Archive for the ‘Palm Beach County Lawn Care Pest & Termite Control Services’ Category
Cat Flea Biology
May 26, 2011Pest Alert
May 25, 2011Subscribe to the Pest Alert-L listserv to receive brief notices of additions to Pest Alert sent directly to your mail box.
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Alerts for May:
- 05/24/11 – Florida accepting applications for the southern pine beetle prevention program – See this species on Featured Creatures
- 05/23/11 – McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity Newsletter – April 2011
- 05/23/11 – U.S. survey reports 2010/2011 winter honey bee losses
- 05/23/11 – Florida DoH Arbovirus Summary – through 21 May 2011 (PDF) – Summary Archives – Human Arbovirus cases in Florida, 2006—2010 – Press releases on human infections and deaths – Repellents, Traps, Virus Information, Maps, etc.
- 05/20/11 – Honky-tonk cicadas – See Featured Creatures for the cicadas of Florida
- 05/20/11 – Mexican fruit fly quarantine area in Cameron County, Texas – See this species on Featured Creatures
- 05/20/11 – American Mosquito Control Association Webinar on Strategies for Safer Pesticide Applications – 3 June 2011
- 05/16/11 – New Featured Creatures – spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura)
- 05/16/11 – Bacterium found to kill malaria in mosquitoes
- 05/13/11 – UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology newsletter – May 2011
- 05/13/11 – USDA prepares draft environmental assessment for pest-resistant cotton
- 05/11/11 – Africanized bee removal in Florida
- 05/11/11 – New insect repellant may be thousands of times stronger than DEET
- 05/10/11 – “Black olive” or bucida caterpillar – a nuisance pest in south Florida (PDF) – Staining associated with this species and the Eriophyid mite connection (PDF)
- 05/09/11 – UF/IFAS scientists report insecticide resistance developing in psyllid that carries citrus greening – See this species on Featured Creatures
- 05/09/11 – More on zombie ants – (03/07/11) Four new species of zombie ant fungi discovered in Brazilian rainforest
- 05/09/11 – Insects with a third pair of wings
- 05/06/11 – Is the primary reason humans get malaria because we have smelly feet?
Giant Ant Colony is a World Wonder
May 24, 2011Top 10 Bloodsuckers: Bedbug
May 20, 2011A count down of the Top 10 Bloodsuckers: #3: Bedbug ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBwBgbLAMiM
Pest Control & Exterminator Blogs
May 19, 2011Check out these great blogs and resources!
No Pests Blog – JP McHale Pest Management Inc.
National Pesticide Information Center ~ Pro Best Pest
How to Protect Yourself from the Dangers of Mosquito Bites
Watch this trailer to help Capella University donate $0.50 to education programs worldwide
Cicadas Being Used As Jewelry
Bed Bug Information | Smithereen Blog
The Washington Post: Bedbugs may play role in spread of drug-resistant bacteria MRSA, study finds
May 13, 2011The Washington Post: Bedbugs may play role in spread of drug-resistant bacteria MRSA, study finds
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Anyone who has ever had a bedbug infestation knows full well what a nuisance the pestscan be. Unlike ticks and mosquitoes, however, bedbugs are not known to spread disease, and they are generally not viewed as a major public health threat.
But a peer-reviewed study published Wednesday in a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that the pests could play a role in disease transmission. In a tiny sample of bedbugs, collected from patients living in crowded conditions in an impoverished neighborhood in Canada, researchers found the drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA.
The researchers and doctors at a Vancouver, B.C., hospital tested three patients from the high-drug-use neighborhood who were infested with bed bugs. They collected five bedbugs and determined that the insects carried two types of drug-resistant bacteria. Three bedbugs from one patient contained methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), and and the two from the other patients each contained vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE).
MRSA has increasingly turned up in hospitals and in outbreaks outside of health-care settings, such as among athletes, prison inmates and children.
“Even though this is a small study, it suggests that bedbugs may be playing a role in the transmission of MRSA in inner city populations where bedbug infestations are a problem,” said Marc Romney, one of the study’s authors. Romney is medical director of infection prevention and control at St. Paul’s Hospital, and a specialist in infectious diseases.
The study does not answer many key questions. It did not determine whether the bacteria were transmitted from the patient to the bugs or the other way around. Nor did it determine whether the bacteria were on the outside of each bug or living and growing inside it, which would suggest the possibility of biological transmission, researchers said.
But even if the bugs were carrying the bacteria on their exteriors, the finding is still significant, Romney said, because bedbugs could spread the germ from person to person, especially in crowded settings such as the homeless shelters where these patients were living in downtown Vancouver.
In recent years, bedbugs have made an alarming comeback, and experts suspect the resurgence is related to resistance to available pesticides, greater mobility and travel, and lack of knowledge about pests that were virtually eradicated in the 1940s and ’50s.
The study was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal published by the CDC that analyzes and tracks disease trends.
Florida Love Bugs are “trending” on Twitter
May 12, 2011Bee
May 4, 2011Great photo!
Rat causes fatal car crash, Miami rescue says
May 3, 2011Rat causes fatal car crash, Miami rescue says
PHOTO: NBC MIAMI
One person was killed and five others injured after a rat caused a car crash in Miami Sunday night, authorities said.
The bizarre incident happened just after midnight in the area of North Miami Avenue and 29th Street when the rat caused an explosion that knocked out street lights at the intersection.
“Believe it or not, a rat was at the top of one of the light poles…and chewed through one of the fusible links at the top of the pole, this caused the street lights to go out,” said Capt. Joseph Zahralban, with the City of Miami Fire Rescue.
Zahralban said a group of people from a nearby bar went to investigate what caused the explosion and were standing on the sidewalk when two cars collided because the lights were out.
“As they were looking at the rat, two vehicles approached the intersection…these vehicles collided and unfortunately hit some of the pedestrians,” Zahralban said.
One person died at the scene. Five others were rushed to nearby hospitals. They are in stable to serious condition, Zahralban said.
Frank Negron said he went to investigate the explosion and was shocked at what he saw.
“I saw the explosion and all the lights went out,” said Negron. “We were trying to figure out what was the cause of the explosion and then someone said ‘there’s a dead rat here on the floor’ and sure enough it was smoking.”
When the crash happened, Negron said, his friends were hit by the cars.
“A few of my friends who were standing on the sidewalk got pinned down by the vehicle, we had to lift up the vehicle and get a young lady out and another young man,” said Negron, who was still bewildered by the chances of the incident happening. “One in a million.”
10 Most Diabolical Creepy Crawlies On Earth
April 28, 201110 Most Diabolical Creepy Crawlies On Earth
Photo:
Photo: RBirtles
Evil, diabolical call them what you will, the wingless microscopic or near microscopic critters we’ve gathered together here are a veritable roll-call of the repulsive and the abhorrent. Fleas, lice, ticks, mites and bedbugs make up the minuscule menagerie, and alongside the mug shots we’ve endeavoured to explain what it is each featured pest does to us that makes it equally if not more repugnant than it looks. Feeling itchy yet? These little guys are certainly getting bloated.
10. Bedbug: 4–5 mm long
Photo:
Photo via Alternative Health Journal
Ever been bitten by Bedbugs? Well, it isn’t pretty; in fact it’s excruciating. Feeding on the blood of humans and other mammals, these night-time nasties get their name from their preferred habitat of mattresses, bed frames, sofas and other furniture, and are often picked up in hotels. Although visible to the naked eye, they’re masters at moving undetected and hiding out of sight in nooks and crannies. They reach their host by crawling or by climbing the walls to the ceiling and jumping down, paratrooper style, on feeling a heat wave.
Elusive menace: Bedbug
Photo:
Photo: Adam Cuerden
Like fleas, Bedbugs are attracted by warmth and CO2. Once landed on their host, they pierce the skin with two tubes, one of which injects saliva while the other sucks up blood. The bites cannot usually be felt until much later, when the welts caused are often accompanied by a severe itching as the skin reacts to the anaesthetic injected. Stress, insomnia, and in rare cases nausea are among the reactions to Bedbug infestations, which are undergoing a global resurgence. Infected? The thermal death point for these insect horrors is 45°C.
Infest! Bedbug cases are on the rise
Photo:
Photo: A.L. Szalanski
9. Cat Flea: 1.5–3.3 mm long
Photo:
Photo: gucic
Like other fleas, the Cat Flea – one of the most widespread on earth – is an insect with mouthparts modified for piercing skin and sucking blood – to distinctly itchy effect. Housecats are its choice host, but it also commonly infests dogs, and will bite humans – albeit without being able to breed on us. A few Cat Fleas are unlikely to cause much harm unless their host is allergic to substances in their saliva, but they can transmit other parasites and infections to pets and humans including murine typhus and tapeworm. Nasty.
Flee! It’s the Cat Flea
Photo:
Photo: Used with permission from the University of Bath
8. Human Flea: 1.5–3.3 mm long
Photo:
Photo: David Walker www.micscape.org
Despite its name, the Human Flea will gleefully infest a range of mammals and birds. Like all fleas, its hind legs are adapted for jumping about 130 times its own body height; its tough body is able to withstand great pressure; and it is compressed, allowing ease of movement through hairs, feathers or clothes. An adult flea’s number one objective is to find blood so that it can mate. Human Fleas can also act as ‘middlemen’ hosts for parasitic flatworms and tapeworms. No need to be a good host to these agile little suckers.
Up close and personal: Human Flea
Photo:
Photo: RBirtles
7. Oriental Rat Flea: 1.5–3.3 mm long
Photo:
Photo: CDC/Dr. Pratt
Although a parasite primary of rats, the Oriental Rat Flea is also a dark agent of potentially deadly diseases like bubonic plague. Transmission occurs when the offending flea first bites an infected rodent and then a human. The unsavoury pathogens are spread due to the way the flea’s mouth functions, squirting saliva or partly digested blood into the bite at the same time as sucking up blood. It should be jumping out at you by now that the Rat Flea – onetime bringer of the Black Death – can be much more than just an irritating nuisance.
Harbinger of disease: Rat Flea
Photo:
Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / Janice Carr
6. Scabies Mite: 0.2–0.45 mm long
Photo:
Photo: Kalumet
The name Sarcoptes Scabiei is a bit of a giveaway of the sin this critter commits as it quite literally gets under our skin: the skin infection scabies. The fertilised female of this pernicious parasite tunnels into the skin, laying eggs in the ever-lengthening S-shaped burrow she digs using her mouthparts and blade-like front legs. The larvae then hatch in 3-10 days, climb out onto the skin’s surface, roam about the place, and turn into nymphs, before maturing into adult Mites to begin the cycle all over again.
Under the microscope: Scabies Mite
Photo:
Photo via liberty4you
All this moving about on and inside the skin causes some pretty intense itching, but it’s the presence of the eggs that seals the scabies deal, bringing about a massive allergic reaction and yet more often unbearable itching. The resultant scratching of this rash can severely damage the skin, particularly through the introduction of infective bacteria, which may lead to nasty secondary infections like impetigo. Making matters worse, Scabies Mites are easily spread through the house by skin contact with carriers, clothing and bedding.
Scabby? Could be Sarcoptes Scabiei
Photo:
Photo: Joel Mills
5. Body Louse: 1–3 mm long
Photo:
Photo via Impact Pest Control
It’s time to deal with the true cooties, beginning with Body Lice. While indistinguishable to look at from Head Lice – indeed the two interbreed under lab conditions – in their natural state Body Lice have evolved to attach their eggs to clothes. These dress rather hair styled insect parasites are not only an annoyance due to the intense itching they cause, but are also vectors of diseases such as epidemic typhus and louse-borne relapsing fever, whose recurring symptoms include fever and chills. If in doubt get boiling your linen.
Engorged: Body Louse on human skin after blood feeding
Photo:
Photo courtesy of Richard Webb
4. Head Louse: 1–3 mm long
Photo:
Photo: Department of Biology, Gettysburg College
Next up is the Head Louse, the foul parasite that spends its entire life on the human scalp feeding solely on our blood and laying eggs called nits. This light-shunning vampire is so specialised, its stumpy legs are unable to even walk capably on flat surfaces. Its mouthparts are highly adapted for piercing skin and bloodsucking – when it may also excrete dark red faeces. Nice. Infesting new hosts usually comes about via head-to-head contact. About the only nice thing you can say about the Head Louse is that it is not a known transmitter of disease.
Itchy, flaky scalp? Male Head Louse
Photo:
Photo: KostaMumcuoglu
3. Pubic Louse: 1.1–1.8 mm long
Photo:
Photo: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites
Pubic Lice, commonly known as crabs, are infamous for infesting the – ahem – human genitals, though they may also live on other areas with hair, including eyelashes, armpits and beards. While sharing the flattened body and claw-like legs of its cousins – ideal for crawling from hair to hair – the Pubic Louse is otherwise distinct in appearance and more distantly related. Still, this is one mean sucker as those infested will testify – albeit discreetly. Infection usually comes through sexual intercourse. To ensure full removal of nits, shaving is advised.
Nice claws: Pubic Louse or crab
Photo:
Photo: PHIL
2. Sheep Tick: approx 5mm
Photo:
Photo: Richard Bartz
Last to grace the stage, it’s the not so loveable ticks, represented first up by the Sheep Tick. Small arachnids similar to mites, ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of various animals as well as humans. Like others of their kind, Sheep Ticks are found lurking in tall grass and shrubs where they lie in wait. They then attach themselves to passing hosts by inserting their cutting mandibles and feeding tubes into the skin, with backward pointing teeth-like spikes acting as an anchor. The Sheep Tick is an agent Lyme disease in humans.
Tick love: Male Sheep Tick copulating with a much larger female
Photo:
Photo: WHO
1. Deer Tick: approx 5mm
Photo:
Photo: University of Wisconsin
However, the Deer Tick that is by far the most notorious vector for Lyme Disease, a condition transmitted by the bite of infected ticks whose more serious symptoms may involve the joints, heart and central nervous system. Given its name due to its habit of parasitizing the white-tailed deer, the female Deer Tick latches onto a host and drinks its blood for several days, then once engorged, drops off and overwinters on the forest floor. Naturally this little glutton has a taste for humans too. A suitably disgusting, not to say dangerous, critter on which to end the post.
Ticked all the boxes? Deer Tick
Photo:
Al Hoffer's South Florida Pest Blog 