Comments for Hearts Pest Management

Comment on Can the Male Widow Spider Survive the Black Widow? by WILLIAM

WILLIAM — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 02:50:13 +0000

Got bitten six times by a Brown Widow movnig into our Sarasota, FL rental.I haven’t heard of anyone else being boneheaded enough to get bitten repeatedly by a brown widow, so I thought I’d post my story and symptoms. I was unpacking boxes in our garage and felt a prick under my armpit (mid-morning), which I dismissed as my imagination or a mosquito, so I just let it go. I had recently put my shirt back on after leaving it laying around and I had also walked through a very strong/sticky web. A while after feeling the prick, maybe an hour or two, I wasn’t feeling well, so I called off movnig day and drove my family back to my mom’s house, over an hour away. By the time we arrived (early afternoon), I had a bad headache and was feeling rather ill.This developed into a severe headache, strange and uncomfortable hot/cold flashes, and nausea. I felt like I couldn’t really move my face b/c it just hurt too much and I didn’t want to. I recall my 2 year old climbing on me and feeling helpless to get him off of me. I’ve never felt something just take over the way this took me over. Not knowing what had happened, I took 4 Excedrin Migraine pills (I’ve never had a migraine so thought it might have been one).They didn’t help at all. Almost an hour later, I was vomiting (not due to the pills). I took a double dose of someone’s migraine meds (Fioricet), slipped into a very deep sleep for a few hours, and woke up feeling substantially better like I had an almost normal piercing headache. I took 4 Ibuprofen, which helped a little. A few hours after that, I started feeling close to normal again (late evening). Then over the next few days, I found these unexplainable bite marks under my arm that seemed to develop slightly in severity. I’ve been bitten by mosquitoes, chiggers, no-see-ums, wasps, and ants, and the bites were just not quite like any of those, although I’d say they were closest to my experience getting stung by a wasp or fire ant (but I didn’t get stung by a wasp or ant. I would have noticed that). There were 6 distinct bite marks within about a 6 inch radius. I suspect it was from one trapped spider, as they seemed to range from more to less severe (in order, down my side). I tried various treatments and found witch hazel to be most soothing.Fortunately, the bites never became infected and they went away after a little over a week, first coming to a firm head, but never actually popping or oozing (I resisted the urge to fuss with them). Anyway, a few days after the symptoms, did some research on spiders, went back to the house and found the web I had walked through, which had a Brown Widow and egg sacs around it, and I found dozens of other Brown Widows and egg sacks around the garage. They were mostly in the overhangs among the aluminum garage door panels and around recycle bins. The widows and their egg sacks were unmistakable once I knew what to look for. I killed them all with pesticide and expect to have to make another round again shortly.

Comment on Ants in the Summer by Donna Walker

Donna Walker — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:15:05 +0000

Dear Rebecca,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, as people we can learn a lot from these industrious creatures! When ants do become “pests” unfortunately they need to go elsewhere and treatment is often necessary. I hope, in reading and viewing the articles and photos, people will look at insects in a different light and appreciate the bees, ants, and spiders, etc. in their natural habitats.
Kindest Regards,
Donna Walker

Comment on White Velvet Ants and the Creosote Bush by Donna Walker

Donna Walker — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:59:05 +0000

Thank you, I am glad you are enjoying the blogs! I have a great time writing them!
Donna

Comment on White Velvet Ants and the Creosote Bush by Donna Walker

Donna Walker — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:37:14 +0000

Dear Cecile,
Thank you for your comment on the White Velvet Ants article. As a volunteer myself, I commend you for volunteering and working in the community. Please visit past and present blogs for unusual information about insects and their behaviors.
Donna

Comment on White Velvet Ants and the Creosote Bush by get more info

get more info — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:13:20 +0000

Holy Moses, great post! I was just reading a few different search engines and next to nothing came close
to your post.

Comment on Ants in the Summer by Rebecca Goodwin

Rebecca Goodwin — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:34:27 +0000

Nice article. This shows how ants work within our ecosystem. Ants can be a good model when it comes to being industrious, falling in line is one nice attitude of ants that people should adopt but ants can also be disastrous and they are so called pests on other state! Anyways the photos are very nice thanks for sharing.

Comment on COMMUNITY by Finding A Way To Contribute « Hearts Consulting Group, LLC – People and Pest Control Blog

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:00:51 +0000

[...] lives of my employees. In this manner, I have continued to give back. Now, as the company prospers, it feels really good inside to give more financially. Without mentioning names, I see several companies in the region who lend their name to botanical [...]

Comment on EMPLOYMENT by Finding A Way To Contribute « Hearts Consulting Group, LLC – People and Pest Control Blog

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:52:48 +0000

[...] less active in the community. An important goal beyond the primary task of company survival, was to improve the lives of my employees. In this manner, I have continued to give back. Now, as the company prospers, it feels really good [...]

Comment on The Benefits of Honey by Donna Walker

Donna Walker — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:50:46 +0000

Hi Anusheh,
I’m glad you enjoyed the series on honey bees. There is so much to learn about these amazing creatures that I had to keep writing about them! Each photo seemed to take on a personality of its own and I began to regard the honey bee with a deference I had only a little of before I began the articles. Thank you for your kind words!
Donna

Comment on The Benefits of Honey by Anusheh Chavez

Anusheh Chavez — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:18:37 +0000

Donna – I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy reading your blogs and viewing the spectacular pictures! You have a gift. Please continue to include me in future blogs, I love reading them! Looking forward to learning about ants!!
Love, Anusheh