Breaking News - the Kiwi sausage sizzle is almost legal

Hang on, you're telling me it's illegal?

Well......yes. According to the Food Act 1981 it is.

Incredibly, simple activities like fundraising sausage sizzles and cake stalls at school fairs need to comply with the Food Hygiene Regulations (1974) under the Food Act (1981). This means the poor old PTA and Sport's Club needs to have the same systems and processes in place as large business operations like retail food outlets and food processors.

Luckily the authorities recognise the inflexibility of the situation and generally turn a blind eye, otherwise we'd be paying about $20.00 for a sausage outside Bunnings. 

When the new Food Act 2014 finally comes into force there will be a clear exemption for these Kiwi traditions with the only rule being that the food sold must be safe. Viva le sausage and banana cake!

OK, so what's this got to do with pest control?

Well, a formal Pest Control Program will be an essential requirement under the Food Act 2014 if you are classed as high risk. That's;

• You prepare and/or sell meals (retail food).
• You process food and/or sell raw meat or seafood (food processors).

If you fall into a high risk category, you've got a significant work to do to meet the new requirements under the revised act.

Businesses classed as high risk will operate under far more stringent requirements including having a documented Food Control Plan, including a formal Pest Control Program. How well you manage/operate this food plan will have a direct impact on your compliance costs. Businesses performing well will require less frequent checks, business that not managing food safety well will receive extra attention.

Information on the implementation of the new Food Act is available here.

The good news is the new act won't come into full force until 1 March 2016, so you have a good period of time to change processes to meet the new requirements. As mentioned these are significant but we can help simplify the process for you.

The commercial team at Bug King have done a good amount of research on the new act and the requirements of this, Pest Control in particular. If you need any advice on this or an audit of your current processes and their compliance under the new law, please contact the team to arrange a time to discuss and review.

The team at Bug King              0800 KING KING (54 64 54)                 www.bugking.co.nz

New Zealand's deadliest spider?

The legend that is the Daddy Long Legs.

And it is just that, an Urban Legend.

We've all heard the about of the Daddy Long Legs. Apparently they have the world's most potent venom but it's OK, they can't bite us because their fangs are to small.

This is something I believed before I became your friendly pest controller and did a little research.

I don't know where the legend started but the Daddy Long Legs (the correct name is actually the Cellar Spider) can prey on other spiders including venomous spiders. So the reasoning goes, if the Daddy Long Legs can kill venomous spiders capable of killing humans then it must be even deadlier but it can't bite us for some reason.

The actual reason they can prey on venomous spiders isn't the strength of their venom but more a combination of speed and their web spinning ability.

For a good example of this check out the following video of a Daddy Long Legs vs White-tail Spider;

The venom of the Daddy Long Legs has been tested and found to be not that potent, even against other insects and although their fangs are small (about 0.25mm) they can still bite us. The good news is, if this happens the worst effect you'll feel will probably be a mild short-lived burning sensation.

It might even pay to keep them around to help take care of any White-tails..........provided you can put up with all those ugly webs that is.

The team at Bug King              0800 KING KING (54 64 54)                 www.bugking.co.nz

Hunting for bed-bugs?

They're hard to find

This is what you need to look for.

If you think you've got bed-bugs and want to inspect your bed to confirm it......this is a great example of what you're looking for.

The following video has some excellent close up shots of all stages of the bed-bug life-cycle as well as good examples of faecal specks and moulted shells. This is filmed very close up so to get a good idea of scale, the large adult bed-bugs you're seeing are about the size of an apple seed.

The size of these infestations are quite large, so the signs are quite obvious. For a smaller infestation you would be looking for faecal specks in seams of the mattress........or more likely at the head end of the bed-base in/under wooden slats or if a solid base on the underside of the base in the material seams around the staples.



If you don't find any obvious signs you may still have an infestation but it's probably in the early stages.

We hope this helps and as always, please feel free to give the team a call for advice or to help diagnose the problem and recommend appropriate treatments.

The team at Bug King/Chimney King              0800 KING KING (54 64 54)

www.bugking.co.nz      www.chimneyking.co.nz

Oh no it's the ants invasion

Everybody seems to be having problems with ants at the moment.

We're getting a high number of calls about ants at the moment. Why?

Well at this time of year the cold wet weather affects the ants food supply. Diminishing food sources outside are making ants forage indoors for substitutes and our high sugar/carbohydrate, high protein foods make an excellent alternative.

In addition to this rain is affecting ants that nest outdoors and forcing them to re-locate somewhere warmer and dryer.......your garden shed, your home and even your car.

As the little pests have started moving inside we've noticed a significant increase in calls about how to get rid of them......and that all depends on the type of ant. There are a number of different species of ant out there and the methods required to exterminate them vary significantly depending on the species. To make this post simpler, we'll target the information to the two which generate 90% of our ant calls;

1. The white footed house ant.
2. The black house ant.

White-footed House Ant

The white-footed house ant is hands down the most common invader of Auckland homes. This is because they prefer to live in the walls and ceilings of your home. This is a  lot closer to your food than other ants. Which means a far greater probability the foragers will find it, let the rest of the nest know and.....WHAM an

ant party all over the bench in the morning.

White-footed House Ant
Actual size 3.5mm

When this happens people usually pop down to the local hardware store for some bait. When you do this all that usually happens is you start getting piles of ants on the window sills and under light fittings as the ants throw the ants killed by the bait out of the nest. This is because white-footed house ants feeding habits usually mean only the ants that directly take the bait are killed.

The most effective treatment against white-footed house ants is a slower acting contact treatment that the ants will pick-up on their legs and bodies, track back to the nest and pass it on to all other workers and the queen, eventually exterminating the nest.

We also strongly recommend applying a repellent barrier treatment 1-2 weeks later to stop the territory left by the exterminated ants being taken over by the neighbours ants. Do not....I repeat.....do not apply a barrier treatment before you exterminate the nest. All you will do is trap the ants inside the house and
make the problem much, much worse.

Black House Ant

Black House Ant
Actual size 2.5mm

Another common invader of Auckland homes is the common black house ant. These guys usually live outside but can occasionally be found living in the home. If you get an invasion they'll more than likely be feeding on a sugary liquid (beer, cans of soft drink, etc). We don't get as many calls about these guys as there feeding habits mean baits work a lot better on them, however you will need a lot of bait and I do mean a lot of bait. If you're not to worried about them being outside and just want to stop them getting in the home an external barrier treatment is usually sufficient. Alternatively we can find the nest, kill it and apply a barrier treatment around the perimeter of your property to stop the neighbours ants taking over the vacant territory.

These are the main two that will cause problems, however there is another ant that's becoming an increasing  nuisance. The Argentine Ant. This one is a whole different kettle of fish and I'll blog about this separately.

So in summary.

• It's getting cold and wet as Winters almost here.
• This affects the ants food and harbourage, forcing them inside to survive.
• You may be able to get rid of the black house ants with baits.
• Your going to need a professional to control white-footed house ants.

As always, if you need any assistance or advice about ant issues, please feel free to call the team at Bug King on 0800 KING KING (54 64 54)

The team at Bug King/Chimney King

www.bugking.co.nz      www.chimneyking.co.nz

There's a rat in my kitchen

Bug King got another mention in the NZ Herald today, so......

Seems like a good time for another post.

Today there was an article in the NZ Herald re: the increasing rodent problem in Auckland. You can read it  here. 

The gist of the article was about the increasing problems with rodents in the home. So, is the rodent population in Auckland increasing?

YES!

Is it more noticeable than usual?

YES!

Why? Well it's been a long hot summer, which means it's been great breeding conditions for rodents.......but, unfortunately it's also been a very dry summer. Why's this unfortunate? Well rodents, just like us, have 3 basic needs. Food, water and somewhere to live. This summer has provided food and shelter in abundance but because it's been so dry the usual water sources for rodents have dried up. This is forcing them to search for water in places they wouldn't usually frequent this time of year. Pet water bowls, fish ponds, bird baths or even worse indoors. This is why where noticing the unusually high rodent activity now.

Unfortunately things aren't going to improve. When winter finally takes hold the problem is only going to get worse as the abundance of rodents that have bred outside seek shelter from the cold wet weather and start to move indoors.

At Bug King we're predicting a bumper rodent season this winter.

If you need more information about rodents look at the frequently asked questions about rodents at our website here.

As always, if you need any assistance or advice about rodent issues, please feel free to call the team at Bug King on 0800 KING KING (54 64 54)

The team at Bug King/Chimney King

www.bugking.co.nz      www.chimneyking.co.nz

The top pests for December were.......

There's been a big change in pest activity leading up to the Christmas break.

The holiday break always see's a big increase in calls about;

Number 1: Fleas

These are always a major problem over the Christmas break and it's because Kiwi's love to go away on holiday.

Why flea problems? Well, fleas always prefer to live on your pet but when you're off on holiday you tend to put the fur babies into a cattery/kennels or confine them to the yard. The problem with this is there's nothing for the fleas to feed on while your away......and when you get home they're going to be very, very hungry and not  to picky about their food source. So you'll come back from holiday, walk in door and get covered in fleas as the vibrations of your feet bring them out of hibernation.

It's all to do with the flea life-cycle, for more information click on our blog post here.

Number 2: Flies

Fly populations always explode as the weather warms up, this is due to an increase in their food supply. As the temperature increases so do the calls about fly control.

Treatments for flies are one of the most common requests over the Summer. We're actually very lucky because of our temperate climate. This makes these treatments a very effective means of fly control. In most countries where there are major fly problems, fly treatments aren't effective as temperatures are generally greater than 28 degrees. Temperatures higher than this allow the flies to pass the treatment through their system (metabolise it) before it has a chance to take effect.

Number 3: Spiders

Same as flies, the increase in the spider population over the Summer months is due to an increase in the food source. This year has been no different with spider control coming in at number 3 on the top pest for December list.

There have been reports of an increase in white-tail spider activity (see the New Zealand Herald article here) but at Bug King we're seeing the same level of enquiries as past years.

It's been a very, very busy few months for the team at Bug King and it looks like continuing into January, February. If you're having problem with any of these pests (or any others) don't hesitate to give the team at Bug King a call.

The team at Bug King/Chimney King

www.bugking.co.nz   www.chimneyking.co.nz 

Spring is officially here.........according to the bugs

There's been a definite change in pest problems.

Less rats and mice and a lot more flying insects.

The top three pests last month were;

1. Rodents
2. Fleas
3. Wood/native cockroaches

It's only early days but we've noticed a big change in calls about bugs. It's shaping up for a big month for;

1. Wasps
2. Flies
3. Fleas

These are definitely warm weather pests.........so the team at Bug king would officially like to welcome in the spring season.

Our top two recommendations to keep your home pest free this Spring/Summer;

1. Treat for flies now to control the population before the weather gets any hotter and the flies really start to breed.
2. If you've got pets and you're planning a holiday, get a flea treatment before you go. This will ensure you're not attacked by hungry fleas when you get back.

The team at Bug King/Chimney King

www.bugking.co.nz      www.chimneyking.co.nz