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Published on 07/20/1998 All articles from this issue

What's bugging you?

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By Bruce Barton

Town Crier Staff Writer

Residents wage private wars with myriad insects, animals that threaten homes, health

Since moving into her Arastradero Road house five years ago, Meredith Phillips has waged war on numerous occasions with a variety of pests invading her home and yard. Right now, it's the ants on the attack.

"These things are driving us crazy," Phillips said last week. Fortunately for her sanity, she had her problem areas sprayed by a professional pest control company. So they're gone - for the moment.

"There were crowds of ants everywhere," she said. "When we first moved here, we were into organic methods (of pest control). That lasted three days."

Phillips' problem with ants in her kitchen and other areas of her house are not different from thousands throughout Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and the Peninsula who have scored only temporary victories against the Argentine ant population, the dominant ant species in the Bay Area. She tried diatomaceous earth ("They don't like stepping on it, but they just start a new trail") and sealing holes with pieces of tape. But they're back, time and time again, when seeking refuges from the rains, or from water when it's hot and dry.

"They're never satisfied," she said.

But ants are only the beginning of a laundry list of pest problems for many homeowners, a list that includes mosquitoes, fleas, termites and yellow jackets. Local homeowners, particularly those living near creeks, also have to deal with bigger game - skunks, gophers, moles, raccoons and roof rats.

During fiscal year 1997-98, the Santa Clara County Vector Control District received 58 calls from Los Altos for skunks, followed by 39 for roof rats and 29 for raccoons. Los Altos Hills calls for raccoons topped the list at 16, followed by skunks (15) and other vertebrates, such as opossums (13).

Russ Parman, Vector Control assistant manager, described Los Altos and Los Altos Hills as a "pretty heavy wildlife area."

Parman's agency handles any potential vector problem - one species of animal or insect transferring a disease to another. Among the wildlife problems are raccoons that "can be quite aggressive" and a physical as well as a disease threat to pets and humans. The raccoon feces can breed roundworm with potential deadly consequences. Skunks are the primary carrier of rabies in California, although Vector Control testing of 100 skunks in the county this year revealed none testing positive for rabies, Parman said.

Roof rats also are a major concern for area residents. The rats will enter a building given the opportunity, according to Vector Control officials, and often use utility lines and fences as runways. The rats and their fleas have the potential for transmitting many diseases, including the bubonic plague.

On the insect side, western tree-hole mosquitoes, which breed in stagnant water, are especially populous in the wake of this past winter's wetter and warmer El Niño system. Described as fierce biters, the mosquito spreads dog heartworm disease, a potentially fatal condition for pets.

The presence of water in the holes of oak, laurel, madrone and eucalyptus trees also invite the breeding mosquitoes. Parman advised sealing tree holes, clearing away pools of water and glazing window screens with insecticides as ways of treating the mosquito problem. Vector Control offers a free inspection program for mosquitoes.

Ticks along foothill trails also have the potential for Lyme disease, which causes nervous-system disorders. But Vector Control reports only 1-2 percent of the ticks actually carry the disease, as opposed to 30-60 percent in the Northeast United States.

John Vojvoda of Vojvoda Pest Control in Los Altos Hills said he's seeing a lot more insects and spiders this year as a result of El Niño.

"Such warm weather in the wintertime generates a lot of spiders," he said. "Black widows, whose female bite can seriously injure and even kill humans in some cases, are notorious for hiding under houses. They like the bottom of a woodpile. If you're removing the wood and you get to those last few pieces - watch out!"

The good news about pest control, Vojvoda said, is that many of the pesticides used today are less harmful to the environment than they were decades ago with substances like DDT. Nontoxic, organic methods of controlling pests also are more common. However, many of today's pesticides "break down really fast," Vojvoda said, and the insects are back sooner - 30 days or less - after spraying. "In the old days, we'd spray twice a year, and there wouldn't be a thing," he said.

Still, nontoxic treatments are not only more politically correct, they're far better for the environment, experts said. Some solutions require only a little creativity. For instance, in the case of white flies and ash flies, Vojvoda recommended spraying plant leaves with baby oil, which prevents the flies from attaching themselves to the leaves to feast.

Predatory insects also come in handy to protect the garden. Ladybugs feed on aphids, a major destructive force on many plants. The praying mantis, the "tyrannosaurus rex" of the insect world, devours all kinds of insects while leaving the plants alone.

When you've had as much experience battling pests, large and small, as Weegie Caughlan has, you develop a host of tried-and-true solutions.

"First, on roof rats, the easiest is a box trap," she said. For bait, use "a raw peanut, unsalted, and dipped in peanut butter." She has them set on an ivy-covered area of her home in unincorporated Los Altos, "out of the way of the dogs and the cats."

For gophers, she suggested the macabe trap, available at garden supply stores. She also recommended gassing them out by running exhaust through a galvanized pipe to the hole. "You can work a whole colony out that way," she said.

Vector Control and other pest pundits will tell you the best way to get rid of any pest is to take away their reasons for shacking up at your residence in the first place: water, food and shelter. For rats, one resident suggested a bait that makes the rats' mouths dry and sends them out of the house seeking water.

For Mountain View resident Jim Thomas, his horrendous raccoon problem last year was solved by killing off their source of food - the worms and bugs that were making his back yard so attractive.

"I tried everything (to get rid of them)," said Thomas, who lives near Permanente Creek.

He even tried phony frogs with sensors that croaked when the nocturnal animals approached. But within a few days, the smart critters figured the frogs were bogus and continued with their excavation.

"It was the damnedest back yard you ever saw in your life," Thomas said.

Finally, Thomas used diazinon, a toxic pesticide that made his lawn less attractive. "They haven't been back since," he said.

Other pests that residents could be dealing with include:

Fleas, a universal problem for most dog and cat owners. Vector Control offers a 30-day program for controlling fleas in the home and yard.

Yellow jackets, which nest in the ground, in abandoned rodent burrows, and reach the peak of activity during August and September.

Termites, which are the bane of many homeowners. The dry rot caused by termite damage especially becomes an issue during the buying of selling of homes, when a pest inspection report is required. According to Gary Wheeler, managing broker at Coldwell Banker in Los Altos, a home that hasn't been checked for termites in 20 years could result in a $6,000-to-$10,000 difference in the purchase price.

"The best way to eradicate is the tent method," Wheeler said. "I'm a firm believer that you should run a pest control (company) through the house every two years" as preventative maintenance.

"California termites are a big deal - trust me," Wheeler said.

One pest that is still a ways from the Los Altos area and Northern California in general, is the African honey bee, more commonly known as the dreaded "killer bee."

The African bees hit the southern border of California in October 1994 and continue to move north, Parman said, although he noted the harsh desert climates have slowed their advances considerably.

"Once they hit the greenbelt, they're on their way," he said.

Consider ourselves forewarned.

The Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program launched a countywide campaign in April focusing on less-toxic pest control in the home and garden. The program offers a free guide full of tips on controlling pests without a lot of chemicals. For a copy of the guide, call 1-800-794-2482.

You can reach the Santa Clara County Vector Control District at 1-800-314-2427. The district responds to most of its inquiries within two days. Vector Control traps and kills pests that present a threat, but will not pick up a pest that has been caught by a resident, due to possible injury that could occur with an unfamiliar trap, Parman said.