Blogs

Q. We have a lot of those big, black cockroaches around the outside of our house. I find them in the mulched flower beds next to the back door and under the porch, even in cold weather. Sometimes, I find them inside in the basement. What are they feeding on? A. Like other cockroaches, the oriental cockroach scavenges on garbage, decaying plant and animal materials, and on human and pet food...

There are lots of reasons why its’ not a good idea to share your home with insects; from structural damage caused by carpenter ants; to food borne illnesses that can be spread by houseflies; general aesthetics etc., but one more reason is asthma.  So what exactly is asthma? Medical professionals define it as a chronic lung disease that inflames and constricts airways marked by sy...

Why shouldn’t you touch a velvet ant? Because, despite its name, it’s not an ant at all, it’s a wasp. That should give you a clue. Like other wasps, it has a stinger and can inflict a painful sting. The velvet ant is sometimes called the “cow killer” because it was thought its sting could kill a cow! The sting can’t kill a cow or a human, and it’s not p...

Q. We have a rat that’s been hanging around under our deck. My husband bought one of those giant-sized rat snap traps and put it under there, baited with a piece of cheese.  The rat just ignores it. We saw him walk right around it. My husband tried a different bait, but still no luck. Do we have a picky rat or what are we doing wrong? A. What you’re witnessing is pretty typ...

Q. My contractor was doing some work recently, and found a large number of big black ants, some even had wings. I thought ants were dormant in the winter, and could the winged things be termites? A:  By the sound of it your contractor did find an ant nest.   Nest sites are commonly found during repairs or remodeling.  The description, “big black ants” does fi...

Q. I’ve found several strange insects in our hot water heater closet. The closest I can come to identifying them is that they’re silverfish, but they’re not really silvery, more brownish. Do you know what they might be? Are they baby silverfish? A. They might be firebrats, also called bristletails. Firebrats are related to silverfish and they look pretty much like silverfi...

The German cockroach has been around for a long time.  Originally from East Africa, these hardy hitchhikers have spread around the globe.  Warm jungle conditions with abundant food sources and lots of leaf litter gave  German cockroaches perfect habitat.  In nature, pressure from predators forced cock roaches into hiding in close dark spaces, and feeding primarily at night.&...

Many of us have old containers of old pesticides sitting on a shelf in our garage or shed. We leave them there because we don’t know what else to do with them. We know we shouldn’t just empty the contents down the drain, but what should we do? Following is advice from the Environmental Protection Agency on the safe disposal of pesticides. 1) The best way to dispose of small amou...

Winter is here and so are the head lice.   Estimates based on the sale of lice control products show that millions of cases occur yearly.  Of the three types of lice that infest humans, head lice are by far the most common, followed by pubic lice, and lastly body lice.   Head lice are most common among school age children, and readily spread through close contact. ...

Raccoons and opossums are two of the most common wildlife invaders in urban and suburban yards and homes. They don’t just end up there accidentally. There are plenty of things we humans do that provide food and shelter for wild animals. Below are just some of the conditions that can attract raccoons and opossums to your property, listed in alphabetical order: 1) Access under building...