Spiders are a very successful group of arthropods that are found everywhere from deserts to grasslands to forests to Arctic tundra. There are more than 45,000 species identified worldwide and that number is growing with new discoveries. It has...

Spiders are a very successful group of arthropods that are found everywhere from deserts to grasslands to forests to Arctic tundra. There are more than 45,000 species identified worldwide and that number is growing with new discoveries. It has...
Well, we have it from the experts that even a volcanic eruption can’t discourage gophers from their daily tasks of digging holes and burrow systems and eating whatever vegetation they fancy. The May 8th, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens ripped the...
Whether it’s people, living in jam-packed cities or groups of social insects, ants to be exact, living in teaming colonies, disease can spread quickly among these severely dense populations. Fighting disease seems to require the same efforts no...
Spring has come and gone, now welcome to mosquito season. As you pack your bags for the beach house or the mountain campground don’t forget to pack light colored clothing with long sleeves, long pants and a bucket load or two of insect repellent....
Now that the parks, hiking trails, and camping areas are open, more people are hitting the back country for much needed fresh air and exercise. What they are most likely not expecting are the denizens of the bush waiting in anticipation of...
Border Crossings are happening every day, and it’s not just people looking for a better life. Humans, animals, fish, insects, plants and diseases (bacteria and viruses) cross our borders on a regular basis and have been since borders were...
A perfect storm of residential rat invasions has been created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, it is imparative to get rid of rats. People are producing more food waste at home, now that restaurant trash generation has decreased....
As industrious and hard working as the ant has been lauded to be, it has it’s own freeloaders and lazy, opportunistic individuals. Introducing the “Rodeo Ant”. This shiny, little reddish ant belongs to the species, Solenopsis, and is appropriately...
It’s the German cockroach that is now being dubbed the “Superbug” of the insect world. These tiny roaches are swift, prolific and love to live right up close and personal with human beings. Blattella germanica, better known as the German...
According to the 2020 Chinese Zodiac calendar, the Lunar New Year starts on Saturday, January 25th and ends on February 11th, 2021. It is the 4717th Chinese New Year and the Rat is it’s representative. The Rat is the first sign from the 12 animal...
Vehicles, cars, camper-vans, buses, and trucks, provide many pests with a warm dry environment that often contains food. Vehicles can also provide these pests with transport, spreading the pests to wherever the vehicle travels. Most Common Pests...
We have a lot to be thankful for this year. But did you know that there are a lot of reasons to be thankful for insects, our co-inhabitants of this planet? Besides being a nutritious food source for millions of people, they provide their own form...
Fall (and continuing through winter) is the time of year that nearly all of the rat infestations occur, according to a survey from the NPMA (National Pest Management Association). With daytime and overnight temperatures falling, animals go into...
An ant species which is found in the rainforests of South America, Lemon ants (Myrmelachista schumanni), live in and around Duroia Hirstula, a species of tree that provides them with protected nesting areas and offers nutrition in the form of extra...
It is a very depressing moment in a homeowner’s life when the pest control company issues the heart stopping diagnosis, “You Have Termites”! What runs through the mind at that point is, where did they come from, how could this happen, why my...
There are more than 20 different earwig species making the United States their home. These fear inducing creatures get their name from the old European myth that they crawl into people’s ears and tunnel into their brains, laying eggs, while the...
All bugs hatch from eggs, which usually live on the undersides of leaves or in hidden spots on plants. The eggs hatch into larvae (also called caterpillars, grubs, or maggots), which will later become adults. Adult bugs lay eggs and usually have...
There are lots of flying insects out and about in our gardens, fields and other open areas and they are all busy at work fulfilling nature’s directives. So, since we humans are also frequenting these same places it’s important for us to steer...
Spring is the time of renewal and is associated with the beauty of the “reborn”. Birds are on the wing and so are beautiful butterflies, but there is something bad and ugly winging it’s way into our neighborhoods and right into our homes. It’s...
Spiders crawl around your house, some jump across your lawn — and others take to the air on transoceanic flights. With airships made from strands of silk, some species of tiny spiders take to the air in a process called "ballooning". Ballooning...
Huckleberry Finn was an amateur raft builder and river rafter when compared to Red Imported Fire ants. As fire ants are flooded out of their underground nests, they hold onto each other for dear life, forming a fire ant flotilla that allows them to...
Every time I sit with my grandkids and watch their favorite movie, Disney’s, Ratatouille, I can only picture in my mind the “cute”, humanized rats running around a kitchen, peeing and pooping uncontrollably even shedding hair and their fleas and...
What better time to start planning a summer vacation than in the middle of a cold (sort of), wet California winter. If you are doing a little California dreaming right now, why not plan a summer adventure in the beautiful southern mountains. You...
According to the National Pest Management Association, termites cause more than $5 billion in property damage each year. They can eat wood and extract energy from it, thanks to a few thousand microbes living inside their gut. This huge community of...
Who are the most successful beings on Earth? It certainly isn’t Man, Ape or any other mammal. The most successful animals on the planet are the arthropods. They have conquered land, sea and air, and make up over three-fourths of all currently known...
There's nothing like the smell of an evergreen tree and a cozy wood fire, to get you in the holiday spirit. But when you bring a live or cut Christmas tree indoors, along with the necessary firewood, some of the insects that have called your...
Spiders and their webs are synonymous with Halloween. Spider lore has changed over time. According to medieval superstition, people believed that if you saw a spider on All Hallows Eve, it was the spirit of a dead loved one watching over you. ...
Fall is a time of change. The weather is cooling, leaves are falling, plants and animals are going into overwintering mode, and for animals, this means heading out of the landscape for safer, warmer places, like inside your home, inside your car...
In their quest for world domination, Argentine ants have successfully conquered 6 continents and many islands. How did they do this? Easily, their multi-queen colonies, adaptive abilities (conquering changes in their environment) and their...
It has been estimated that there are 899 species of ticks in the world, of which over 90 make their home in the continental United States. According to the California Department of Health, around 47 species have been identified here but only 15 of...