Corky’s Pest Control Blog

Producing extreme wet weather conditions, Mother Nature is gearing up for another bloodthirsty assault on mankind and this time we won’t see them coming. The same conditions that encourage mosquitoes, give rise to the infamous “No-See-Ums”, also...

Say hello to one of your oldest relatives, named Protungulatum donnae. After a six-year study of the mammal family tree, scientists now believe that many mammalian species (people included) originated with a tiny rat-like creature that crawled the...

  Gather round the old campfire or maybe just the family fire pit.  It’s  Halloween and time for tall tales, urban legends and “True Stories”.  Mother Nature provides the best material for horror stories and here are a few tales to get you...

Could it be witches, ghosts or goblins?  Monsters, Vampires or Space Aliens?  No, No, No! It’s Rats, Bats and Spiders that top the list of the most unwanted and fright inspiring creatures ever created.  But with all the disturbing stories and fear...

Controlling the minds of other living creatures is science fiction or at best the stuff of horror stories, right? Well for some, becoming a real live zombie is a deadly reality. In the race for survival, mind control, has become something of a...

September 22nd, marked the fall equinox this year; Where Summer blasts our days with her last hot breaths, and Fall creeps in with his first cool evening breezes. It's the time when, days and nights begin as equals and where days slowly shorten and...

Mosquitoes became the preeminent pest in America after the 1900 discovery, by Sir Ronald Ross, that linked them to the dreaded disease, Malaria. This was the Progressive Era, and American entomologist, Leland O. Howard, a staunch progressive,...

Cockroaches are some of the nastiest bugs found in the United States. Every state has some area that is infested with these disease carrying bugs, including California. Within the cockroach world, American Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are on...

Ever played the “I spy with my little eye”, game as you traveled upon endless tracks of roadway with parents or friends?  This was the only way, besides calling out state license plates (how boring is that!), that my parents could keep myself and...

Put the movie “The Birds” together with the 1999 film, “Murder of Crows” and you have a great horror show and it’s playing out right here is Southern California. Look, up in the sky, great flocks of crows are winging their way from communal...

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is providing us with this information, in the hope that it will cultivate awareness and promote public health and safety. Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species...

Fear of insects (also known as entomophobia) mainly includes disgust or aversion to bugs. Insects and bugs often appear “ugly or disgusting” owing to their shape, colors, or wiggly parts. Bugs like flies, mosquitoes and fleas are also associated...

Hot summer days and warm summer nights are here and bugs are headed our way.  Ants, spiders, fleas, roaches, flies, termites, mosquitoes and a lot of other creepy crawlies are headed out of fields and canyons and even the neighbors’ yards and...

Cockroaches are one of the dirtiest and hardiest of natures’ creations. Their saliva, droppings and decomposing bodies contain allergen proteins known to trigger asthma and allergy symptoms, especially in children. In addition to exacerbating skin...

The shortest poem ever written, composed by American poet Strickland Gillilan (also attributed to Ogden Nash) in the early 20th century, reads,  “Adam,  Had 'em”.  Straight to the point, man has a long history with fleas. A fossil flea discovered...

There’s nothing like being awoken from a sound sleep by sudden itching, pinches or stings.  These sensations send us scrambling from our warm covers, checking for bite marks and scouring our beds for the creepy crawlies we just know are using our...

At this time of year, in the early mornings, there is a soft glistening of webbing in the trees and on the lawn, and hillsides are decorated with dew frosted beauty. There is a fairytale quality to the scene and Natures’ art gallery is open for...

Are these “Super Bugs” the answer to our prayers or are they a gateway to more serious problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has backed trials of genetically modified mosquitoes in the fight against the Zika virus. Currently,...

    Living in Southern California and enjoying the “outdoor life” has it benefits but it also has it’s drawbacks, namely exposure to wildlife and the parasites they harbor and the diseases they carry. One of Nature's most proficient...

Aside from pets, family members, or short or long term guests, many of us often go weeks without seeing another living thing in our homes. But appearances can be deceiving. We are, in fact, surrounded by arthropods—insects, spiders, mites,...

Every year new facts and control techniques for insect pests are circulated among the masses.  This year with the mosquito borne Zika virus and West Nile virus being in the news, stories, testimonials and cheap, homemade solutions touting...

In the 21st century, no place on earth is more than a day from any other place. Therefore, diseases with short incubation periods, such as Zika, have unprecedented opportunities for rapid spread through human movement. All travelers, regardless of...

Mosquitoes have been the bane of man’s existence for centuries, or should I say millenniums.  Not only are they annoying, buzzing around our heads, their bites itching and looking red and ugly, they carry diseases that have killed millions maybe...

The wet weather pattern blamed for this winter's record snowfall in the East and mudslides in the West — is expected to wreak more havoc this spring with a surge in insects and other pests. When there's an increase in water, there's an increase in...

A survey from the NPMA (National Pest Management Association) found nearly half of all rat infestations happen in the fall and winter months. As temperatures cool, especially overnight, rats look for warm sheltered spots with access to food and...