Health workers and researchers in the Northeast are becoming increasingly concerned about the increase in tick-transmitted diseases. It’s not just the increase in the incidence of any one disease but also the increase in the variety of tick-transmitted diseases out there. Used to be Lyme disease was the only real concern. Now other diseases, some
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It’s late September and you figure summer is over. You’re unpacking sweaters and putting away the sunscreen and insect repellent. Not so fast! As far as mosquitoes are concerned, there’s plenty of biting time left. You’ve no doubt seen items in the news about outbreaks in various states, especially Massachusetts, of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus
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No, this isn’t a trick political question. Something seems to be going on with our nation’s cities and rats? Cities, of course, always have a resident rat population that fluctuates; citizen complaints about rats also fluctuate and media coverage fluctuates as a result. Lately though, it seems like the rats are winning the street battle
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For years now, we’ve been worried about the nation’s hard-working and very important honey bees. The average person doesn’t realize the agricultural value of honey bees. We know that’s where honey comes from, sure, but have no idea how many commercial crops rely on pollination by honey bees to produce fruit, nuts (almonds especially), or
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been emphasizing tick control as the number of tick-transmitted disease cases continues to grow (see Annual Tickborne Disease Update). CDC says the best approach is to landscape your property to establish tick-safe zones and to have a pest management professional treat high-risk areas bordering your yard. CDC’S TICK-SAFE
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I do know what he meant. Signal words are an important part of a pesticide’s label. They give you information about the toxicity of the particular product and EPA requires that a signal word appear on every pesticide product label. There are only three signal word options and one of them will appear in capital
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There’s been quite a bit of news lately about the unusual discovery of a triatomine “kissing bug” as far north in the U.S. as Delaware. It bit a girl’s face while she watched TV in her bedroom in an attempt to suck her blood. That’s what these bugs do, but they usually feed on wild
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We sometimes get calls in spring from folks who claim that some kind of bug is leaving hundreds of black fecal spots or tiny eggs or something strange on the siding of their house. We’re usually able to rule out insects pretty quickly. While there are other possible causes, at this time of year, black
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When I first heard about a new invasive tick species, the Asian Long-horned tick, I have to admit I thought maybe it was fake news! Now, I’ve been following the news about the Asian Long-horned beetle for many years, and it is a devastating forest pest. The presence of ALB has resulted in the destruction
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