Category Archives: Household pests
First scorpion sting antidote
Scorpions are one of those icons of life in Texas. It’s hard to imagine Texas without its droughts, twisters and hurricanes, floods and venomous wildlife. But when it comes to scorpions, Texas is not the riskiest place to live. Arizona and parts of New Mexico are home to the deadliest scorpion, and the target of a new antidote called Anascorp, recently approved by the FDA. Marketed as the first antidote for scorpion stings, Anascorp, Centruroides (Scorpion) Immune F(ab’)2 (Equine) Injection, is made from the plasma of horses immunized… Read More →
Posted in Household pests, Interesting insects, News
Tagged antidote, Centruroides, scorpion
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Little Spartina bug common now in east Texas
Try as we might, we can’t escape nature. That might be the lesson for many folks who live near rural areas in east and central Texas. This week I’ve had several calls about a small black insect invading homes. Scientifically it’s known as Ischnodemus falicus, a member of the Lygaeid or seed bug family. This insect has been invading homes in Tyler and the northeastern Texas counties and has also been reported from the College Station area. It is an example of a typical fall invader–not dangerous or damaging… Read More →
Posted in Household pests, Interesting insects, News
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Click beetles gone wild
Some of the most interesting, and sometimes amusing, household insects that cross my desk are ones that aren’t in the pest control handbook. We call these “occasional invaders”, and they are outdoor insects that seemingly accidentally find their way indoors. So far the accidental invader of the month is the click beetle. Over the past week or two I’ve had nearly a half dozen calls about insects fitting the description of click beetles getting into homes. One woman complained about the click beetles in her bed. This is… Read More →
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Vacationing with bed bugs
If you’re among the millions of American vacationers this summer, you may want to pack a plan for how to avoid bed bugs. Yes, those tiny blood-sucking insects you’ve heard about on the news might just be waiting for you in a hotel or hostel. I admit that I’ve not yet personally stayed in a hotel room with bed bugs (although I know others who have, and I’ve seen evidence of bed bugs in very nice hotels). Most hotels and hotel rooms around the country are bed bug… Read More →
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Bed bugs in your hotel… what to do after?
Imagine that you’re traveling and staying in a nice hotel. The next morning you discover bites and confirm that your room has bed bugs. What do you do? This is an increasingly common problem for travelers, as well as a nightmare for the hotel industry. Recently a question came into our office from a person with just this experience. She had stayed in a hotel with bed bugs. Immediately after returning home she called her local health department and was advised to discard all her personal belonging if… Read More →
Its the flea’s knees…or not
In this NPR Science Friday video, scientists Greg Sutton and Malcolm Burrows, of the University of Cambridge, filmed fleas jumping. They then sorted through different theories of how they jumped and concluded that fleas use their feet and not knees to push off the ground and jump on your cat or your dog. The high speed photography is amazing and I especially liked the slo-mo- photography of a flea’s jump compared to the blink of a human eye. An adult flea can jump approximately 13 inches, a little… Read More →
Tiny wonders
Last week my wife and I went to see the latest Cirque du Soleil show called OVO. I had never been to one of these modern circus shows before, and the insect theme of the show (ovo is Portuguese for egg–as in insect egg) was the hook that my wife thought would get me out of the house. According to the official description, OVO looks at the world of insects and its biodiversity. The rather thin storyline is overshadowed by the spectacle of the show, but is centered… Read More →
Don’t invite bed bugs home this Christmas
Over the river, and through the wood, To Grandfather’s house we go; GPS shows the way to hotels to stay through the white and drifted snow. Over the river, and through the wood— Oh how the bed bugs bite! They sniff out our toes and bite our nose And hop in our luggage tonight. If you’re among the 10 million plus Americans planning a car trip this Christmas, don’t forget bed bugs. In case you haven’t heard, bed bugs have been as busy as Santa’s elves this year,… Read More →
Posted in Household pests
Tagged bed bugs, hotels, laundry guidelines, travel precautions
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Spider woes
I just received a question through our eXtension “Ask an expert” site that I think might be of general interest. It has to do with spiders. The person wrote: “I have a [lakefront] home… northwest of Fort Worth. The lake facing side of the house has a severe external spider infestation under the high eaves over a sizable deck. The spiders produce massive amounts of webs which must be removed with a pressure washer every few months, which requires 12 to 14 hours of uncomfortable labor. How can… Read More →
Posted in Household pests, Interesting insects
Tagged lighting, nocturnal insects, spiders
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The truth about bed bugs
Forget the economy, forget major league baseball playoffs, forget fall elections, if you want to have a conversation that everyone is interested in, bring up the subject of bed bugs. These tiny blood-sucking parasites have finally reached celebrity status. If you don’t believe me, check out the Google Trends data below. Google Trends is a relatively new tool that allows you to see how many people are Googling a given subject on the Internet over time. Starting in 2004 with relatively little interest, the number of online searches… Read More →
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