GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Homeowners and pest control technicians have a new option for identifying bugs lurking in houses and other buildings — and it’s as close as a cell phone.

A downloadable application developed by researchers with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences provides color photos and text describing almost 40 pest species.

Called iPest1, it’s one of the first mobile-phone apps dealing with pest insects. It’s compatible with Apple mobile devices including the popular iPhone and sells for $1.99.

Check it out here

If you would like to volunteer to help clean the beaches as the oil comes to our shores, go here.

The White House should've called us!

LONDON (June 5) -- Next time you raise your shoe to squish a cockroach, ponder this: You might be just about to kill the insect world's version of a Zagat restaurant reviewer. Because according to new research published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, roaches behave like mini-restaurant critics, sharing recommendations about the best places to eat and pursuing gourmet tips offered by their bug buddies.

The study's lead scientist, Dr. Mathieu Lihoreau of Queen Mary, University of London, told AOL News that while it was previously assumed that cockroaches foraged and ate alone, he had long suspected that this wasn't true. "If you walk into an infested apartment, you'll see them in a group," he said. Lihoreau believed that this apparently social behavior could be a sign that the bugs were communicating with one another.

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• Bed bugs are resurging without a doubt; the general industry thought as to cause includes increased international travel, changes in the way we perform pest management services, and even changes in products used to control general pests. Currently, bed bug work is over 5 percent of the industry sales.
• Both males and females feed on blood and a blood meal is necessary to move on to the next stage of development. For comparison, mosquitoes only bite when adults and only the female bites as she needs blood meals to develop eggs.
• Bed bugs can go for a long period without a meal; generally months is the typical maximum, but literature reports that they can live for over one year.
• Bed bugs can survive temperatures near refrigeration if acclimated and can survive to about 113 degrees F.
• Bed bugs will feed on other animals; both warm blooded and cold blooded, to obtain blood meals.
• Spilled food and sanitation are irrelevant; this is why the fanciest and cleanest places can have bed bugs; since bed bugs only feed on blood, spilled human food is not a factor.
• While spilled human food and sanitation such as clutter are not direct factors in bed bug success, they can lead to infestation by ants, roaches, rodents, and clutter can provide hiding places making inspection and control more difficult.
• Since bed bugs are such good hitchhikers, clutter removed for inspection and treatment can lead to spreading of the bed bug problem.
• There are similar pests to bed bugs such as the swallow bug, the bat bug, the poultry bug, and the tropical bed bug. While the differences are in some cases minor, it is important to identify the pest observed; swallow bugs have different biology and habits than bed bugs and the source will be different.
• If a customer claims that they have welts or bites, it does not necessarily mean that they have a bed bug infestation; it is important to inspect to verify.
• Reactions to bites can take days to manifest so there is no guarantee that the bites were from the previous night; bed bug bites which become visible may be due to bites sustained days prior in other locations.
• New treatment methods are being developed constantly. From heat to cold, to liquids to monitoring, technology is improving and company options should be discussed so that a monitoring and treatment system can be devised which will be suitable for the account.
• Each company should have a pre-treatment list of things that the customer should do; be cautious of moving things around and possibly spreading the infestation.
• Canines (dogs) have a great success rate for finding bed bugs; customers might ask if your company can use a dog to inspect for bed bugs.
• If you have heat tolerant infested items such as a child's stuffed animal, shoes, and even clothing, bed bugs, including eggs, in these items can be controlled by putting the material in a clothes dryer on high for fifteen to twenty minutes.
• Make sure that communication about bed bugs is consistent with company policy as well as making sure that the customer understands reasonable expectations so that there is no confusion