’ll… they’ll parachute… they’ll parachute right out of these trees, right onto your house, and it’s… it’s just… it’s nature’s cool way of, uh, spreading… spreading, you know, the love from house to house, to tree to tree, but…
Travis McGowin: Have you seen the… the images… I think, uh, you know, and it may just be a sensational AI-generated photo, but I think this was kind of going around before AI was really, uh, taking over. Um, but have you seen the videos, I think from Australia…
Michael Wienecke: Man, so sad that we have to… I have to question…
Travis McGowin: I know, right? You question everything you see, because half of it’s not even real, but… Um, have you seen the videos that people have posted of like when the spiders all come out in some of the other countries where they’re just covering like everything?
Michael Wienecke: Yes, in Au- are you talking about Australia where they’re just… the webs are just covering the whole field?
Travis McGowin: Yeah, I… I do not need to go there at any point.
Michael Wienecke: You know, I feel like Australia has everything that will either kill you or just really, really irritate you.
Travis McGowin: I think that’s a proven fact. I may be wrong, but I think Australia has a higher number of deadly animals and insects per square mile than like any other country.
Michael Wienecke: I would… I would love to go… I would love to go to Northern… Northern Territory, though, because that’s… that’s as far off as you can get and see these 21-foot crocs and stuff. That’d be pretty cool.
Travis McGowin: And… and I’ll say this, uh, kind of in closing about the spider things. I know that people get frustrated, um, you know, you may call in your pest control provider, you may go to the store and attempt to purchase something that says it eliminates spiders and all that, and it doesn’t necess- and well, let me back up and say that you may feel like it doesn’t work or that it’s ineffective. But here’s the… the reality about the spiders. So, pesticides, if they contact a spider’s body, they can… they can kill a spider. But Michael, why are most pesticides ineffective against spiders based upon their biology and how they act?
Michael Wienecke: Well, they’re just really high off the ground. I mean, simple as that. So, they’re not getting that full… that full contact. Um, they’re just really high off the ground. I mean, a dust is going to be the best… the best course of action, um, an aerosol, something of that nature. But really, treating those cracks and crevices just… just like we all talk about. Um, you know, back to the outside, the water, the water, water, you know. It’s… it’s 105 degrees. There… there’s water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. So, wherever you’ve got, I mean, we’re seeing it all day long, and I don’t think people realize, but that… that little bitty, what is it, 1/2-inch PVC pipe that’s coming off the AC condenser, that thing is spitting out, what would you say, Travis? What would you say, 12 gallons a day or something like that?
Travis McGowin: Yeah, I… I mean, the way the weather’s been right now, it’s probably a lot more than that. I mean, the same reason why if you don’t make sure that drain is clean that it’s going to flood your, you know, house.
Michael Wienecke: Yeah, and…
Travis McGowin: It’s a significant amount of condensation coming from those.
Michael Wienecke: Right. So, I… I always try to, you know, point that out. We see it and just say, “Hey, kick that to a 90 or a 45 and get that as far away from your property as possible,” because that’s going to bring ants, that’s going to bring, uh, flying insects around that area at night, that’s going to bring, you know, all types of other insects that eat other insects, and then those spiders are going to come because of the flying insects.
Travis McGowin: And that’s one other thing that I like to… to share, too, with my customers is that not only are they higher off the ground so they’re less likely to make full contact with that product, but they also don’t groom themselves.
Michael Wienecke: Ah, yes. Yes, they do. They…
Travis McGowin: So, you know, a lot… like a lot of other insects, I know that it’s weird to say that roaches groom themselves, um, because we view roaches as, you know, nasty little insects or nasty little creatures, but they do, you know, scurry along and… and trek through things, you know, specifically pesticides that are put out, and then, you know, further damage themselves or harm themselves by grooming themselves, and spiders don’t do that. Uh, so even if their little feet did cross a barrier or touch, the likelihood of them ingesting or really coming to enough product that could hurt them is going to be slim to none. So, it’s going to be a lot harder to, uh, be effective against spiders by just like sprays alone. That’s why I’m glad you mentioned about dusts and aerosols and different tools that pest control companies have at their disposal, um, because sometimes just praying and spraying like some folks do is… is not going to be adequate to solve a spider problem.
Michael Wienecke: It’s… it’s funny you brought up the dust thing. Um, somebody put an ad out saying it was a new product, and, um, that they didn’t have to… No, they had no longer had to, uh, spray around the house. They could just Delta dust every crack and crevice, and it was brand new. Brand new product. Hot on the market, baby! Hot on the market!
Travis McGowin: It’s been out for years. Hey, well, you know, whatever… whatever ploy you need to sell your product, you know. Um, sounds a bit like someone trying to sell the wheel, you know. Let’s put these amazing new round things on our car to drive. Uh, yeah, I think pretty sure tires have been round since cars were invented back in early 1900s, so…

The post Eights Legs & Extreme Heat: The Truth About Spiders appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

Think fire ants are the worst thing hiding in your backyard? Think again. In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, Travis introduces a stealthy new invader that’s rapidly expanding across the Southeast: the Asian Needle Ant. Unlike common yard pests, these tiny, orange-legged insects don’t build massive mounds—instead, they lurk quietly in mulch beds and woodpiles, packing a sting described as ‘liquid fire’ that can pose a serious medical threat. Tune in to learn how to spot their bizarre behavior, avoid their painful sting, and protect your yard from this aggressive ecosystem hijacker.

Podcast Transcript:

Travis: Hey everyone, welcome back to the Peskies Pest Control podcast. I’m Travis, your host. You know, we talk a lot on this show about ants, we talk a lot about termites, uh, little crawling insects like that, and we talk about how they’re nuisances. Uh, you know, the ones that come along and ruin your outdoor gatherings in your backyard, um, or fire ants that, you know, leave itchy bumps on you and your kids’ ankles, you know, when you inadvertently walk through the grass and they, you know, you come into contact with them.

But today we’re going to discuss another pest that’s been making some headlines this spring. You know, so we’re halfway through May at this point, uh, and if you’ve been keeping up with the news, there’s kind of a bit of a new insect in town. And that is the Asian needle ant.

Now, I say new, although this ant has been around the United States for quite a while, um, but the “new” refers to the fact that they are currently exploding and invading across the Southeast. Uh, you know, a lot of experts refer to them as a medical pest, and there’s a very good reason for that. If you’re a gardener, uh, someone who enjoys hiking, uh, if you like to move a little bit of mulch in your backyard, then you need to know who these guys are before you reach into the wrong pile of leaves or dirt.

So, you know, you may be asking, “Well, I’ve never heard of the Asian needle ant. What am I looking for exactly?” So, they’re tiny, maybe even about a fifth of an inch long, if that kind of gives you an idea of just how small these Asian needle ants are. Now, as far as color goes, they’re dark, they are kind of shiny and glossy, and almost black for most of their body.

But there’s a dead giveaway that you need to look for when you see these ants, and that is that they have a distinctive orangish-brown color to their legs and their jaws. So, almost a full black body, but their legs and their jaws are orange to orangish-brown. And honestly, you might not even see them coming because, unlike fire ants, they don’t build these huge nests in the middle of your lawn. They’re a lot more stealthy. They do love moist and shaded areas. A lot of times you’ll find them under, you know, rotting wood or logs, even maybe under your stones or pavers in your yard, or way down deep in a mulch bed. You know, they don’t march in long straight lines like a lot of ants do when they make invasions on your house in your kitchen or, you know, in your bathroom. They are more likely to be loners and forage um, on their own, or solo.

And you know, in fact, if an Asian needle ant actually finds a great food source, it doesn’t leave a scent trail to attract other ants. But it actually goes back and picks up another ant and carries the ant to the food with them. Uh, so they’re not communicating with those chemical trails that a lot of other ants leave. So, if you see what looks like an ant with two heads moving across a log or across a mulch bed, then you might actually be spotting this tandem carrying um, that these ants do, which is kind of classic needle ant activity.

One more weird way to identify them is um, if you put them into a glass jar, a lot of ants can climb right up the side of a jar, but an Asian needle ant cannot climb any smooth surfaces. So, if it attempts to climb and it’s sliding down to the bottom of the jar like it’s maybe on a layer of slick ice, you’ve probably found an Asian needle ant.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about why they are referred to as medical pests. So, the sting has been described as liquid fire, uh, or as if someone is driving a hot needle into your skin. But here’s the real danger: the ants are shy. They’re not really aggressive like fire ants that, you know, come and swarm you the second that you step on a mound. So, most stings happen a lot of times when you accidentally trap one, you know, maybe you’re wearing gardening gloves, one of them gets inside, or you lean against a tree where they’re nesting. So, for most of us, it’s just an intense localized pain. Uh, it can actually hurt for sometimes hours.

But for about 1% to 2% of the population, it’s actually a lot worse than that. So, these ants have an incredibly high rate of causing anaphylaxis. Uh, and if you don’t know what that is, it’s a life-threatening allergic reaction um, for people who may be hypersensitive to this interaction with the Asian needle ant. And so there’s uh, people are reporting that, you know, those who have been stung by them, and they’ve lost consciousness within a minute of being stung. So, if you’re already allergic to things like bees or wasps, then you probably have a much higher risk of this reaction.

So, if you get stung, you feel dizzy, have trouble breathing, you end up having a reaction all over your body with hives—don’t wait, don’t put it off. I would say immediately call emergency services, dial 911. Uh, this is not just some sort of, you know, “rub some dirt on it” kind of situation where it’s just going to go away like a lot of times people experience with fire ants. You just want to be extremely careful.

And it’s not just a threat to us; it’s also a threat to our environment in general. So, uh, University of Georgia’s actually done some research and show that in areas where these ants move in, native ants actually disappear. So, uh, they’ve actually done some studies where it looks like about 60% of the native ant population drops in the area where the Asian needle ants move in. And I know you think, “Well, I mean, ants are ants, who cares, right?” So, ants are what we can refer to as forest janitors. They turn the soil, um, they spread seeds for wildflowers. The Asian needle ant doesn’t do anything like that at all. They come in, they dominate, they take over. Uh, they even move into termite galleries um, and force termites out, uh, which sounds like a win for your house, but it completely disrupts the ecosystem of the woods wherever they move in.

So, you may be asking yourself, “Well, what do we do to combat this ant? What do we do to help fix this problem?” So, here’s a couple of things: so clean up debris around your yard. You want to get rid of old wood piles, you want uh, get rid of old thinning layers of leaf litter. You want to watch for excessive moisture as well. So, if you got a leaky outdoor faucet, you may want to get that fixed and stop those leaks because these ants love and crave a damp environment. You know, when you’re out and about, wear protective um, ensembles. You know, thick gloves, closed-toe shoes while you’re working in the garden or moving landscape timbers, um, just protect yourself from the possibility of that interaction.

And then also baiting can help too, um, and this is probably more from a pest control standpoint, although some people do, you know, attempt to do some pest control on their own. Um, but you know, a lot of times in the pest control world with ant baits, we have either sugar-based baits or protein-based baits. So, with these Asian needle ants, standard sugar-based baits a lot of times don’t work because they prefer protein. So, if you’re seeing them, you might need to call a professional who’s got a professional-grade protein bait of some sort to get the job done with them as well.

So, bottom line: the Asian needle ant’s not going anywhere, unfortunately, just like a lot of invasive species that come from other countries. Um, they get here, they take up residence, and they’re here to stay. And as our climate warms up, they’re only going to move further north. So, it’s not about living in fear, it’s about being aware of what’s going on. So, when you’re out and about outside, look for those ants with the orange, orangish-brown legs. Watch out for damp spots or, you know, old wood piles, mulch beds, things like that. And if you’re hypersensitive to insect stings, definitely keep an EpiPen handy if you’ve had one prescribed by your doctor. Uh, if you have a high risk of having an anaphylactic reaction, it’s definitely a good idea to keep that with you.

Um, so thanks for tuning in. Uh, if you think you’ve found a colony in your yard, feel free to reach out to us. And probably not a bad idea to locate and reach out to your local agriculture extensions office—most areas have them. And let them know that you’ve found them—they’re definitely keeping record and track of where these invasive ants are spreading to next.

So, again, I’m Travis with Peskies Pest Control. Stay safe, stay pest-free, we’ll see you next time.

The post Worse Than Fire Ants? Meet the Asian Needle Ant appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

Welcome back to another episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, your go-to guide for keeping your Alabama home safe and bug-free! In this episode, host Travis McGowin dives deep into a phenomenon every Alabamian knows all too well: the dreaded spring termite swarm. Picture a beautiful afternoon right after a rainstorm, only you look at your windowsill and see a shimmering cloud of vibrating insects. Before you slip into total “termite panic,” Travis breaks down the biology of these winged invaders, how to tell them apart from ordinary flying ants, and the critical “red light” warning signs that mean it’s time to put down the over-the-counter bug spray and grab the vacuum. Tune in to learn exactly what to do whether you find these pests inside or outside your home!

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Podcast Transcript:

So, I want to give you a scenario. So, let’s just say that it’s a pretty spring afternoon. Storms rolled in, but the rain has just stopped. Sun’s peeking out through the clouds. And you look over to your windowsill to get a glimpse of how beautiful the day actually is becoming. Only to see a cloud of vibrating, shimmering insects on your windowsill inside your home. So, if you’ve lived in Alabama for more than a year, you probably know the feeling of what we will call termite panic. So today, we’re going to talk about the spring swarm. Why is it happening? Is your house currently being eaten, and most importantly, what do you do if you find this phenomenon on the inside versus the outside of your home?

So first off, let’s talk a little bit about termite biology. These aren’t just any termites. These are termite alates. So, think of them as royalty in the termite world. So, they’ve got one mission. The termite colony itself is like a crowded city. So, once it gets a little too full, the colony produces these winged reproductive termites. Their only job, their only reason for existing, is to fly out, find a partner from a different city or colony, and establish a new colony. So, they’re waiting for that perfect weather window, which is usually, you know, a nice, warm, high-humidity spring day, and really after a rain is is uh definitely ideal for them. So, the ground is soft, it makes it new—or excuse me, makes it easier for a new queen to go in and burrow and start to establish that colony. However, they’re terrible flyers. Um they do flutter around for a few minutes, often carried and pushed around by the wind if they’re outside. But if they’re inside your house, they flutter around for a few minutes, they’ll shed their wing—their wings, and then attempt to go to work. So, if you see piles of, you know, translucent termite wings on your porch or on your windowsill, then that means that their nuptial flight is over and they’re trying to start the work of what it is they’re really trying to do.

Now, before you call an exterminator uh in, you know, just a complete and sheer panic, let’s talk about it and make sure that you aren’t looking at flying ants. So, ants do swarm at the same times, look almost identical when you glance at them, but there are a couple of key and important differences that you need to know about to make sure that you identify whether or not it is a termite or an ant.

So, termites have thick, straight bodies. Ants have a pinched waist kind of resembling an hourglass. So, if the body’s approximately the same size from head to toe, or from front to back, I should say, it’s probably a termite. However, ants have that pinched hourglass waist.

The next thing you can look at to identify them is their antennae. So, termites’ antennae, um they’re straight and look almost like they have a bunch of little tiny beads that build their antennae up. If you look at ants, they have elbowed or bent antennae.

And then, another unmistakable sign that can help you identify termites versus ants is the wings. That’s probably one of the easiest ways to tell what it is you’re dealing with. So, termites have four wings that are all equal length in size. Ants, on the other hand, have four wings. However, the front wings are a lot longer than the back ones, so you’ll have two long wings and two shorter wings. Uh so, if the other methods, the the body and the antennae are a little bit too difficult for you to identify, the wings are definitely almost always a dead giveaway.

So, let’s get into what now if you discover this phenomenon, and that depends entirely on where exactly you found this going on.

So, in the first scenario, which would be more ideal maybe, they’re outside. If you see them swarming from a stump in your yard, a fence post, a dead tree, something like that, do not panic. This is a natural part of the ecosystem in the woods around your property. It means that somewhere nearby, you have a mature termite colony and can kind of give you like a yellow light warning. If you picture a traffic light, you know, red means stop, yellow means caution, green means go, this is probably like a yellow light warning. You need to check your foundation for mud tubes, um check the interior and exterior of your house for signs of termites. But mud tubes are kind of like, you know, a line of dried dirt that’s about the size of a pencil, and it goes up the side of the foundation or brick or concrete of your house. You want to make sure you don’t have any of those. Um because that can signify that termites are either already trying to invade your house or have already invaded your house.

So, the second scenario to this would be that you find this phenomenon inside your home. So, if you happen to see these winged alate termites coming out of a baseboard, from around a light fixture, a crack in the drywall, around a window frame, the reality is is that this is a red light. This is a big stop sign. You need to stop, take heed uh because termites are swarming inside your home, and that almost always means that they are coming from within your walls, and they’re trying to get outside to go towards light. So, what I would do in this—in this scenario, if this is you, get you a vacuum and vacuum them up. And there’s going to be a lot of them, so just be prepared. Save a couple in a jar or somewhere where, you know, they’re not going to get away, and call Peskies Pest Control. Don’t wait. Call Peskies Pest Control.

And then, the third part of this, and this is the big one: do not spray them with anything over the counter. No bug sprays. Um, you know, we don’t want to spray them. That spray, whatever you use that’s over the counter, will not reach the colony, will not kill the colony, and it can actually cause them to shut off where they’ve been accessing for the time being and just move to a different part of the house. So, we definitely don’t want that. So, yes, vacuum up these pests. Vacuum them up, save some for your pest control professional, and then do not spray anything on them. You’re going to make life a lot more difficult in getting rid of these termites if you do spray them with something.

So, the bottom line: termite swarmers are just nature’s way of saying, “I’m here, I want to colonize.” If they’re outside, definitely be vigilant. Uh just the other day, I was at a customer’s property doing their termite renewal, checking their baiting system, and while I was around the outside of the house, there were termite swarmers flying everywhere. But, the customer can rest easy knowing that their house is protected. Termites cause billions of dollars in damage every single year. However, like most anything, if they’re caught early enough, they are manageable, the damage can be minimal. So, stay dry. You don’t want to have any moisture—high moisture content or anything that’s going to attract these termites. Keep an eye around your house, especially this time of year, and definitely get your house protected. Uh call Peskies Pest Control. We can come out, we can do a top-to-bottom, thorough inspection to make sure that you don’t already have a termite issue, and then subsequently prevent a termite issue from ever occurring. So, again, I’m Travis with Peskies Pest Control. Thanks, and we’ll see you next time.

The post The Alabama Spring Guide to Termite Swarms appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

Welcome back to the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, where we look beyond the common household nuisance to discuss the serious health risks associated with local wildlife. In this episode, Travis dives into the recent headlines surrounding the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak to explore the realities of Hantavirus—a severe respiratory disease with a staggering 40% mortality rate. While the news may be focused on the Atlantic, the danger actually begins on land with the rodents that enter our homes and workplaces. Join us as we discuss how professional exclusion and monitoring are your family’s best defense against these invisible pathogens.

Podcast Transcript:

Host: Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast. So today we don’t necessarily want to discuss the nuisance side of pests, but we want to talk a little bit about the dangerous side of pests. So anyone who has been on social media, watched the news lately, you probably seen headlines referring to the MV Hondius. If you’re not familiar with that, it is a cruise ship that was out in the Atlantic Ocean and is dealing with a now deadly outbreak of what is known as Hantavirus. So three people have died, there’s quite a few more being monitored around the world. CDC says they’re on high alert and it just sounds like something out of a horror movie, right? Or a suspense movie of some sort. You got a Hantavirus outbreak out in the middle of the ocean, but the truth is this is not a cruise ship problem, this is not an ocean problem. This is a rodent problem. Very often it starts on land, even in some of the places where you live and you work.

What is Hantavirus?

Host: So you may ask yourself, what exactly is Hantavirus? In short, it is a severe respiratory disease. So, you know, we have different strains of Hantavirus, but you know, the scary part is is that it has a mortality rate of nearly 40%. So compare that to the flu or even COVID-19 and you realize, you know, how potentially serious this can be. So, you know, you may be wondering how do you get Hantavirus? Well, you don’t get bitten by a mouse or a rat to get sick from this virus. It’s actually a lot easier than that and you don’t even have to contact a live rodent to get it. But the virus is carried by rodents, some mice, some rats, and they usually shed or disperse the virus when they urinate or when they defecate or even from their saliva. So you can get it from urine, their droppings, their spit. And when their droppings dry out and you sweep them up or you vacuum them or you clean them up, especially in large rodent infestations, the virus almost becomes aerosolized, you know, floating around in the air and then you breathe it in and you are at risk for Hantavirus in that moment or at that time.

The MV Hondius Connection

Host: So realistically, you know, how did this happen on a cruise ship? Well, the outbreak, you know, we can speculate all we want to but it likely started before the passengers were even on the boat. You know, there are reports that the first victims may have been exposed while birdwatching or visiting remote areas in Argentina. But two things to note here. The virus has quite a long incubation period, so somewhere in the upwards of 8 weeks. So you might not even really know that you’re sick until way after you’ve already been exposed. And you could see where somebody maybe got on the cruise ship having already been exposed to this virus. And it only takes one small interaction with an infested area, you know, to set this off. So on the ship, because it was a certain specific strain, it began to spread through close contact between the guests on the ship. And this is why we say, you know, that pest control isn’t just about property itself. Yeah, we love protecting your property from insects and from rodents and wildlife, but the big picture of pest control really is about public health.

Bringing it Home – Why Pest Control Matters

Host: So I know what you’re thinking now, it’s like, well, I’m not on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, or I’m not going to get on a cruise ship in the Atlantic. But here’s the unfortunate reality: every time that a rodent, a mouse or a rat enters your crawlspace, your attic, your kitchen pantry, they are bringing what is on the outside and bringing it in. So they’re not just looking for your food, they’re leaving behind a biological footprint that can in the long run affect you, your pets, your children. In Peskies, we don’t just kill bugs. You know, we create barriers between you and your family and your pets and we create the barriers between that group and these types of groups, the insects, the rodents, the wildlife, that sort of thing. So for rodents specifically, exclusion is extremely important and when I say exclusion, I mean sealing off the entry points so that they cannot get in in the first place. And then on top of that, sanitization is extremely important. If you find droppings, it may not be the best idea to sweep them up. It might be a better idea to call a professional who knows how to disinfect, who has the appropriate personal protective equipment or PPE to deal with that type of issue just to protect you and your family from aerosolizing those those types of diseases. And then of course after exclusion and sanitization, monitoring is important. Rodents didn’t advance as long and as far as they have without being experts at hiding. So professional monitoring and inspection finds them before it becomes this massive huge infestation which can then in turn become a massive and huge health risk for you and your family.

Closing & Call to Action

Host: So, you know, from our point of view and definitely the world’s point of view, the news, you know, coming from that cruise ship, the MV Hondius, is definitely a tragedy. But I do think that it is a broader wake-up call. You know, we share our world with different insects, with rodents, with wildlife, but our living spaces we shouldn’t have to share in terms of the air with these pathogens that they, you know, spread. So do not wait until you see a mouse running across your floor because chances are they’ve been there for a lot longer than you have actually realized or then that you have actually seen. If you hadn’t had an inspection, if you don’t have general pest control on a regular basis, give us a call at Peskies Pest Control. Let’s make sure that your home stays a sanctuary for yourself and your family and not a habitat for rodents, wildlife and pests. So stay safe, stay pest-free, and we’ll see you next time here on the Peskies Pest Control Podcast.

The post Hantavirus: What You Need to Know! appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.

As summer temperatures hit a sunny 72°F, outdoor enthusiasts are hitting the trails to hike and bike. However, this beautiful weather also brings the rise of a dangerous parasitic creature: the Asian longhorned tick. In this episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, Michael Wienecke discusses how these self-sufficient pests can breed without a mate and explores the best ways to protect your yard and family from the pathogens they carry.

Podcast Transcript:

Michael Wienecke:

“Hey, so it is summertime and everyone is out there running these trails, biking, hiking, enjoying this great weather we’re having right now, 72 and sunny. I myself am enjoying it, especially in my backyard. But with this beautiful weather also comes a parasitic creature and today we’re going to be talking about ticks.

I don’t like ticks, I don’t think anybody likes ticks. They embed in your skin and they can cause all kinds of diseases. We’ve got this new tick that is just sweeping the nation throughout the United States and it’s the Asian longhorned tick. So I kind of wanted to just bring some attention to that. I personally have not seen any in the field or any of that, but I just wanted to talk about it and it is really just kind of predicted to be a wave over this entire country.

So they’re bad, they cause disease. Biggest thing, you know, we’ve got Lyme disease in this country, Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They are pathogens or they can transfer pathogens back and forth from each other. That’s how they get them. So when they bite an animal, they will bite that animal with a disease, they’ll absorb that disease and then they can transfer it from animal to animal to animal. And unfortunately there are quite a few ticks in the United States that can already transfer that disease from human to animal and back and forth. So ticks are just all around pretty bad.

Another thing about the Asian longhorned tick is that it can breed without a mate. So it’s able to lay eggs without having to mate. That’s kind of scary because it can—it’s self-sufficient.

Let’s talk about some ways that you can help prevent ticks in your area. So just, you know, keeping your yard nice and trimmed, keeping a really manicured, you know, all the bushes need to be cut down, just kind of out of the way because that’s what those little guys do is they just hang out on the edge of those bushes and branches or whatever it may be and as you brush up against it, those guys are latching onto you and it’s very hard to even feel them crawling on you and then all of a sudden, you know, you’re figuring it out maybe the next day and you got a tick that’s already embedded in you and you have to remove that little guy. So that’s no fun.

So let’s talk about just some ways to prevent this tick over, you know, walking through these trails. Wear long sleeves, long pants, socks. If you want to spray a little bug spray on you, especially in the woods, definitely going to be helpful. Just try to keep yourself as covered up as possible and that’s going to prevent them mostly. And then of course just stay on the trails or stay away from the brush line and you should be okay.

So again just picking up debris, stuff around the house, cutting the grass, keeping it short, keeping, you know, the bushes away from the house, manicured and then just watching where you play. You know, if that doesn’t work, we treat for ticks so we’re going to treat the underside of the bushes kind of where those guys are hiding, where they’re along there and that’s going to prevent those guys from being able to multiply and continue to create tick after tick.

They are really good multipliers, thousands of ticks at a time. So if you’ve ever seen those deer hunting videos where they’re just crawling up the hunter’s legs, they can get really bad real quick. So again, if you need any help, give us a call (334) 595-9055. Thanks, have a great day.”

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