Roaches Run to Pro-Pest’s Pre-Baited Roach & Insect Trap…
Each Pro-Pest Roach and Insect Trap is pre-baited with a special food type attractant that roaches and other crawling insects love. Using these traps, it’s easy to do Forced Insect Monitoring so you can quickly and systematically pin-point the areas of harborage. Once you know where they are, you can use these traps and other tools in your arsenal to clean out your worst roach infestations. Here’s Jeff McGovern, The Pest Coach, telling us step by step how to do Forced Insect Monitoring in an account with German Roaches:
Forced Monitoring Basics – German roach distribution
- Establish a date and time with the client, allowing at least six to eight hours minimum read time. Overnight works well and over the weekend in a closed facility is even better. Make sure the client does not do anything special to clean or prep for your visit. We want the roaches at their best, which means to keep it as normal as possible.
- Assemble equipment:
- A simple map of target area.
- Sticky ramped traps prepared in lots of 20 and placed into tall white kitchen garbage bags. Ramped traps work best and will not stick to each other in the bags. The best trap for this process is the Pro Pest R.T.U Insect trap from JF Oakes.
- Sharpie pen to write on the traps. Use a color easy to see and read.
- Clipboard and paper to create tally sheets.
- Prepare tally sheet by numbering down the side 1-20 and then making columns for data entry. The columns should be labeled: M (males), F(females), N(nymphs), FE (females with egg capsules) and a final column for totals. Use a single page for each group of 20 but start the second page with 21 and so on.
- Dropping and mapping occurs at the end of business activity at the site. As a trap is removed from the bag, it is given a number and location on its top with the Sharpie.
Location refers to the height at which the trap is placed:
1 = floor to waist 2 = waist to ceiling 3 = above ceiling
Example: 1-2 would be trap #1 and it was placed somewhere between waist high and ceiling.
Place the traps and indicate the number and location on the map. Work one bag of traps at a time. If more than one person is placing, make sure they know the numbering sequence for their bag.
Leave the facility after planning for pick up before the start of business.
- Pick up is fast. Throw everything into the empty bags (be careful not to crush the traps or the insects), make sure you have all the traps and take them off site for review.
- Now comes the assessment. Get comfortable, have the tally sheets and map and a good pencil at hand. Reach into the garbage bag and grab a trap, find the number on your tally sheet and record the data into your columns. Do this until all the traps are documented. “Zero” count traps tell you where the roaches are not, so you can focus on where you know they are. Missing traps should be recorded as “unknown” rather than “zero.” Total each column and then each page.
- Now we are going to create a map. Start by transferring the data off the tally sheet onto the corresponding numbers on your map. Note the travel ranges of four stages you have recorded:
M = 12 feet F = 6 feet N = 12 inches FE = 12 inches
Think of these distances as “bubbles” around the trap. With this map, you will be able to see the population distribution and accurately pinpoint harborage areas. Where they are…. and where they are not.