by Falcon
March 31, 2010
The Daytona Beach News Journal wrote a very entertaining piece about bugs coming back to Florida homes once Spring hits. We included a little of the story below, check out the full write-up here.
By AARON LONDON, TAKING UP SPACE
March 31, 2010 12:05 AM
Now Atlantic hurricane season doesn't start for a couple more months, and it will be a while before we get into that afternoon thunderstorm weather pattern, but Mother Nature's bounty is becoming increasingly evident with every passing day. That's right, the bugs are back.
Buzzing, flying, biting and certainly annoying, Florida's insect population is reemerging from its winter slumber to make its presence known once again.
It's estimated that there are 12,500 different species of insects roaming about the Sunshine State, and I think each and every one of them has taken up residence in my backyard.
Not a day passes that I don't see evidence of more and more insect activity in my tiny corner or our little corner of paradise.
For those who bemoan the decline of commercial development, I have several contractors from the ant world building elaborate insect condos all around my property.
These elaborate -- and sometimes mind-boggling -- efforts seem to pop up literally overnight and there doesn't appear to be any "No Vacancy" sign anywhere.
by Falcon
March 17, 2010
James Gilbert Created: 3/15/2010
Washington, D.C. (WUSA) -- We've heard about airline delays causes by a number of factors; mechanical issues, weather problems, traffic gridlock at the airport. But earlier this month, one DC resident and regular flier faced a type of airline delay she has never encountered before.
Miami to Reagan National Airport, an American Airlines flight Alissa Kempler says she will never forget. She says "At the end of the day I think it ended up being an hour and a half delay."
The flight crew was dealing with a group of unwelcome passengers, an unusual delay: Delayed by roaches.
A stewardess told Kempler "There are roaches on the plane." She found out "there are actually 50 roaches and they found a colony on a curtain between first class and the pilots." Kempler says, "We spent the next two and a half hours or at least I did, curled up in my seat thinking 'how many cockroaches are going to be in my bag when I get out?'"
Read entire story at WLTX.com
by Falcon
March 12, 2010
March 2010
By Austin Wright
The creature that’s expected to inherit the Earth following a nuclear holocaust might also be well suited to help prevent man’s atomic self-destruction.
Researchers at Texas A&M University’s Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute have attached radiation sensors to the backs of cockroaches. They hope public-safety officials will one day send the souped-up insects into situations that are too risky for humans.
“Cockroaches really are the perfect medium for this,” says William Charlton, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at the university and a principal investigator on the project. “They can go for extraordinarily long periods of time without food. They exist on every continent except Antarctica. They’re very radiation resistant, and they can carry extremely large amounts of weight compared to their body mass.”
Read entire story here
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by Falcon
March 04, 2010
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."