Spider Sightings Increase in Fall Months

Spider Sightings Increase in Fall Months | Phoenix Spider Control Experts

Spiders aren’t a seasonal pest, but many homeowners tend to notice an increased presence in their homes in the early fall months as the arachnids become more obvious while they search for a mate. Even though most spider species in the United States don’t pose health risks to humans, most people aren’t comfortable with any species sharing their living space. Magic Pest Control reminds homeowners that the best way to prevent spider infestations is to remove harborage sites within their homes.

Spiders seek out secluded, undisturbed areas where they can build a web to catch their next meal, which means attics, basements and seldom used closets could be harboring these pests. Spiders can also crawl into homes through damaged window screens or cracks in the siding, meaning homeowners should conduct periodic checks of these areas to reduce spider problems.

It’s important to note that the black widow and brown recluse spiders are two species found in the United States that do pose health risks to humans when disturbed or feeling threatened.

The brown recluse spider typically does not bite humans unless threatened, but their bites can be painful and result in open sores. Measuring about a half inch with a dark brown violin marking on its back, brown recluse spiders build their webs in warm, dry and dark environments, notably basements and closets. Similarly, black widow spiders do not bite humans instinctively. However, when they do bite, they can cause extremely painful bites, especially for children and the elderly. Recognized for its red hourglass shape under the abdomen, these spiders spin their webs close to the ground and are most often found in woodpiles and undisturbed areas.

Magic Pest Control offers the following tips to help prevent contact with spiders:

  • Avoid keeping clothing and shoes on the floor, especially if in an area known for spiders; consider storing inside plastic containers.
  • Seal cracks and crevices around the home.
  • Vacuum/sweep away webs in and around the home.
  • Shake out all clothing that has been in the laundry basket before wearing/washing.
  • Keep garages, attics and basements clean and clutter free.
  • If a spider bites you, contact your primary care physician for medical advice.
  • If you have an infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest control professional to inspect and treat the pest problem.
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The Terrifying Attic Discovery That Explained A Long-Running Wasp Presence In A Family’s Home

Wasps can be menacing creatures, some people can describe the terror of being caught outdoors amidst a wasp swarm. Others, sadly, have not survived the wrath of aggressive wasps. The late summer and early fall is the time of year that sees the greatest degree of wasp activity, and therefore, the greatest wasp-related injuries. For a period of several weeks, one particular family in Australia had several close calls with wasps. Sometimes, members of the family found themselves surrounded by several of the fierce flying insects. Amazingly, every single dangerous encounter this family had with the insects occured within their own home, completely shut-off from the outdoors. When the family discovered the reason for these encounters, they were taken aback to say the least.

The Australian family had been exposed to wasps several times, but they were most noticeable in the home’s bathroom. In an effort to find the source of the wasps, the woman inspected her yard and the areas around her home, but she did not find a nest of any sort. Eventually, the woman called a pest control professional, and after he noticed a wasp around the bathroom’s ceiling fan, he had a pretty good idea as to where the insects were coming from. Upon inspecting the attic, the pest control professional, Shane, found an enormous wasp nest, the largest one that he had ever seen. Shane found the nest coiled around a duct-pipe. After finding the nest, he was forced to turn off the lights, as it disturbed angry wasps that seemed intent on attacking him.

As it turned out, the wasps had been traveling down a steam pipe that led into the family’s bathroom. Later on, Shane discovered that the massive nest had been housing around 2,000 wasps. The infestation had to be eradicated by killing the queen as well as the rest of the colony. According to Shane, the unusually hot weather in parts of Australia this fall has been helping wasp nests grow to incredible sizes. The uninhabited nest remains in the family’s home at their request, as they want to show-off its monster size to their children and neighbors.

Have you ever found a wasp nest located within a hidden location of your home?

 

 

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Restaurant Is Forced To Close After A Patron Finds A Cockroach In His Burrito

Cockroach Control Gilbert, Phoenix Metro

It is an unfortunate fact that restaurant kitchens attract cockroaches and other insects. This is not surprising considering the vast amounts of food waste that are produced in restaurants on a daily basis. Exercising strict sanitation practices is the best cooks and managers can do to control insect pests in restaurant kitchens. Every once in awhile, cockroaches will literally wind up in the food that is served to patrons. One cannot help but to wonder how this occurs, as you would think that nothing could be easier than preventing giant roaches from crawling into the meals cooked in restaurants. This scenario occurred recently at a restaurant in Sacramento. Apparently, a cockroach was found in a customer’s burrito. In addition to finding a cockroach in a customer’s burrito, health inspectors found dozens of cockroaches infesting the establishment’s kitchen. Due to these egregious violations concerning safe food production, the restaurant was forced to close.

The Sacramento County Health Department recently received a complaint from a customer telling them about a cockroach in the burrito that he was served at Carolina’s mexican restaurant. This complaint, as you would expect, was taken seriously by health officials, and they wasted no time before conducting an inspection of the eatery. Not surprisingly, inspectors found dozens of cockroaches infesting the kitchen. In all, nearly 60 live cockroaches were found in the establishment. As many as 30 of these live cockroaches were found directly in the main cook’s station where food is made. While this infestation cannot be good for business, the restaurant was recently reopened after the owners eradicated the pest presence. In addition to this particular restaurant, health inspectors found cockroach infestations within three other restaurants in the Sacramento area. Luckily for the owners, each restaurant managed to correct the problem, and all three have since passed inspections. However, it is hard to imagine anyone not having serious reservations about attending these formerly infested restaurants.

Have you ever spotted a small insect in a meal that you had been served at a restaurant?

 

 

 

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Tips to Keep Pests Out of Your House This Fall

  • Screen attic vents, openings to chimneys and any other areas that are open to the outdoors, like mail slots and animal doors.
  • Keep basements, attics and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry. Consider using a dehumidifier in these areas.
  • Keep kitchen counters clean, store food in airtight containers and dispose of garbage regularly in sealed receptacles.
  • Replace weather-stripping and repair loose mortar around the foundation and windows.
  • Inspect boxes of decorations, package deliveries and grocery bags for pest damage before bringing them indoors.
  • Avoid leaving pets’ food dishes out for long periods of time.
  • Contact a licensed pest control professional if an infestation is suspected.
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Scientists Cannot Understand Why Smoke Calms Bees

It is not hard to believe that most insects do not respond well to smoke. In fact, tobacco is smoked by some people as an effective method of repelling mosquitoes. While some types of smoke may be less irritating than others, smoke, in general, is far from soothing. Unless, of course, the insects in question are honey bees. Surprisingly, ancient Egyption art depicts beekeepers of the time blowing smoke into beehives in order to avoid being stung. It seems that smoke was understood to be a method of soothing aggressive bees as far back as 2,500 years ago, and this method is still being used by modern beekeepers. Despite this, scientists have yet to understand exactly why bees respond to smoke in this particular way. 

In an effort to understand the peculiar calming effects of smoke on aggressive bees, researchers exposed the insects to the smoke that is produced by the combustion of two different materials. The smoke released from one of these burning materials, burlap, is used by modern beekeepers, and the other, spent hops, is a recycled product of hop flowers that results from their use in beer production. Considering the fact that bees produce sugar-rich honey that is highly appetizing and sought after by many insect species, bees must be physically capable of protecting their hives from intruders looking to gorge themselves on the sweet substance. This is why some worker bees provide guard duty around the hive. When these guard bees detect a threat, they extend their stingers in defense. Since smoke seems to calm aggressive honey bees, researchers expected at least one type of smoke to prevent worker bees from extending their stinger in a defensive manner. However, this did not happen.

After disturbing the bees with electric shocks, they still extended their stingers. When the shocks became particularly intense, bee stingers released a droplet of venom, but they did not do this when hop smoke was released into the hive. This indicates that hop smoke, while not disabling a bees defensive response entirely, did, indeed, work to prevent the release of venom. A bee’s inability to release venom when exposed to hop smoke proves that hop smoke does have an overall calming effect on aggressive bees. Researchers believe that a chemical in hops known as lupulin has sedative effects on a bee’s nervous system.

Do you think that tobacco smoke could have the same sedative effect on bees?

 

 

 

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How Bed Bug Populations Reached Epidemic Levels

Bed Bug Control Gilbert, Phoenix Metro

How Bed Bug Populations Reached Epidemic Levels | Bed Bug Control Phoenix Bed Bug Control

If there is one person who can answer all of your bed bug questions, then it would be author Brooke Borel. Borel writes for Popular Science Magazine, and she has conducted her own research on the behavior and biology of bed bugs. Most of her research focuses on what attracts bed bugs to humans. In addition to studying bed bugs, Borel has recently had a book published that describes the blood sucking creatures in detail; she has also experienced bed bug infestations herself. Recently, during an interview on National Public Radio, Borel described why bed bugs disappeared for several decades only to later return stronger and more resilient than they had been before before.

During the 1940s, scientists developed one of the first synthetic insecticides. This insecticide is now banned, but it was known as DDT, and it successfully destroyed bed bug populations, as well as many other insect species. During World War II, DDT was used by the Americans and British to fend off mosquitoes that carried malaria, as well as typhus-carrying lice. After the war, DDT became available to both pest control professional and consumers. People would often spray the chemical all over their homes, and DDT was included in many wallpapers, varnishes and paints. The widespread use of DDT during this time cannot be overstated.

DDT was so effective at killing bed bugs, the generations born after World War II had not even heard of the insects, as they had been virtually wiped out. This meant that pest controllers did not know how to treat bed bug infestations when the bugs resurfaced decades later. Bed bugs were so rare during the mid to late twentieth century that most professional entomologists had never been educated about bed bugs. According to Borel, to this day, experts cannot conclusively determine how bed bugs reappeared as aggressively as they did following several decades of inactivity. Many scientists believe that there had always been small pockets of bed bugs that had slowly adapted to survive DDT and other insecticide treatments over the course of several decades. However, this does not explain why bed bug activity was nearly nonexistent for so many years. Some believe that the spike in international travel that occurred during the 1980s led small pockets of surviving bed bugs to spread to urban areas all over the world by hitchhiking on travelers.

Do you believe that researchers are getting close to developing a revolutionary new insecticide that will work as effectively as DDT initially did during the middle of the twentieth century?

Nelson Ruiz No Comments

People Are Putting Dangerous Scorpions On Their Faces For A Bizarre Mass Ritual In India

Arizona scorpion Control Gilbert, Phoenix Metro

It would take a lot to convince a person to pick up a scorpion. A person’s reluctance to pick up, or even approach scorpions is perfectly understandable; after all, scorpions are venomous, and some species have even been known to kill humans. It could be said that as far as arachnids go, scorpions are one of the most dangerous and fierce of all species. Unfortunately, scorpion-handling is a required practice in some religions, as the arachnids are commonly worshipped in various Asian regions. For example, many people living in India worship the scorpion goddess known as Kondammai. As far as these worshippers are concerned, it is sinful to be afraid of scorpions. This is why the most pious worshippers of Kondammai choose to demonstrate their love of the goddess by allowing scorpions to crawl on their bodies. Many followers of this belief system fearlessly place scorpions into their mouths in order to prove their virtue and adherence to this particular eastern faith.

Every year, the majority of Hindus in India take part in an annual snake-worshipping festival known as Naga Panchami. Although much of India takes part in this annual festival, not all Hindus choose to worship the snake on this day. Instead, followers travel to a different location within the country in order to worship scorpions. This festival brings adherents to a particular hill located in Kandakoor known as Chellina Beta, or Scorpion Hill. After men, women, children and the elderly pray to the scorpion goddess atop the hill, they begin to indulge themselves by playing with nearby scorpions that are abundant in the area. Most adherents allow the scorpions to crawl anywhere on their bodies, and the bravest place them into their mouths with the belief that the scorpion goddess will protect them from attack. Although adherents claim that nobody has ever been stung, others find this claim dubious. However, no fatalities have ever been officially reported during the festival. Despite the clear danger associated with such religious practices, the number of attendees increases substantially with each passing year.

Would you place a scorpion into your own mouth for any amount of money?

 

 

Nelson Ruiz No Comments

Spider Control Tips | Magic Pest Control

Spider Control Gilbert, Phoenix Metro
  • Keep garages, attics and basements clean and clutter-free.
  • Install screens and weather stripping on windows and door sweeps on doors.
  • Fix any cracks in siding and walls, especially where pipes or wires enter the home. Use a silicone-based caulk, steel wool or a combination of both.
  • Store firewood at least 20 feet away from the house.
  • Wear heavy gloves when moving items that have been stored for a long period of time.
  • Inspect items such as boxes of decorations and grocery bags before bringing them indoors.
  • Store clothing inside plastic containers and check shoes before putting them on, as spiders often hide in these items.
  • If you suspect that a spider has bitten you, contact your primary care physician for medical advice.
  • If you have a spider infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest professional.
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Fire Ants Spread Around The Globe Via Spanish Galleons Over Four Hundred Years Ago

Ant Control Gilbert / Phoenix Metro

The transport of insects to regions where they are not native is a serious problem in today’s world. Not surprisingly, this problem has existed ever since mankind took to the seas. When Columbus, and early European settlers in America first traveled across the Atlantic, they probably did not anticipate upsetting the balance of the world’s ecosystems, but this is exactly what has occurred as a result of maritime travel. Although customs officials and other authorities do their best to prevent the accidental transport of insects into non-native regions today, the fact is that invasive insects are increasing. Fire ants happen to be one of the earliest known insects to be transported to regions all over the globe via maritime travel. There may have been numerous other insect species that had been transported to non-native regions before fire ants, but fire ants were the first insect species to establish a global habitat as a result of careless sea travel. Many insects likely die as a result of being ill suited to new environments, but the durable fire ant has endured in just about every non-native habitat where they have been introduced.

During the sixteenth century, Spanish ships accidentally transported fire ants from the Americas to other regions across the sea. Fire ants had always been native to the Americas, but thanks to early colonial travel, fire ants have established habitats in every location that is either tropical or subtropical. The early transport of fire ants allowed people from all over the world to experience their extremely painful bites for themselves. Researchers recently published a study in the Journal of Molecular Entomology that describes how fire ants established their invasive habitat hundreds of years ago.

The manner in which fire ants spread in the sixteenth century will amaze you, as early maritime travelers seemed to be trying to spread as many insects across the globe as they could. Back then, when a ship would dock at a port, the crew would fill the ship’s ballast with soil only to later transfer and dump the soil at another port in a foreign country. Once the soil was dumped, its weight would be replaced with cargo. Of course, early sea travelers were simply ignorant of the consequences of transporting soil to different parts of the world. However, if they had known that they were moving enormous amounts of insects within the soil, they may not have stopped, as the negative environmental consequences of this insect transport were not known to most people at the time.

Do you think that enough precautions are taken today to prevent the global spread of insects by means of maritime travel?