Archive for December, 2018
Male Cockroaches Are Particularly Flirtatious With Females
Male Cockroaches Are Particularly Flirtatious With Females Think what you want about insects, but there is no denying that the creatures do not waste much time when it comes to passing on their genes. Insects are millions of years old and are therefore well adapted to their earthly habitats. Insects are biologically built to produce…
Read MoreAmericans Were Once Encouraged To Exchange Gopher Scalps For Money In An Early Effort To Control Problematic Gopher Populations
Pocket gophers, or simply gophers, as they are usually called, are widespread pests in the United States. Gophers belong to the Geomyidae family and there exists 35 documented species in North and South America. Gophers are major pests to agricultural crops, home gardens, particular landscapes, and forest regeneration efforts. Gophers also burrow beneath homes and…
Read MoreNumerous Bats Are Killed Daily By Wind Turbines
It is a good thing that politicians in the state of Texas have embraced alternative power sources, like wind turbines, even if it means that a few bats will die. Most people are probably unaware of the unfortunate association between bats and wind turbines. To put it simply, bats are flying into wind turbines and…
Read MoreGovernment Officials In Florida Are Giving Away Free Untreated Mulch That Is Likely Infested With Termites
Considering that termites are universally known for consuming wood, it makes sense for people to be concerned about purchasing termite-contaminated mulch. In order to ensure that commercially available mulch is not contaminated with termites, regulations require suppliers to subject their mulch products to a decontamination process before being sold to distributors. In fact, it is…
Read MoreHow Do Termites Move Large Amounts Of Water For Mound Construction Purposes?
Considering the vast number of termite species that have been documented by researchers thus far, it should not be surprising to learn that there exists a variety of different types of termite nests as well. For example, mound-building termites, as their name implies, build nests that protrude from the ground. Most subterranean termites construct cryptic…
Read MoreThe Edible Termites That Bite Your Tongue
In the country of South Africa, many citizens have fallen ill from an infection known as listeriosis. Beginning in January of this year several children fell ill from listeriosis. As of March second, the amount of South Africans reported to be infected with listeriosis reached just under one thousand. Unfortunately, one hundred and eighty South…
Read MoreWhy Are Eastern Subterranean Termites So Widely Distributed Within North America?
There exists around 45 documented termite species inhabiting the United States. Most of these species are native to North America, but several non-native species have established an invasive presence within the US as well. Although the two most destructive termite species in the world, Formosan and Asian subterranean termites, have become established in the US,…
Read MoreLocal Leaders Vow To Squash The Growing Rat Population In Washington DC
Washington DC is known as a particularly rat infested city, and this problem is only getting worse, as pest control operators in DC are being overwhelmed with a record number of calls concerning rat infestations. Aside from the record number of rat-related calls to the city’s animal control service, there is plenty of evidence to…
Read MoreWhy Does The United States Contain An Unusually High Number Of Invasive Termites?
Within the last century, six non-native termites have established an invasive presence within the state of Florida. This makes the state of Florida home to the greatest number of invasive termites when compared to all other US states, followed closely by Hawaii with five invasive termite species established. The manner in which these non-native termites…
Read MoreHow Can Termites Defend Against Ant Invasions?
How Can Termites Defend Against Ant Invasions? Many people assume that termites and ants are mortal enemies. It may be true that ants and termites are not on the best of terms. And it is not at all uncommon for ants to kill termites. However, ants and termites are not necessarily engaged in an eternal…
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