All posts in “bugs”

Most insects are a benefit to man, what are the bad ones or good ones?

 

I think if we had to say bad, the number 1 bad guy would be the mosquito and #2 would probably be the flea. But what about the good ones, such as honeybees except when they attack and ants. Some may fit into both categories such as honeybees – great honey and they pollinate but may also sting and hurt. I guess I can think of the good and bad as somewhat of a trade off, we need pollination and yet people die from bee stings each year. Termites are essential in the forest, composting trees and wood into vital nutrients within the soil.

Top 5 bad in my opinion

  1. Mosquitoes
  2. Scorpions
  3. Fleas
  4. Flies
  5. Rodents

Top 5 good in my opinion

  1. Honeybees
  2. Ants
  3. Butterflies or Moths
  4. Ladybugs
  5. ____________      Can you name a few more?

44_Bumble Bee

The saga continues – with Bed Bugs of course

 

I’m not trying to scare anyone but this Bed Bug thing continues, yes we are still getting calls weekly about these little biters. So really what is the answer, I just want to amke sure sure you are informed. Visit National Pest Management Association (NPMA) for all things bed bugs.

They are showing up at weird and unexpected places. Sometimes we become detectives in learning how and when they arrived at the place in question. This story out of Nebraska just goes to show where they may or may not pop in from “Claim denied for Bed Bug removal” the claimant believes his daughter picked them up from a 4-H camp.

11_Bed Bug Bites

Photo provided by PPMA

 

What do you want to know by ProBest Pest Management!

DrBugKVBdidyouknow1

What is up with flies and dead things?

  • The life cycle of flies play an important role in the decomposition of dead bodies and in nature this is how dead animals etc are turned back into soil and nutrients.
  • It’s not just flies but beetles and other bugs help to turn flesh into soil nutrients.
  • Blow flies are most often associated with dead things.
  • Blow flies can find dead flesh within minutes.
  • A fly maggot mass can reduce the body weight of a dead animal by 50% in a few weeks.
  • The study of this is called Forensic Entomology and concerns the time and manner of death.

Hey baby I smell good – would you follow me?

 

For many years researchers have used pheromones to lure insects into glue boards or catch devices.  They are really isolating these chemicals that are found in the specific insects used for mating purposes. What the guys don’t know is that its a trap. “Female Asian Longhorned Beetles pheromone may be key to pest management” Caution sex pictures when you click that link… made you look.

The researchers found that when the proper ratio and amount of pheromone is produced by females and deposited on the surface where they walk, signaling that they are fertile, males come.

So some type of fungus, trap or glue-board could be used  to kill males or females and this could possibly help to control certain beetles which damage trees. Science is producing some great and innovative ways to combat certain pests.

EndZone – Fly sticker

 

A month or so ago, I mentioned this new product EndZone by FMC that really needed to be used by “Commercial Restaurants or Dairy Farms“. Recently at the Florida Pest & Lawn Care Expo, held Jan. 20-24, 2014, in Orlando it was voted “best new product“.

You know where I stand on flies, but this item really could be the saving grace for some businesses and farms. Just think of the flies this could get rid of and generations to come.

ENDZONE WEB

Bees are being used to fight poverty.

 

An excellent article “Using bees to fight poverty“, appeared in the Christian Science Monitor by Cathryn J. Prince. I think this is a great way to produce extra food and maybe make some extra cash in places where cash or food is of great concern.

Some key items, they only go to places when asked and they help to teach people the trade or to increase honey production. Great job!

46_Honey Bee

Photo by PPMA

 

Do you do anything to encourage pests at your home?

 

Most of us don’t want pests at our homes, but do you do anything that would bring them in? Here is a little list I put together to make sure you are winning the war against those pests.

  1. Don’t leave pet food outside.
  2. Replace and repair window and door screens.
  3. Replace door thresholds or sweepers at the bottom of doors.
  4. Install or reseal garage door trim.
  5. Have you checked your weep screens at the roof-line, check to see they are in place and not damaged. garagedoorthreshold
  6. If you purchase used furniture, check it twice to be sure it doesn’t have bugs.
  7. If you store anything in your attic, always be sure to check it before bringing it indoors.
  8. Check your property monthly for signs of pests, don’t for4get to look up and down and investigate out buildings.

 

Don’t believe everything you read!

 

I know this is correct , cause  just week I read a report published by Abraham Lincoln on why he didn’t trust the internet. I think all of us play a hand in what is and isn’t truthful on the internet and I get called weekly where someone says I read the internet and blah, blah blah. I had a customer a year or so ago, tell me emphatically that Bed Bugs can jump out of a dumpsters. The only way that Bed Bug is getting out of that dumpster is if someone jumps in there and removes something. By the way that dumpster was in the direct sunlight and in the middle of the summer it would probably die within hours from our heat.

One more thing that just gets me, is when we jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. Remember that honeybee thing a year ago, was it cell towers or was it pesticides, or was it global warming? Well no one knew for sure but everyone with their own agendas were posting the blame everywhere. If the bee issue is caused by something, then we need to investigate quickly and stop the problem. I believe the E.U. stopped the use of neonicotinoids before all the data was in, but anyway I ran across an excellent article from Alan Caruba  “Another Environmental Lie Exposed: Bees are thriving.”

What do pesticides do? They protect us against trillions of insect and rodent pests that spread diseases while some represent millions in property damage—termites—every year.

So here is what I suggest, lets get the facts before we run off to damage an industry that contributes to Public Health and the betterment of our lives. Remember that mosquitoes continue to kill over a million people each year and rodents contaminate and damage grains and food.

BBBAnniversarycolor

 

Dr Bug a man a mission, spreading facts bugs/reptiles.

Dr Bug wants to thank Ms. Kelli and Mr. Mike and all the young adults for a great session at the Chandler Environmental Education Center. They came from the Extended Family Disability Services, LLC in Chandler, AZ and supplied me some pictures of our time together. I wanted to share these pictures, I had such a great time. Not everyone enjoyed the snakes but hopefully they learned something about the bugs and reptiles.

I made some new friends today and I hope we can get together again for some Bug Zoo type activities.

Everyone is welcome to stop by the office, we have all kinds of critters and from time to time we change things around. Typically snakes, bearded dragon and a spider but we change it up.

ProBest Pest Management 425 W. Guadalupe Road #110, Gilbert, Arizona 85233 602-249-7378

Dr Bug

Dr Bug

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