The Pacific Northwest is not noted for its exotic pests, but shipping containers arrive at our airport and seaports from all over the world. Recently we had a call to fumigate a 40'ocean container that contained a strange pest. When the container arrived at a distribution facility to have the goods transloaded for shipping by truck strange scratchings were found on cardboard containers and then they heard an animal sound. The workers were afraid to unload the container and called us to fumigate it. We told them we would not fumigate a container with a live animal inside unless we could identify the animal. The container was loaded in Shanghai, China, and merchandise inside had come from Indonesia. We began guessing at what could be inside. Maybe a monkey or a rabbit and maybe rats. Since the voyage from China had taken 19 days we knew whatever was inside would be very hungry. We decided to place some chicken in a live animal trap and place it inside. To our surprise the next morning we had a very hungry cat inside. How the cat survived inside for 19 days without food and water is a mystery. The local humane society quickly came to rescue the cat and we hope it will eventually find a good home in its new country.
If you look at a distribution map for drywood termites in the US it is only a ribbon around the bottom - from the Bay Area on the West Coast to the Carolinas on the East Coast. Unlike other termites that need to come from a colony in the ground or to live in wet wood that is in contact with the ground, drywood termites can simply fly into a structure, build a nest and eat the wood. They are often found in attic areas in states such as Hawaii and Florida and they require tarping the house and fumigating to eliminate them.
While these termites don't live in the Pacific Northwest we occasionaly find them imported. This is usually in a motor home or boat that has spent time in drywood termite territory. A recent job for us was in power boat that was moored in a Seattle marina. The vessel had been in San Diego with the previous owner. The pellets being pushed out behind the wheel at the lower station were obvious drywood termite indication. Our solution was to have the boat moved to an industrial marina where it was fumigated. We occasionally deal with pests we would not normally find in this area - such as scorpions and tarantulas. They travel very well.
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The Pacific Northwest is not noted for its exotic pests, but shipping containers arrive at our airport and seaports from all over the world. Recently we had a call to fumigate a 40'ocean container that contained a strange pest. When the container arrived at a distribution facility to have the goods transloaded for shipping by truck strange scratchings were found on cardboard containers and then they heard an animal sound. The workers were afraid to unload the container and called us to fumigate it. We told them we would not fumigate a container with a live animal inside unless we could identify the animal. The container was loaded in Shanghai, China, and merchandise inside had come from Indonesia. We began guessing at what could be inside. Maybe a monkey or a rabbit and maybe rats. Since the voyage from China had taken 19 days we knew whatever was inside would be very hungry. We decided to place some chicken in a live animal trap and place it inside. To our surprise the next morning we had a very hungry cat inside. How the cat survived inside for 19 days without food and water is a mystery. The local humane society quickly came to rescue the cat and we hope it will eventually find a good home in its new country.