'Bugs News

Can you fumigate for cockroaches, and other "bugs" , in cars? Many of you may know that Car Talk  was a popular radio talk show on NPR where two brothers, Tom and Ray, talked about cars, car repair and the like. They take calls from car owners about everything imaginable having to do with their cars. Every once in while Tom and Ray got a call concerning insects, or other critters, that have invaded someone's car. One show included a caller whose car was infested with cockroaches but there have been other callers that had cars infested with wasps, honey bees, flies, mice, snakes, and so on. The most common insects that invade cars are of course cockroaches and ants but wasps can build nests and a number of so called "stored product" pests like carpet beetles are common as well. It is, however, very unlikely that bed bugs would infest cars unless someone is actually living and sleeping in the vehicle. The reason for this is that bed bugs become active ...

bed bug Because bed bugs are so closely associated with bedrooms and bedding we need to be especially careful when selecting a pesticide to use against these little blood suckers. It makes no sense to apply a toxic pesticide in our rooms and on our beds that we would then be exposed to as we sleep or otherwise use the room. Fortunately there are now very effective natural dust insecticides for use against bed bugs that also offer a wide safety margin when used in bedrooms and on bedding. These natural dusts include silica, pyrethrum and botanical oil combinations. These dusts should only be used after all exposed bed bugs are removed by thorough vacuuming and cleaning as a final step in your bed bug control program. We've posted a series of articles at our 'Bugs site about bed bugs, bed bug control and using natural dust insecticides. The first article is about bed bug indentification and life cycles and you can follow the links to the other articles about control and whi...

This question about possible bed bug bites was submitted to our 'Bugs site: Question: My name is Tiffani and I think I may have bed bugs but I'm not sure because I have all the bites and my 2 year old daughter who sleeps with me most nights has not been bitten once. Yet I wake up with new bites everyday. I have not yet seen a bed bug but I have not had the chance to really search yet. I want to know if it's possible that we have bed bugs if only one person who sleeps in the room is being bitten? Also thank you for your website it was very helpful.   My answer: Tiffani , The first thing to do is to thoroughly check your bed and bed side furniture for bed bugs and/or bed bug dropping (dried blood). Left up the mattress edge and check any folds or seams for reddish-brown bugs or their black, greasy droppings. Also check nearby tables, the bed frame, and so forth.   Here's a drawing of what bed bug bites bed bug hiding places look like. If your search fails to ...

bed bug Bed bug control with foggers I am occasionally asked whether or not aerosol foggers (flea "bombs") can be used to control bed bugs . The answer is actually pretty simple - there are better ways to control bed bugs ! In fact flea "bombs" don't even work well for fleas. The only really effective way to control bed bugs is to locate and directly treat their hiding places with a residual insecticide. What are foggers? Foggers are pressurized cans of insecticide that release all of their contents as an aerosol mist when the trigger is pressed. They are sometimes called " total-release aerosol insecticides " and are often used to treat indoor spaces for pests like fleas and sometimes flying insects. Do foggers work? In general foggers do not work well, even for their targeted pests. The reason is pretty simple - they don't provide the level of coverage that a carefully applied spray insecticide can achieve. Foggers produce a fine mi...

There are few things more maddening than the itch resulting from the bite of some insect or mite. So it is a good thing that there are only a small number of insects and mites that actually bite people. However, if you are being affected by what you believe are bug bites but are not sure what is causing your discomfort check the list below for insects and mites that actually do bite people. The links go to articles at LivingWithBugs (our main "Bug" site) for ways to identify and then manage each of these common pests. Then, if none of these seem right check out some of the other causes of skin lesions that can look a lot like bug bites below the list. bird mites (aka nest mites, rodent mites) - many people believe they or their homes are infested with these mites. They are actually much less common than people think. bed bugs black flies (outdoors only) biting midges (outdoors only) chigger mites fleas lice mosquitoes ...