So far Washington State has been relatively “lucky” compared to most other parts of the nation that have already had years with hundreds of human cases of West Nile Virus. Unfortunately, this could be our year, as last year saw an upswing in human cases, with one death. This could be the sign of an upward trend in cases, but scientists aren’t sure. See this Seattle Times article from June 30, 2010:

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Whitworth tech checking for mosquito larvae in a pond

Mosquito season is bearing down on us, and the threat of occurences of West Nile Virus in Washington State is very real. See the Washington State Dept. of Health page for more info at: http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/zoo/wnv/wnv.html. There are common sense things that we all can do around our properties to make our home or business less inviting for mosquitoes:

• Eliminate water-trapping containers like old tires and cans.
• Empty bird baths weekly; empty pet water dishes or wading pools weekly.
• Clean debris from rain gutters regularly to prevent standing water.
• Dump water off of tarps over boats, garden areas, pool or Jacuzzi covers.
• Drain or fill tree holes, mud puddles, and re-grade landscape to prevent standing water.
• If you have ornamental ponds, stock them with insect eating fish, like goldfish.
• Do not over-water your lawn so that puddles accumulate.
• Do not use insect electrocuters (bug zappers) to kill mosquitoes. They kill many more beneficial insects than mosquitoes and often draw more insects to your house than ever before.
• Do not apply any pesticides to water.  A state Department of Agriculture license and Department of Ecology Permit are required to treat water.

Whitworth Pest Solutions is licensed to perform mosquito control and has the necessary Department of Agriculture and Ecology licenses and permits.  If you want help controlling mosquitoes, call us.  We can inspect your property for breeding sites and treat if needed.

In most cases, the public of Washington State is in good hands when it comes to their pest management person. Our state employs a rigorous testing and continuing education program for commercial pest control applicators. This is important to know because most people don’t realize the important and ever increasing role that pest management plays in public health and safety.

Here are some examples of how Whitworth Pest Solutions and other pest management professionals protect public health:

Bed bug control: Bed bugs are blood-feeding parasites that have received a lot of attention due to the fact that infestations have risen dramatically. At this time, they’re not known to spread diseases. Hotel managers, property managers, and anyone else who has been personally affected by bed bug problems considers them to be a health threat.

Cockroach control: Not only are cockroaches probably the most disliked of all pests, they can play an important role in disease transmission. They contaminate food with their saliva, feces and glandular secretions. They can spread a variety of diseases, but are most often implicated in the transmission of Salmonella, which causes food poisoning.

Mosquito control: In our state, many cities, municipalities, and homeowner associations have set aside money to hire pest management professionals to treat storm drains, wetlands, retention ponds and other standing bodies of water. Controlling mosquitoes helps to reduce the impact of annoying bites and mosquito-borne diseases.

Rodent control: From a public health perspective, rats and mice are huge threats to any food-related manufacturing, processing or distribution facility. The sheer amount of food contaminated every year by rodents is shocking. In a worldwide study done in 1982, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations reported that rats destroyed more than 42 million tons of food worth $30 billion. It’s estimated that between one-fifth to one-third of the world’s food supply never reaches the table due to losses from rodents. In the U.S., food and health inspectors will not tolerate any presence of rodents in areas where contamination could occur. Therefore, the pest management professional plays a huge role in the sanitation and food safety programs of these facilities.

Many others: Fleas, flies (biting and non-biting), stinging insects, mites, ticks and spiders all contribute threats to public health as well, depending on the situation.

These are just a few of the pests that pest management professionals combat. Pest management becomes necessary when populations of any of the aforementioned pests reach intolerable levels or when potential disease problems become evident. In either case, a well-educated, well-trained pest management company such as Whitworth Pest Solutions is often relied upon to protect the public from these threats.