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Showing posts from April, 2011

New Head Lice Medication Available By Prescription

louse nit and louse In January, 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration announced that it had approved a new product called Natroba Topical Suspension to treat head lice in both children (4 years of age and older) and adults.  Take a look at this article Head Lice Biology and Control in School-Age Children for current treatment guidelines for parents and schools. The active ingredient in Natroba is spinosad a relatively new type of natural, organic insecticide that has been used in commercial agriculture and home gardens for several years. Spinosad is derived through a fermentation process using a specific microbe that was originally isolated from soil. See Using Spinosad in Home Gardens for more information. Natroba is currently available only by prescription. Over-the-counter medications containing permethrin and pyrethrum are still effective against the majority of louse populations but there is some evidence that insecticide resistance to these compounds is increasin

Indoor Pest Control: Least-Toxic Methods

German Cockroach Do I Need To Use Pesticides Inside My Home? I'm frequently contacted for pest control advice by people who routinely treat their homes, both indoors and outside, with pesticides in order to protect them from "bugs". Often the homeowners don't even know for sure what the target pest is, nor do they really care. These homeowners have been convinced that if they don't do these treatments, or hire a pest control company to do them at monthly or quarterly intervals, their homes will become infested and may even be significantly damaged. It's like changing the oil in your car every 3000 miles, hype that has been promulgated by so called "quick-lube" oil companies, either you pay now or you'll somehow have to "pay-the-piper" later! The Truth In fact, these routine pesticide treatments are rarely if ever needed , and indoor use of conventional pesticides, in single-family homes, is almost never justified. F

"Skin Mites"/ "Collembola Mites" - Are They Real?

bird/nest mite of hummingbirds Do you experience any of the following symptoms on a daily and/or regular basis? A crawling sensation sometimes accompanied by feeling "pin prick-like bites". Itchy skin, especially at night. Red skin lesions that resemble flea or mosquito bites, while not able to capture an actual bug. Fear that you and your home/office/car are infested with an unseen bug. You repeatedly wash bedding and treat your home with insecticide in an attempt to rid yourself of this invisible infestation. If this sounds like you, first of all be assured that you are not alone - the symptoms are very real and widespread . I am asked about these so-called infestations at least several times a week through my bug consulting activities. The cause, however, is not what you may have been lead to believe . These symptoms are not caused by an insect or mite and no amount of insecticide, whether organic or not, will help you solve this problem . What are so call

What Are "White Ants"?

termite worker ("white ant") White Ants = Termites The term "white ants" generally refers to a group of insects that are more commonly called termites (Isoptera), more specifically subterranean termite workers . Worker termites are very pale and delicate, and superficially resemble delicate, white "ants" (see photo). However, termites and ants (order Hymenoptera) are not closely related at all and have very little in common. See the following pages about Termite Biology and Control for more information about these potentially destructive insects. Termites are fairly primitive insects that live in colonies. Unlike almost every other insects, termites feed on cellulose (wood fiber) with the help of special microbes in their gut. This ability to utilize wood as food makes termites a serious potential structural pest in our homes. While true ants also live in colonies, they are far more advanced than termites in terms of their developmental biology and