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Foxes should be classed as "pests" after man bitten in face, Vauxhall MP says
Your Local Guardian Writing in The Evening Standard, Ms Hoey said the government should re-classify foxes as "pests" in order to provide local councils with greater powers to remove them. She said: "The problem will only keep on growing until ministers and local … |
Pests in the NewsJuly 27, 2011
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Lightning bugs seem to be more common this summer
Fond du Lac Reporter Warm, still evenings are the best for observing these insects in action, said David Laatsch, interim Crops and Soils UW-Extension agent for Dodge County. By a process called bioluminescence the firefly adds oxygen to an enzyme in cells called … |
Pests in the NewsJuly 27, 2011
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Itching to stop mosquitoes? Zoom in on the options
Muncie Star Press A variety of products, from sprays to creams to lanterns — even smartphone apps — promise to keep insects away and mosquitoes from biting. But not all products are created equal. Bug repellents containing the chemical DEET are generally considered … |
Pests in the NewsJuly 27, 2011
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Editorial — Tiny insect deserves big attention here
Alexandria Echo Press It's a small insect called the emerald ash borer (EAB). A problem that's growing in the Twin Cities area should put Douglas County residents on notice. It's a small insect called the emerald ash borer (EAB). Last week, the Minnesota Department of … |
Pests in the NewsJuly 27, 2011
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QUESTION:
Do rats eat mice? Is this why they are never seen in the same environment?
ANSWER:
Given the opportunity I believe rats definitely would eat mice, and they may even get this opportunity if they were to come across an undefended nest with baby mice in it. Rats are omnivorous, meaning they feed on just about anything, and this includes both fruits and other plant products as well as meat. Roof rats have been responsible for terrible losses of nesting birds, eating the eggs or the young birds in the nests in trees. Norway rats also feed on eggs and young they may find as they forage at ground level. Meat is necessary protein, and being opportunistic in their feeding habits I believe rats will eat anything available.
However, adult mice are probably a harder prey to capture, so I would bet that rats don’t make a regular diet out of adult mice, unless they find mice that are injured and unable to escape. What is more likely perhaps is that rats are like any other animal, and they aggressively protect their own resources. We have been told that the larger Norway rats will dominate over Roof rats, likely chasing them away when competition for food seems inevitable. Wild animals have a hard time with the concept of sharing. Probably a good origin for the expression “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there”. This also may explain why Norway and Roof rats evolved slightly different habitats – Norways more at ground level and Roof rats in the trees, and as Dr. Corrigan once stated it, Roof Rats are “arboreal” – they evolved to living in trees, and this is why they can climb so well.
With limited food resources I think that Norway Rats simply won’t tolerate the presence of other kinds of rodents that may steal those resources, and being so much larger they have the bulk to back up their claim to that food.
Pest QuestionsJuly 27, 2011
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Japanese beetles can defoliate host plants, but rarely kill established plants. Most gardeners control these insects by hand, picking and placing the beetles in a cup of soapy water. The insects cannot escape and drown in the water. Other gardeners place a …
Pests in the NewsJuly 26, 2011
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QUESTION:
with the summer heat wave going on one question comes to mind as I bait attics for mice. How hot is too hot for a mouse? At what temp does a mouse find it too hot to inhabit an area?
ANSWER:
Well this is interesting. I looked in a number of our most authoritative references on mice and it seems that all the discusssions on the house mouse and temperatures are with respect to how LOW of a temperature the mice can tolerate. So, lacking an answer from one of our experts I turned to that magical reference library in the sky – the Internet. This also gives me the freedom to speculate at will with my answer. What is interesting is that the only (and therefore the best) information I could find was on websites pertaining to the care, feeding, and passionate loving of mice as opposed to anything on managing the little vermin.
Two items came up. One suggested that the ideal temperature for your little companions is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and that above 85 the mice begin to get lethargic, sick, and could die. A second website stated that mice will die if kept at a temperature of 104 degrees. Obviously the air temperature in an attic in the summer in many states is going to get well above 104 degrees, so if the mouse were confined in that airspace this could prove lethal to it. But, perhaps as the mice do in freezers, where they have been found living just fine, they seek out a place that is a lower temperature. In freezers they cozy up inside things to conserve body heat. In an attic perhaps they would nestle down under the insulation, where the temperature against the sheetrock of the ceiling below would likely be much cooler than the air above the insulation.
I would expect that a very hot attic is going to limit their activity but not necessarily exclude the mice completely if they can find these little micro-environments that remain suitable. A really hot attic might become a concern for paraffin baits that might be placed up there, so this could be one side effect for their control.
Pest QuestionsJuly 26, 2011
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I was in the garage when I heard the scream. I knew the sound the way you know your own child’s cry. Because this was my child! I rushed in and found her shrieking and shaking. “Huge roach! Huge roach!” She kept repeating, eyes fixed on the kitchen …
Pests in the NewsJuly 25, 2011
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The Allergy Academy has these suggestions to help you avoid bee, hornet and wasp stings: • Stay away. These insects are most likely to sting if their homes are disturbed, so it is important to have nests around your home destroyed. • If flying stinging …
Pests in the NewsJuly 25, 2011
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Out of the 50 different varieties of the pesky insects found throughout Utah, Lusty and his staff have identified 10 different types of mosquitoes on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. Of those found, three are black biters, called Aedes campestris …
Pests in the NewsJuly 25, 2011
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