Archive for the Flying Insects Category
Posted on September 6, 2012 with 1 Comment
Use Insect Repellent on exposed skin when outdoors. Even a short time being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite.
Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites. Weather permitting, wear long-sleeved clothing and socks when outdoors. outdoors. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin.
Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours. Thee hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for mosquitoes. Always use bug repellent and wear protective clothing during these times, or consider limiting outdoor activity.
Clean Up Water! Mosquito breeding sites can be anywhere. Mosquitos love free standing water. Survey your property and encourage friends and neighbors to keep their yards free of water.
Posted on June 21, 2012 with No Comments
Mosquitoes, ants, water bugs, ticks and bees. They are coming out all over the US with a vengeance this summer according to bug experts.
The city of New Orleans has reported an elevated number of mosquitoes this year, and so have many cities in northeast Illinois, as well as St. Paul, Minn., where pest control workers have reported a 50 percent increase in call volume.
In the Northeast, a mild winter and a mellow spring with warm and wet conditions have contributed to a flourishing bug population.
Mike Deutsch, an urban Entomologist with Arrow Exterminating Company, told FOX News, “We are bracing for a major bug war, if you will. It all depends on how the summer is. If the summer is really hot and there is a lot of moisture like there has been the last month or so, the population of insects is going to be out of control.”
And there are certain species entomologists and exterminators are looking out for — like the Asian tiger mosquito — a very aggressive version of mosquito that bites during the day. Many types of bugs have arrived far ahead of schedule, said Deutsch.
“The mosquitoes were out early. Normally you don’t really find them until June, but we’ve got reports of mosquito problems as early as April, which is very early. We also saw carpenter ant activity much earlier.”
One of the biggest concerns in having extra mosquitoes around this summer is the possible increase in numbers of West Nile Virus cases. Last year, 11 people in the New York City area contracted the virus. Two of them died.
Residents can take an active role in eliminating bug’s breeding grounds which usually involves water collection sites. Dominick Ninivaggi, superintendent of Mosquito Vector Control for Suffolk County in Long Island, said, “It is important to try and get rid of any standing water, particularly after a rain.”
Get rid of any buckets, birdbaths, anything that has picked up water because these mosquitoes can breed in a paper cup or even a bottle cap.”
Ninivaggi said mosquitoes are not the only blood-sucking predators they are worried about.
“We are also seeing an increase in certain species of ticks,” he said. “Ticks in the Northeast are a big problem, with the transmission of lime disease and certain other tick-borne diseases. The mild winter seems to be giving us an upper-crop of the ticks as well.”
Read More: Experts predict buggy summer across the US
Posted on April 2, 2012 with No Comments
Martin Hauser
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| The male spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, can be identified by the dark spots near the tips of its wings. |
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| Peter Jentch, senior extension associate in entomology, set apple cider vinegar traps in the Hudson Valley Laboratory grape vineyard in March. Such traps are one way for growers to monitor the spotted wing drosophila. |
Late last summer, a single fruit fly dropped into a vinegar trap in the Hudson Valley, alerting extension specialists to spotted wing drosophila’s (SWD) arrival to New York state. This tiny fruit fly may spark big changes for growers of berries and other soft-skinned fruits in the Northeast this summer.
“Based on what is occurring in places like Michigan and North Carolina, I expect the SWD to be a serious issue for small fruit growers in New York,” said Cornell professor of entomology Greg Loeb. “Until now, we have not had to spray a lot of insecticide on our small fruit crops, but SWD could be a game changer for pest management.”
An Asian native, Drosophila suzukii first appeared in California in 2008 and subsequently became established in the Southeast. Hurricane Irene is credited with helping it expand northward last year to the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes and Long Island.
According to Loeb, summer fruits with soft skins are at risk, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sweet cherries and strawberry varieties, which produce fruit through late summer. Grapes are potentially at risk, but they do not appear as vulnerable as the others.
Although the SWD are small — about the size of common kitchen fruit flies — their damage to crops can be massive. Adult females use specialized, serrated ovipositors to stow their eggs beneath the fruit skin. The maggots that subsequently hatch from them destroy the fruit’s commercial value.
“Although unappealing, eating fruit that might contain SWD is not harmful or poisonous to consumers,” noted Julie Carroll, fruit IPM coordinator with New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program.
To prevent crop losses, Cornell research and extension specialists hope to reach all potentially affected growers before the growing season starts.
“The punctures from egg laying are so small that they will be hard for growers to spot with the naked eye,” Carroll said. “Growers will likely first notice infested fruit, which will develop darker, soft regions as the SWD develop.”
Monitoring is the first line of defense, according to Peter Jentsch, senior extension associate in entomology at the Hudson Valley Laboratory in Highland, N.Y.
“It’s crucial to determine the earliest appearance of SWD adult females to prevent the onset of egg laying,” Jentsch said. “With only 10 to 15 days from egg to egg-laying adulthood, populations can erupt very quickly, making them difficult to control as harvest approaches.”
According to Carroll, two insecticides have been granted special approval for use this season, including one for organic production. However, guidelines for spray regimes will likely evolve over the growing season, in part because the newcomer harbors some secrets. For example, although the insects are presumed to be present all summer, they don’t show up in traps until late summer or early fall. In addition, sprays must be carefully timed to target the adult stage, because the eggs and worms are shielded by the fruit.
“What’s most important is for growers to be tuned in to their Cornell Cooperative Extension specialists and extension entomologists, because there is a lot we will learn as the season progresses,” Carroll said.
Researchers plan to use this growing season to learn as much as they can about the SWD. Loeb and collaborators have initiated five local and regional research projects to better define effective control, including trials to test pesticide efficacy, monitoring to determine what crops are most at risk, and alternative approaches to managing SWD populations, such as “attract and kill” traps and repellants.
Source Credits: Cornell University; Amanda Garris is a freelance writer in Geneva, N.Y.
Posted on December 9, 2011 with No Comments
Live Science reports that a recent scientific discovery has revealed that in Africa sleeping mats or mattresses made out of bug repelling plants were made and being slept on to ensure a good night’s sleep. The bedding consists of thick layers of compacted stems and leaves of sedges and rushes collected from the banks of a nearby river.
The finding, published in the journal Science on Friday, comes from plant bedding that is 77,000 years old and was found in a cave in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province.
The insect-repelling capabilities of the bed suggest that ancient humans, almost 80,000 years ago, were well aware of the chemical and medicinal properties of some plants. “The leaves contained chemicals that repelled mosquitoes and other insects, so we know that they understood medicinal plants,” said Lyn Wadley, an archaeology professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The bedding would have helped reduce insect-borne disease, although early humans would not have made any connection between mosquitoes and malaria, she told Reuters.
“It was for comfort. They would have known that those leaves kept away insects and maybe other pests as well,” Wadley said.
Posted on November 2, 2011 with No Comments
A woman in the south had a swarm of bugs and captured some and gave them to a local Home Depot specialist, an exterminator and a county agricultural agent. Turns out that the bugs she found are Megacopta cribraria, an insect native to Asia that likely stowed away on a flight in 2009 and entered the U.S. through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, entomologists say.
In Georgia, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, the bugs have been smashing into windshields, lighting on exterior walls and smelling up soccer games and outdoor parties.
The bug invasion is of concern because it is an invasive species that is killing kudzo crops. Entomologists are notably astounded by the bug, which originated in Japan.
Posted on October 5, 2011 with No Comments
Did you know that you can buy pest control online from JP McHale’s Pest Management Inc.?
Just click here and we’ll take care of all of your pest control needs. Some of the pests we service include ants, termites, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, ticks, crickets, mosquito’s, bed bugs and mice.
Posted on September 15, 2011 with No Comments
LoHud.com has reported that the Asian tiger mosquito was discovered in traps set by the Rockland Department of Health in Orangetown during the last week of August. Inspectors also found larvae of the species nearby, which indicates that the insect is breeding in the area. The mosquitoes found in Rockland have not yet been tested for diseases and officials have not said exactly where the newly arrived species was found in Rockland.
One inspector said that “there is only so much they can do and that a lot of it is up to the homeowner.” If you live in Rockland County or Westchester County and you notice mosquito’s in your yard, give us a call at 800-479-2284.
Posted on September 12, 2011 with No Comments
Being stung by a bee or wasp is never fun! Fortunately, most bee stings are avoidable. Bees, wasps, and hornets sting primarily to defend themselves, so the key to avoiding bee stings is to make sure the bees don’t feel threatened by you.
1. Don’t wear perfumes or colognes: In other words, don’t smell like a flower.
2. Avoid wearing brightly colored clothing, especially floral prints: Don’t look like a flower.
3. Be careful what you eat outdoors: Sugary foods and drinks will attract bees and wasps for sure.
4. Don’t walk barefoot: Bees may nectar on clover blossoms and other small flowers in your lawn, and some wasps make their nests in the ground.
5. Try not to wear loose-fitting clothes: Bees and wasps might just find their way up your pant leg or into your shirt if you give them an easy opening.
6. Stay still: The worst thing you can do when a wasp flies around your head is swat at it
7. Keep your car windows rolled up: Wasps and bees can’t get inside a car that’s closed up, so keep the windows rolled up whenever possible.
8. Rinse your garbage and recycling cans and keep lids on them:
Wasps love empty soda and beer bottles, and will check out any food waste in your garbage
9. Don’t hang out in the flower garden! Bees spend most of their time and energy collecting nectar and pollen from flowers.
10. Call a professional to have unwanted bees, wasps, or hornets removed. Professional beekeepers or pest control experts, like the staff at JP McHale’s, can remove wasp or hornet nests or bee swarms safely, without putting you at risk for stings.
Posted on August 12, 2011 with No Comments
An area of French Guiana has been forced into obeying a curfew….by who? Yellowtail moths. These pests have proven bothersome to the region since early July, the time period in which the decision to turn off all lighting at dusk was enforced.
With dark streets and vacant stores, the people of the French Guiana region have been retreating to their homes at dusk, or remaining outside under mosquito netting if they so choose.
Why the drastic change in lifestyle? The Yellowtail moths, mainly located in mangrove swamps, are attracted to lit areas and can prove unpleasant for humans. The moths disperse microscopic hairs from their bodies which have harmful skin effects for humans. The hairs from these moths cause severe itching for humans, and the infestation level in this area is tremendous.
Various shops and restaurants have been closed nightly for over a month.
The residents of this area have formed a committee which hopes to see change soon, along with the return of a normal lifestyle.
Click here for the full story!
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Posted on July 18, 2011 with 1 Comment
Community members in Wildomar, California fear persistent bee swarms that reside in a back yard will eventually be 
taking a human life. The swarms have already attacked two pet dogs, leaving one dead. A mother and son have neighbors whose yard provides residence for the swarms. They have had no luck convincing their neighbors to have the bees removed.
The town claims to have no authority in removing the swarms unless the homeowners approach them, being the swarm is on private property. Regardless of monetary restrictions, the bees have become a health hazard, killing one known household pet and forcing allergic community members to revolve their schedule around that of the bees.
If you encounter pest problems in your home or yard, be sure to contact us!
Many of them are sly creatures, making their way inside and next door to your neighbors’ property. Call us before the annoyance becomes too much to handle…we’re here to help!
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