Carpet Beetles | Eating Habits | Fun Fact Friday

Carpet beetles are an interesting little pest.  They have a larval stage and an adult stage.  In their adult stage, they are a small beetle, as larva, they are more worm like.  The larva cause the most damage, and by the time you find adult beetles, the damage has already been done.

So what do carpet beetles eat?  Well, they eat organic matter and animal products, including skins, furs, hair, yarn, materials etc.  They will also consume cotton and wool/synthetic blends.  What does this mean?  Well, they won't just gobble organic matter from your carpets, as the name might suggest.  If they find a nice wool sweater or even a wool blend, these bad boys are going to gobble holes in that.

They will eat away at your sheepskin rug.  They will gnaw on your cotton t-shirts, socks and clothing.  They will happily munch holes in your wool winter socks, they will gobble holes right through your natural fabric stash.  They will also happily munch on pet hair and debris that are often readily available in carpets.

Because of the damage they cause, you'll want to get rid of these guys if you find them in your home gnawing holes in your best wool slacks (or you know-- whatever your find them eating).

There are several different species of carpet beetle: some are black and some are brown.  They are all grouped together in the same category as pests though, because they act, and can be treated for, in the same way.

Many people find holes in clothing and they assume that the problem is moths.  Often, it is not moths, in cities, it is more likely that you are going to find a carpet beetle infestation.

If you are having trouble with carpet beetles, bed bugs, ants, mice or other pests, give us a call, we'll help you out.

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

Termites | Bugs People Eat | Fun Fact Friday

Around the world there are bugs that "eat" people.  Mosquitoes, bed bugs, ants (yes really), etc.  But what might be less well know is that around the world, people eat bugs- sometimes as a dietary staple.  Here in the United States, it is less common, although people do eat bugs as a joke, on a dare, or by accident-- generally speaking though, bugs are not a common ingredient in our food (yet).

Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines Entomophagy:

Entomophagy : the practice of eating insects
 

 Because bugs are very nutritious and take very little effort or resources to raise, the practice of eating insects (or entomophagy) is being encouraged amoung young people and environmentally concious people.  Here are some commonly eaten bugs:

• Grasshoppers
• Cicadas
• Ants
• Termites
• Aquatic Insect Larva
• Wax worms
• Dragonflies
• Wasp Larvae
• Moth Pupa
• Palm Weevil Larva
• Cirina forda Westwood larva
• Damsel Flies
• Crickets
• Compost Beetle Larva

Bugs are eaten around the world. They are fried as a snack or appetizer, used in soup or stirfry as a protein, boiled, boiled and dried, and even eaten raw.  There you have it.  For fun fact Friday, around the world, and increasingly in the united states, people are eating insects as a regular part of their diet.

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

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Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: "Entomophagy" www.merriam-webster.com

Mott, Maryann. "Bugs as Food: People Bite Back." National Geographic News. 16 Apr. 2004. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0416_040416_eatingcicadas.html.

Unger, Lana. "Bug Food: Edible Insects - Insect Snacks from Around the World." The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. 26 Jan 2009. http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/bugfood2.asp

Bed Bug Pest Control Has Been Improved Because Of Research By Urban Entomologists

At Peak Pest Managment we consider it very important to keep researching and learning.  Some of our research for pest control involves reading materials produced by leading urban entomologists, like Michael F Potter of the University of Kentucky. We recently posted an article on our website about how he and other urban entomologists shape the way that pest control companies do pest control.  Here is a link to that post (click here to read it).  His area of expertise is bed bugs which have recently made a resurgence in the US.

We are really thankful for urban entomologists and others who study entomology and make it possible for us to continue to learn and grow as pest control companies.  As we read research papers and documentation we are able to grow in the way we understand and apply pest control.  Their continued research allows us to become more enviromentally friendly, even more pet and family safe, and more effective at the same time.

Pest control companies are often given credit for the whole process of pest control research through extermination.  And pest control companies do end up learning and growing on the job, but the bulk of the research comes from the years and years of focused study on specific pests by entomologists.

Bed Bugs Bite in Portland, OR

 Pest Control might not be the first thing you think of if you ever heard the children's nursery rhyme growing up, "Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite...."  You may not have known that bed bugs are a REAL pest and bed bug bites are a cause for concern even here in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA.  Before beginning my journey as a pest control professional I had a vague understanding that bedbugs were real but not a problem here in the northwest.  Growing up that might have been true for people my age (30-somethings) but Bedbugs have come back and they've come back with a vengeance.  Please be on the look out for my up coming horror movies Zombie Bedbugs Strike Back and Vampires vs Bed Bugs.  O.k.well honestly I won't likely be filming a movie, I'm helping people get rid of real live bed bugs.

Bed bugs are not cute!  And their bite is not funny!  Here are some facts about bed bugs:

• They are flattened oval shaped reddish brown insects.
• They have 5 life cycles and leave a molt of skin behind with each new stage.
• Adult bed bug are 4.5-5mm in length, nymph bedbugs are smaller and also lighter in color.  Bed bug eggs are white and tiny and very difficult to see without magnification.
• Blood Sucking Vampires Common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius)  feed on the blood of warm blooded humans and animals.
• Bed bugs commonly infest areas people sleep or spend long periods of time such as beds and couches or chairs.
• Bed bugs often infest in AND around furniture.  In some cases they are found infesting wall voids, baseboards and other areas.
• Bedbugs infestations and bites can cause physical and psychological reactions.
• Pest Control Professionals are capable of getting rid of bed bugs.
• Newer pest control methods are gentler on humans and harder on bugs.

Armed with information-- be on the look out.  If you stay in a hotel (or anywhere away from home really) look for bedbugs in and around the bed and other furniture before bringing your bags in.  Look for the bugs described above, as well as molts of bug skin, brownish/blackish circular stains and blood stains.  If you see bedbugs or signs of bedbugs talk to the hotel management about it and avoid staying in an infested room.  There are many other preventative measures you can take in traveling, but that is another post for another day.  For more information on bed bugs please visit Peak Pest Management's Website.

Here is a picture of a bed bug from bedbugs.org credited to Dan Wylie-Sears:

Courtesy BedBugs.org

Contact Micah
micah@peak-pest-management.com
503-998-4322
360-607-1933
peak-pest-management.com