Star Trek and Earwigs
Anyone who has ever seen the old Star Trek movie “The Wrath of Khan” will remember the famous scene where Khan (Ricardo Montalban) inserts his pets that look like earwigs into Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Terrell’s (Paul Winfield) hearing canals in order to get them to talk. Many people back here on Terra Firma still…
Read MoreBad Bird
BIRDS! These flying creatures do things like control real pests — insects and rodents. Some of our feathery friends even feed from, therefore destroying, certain kinds of weeds. Nevertheless, humans need to be careful when they come in physical contact with these wild creatures. They can transmit disease and make a general mess when they…
Read MoreHead Lice – Pain in the Neck and Other Places
The little kiddo comes home from school, complaining that their head itches. Could be dry scalp so you suggest they take a bath, wash their hair and put some conditioner on it. Give it a good rinse. Then at suppertime, everyone’s sitting around the dinner table. The kid’s still scratching away. You put down your…
Read MoreControlling Bugs the Natural Way
When your great-grandmother was a newborn bride, to stretch the families budget, she’d have a backyard garden. Back then, there weren’t any off-the-shelf sprays or tiny pellets she could use to control the pests that were eating the cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and whatever was planted in her victory garden. Nowadays, many families are doing the…
Read MoreBuying a House – Get a Pro Bug Inspection First
The housing market, after being in the worst slump in decades, is coming back. More people are purchasing existing homes — that is once they secure a mortgage. Before they throw down the honest money, it’s always in your best interest to have a total home inspection. Someone qualified in that department will be able…
Read MoreThe Moths Are Eating My Clothes!!
It’s a little chilly tonight. As you plan to meet some friends for drinks, you pull your favorite sweater from the open chest in the closet only to find a hole in it the size of a quarter. Ruined. Another sweater, same story. Guess what, while you’re clothes were sleeping, a fabric pest was gnawing…
Read MoreFlea Season
The dog sleeps in your bed. The mutt watches teevee with you. You let your best friend romp around in the backyard chasing squirrels. Unless you give them a once-a-month flea and tick pill, one day the two of you are catching the latest installment of “Too Cute” on the Animal Planet and you feel…
Read MoreExplain Pyrethroids
Hearing the word pyrethroids brings to mind something exotic. Amazing weirdness from another galaxy? A substance made in a hidden laboratory, nestled inside the gates of Area 51? A rabid fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus? None of the above. As a matter of fact, it’s a synthetic based on natural pyrethrins. And the first…
Read MoreBird Mites – How Did They Get in the House?
How could something so small be such an incredibly strong insect? There is a particular brand which is far from what we would consider to call a mite. In all cases, they’re basically microscopic. But when you call something a mite, you think of a someone who is less-than mighty. The kind of mite we’re…
Read MoreChinch Bugs
Most of us first encountered these small nuisance bugs when we were kids. Most likely it was on a swell, manicured lawn. We we’re wearing shorts, no shirts, shoeless and decided — as children do — to spontaneously roll around in the grass. For the rest of the day, we started inching, some of us…
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