I’m always confused about this – are you? Coral Snake or Lookalike…

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I saw this on FaceBook and thought maybe just maybe if I shared this little saying – somebody would remember it and take care. So maybe print this off and save it someplace that you can see it often to remind yourself. Or better yet, “Don’t touch anything without knowing what it really is”.

So has anybody watched that show called “Snake Salvation” – “They shall take up Serpents” Mark 16: 17-18

I know your not ever to talk about Politics or Religion, Politics would it even matter – I don’t think we can do anything these days about it and Religion – we all have our beliefs. If you want to dance around with snakes who am I to say no, honestly I wouldn’t do it but hey that’s me. What I will do is come to your home or business and with a very long snake grabber, grab and take away the snake.

ProBest Pest Management •425 W. Guadalupe Road #110 • Gilbert, Arizona 85233 • 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176

Don’t kill snakes they provide a valuable service by eating and keeping rodent populations in check.

My favorite bug is on the prowl – Assassin Bug

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While teaching at the Chandler Environmental Education Center one of the parents asked me what this bug was? Why of course it’s my buddy the Assassin Bug. I really love the look and often times checkered pattern of this insect.

They prefer to attack animals such as cattle and horses but if they get trapped in your home they will bite whatever they can. So keep those doors closed and those screens repaired. Stay safe and check your homes frequently.

Beware the Bite, how mosquitoes can be a real problem?

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They bite and cause all sorts of disease so what can you do to prevent problems? This man in Arkansas “Bitten by Bugs: man becomes part of scary WNV statistic”. I’m amazed constantly about people wanting to ban all pesticides, we just need to be cautious and use them in a manner consistent to their labeling.

Here in Arizona I see issues with ticks, bed bugs, assassin bugs and mosquitoes, so what can we do for mosquitoes?

Be Aware of stagnant pools in your area.
If the water doesn’t move it can get mosquitoes, so check areas like flower vases or drainage areas.
Shut your doors and screen your windows.
If you have areas that dry out but occasionally fill with water and it is difficult to treat, use mosquito dunks – the only product with BTI, a bacteria toxic only to mosquito larvae, that lasts 30 days and treats 100 square feet of surface water. The best time to treat for msoquitoes is when they are the water.
Where repellent when outside and/or dress accordingly.

Which is worse – bite of spider or sting of a scorpion?

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I know you really want a straight up answer but nothing is ever so simple. It depends on the spider and scorpion: basic facts

Both are venomous, they inject venom.
Just like a bee sting – you could be allergic and die from just one bite or sting.
Emperor scorpions – the ones they sell in pet stores, if they stung you it would be like a bee sting – again unless you’re allergic.
Tarantula – even though they can be huge and scary, probably wouldn’t kill you. (Just for the record, if one got that close to me – that in itself could kill me).
As I said lets do a little comparison – Black Widow spider versus Bark Scorpion. On average, four people in the U.S. die every year from spider bites and none of those deaths are caused by black widow spiders.Symptoms include five days of pain, muscle cramping, night sweats, incoherence and unusual delirium. There was a case in Colorado in 2011 where someone was possibly bitten by a black widow 19 times and died, but the coronor ruled it natural causes.

Ahhh, the truth will set you free – right?

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The much aligned Black Widow spider, often gets the bad rap for devouring its mate – but wait not so fast. It may turn out that its not just females but maybe males too. This study from Lenka Sentenska and Stano Pekar from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, “Black Widow Myth also applies for some Male Spiders” Submitted by Gaurav Singla on Wed, 05/08/2013 – 11:12 Czech Republic

What are centipedes?

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What are centipedes? Spiders or insects?

This Arizona Centipede is actually an arthropod (arthropods are organisms that have segmented bodies, a jointed skeleton and paired jointed limbs. They include such creatures as spiders, centipedes and insects) that has an elongated body with one pair of legs per segment. So really neither spider or insect but a creature all it’s own. They range in size from less than an inch to several inches. The smaller, brown and tan, common desert centipede does bite, it can be painful but not deadly to humans.

The centipede is one of the oldest animals on Earth having evolved into the form it is today, millions of years ago. The centipede has been found in fossils dating over 400 million years old.

Remember, venom = active, poison = passive. Call 1-800-222-1222 Poison Control for additional information.

Travel Bugs = Bed Bugs.

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A little play on words, what is the travel bug – Bed Bugs of course!

Well in just about a week people will begin the Holiday traveling season, traveling to see relatives or friends. Hopefully not many will be bringing back any hitchhikers like Bed Bugs. So with traveling just ahead of us, here are a few tips for safety from National Pest Management Association and ProBest Pest Management:

Thoroughly inspect the entire room with a flashlight before unpacking, including behind the headboard, under lights, and inside dressers, drawers, sofas and chairs. I prefer to leave my luggage in the bathroom and hand my clothes on the shower rod.
Pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams and box springs, particularly at the corners, for telltale stains, spots or shed bed bug skins.
Place suitcase in a plastic trash bag during the duration of your trip to ensure that bed bugs cannot take up residence there prior to departure. *Tip: Pack clothes in zip lock bag for easy cleaning upon returning home.
Do not place luggage on upholstered surfaces. The safest place is in the bathroom in the middle of a tile floor or on a luggage rack after it has been thoroughly inspected. Do not use a luggage rack if it has hollow legs, where bed bugs may hide unseen.
If you notice bed bugs in your room, notify management and request to change rooms immediately.
Do not move to a room adjacent and/or directly above/below the suspected infestation.
When you return home, inspect your suitcases before bringing them into the house.
Vacuum your suitcase thoroughly before bringing indoors and storing away.
Wash all of your clothes – even those items you haven¹t worn – in hot water to remove any bed bugs or eggs that may have traveled home with you. Dry clean only clothes should be thrown in the dryer and run on high heat.

World Mosquito Day

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World Mosquito Day

Never before seen letters reveal the story of the scientist who laid the foundations of a cure for malaria more than a century ago

When British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered the crucial link between mosquitoes and malaria at the end of the 19 century, he understandably thought it marked the beginning of the end of the deadly disease… More than a century after Ross’s momentous break through, malaria continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people every year- a neglected disease for much of the 20 century.

http://www.malarianomore.org or http://www.endmalarianow.org

“Cheap” What a word in Pest Control!

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“Cheap” What a word in Pest Control!

“I do not prize the word “cheap.” It is not a badge of honor. It is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country.” William McKinley

So today I had this call about Bed Bugs, I was not the first person there and apparently not the last and here is the real story. The person has had the bugs for several months, maybe a year at this point and has been spending time elsewhere. They had spread into at least 2 bedrooms and 1 living room, I quoted $900 and recommended encasement’s and bagging what they could. They told me the previous company quoted $400 for only the master bedroom but they decided they liked my option better and booked the job. The next day they called to cancel – they had found someone to do the entire home for $500.

To do this job correctly will take 4 -5 hours and it will be done on hands and knees to make sure you get to the bed bugs, where they hide.

What kind of job do you think they will get for $500? They only have to miss one white egg or translucent nymph?

You get what you pay for and in the creepy world of bed bugs you need a PRO! Like ProBest…

Photo’s courtesy of National Pest Management Association

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