Under Attack

Jackie and Stuart Mendelson had to tear apart their living room walls to rid the house of termites, which she discovered swarming on a window. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

The Green Guide, an environmental Web site produced by National Geographic, is sharply critical of Vikane, calling it "extremely toxic." It claims that the product can linger in furniture for up to 40 days. The Environmental Protection Agency's Web site rates Vikane as "acutely toxic," but an agency spokesman said it poses no unreasonable risk to humans or the environment when used according to the label.

Young maintains that Vikane is safe and doesn't languish for that long. He said his company makes certain that levels in the home are safe before people can reenter.

Ants are often a source of household angst -- and embarrassment. It's never good when an ant marches across the table at a dinner party.

As the weather warms, they become more active, searching for food. Adult ants love sweets, but they also search for protein to feed their young.

Carpenter ants can take that a few steps beyond embarrassment. Those insects, which seem most active at night, can eat away at wood and cause structural damage.

The key is to locate the carpenter-ant colony and apply treatments, which may come in the form of aerosols or dustlike products.

For other types of ants, use bait traps or gels inside the home. Outside the perimeter, exterminators may apply liquids or granules, according to the pest management association. Some of the eco-friendly products include plant oils.

How is it that one minute there's one ant and a short time later there's MacArthur's army, dragging away crumbs?

Entomologist Garling can explain.

She said an ant finds food, then drags its abdomen as it returns to the colony, leaving a scent trail that says, "Come and get it." All its comrades pile on.

When it comes to ants, she said, it's best to avoid aerosols and chemicals if at all possible. "There's a lot we don't know about the chemicals."

She said, "I still think 99 percent of the time, you can clean up the mess and plug the hole and take care of it." Like ants, cockroaches love wet spots and hanging out around newspapers and cardboard boxes, where they can eat the glue.

Experts recommend storing food in containers; keeping lids on garbage cans; fixing leaking faucets; and plugging holes in baseboards, doors and windows.

Bait stations or gels applied along baseboards and other areas can be effective against cockroaches. The pests often take the product back to the nest, which helps kill other cockroaches.

One pest that seems to be getting more attention is the bedbug. The little buggers can be picked up in hotels and hitch a ride home.

Garling suggests that at a hotel, guests should lift the bedsheet and examine the mattress.

If you spot an infestation at home, she said, wave the white flag. "I would say, 'Call a licensed pest management professional.' Bedbugs are tough. They're just disgusting, and they suck your blood."