Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Here's a cartoon for your viewing pleasure!


Enjoy!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Cluster Fly

Well hello everyone! It's been a busy time with the Holidays taking over but I'm back to do a post about the infamous Cluster Fly.

http://www.thesuffolkpestcontrolcompany.co.uk/pest-help/cluster-flies   


Ahh, yes. These flies are just precious. As a whole, Cluster Flies are not necessarily dangerous pests (ie: these are not like the common house fly that can spread disease). On one hand, they are just an annoyance. They fly around pretty lazily compared to a normal fly: they will randomly hit in to people or other objects because they aren't paying attention or perhaps they just don't care.

Who knows really?

But anyway, the issue occurs when the insects start to die and are not easily found; this is most usually because the flies like to "cluster" together in the attic during the winter. The flies die, are not found, and then will start attracting various other types of pests that are more dangerous.... such as beetles and rodents. That is not good!

Cluster Flies will enter your home or business through the smallest cracks and crevices you've ever seen. They then lazily fly about your house until they find a warm spot to "cluster" together and hang out for the rest of the cold months. In order to prevent them, as usual, make sure that there are no cracks or crevices outside your home that they can wiggle through. Also, you should NOT use a fly swatter on these annoying flies; when squished, they will leave a foul odor and cause a greasy stain. If you suspect an infestation of Cluster Flies, call your local pest control company for assistance!






Visit our website http://allwaypestcontrol15.wix.com/allwaypestcontrol for more information on us if you're in the New Jersey or Pennsylvania area!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Diapause -- What?!

Well hello everyone! Today's post is going to be a bit different. Did you know that insects are capable of something called diapause? What this means is that insects are able to alter the chemical balance of their blood and therefore live through the winter. They are, in short, able to almost change their blood to anti-freeze. How crazy is that?

Many insects do this: Grasshoppers, potato beetles, silkworms, and the monarch butterfly are just a few examples of insects that are able to utilize this ability.

So what happens when diapause occurs? The insects are able to slow down; the younger the insect, the more slow it becomes. For example, for a larvae insect, they will "sleep" or hibernate throughout the entirety of the winter. For more adult insects, they will have diminished need for eating and will stop growing. This is very important for them in order to survive the harsh winter climate. These insects will then live between the bark of a tree, in between areas of siding, or in your house. At the end of winter, once the weather remains warm, the insects will "wake up" and return to their normal state of living.

This is a picture of what monarch butterflies look like during diapause:

Wikipedia
Yeah, those lumps there would be the butterflies. They are huddled together during their time in diapause.

Hope you enjoyed this little update! More soon!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Indian Meal Moth

Well, time for a fun new bug. This one is called the Indian Meal Moth.

Wikipedia     
It could almost be cute.... almost.

Anyway, the Indian Meal Moth is that pesky moth that you can sometimes find when you open your cabinets or pantry. Although the word "moth" presents imagery such as this:











This is NOT that kind of moth. The Indian Meal Moth is an incredibly destructive insect. This moth will hang out in cereal, bread, pasta, nuts, dried fruit, and more. Often times, food will become webbed together. It is EXTREMELY important if you open a container and have a moth fly out to dispose of any and all containers of food that are not completely sealed. The Indian Meal Moth can also be hard to get rid of once it has spread outside of food containers: they make cocoons and live on the ceilings in different rooms of the house or warehouse.

Keep all your flour products and dried foods in tightly sealed containers! This will help prevent larva from entering your food and spreading!

More updates soon! Keep reading!