Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

Coyotes Battle Chicago Rat Infestation

Chicago’s municipality has found some new employees, about 250 of them, to help keep the city clean—and without the need to dole out any expensive pensions, either.  So who makes up this new hiring push in Chicago?  Coyotes, of course.

WGN-TV aired a news story showing a video, presumably captured on someone’s phone, of a coyote running down the Loop’s State Street at around 3am.  An inquiry was made to the city’s police, asking them if they were aware of the predator or coyote problems in the city.

The police stated they had no knowledge of why the animal might be there; however, a supervisor at the Chicago Commission on Animal Care and Control, Brad Block, stated that he knew the real reason the coyote was spotted: he was working.

According to Block, this coyote and a number like it, each fitted with a GPS collar, are used to help the city lower its pest problems.  The coyotes feast on rats, mice and rabbits—veritably, the greenest pest control available as it fits right in with the ecological food chain.  Block goes on to say that these coyotes are not a problem: “He’s not a threat…He’s not going to pick up your children…His job is to deal with all of the nuisance problems, like mice, rats and rabbits” (Chicago Breaking News).

These coyotes are not a source of concern for citizens, Block affirms, they’re let loose only to control the pest population.  However, since this news story broke, there have been several other ideas put out there as to the real reason Chicagoans are seeing coyotes in their city.

Treehugger.com, the popular green blog, believes the coyotes are part of the 250 coyotes radio-tagged for the Urban Coyote Ecology and Management program, a research project run by Cook County to see how coyotes fare in large urban areas.  Coyotes, a natural part of the plains geography and ecological system, have been pushed out of the city and had to redefine their role within the dynamics of the human presence.

What’s become remarkable is that these coyotes have risen to the top of the food chain in many metropolitan areas where coyotes are present.  This means that the coyotes have become more brazen and bold, venturing outwards into the cities where years ago they would never have been found.

Is Coyote Pest Control Safe?

Many cities in the Southwest have already learned first-hand what happens when the coyotes move in to the metropolitan area.  In California and Arizona, people have taken to feeding the coyotes, giving them handouts, making them more comfortable with people and counting on people as a source of food.

Many coyotes have had to be removed from those areas as the coyotes start to take advantage of the comfort afforded to them: often times attacking and eating pets and, in very small cases, attacking children. The coyotes had become a pest.

While it isn’t certain exactly if the coyote caught on video was part of the Urban Coyote program, or if it was in fact “let loose” for the purposes of pest control, what is certain is the rising number of coyote sightings (and road-kill) in Chicago and the very real fact that they’re figuring out how to return to their indigent plains habitat and reclaim their role as top predator.

About the author: Thomas dedicates himself to environmental issues including humane bird and pest control. When he’s not reviewing companies like www.bird-x.com, you can find him training for his first marathon.

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Thomas Ballantyne

Imagine an excruciating burning and itching inside your ear. After three days of constant pain and ear tugging, you are shocked to discover a maggot crawling out of your ear; and the worst part… Not being able to tell anybody about it! That’s exactly what happened to 92 year old Catherine McCann of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

57 Maggots Found Living Inside Woman’s Ear

CBS Chicago reports that 92 year old Catherine McCann was living in an Arlington Heights’ nursing home, and was unable to speak because her Alzheimer’s disease. While living in the $10,000 a month nursing home, the elderly woman had a fly crawl into her ear and lay eggs. The result was 57 maggots that hatched inside the woman’s ear canal.

After three days, a nursing home aid grew concerned over Mrs. McCann’s constant tugging of her ear and brought her to the nursing home’s medical director. It wasn’t until then, when the maggots were discovered. Mrs. McCann was sent directly to Northwest Community Hospital.

Removing The Ear Maggots

Doctors removed all 57 maggots from Mrs. McCann’s left ear. The woman’s daughter, Mary McCann Stassen, could barely look at pictures of her poor mother’s ear, and said the worst part was, “hearing her mother scream as they were taking the maggots out.”

“It’s a picture I will never, ever get out of my mind –ever.”

The infestation was documented by doctors at Northwest Community Hospital who made a videotape of the scene before beginning extraction. The tape was so graphic, however, CBS declined to air it.

After the gruesome incident, an exterminator examined the nursing home for flies, but couldn’t find any. Officials believe that the fly must have flown into Mrs. McCann’s ear canal when she was taken out for her daily walk.

Ear Maggot Lawsuit

After the horrific ear maggot incident, Mrs. McCann’s husband is suing the Lutheran Home for the Aged nursing home for negligence and emotional distress. Just nine days prior to the ear maggot infestation, Mrs. McCann had her ears treated for a wax build and was prescribed ear drops to prevent infection.

The family is questioning whether or not she received the medication in her ear after the treatment, because one would think you’d notice the 57 maggots while administering the medicine drops.
The Lutheran Home for the Aged nursing home admits to no wrong doing, stating that the maggots were not big enough for their staff to see them at the time. The nursing home had been very well respected up until the recent incident.

Maggots

A maggot is the tiny, white, worm-like larva of a fly. They look much like a grain of white rice and feed on rotten or dead organic tissue. Fly eggs are laid directly on a food source and when the eggs hatch, the maggots move towards their preferred conditions and begin to feed.

Flies quickly reproduce during the summer months, and maggots can appear in massive quantities. Often times this creates a maggot infestation, and increases the risk of myiasis. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis.

Ear Spider

This news about ear maggots comes to us shortly after learning of a spider living in a woman’s ear.

A woman living in China had to have a spider removed from the inside of her ear after experiencing some major ear canal itching and burning. The spider made its way inside her ear canal while she was sleeping and had been living there for approximately five days.

The spider couldn’t be removed with surgical tools, because the attempt would only drive the spider deeper inside the women’s ear and force it to dig its barbs into the ear canal. Instead of manually retracing the embedded spider, a doctor opted to flush it out with saline solution. The procedure was a success, and the women reportedly wept with gratitude after the spider crawled out.

If that incident isn’t a big enough reason for spider control, I don’t know what is!

In Related News: Ear Plug Sales On The Rise

With all of this recent news about maggots, spiders, and other creepy crawlies climbing into our ears, maybe we’ll start to see a sharp increase in the sales of ear plugs.

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Anthony Ball