I recently had a lot of fun putting together a Spotify playlist of popular bug songs. While putting it together, I found several bands that also shared their names with pests. Here is my top ten bands named after bugs or pests:

10. Katydids

The Katydids reached stardom briefly in the early 90’s before guitarist Adam Seymour left the bad to play with The Pretenders. Before splitting, The Katydids released two moderately successful albums entitled Katydids (1991) and Shangri-la (1991).

Katydids, also known as long-horned grasshoppers, are best known for their appearance that mimics that of a leaf.

9. Adam and the Ants

Adam and the Ants, led by singer Adam Ant, became notable as a British cult band during the late-1970s punk rock era. Adam and the Ants have had a major influence on artists like Nine Inch Nails and Fat Boy Slim during the band’s short career.

The lineup for Adam and the Ants in 1981. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ants are one of the most successful groups of insects, and a common pest. They are social insects that live in underground colonies, but many enter buildings looking for food.

8. Iron Butterfly

Cover of Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly rose to fame in the late 1960’s. They were even booked to play at Woodstock, but were unable to after getting stranded at the airport. Their album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is one of the world’s 40 top-selling albums, selling more than 30 million copies.

While Butterflies are generally not considered pests, some species can damage domestic crops or trees in their larval stages. Traditionally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts across many different cultures.

7. Papa Roach

Papa Roach has sold more than 18 million album copies worldwide, and are best known for their songs “Last Resort”, and “…To Be Loved.” Their music is best described as rap metal. Their first album, Infest, reached triple platinum in 2000.

Time and Time Again (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roaches are one of the most common and hardy household pests in the United States. They invade our homes looking for their favorite foods like sugary sweets, salty snacks, and even hair or fingernails.

6. Alien Ant Farm

Alien Ant Farm got their name from a dream guitarist Terry Corso had about aliens cultivating the human race, like we were all in an ant farm. The band has had four successful albums, and has contributed to several Hollywood movie soundtracks; including 2002’s Spiderman. Their most popular song is “Smooth Criminal.”

Alien Ant Farm (Photo credit: woohoo_megoo)

The United States hosts almost 1,000 different species of ants. While they are considered one of the most common household pests, only 25 species commonly infest homes.

5. Ratt

One of the biggest bands in the early 80’s glam metal scene was Ratt. Their songs “Round and Round,” “Lay It Down,” and “Wanted Man” helped to launch the band into superstardom.

Lay It Down (Ratt song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rats are very common household pests during the colder winter months. If you are seeing droppings, fresh gnawing, or tracks near your property; chances are you might have a serious rat infestation.

4. Buddy Holly and The Crickets

Even though Buddy Holly and The Crickets’ success was short lived because of an unfortunate plane crash, they may be one of the single most influential creative forces in early rock and roll. “That’ll be the Day” is the group’s most popular recording; and in 2011 Buddy Holly was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

01 – Buddy Holly & The Crickets (Photo credit: Bradford Timeline)

Crickets are best known for their characteristic chirping noise, used by males to attract female crickets. As the temperatures rises, their songs become louder and faster.

3. Scorpions

Just by listening to “Rock You Like a Hurricane” before any football game, one comes to the realization that Scorpions are one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time. In case you need any more proof, the band has sold over 150 million records, released 23 albums over the last 40 years, and played around 5,000 concerts in over 80 countries.

Ralph Rieckermann of Scorpions. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Much like the band, scorpions have been around a long time and are incredibly resilient. They require a focused pest control strategy. A testament to their durability was proven when lab experiments froze scorpions for weeks, leaving them unharmed when they were thawed. On top of that, after U.S. nuclear testing scorpions were discovered near ground zero with no adverse side effects.

2. Bee Gees

The Bee Gees, made up of brothers Robin, Maurice, and Barry Gibb were one of the biggest recording artists during the late 60’s to early 70’s. During the group’s 45 years of stardom, only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold them.

Publicity photo of the Bee Gees. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While bees are considered beneficial insects by pollinating plants, they earn the title of pest by stinging and contributing to several deaths a year; common when a sting victim has a severe allergic reaction.

1. The Beatles

The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of popular music. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr have sold 177 million albums in the US, more than any other artist.

I’m Happy Just to Dance with You (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Beetles constitute almost 25 percent of all known life-forms; more than any other order in the animal kingdom. There are some species of Beetle that have been awarded the distinction of pest. A few include: the Colorado potato beetle, the boll weevil and the Carpet beetle. They repeatedly create insect control problems when they invade and destroy household items and agricultural crops.

I hope you enjoyed my list. Did I miss any?

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• February 8 – Buddy signs, Tokyo rocks, Marquee Moon
• The Day the Music Died
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Anthony Ball

Pest Of The Week: Pocket Gophers

Pocket Gopher by Tooth and Nail (Photo credit: USFWS Pacific)

Pocket gophers have dark brown fur, large heads, powerful necks, very short tails, and very large, broad front feet with enlarged claws, which they use in combination with their teeth; to dig and push mounds of soil to the surface. They are approximately the size of a small rat, and can reach 10 inches in length. Because this rodent uses it’s two exterior, fur-lined cheek pouches to carry food materials, it has earned the name Pocket gopher. More…

This Week’s Pest Control Links Round-Up

Guide To MPMA PestWorld 2013 In Phoenix

PestWorld will be coming to Phoenix, AZ October 23-26, 2013, and over 3000 pest management professionals are expected to attend. If you are one of the 3000 PCO’s, here is you guide to the nearby restaurants, hotels, events, and activities.

America’s #1 Nuisance Pest: Ants

It’s no question that ants are a nuisance, but did you know that ant infestations are on the rise. According to a recent survey conducted by the NPMA, 100% of people polled encountered an ant situation during the year: and 54% said the problem is growing. More…

How To Avoid Food Infesting Pests

Pantry pests like beetles, and Indian meal moths will infest your flour, cereal, grain, and sugar. For a few tips on how to keep them out of your food, click here

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie… 3 Practices To Avoid Mice Infestations

Sealing your gaps and cracks, taking out your trash, and setting a few mousetraps are all strategies in to combat mice infestations. For more information, click here.

Organizing Your Attic Can Prevent Pest Problems In The New Year

Modern Pest Services suggest your New Years resolutions should be to organize your attic to keep pests out. Here’s how…

FMC Pest Wire Top Tweets

FMC Pest Wire shares with us their most popular tweets from the past few weeks, here.

Crickets Chirping

Male crickets will commonly chirp, or rub their wings together against each other. The sound is designed to keep other males away from their territory, and it also is designed to attract females to the male for mating purposes. While the sound of crickets chirping may be pleasant and appealing to female crickets, it can be entirely bothersome to our own ears. More…

What Are Indian Meal Moths?

These pesky moths are notorious for damaging your clothing by munching on a variety of fabrics from silk to wool. More…

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Anthony Ball

Thanksgiving Turkey

The turkey has been a staple of Thanksgiving since the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Natives ate it for their first Thanksgiving in 1621. Thanksgiving is colloquially called “Turkey Day” since turkey is the most common main dish of the holiday.

This year alone, American turkey growers have raised 270 million turkeys; which will correspond to the five billion pounds of turkey Americans will eat this Thanksgiving. That’s a lot of turkey!

While Americans love eating their turkey for Thanksgiving, turkeys equally love eating all sorts of bugs. Turkey’s raised on farms traditionally eat corn and seeds, but wild turkeys love eating insects and other creepy crawlies in order to get much needed protein. Some may even consider enlisting a turkey for scorpion control. (Have it your way, bugs or bird poop. Or call a professional.)

But really, as a bug guy, the whole turkey dinner thing got me thinking:

What would a turkey’s dinner look like on Thanksgiving?

Appetizer

A rustic arrangement of escargot featuring the Leopard Snail

Salad Course

A lovely Flowering Dogwood salad tossed with North American Millipedes

Main Entrée

A large assortment of raw Grasshoppers, Field Crickets, and Black Carpenter Ants, served with a side of Wolf Spiders, and generously garnished with Dandelion.

Dessert

A delectable Earthworm Mud Pie sprinkled with Chiggers.

For Bulwark’s complete list of what turkeys eat, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, and the holiday season is in full swing, Bulwark Pest Control would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! No matter what your plans are or where you’ll be, there are many things to be thankful for. Take some time this week and reflect on all of your many blessings. Watch a lot of football, enjoy the company of your loved ones, and eat way too much pie. Have a Happy Turkey Day!

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Anthony Ball

Move over raw veggies and iced soy mocha’s, and make way for… BUGS?

Madonna endorses the Flaxseed Diet; Beyonce, the Maple Syrup Diet. Now a few celebrities have come out and admitted to not only eating bugs, but loving them! Could this be the next trend in Hollywood foods?

Celebrities Eating Insects

Angelina Jolie and her family frequently travel the world for vacations and movie shoots. During their travels, Angelina Jolie admits to indulging in local delicacies, which sometimes includes crickets, roaches, and other insects. The actress opened up in a promotional video for Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaign and said her and her kids fell in love with eating crickets during a family trip to Cambodia.

“The biggest thing actually — to be honest — here in Cambodia is my boys love to eat crickets. It’s their favorite thing. … When I first gave it to them, I thought — I wanted them to understand. Culturally, I wanted them not to be turned off by something that was of their culture. So I bought it and … they ate them like Doritos, and they wouldn’t stop. And they brought to-go boxes home, and I had to actually ban the cricket-eating at a certain point because I was afraid they were gonna get sick from eating too many.”

“They’re good! They are like potato chips,” Jolie adds. “We’ve had ‘the beetle.’ They call it a cockroach; I think it’s more like a beetle. I have yet to have the tarantulas on a stick or spider soup here. It does seem like an odd thing to eat — no, it does! I don’t know if I can get around the fur, but” — she says, with a knowing smile — “you gotta try everything.”

Angelina Jolie and her family aren’t the only Hollywood stars eating insects. Salma Heyak, star of the upcoming movie ‘Here Comes the Boom,’ says she loves eating grasshoppers, ants, and worms.

“We eat bugs and we have many recipes for some of them. Escamoles, which are the eggs of these little ants, are amazing when fried with a little guacamole. And there are many different recipes for worms.”

Entomophagy—The Act of Eating Insects

Eating insects might seem like a disguising act, better left for ‘Bizarre Foods’ host Andrew Zimmern. The truth is Entomophagy, or the act of eating insects, is a way of life for millions of people worldwide. People in less developed countries rely on insects for protein and other nutrients needed for survival.

A History of Eating Insects

Dining on insects is definitely an old practice, dating back to the beginning of man-kind. Ten thousand years ago hunters and gatherers ate bugs to survive. Greek and Roman aristocrats loved to eat beetle larvae that had been raised on flour and wine. The Old Testament mentions ancient Christians and Jews the eating of locusts, grasshoppers, and beetles. Paiute Indians weren’t always hunting buffalo, frequently engaging in Mormon cricket hunts. Fast forward to today. Many types of insects appear on menus, remaining a traditional food in many cultures throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Insect Cuisine

Thailand

Thailand just might be the insect eating capital of the world. Vendors will sell crispy insects from carts at outdoor markets, and fried crickets are served liked peanuts in bars.

Brazil

In Brazil, içás, or queen ants, are a preferred snack indulged in by most of its citizens.

China

The Chinese munch on a large variety of insects, from water bugs boiled and drenched in vinegar to live scorpions soaked in liquor. Chinese beekeepers will often eat the larvae from their beehives.

South Africa

Insects are commonly eaten with cornmeal porridge. That sounds pretty appetizing.

Japan

The Japanese savor aquatic fly larvae sautéed in sugar and soy sauce. Restaurants all over Japan serve up healthy portions of aquatic insect larvae, boiled wasp larvae, and fried silk moth pupae.

Bali

The people in Bali love to remove the wings from dragonflies, and then boil them in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. Yum!

Ghana

In Ghana during the spring rains, winged termites are collected and fried, roasted, or even made into bread. The termites are high in proteins, fats and oils, all of which are needed for a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Mexico and Latin America

In Latin America ants, fire-roasted tarantulas, and cicadas are common customary dishes. One of the most famous culinary insects in Mexico, the agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of tequila. Chocolate-covered locusts and candy-covered worms make getting your daily dose of protein oh-so sweet.

Keeping An Open Mind

Most of us here in The United States are turned off at the thought of eating insects. There are even shows like ‘Fear Factor,’ where contestants regularly gag down creepy crawlies in order to win. With most of the world’s population dining on insects, and now Hollywood celebrities recommending eating them, should we be keeping more of an open mind? I for one am not in any hurry to pop a handful of fried cockroaches in my mouth, but maybe I’m in the minority.

What’s the best tasting insect you’ve eaten?

Related articles

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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)

Cricket Pest Control by a Droid… This may be the Droid you are looking for.

Cricket wireless announces that it will now be carrying the Android phone. Per their news release they will be offering…

the first low-cost Android device to hit the Smartphone market in the United States* and the third Smartphone to be included in Cricket’s dynamic line of phone offerings.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101006005730/en/Cricket-Shows-Respekt-Low-cost-Android-Device

While I am not quite ready to give up my iPhone… despite some small bugs… Offering me a test drive of the droid at a $55 low cost, unlimited access plan makes my iPhone look like yesterday’s news.  So… Yes. I am falling for the cricket bait.

… I hope everyone appreciates the puns loaded in this post about a pest control guy falling for cricket bait! NEED A CRICKET PEST CONTROL SERVICE?

Cricket Marketing

Leap Wireless International has a business model down that encompasses everything a marketing plan should. They are embracing the future of phones and they are shouting it loud and clear.  Further, their customers get decent service. Yes, DECENT. Everyone knows that Cricket’s service isn’t going to compare to Verizon’s service.  Sorry, but you are flying 2nd class, which means that if the plane is full you might just get bumped to the next flight. But, what cricket is doing is establishing it’s position as the low-cost phone solution.  They are so low-cost that they are even cutting into the land line market.

Your key marketing ingredient is your message compared to the rest of the market.  Cricket’s message is low-cost. Everyone knows that if you want a budget phone service you call cricket. Verizon’s message is quality service. “Can you hear me now?” Everyone turns to Verizon for a “reliable network.” Where does that leave AT&T… In the middle somewhere…??? Exactly, the only defining quality AT&T has right now is the iPhone…. So long marketing advantage when everyone else starts picking up competitive smart phones… or worse yet the exact same model.  If you are only selling a product then you better be the only one selling that product or be the best priced. You have no competitive edge if you are just selling a product.

Thomas Ballantyne

@Thos003

Don’t mind me I am just the pest control guy…

FYI, Bulwark offers Full Service pest control.

Are your pests under control?

Pest control is any process or method used to “control pests”. The once popular terms of exterminator and extermination have become the softer more gentle term of pest control.  Perhaps to become more socially acceptable, but the new term is more accurate.  Exterminating ants in their entirety is not likely.  Controlling ants is achievable.  Keeping pests out of a home with regular pest control service is attainable.  Keeping bugs from infesting a structure is do-able.  Exterminating every roach in the city is not realistic.

History of Pest Control -

Some believe that pest control has its roots in agriculture. (Pun intended) Humans need to keep crops free from pests. Insects can destroy crops. Herbivores will clear the farmer’s field. In order to maximize food production, pest control was implemented to protect the harvest from ants, crickets, moths, grasshoppers, rats, mice, gophers, rabbits, beetles, and the list can go on. But pest control, probably goes back to before agriculture.  A hunter would still need to protect his food from vermin.  Storing food in a sack hanging from a tree to keep raccoon, coyotes, or other prehistoric pests from eating your dinner would be a pest control method.  But at the core, I still believe that man has never wanted to cohabitate with creepy crawling things like spiders, roaches, and scorpions.  So beyond the need to control pests there is simply a desire to live without pests.

Pest Control:

Preventive measures to fortify an area against potential unwanted species .

Ideology of Pest Control Methods

While a majority of people may not want to live with pests, I also believe that most don’t wish total annihilation of the insect kingdom.  Bugs are an essential part of the food chain, and the break down, consumption, and recycling of matter in general.  Eliminating all pests from the world may seem ideal for some, but the re-percussions of such a mass extermination may destroy the world all together. So pest control methods today are used to protect specific areas with an attempt to limit the effects to the target pests.  Others believe the most ideal form of pest control is that of “making your home less desirable to the pests.” They propose that keeping a home clean and  minimizing the potential for providing food and water for pests will keep pests from wanting to invade your home. Unfortunately certain pests will eat just about anything.  Roaches are not picky eaters. A roach will make human hair, fingernails and toenails their staple food if needs be. Little Black Ants survive on plants, so any interior plant make an inviting meal. Termites eat wood. Crickets eat cotton, silk, and wool. Silverfish and firebrats consume glue, wallpaper paste, bookbindings, paper, and photographs. Lice, fleas, and ticks are pests that live on mammals. Human homes are pretty inviting to pests.

Pesticides have been developed to provide structures a force field made of products that are engineered to target pests, not mammals. Pest control products today are checked and tested by the EPA. Strict requirements most be meet in order for a pest control product to be labeled for general use. EcoSmart products are designed to break down over time, to have low impact on the environment.

So if you’d like a pest-free environment, cleaning your home is a good step, but ultimately it won’t be enough once bugs have found your home. Further, once an ant has scouted out a new food source and brought in the ant cavalry, those marked marching lines will remain for up to year. Regular pest control service is intended to prevent pests from infesting a given area. Pest control emergencies can be avoid if homeowners would maintain a bulwark around their home that protects them and wards off insect intruders.  Do-it-yourself pest control methods can be implemented successfully if the individual is consistent and persistent in their treatments. But certain pests will require more.

A woman in a Phoenix neighborhood flagged me down one day while I was working.  She wanted to know about our company (how much we charge and what services we offer).  After talking with her for a couple of minutes I finally got out of her that she was unhappy with her current pest control company.  She said they are in and out in 5 minutes and do not listen to her when she asked them to do something.  I told her that we would offer her the best customer service and professionalism while also solving all her bug problems.  She agreed to give us a chance.

When I serviced her house I made sure that I understood all her needs.  I knew that she needed a company that showed her that we cared about her.  I spent little extra time inspecting her home for problem areas.  Her entire backyard is grass, so I knew that the moisture from the sprinklers probably attracts many bugs like cockroaches and crickets.  This is what I felt was where the problem was starting.  I made sure that I used our Bifen granules to treat her grass.  I told her to let us know how things went.  Every month since her initial service this past summer, she has been bug free and is very thankful for our help.

Jameson Hunter

Phoenix branch technician

One day I went to a Peoria home for a call back service.  The family said that they were hearing crickets in their bathroom and they couldn’t figure out exactly where they were coming from.  They were getting annoyed and weren’t able to sleep at night.  I first started inside the house looking around the bathroom.  I noticed a compartment in the cupboards under the sink.  It opened up into space underneath their tub.  When I took out the screws and opened up this door, I noticed cricket droppings all over the inside of this space.  I treated the inside of the space with delta dust and Cy-kick.  I also looked on the outside of the house where the bathroom wall is.  I saw more cricket droppings in the rocks underneath the J rails.  I pulled out some  hose and started spraying around that area, flooding out tons of crickets.  They were literally hopping all over the place.  This was definitely the spot where the crickets wanted to make their home.  The customer was very appreciated of the fact that I search out the source of the crickets.  Her problem was solved in one service and they were finally able to have a nice relaxing night of sleep.

Jameson Hunter

Phoenix branch