“Two pest insects intercepted by CBP agents at Mexican Border.”
Hard work does pay off and the agents are to be commended for quick action in the prevention of these two pests into the USA. The first pest was in a shipment of ginger and the second in broccoli (not a reason not to eat broccoli) – sorry.
http://www.cbp.gov/
If you ever had Bedbugs I think it is difficult to get over that “creeped out feeling”. This story is from Canada but stills plays a part in the learning process for all of us. “Bed bugs can lead to mental health problems”
It turns out that millions of tiny bugs are consuming the equivalent of 60,000 hot dogs per year over a 150-block strip in Manhattan.
Just when you thought it was safe to go out into the streets of New York City – this amazing factoid “The bugs on a single NYC median can eat 14 pounds of food per year” Actually it is a good thing, if they didn’t eat all this stuff it might bring out more and possibly dangerous things like rodents.
My thoughts are just one rodent in the house is one to many. Wherever you live there is probably a Pest Management Professional…
“Pantry pests harbor plastic-chomping bacteria” A few insects use their guts to break down wood and various other harder to digest type food – top one in my mind are termites. Termites use a protozoa to break down cellulose which they gather on a daily basis.
It is amazing to me that animals, insects and other forms of life adapt to human life on this planet. Can’t wait to see what is next? Anyone else heard of any amazing type critters?
“Blood Sucking “Kissing Bugs” ing across Texas”
I’ve seen this information a few times in the last few weeks, so I think caution needs to be applied. Repair screens, don’t leave doors opens and repair those weep screens in the attics.
Whats in a job? In one sense you are rolling around in feces but in another sense you are worshiped by Pharaoh’s. “Why pharaohs worshipped dung beetles”? So what other jobs are right up there? I’m thinking of Mike Rowe’s show “Dirty Jobs”. How about Port-O-Let delivery or septic tank cleaner? As a customer do you know of any? There are many jobs out there and they all must be done, it seems like they probably should pay well.
So the first question is – Are Dung beetles scarab beetles? At the writing of this, there is some contention here but I’m sure the researchers will ultimately work these details out. So right now, dung beetles are in the Family – Scarabeidae which consist of about 30,000 species.
The Egyptians looked at Dung beetles similar to that of the sun moving across our planet. “The sun crosses the sky, goes into the underworld and rises again”. The Dung beetles roll the ball of feces, they mate and lay eggs inside the ball and then the babies hatch and come out of the ball of feces.
Consequently pest control technicians deal with feces from time to time, bird and rodent poop build up. In addition to that we have to be in attic and crawlspaces, guess who may live in there? Animals, rodents and once we had to remove a dead javelina from inside a crawlspace, yuuuuuuuuuuck.
“How satellites are helping combat diseases spread by insects”
Well to use that phrase – We’ve come a long way. Technology continues to help the cause, satellites are capable of tracking insect movements and could potentially help us to forecast diseases and they have combined it into an phone app.
So these new technology items may one day show early warning signals of the risk of epidemics etc.
Amazing!
I used to travel a lot and I’m guilty of letting the maids skip my room, I thought it would allow them to go home earlier. So this recent article made me smarter about a hotel stay. “Five myths about hotel housekeeping”
Obviously I’m making a point about one of the myths and that is that the Bedbug scare is over – people are taking more precautions but those pesky little bugs are still out there.
Check out All things Bedbugs for more information and things to do to prevent an infestation at your home.
First off – Happy Thanksgiving!
Over the roads and through the woods, oh wait that is Christmas but if you are traveling please plan ahead for unwanted pests.
Disease and my favorite bug is in the news once again – The Kissing Bug, apparently the dreaded Bedbug may now transmit a similar disease carried by the Kissing Bug.
In a study published online this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, senior author Michael Z. Levy, PhD, assistant professor in the department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and researchers at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru conducted a series of laboratory experiments that demonstrated bi-directional transmission of T. cruzi between mice and bed bugs.
So if you live in the South I highly recommend making sure your screens are in place, wear repellent when hiking an if you have horses or cattle keep an eye out for the Kissing Bugs
and
If traveling store your suitcase or luggage in the bathroom until you make an inspection of your hotel room, don’t accept or purchase furniture with inspecting it as well.
disease Photo by PPMA
