Learn all about the life cycle of mosquitoes and why it is necessary to prevent them breeding around our homes, gardens, schools and cities.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Carpet Beetles
Carpet beetles are members of the family Dermestidae, and while the adult beetles feed on nectar and pollen, the larvae are destructive pests in homes, warehouses, and museums. They feed on animal products including wool, silk, leather, fur, the bristles of hair brushes, pet hair, feathers, and museum specimens. They tend to infest hidden locations and may feed on larger areas of fabrics than do clothes moths, leaving behind specks of excrement and brown, hollow, bristly-looking cast skins. Management of infestations is difficult and is based on exclusion and sanitation where possible, resorting to pesticides when necessary. The beetles can fly in from outdoors and the larvae can survive on lint fragments, dust, and inside the bags of vacuum cleaners. In warehouses and museums, sticky traps baited with suitable pheromones can be used to identify problems, and heating, freezing, spraying the surface with insecticide, and fumigation will kill the insects when suitably applied. Susceptible items can be protected from attack by keeping them in clean airtight containers.
Read more, here.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Clothes Moths
The larvae of clothes moths (mainly Tineola bisselliella and Tinea pellionella) feed on fabrics and carpets, particularly those that are stored or soiled. The adult females lay batches of eggs on natural fibres, including wool, silk, and fur, as well as cotton and linen in blends. The developing larvae spin protective webbing and chew into the fabric, creating holes and specks of excrement. Damage is often concentrated in concealed locations, under collars and near seams of clothing, in folds and crevices in upholstery and round the edges of carpets as well as under furniture. Methods of control include using airtight containers for storage, periodic laundering of garments, trapping, freezing, heating and the use of chemicals; mothballs contain volatile insect repellents such as 1,4-Dichlorobenzene which deter adults, but to kill the larvae, permethrin, pyrethroids or other insecticides may need to be used.
Read more, here.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Happy Easter
Happy Easter
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Do mosquitos actually bite some people more than others? - Maria Elena D...
Explore the science of what attracts mosquitos, and find out why mosquitos bite some people more than others.
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Some swear they’re cursed to be hunted by mosquitos while their close-by companions are regularly left unscathed. Are mosquitos really attracted to some people more than others? And if so, is there anything we can do about it? Maria Elena De Obaldia digs into what factors make people tasty targets for these pesky insects.
Lesson by Maria Elena De Obaldia, directed by Anton Bogaty.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Pantry Pests
Insect pests including the Mediterranean flour moth, the Indian mealmoth, the cigarette beetle, the drugstore beetle, the confused flour beetle, the red flour beetle, the merchant grain beetle, the sawtoothed grain beetle, the wheat weevil, the maize weevil and the rice weevil infest stored dry foods such as flour, cereals and pasta.
In the home, foodstuffs found to be infested are usually discarded, and storing such products in sealed containers should prevent the problem from reoccurring. The eggs of these insects are likely to go unnoticed, with the larvae being the destructive life stage, and the adult the most noticeable stage. Since pesticides are not safe to use near food, alternative treatments such as freezing for four days at 0 °F (−18 °C) or baking for half an hour at 130 °F (54 °C) should kill any insects present.
Read more, here.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
Monday, March 25, 2024
Urban & Natural Rodent Control
Urban rodent control
Rodent control is vital in cities. New York City and cities across the state dramatically reduced their rodent populations in the early 1970s. Rio de Janeiro claims a reduction of 80% over only 2 years shortly thereafter. To better target efforts, London began scientifically surveying populations in 1972 and this was so useful that all Local Authorities in England and Wales soon followed.
Natural rodent control
Several wildlife rehabilitation organizations encourage natural form of rodent control through exclusion and predator support and preventing secondary poisoning altogether. The United States Environmental Protection Agency notes in its Proposed Risk Mitigation Decision for Nine Rodenticides that "without habitat modification to make areas less attractive to commensal rodents, even eradication will not prevent new populations from recolonizing the habitat." The United States Environmental Protection Agency has prescribed guidelines for natural rodent control and for safe trapping in residential areas with subsequent release to the wild. People sometimes attempt to limit rodent damage using repellents. Balsam fir oil from the tree Abies balsamea is an EPA approved non-toxic rodent repellent. Acacia polyacantha subsp. campylacantha root emits chemical compounds that repel animals including rats.
Read more, here.
Jeff Verges/Owner/Operator
742 Santa Anita Court
Eugene, OR 97401
541-688-0580 Eugene
503-371-8373 Salem
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