Rodents| Last Friday of the Year| Fun Fact

The last Fun Fact Friday of 2012!  It is the last Friday of the year, the last fun fact of the year, how's that for pressure?  Just kidding, no pressure here, after all this is FUN fact Friday, and last time I checked fun did not really really involve pressure or stress.

Because rodents are a big problem this time of year, today's fun fact is on rodents.  Rodents' front teeth never stop growing.  Is this fact important? YES!  It is very important and answers some questions people have regarding rodents and pest control.

One question this answers is: "How do rodents cause electrical fires?"  The answer to this question?  They chew on wires.  Why do they chew on the wires?  They chew on the wires because their front teeth never stop growing and they must gnaw on things in order to keep their teeth filed and sharpened.  When rodents gnaw on wiring, they cause holes in the casing and sparks from the electrical current of the exposed and damaged wiring can ignite flammable materials on or around the wiring.

Another question answered, "Why are there bite marks on wooden surfaces where rodents are nesting?" Again it is the teeth constantly growing and the gnawing is used to keep the length of the teeth in check.  Right along side this question is "Why have rodents chewed on my (non food item) stuff?"  And the answer is the same.

It is important to deal with a rodent infestation, not only because they chew on things (including wiring) and potentially cause fires. They also carry diseases that can be transferred to humans, urine and feces can contaminate food/food prep areas, they destroy and contaminate duct work, insulation as well as personal items.

I looked for a youtube video about rodent teeth and came up with some videos that completely grossed me out (like someone letting a rat clean their teeth- no joke).  So instead of rodent teeth, here is a video about the night life of rats.



For all of your rodent and pest control needs, Peak Pest Management has a solution.  If you are having trouble with rats, mice or other pests please give me a call and I will be happy to help you out.

Micah Wood
www.peak-pest-management.com
micah@peak-pest-management.com
Pest Control Portland 503-998-4322
Pest Control Vancouver 360-607-1933
Pest Control Seattle 206-790-8285

Roaches Again | Fun Fact Friday | Pregnant for Life

First of all, I want to give you this little gem: There are cockroaches in Central and South America that are 6 inches long. 1/2 a foot.  I'll let that sink in for a moment before I move on to today's fun fact.  Not all cockroaches are pests, in nature they serve important roles (otherwise why would they exist? right?).

Okay, moving on to today's fun fact.  In some (I didn't check this for ALL) species of cockroaches, females mate once and then are pregnant for life.  That's right. Pregnant for life.  I can't pretend to understand this, but I know that my wife would not enjoy being pregnant for life.  It's not that they WHOLE process was miserable-- there were miserable moments to be sure.  It's just at the end of 9 months she was ready to be done.

Cockroaches don't get that (although let's be realistic, they also don't have all of the feelings and emotions that people do).  But nevertheless, they have some babies and then are STILL pregnant, with the next batch of cockroach babies.

Here is a video about the topic of cockroaches:


If you are experiencing a cockroach infestation, I understand that cockroaches are not a laughing matter.  Cockroaches and transfer a number of diseases that are harmful to people, by contaminating food sources.

These speedy pests can be really upsetting.  I am not just going to throw this information out there, if you are having a problem with cockroaches and would like some help, I'd be happy to help.  Peak Pest Management offers a wide range of pest control services for all of your pest control needs.  Cockroaches, mice, rats, fleas, ants, carpet beetles, and bedbugs are just a few pests that we see and help people get rid of all the time!

Give us a call, we'll help you out.

Micah Wood
Peak Pest Management
www.peak-pest-management.com
micah@peak-pest-management.com
Pest Control Portland- 503-998-4322
Pest Control Seattle-  206-790-8285
Pest Control Vancouver- 360-607-1933

Pheromone Trails | Pest Control | Fun Fact Friday

Have you ever wondered why ants march in a line?  How bees remember which hive belongs to them? How wasps know to swarm when someone or something has been stung? Why rodents and other pests need to be treated regularly and a "one-time" treatment won't be effective? How animals and insects find mates?

The answer (or at least part of the answer) to these questions is pharomones.  By origin, pheromone can be translated to mean to bear (or transport) hormones.  Pharomones are used by many insects and animals including many social pests, including ants, rats, mice, bees, termites as well as many other pests.

Pharomones can be used to mark a trail to food.  With ants it is particularly noticable because they literally march in lines from their nest to a food source.  The trail that the line follows is marked with pheromones.  Rodents such as mice and rats will also leave pharomone trails from the nesting area to the food source.

Another use for pharomones is alarm.  Bees and wasps make the alarm pharomone easy to recognize.  When one bee or wasp stings a potential threat, they also release pharomones to attract other bees and wasps to join them in the attack.  This is especially true if a sting happens near a nest.

Furthermore pharomones are used by many insects and animals to attract a mate.  If you've ever wondered why there is an icky swarm of mating bugs, the answer is pharomones.  They are attracted together by pharomones.

Pharomones have other functions that I am not including in this post, but I just wanted to detail why pharomones are important and give some "fun" facts about them.  If you have ever heard a pest control professional refer to pharomones or pharomone trails and wondered what on earth they were talking about-- here is a pretty good basic idea of the function of pharomones.

This video has a very visual way of showing how ants communicate using pheromones.


For all of your pest control needs, Peak Pest Management has a solution!  If you're having issues with pests please give me, Micah, a call.

Micah Wood
www.peak-pest-management.com
micah@peak-pest-management.com
Pest Control Portland 503-998-4322
Pest Control Vancouver 360-607-1933
Pest Control Seattle 206-790-8285
We have similar information on our website blog.  Click here to check it out.

Flies in Space | NASA | Fun Fact Friday

Flies in Space!  Sounds like another movie title, but it's not!  NASA actually used/uses fruit flies to do studies in space!  Here is a link to the home page for flies in space : FLIES IN SPACE. This part of the site is fun and built for kids, so if you want a fun summer science lesson for your kids (because hey why not learn in the summer) check it out.  There is quite a bit more than I am going to share in this blog post!

NASA took flies into space to study a number of things.  The reason they chose common fruit flies is that they could transport and keep a population of thousands in a space as small as a hand.  The larger the sample size, the more accurate the findings from the study are. The short life cycle of the fly also makes it ideal for studying the effects of being in space on genetics.  

The life cycle of a fruit fly is :

• Egg - The egg/embryo stage is one day.
• 1 stage larva - The fruit fly is in this stage for one day and then molts.
• 2 stage larva - The fruit fly is in this stage for two days and then molts.
• 3 stage larva - The fruit fly is in this stage for three days and then molts.
• Pupa - Much like a butterfly the fruit fly enters into a pupa phase and stays there for about 5 days.
• Adult - After 10 hours the adult becomes a fertile adult and (if female) lays eggs.

The whole life cycle is less 12-15 days long.  The short lifespan of the fly makes it ideal for study in space.  There is much more information on the NASA page linked above.  Being Fun Fact Friday, I'll keep it short -- NASA studies or at least studied flies in space!

Pest Control Professionals use the same biological information as NASA to know how to best treat restaurants and homes for fruit flies.  Peak Pest Management can help you out with a fruit fly (or other fly) infestation in your home.  Peak Pest Management is here for all your pest control needs.  Please call any time if you have a pest problem we can help you with!

Micah Wood

Peak Pest Management

www.Peak-Pest-Management.com

micah@peak-pest-management.com

360-607-1933

503-998-4322