From time to time the Plague comes to the front of the news, we occasionally have the Plague at the 4 corners area of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Recent testing in Coconino County in Northern Arizona, tested positive on prairie dogs in the Doney Park area.
“Fleas in Flagstaff test positive for plague”
We generally don’t have fleas in Phoenix, I think mainly due to lack of humidity. Flagstaff is at a higher altitude and has greater humidity levels.
Bugs can and will move if given the opportunities. I have spoken about this before and I train my technicians to know about the bugs in others areas just so we can be sure if one pops up. What do I mean by this statement?
Example #1 – Someone moves from Kansas and they store their boxes in a temporary storage facility. They then move across the country and they accidentally bring a spider or other pest across state lines.
Example #2 – Someone visiting from another country visits the US and brings in a piece of fruit which as bugs on it.
Example #3 – Someone moves to Arizona and brings a potted plant with them.
All these stories could be true and the USDA does a great job of tracking and stopping some of these pests from moving around. A recent Aphid – SugarCane Aphid has been in Florida since 1977 and recently was discovered in Texas. Bugs do move and given the right circumstances will take advantage of every possible chance to move to another location.
I think the question I get asked the most at this time of year is “Why am I seeing more bugs in my house than any other time of year”?
So lets imagine that you are a bug and all of sudden it rains and I mean it rains hard. Your home becomes wet or flooded, you react by trying to go higher and that might be your home. You see the bug doesn’t know your house from a tree or a rock.
OR
It doesn’t rain and the bugs that you feed upon aren’t coming by your place, so you have to go out looking for food. That bug comes to your home and climbs and climbs just looking for food.
So if we can think like a bug, attack you where you live or hangout – then we stop you. If I was a bug this is where I would hangout and this is one area we treat.
I have noticed lately especially after the rains that we have had numerous calls about flying biting mosquitoes. With all the monsoon rains, a lot of the things that hold water have had the chance to really set things in motion for the issues with biting pests.
Water can accumulate in any container that can hold water, fountains that aren’t working and any indention in the ground. So again I will mention surveying your property monthly or at the very least when the rains occur.
Remember the 3 things that most living things need:
Some mosquitoes are well suited for inhabiting local areas but some can travel up to mile just to feed. So tip over those devices that can hold water, don’t forget saucers for planters.
Photo by PPMA
Stored product pest
Stored product pest include such pests as Beetle, Moths and Weevils. Another pests that deserves a distinction of menace also includes rodents like mice and rats. I really like the idea of using glass bottles to store products away from the pests that might try to get to them. You get the benefit of reducing pests and you can see what the product is. One additional idea is to take a grocery item and immediately freeze it and then store it in an see through container.
Just another great idea that incorporates IPM or Integrated Pest Management.
To be completely honest I love rain and you’re probably not going to like my reason for it. The rain brings out the bugs and I LOVE it, the termites become more active and bugs in general just love the water opportunities.
So with all this water, what can you do to prevent the inevitable onslaught of the bugs.
Brown Widow Spider
Brown Widow Spider and this was a picture from my own neighborhood, thanks Monica. Sometimes difficult to tell, but you can see some strange markings including that little hourglass. The colorings are different than that of Black Widow spiders, the color of the hourglass can be yellow or even orange and they may also have spots on their top sides. The one thing to note is that the egg sacks are spiky while those of the Black Widow are basically just round shaped.
Always take care working around you home, wear gloves and if bitten call Poison Control 1-800-222-1222
spider markings
Brown Widow
“EPA pesticide bans threaten you and the economy” by Alan Caruba.
Not killing pests, insects and rodents, is a great way to put everyone’s health in jeopardy. New York City announced a new war in May against rats and will spend $600,000 to hire new inspectors to deal with an increased population. Lyme disease and West Nile Fever are just two of the diseases that require serious insect pest control. A wide variety of insects spread many diseases from Salmonella to Hantavirus. Termites do billions in property damage every year.
I’m a big believer in IPM or Integrated Pest Management – the use of all things in your toolbox before you get or have to use pesticide. There are many things out there that can kill you and all I’m saying is that we have to use common sense in our actions. Everyone touts these GREEN oils and products and if they all worked as well as pesticides I would think we as an industry would use them more and more. But the facts are not conclusive yet that they hold up as long or kill as efficiently as pesticides do. We are using more and more inside versus pesticide because we promote outside first and inside only as the last option.
Well I thought this was a funny question, but it turns out they travel by mass transit. OK I’m kidding you but in NYC the bed bugs are spreading out by taking every opportunity to sneak to different locations by every means available. Libraries continue to see infestations, theaters and now modes of transportation.
So what can you do? Be aware of your surroundings, if you think you are being bitten take to to the person in charge of where ever you are. Most people don’t actually notice the bite but if you get home and you see bites or welts think about where you had been and call them and mention it.
Photo by NPMA
If you follow this home seal you know how often I remind you that you need to check your property. I recommend monthly and if this homeowner had checked, someone should have noticed this massive hive.
“Massive wasp nest removed from Winter Haven home”
Estimated to contain 15,000 yellow-jackets and it is expected to take 48 hours to completely get rid of the nest and inhabitants.
Photo by PPMA
