Archive for May, 2012

Stubborn Infection, Spread by , Is Called ‘The New AIDS of the Americas’

Chagas disease, caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking , has been named “the new AIDS of the Americas” in a lengthy editorial published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The authors, several of whom are tropical …

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Pests in the NewsMay 31, 2012

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May 29, 2012 – A Catch And Release Policy

QUESTION:

I have a customer that has bees and bats. He does not want the use of chemicals on either but rather wants them to be migrated (taken from his property). How can I achieve this?

ANSWER:

If these bats and bees are currently living and comfortable within his home then you may have a problem. If so, the bats are probably going to be easier to deal with than the bees, and this customer may have to accept that killing the bees could be required. They certainly cannot be allowed to continue living within the walls of a home as the hive and honey ultimately will create awful problems for the home, and if these bees have an established hive with honey and larvae then that hive will have to be exposed and removed completely once the bees are gone. This is the reality of this situation – there is going to have to be some extensive and expensive work to open up the void where the bees are and remove it and then repair the damage. 

We could say much the same thing about the bats if they have been living in this home for a long time. There is probably an serious accumulation of feces in their roosting areas, and this really must be removed properly and the area sanitized. Animal feces will attract many insects and poses a serious health concern for people living around it. Your role on the bats is to find their entry points, create a one-way opening to allow them to leave but not return, and then to permanently seal those openings so no bats can get back into the structure. However, this time of year you may very well have baby bats in there, and since they cannot leave they would die without their parents, and this is not a reasonable thing to allow. Discuss with your local wildlife agency the likelihood of bats raising young at this time of year, and you may have to allow them to remain their until the young can also leave on their own. 
Once you are able to allow ALL the bats to exit the structure and then prevent their return you may encourage the customer to install “bat houses” around his property, offering the bats an alternative place to live. Since he likes the bats and the benefits of them this could be something he would go for. Otherwise, it really is not your role to capture the bats and relocate them yourself. 
With the bees, start by contacting local beekeepers to see if any of them are interested in obtaining more bees. There are ways to remove bees from an existing hive in a structure, but it is pretty elaborate and most beekeepers may not want to deal with it. If this is simply a swarm of honeybees outdoors then all that is needed is to ignore them for a couple of days and the swarm will move along. Also, if these are NOT honeybees, but some other kind of bee that may be just solitary bees finding existing holes for their young to live in, control could be just sealing the openings they are using. It is honeybees that pose the problems. 
If no beekeepers want to take part in this then I believe you have no recourse but to kill the bees and ensure the customer knows he then must have someone qualified to do the destruction / reconstruction open the voids, remove the hive and honey, and cleanse the area thoroughly. While it would be nice to salvage the bees and encourage them to live somewhere else, sometimes this is just not possible. 

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Pest QuestionsMay 31, 2012

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Land grant universities team up to create integrated pest management app

Green, or plant, industry professionals often find themselves in the field needing immediate access to the latest pest and plant disease information and plant care recommendations, especially when they are caught off guard by destructive …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Hawaii to get $2M to combat plant , invasive species

Eleven projects seeking to prevent the spread of plant disease, and other invasive species in Hawaii will receive more than $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Latest from The Business …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Insect conference to draw more than 300 researchers

A diverse number of economically important will be covered. The meeting also will feature student competitions, field trips, an awards ceremony, receptions and other social events. Founded in 1889, the society has more than 6,000 members …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Caterpillar population on southern Vancouver Island explodes

The branches of fruit trees on southern Vancouver Island are alive with western tent caterpillars, as the tiny enjoy a population boom. It’s a peak year for the , which hatch from web “tents” high in trees, then proceed to make breakfast …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Disease wiping out bats hits new species, spreads west

That’s particularly bad news for farmers who benefit from bat colonies that can devour a ton of in a single serving. Gray bats, a vulnerable species that’s been federally protected since 1976, are the latest to get hit, with infections …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Shooters invited to remove park pests – Land


The Age

Shooters invited to remove park pests
Land
LICENCED shooters will be allowed to cull pests in the State's national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas. NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said feral animals were a scourge on farming, estimated to cost NSW agriculture $70 million a …
But O'Farrell has merely shown himself, yet again, to be a masterful exponent …The Australian
Australian State Wins Backing For A$3 Billion Power SaleFox Business

all 192 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Mosquito control project to evaluate insect’s activity in Natick – MetroWest Daily News

Mosquito control project to evaluate insect's activity in Natick
MetroWest Daily News
By Anonymous Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project workers plan to evaluate complaints about mosquito activity in Natick beginning next week. Workers plan to be in town June 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28, although those dates could change …

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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Deadly insect-borne disease called ‘New AIDS of the Americas’ – Business Standard


Daily Mail

Deadly insect-borne disease called 'New AIDS of the Americas'
Business Standard
PTI / Washington May 30, 2012, 15:46 A little-known disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects has been labelled by experts as the "new AIDS of the Americas". In a report, published in journal PLoS Neglected Tropical …
The 'new AIDS of the Americas': Experts warn of deadly insect-borne disease …Daily Mail
The new 'AIDS' of the Americas? Experts warn of insect-borne disease.The Imperfect Parent
Chagas Disease: Poverty, Immigration, And The “New HIV/AIDS”Wired News
Updated News –Gather.com –Jezebel
all 19 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsMay 30, 2012

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