Archive for July, 2012

Avoiding Insects and Insect Bites – About – News & Issues

Avoiding Insects and Insect Bites
About – News & Issues
Bugs are definitely biting this summer. And crawling and stinging – making summer miserable for many kids. Although the general advice to avoid bugs is that kids don't spend time outdoors during evening to early morning hours (dusk to dawn), when
Paul Rogers: The good, the bad and the buggyWorcester Telegram

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Invasive , Or Tiny Biological Terrorists?

Long before the era of post-9/11 security precautions in the United States, an unknown person or group of people may have begun carrying out a series of bioterror attacks in California. The target? Menthol-scented eucalyptus trees. Before you …

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Super Mice controlled with super new poison – hotel-industry.co.uk


hotel-industry.co.uk

Super Mice controlled with super new poison
hotel-industry.co.uk
Cliff Eccles from from Pestokill Pest Control, reports that the recently launched rodenticide 'Black Pearl' has been tested and delivered outstanding results. There are areas of the UK where mice resistance is evident, which causes frustration to both

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Swarming invasive insect found in US for 1st time – Fox News


ABC News

Swarming invasive insect found in US for 1st time
Fox News
A U.S. Agriculture Department specialist has confirmed the discovery of the pests that officials say don't pose a threat to trees, despite their name ? but do tend to enter houses and buildings in huge swarms. The Idaho Department of Agriculture
Swarming invasive insect discovered in US for first time, federal officials sayNewser

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Insect-eating microbats call city’s western suburbs home – Sydney Morning Herald


Sydney Morning Herald

Insect-eating microbats call city's western suburbs home
Sydney Morning Herald
''Urban restoration efforts should focus on creeklines and bushland reserves in areas on good soils to benefit both insects and the bats that depend on them to survive,'' Dr Threlfall, who is now at the University of Melbourne, said. Sydney has about

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Research on flies and insects is buzzing – Irish Times


Irish Times

Research on flies and insects is buzzing
Irish Times
And if scrutinising insects still sounds like something that should be banished to the farthest corner of campus, how about this: asking the question ?why do insects not get sick?? burst open our understanding of the human immune system, an area that

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No need to fear bats, one of nature’s best weapons for reducing insect populations – Orlando Sentinel

No need to fear bats, one of nature's best weapons for reducing insect populations
Orlando Sentinel
Bats come out at dusk. If I time it right, I can be outside jumping on the trampoline while several of nature's only flying mammals swoop and circle overhead. With headphones on my ears and my body bouncing to a playlist of upbeat melodies, my eyes are

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Jul 23, 2012 – Bees and Trees

QUESTION:

What is the best way to control wood boring bees? I have a client who has them and they are killing her tree.

ANSWER:

I am a little skeptical that the bees are the cause of a tree suffering badly. The only real wood “boring” bees will be carpenter bees, and these guys tend to restrict their burrowing to dead wood. It is possible that this tree does have some dead branches or perhaps a dead area on the trunk that the female carpenter bee has discovered, and she now is creating tunnels in it to raise her young. But, except for perhaps some minor digging where the dead wood of the tree might meet some live tissue it should be restricted to already dead wood. 

Leaf cutting bees are much smaller kinds of bees, some about the size of honeybees and others half that size, that often find existing holes in wood or stucco or other outside materials and the female takes over that existing hole as a convenient place to create her tubes of leaf pieces in which she then deposits and egg and some food for her offspring. If the hole is not quite large enough and the wood is soft she may enlarge it slightly, but again this is almost always going to be in an existing hole at the surface. These and some other kinds of small bees will get into the dead canes of roses and other narrow branches with a soft interior and do much the same thing – clean it out enough to create a small chamber for their offspring. But, in general they do not damage the plant. 
Hopefully I am correct on this and that the bees you are seeing are a red herring, with some other actual cause of the tree’s problems. It would be important to get a positive and accurate ID of these bees so that you then will be able to determine what their biology is and their relation with that tree. If they are having nothing to do with it other than nesting in existing cavities then you would then have to analyze the problem more to determine the actual cause. 

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How And Why Your St. Louis, Missouri, Backyard Attracts , And How To Control Them, Part 3

This is part 3 of the Richardson Pest Solutions of St. Louis Summer Pest Guide. Tips and tricks which will help make your outdoor Summer better. PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 17, 2012 – Welcome back to Richardson Pest Solution’s three-part guide to keeping …

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First drought, now are descending on parched Colorado farms

LASALLE — Colorado farmers already plagued by a debilitating drought are now fighting the arrival of crop-eating insects who like the hot, dry weather that has settled over the state and elsewhere. “It’s to the point where we just feel beat up …

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