Reported by: Roxanne Stein
Email: rstein@wptv.com
Last Update: 2/26 10:13 am

Read entire Story at WPTV

BACKGROUND: Although bedbugs were virtually eradicated in the United States by the 1960s, increased international travel and restrictions on pesticides have caused a resurgence in places ranging from nursing homes to dormitories to movie theaters. In fact, travelers who carry the insects in their luggage and clothing are the most common recipients of bites. The National Pest Management Association has reported a 71-percent increase in bedbug infestation in the U.S. since 2001.
 
Bedbugs leave a bite similar in appearance to that from a mosquito, which takes 10 to 14 days to surface. Once the itching starts, the bite normally lasts for about a month. While bothersome, a recent U.S. study found bedbugs rarely, if ever, transmit disease. Systemic reactions have been reported but are rare.
 
According to researchers, the name "bedbug" can actually be misleading. "They don't stay in the bed," Phil Koehler, Ph.D., an entomologist and bedbug expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told Ivanhoe. "They can be found just about everywhere in the room, and they can be found in sofas. They can be found even in wall sockets, and even inside wall voids ... Probably, about 30 percent are going to be found in other areas of the room you wouldn't even think of."

From the Guardian

By Suzanne Goldenberg

Comatose iguanas have been dropping from the trees and pythons have frozen to death in their tracks in Florida's unusually harsh winter, wildlife officials said today.

Parts of the Sunshine State saw their second snowfall of the season this weekend, with the extended cold spells killing off a host of tropical intruders, including iguanas, Burmese and African pythons and invasive fish.

State wildlife officials said more than half of the green iguanas, which are native to South America, could have been killed off. "The iguanas up in the trees just got so cold, they kind of went very, very sluggish, and just fell down," said Jenny Tinnell, a biologist with Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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Bedbug infestations are on the rise across the United States.  Putting in the term 'Bedbugs' in a news search engine and you will find literally hundreds or reports filed on these parasites daily.  The reason they have become so prevalent is tied into the rise of international travel over the past 2 decades.  Living in Central Florida, it shouldn't be difficult to see how they spread so easily.  A family traveling from overseas may have just a few bedbugs in their luggage, they come to Orlando, visits a local shopping mall, and suddenly a storefront has an infestation.  Maybe their stay at a hotel causes the infestation, and then a maid brings a few home with her, and so the cycle continues. 

A big shock that comes to people when they experience or learn about Bedbugs is that what they heard about them is in fact true.  They are like very much like tiny vampires, they latch onto our bodies and suck blood out of us.  They do come out in the dead of night to feast.  They do multiply in population at an alarmingly fast rate.  Bedbugs are truly a disturbing parasite and living with them is an absolute nightmare.  The good news is they are highly treatable and a professional pest control company can eradicate a bedbug population from a building of just about any kind.

Through the use of Bedbug detecting canines (yes you read that right) and a proper fumigation, these pests can be eliminated.  A bedbug detecting canine is important because they can find these bloodsuckers in places a human inspector simply can't.  A fumigation will kill Bedbugs deader than a doornail, much like a proper vampire hunter - a pest professional can truly wipe these suckers out.

This post was prepared by our friends at Bruce Hage Irrigation, it includes some great tips:

Winter is here and it's FREEZING.  Did you know that it is time to turn back the water on your lawn and landscape.  You should only be watering once per week, accoring to the St. John Water Management District rules.  It is also time to reduce the suration of time that you do water.  If the grass is not growing, it does not need water.  Just run your irrigation to keep everything lubricated and operating.  It can be run just once a month or reduce the seasonal adjustment to 5% or 10%.

Increased watering times will not begin until the temperature is warmer, or the end of February or early March.  Using less water now will decrease the amount of water your lawn will need, when the summer heat returns.  Prepare now to benefit later.

Concerned about the pipes on your pump or backflow freezing?  Just wrap them with an old blanket.  When wrapping a pump, be sure not to cover the vents of the motor.  If the pump sucks the blanket into the vents, it could damage and short out the motor.

And, as always, check your system for breaks, to avoid wasting water and/or pushing debris into pipes and sprinkler heads.  For any concerns or repairs, please call us at Bruce Hage Irrigation at (407) 275-0804.  We will be happy to assist you.

After the longest cold snap Central Florida has experienced in over a decade, it has left many a yard and landscape looking pretty shabby.   The good news is that if you have Falcon Termite & Pest Control's Go Green! Lawn Service, the state of your lawn looking the way it does is only a temporary blemish. 

To make it 100% clear, your lawn is not dead.  The recent freeze damaged the grass blades in Bahia, St. Augustine, and Zoysia lawns.  These types of lawns are in a dormant state for winter, which helps prepare them for bad weather such as a cold snap.  In Seminole, Orange, Polk, and Osceola counties, you can expect your lawn to make a full recovery with little to no permanent damage.  St. Augustine and Bahia grasses will be the first to recover in early February, with Zoyisa catching up in late March to early April.  All of this depends on the rest of the season having normal, stable weather conditions.

The cold snap did have an often-unnoticed side effect: it killed any weeds your lawn might have had.  The freeze has killed off any remaining summer and fall weeds including the usually elusive Crabgrass.  These weeds will come back in the spring if a blanket application of a preemergent herbicide is not applied while the lawn is in its dormancy stage.  This will keep the weed seeds from germinating in the spring.  Winter weeds were unaffected and will stand out like a green thumb against the brown grass background.  These weeds can be easily controlled by spot applications from Falcon Termite & Pest Control.

Falcon keeps your lawn strong and summer ready starting in November and ending in January where we add nutrients and minerals to help the turf survive the cold and recover in spring.  We also applied a preemergent herbicide to keep the weeds in check.  In February we begin applying a slow release dry fertilizer to help the turf recover from winter and helps it to withstand drought. 

As a homeowner, there are a few things you can do to help.  Be patient, do not over water, don't use quick release nitrogen fertilizers and do not cut your lawn too short or scalp it.  You should not have to water the lawn until March with the rainfall we have had this winter.  Using quick release fertilizers will increase the incidences of fungal diseases and make the lawn prone to permanent damage from future frosts, so do not be tempted to do it.  Scalping the lawn will damage exposed rhizomes and stolons, thus removing the insulating cover of blades leaving the lawn susceptible to future frost damage.  If you have any questions, you can always give us a call.

We have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity throughout the years and most recently to their Stag Horn Villas community in Orlando.  This blog was still in incubation form when the local media reported on it, so we thought we would dedicate a blog to all the press it has received.  We are so happy and proud to be involved with such a fantastic organization.  The following is from PCT Magazine:

Falcon Termite & Pest Control and Habitat for Humanity Help Central Florida Families

ORLANDO, Fla. - Habitat for Humanity Orlando conducted the opening ceremony yesterday for its largest and most ambitious project since its inception: Staghorn Villas. 

Staghorn Villas, located in Orlando, Fla., is an $8 million dollar, 3.9-acre town home community designed to provide housing for up to 58 local needy families.  Construction began in October of 2008, and the first 6 homes are complete and ready to be inhabited.  6 of the first families were given the keys to their new homes at the ceremony.

 
Falcon Termite & Pest Control has provided preventative and curative treatments for over 100 of Habitat for Humanity’s construction projects, including Pre-treatments and Integrated Pest Management.  The pest, lawn, and termite company will be using its own process; Pest Shield® which utilizes Nisus® Borate products to prevent termites and pest infestations to the Staghorn Villa complex.  CEO. Louis Witherington said “This gift to the community is the best way for Falcon to celebrate its upcoming 40th year in Central Florida.

Read Digital PCT Magazine Story Here

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This video story covers some of the construction of the community:

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This story was written up in the Orlando Sentinel -

Peek Inside a Habitat Home
By Jean Patteson
November 21,2009

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For more information on Habitat for Humanity and Stag Horn Villas, visit their website Here

Originally Posted Here

Falcon Termite & Pest Control is pleased to announce the premiere of our first blog post here at www.falconpest.com right at the beginning of 2010!

We will have loads of tips on keeping a pest-free home and a beautiful lawn, as well as news about Falcon Termite & Pest Control, important issues pertaining to all of us, as well as specials and discounts you can take advatage of.  We hope everyone has a happy and blessed 2010!