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The infection is transmitted by mosquitoes. They acquire the virus after biting an infected bird, and then they bite us. In 2006 there were 4269 cases of West Nile Virus with 177 deaths. Virus transmission occurs mostly during warm weather, when mosquito populations are active. In the northern part of the country,  infections occur mainly in the summer and early fall, but in the warmer southern regions, the virus can be transmitted all year. The incubation period – or the period between when you’re bitten by an infected mosquito and the appearance of signs and symptoms of the illness - ranges from two to 14 days.

Signs and Symptoms:

Most of the time, infection with West Nile virus makes people mildly sick. A person may get flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes skin rash and swollen glands. More severe infection can result in encephalitis, which includes symptoms of severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, and sometimes convulsions. It’s rare but, severe West Nile infection in healthy, younger people can be fatal, but the elderly are at greatest risk for severe complications.

How to know if you have West Nile Virus:

The virus causes an infection that can lead to inflammation of the brain (swelling) much like encephalitis, or swelling of the spinal cord, or the tissues surrounding it and the spinal cord like meningitis.  If the doctor thinks you might have the virus, they will ask you questions to see if you were at risk for getting the virus. If you have symptoms that the virus is affecting the brain and spinal cord a blood test will be done to see if you have antibodies to the virus. And sometimes a Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap) is done to look for the virus.

Treatment for the Virus:

There is currently no specific treatment for the virus. Mild infections go away on their own. But severe cases of encephalitis are treated with supportive care in a hospital. This care involves helping the body fight illness on its own. It often is used when no specific treatment exists for an illness, as is the case with some viruses.  Treatment for West Nile virus can include receiving fluids through IV, or help with breathing using a ventilator, and prevention of another infection like pneumonia.

Prevention:

The best way to prevent West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses is to avoid exposure to mosquitoes and eliminate mosquito-breeding sites.

There are millions of bugs and pests out there, and we deal with them at different times of the year. But you know they can also make great gifts for the holidays.

Kids always seem to find things that crawl, jump, fly and slither. And you can rest assured they probably will make it into the house. Why, well children love to discover and learn. So why not give them a great learning experience along the way.

Great ways to learn about what is in our environment is by watching them grow and build a home.
Some gift ideas might be:
1. Ant Farms that come in different shapes and sizes.

2. Butterfly Gardens, you watch them go from caterpillar to butterfly.
3. Ladybug house, see them walk and fly.
4. Bug Jug, can be used to discover what a bug looks like (fire flies)

5. Watch a praying mantis in his own home.
6. How about a home frog habitat.

7. There are insect science kits as well.
8. There is even a talking bug identifier (magnifying glass) that can ID up to 50 real live bugs.

9. And you can never go wrong with books, for information and identification to coloring.

Have a very Merry Christmas

Some folks think just because its getting cold and winter is around the corner that there is no need to worry about pests. Granted most of them have died off or left the area in search of warmer weather. But there are some that stick around and can become a problem if left unchecked. Here are a few that you might encounter during the winter time.

Indian Meal (or Flour) Moths:
They can enter the home through infested grains, and other dried foods that you bring home. Here are some of the more commonly infested foods most people have in their home:
Birdseed
Oatmeal
Cereals
Pet food
Flour
Snack foods (chips, crackers, cookies etc)

If found in the home they are relatively easy to control without pesticides. Simply find the source of the infestation (box of cereal, bag of flour, sack of pet food)
To prevent future infestations, store dried foods in airtight containers or zip lock bags.  Foods that are not going to be eaten immediately can be refrigerated.

Cockroaches:
Ok if you happen to find live or dead roaches in your house the most important thing you need to do is try and identify which kind of roach it is. Why is it important you might ask, well some roach species are harmless while others can be a major problem.  To keep them from becoming a problem, keep stored cardboard to a minimum,  think twice about bringing in used furniture, TVs, and other appliances into your home. These are places roaches love to live/hide, and without thinking you can bring a big problem into your home. As well as seal all access points to your home, like around doors, windows and under sinks. Roach baits can be used in winter just like they can in summer.

Rodents (mice/rats):
Mice, in particular house mice are problem to many households. They usually enter the  house when the weather gets cooler. These pests are the reason for sealing entry to you house because they can enter through cracks and holes as small as a dime.
You can tell if you have a rodent problem when you begin seeing droppings (rodent poop) and gnaw marks or perhaps the uninvited guest himself. Because rodents have been linked to health problems, any sign of an infestation should be dealt with as soon as possible.  If you notice you do in fact have a problem the first order of business is to figure out how they got into the home. Once found seal the entry point from other rodents seeking to visit. If you find a rodents nest you will need to remove it. Since some rodents have been linked to the Hantavirus you will need to take steps to try and safely remove the nest without stirring up the material and dust. By spraying the area with a bleach solution and wearing gloves place the nest into a plastic bag and tie it off before placing it in the trash. Once this has been done, there are a number of different types of traps you can purchase to help eliminate your rodents.

These are just a few pests that you may encounter during the cold winter months. Pests will always be here so we need to be vigilant all year round.

Dust mites are a major cause of allergies for a lot of people. The are in every home even though we cannot see them. They live primarily on skin cells and scales, most call dander from humans and pets.

Dust mites can be found in areas where we like to lounge, and in mattresses, carpet, furniture and even window drapes. How many are there you say, well a typical mattress could have as many as ten thousand to 10 million dust mites. How about the carpet, well about 100,000 could live in one square yard.

We are not allergic to the mite itself, but what it leaves behind. Mites are said to produce about 20 waste droppings each day. Which contain a protein that many people are allergic too. Reactions can range from itchy eyes to asthma attacks. And did you know that about 80% of the stuff you see floating in a sunbeam are skin flakes.

Ok here is what we can do to help control them.  The number one thing we can focus on is “dust control”. This can be done by putting a plastic cover over your mattress. It is also said that fitted sheets help prevent skin scales from building up.  Vaccuum the pillows on the bed and area around the bed. You should wash your sheets and blankets in really hot water (130 degrees) at least every 2 weeks, and your pillow every week.  For things that can’t be washed and if small can be placed in the freezer for 24 to 48 hours to kill the mites. Try and dust weekly with a damp rag and mop. Why not go buy a spray to kill the little suckers. Well that is because there are no pesticides at this time for killing dust mites. These are just a few tips at prevention which will aid in keeping the dust mite population down and hopefully allergies to a minimum.

Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. How many times have we heard that before we drift off to sleep. Well it appears they are making a come back, and these blood suckers are making folks think twice about sleeping in places like hotels and motels. And yes even the 5 star places are affected just like the motor inns.

These little buggers hide during the daytime in the folds of beds, couches even under boards. Waiting for the right time of the early morning to come out and dine on your blood. While they don’t transmit disease they do cause some terrible itching bumps much like a mosquito.

They travel around from country to country and place to place due to tourism. Catching rides on things like our luggage. They can be eleminated by some do it yourself pesticides you can buy. But for the big infestations you may need to call an expert.

 1. Scorpion

2. Wheel Bug

 3. Wolf Spider

 4. Caterpillar

5. Millipede

6. Centipede

7. Camel Spider

8. Velvet Ant

9. Giant Water Bug

10. Blister Beetle

She has a slender body and long legs. When she finds the one she wants a distinctive high-pitched noise comes from her hungry mouth. He is a stunning chap with fancy hair and flair for flowers, always on the lookout for a hot lady.
These two make quite a pair, and we hear about them every summer. Yes it is the dreaded mosquito. Not many folks know that it’s the female that is the one to feast on your blood.
This is done with her long straw like mouth called a proboscis. Once she plunges it into your skin, and just before she sucks your blood she injects a mild painkiller, which numbs you to the pain from the “bite”.
She needs the protein in blood for development and laying of eggs. She makes that very distinct buzzing noise that you hear before you start itching. This noise is also how the gentleman find her. She seeks to do nothing but drink blood, mate and lay eggs. Living from 3 to 100 days.
The male feeds on the nectar of flowers for food. He is smaller than the lady and can be picked from a crowd by his  feathered antennae. Always on the prowl for the ladies buzzing call to mate. His short 10 to 20 day life is spent sipping sweet liquid and mating, leaving this world with a smile on his face.  
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Let’s say it’s summer time. The last thing we think about when heading outside is those pesky bugs we know are out there but forget about until they bite us.
You’re out in your backyard enjoying the sun and grilling your dinner. Ouch! You look down at your arm and see a painful, swelling bite. Moments later, you feel another one bite you. What are these pesky insects? Why do they bite? Do they carry diseases? What can you do to protect yourself?
It is a MOSQUITO, those blood sucking pests we encounter every year. These insects have been around for over 30 million years. And it seems that, during those millions of years, mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at finding people to bite.

How do they find us? Well they can find us using three sensors:
1. Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet away. We gives off these gases as part of normal breathing.
Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don’t sweat much don’t get nearly as many mosquito bites).
2. Visual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. It’s a good bet that anything moving is “alive”, and therefore full of blood, so this is a good strategy.
3. Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

Ok here is a bit of trivia for you. It is the female mosquito that bites and not the male. Why you may ask, well its because she needs a blood meal in order to produce eggs. So what does the male do, well he lives for a very short time for the purpose of mating.
These insects are of great concern not only for you but for many people around the world, and there is a lot of information to pass about them, such as do they pass diseases, how do you prevent them from biting and what can I do to keep them out of my yard. Stay tuned the answers to these questions and more.

ANTS

Ants we see them everywhere and they say they have been living on the Earth for more than 100 million years. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 different species of ants. They live in colonies which sometimes can number into the millions. For this reason ants have been called Earth’s most successful species. But we don’t want them in or around our homes.
Many people are allergic to their stings (fire ants are the worst), as well as depending on the kind of ant they can cause damage to your home (such as the carpenter ant) and also damage your yard. Did you know some ants tunnel straight down up to 15 feet to hibernate during winter.

 Ok a little ant information here: basically there are 3 types of ants in each species, the queen, the sterile female workers and the males. The queen spends her life laying eggs, the male serves one purpose which is to mate with the queen, and that leaves the sterile female workers.
Ants are scavengers and their main job is to look for food. They are also known as nature’s best clean up crew. Believe it or not, ants are responsible for “cleaning up” much of the environment.

This leads us to ants in our homes. How did they get there and where are they coming from? They will find the smallest crack and crevice to gain access to your home in search for food. Around doors, walls, windows and even your foundation or crawl space. When food is found ants lay down a scent as it returns to the nest. Other ants will pick up the scent and follow the trail to the food. That’s the reason you see that long line of ants coming and going along your floor or counter.

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