Posts Tagged ‘animals’

What happens after a disaster? Where do the pests go?

Have you ever wondered what exactly happens after a natural disaster, have you considered the following.

1. If it was a flood, from heavy rains or hurricane:

a. What about the rodents where did they go?

b. What about the cockroaches and other things that might live in the sewer system or septic tank?

2. Fire:

a. Animals are affected by fire, including birds.

b. Rodents can also be affected by fire and may seek refuge in your building or sheds.

Why do opossums play dead?

Cause they can, no just kidding… Opossums when threatened or scared will appear as if dead. They lie very still, stiff limbs and a fixed stare appearing to be quite dead. Don’t even think about picking one up, they are vicious and can really bite with extreme force.

Opossums are marsupials, they have a prehensile tail and they will eat just about anything including fruits and dead stuff. Female opossums often give birth to very large numbers of young, sometimes up to 13 and often live 2 – 4 years. Have you ever encountered an opossum?

Chicken Wire or Hardware Cloth?

Without a question in my mind, Hardware Cloth! It just looks more professional, not like it was just thrown together to get it done in a hurry.

The other thing we do from time to time is to spray paint the hardware cloth, it can almost blend in and almost becomes invisible. Hardware cloth is more durable and can be secured in place with washers and screws.

Hey it’s your house, you can do what you want right? Do it right, it looks way better…

    What is Rabies?

Rabies is a deadly viral infection that is mainly spread by infected animals. Rabies is spread by infected saliva that enters the body through a bite or broken skin. The virus travels from the wound to the brain, where it causes swelling, or inflammation. This inflammation leads to symptoms of the disease. Most rabies deaths occur in children. Untreated, rabies can lead to coma and death.

Can snakes cause rabies, the answer is no – only warm blooded animals carry the virus. You can still become sick from a wound caused by a snake, just make sure to clean the wounds really well. Rabies causes about 55,000 human deaths annually worldwide. 95% of human deaths due to rabies occur in Asia and Africa. Roughly 97% of human rabies cases result from dog bites.

In the Southwest, rabies shows up mostly in bats followed by skunks. However, it is estimated that fewer than 1% of bats carry rabies.

What is the best advice – stay away from sickly looking animals, don’t touch or handle wildlife. There is a reason why they are called wildlife…

Photo from ProBest Pest Management (my favorite) notice the lime green legs and wonderful colors...

Nature’s Assassins: Assassin Bugs

What a great name!! – “Assassin Bugs” – and these critters really do try to live up to it, by jabbing their sharp mouth into other insects they’ve captured, and sucking out the juicy stuff inside. In this effort these insects certainly qualify as “beneficial” predators. Unfortunately some of the different kinds are also given other names, and these are far more threatening to us. We call some species Kissing Bugs or Cone-nosed Bugs, because there are a few kinds that feed on the blood of animals rather than on other insects. This interesting family called the Reduviidae is worth knowing about, and worth being aware of if you live in areas where the kissing bugs are prevalent. Check out further Assassin Bug info from Buginfo.com a Univar site.