Now is a critical time to monitor for this invasive pest. An industry professional who has spent 40 years working with stinging flying insects shares how it is being done.
Editor’s Note: Now is a critical time to monitor for the invasive Asian giant hornet (AGH), which recently was renamed the northern giant hornet (NGH) by the Entomological Society of America. In late summer, colonies of Vespa mandarinia begin to produce males and next year’s queens, and workers leave nests in search of high-protein food to feed these new young. In fall, males and new queens leave the nest to mate. The mated queens then look for a place to overwinter. They start new colonies in spring. The first NGH nest in North America was discovered in September 2019 in Nanaimo, B.C. Since then, four NGH nests have been removed in neighboring Washington state.
Conrad Berube, entomologist, beekeeper and senior integrated pest management officer with the BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy's Compliance and Enforcement Unit, has spent 40 years working with stinging insects. He was the triggerman for the 2019 extirpation of the NGH nest discovered in Canada. Berube has written a full-length feature for pest management professionals that explores the basic biology of social wasps; information on the identification of NGH and their kin; personal protection recommendations; and tips for safe nest removal. Read the entire article from PCT here. The following is an excerpt from that article that describes monitoring efforts for the invasive pest.
As is usually the case in the structural industry, it is very likely that initial monitoring to detect the presence of pest wasps, including the AGH, is going to be conducted by your clients. For run-of-the-mill wasps, clients will likely contact you only after they have visually located a nest on their property. But you may occasionally be contacted by someone who believes they have trapped an AGH and wants you to do something.
There is no legal requirement to report AGH, but you are certainly encouraged to do so. At least, that's the case for most people. Beekeepers in B.C. are required to report novel diseases impacting their bees (which, oddly, includes insects under the legal definitions) under the provincial Bee Act. In B.C., reports can be made with a photo attachment of the suspected AGH, via email, to info@bcinvasives.ca, but you can also use the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reporting venues, including hornets@agr.wa.gov or aghtrapping@agr.wa.gov.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency monitors for a variety of potential pest species. After the Vespa soror specimen turned up near Vancouver’s port, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency deployed some commercial wasp traps to monitor for additional hornets. It was only after our Nanaimo extirpation that I advised their reps that those traps had apertures too small to allow entry of the wasps for which they were intended. The commercial traps had to be altered by boring larger entries to serve in monitoring for Asian hornets — but much more economical alternatives can be made by recycling 2-litre soft drink bottles.
The design is simple enough that you’d likely be able to come up with a workable unit just from seeing an example, but detailed instructions can be found on a WSDA site — and, as mentioned, citizens living near the B.C./Washington border are encouraged to participate in trapping programs and to report catches or incidental sightings of AGH. A graphical database of such reports, including confirmed identifications of AGH, is maintained by the WSDA.
Many beekeepers are participating in AGH monitoring programs. Some already routinely use devices intended to prevent wasps from preying on hives, as established yellowjacket species cause significant bee losses. Sticky traps are the preferred method of dealing with AGH harrying western honeybee colonies in the native range of the hornets and likewise, in temperate zones, are more effective than bottle traps — if the AGH nest cannot be located. For yellowjackets, a water bath trap baited with meat or fish will not attract bees and seems to be more effective than bottle traps.
But any such trapping is only good enough to indicate that a nest may be active in the area. More laborious methods are required for locating nests, and, frankly, those are probably best left to parties working with the government to prevent the establishment of AGH, as the exercises are likely to be time-consuming or otherwise prohibitively expensive.
The WSDA has used radio tags small enough to tie to live-trapped hornets to track them back to their nests and has been experimenting with infrared spotting technology. As a traditional alternative, streamers can be attached to balls of fish left out as bait for hornets to carry back home or to the hornets themselves to assist in visually following released hornets to their nest.
To successfully exclude rodents in commercial food facilities, you need intel. Rodent expert Dan Collins shares tips for improving your intelligence gathering.
Rodents are the most common and successful mammals on the planet. They are highly adept at hiding, reproducing and using olfactory cues to navigate complete darkness.
“Their will to survive and ability to breed and adapt in facilities is unbelievable,” says Dan Collins, who has studied rodent behaviour for 30 years. Collins currently works as a consultant, and his previous experience includes serving as the director of pest management at Rose Acre Farms, a leading egg producer in Seymour, Ind. Before that, he owned Collins Pest Management and served as technical director of Action Pest Control.
Collins shared tips for rodent inspection, monitoring and exclusion in commercial food facilities at a PCT virtual conference in 2021.
STICK TO AN INSPECTION PROCESS. Collins adheres to a five-step inspection process when inspecting for rodents. “I cannot do pest control without it,” he says. This includes identifying the pest; looking for the source, extent and severity of the problem; identifying conditions that support the current or a potential infestation; determining best practices to eliminate the pest; and follow up.
His systematic approach to rodent management assesses the risk. He has a list of about 50 questions that when answered during the facility’s initial inspection helps “laser focus our efforts” on managing rodent-vulnerable areas. For instance, the list asks where the compactor is located, where entry doors are situated, where high-traffic patterns exist and whether the facility has a “boneyard” or outdoor space where equipment is stored.
When you consistently follow it, the inspection process becomes ingrained, and you’re less likely to miss key details compared to doing a haphazard assessment. “You have to be able to repeat what you do over and over, or you don't get good at it,” says Collins.
USE THE RIGHT INSPECTION TOOLS. To conduct an accurate inspection for rodents, you need the proper tools. For Collins, these include a flashlight, screwdriver, vice grips, tack puller screwdriver, offset screwdriver, mirrors and long and wide metal spatulas or scrapers. You need tools that will help you open holes and drains; the tack puller screwdriver helps reset tiles in drop ceilings, where rodents are active, he says.
Another key item is a scientific ruler for measuring openings. Technicians often wrongly assume that if you can slide a pencil under a door, the gap is large enough for a mouse to enter. But mice typically can squeeze through a 6-millimeter gap, and “many pencils are wider than 6 millimeters,” points out Collins. As such, always measure gaps.
He also uses the ruler to measure incisor teeth marks on bait blocks to help identify the rodent. “If the incisor marks are two millimeters, I know I’m dealing with mice. If it’s four millimeters wide, I'm dealing with rats,” he says.
EMPLOY MONITORING DEVICES. Monitoring helps you determine when and where rodents are active, the size of the population and whether they’re visiting traps.
Rodents typically become active about an hour after lights-out or people leave the facility. “You have to understand when those animals are active to best manage them, even if you're doing exclusion,” because “you have to do other things besides exclusion to knock them out,” Collins says.
Game cameras are “an awesome tool” for monitoring rodents remotely, he says. They help you track the animals’ travel patterns and behaviors, and sometimes where they’re getting in. A game camera in a drop ceiling helped Collins find where mice were slipping through a hole in the wall to get into the cafeteria’s dish carousel below. “Had I not had that camera up there, I probably would have never found this small entry point,” he says.
This insight also pushed the customer to make changes. Previously, dirty dishes were left sitting on the conveyor line overnight, which provided food for the mice. “We stopped that practice, obviously,” recalls Collins.
Electronic rodent monitoring devices or ERMDs let you monitor hard-to-reach areas, such as locked control rooms, attics or the tops of equipment without needing to move and scale ladders at every service visit. They help you monitor sensitive and high-risk areas around the clock and provide proof of surveillance to third-party auditors. ERMDs track when and where rodent activity is occurring so you can hone your control strategy, and they alert wildlife technicians to trap activity, prompting onsite service visits.
The devices also can help eliminate the “insanity” of continuous trap checking, says Collins. He had an account with 275 rodent traps that were checked once a week. Over a period of four years, his technicians checked 57,200 traps, finding one rodent. ERMDs may provide a less labor-intensive solution to scenarios like this.
Collin has some concerns about ERMDs providing false negative and false positive readings. He’s also worried companies may cut prices for rodent management at food facilities because less labor is required. As well, companies may use the devices as a marketing gimmick versus taking an integrated pest management approach, relying on ERMDs to do the job instead of properly training employees in rodent control.
ERMDs “will never replace a well-trained pest management professional with experience,” says Collins.
PLACE TRAPS, THEN BAIT THEM. Except in facilities with severe rodent infestations, Collins will bait traps initially without setting them. This lets rodents get comfortable with the traps. A game camera helps him gauge the critters’ willingness to take the bait. Once rodents are visiting the trap regularly, Collins sets it.
It’s important to explain to customers why you are taking this approach, he says.
Without pre-baiting traps, you might catch 90 percent of the rodent population, but “we need to get to 96 percent reduction to crash the population. To do that, we need to habituate these animals to those traps, because if you don't, the likelihood of getting to 96 percent control is very low,” he says. Then, the rodent population rebounds, the customer is unhappy, and you get called back.
EMBRACE RODENT EXCLUSION. “Exclusion is without a doubt one of the most important tools we use,” says Collins. Every pest management company doing rodent control should be providing exclusion services, he says.
It is, however, a “millimeter by millimeter” job, says Collins. That’s because rodents don’t need a large gap to get into a food facility. “If their head will fit through it, their body will follow,” he explains. A house mouse can penetrate a quarter-inch or 6 millimeter crevice opening; a rat only needs a half-inch or 12 mm.
Such gaps often are found where there are door thresholds, pipe and utility penetrations (both interior and exterior) and holes or crevices in walls and floors.
An overhead door is “the most rodent-vulnerable door in the entire facility,” says Collins, who urged PMPs to closely inspect the corners of the door compression seal that meets the ground. Mice often chew through that rubber gasket and gain entrance to the facility, he points out.
Gaps under personnel doors pose similar challenges. Collins has even found mice living inside a hollow door. They got inside by chewing a hole in the bottom, floor-facing edge of the door.
Thoroughly inspect the “dark, shadowy corners” under equipment to find entry points, adds Collins. This will require getting down on your hands and knees.
While exclusion is highly effective at preventing rodent intrusions, it can cause rodents to pop up somewhere else. “Once you seal them out, it doesn't mean you've got them 100 percent sealed out,” so look for other areas where they may emerge until you’ve eliminated the population, he says.
USE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR EXCLUSION. A self-professed “tool jockey,” Collins recommends several tools for exclusion work. Topping the list: commercial-grade manual and battery-operated bulk caulk guns that hold 16- to 32-ounce cartridges or “sausages” of sealant. These can be bought at concrete supply stores, not big box stores.
Other important tools are tin snips that cut left, right and straight so you can smoothly cut metal in hard-to-reach corners; angle grinders and cutting heads with dust collection systems; hammer, cordless and corded drills; mixing tools for mixing bulk sealants; and hand tools like hammers, pliers, putty knives and wrenches. A wide range of fasteners also is key; fender washers are “critical,” he says.
Collins advised outfitting separate toolboxes for different kinds of exclusion jobs, such as concrete sealing and door sweep installation. Then, equip each service vehicle with the boxes so technicians have all the tools they need to do this work efficiently.
Employees must be trained on how to use these tools, some of which require respiratory protection, reminds Collins.
APPLY THE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS. Rodents are tenacious and have strong incisors. They can chew holes through hardware cloth that isn’t strong enough. They can chew through expanding foam “like a knife through butter,” and even chew holes in hollow block walls, says Collins. As well, they can pull up the edges of metal, hardware cloth and metal fiber material that isn’t secured and sealed down.
He advises against using expanding foam in food facilities and only installing door sweeps and compression seals that contain a rodent-proof metal-polyester fiber mesh. This material also can be installed in floor and wall crevices, in holes and around pipe and wire penetrations. Just don’t cut the material in a food facility, as the resulting metal shavings pose a food safety risk.
Use a commercial-grade elastomeric polyurethane sealant to cover the metal-poly mesh (except when used to fill weep holes) so rodents can’t push or pull it out. Self-leveling sealant is for horizontal surfaces; a more rigid sealant is best for vertical services. Hydraulic cement and sheet metal are other options for sealing up wall holes. Sheet metal, however, must be sealed around the edges to prevent the intrusion of stored food product pests into the facility.
Hardware cloth is a metal wire screen used to secure openings. The best is woven and galvanized. For mice, use 24-gauge wire; for rats, use 19-gauge, which is thicker. Install hardware cloth with screws and fender washers, not staples, which rats can pull out.
Collins spoke at the PCT Pest Control in Food Processing & Commercial Facilities virtual conference, which was sponsored by Bell Laboratories, Woodstream and Corteva AgriScience, which makes the ActiveSense electronic rodent monitoring system.
It’s harder than ever to find and keep good employees. PMPs shared how they’re navigating the labour shortage in Canada.
Abimbola Fagbamiye recently lost a good employee. Lured by better pay, his service technician of two years left Abell Pest Control to work as a semi-experienced cabinet builder earning a whopping $40 to $50 an hour.
Losing workers is tough, especially since hiring new employees has become harder than ever.
“Last year, we were able to hire people. We had an abundance of candidates. This year, it has become that much more difficult to find people. It’s not for lack of trying,” says Fagbamiye, who is director of regional operations for Abell Pest Control in British Columbia.
He’s not alone. In fact, a recent Bank of Canada survey found 42 per cent of Canadian businesses reported labour shortages in the second quarter of 2022. And nearly half of firms surveyed expected these shortages to be just as intense in 2023.
Fagbamiye says it now takes about 10 candidates to fill a single open job position. Three of the 10 candidates typically “ghost” his team and don’t show up for the interview. Another five show up more interested in whether you’ll beat their existing offer of employment than in the job itself. That leaves one or two serious interviewees.
“If you’re lucky, you can hire one of those people,” says Fagbamiye.
He and other pest management professionals are working to overcome these challenges.
COMPETE, WITHIN REASON. Employers in just about every industry are scrambling to find workers. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of job vacancies in Canada climbed to 957,000, the highest quarterly number on record, according to Statistics Canada.
“It becomes a competition. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to get the best people we can possibly get,” says Greg Flynn, district manager for Rentokil in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Job candidates are demanding higher pay, and companies are acquiescing. The Bank of Canada survey found businesses expect to raise wages by an average of 5.8 per cent over the next year to keep and attract employees.
“Companies are getting desperate in the measures they are taking to attract candidates,” says Fagbamiye. “The trend we’re seeing now is companies are putting out offers that are unrealistic and not sustainable long term,” especially if a recession hits, he adds.
Even if pest control companies can’t compete with higher hourly pay or salaries, they can refigure compensation plans and incentive programs to make it easier for employees to realize their earnings. Abell Pest Control changed how its service technicians, called route managers, are paid; the new approach is “more attractive” to employees, explains Fagbamiye.
Labour shortages at customer locations disrupt pest control operations, as well. Clients don’t have staff to perform physical maintenance to prevent pest infestations or even to let technicians into a building to perform service. “The restaurant industry in particular has really taken it on the chin,” says Flynn.
According to Statistics Canada, the shortage of labour was expected to remain a leading obstacle for 64 per cent of businesses in the food service and accommodation industries.
EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF BENEFITS. Compensation is more than salary or dollars earned per hour. It also may include medical insurance, paid time off and holidays, financial incentives, use of a vehicle, retirement plans and more. Still, many job candidates (and current employees) forget the value of the benefits package and only look at wages when considering whether to take a job or stay in one.
“A lot of companies throw money up front, but when you dig into the meat-and-potatoes of the benefit packages, there’s really not much in there,” says Fagbamiye. For instance, employees who move to a different company may have to pay more for medical or dental coverage or get fewer vacation days.
As such, some pest control companies are taking steps to educate job candidates and remind current employees about the value of their benefits. Companies may want to discuss benefits more than once a year with employees. Some send home statements detailing the value of each benefit, from uniforms and service vehicle use to company-paid medical coverage and retirement savings contributions.
“What you have is sometimes taken for granted,” reminds Fagbamiye.
PROMOTE THE INDUSTRY’S RESILIENCY. Compared to other industries, pest management is resilient. During the pandemic and past recessions, it has fared better and even grew while other industries shed workers and closed doors.
Abell Pest Control points this out to job candidates. “During the pandemic, Abell as a company did not terminate one person based on lack of work. We didn’t lay anybody off. We were hiring people,” says Fagbamiye.
“We try to educate folks that you have to look beyond the dollars and cents you’re offered this minute. You have to look at the longevity of the industry and the sustainability of that industry you’re going into,” he adds.
Abell hired people who worked in food service and hospitality before the pandemic. Even when these industries opened back up, they stayed on. Not only are the hours and pay better, but according to employee surveys, most say they feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day, which they didn’t necessarily have in their previous position.
This resonates with new hires. “Most people stay not just for the financial rewards but for the emotional payback they get from doing great things every single day,” says Fagbamiye.
SOLICIT EMPLOYEE REFERRALS. One of the most successful ways to find new hires is through employee referrals, say PMPs.
Network recruiting is “our most effective tool” to attract new candidates, says Matteo Stradiotto, equity partner at the Hamilton, Ontario branch of Insight Pest Solutions.
“I think the secret to that is that we have a great corporate culture,” he says. “People love to work here; they enjoy coming to work. We treat our people really well, and in turn, they’re happy to recommend friends of theirs, people they know, even spouses. We have a few Insight couples where both husband and wife work for us in different capacities. They’re an Insight family.”
Employees earn a cash bonus for referring candidates who work past a certain number of months. Candidates are usually quality people, since employees aren’t likely to refer someone who reflects poorly on themselves.
“We need to have people not only out there in the trucks, but we need to have good people,” says Stradiotto.
Rentokil has a multi-stage process for interviewing candidates. “We’re very thorough in our hiring practices,” says Flynn. This includes bringing prospects on a ride-along so they can experience the job close-up.
“We want people to know exactly what the job is so that there’s no surprises,” says Flynn. “That’s been pretty successful for us.”
CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT EXISTING EMPLOYEES. The last few years have been stressful on essential workers. Rewarding and supporting them not only shows your appreciation and but can help prevent them from jumping ship.
“Sometimes a pat on the back is worth more than money in the pocket,” reminds Flynn. The goal is to keep people engaged and happy. As such, Rentokil optimizes routes to reduce drive time and brings in summer help to take pressure off technicians during the busy season.
“We don’t want the guys maxed out. We don’t want them stressed out,” explains Flynn.
Rentokil encourages employees to use the employee assistance program offered as a benefit. “We make that very clear. Everybody needs a hand now and again, and if you need to talk to somebody, it’s available. It’s a resource that is of no cost to you that you can use,” says Flynn.
Insight Pest Solutions learned how growing pains affect employees. The nascent company aims to be a national pest management company for residential service in Canada. It has grown rapidly but didn’t always have enough employees to get all the work done.
This came to a head early last fall when summer help left. “It was an all-hands-on-deck scenario where all the branch managers were out there servicing full-time in trucks,” recalls Stradiotto. While doing site work, managers were coaching new hires via Apple watch to help prepare them for applicator exams. In the evenings, they were conducting interviews with candidates from home.
The frantic pace lasted several months. Employees were on the verge of burnout, and customers weren’t always getting timely service.
To recognize everyone’s efforts at year-end, the company shortened the workday and held get-togethers involving games of pool and ping pong. “We were able to look back on the year and say, ‘Okay, we learned our lesson. We’re not going to do that again, and thank you all for sticking with us,’” says Stradiotto.
As well, Insight Pest Solutions now is “more overstaffed” to handle customer demand. The extra capacity also provides cover when technicians take vacation or are out sick.
“One of our main goals here is to scale and scale quickly, but in a way that our customers aren’t slipping through the cracks and our people, our technicians and staff, aren’t being worked to the bone,” said Stradiotto.
A new report by IBISWorld, an industry research company, provides a quick look at the Canadian pest management industry in 2022:
$2.0 billion — Revenue of Canadian pest control industry
1,313 — Number of pest control businesses operating in Canada
14,074 — Number of people employed in industry
$671.1 million — Wages paid by industry
1.3% — Expected industry revenue growth through 2027
Explore more ways to attract talent in an ultra-competitive job market here.
The new Montréal Insectarium lets you view the world from an arthropod’s perspective.
Here’s something to add to your list of must-visit attractions: the Montréal Insectarium, which recently opened after an extensive, years-long redesign.
Sometimes referred to as insect zoos, insectariums are places where live insects, spiders and other arthropods are kept, exhibited and studied.
The Montréal Insectarium is the only museum in North America where visitors can observe so many species of living insects, some of them roaming freely, in a single location.
The experience is immersive, multi-sensory and teaches you different things about insects as you move along a prescribed path.
First, you enter the museum through a dark tunnel, which gives you a sense for how insects travel underground.
Next are the Alcoves, or underground galleries inspired by insect habitats, where you experience the world of insects through your senses. Vibrations in the floor let you perceive sounds like insects do; projected ultraviolet light effects mimic insect vision, and the configuration of the space encourages you to move like an insect by slipping through cracks or dangling from vertical rods.
Then it’s time for one-on-one time with insects. Immersive vivariums, or glass enclosures, let you closely observe arthropods. Moving on, you enter a domed room featuring glass frames of 3,000 mounted insect specimens. Finally, you emerge from the underground environment and enter the Great Vivarium, a natural-light-filled greenhouse containing more than 150 varieties of plants and, at any given time, 80 species of free-flying butterflies.
A mobile app provides detailed information on the naturalized and living species on display at the museum. The insectarium also holds special events, exhibits and workshops in which visitors can participate.
The renovated insectarium re-opened to the public in April 2022. The result of an international architectural competition, the new design is inspired by insect habitat. It aims to change the relationship humans have with insects and promote appreciation for the pollination they provide.
The Montréal Insectarium is one of five institutions that make up Espace pour la Vie, Canada’s largest natural science museum complex. Other institutions on campus are the Biodôme, the Biosphère, the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan.
If a field trip to Montréal is not in the cards, consider a visit to these insectariums:
Newfoundland Insectarium: This popular nature museum located near Deer Lake features thousands of live and mounted arthropods from around the world. Highlights include a greenhouse of live tropical butterflies, a working colony of leaf-cutter ants, a honeybee hive, video theatre, children’s play area, extensive walking trails and ice cream and gift shops.
Victoria Bug Zoo: At this mini zoo in Victoria, B.C., visitors can observe about 50 species of live bugs from all over the globe. These include giant walking sticks, praying mantises, glow-in-the-dark scorpions, hairy tarantulas and Canada’s largest ant colony. Educators provide guided tours and share knowledge about arthropods on display to help you get the most from your visit.
Entomica: Based in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, this nonprofit exhibits a variety of exotic insects. It was the first insectarium in Canada federally approved to move exotic insects outside a secure location. As such, Entomica can bring unique insects into the community and deliver interactive, hands-on programs at schools, retirement residences and community events.
Lee Lawrence, founder, Zee Best Pest Control & Inspection Services, said he's witnessed black bears destroy rodent bait stations in his service area (Reno, Nev.) and he is concerned for both the bears and the pest control industry.
If you’ve ever visited a park or picnic area, there’s a chance you’ve seen postings about not feeding wildlife, especially bears. The reasons for not feeding wildlife are especially apparent to pest control professionals who realize that not only does it cause animals to become dependent on humans to supplement their diet, but food debris can also attract undesirable wildlife such as rats and mice.
As our housing demands increase, so does the development of land in or close to areas frequented by wildlife. Homeowners in areas where bear populations exist, often deal with problems resulting from the instinctive foraging behaviors of their local bear population. For the most part, these problems are understood by sanitation providers who issue bear proof garbage cans and other interested groups who are available to assist in minimizing the impact of the human/wildlife interface. However, beyond standard product label directions to not apply rodenticides in areas, or in a manner, accessible to wildlife, our industry trusts manufacturers to produce “tamper resistant” bait stations to help ensure that we’re following label directions and providing safe and effective use of their products.
EPA attempted to standardize testing requirements for tamper resistant bait stations in 1994, but since this has not occurred, the issue has been left up to state regulatory agencies to define “tamper resistant.” In addition, most state regulatory agencies require some form of safety labeling on bait stations but are mostly silent on how these stations are to be constructed.
What exactly is a tamper-resistant bait station? The answer can be found on the label use directions of the rodenticide baits we commonly use. In essence, it’s the ability of a device to securely hold a rodenticide (bait) that resists opening, or dislodging of the bait by domestic animals, wildlife or children under the age of six, and prevents children under the age of six from reaching into the device and acquiring the bait (this is only an abbreviated description). The intent of these label directions is to prevent the product from being accessed (i.e. consumed) by non-target organisms. Can we all agree that bears are non-target organisms?
Our company services many clients along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and the Nevada side of the Tahoe Basin. The black bear population has been steadily increasing in this region, this combined with our staggering population growth and extended drought, has resulted in a multitude of problems for bears, citizens and the pest control industry! Bears have been showing up in urban areas near downtown Reno! Once a bear learns how to open a bait station and consumes its contents, it becomes habituated to the new food source and will continue consuming the bait until???
To combat the problem of bears opening and ultimately destroying bait stations in the urban areas we service, our company has been forced to develop a bear proof bait station. We’re currently on our fourth prototype, but at the moment have no plans to market this new generation of “bear proof/tamper resistant” bait station.
More Bears in Urban Areas? One expert not surprised at increased bear sightings in urban areas is Edward Ricciuti, author of “Bears in the Backyard: Big Animals, Sprawling Suburbs and the New Urban Jungle.”
“Tahoe has been the center of increasing black bear activity for several years. It does not surprise me,” said Ricciuti, who added that increased bear activity is not unique to the Sierra Nevada region. For example, in his home state of Connecticut “bears are everywhere. Some people will no longer put up bird feeders.”
Ricciuti’s book was written in 2014 and he has continued to follow this trend of increased bear activity in urban areas. As he noted in his book, the big break for bears came as, in places like New England, “farms were abandoned and the process of natural succession promoted forest regrowth.”
As result, bears that once were found primarily in northern New England made their way to places like Connecticut. “Bears are coming back into areas they haven't been seen for, you know, a century, two centuries. And they're just proliferating,” Ricciuti said.
Mike Peaslee, technical/training director of Modern Pest Services, Brunswick, Maine, said in Modern's service areas there are occasional reports of bears being seen in people's yards feeding at bird feeders, but "I have not heard of any reports of them getting into bait stations." – Brad Harbison