Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

In the past few days, there has been a sting of news releases about the World’s Biggest Bug, all started by this:

Picture: Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures/Solent

This extremely rare and endangered insect was found by Mark Moffett. It took him 2 days to find this Giant Weta. She was found on Little Barrier Island, in New Zealand. They are no longer on the main land as they were cleared out by rats brought in by the Europeans. Mark, a bug lover from Colorado, was excited to find this rare cricket-like creature. He was even more honored when it was declared the Largest Insect on Record, according to weight. The wing span is 7 inches.

http://pestcontrolseo.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/is-the-largest-bug-in-the-world-the-new-zealand-giant-weta/

That is one HUGE bug, but is it the worlds Largest?

Here are some other contenders for the “World’s Largest Bug Award”

Goliath Beetle:

Golaith Beetle

The Goliath Beetle is often considered the largest bug on earth. It’s wings span reaches up to 10 inches. It actually sounds like a small toy helicopter in flight. And yes you can buy the Goliath Beetle framed like the picture above for $250.

Giant Moths:

Photo by Bulwark Exterminating Technician

Moths can be very large as well. From the White Witch Moth to the Atlas Moth, these mammoth moths have wing spans of up to 12 inches. This particular moth was photographed in Tulsa, OK by Bulwark Exterminating. It’s not quite the size of the mammoth moths, but it looked good on film.

Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing:

Wikipedia Author – Mark Pellegrini (Raul654)

The Queen Alexandra Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world. The female’s wing span reaches just over 12 inches at 12.2. Interesting to note that this is yet another kingdom wherein the females rule, well at least based on size. It’s actually common for female insects to be larger than their male counterparts.

Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula

Tthe largest of the Arachnid family is the Theraphosa leblondi, known as the Bird Eating Tarantula. Yes it really does munch down a few birds and small rodents of unusual size. On record this spider is just over 11 inches, but others believe they grow to be 12 inches. But no need to fear, they are pretty harmless to humans. Go ahead and pick one up, if you dare.

Giant Walking Stick Insect:

If you are measuring on pure length then the Giant Walking Stick takes the cake. It can grow up to 20 inches.

So what of this Record Breaking Bug?

The claim remains that this Giant Weta is the largest on record by weight. At 71 grams (2.5 oz) they beat out all of their winged friends… UNLESS you believe wikipedia which states that Goliath Beetles weigh in from 80 to 100 grams. Can someone please put this debate to a close?

Related articles

• Day 5 – With My Head In The Clouds (neoncstar.wordpress.com)
• In Defense of Taxonomy (bugsofboogercounty.wordpress.com)
• Is the Largest Bug in the World the New Zealand Giant Weta? (pestcontrolseo.wordpress.com)
• World’s biggest ever insect found called the Weta Bug (thesun.co.uk)
• Giant Weta is the World’s Biggest Insect, Eats Carrots [Video] (inquisitr.com)

Scientists have uncovered the oldest spider fossil on earth, dating back 165 million years.  The specimen measures about two square inches and was unearthed near the Daohugou village in northeastern China.

The new discovery, dating back to the Middle Jurassic period, has been dubbed Nephila jurassica.  Until now, the oldest Nephila spider only dated back 34 million years.  While this newly discovered species is considered extinct, descendants include the golden orb-weaver spiders.  Golden Orb-weavers are known for spinning elaborate, gold-colored webs strong enough to trap bats and small birds.

This new discovery is also leading scientists to reconsider the former geographic location and conditions of northeastern China.  Modern golden orb spiders are typically found in more warmer, tropical climates.  This now leads researchers to believe that the northeastern region of China may have been apart of Pangaea, the super-continent that existed prehistorically that was believed to contain all seven modern-day continents.  The region that now includes the Daohugou village is suspected to have been in the warm and humid regions of Pangaea.

While prehistoric science may not be Bulwark Exterminating’s strength, we can safely conclude that spiders have been man’s pest control problem for millions and millions of years.  We here at Bulwark also conclude that spiders will continue to be man’s pest control problem for millions of years to come.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mazda is recalling over 50,000 Mazda 6 sedans because the 2009 and 2010 models are having….ready for this…..wait for it…..pest control problems.  Apparently the Yellow Sac Spider has found its way into the fuel system of Mazda’s sport sedan, and can potentially wreak havoc by blocking air from filling the gas tank as gas is used.  This can crack the tank and even cause fires.  Although, to date, no fires have been reported.  Mazda also confirmed that this issues seems to only be occurring in the 4-cylinder models, not the V6′s. (I didn’t just make up that last fact.)

Mazda currently sells six differing models of the Mazda 6.  These six models are grouped in the following classes: Sport, Touring, Touring Plus and Grand Touring.  As of yesterday, it’s only appropriate that Mazda add an additional class to the sport sedan group.  We think it should be called the Mazda 6 Spider.  Not Spyder.  Spider.  And the predominant color for this new car should be light yellow in color.

We’ve done a little bit of investigative work since yesterday and it appears to us that along with this issue affecting only 4-cylinder models, the affected cars also all have spider silk woven upholstery.  This might explain the Yellow Sac Spider’s targeting of these particular cars.  Are they just trying to feel at home?  Or might they be protesting the exploitation of their only valuable commodity.  Maybe they’re not getting a fair share of a honest day’s work?

Either way, this is an unprecedented opportunity for Mazda to make lemons (pun intended) into lemonade.  What else can Mazda do to capitalize on this bizarre discovery?   We also suggest that all models that come with navigation and DVD also come with free copies of Arachnophobia, Spider-Man 1-3 and Charlotte’s Web for the kids.  If there was a way to get four more wheels on the car, that would be excellent, but we know that might be stretching it.  At the very least drivers of the new Mazda 6 Spider should be allowed to freely drive in the carpool lane.  Chances are there are 3 or 4 passengers somewhere in the car.

Now, if you don’t want those spiders in your car, or in your house either, call Bulwark Exterminating for your guaranteed spider control.

Copyright © 2011 PestControlLasVegas. Visit the original article at http://pestcontrollasvegasnv.com/2011/01/do-conkers-drive-spiders-bonkers/.

A twitter buddy of mine mentioned recently that she was having spider problems in her house.  All right. No biggie!  Then she mentioned that the “conkers” she was using to fend off her little friends weren’t working like everyone had told her.

Conkers?  One, what’s a conker?  And two, how do they battle spiders?  I was going to get to the bottom of this, stat!

I asked my new twitter friend, Joanna, who is actually based in England, the scoop on these conkers that she mentioned.  She shot me back a couple of links.  Come to find out conkers are the nuts that come from horse-chestnut trees.  These trees are mostly native to specific parts of Europe (which explains why I had never heard of them).  It has long been believed that if you leave conkers around your doors and window sills, they act as a natural deterrent to spiders.  While there has been no scientific evidence that conkers are effective form of defense, some believe that the conkers need to be a fresh batch in order to give off the appropriate odor to do their job.

Here in America there’s an old saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”  While speaking to The Telegraph, Stuart Hine of the Natural History Museum in England gives us his own ryhme…

“Conkers does ryhme with bonkers!”

Copyright © 2011 Steve_Bitter. Visit the original article at http://pestcontroltulsaok.com/2010/12/12-days-of-christmas-you-dont-want-to-see-under-your-tree/.

Christmas is in 8 days.  All of the “12 Days of Christmas” lists started 4 days ago.  We’ve purposely waited a few days to give you the “12 Days of Christmas You DON’T Want To See Under Your Tree”.

#12 The worst ugly Christmas sweater from eBay you can possibly imagine.

Especially if it came with a Jack Black impersonator.

Ugly Christmas Sweater

#11 Gym membership from husband.

Gym Membership Gift Certificate

#10 Justin Bieber mechandise.

Unless your name happens to be Annie Cushing.

Justin Bieber Doll Set

#9 Sex For Dummies book from wife.

New and updated 3rd Edition, because getting the first 2 wasn’t enough in previous years.

Sex For Dummies, 3rd Edition

#8 Gift card to AA from Santa with a 6-pack of non-alcoholic beer.

Non-Alcholic Beer and AA Membership

#7 Court ordered Subpoena with 5 days to reply.

Especially if your lawyer is in the Bahamas until after New Years.

#6 Fruitcake

Enough Said

#5 A recluse spider in your stocking.

Very common in areas around Tulsa, OK.  Maybe coal isn’t such a bad option!

Brown Recluse Spider (Courtesy: lakeneosho.org)

#4 Unused tickets to the Neverland Ranch.

Includes shiny right-handed glove and “live” meet and greet with its original owner.

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch (Courtesy: the PASSION blog)

#3 An all expense paid tour of one of BP’s oil rigs.

They’ll even let you play with the fire hose.

BP Oil Rig

#2 An imitation iPad that runs Windows 7.

Fake iPad with Windows OS (Courtesy: coated.com)

#1 An ant farm.

I mean, come on!  How enraged would you be if you actually got an ant farm!?  Unless your name is Thomas Ballantyne, then it might look good next to your scorpion aquarium.

Ant Farm

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bulwark Exterminating.  Your Loco Pest Control – Tulsa, OK.

There are a number of reasons to use baits over sprays.  One of which is that many insects (i.e. cockroaches, crickets, spiders, and ticks) may have quicker reflexes then you. So trying to spray them with a can of RAD may not hit them. But there is even a better reason to use baits. Baits have a great transfer rate. And if the family of bugs shares the bait then you will knock out the entire colony! So baits are often the better choice. Just sit back and relax. Let the bait do its magic. Sure it may take a little longer for that roach to turn upside, but when dealing with a roach problem wouldn’t rather have 1000 dead roaches over 1 sprayed roach? Just thought you’d like to know.

Thanks for visiting and if you need more pest control tips, then don’t hesitate to ask.

Try Joe’s for your Do it Yourself Pest Control needs.