Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Beetles’

Celebrities In Need Of Pest Control

April 15th, 2013 No comments

Pests love celebrities too.

Halle Berry, Howard Stern, Queen Elizabeth, Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Maya Rudoplh….

What do these famous people have in common aside from money, fame and paparazzi camped outside their homes?

They have been overrun with bugs!

The only advantage a celebrity might have in conquering bugs is that instead of cleaning and treating everything, they just replace it!

English: Actress Halle Berry at the 2010 New Y...

Halle Berry Forced Out Of Home By Spiders

Halle Berry, who is deathly afraid of bugs, was forced to evacuate her Hollywood home a few months back when her gardener uncovered a nest of Black Widow spiders. The deadly spiders where living underneath a lawn chair near the actress’ pool. The Academy Award winning actress and expectant mother said:

“There were hundreds under this lawn chair that we would all sit on around the pool every other day.

“We found out there was a whole village, a colony of black widows… One of the gardeners decided he should clean it and when he looked under it it was like, ‘Argh!’

“I just left… I said, ‘I’m gonna leave and you’re gonna have to handle that because I can’t stand spiders…’ I don’t even like Daddy Long Legs.” 

 

Black Widow Spiders

The Black Widow spider is the most dangerous North American spider. They inject a neurotoxin when they bite which can be serious and even fatal. A bite results in extreme pain and cramping that can take several days to diminish.

Queen of United Kingdom (as well as Canada, Au...

Queen Elizabeth Overrun With Silverfish

Even the Queen of England must deal with pest infestations. It was well reported last year that the Queen’s Scottish home was overrun with “embarrassing swarms of wingless insects.”

Those wingless insects just happened to be silverfish, which commonly feed on discarded food, human hair, wallpaper, and clothing fabric. Silverfish thrive in humid or damp conditions. The only way to completely eliminate them is to remove the source of the problem.

Pest control professionals in Scotland helped advise the Queen’s staff, and ended up removing all the wood surrounding the pipes which were causing the damp conditions the silverfish love.

Silverfish

Silverfish are flat, gray, scaly insects that have the ability to squeeze into tiny cracks. They have an uncanny ability to hide or to gain entry into homes. They are extremely quick, and will dart away when you turn on the lights. Silverfish prefer to live in damp, cool places such as bathrooms, basements and laundry rooms.

Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky Stern

Howard Stern Battling Multiple Bug Infestations 

 

Ants 

The popular shock jock Howard Stern has had the misfortune of battling pest infestations multiple times. Over the holiday, Howard Stern and his wife Beth Ostrosky were forced to flee their luxury resort vacation in Turks and Caicos when the villa they rented became infested with ants.

Stern paid $5800 a night for a little time away with his wife, in a private 3 bedroom villa with ocean access. It wasn’t long into his vacation before they found themselves itching to get back home. A few minutes after they settled in to relax with some transcendental meditation, they found themselves covered with ants.

Howard Stern reported:

“We’re talking covered in ants. They’re swimming over you-in a sea of ants–encapsulating you. They’re not even looking like normal ants. If they were normal ants I could handle it. They looked like flying fish.” 

Multiple pest control fumigation efforts were performed on the property, in hopes the famous couple would stay, but new ant infestations continued to swarm.

Beetles 

Upon returning home from their unfortunate vacation, the couple found their Manhattan penthouse apartment infested with beetles. A colony of dead beetles was found in their oatmeal, while other containers in his pantry had been overrun with live beetles.

Bedbugs 

Howard Stern has also reported on his Sirius XM Radio show that he has been “scratching every minute,” since his New York apartment and limousine have been infested with tiny, bloodsucking bedbugs.

 

bedbug (Cimex sp.)

Celebrities Attacked By Blood Sucking Bedbugs 

In addition to Howard Stern; celebrities like Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Maya Rudoplh, Aubrey Plaza, Lauren Hildebrandt, and President Bill Clinton have dealt with bedbugs.

Bedbugs can be a common occurrence for celebrities, who do a lot of world traveling for both work and leisure.

President Clinton’s bedbug infestation may be more of a case of having too many guests in his bed.

To read more about celebrities being attacked by bloodsucking bedbugs, click here.

Pests Don’t Play Favorites 

It goes to show you that bugs play no favorites. Even famous celebrities, with lots of money, are susceptible to their malevolence. Black Widow spiders, beetles, silverfish, bedbugs, and ants can affect anybody. Get pest control!

 

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

Your Pest Control Links For The Week

March 1st, 2013 1 comment

Your Pest Control Links For The Week

 

Ridding Your Pantry of Pests

If you’ve ever poured yourself a bowl of cereal in the morning; and found beetles, weevils or other pantry pests crawling around in your Cheerios; you know it can be quite a disturbing experience. Here’s some advice on getting rid of the uninvited guests. More…

Millipede Menace

This article offers some good advice on preventing millipedes. These pests smell awful, are dirty, leave stains, and can even disrupt electrical equipment. More…

Difference Between Waterbugs and Cockroach Infestations

For some insight on cockroaches and waterbugs, including what they look like, where they live, what they eat, and how to get rid of them, click here.

Proper Identification is the Key to Controlling Ants Populations in Louisiana

Louisiana has some 131 different species of ant, including the Raspberry Crazy ant. The key to controlling these ants is identifying the species. Different species of ant require different types of treatment form a pest control professional. More…

Pesticides Over the Years

Pesticides have evolved over the years. To read more about this evolution, click here.

There is a Wasp’s Nest Outside My Door! Now What?

If you ever have the misfortune of having a wasp or hornet nest in or around your home, take these steps before you get stung. More…

 

Pest Of The Week: Argentine Ant

 

Linepithema humilis, Argentine ant

Linepithema humilis, Argentine ant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Routinely found underneath the moist areas of your property, Argentine ants build their nests under rocks and other debris. They can also build nests inside your home, as they enter looking for their favorite sweets. Argentine ants are located in the Southeast U.S., Washington, Oregon, and California.

Argentine ants are a grayish-brown in color, and are approximately 1/8 inch long. Colonies can have multiple queens, and tens of thousands of worker ants, as different colonies join forces. These ants are notorious for driving out other ant species.

Argentine ants love anything sugary and sweet. These ant pests will commonly eat the nectar that plant aphids provide for them In exchange; Argentine ants will protect the aphids from other predators.

One of the most effective pest control approaches to exterminating the Argentine worker ants and queens is to actively bait this pest with poison; concealed in sugar. Once the Argentine ants have returned the bait to the nest, the remaining colony will soon die off.

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)

The Biggest Bug in the World Debate.

December 2nd, 2011 1 comment

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

 

largest bug in the world -Giant Weta

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

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

English: Theraphosa blondi - Goliath birdeater...

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?

Enhanced by Zemanta
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)