All posts in “arizona”

It’s not always about the Scorpions, how about visiting Arizona? Watch Tower

Comments Off

Watch Tower, Grand Canyon

This picture, was taken by me in the winter of 2008 (by the way I love the picture, probably my favorite of the Grand Canyon) and is taken out of the window facing west from the building known as the Watch Tower also known as the Indian Watchtower, it is a 70-foot high stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States.

During the winter months ravens are plentiful and ocassionally you may see deer, no bugs but maybe a few in the summer months.

Great video by Raising Arizona Kids Magazine

Comments Off

Great video by Raising Arizona Kids Magazine

The only one thing I noticed was the talk about bathtubs and drains, my opinion is that the scorpions may drop into the tub from above and they might go down the drain to drink but I don’t believe that they swim or come up drains. Thanks to Arizona Kids Magazine for this super video.

Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222

[embedplusvideo height=”281″ width=”450″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/FT7r_XeeAgI?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=FT7r_XeeAgI&width=450&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep9668″ /]

Have you heard about the Cicada commotion on the East Coast?

Comments Off

Have you heard about the Cicada commotion on the East Coast?

You have to check out the following article from North Carolina on what they are calling “Swarmageddon“, its been in the making for 17 years. They are finding Cicada’s everywhere, from blades of grass to trees and everywhere in between. Check out all the neat photos of Cicadas’s and their molted skins, they are estimating billions of these critters will be making their comeback this spring.

Have you ever heard their singing chorus, OK you are probably thinking chorus yea right? I’ll bet the birds and other animals that eat cicada’s are going to have plenty of food for a few weeks. So what do you do when an invasion like this sets in? Really not much you can do, set back and grin and hope they don’t make it in the house. They don’t bite but can be a nuisance.

We occasionally have bugs explosions here in Arizona, from grasshoppers to mosquitoes. depending on weather conditions and the amount of rain.

Is it termites, no its cricket crap?

Comments Off

Is it termites, no its cricket crap?

Subterranean termites – in Arizona and most other places in the U.S. they build mud tunnels.

Crickets are notorious at getting into the stucco or crack and crevices and living within that space. They fecal material just falls out of those spaces and we have been getting a lot of calls thinking that they have termites.

Close up view, notice the insect leg.

Just to throw you off, the picture below is Drywood Termites – notice the grooves.

Were you aware that May is “National Pet Month”?

Comments Off

Were you aware that May is “National Pet Month”?

Lots of us own pets, from cats to snakes and because of this we can also from time to time get uninvited pests including ticks and other vermin. In Arizona we don’t get fleas very often but we do encounter ticks on a regular basis. So what can you do to stop those infestations from happening to your home.

Don’t leave food out for feral cats, this may bring in other unwanted pests.
If you see holes in the yard check for Pocket gophers, they can damage plants and bring in pests.
Even birds like pigeons can bring in pests, don’t allow them them to live on your roof.
Bats can make your attic a home, seal and block all access into your attic. Bat Bugs can take up residence within your attic and if you get rid of the bats, the Bat Bugs may come into your home space.
Check your pets frequently for signs of fleas or ticks. You can use over the counter medicines but if you do please mention this to your Pest Management Professional – some of those products may contain a similar products and cause an overdose to the pet.
Keep grass or vegetation trimmed around the home.
Don’t become a hoarder, keep debris away from the home and discourage rodent activity.
Never place firewood next to your home, don’t invite rodents or pests near the home. If you use firewood only bring in what you plan on using right away.
If you have rodents, it may lead to snakes. Snakes have to eat so don’t encourage them to come to your house.
Don’t allow water to stand, mosquitoes can bite and transit diseases and parasites to your pets.

So who watches the watchers?

Comments Off

So who watches the watchers?

So I think a few might remember all the hoopla about charities and how much they really donate to the actual charity and how much they spend to get the money. I found this website http://www.humanewatch.org/ and they ran a recent article Pest Management, HSUS-Style (A.K.A. Don’t Hurt the Widdle Roachy-Woachy)

I grew up in Ohio and hunting is an acceptable form of recreation and I also attended the Ohio Safe Hunting programs. One of the things I learned early in my hunting life was this – a gallon container only holds so much, much like an acre of land can only support so many animals. So lets say that that one acre can support 5 rabbits, 2 deer, 4 muskrats – well you get the idea. So what happens when the deer overpopulate the land, maybe they get some disease and die a horrible death or die because there isn’t enough food. That is what conservation is about, you allow hunters to cull the deer. Better to be shot than die from starving to death. Hunters and Trappers often supply the money for needed projects via their hunting and trapping fees for conservation.

Every once in awhile a population boom of some kind happens, mice in Australia to crickets in Arizona. However you feel about it, pesticides, pest control, fishing, trapping and hunting are essential components of our life here on Earth. Remember what happened in 1350-1358 in Europe with the Black Plague and occasionally happens in areas of the U.S.

I’m a Public Health Professional aka hunter, trapper and a Pest Management Professional.

Ants have it going on, do they succeed because they are social?

Comments Off

Ants have it going on, do they succeed because they are social?

You may recall that Carpenter Ants are my nemesis and thankfully we don’t have very many of these ants in Arizona. But this story talks about their complex social structure.

“A particular genus of carpenter ants (Camponotus fellah) exist in a complex social structure, where their first jobs see them caring for the queen and her offspring, and as the ants age many of them wind up working at more and more of a distance from the big cheese, according to an academic paper released this week.” By Jack Clark in San Francisco.

Carpenter Ants don’t really eat the wood but spend countless hours excavating throughout the wood and that might be your home. So if you have them call a Pest Management Professional right away.

What are Genetically engineered (GE) insects?

Comments Off

What are Genetically engineered (GE) insects?

Genetically engineered (GE) insects are yet another class of biotech experiments moving rapidly toward release into our environment.

They are talking about controls and oversight, but none is currently being provided. These GE insects include a GE pink bollworm, a GE medfly, GE apple codling moth and GE mosquitos.

This is amazing stuff that they are working on, the USDA has allowed a field trial in Arizona of pink bollworms engineered with a fluorescent gene so that the British company that created them (Oxitec) can assess how far they travel.

It’s not always about the Scorpions, how about visiting Arizona? Wupatki National Monument

2 Comments

It’s not always about the Scorpions, how about visiting Arizona?

Wupatki National Monument

The large pueblos preserved at Wupatki National Monument were constructed in the years following the eruption of nearby Sunset Crater, sometime between 1040 and 1100. Volcanic ash, deposited in thin layers, retained moisture and improved farming for an increased population at Wupatki.

One of the things I enjoy the most is investigating the types of wildlife or insects that in habitat areas like this. This area in years past had a very large harvester ant nest and I always brought along some sunflower seeds to spinkle around and watch them carry them back to their nest. Lizards and other wildlife are always visible, lounging around and gathering up the rays of sunshine.

Do you know what’s going on here? Post Tension or not?

Comments Off

Do you know what’s going on here? Post Tension or not?

Honestly I have no idea, it is stamped with Post Tension but there appears to be an expansion joint visible in both garages. There is also evidence of termites coming up the expansion joint. So I’m guessing but I think its a combination of Post Tension and Floating Slab.

What do I do? Do I drill the slab or not? Well if you hear screaming coming from Arizona it’s me!