All posts in “bugs”

Tort Reform?

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Tort Reform

Tort reform? I think all of us remember that now famous issue with the very HOT coffee incident years ago, but a little information just as a reminder. A lady ordered coffee at a fast food restaurant and put if between her legs and it spilled or the cup broke anyway HOT coffee in her lap.

First off – Don’t put hot coffee between your legs, I would think that goes without saying! But apparently not. Well here is another one of those stories.

“Lawsuit: Bedbugs cost H-F Coach her Dreadlocks.”       So anyway here is my take on this issue.

  1. Bed Bugs DON’T live on humans. Lice do but not Bed Bugs.
  2. It sounds like the hotel, responded to the complaint next door and it sounds like they inspected adjacent rooms. Good Job. (I’m only reading a report of the incident, I wasn’t there.)
  3. With all the talk of Bed Bugs everyone should be aware of these little bugs.
  4. I’ve mentioned this before, Don’t Panic – don’t throw away mattresses and I see no reason to cut your hair. I know the creep factor is involved but come on, let’s not go overboard. $50,000 lawsuit see this is why we need Tort Reform. (my opinion)

I gave a talk years ago on Exceptional Customer Service – Do you know why all those items we use daily have warnings on them? Superman costume – not equipped to actually fly, lawnmower – do not place hands under mower when mower is operating, its because someone did it? I do realize we all do some dumb stuff but shouldn’t we really take responsibility for our own actions? So what do you think?

THINK BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING!

Bugs are bugs, right?

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Untitled

Arizona Vegetable IPM Update “Aphid Identification, lettuce dieback, wheat herbicide sensitivity“. By John Palumbo, UA Research Scientist and Extension Specialist. (Western Farm Press) He’s got a point and in the business of bugs a very important point –

This is where the accuracy part comes in. Just because you can find a few winged aphids on produce crops does not mean these species are important to leafy vegetable and cole crops.

Most people call and say I got bugs, and when we ask questions they are hesitant to answer. There is a big difference between American Roaches and German Roaches and really, really important in the treating scheme of things. Yes you can kills bugs with any pesticide generally but you may not solve the problem or you may make it worse. I’ve seen floors covered with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and still have bed bugs and I’ve seen people use can sprays to kill ants and still have ants. So here are my keys for pest control and they are fairly simple:

  1. Identify the bug
  2. Understand their biology
  3. Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
  4. Use the right pesticide if necessary

Do you remember my #1 pest tool, how about #2?

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duster grn

My all time most useful tool is the compact Bellows Hand Duster, I still believe I could solve most issues with this handy tool. The next best tool in my opinion could be the Insider (see below).

insider01     insider02

Not everyone within the Pest Industry has any idea of these but I keep them on hand for those hard to reach jobs or places where I like to dust from time to time.

Remember it’s not just killing the bugs, who have to use tools which work the best for the customer.

Urban Myth – maybe so on Praying Mantis

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You thought having bugs was a real pain, the mating process is a lot tougher on those bugs  involved. The Black Widow, well we know how she got her name and the Praying Mantis often get their heads chopped off my one or the other in that mating ritual. So now we have the ultimate answer, or maybe not. “Do Female Praying Mantis always eat the males?”,  Published in Entomology Today and video from the Smithsonian Channel.

Creepy and gross Bed Bugs

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Bed Bug Population on the Rise, creepy and gross?

Published October 18th, 2013

Bed Bug Population on the Rise WCJB TV-20

I decided to pass this along, for a couple of reasons. Very informative and right from a University setting. Bed Bug complaints are not going away, we continue to see the numbers rise even out here in Arizona. So as you are watching the video, let me point out a few things to pay attention to.

  1. Notice the size of these crawly blood suckers.
  2. Remember these things are almost invisible at early stages.
  3. The eggs are translucent.
  4. They are excellent hiders.
  5. Don’t just think bed, think around the room.
creepy

creepy

A few pictures from my readers…

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CBrannon021 CBrannon022 CBrannonCIMG1016 CBrannonCIMG1017

One of the things I would often mention to my Scouts as we were hiking was to not just look at the ground but to look around and capture the majesty of the world. These pictures are a prime example of that hidden world we often just cruise right on by. The first two pictures I believe are tent caterpillars and the last two pictures are some type of funnel spider from the area of Havasupai Falls in Arizona, located at the Grand Canyon.

So get out and explore the often hidden world of bugs and send me a few pictures, thanks to C. Brannon for these.

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