Are you confused about all those technical terms your pest control company throws at you? Here’s a helpful glossary of pest control terminology that will give you a better understanding of what we do and what we mean.

Abamectins: Biologically derived organic compounds that disrupt the nervous system along axons.

Aerosol:An extremely fine mist or fog consisting of solid or liquid particles suspended in air. Also, certain formulations used to produce a fine mist or smoke.

Alates : a winged insect (as an ant or termite) of a kind having winged and wingless forms.

Anticoagulate: the process of hindering the clotting of blood especially by treatment with an anticoagulant.

Antennae : Antennae are the primary olfactory sensors of an insect and are accordingly well-equipped with a wide variety of sensilla. Paired, mobile, and segmented, they are located between the eyes on the forehead.

Appendages: – an external body part that protrudes from an organism’s body, such as a vertebrate’s limbs.

Apis Mellifera : Latin name for the Western honey bee or European honey bee.

Aphid : also known as plant lice, greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies. They are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. The damage they do to plants has made them enemies of farmers and gardeners the world over, but from a zoological standpoint they are a very successful group of organisms.

Apertures : an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels.

Attractant : Attracts insects or vertebrates, sometimes used in conjunction with a residual pesticide.

Bait Shyness : The tendency for rodents, birds or other pests to avoid poisoned bait.

Bifenthrin : a pyrethroid insecticide that affects the nervous system of insects.

Bombus spp: Latin name for Bumble bees, they are large, social bees which produce annual colonies.

Brevicoryne Brassicae : Commonly known as the cabbage aphid, cabbage aphis or turnip aphid, is a destructive aphid (plant louse).

Callosobruchus Maculatus Fabricius: Latin name of the Cowpea weevil.

Carbaryl : is a chemical in the carbamate family used chiefly as an insecticide. It is a white crystalline solid.

Cerci : are paired appendages on the rear-most segments of many arthropods, including insects and arachnids. Cerci often serve as sensory organs, but they may also be used as weapons or copulation aids, or they may simply be vestigial structures.

Chrysopidae : Green lacewings are insects. The bodies are usually bright green to greenish-brown, and the compound eyes are conspicuously golden in many species. The wings are usually translucent with a slight iridescence; some have green wing veins or a cloudy brownish wing pattern. The vernacular name “stinkflies”, refers to their ability to release a vile smell from paired prothoracal glands when handled.

Cimex Lectularius : (a.k.a Bed Bugs) bug of temperate regions that infests especially beds and feeds on human blood.

Complete Metamorphosis: Development where there are four life stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult). The immatures and adults, besides having different appearances, have different habitats and food preferences.

Concentration: The amount of active ingredient in a given volume or weight of formulation.

Contact Pesticides: Penetrate the body wall to cause death.

Coleoptera: – (a.k.a. Beetles) means “sheathed wing;” beetles have two pairs of wings, but the first pair has been enlarged and thickened into a pair of hard sheaths.

Crack and Crevice: Application in structures to cracks and crevices where pests may live.

Cyfluthrin : Cyfluthrin belongs to a class of insecticides known as synthetic pyrethroids. Synthetic pyrethroids are man-made insecticides created to mimic the chemical properties of the naturally-occurring insecticide pyrethrum, which comes from the crushed petals of the Chrysanthemum flower. Synthetic pyrethroids, like cyfluthrin, are often preferred to the real thing as an active ingredient because they offer the added bonus of remaining effective for longer periods of time, sometimes up to 3 months.

D. maculate : the baldfaced “hornet,” is an atypically large, black and white yellowjacket.

D. variabilis : also known as the American dog tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Desiccants: Kill by removing or disrupting the protective, waxy outer coating on the insect’s cuticle. This causes loss of body fluids, so that the insect dies of desiccation or dehydration.

DDT : DDT (from its trivial name, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is one of the most well-known synthetic pesticides.

Diptera : The name Diptera, derived from the Greek words “di” meaning two and “ptera” meaning wings, refers to the fact that true flies have only a single pair of wings. True Flies / Mosquitoes / Gnats / Midges.

Diluent: Any liquid or solid material used to dilute or carry an active ingredient.

Drones : Are male honey bees. They develop from eggs that have not been fertilized, and they cannot sting, since the worker bee’s stinger is a modified ovipositor (an egg laying organ).

Emulsifier: A chemical that aids in suspending one liquid in another.

Emulsion: A mixture in which one liquid is suspended as tiny drops in another liquid, such as oil in water.

Entomology : is the scientific study of insects.

Epidemic : occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience.

Eradicate : to erase by rubbing or by means of a chemical solvent: to eradicate a spot.

Exterminator : A practitioner in pest control.

Exoskeleton : an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal’s body, in contrast to the internal skeleton (endoskeleton) of, for example, a human.

Excrement : waste matter discharged from the body. Example : feces.

Elytra : Also called wing case, wing cover. One of the pair of hardened forewings of certain insects, as beetles, forming a protective covering for the posterior or flight wings.

Feces : is a waste product from an animal’s digestive tract expelled through the anus.

Fumigants: Gaseous pesticides whose vapors enter the pest’s body via inhalation, or in the case of insects, through the spiracles.

Fumigation: The process of introducing poisonous gases into an area for the purpose of eradicating pests.

Gradual Metamorphosis: development in which there are three life stages (egg, nymph and adult) and the nymphs resemble the adults, live in the same environment and have similar food .preferences.

Green Products : Green products are those that have less of an impact on the environment or are less detrimental to human health that traditional equivalents. Green products might, typically, be formed or part-formed from recycled components, be manufactured in a more energy-conservative way, or be supplied to the market with less packaging.

Harborage : living areas for pests.

Hemerobiidae : commonly known as brown lacewings insects. They are similar to green lacewings but are brown with furry wings.

Household Pest : A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns.

Hymenoptera : is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects.

Infestation : Infestation refers to the state of being invaded or overrun by parasites. or other pests. It can also refer to parasites living in or on a host.

Insecticide : An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively.

Insect Growth Regulator : Synthetic organic compound that disrupts development and reproduction of insects. (Gentrol, Precor, Nylar, Archer).

LD50 : The dose of an active ingredient taken by mouth or absorbed by the skin, which is expected to cause death in 50 percent of the test animals so treated. If a chemical has an LD50 of 10 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), it is more toxic than one having an LD50 of 100 mg/kg.

Larvae : A form of reproduction in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual, occurring commonly among insects and certain other arthropods.

Lepidoptera : is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. Lepidoptera are commonly characterized as being covered in scales, having two large compound eyes, and an elongated mouthpart called a proboscis. Almost all species have membranous wings, except for a few which have crossvein wings. The larvae are called caterpillars and are completely different in form, having a cylindrical body with a well developed head, mandible mouthparts, and from 0–11 (usually 8) pairs of legs.

Lethocerus Americanus : Latin name for a giant water bug.

Metamorphosis : Changes that occur during growth or development to the adult stage.

Microencapsulation Effect : a process in which tiny particles or droplets of a substance are separately encapsulated for controlled release: used to prolong the action of drugs, solidify liquids, etc.

Molts : to shed hair, feathers, shell, horns, or an outer layer periodically.

Neonicotinoid Insecticides : are a class of insecticides which act on the central nervous system of insects with lower toxicity to mammals. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely used insecticides worldwide, but recently the uses of some members of this class have been restricted in some countries due to a possible connection to honey-bee Colony Collapse Disorder.

Nits : Are Lice eggs. They look like tiny yellow, tan, or brown dots before they hatch.

Nocturnal: Performs most activity at night.

Nymphs :is the immature form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis before reaching its adult stage.

Oral Toxicity: Ability of a pesticide to cause injury when taken by mouth.

Organophosphates: Synthetic organic compound that disrupts the nervous system at the synapses.

Ornithodoros : is part of the soft-bodied tick family.

Ovipositing : means to lay eggs.

PPB: Parts per billion.A way to express the concentration of chemicals in foods, plants and animals. One part per billion equals 1 pound in 500,000 tons.

Papillae : Papillae are the little bumps on the top of your tongue that help grip food while your teeth are chewing.

Parthenogenetically : A form of reproduction in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual, occurring commonly among insects and certain other arthropods.

Pesticide : A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.

Permethrin : is a common synthetic chemical, widely used as an insecticide, acaricide, and insect repellent. It belongs to the family of synthetic chemicals called pyrethroids and functions as a neurotoxin, affecting neuron membranes by prolonging sodium channel activation. It is not known to rapidly harm most mammals or birds, but is highly toxic to cats and fish. It generally has a low mammalian toxicity and is poorly absorbed by skin.

Peromyscus Gossypinus : Also known as Cotton Mouse. A medium-sized, heavy bodied, white-footed mouse.

Pheromone: Chemical used by insects and vertebrates to communicate with each other. Pheromones can signal danger or reproductive availability. They are sometimes used to attract insects to a pesticide such as a sticky trap.

Polistes dominulus : sometimes referred to as the European paper wasp, is one of the more common and well-known species of social wasps in Europe. It is considered an invasive species in Canada and the United States.

Pre-Baiting: : Process of getting rodents accustomed to traps before setting the traps.

Protozoa : are one-celled animals and the smallest of all animals. Most of them can only be seen under a microscope. They do breathe, move, and reproduce like multicelled animals. They live in water or at least where it is damp..

Pupal : an intermediate usually quiescent stage of a metamorphic insect (as a bee, moth, or beetle) that occurs between the larva and the imago, is usually enclosed in a cocoon or protective covering, and undergoes internal changes by which larval structures are replaced by those typical of the imago.

Pyrethroids : Synthetic organic compound that disrupts the nervous system along axons; most commonly and widely used insecticide in urban pest management.

Pyrethrins/Pyrethrum : Botanically derived organic compounds that disrupt the nervous system along axons.

Repellant: Repels insects, mites, ticks, or vertebrate pests.

Residual : A residual is generally a quantity left over at the end of a process.

Residual Insecticide : A crystalline or film-like layer forms on treated surfaces where insects congregate or are expected to walk. The speed that the insect is affected and the length of time that the residual will persist on the surface vary with the active ingredient, type of formulation, surface it is applied to, and external conditions such as wind, rain, and humidity.

Resistance: If a pest population is repeatedly treated with the same insecticide and each new generation of insects has increasingly higher tolerance, a “resistant†strain of insects is produced.

Soil Sterilant: A chemical that prevents the growth of all plants and animals in the soil. Soil sterilization may be temporary or permanent, depending on the chemical.

Solution : Mixture of one or more substances in another in which all ingredients are completely dissolved.

Spot Treatment: Application to a small area.

Stomach Poisons : These must be swallowed to kill an insect, bird, or rodent.

Surfactant : A chemical that increases the emulsifying, dispersing, spreading and wetting properties of a pesticide product.

Suspension : Finely divided solid particles mixed in a liquid.

Synergists : Materials that, if used alone, have little toxicity to insects but combined with another active ingredient enhance the activity of an insecticide.

Target Pest : The pest at which a particular pesticide or other control method is directed.

Triatoma : a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae (kissing bugs.) The members of Triatoma are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease.

Typhus : Several distinct rickettsiae cause the disease known as typhus in humans. The disease is spread by ticks, mites, fleas, or lice, each agent having a distinct epidemiology, but all causing a disease with signs similar to a bad cold with fever lasting form one to several weeks, chills, headache, and muscle pains, as well as a body rash. There is often a large painful sore at the site of the bite and nearby lymph nodes are swollen and painful.

V. pensylvanica : Latin name for western yellowjacket. Part of the wasp specie.

Vespula spp. : Latin name for Yellowjackets. They are the most troublesome wasp pests because they nest in and around homes and other structures, and because they are attracted to many of the foods we enjoy eating outdoors.

Volatile: Evaporates at ordinary temperatures when exposed to air.

If you ever have any bug related issues in New York City, feel free to call us either at Beyond Pest Control. Once again, and I can’t stress this enough we are on call twenty four hours a day seven days a week to kill those bugs, we aren’t kidding whether you call us at 9 am or midnight we will be available to take your call and either get rid of the bug infestation, or answer any questions you may have concerning the bug issue. I can honestly guarantee that there will be someone to answer that call. We make it our business to make you bug free!

For more information check out the rest of our site and You can also from time to time find helpful hints on http://nypestpro.blogspot.com.

Beyond Pest Control.

Our pest control specialists service all NYC boroughs, including Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island (both Nassau & Suffolk counties), Staten Island and even both Westchester & Rockland counties.