Here are some pearls of wisdom from an old bulletin published by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1917. It’s titled “The House Fly” and is Farmers Bulletin #851. First, consider the year. It’s 1917, the automobile is becoming popular and is quickly replacing horses and bicycles for transportation among the wealthy but horses
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I told my friend I was really looking forward to the cold weather and winter because it will finally mean no more bugs inside the house. He says I’m nuts, that there are always indoor bugs no matter what’s happening outside. Is that true, don’t they die off or something? L. L., Framingham, MA It’s
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1. Mice hoard food. Mice collect bits of food: crumbs, pet food, birdseed, etc. and stash it away in hidden areas such as in a wall void or lower cabinet. This hoard can smell and can attract food moths and beetles. 2. Mice poop and pee. It would almost be okay if mice did their
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Some parents have found themselves to be the recipient of a “Bed Bug Letter” from their child’s school. This letter is a routine procedure and usually means that a single bed bug was spotted in a classroom. Nevertheless, parents panic, picturing their child covered with blood-sucking parasites while he tries to learn math. As much
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Would you be surprised to hear that no matter how clean your home, you can expect an average of 100 insect or related species to live there? That’s not a total of 100 insects or spiders, that’s 100 different types of insects and other arthropods! That seems incredible but it’s what a research team from
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With the holidays on the immediate horizon, we’re thinking cozy thoughts of family gatherings complete with a roaring fire. Those thoughts don’t include big black ants, termites, large black beetles, spiders, and other unmentionables that might crawl out of the firewood to join the celebration (see When Pests Come in With the Firewood!). WHY BUGS
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I just opened a box of cake mix and discovered lots of dark bugs moving around inside. When I looked it up on the Internet, it seems like they are some kind of food beetle but there are so many different types, how do I know which one I’m dealing with? F. A., Brookline, MA
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Are silverfish really silver-colored? I’m seeing these insects occasionally that I think are silverfish but they’re more brown-gray than silver. Are these something else? I need them gone. L. F., New Castle, NH You need a professional identification and inspection to answer that question. There are two different possibilities. The most likely explanation is that
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I think I might have bed bugs in my condo! Over the last three weeks, I’ve noticed a few strange bites on my arms and neck. I know that the neighbor across the hall had bed bugs but her unit was treated a week ago. Could her bed bugs have moved to my condo? B.
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