My kids found a really weird-looking, scary bug in our backyard. It has a thing on its back that looks like a chicken’s comb, with a skinny neck and a little head. It looked like it was carrying a moth. It’s about 2 inches long. Any idea what it is? Does it bite or sting?
VIEW MOREEver heard of a spricket? It’s a catchy term coined to describe the camel cricket. It’s actually short for “spider cricket”. Although the mottled brown camel cricket is not related to, and has nothing to do with, spiders, many people think it looks like a spider with its long legs and arched back. Late summer
VIEW MOREThe brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, for short) was first detected in the U.S. in 1990. Ever since, it has been spreading east across the country and north into New England and is now found in almost every state in the nation. It was first found in Massachusetts in 2007 and has since appeared in
VIEW MOREI’m worrying a lot lately about ticks since I know several people who have had Lyme disease. I know we should use repellent when we are outside, but what kind? Does a regular mosquito repellent like Off! work against ticks? P. D., Ayer, MA Most insect repellents for mosquitoes and biting flies are also labeled
VIEW MOREThose of us in the pest control industry were floored to read that less than ¼ of Americans buy insect repellent to protect their families from bites and diseases spread by mosquitoes and ticks. This surprising info came from a Harris poll conducted for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), the member association of pest
VIEW MOREYou may have seen news items about a new mosquito-vectored disease that has recently made its appearance in the U.S. It’s called chikungunya and is pronounced “chick-en-goon-yah.” Admittedly it sounds like a dish on the carryout menu of a Chinese restaurant. Actually, chikungunya is not a new disease, it’s been actively spreading in the Caribbean
VIEW MORENow that summer is winding down, maybe you think that the risk of mosquito disease transmission should be winding down as well. Sorry, but not yet. In our Northeastern region, mosquitoes are most likely to spread disease June through September. But the risk of mosquito-borne illness continues in an area until there is a hard
VIEW MOREIf you live in an apartment or condo in multi-family housing, you know that you have to be even more vigilant to prevent indoor pests. If one of your neighbors has a serious cockroach or mouse infestation, there’s a chance that those pests will try to invade your space as well. Don’t wait for that
VIEW MOREI know that one of the sources for fleas in a home is the pet’s bedding, but I don’t know what to do about it. Will washing or vacuuming the bedding kill fleas? N. T., Medway, MA It’s not the adult fleas that are found in your pet’s bed (or the sofa, or wherever your
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