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Texas Pest Control Association
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Fall Invaders Are
Coming!
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As the weather gradually cools
during the fall months, many kinds of pests begin invading homes
and businesses, looking for a place to stay for the winter. The
need for professional pest management services actually increases
to prevent these fall and winter invaders from coming indoors
You may be surprised at the huge number and variety of fall
invading pests. Some of these, like ants and spiders, are pests
year round; others, like rats, mice, crickets, and earwigs are
year-round pests that become worse problems in the fall. Still
others are almost exclusively fall invaders. They include box
eider bugs, elm leaf beetles, root weevils, cluster flies, and
Asian lady beetles.
Normally fall invaders would spend the winter in an old hollowed
out stump or log, in space under bark, a rock, or leaf
litter, or in an old rodent burrow. However, homes are highly
attractive because they offer the warmth and shelter these pests
seek, and may even provide them with food.
For some of these fall and winter invaders, homes turn out to be a
good place to spend the winter. Many of the invaders eventually
die because its too dry indoors, or because they cant find their
way back outside in the spring. Those that don't die wander about
and can be quiet a nuisance, stinking up the house, staining
curtains, spoiling food, and causing other problem. Our regular
treatments are needed to help keep out these fall invaders. |
New Findings - Alcohol Increases
permeability of Skin
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Recent studies suggest that a
person should avoid drinking alcohol for at least 24 hours before
coming into contact with DEET, the most common mosquito repellent
that people apply to there skin, and other pesticides. Researchers
at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in
Evanston, IL, found that rats giving a dose of alcohol had skin
that was two to three times more permeable to DEET, as well as to
the weed killers tested. In general, the greater the alcohol
intake, the leakier and more permeable the skin became.
The study concludes that until more is know, "extra care needs to
be taken when handling chemicals if you've been drinking, even if
it was a day earlier." Its possible that after drinking, even
common substances like household cleansers on a person's hands
would be more readily absorbed by the skin. |
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Q. How big is the world's largest cockroach?
A. We've received calls from some people who swear
they've seen roaches the size of a Volkswagen Beetle! But many
people would guess the largest cockroach alive is the giant
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. These are the most common
cockroaches seen in horror movies, and they can reach an
incredible 2-3 inches at maturity. But the Australian Giant
Burrowing Cockroaches are actually larger. These grow to more
than 3-1/2 inches long, and weigh about the same as a parakeet.
Not to be outdone, the Giant Cave Cockroach grows 3 to 4 inches
long at maturity, and very respectable 1-1/2 inches wide.
Now a new cockroach has been discovered that is even larger! It
hasn't been named yet, but it measures a full 4 inches in
length! Discovered deep inside caves in Borneo, this is now the
largest cockroach, and all cockroach trivia web pages that name
other cockroaches are outdated.
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