You’ve heard about bed bugs in hotels and homes but have you stopped to think about your kid’s dorm room? Dorm rooms have long been a cause of infestation in the family home. When a college student returns home from school with their laundry and belongings, there is a chance they are bringing home some unwanted house guests as well. This can lead to an infestation in the home.
There are ways that your college student can check for signs of bed bugs when returning to their dorm. Look for dark red or brown wingless insects. Check for black, brown or brownish red marks on the mattress (be sure to check seams of mattress thoroughly), sheets, box springs, curtains, corners, headboards and bed rails.
The good news is that bed bugs do not spread diseases. However, they do bite which causes itchy red marks on the body.
It’s 2011 and the West Nile virus has made its return. Several states have confirmed cases of the virus. States include Minnesota, where a dead crow was found, Connecticut, where mosquitoes tested positive, Tennessee, where mosquitoes tested positive, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, where one person has been infected, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
The West Nile virus targets birds but is known to infect humans, dogs, squirrels, and even rabbits. The most common way of contracting West Nile is through a mosquito that has bitten an infected bird. A staggering 90% of humans that have been infected by West Nile do not show symptoms of the virus. In rare cases, victims show signs of fever, headache, vomiting, and skin rashes. 1 in 150 cases of West Nile will develop serious illness which can include permanent neurological damage and death in some cases.
Sometimes we take advantage of the TV sensation that we have among us here at Northwest Exterminating! Here is our latest commercial featuring our own, Steve Phillips, as he explains why Northwest Exterminatingis the best choice for pest control for your home or business.
Every day this week when my dog has gone outside, he has been greeted by a wasp. Luckily, they leave each other alone and go on about their business. After asking around the offices here at Northwest Exterminating, it seems that some of our customers may be seeing these same nuisance pests around their lawns.
One of the more common wasps in our area is the digger wasp. Digger wasps are found in lawns in the US and Canada in early morning and disappear in the evening. Digger wasps can be up to 2” in length with black bodies that usually include a band of either red, yellow or white. The digger wasp flies above lawns that are infested with scarab beetle larvae. The female digger wasp will sting the scarab larva to paralyze it, attach their eggs, and then builds a cell around the paralyzed larva…eventually feeding off of this. This act is how the digger wasp gets its name – from the fact that the female digs into the ground to locate the scarab larvae.
The good new is that it’s a fair fight between you and the digger wasp. These wasps are not social wasps and usually travel by themselves…meaning it’s you against the one wasp. Lucky for you though…digger wasps rarely sting people so you can chalk up the score to YOU -1, WASP – 0.
Although digger wasps do not pose a real threat, they are still a nuisance. Besides, who wants to get close enough to a wasp to identify if it’s a digger wasp or another more dangerous wasp. To treat for digger wasps in your yard, it is most beneficial to treat for the scarab larvae that they feed off of.
You’ve heard about bed bugs in hotels and homes but have you stopped to think about your kid’s dorm room? Dorm rooms have long been a cause of infestation in the family home. When a college student returns home from school with their laundry and belongings, there is a chance they are bringing home some unwanted house guests as well. This can lead to an infestation in the home.