RKE Technical Bulletin – September 2023
The Camelback Cricket Order: Orthoptera Family: Rhaphidophoridae Scientific Name: Ceuthophilus The Camelback Cricket gets its’ common name from its’ humpbacked appearance, which is similar to that of a camel. They’re also commonly referred to as cave crickets or spider crickets. This species can be found in caves as well as damp and cool areas underneath […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – August 2023
Introduction to Salmonella When one hears the name “salmonella,” most think of eggs and poultry and “food poisoning.” Salmonella is not only know for making people sick through poultry and eggs, but a wide variety of foods. This bacterium is widespread and very common. Salmonella is a complicated genus of rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria of the […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – July 2023
Rats in the Facility A client of RK Environmental Services (RKE) had existing rat activity. Through a quick survey, the rat species was identified as the black rat (Rattus Rattus), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat. The RKE team immediately began mitigation strategies through the use of glue trays. The […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – June 2023
Vap-X for Maintenance Cardinal Vap-X has become a useful tool in the arsenal used to combat stored product pests, roaches, flies, and other occasional invaders. In recent years, RKE Environmental Services (RKE) clients choosing Vap-X for the purpose of maintaining low to 0 pressure from insects inside their food handling facilities. These clients have seen […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – May 2023
Introduction to Phosphine as a Fumigant Phosphine is a colorless, flammable, highly toxic compound most often used in fumigation. Phosphine fumigants are sold in solid form, either as aluminum phosphide or magnesium phosphide. When these solid fumigants are exposed to water vapor in the air, a chemical reaction occurs releasing phosphine gas (hydrogen phosphide) and […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – April 2023
The Cigarette Beetle Order: Coleoptera Family: Anobiidae Genus: Lasioderma Species: serrricorne The Cigarette Beetle (CB) is a Stored Product Pest, which gets it’s name from attacking tobacco wherever it is stored. It is distributed throughout tropical regions but can be found worldwide. Especially, wherever dried tobacco in the form of leaves, cigars, cigarettes, or chewing […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – December 2022
Introduction to National Organic Program Compliant Pesticides The National Organic Program (NOP) is a USDA program. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role is to assist USDA by assuring that USDA’s policies are implemented with regard to organic claims made by registered pesticide products. Pesticides are regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – November 2022
Introduction to Defect Action Levels Like many things, food is not perfect. There are a certain number of defects allowable in food, this allowable quantity is known as a defect action level. Defect action level means a level of a non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defect at which FDA may regard a food product adulterated and […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – October 2022
Introduction to Insect Orders With more than 25 orders in the insect world, classifying one can be a daunting task, understanding how orders work can also be overwhelming. Order (Latin: ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy, the particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus […]
RKE Technical Bulletin – September 2022
What are herbicides, and how do they work? Herbicides are chemicals used to manipulate or control undesirable vegetation. Also known as “weed killer,” herbicides are formulated in various chemical mixes to target different species of vegetation. The mode of action for the eradication of the weed can be different as well. Herbicides can act by […]
