Bug Blog
Weird Week Continues- The Brazilian Treehopper
The Treehopper has been around for nearly 40 million years. This little insect is just a prodigy of weird! It looks like some sort of helicopter insect from an alien world. The treehopper is related to the cicadas and there are over 3000 species. Their most unique feature is the helmet, which comes in a variety of interesting forms and sizes. The larvae’s primary source of food comes from the underside of leaves feeding on the sap of leaves making it a sap-sucking insect. The female treehopper has two choices when laying her eggs. She can either insert it into the plant tissue or simple lay it on the surface of the plant. In some species the females guards her eggs until they hatch, while other leave them. Some of these insect eggs are protected by ants, which care for them and in return the treehopper produces a honey-dew for them. They start off as an egg, then grow into a nymph and finally enter the adult stage. The amazing antenna-like round helmet is certainly eye-catching! While they actually look like eyes, they are simply ornamental and it is speculated that it might deter predators or provide additional sensory input.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/weird-week-continues-brazilian-treehopper-randy-bilesky/?published=t
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta Randy Bilesky
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-weird-week-continues-the-brazilian-treehopper-1.23278705
Ants, the original Tokubetsu Kōgekitai !
The latest addition to the suicide bomber ant species has been discovered in the jungles of Borneo. This one ant wrecking crew species will attach itself to the intruder, self-detonate and cover its enemy with toxic gunk. This kamikaze tactic or self-sacrifice (trading a life for a life) is found in social insects, such as termites and honeybees, which will fight to the death to protect the nest and territory. First discovered in the early 1930s, there are over 16 individual exploding species out there and the latest addition to the exploding ants club (Camponotus saundersi) has been discovered again in Borneo. Once one of these Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (special attack unit) ants discovers a foreign ant in their territory, they will latch onto its legs with their jaws and then squeeze their abdominal muscles so hard that they blow themselves up, spewing a gummy yellow slime over the hapless trespasser. The liquid actually ruptures out of several points of the abdomen, aimed at the enemy’s faces, maximizing the power of the irritants and immobilizing the threat. The oversized bladder that contains the destructive fluid takes up half the volume of the ant’s body, stretching from the head all the way to the abdomen. The goo is made up of numerous nauseating chemicals and strong bonding agents that permanently attach the bomber to its adversary.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ants-original-tokubetsu-k%C5%8Dgekitai-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-exploding-ants-club-1.23277296
ANTS – With WINGS !
If it isn’t bad enough that you may have a couple ants crawling around your kitchen or streaming into your house from the garden, but the real nightmare begins when, without notice (no posted signs), there are hundreds of flying ants coating your kitchen wall. A little background information, ants are social insects which are made up of different standings: labours, armed forces, the sovereign monarch (queen) and flying ants (reproductives). These flying ants are winged reproductives that swarm out from the nest to launch new colonies. They normally appear when the moisture content in the air is rather high and are attracted to brilliantly lit spaces. Once a queen(s) has been mated they will settle down in an appropriate location and start their own colony. Now, depending on the species of ant i.e. carpenter ants, once the colony is established, the harm to a building structure can be shocking. Did you know that ants are responsible for property damage worth up to 20 million in Canada every year and most home insurance policies don’t cover this kind of damage? Although we don’t have a lot of termites here in the lower mainland, these winged insects are often confused with flying termites, as the two pests share some likenesses. Prevention is often the best treatment and knowing the difference between the two can save you a lot of headaches. Termites have a straight, heavy waist while ants have a careworn waist. Termites have straight antennae while ants’ antennae are twisted. Ants do not shed their wings while termites do. You can be fairly certain that you’ve identified termites if you’ve also found discarded wings, especially near any windows and if you do find this – give us a call at go green pest control.ca and we will formulate a integrated pest management program tailored to your situation.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky BsF CPA
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ants-wings-randy-bilesky/?published=t
The new Kid on the Block for Ants – Go Green
We have been anticipating the arrive of this new weapon again our local ant problems for some time. The product is called Scorpio, a dual action ant bait which is extremely appetizing feeder with spinosad, an active ingredient that is made from naturally occurring bacterium – that is toxic to ants. It is a commercial product that works extraordinary well for indoor and outdoor applications. It kills most, if not all, the ants we experience here in Delta including carpenter ants, fire ants, pharaoh ants, pavement ants, thatching ants and odorous house ants. The key to this new solution is ants are attracted by the bait, they consume it, carry it to their nest where it is fed to other worker ants, larvae and the almighty queen(s). The colony is controlled within 1 to 2 weeks. It can be used in and around family residential buildings, institutional, commercial, schools, hospitals and on decks. Now here is the kicker, it is safe around kids and pets.
An eye on the prize –Ants of course
I know, this one is a little different but… ants like a treat after a hard day’s work. Researchers found that ants like an indulgence after working hard yet they will use restraint until the job is complete. Depending on the intensity of the tasks they performed, they allow themselves different quality rewards or treats that contained a higher or lower degree of satisfying flavours. For example, ants were given two tasks, a simple effortless one and a difficult one; the rewards for doing each task where different; with the higher valued treat for the harder task. After the ants had an opportunity to try both paths with different rewards, they repeatedly would do the harder task just to receive the higher valued reward. Just like for us, hard-earned rewards simply feel better. Similar to us humans, ants tend to prefer to eat food at the end of an ascending path rather than a descending one – therefore they value a hard-earned meal.
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/an-eye-on-the-prize-ants-of-course/
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky gogreenenvironmental.ca
Bunny Ebola
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly infectious and fatal disease that affects wild and domestic rabbits of the species Oryctolagus cuniculus. Well now it has arrived in Delta, the disease assaults the organs and blood vessels of the rabbits, causing a lack of coordination and bleeding through the nose resulting in agonizing pain and certain death. In New Zealand and Australia rabbit hemorrhagic disease is used to kill populations of feral European rabbits that have no natural predators, domestic flies are used to spread the disease. Well what could go wrong, the control measures used there have made their way here and are affecting our rabbits, described here by veterinarians as the Bunny Ebola. Although rabbits that are native to B.C. are immune, the disease is highly contagious and can remain in the environment for weeks; our immune rabbits can carry the virus and spread it to other animals, insects and us. There is a vaccine for rabbit hemorrhagic disease that isn’t actually approved for use here, it requires emergency authorization from our government to use and it is back ordered from European suppliers.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky gogreenenvironmental.ca
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bunny-ebola-randy-bilesky/?published=t
A new Silver Bullet – Temprid SC
In the last several months, a new integrated pest control pesticide has become available to us in the professional pest control industry; yes our latest and greatest silver bullet. Although it’s been in the US for years, our government has finally given its consent to use this very effective chemical here, with a few extra limitations not seen in the country below us. We have been using a permethrin called Dragnet for many years now and its days have finally come to an end. Not only is permethrin stinky, headache inducing, a short residual life, it has lost its ability to eradicate certain bugs, and of course now that it is widely available at retail store, insect resistance will continue to evolve. With Temprid SC there are two active ingredients called Imidacloprid and Cyfluthrin. These two ingredients affect targets pests differently: Imidacloprid works by disrupting inhibitor stimuli transmission within the nervous system which is toxic to insects but not to humans or animals, and Cyfluthrin attacks the central nervous system and remaining effective far longer time than previous pyrethrins. For more information on Temprid SC, check out our website at go green pest control.ca. Give us a call, and we can explain the advantages to you and your insect issues.
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-silver-bullet-randy-bilesky/?published=t
When the Doodlebugs come marching two by two
If you haven’t seen these little armadillos, a.k.a. sowbugs, crawling around wet areas of your house and garage, you will soon. These little crustaceans breathe through trachea-like lungs in their paddle-shaped hind legs, called pleopodal lungs. These “cheesy bobs” are usually nocturnal and are detritivores, meaning that they feed mostly on dead plant matter and other insects. Similar to earthworms, they are useful in gardens for their ability to control other pests, producing compost and overturning the soil, but they also feed on ripening fruits such as strawberries and many tender seedlings. These “hog-louse” also invade homes en masse in search of moisture and their presence can indicate dampness issues. They are generally regarded as nuisance rather than household pests, as they do not spread disease, damage sound wood or structures. Sometimes chemical control treatment is required if all other attempts fail. We would be happy to advice your next move against these “granny greys”, just give us a call at go green pest control.ca.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-doodlebugs-come-marching-two-randy-bilesky/?published=t
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky
Is there a safe way to release a skunk?
Skunks are definitely not fun to deal with when you are trying to get them off your property. The usual non-lethal method to capture these animals is to use live traps, sometimes referred to as cage traps or a Heart traps. These traps require using bait: fresh eggs, fruit and canned tuna, to lure the animal into the trap that closes when the animal steps on a pressure plate or trigger. But, there are a few things to consider once you catch your problem animal. Releasing skunks on public land is considered very objectionable because it adds one more nest predator of quail, pheasant, grouse, and other upland game. When releasing a skunk back into the wild (be it the nearest park), here are a few things to keep in mind. Always wear leather or canvas gloves when handling traps to protect you from scratches and reduce your exposure to feces and urine. Skunks will pound their front feet when agitated. If you hear this sound, it means the skunk is about to spray the cage, the tarp it covered in and any part of your body it can see. Skunks are less likely to spray what they can’t see. Follow these instructions and the likelihood of being sprayed is still high but not totally undoable or look us up at go green pest control.ca and we can help guide you to a simple skunk extraction and relocation. We recommend you take the animal to Critter Care in Langley.
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/is-there-a-safe-…-release-a-skunk/
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner Tsawwassen Delta B.C. Randy Bilesky
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/safe-way-release-skunk-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-is-there-a-safe-way-to-release-a-skunk-1.23263241
Squirrels – Nuts about Nuts
Squirrels are known to find nuts easily, hide them quickly, return for more and they never seem to forget their hiding places. When a squirrel rotates a nut between its front paws, they are considering a range of factors to reach the answer to a series of question: eat it now or bury it for later? Their behaviors are far more intricate than we realize as the animal consider several options when deciding to eat or to stash it for later. They evaluate the physical characteristics of a nut, such as its shelf life (expiry date) and dietary importance. They also contemplate the accessibility of other nuts at that time of the year and if they know if there are any other squirrels in the area. Rotating a nut around in their feet helps numerous purposes. It helps determine the quality of the nut and see if there are any imperfections in the shell. Flaws usually point to the nut being more vulnerable to rot and if they want to eat it right there what are the best entry points for breaking into the shell. Handling the nut also helps determine how to carry the nut based on the shape and weight. In the spring squirrels take more care in handling the nuts before they bury them, perhaps because the nuts may still be scarce before summer’s harvest.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/squirrels-nuts-randy-bilesky/?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-squirrels-are-nuts-about-nuts-1.23261742
gogreenpestcontrol.ca Ladner tsawwassen Delta B.C. randy Bilesky
