Cellar fungus

The cellar fungus often grows in areas with moist or wet conditions such as groundwork, rising damp or leaking sewer systems or roofs. The cellar fungus grows rapidly and affects both softwood and hardwood. Wood species of sustainability class I are not affected, class II rarely. Because of the consistently high humidity in crawling spaces, these areas are easily affected, as are roof structures in case of leakage.

Spores
The spores of the cellar fungus sprout quickly in favourable conditions, after which the fungal threads, called hyphen, penetrate the wood. These hyphen have a diameter between 0.0005 and 0.005 mm and are not visible to the naked eye. Initially, the hyphen are white. On the wood surface, mycelium, entangled hyphae are rarely formed. In some places, for instance under linoleum and behind plinths, a thin degradation can be visible similar to that of dry rot. If mycelium develops on the surface of wood or stone, this only consists of thin hyphen of 1 to 2 mm that branch out in a fan-shaped manner and that look like roots or vines and have a dark brown to black colour. Fruiting bodies are rarely found in buildings. Initially it consists of an ochre coloured thin plate of about 3 mm, which later turns olive brown, with an irregular shape, covered with small nodules. It may vary in size from several centimetres to over 50 cm in diameter. The edge remains yellowish white. The spores created by the fruiting body, are dark brown, oval and very small, with a length of 0.008 to 0.0013 mm and a diameter of 0.005 to 0.009 mm. They spread through the airflow or insects, which completes the cycle.

Fungus
The cellar fungus is family of the brown rot inducing fungi. The degradation of cellulose and hermicellulose, destroys the walls of the wood cells. At first, the wood has a dark discolouration that can turn almost black in an advanced stage. Characteristic are the cracks that run in the fibre direction of the wood. This is often visible in smaller wood, such as in windows and frames, whereas in larger wood, such as beams cracks will also be visible, perpendicular to the fibre direction, causing cube-shaped elements similar to the damage caused by dry rot, but less sharply defined.

Internal deposits
Another important characteristic of the cellar fungus is the interior deterioration of the wood, in which a thin layer of 3 to 4 mm of healthy wood remains in tact at the surface. Even in an advanced stage, often just a small deviation and discolouration of the surface is the only signal that the wood has been affected by cellar fungus. For non-experts, the cellar fungus is hard to identify.

Growth

Cellar fungus

Not only because of the germination of the spores can wood be affected by cellar fungus, but also by hyphen of previously inflicted damage. Cellar fungus affects wood with a moisture level of 40 to 60% with an optimum of more than 50% In 21 degrees it develops the fastest, and in 35 degrees it still shows minor growth. In 0 degrees the growth stops, but even -30 degrees won’t kill it. For a treatment against cellar fungus or other fungi, please contact the EWS.

Dry rot

General
When wood processed in buildings has a moisture level of more than 21% for a prolonged period of time, it is likely for fungi to grown on and in this moist food. The most prevalent wood harming fungus in the Netherlands is the Serpula lacrymans Both conifers and broad-leaved trees can be harmed by these fungi. The fungus can exist in beams and / or other wooden parts of the ground floor flooring. On or in wood outdoors, the dry rot is hardly ever found.

Appearance / Lifestyle
Wood affected by dry rot has a brownish discolouration. As the wood is affected further, it turns soft and loses its strength. An an advanced rotting stage, the wood is brown with deep parallel shrinkage cracks perpendicular to the fibre direction.

The fungal threads in the wood cannot be seen by the naked eye. These threads penetrate the wood to a very deep level. The cross-section of such threads is very small, just 0.0016 mm. At the surface of the wood the fungal threads are usually somewhat thicker, and sometimes visible in the form of white flakes. Fungal threads don’t just exist on wood, but also on stone or concrete floors of basements for instance, and in and on damp walls etc. Sometimes bundles of fungal thread are found with a diameter between 5 to 8 mm. These are called strands, and are white at first, and later turn grey.

In places where the fungal threads grow in the wood, substances are formed that degrade the cell walls. A portion of the wood is converted into carbon dioxide and water by the fungus. In this process, energy is released that is used for the growth of the fungus. Even dry wood can be affected, because dry rot is able to transport moisture from moist places using the fungal threads. After a while, fruiting bodies are formed on the wood or wall, consisting of compact tissue. The fruiting bodies are fairly flat, 1 to 3 cm, thick, brown with a white edge and vary in size from several centimetres to 1 meter. The fruiting bodies form the base for the spores that cause the species to spread. A fruiting body can form billions of spores. Large numbers of spores together look like rust-brown powder.

Development
Dry rot develops the fastest in temperatures of 23 degrees Celsius. In 28 degrees C. or higher, the fungal threads die off. The spores however can withstand higher temperatures. At freezing temperatures the fungal growth comes to a halt, but the dry rot doesn’t die. After the frost period, the growth simply continues.

Control
Prior to control measures, it is important to take all possible measures to prevent leakage, condensate, rising damp, resounding walls, water entry or high ground water levels. After the control measure, the wood should not be allowed to get moist again, because that would make it appealing for dry rot again.

The wood affected by fungus must first be removed. In addition, the adjacent, not visibly affected wood across a length of 1 meter must be removed and replaced, preferably with wood pre-emptively treated with a fungicide. Affected elements that cannot be removed must be treated with a curative agent, such as azaconazole or tributyltin phosphate. It isn’t simple to impregnate the wood with the necessary amounts of the substance in such a curative treatment. For that reason, the treatment must sometimes be carried out twice.

Walls that may contain fungal threads must also be treated. Loose stucco must be removed and the joints must be scraped out. Afterwards, the walls must be treated with the agent.

In case of serious deterioration due to dry rot, it is recommended to drill diagonal holes downward in the holes. The depth of the holes must be 2/3 of the wall thickness, 30 cm apart and 20 cm crosswise to each other. Afterwards, the drill holes are injected with the fungicide several times in a row. After drying, stucco can be applied to the wall. For a treatment against dry rot or other fungi, please contact the EWS.

Flesh fly

General
Flesh flies, also referred to as blowflies, are larger than house flies (1 – 1.5 cm) and usually metallic blue or green. In the Netherlands, we have about 80 species. Very common are the flesh flies of the Calliphora family and the green or copper coloured emperor flies of the Lucilia family.

Lifestyle
Flesh flies prefer to lay their eggs on dead animals but also on dead meat in the kitchen, droppings or other rotting material. The females can recognize the scent miles away. The males however prefer flowers. Once the female fly has found a suitable food source, the lays hundreds of eggs on it.

After just 1 day, the larvae (maggots) crawl from the eggs. The maggots shun the light and crawl to dark places (under rugs, in cracks etc). After 6 to 12 days, the maggots are fully grown and leave the next to dig into the soil and pupate. After 8 to 13 days, the grown flesh flies emerge.

Damage
Flesh flies can spread pathogens such as viruses and bacteria and spoil meat and condiments due to contamination (eggs, droppings.

Use
In nature, the flesh flies serve as a cleaning crew for waste and cadavers and serve as food for other animals.

Prevention
Keep windows and doors closed when possible or fit them with insect screens.
Keep meat and condiments cool and covered
Remove waste in a timely manner
Keep tables, floors, walls, machines etc clean
Dispose of dead animals

Control
Track down breeding places; dispose of dead animals. meat waste etc and properly clean the places where the maggots are developing. If necessary have the breeding places treated with an insecticide based on deltamethrin, permethrin of cyfluthrin.

Drug store beetle

General
The Drug store beetle can be found anywhere in the world. The drug store beetle feeds on food rich in starch, in which it also reproduces, such as baked cookies, dry old bread, bouillon cubes, pharmacy wares.

Lifestyle
The adult beetle lays 50-60 eggs, preferably in a dark place. The adult beetle doesn’t consume any food and doesn’t cause any feeding damage. Food consists of products, such as bread, biscuits, cookies, macaroni, vermicelli, bouillon cubes, grain, flour, etc

Damage
When dry food is affected, you will notice holes in the products. These are the exit holes of adult beetles. Flour products may contain cocoons. These are often located against the walls or bottom of the packaging. They drill themselves out of plastic, paper and even the metal foil of the packaging to fly out.

Prevention
Keep food in cool, dry areas. Use old supplies first. Don’t store supplies for a very long period of time.

Control
Find the source! Find out what supplies are affected and destroy them. Store all other supplies in properly sealed cans or canisters.

Fruit fly

Fruit flies can be found anywhere in the world. In the Netherlands and Belgium alone, there are about 25 species. The fruit fly is about 3-4 mm in length and has a yellow-brown to black colour, depending on the species. They often exist in beer breweries, lemonade factories, bars and stores that sell vegetables and fruit.

Lifestyle
Fruit flies undergo a complete transformation (metamorphosis). This means that these insects go through 4 life states during their development into adult fly, being egg, larvae, pop and imago (adult insect). The female fruit fly lays 400 – 900 eggs in yeasty or rotting material. For instance rotting fruit or vegetables, sour milk and fungi. After 1 day, the eggs will hatch. The larvae stage lasts about 1 week and the pop stage 2 to 4 days. From egg to adult insect, the development takes about 8 to 11 days. An adult insect can live up to 2 months.

Damage
Fruit flies can be very annoying and contaminate fruit and vegetable products. Unblemished fruit will not be affected, cut or damaged fruit will be.

Prevention
To prevent the nuisance by fruit flies, the following measures can be taken. Don’t store fruit and vegetables too long without covering them, observe good hygiene, properly close garbage cans and containers and after emptying, dispose of empty wine and lemonade bottles without cork or cap.

Control
Fighting fruit flies is only useful after the necessary prevention measures have been taken. There are a lot of different methods for fighting fruit flies, such as; fly strips, electrical fly swatters, thoroughly cleaning breeding places and treating them with an insecticide. EWS exterminator is happy to inform you about what methods are most suitable for your situation.

Grain weevil

General
The grain weevil (length 3 to 5 mm) is part of snout beetle family (Curculionidae), which, with over 45000 described species is most likely the largest family through the animal kingdom. The front part of the head has grown into a sort of trunk in all species, with a little mouth at the very end. On both sides of the trumpet snout you’ll find a club shaped antennas that are bent like an elbow.

Prevention
Te grain weevil, also known as the granary weevil originally wasn’t part of our fauna, but was introduced to our area long ago with the grain trade. In the Netherlands they exist in grain storages and kitchen supplies. Contrary to its family members, the rice and maize weevil, it can’t fly, but it is great at walking. Its feed consists of grain (mainly wheat and barley) but it also eats products containing starch such as dry dog food, birdseed, peas, macaroni, vermicelli etc.

Lifestyle
The female drills a hole in grain or something similar with her snout and lays an egg in it. She then closes up the hole with secretion product that has the same colour as the grain. This way, she can lay two to three eggs per day. The eggs hatches a larvae that eats the grain from the inside. After about four weeks it pupates within the shell of the grain and the adult beetle drills its way out. Because of this, the grain contains less nutrients and it is contaminated with the beetles, larvae and their droppings.

Prevention & Control
The use of pesticides is not necessary in the fight against grain weevils, plus it is very undesirable in the kitchen. Affected supplies must be disposed of and the trash bag should be taken out immediately. Cabinets and boards should be properly vacuumed and cleaned. Insects can survive in food residue left behind in seams or cracks for a long period of time. Check the other supplies and store them in properly sealable cans or pots, so that new contamination is no longer possible.

Mediterranean flour moth

General
The Mediterranean flour moth can be found across the globe. Mediterranean flour moth lay their eggs in flour, bran, oatmeal, etc. They are also very common in flour factories. An adult flour moth is about 1 cm long and the span of the wings is 20mm to 28mm. The colour of the front wings is grey to black grey, the rear wings are yellow-white.

Development
Flour moths go through a complete transformation (metamorphosis) meaning that there are 4 life stages. Egg, larvae, pop and imago (adult insect). The female lays 600 to 700 eggs in bulk flour. At a temperature of about 20 C° it takes about 3 months from egg to adult insect. At 20 C° the egg stadium takes 11 days, the larvae stadium 56-70, pop stadium 17-20 days. The adult insect can reach an age of up to 2 weeks. Below 13 C° their development stops. In warm buildings, there are several generations per year.

Lifestyle
The eggs are laid in bulk flour, bran, oatmeal etc. Only the larvae that come out of the eggs feed on the aforementioned products. The adult moths don’t affect anything! The fully grown larvae sometimes leave the food source and make concoctions. Subsequently they pupate and the adult insects emerge from the pupae.

Damage
The damage caused by the flour moth consists of: loss of material due to damage to the flour, flour products, cocoa, chocolate, dried vegetables and fruit, nuts and other vegetable products. Contamination of said products with droppings and concoctions. Affected flour turns grey-brown and smells unpleasant. The flour spun together by the larvae can cause blockage in the pipes, funnels and sieves of flour factories.

Prevention
To prevent nuisance from flour moths, one must keep the temperature in storage areas below 13 C° and maintain low humidity (40 to 60%). Keep food in properly sealed canisters and prevent long-term storage. Affected supplies should be removed and the resulting empty areas should be properly cleaned.

Control
Pest control can be carried out by treating the surfaces and seams with a residual-acting or by means of misting or gassing. The exterminator of EWS is happy to inform you about the best solution.

Mealworm beetle

Appearance
The mealworm beetle is a black to black-brown beetle with grooved elytra and a length of 13 to 18 mm. The bottom is red-brown. The larvae, that can reach 28 mm in size (meal worms) are yellow-brown and have three well-developed legs.

Lifestyle
Both the adult mealworm beetles and the larvae prefer to feed on vegetable material, but they can also eat animal material, such as flour products, bread, feed, tatters etc. The female beetle lays about 400 eggs that hatch after 10 to 20 days. Depending on temperature, the larvae stage takes 1 to 1.5 years, after which they develop into fully grown beetles in about 14 days. Because of this long life cycle, Mealworm beetles hardly ever form a plague. Only in poorly inspected, supplies stored for a long period of time, they can cause damage due to contamination. When mealworm beetles are found in a house, they almost always come from bird nests. They are taken to the nest by the birds, after which they enter the house via the roof.

Prevention
Hygienic operations
Remove old supplies
Remove abandoned bird nests
Control

Since mealworm beetles hardly ever exist in large numbers and it is easy to trace the source, chemical extermination is not required.

Brown rat

General
This rat species usually has a grey brown colour on their back. Their abdomen are lighter, however there is a large variety in colours, up to white (albino). It is an animal with a firm build, with a fairly blunt snout, a very hairy body and clearly visible ears. The almost bald, tick tail (about 20 cm) is shorter than the body (about 25 to 30 cm). The weight of an adult brown rat is about 400-500 grams.

Brown rats are very common; they are so-called ‘culture followers’ because they are very able to adapt to humans. They are great swimmers and diggers and feel at home in sewers, at landfills in and around corn fields etc. They feed themselves with many products (grains, vegetables, fruit, fish etc.) and can therefore be found everywhere that has a big (and messy) food supply, preferably in the vicinity of water.

The brown rat has a rapid development; the females reach sexual maturity after about 3 months and can have up to 15 birth cycles with 5 – 10 young each. The average lifespan in the field is about a year.

Damage
As described above, this rat species prefers to be in the immediate vicinity of people and their buildings, supplies and waste. In areas with a lot of water, they can spread Weil’s disease; and in areas of intensive livestock farming they can spread various diseases as well. They contaminate and damage supplies and because of their urge to gnaw (for instance cables) they can cause short circuit, leakage and machine failure. For that reason, brown rats are undesirable in the direct vicinity of people.

Prevention
Proper architectural provisions, such as properly closing doors, narrow ventilation openings, one can keep rats outside. Good hygiene (storage and removal of waste, tidy storage of products, regular cleaning of areas etc) is important to prevent the presence of rats.

Control
After a thorough inspection of and around the object, bait depots are installed at strategically chosen places. In these bait boxes or crates, toxic bait is placed. The rodenticides used, approved by the Dutch College Toelating Bestrijdingsmiddelen are so called anticoagulantia (anti-clotting agents). These baits should be offered at least several weeks to cause death. After 2 to 7 days of absorption, death occurs after 7 to 14 days.

Moles

Lifestyle
Moles live in tunnels under the ground. The mole frequently seeks out water to drink and his path often runs from the waterside into the land. In meadows, the mole tunnels are often very close to the surface. This is partly determined by the moisture level. The reason for this is that a mole feeds on worms and insect larvae. In dry circumstances, the worms are deeper, due to which the mole digs deeper. In moist circumstances, the worms are close to the surface, as then is the mole.

Moles have a fairly large territory. A backyard of about 150 square meters will have about one or two mole residents. The number of molehills don’t say anything about the number of moles.

Trying to drown the mole by flooding the tunnels often has the opposite effect. The amount of moisture increases the amount of worms, which attracts more moles.

Prevention
The plant Imperial Crown has roots that secrete an odour that repels the mole. The effect is not really significant. The same goes for other control measures, such as fish heads in the ground, sulphur smoke patterns or beer bottle in the tunnels. Research has shown that even the so-called mole repellents, that use ultrasonic sound have almost no effect on moles.

Prevention with traps
Dig a frequently used tunnel open carefully so that it doesn’t collapse. Remove the crumbs from the tunnel. Shove a live trap to both sides of the tunnel, not directly under the hole. Cover the hole in such a way that it doesn’t let in any light, otherwise the mole will notice the changed circumstances and he will no longer use the tunnel, rendering the trap useless.

When placing tunnels, please keep in mind the waterside. In flower gardens, place the traps at the edge of the lawn, where the grass begins, because in the lawn it can cause a lot of damage.

Prevention with pills
Prevention with pills that contain phosphide can only be done by professionals with special training. The gas pills are inserted into the ground with a so-called gun. Enough concentration of the gas must build up in the ground. This can only be done if:

The terrain is not adjacent to a developed area. There is a 10 meter distance requirement; the terrain is not entered for a period of three days; the weather conditions permit. The soil cannot be to wet because that could cause flash fires. The soil can also not be to dry, because it would prevent the gas from building up.