PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS: Answers To Your Tough Pest Questions

THEY’RE BACK!
Q. Every year this house has a problem. Small swarming ants (or some sort of insect I can’t identify) show up on windowsills. What are they? (F.P., N.Y.)

A. The insects you sent are not ants. These appear to be small parasitic wasps that feed on insects. The bottom line is they are not infesting the structure — they have been brought in or have found a food source that they are attracted to inside the structure. I think they have been brought indoors by the homeowner. Most people keep some plants outdoors during the summer, only to move them in during the winter. This can complicate things because many insects can attack plants. Although it is winter, when such pests are indoors, they think it is spring so they emerge. Then, they usually alarm the homeowner. I would ask the following: Do you have plants you keep outside during the summer? Where are they in the house? Have you ever seen these insects elsewhere?

Another possibility is that these insects are parasites on some other insect in the structure. For instance, wood-boring beetles have some small parasitic wasps that lay eggs on the borer’s larvae. These can be small wasps and the female has a ovipositor that, to the homeowner, looks like a stinger. They may even be associated with firewood infestations of wood borers.

CARPET BEETLES
Q. My customer complains every year about carpet beetles. We fight a good fight but can’t seem to resolve the problem. Any suggestions? (E.B., Ala.)

A. Carpet beetles can be brought in on fresh-cut flowers. Once carpet beetles are in the home they are difficult to eradicate. I wrote about a situation last year where a pet fur was a source of some infestations, but the beetles themselves, in that instance, were probably brought in on flowers by the homeowner.

If you have chronic problems with these bugs this is the time of year to start monitoring for them. There are pheromone lures and traps on the market for varied carpet beetles and some other dermestids that occasionally infest foods and even dried flowers. Check these out, place monitoring traps in areas of concern and around windows (closed windows preferably as these pheromones will attract insects from outside also). In addition, look for contributing factors, like bird, bat or rodent infestations. Carpet beetles are commonly found in bird nests and readily feed on bat guano.

The author is president of George Rambo Consulting Services, Herndon, Va. Fax questions to him at 703/709-9637 or via e-mail at grambo@pctonline.com.