Hearts Pest Management - Blog
Posted by donna
Bees in Spring
Spring is here and the bees are gearing up their pollen baskets ready for the spring flower harvest. Springtime is the buzziest time for honeybees; all the flowers, including wildflowers, are in full bloom.
Are Honeybees Ever Pests?
Honeybees only become a pest issue if they start making a hive in your attic or within 150 ft. of your home. Then they become a threat to the health of your family, especially if anyone is allergic to bee stings.
Hearts Pest Management understands the essential role bees play in nature.
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Posted by Gerry Weitz
Invasive Asian Lady Beetles
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
“Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away . . .”
Invasive or Invited? The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle looks like our North American ladybug but it’s really an invasive species.
The Asian Lady beetle, however, could make an argument that rather than have invaded the country, it was invited – by our government.
It seems we didn’t have enough ladybugs so the Asian Lady Beetle was introduced into the states during the 1970´s to perform chemical-free pest control, for both our agricultural crops and our national forests.
The native Nine-Spotted ladybug is a threatened and endangered species. It has four spots on each wing and one spot that is split in the middle.
Native Ladybugs
Today, there are very few native ladybugs; so much so, that there´s an actual website dedicated to “lost” ladybugs!
Hearts Pest Management is concerned about ladybugs and other beneficial insects…that’s why we practice Organic Pest Control!
Tagged: Asian Lady Beetles, Native Lady Beetles
Posted by Donna Walker
Packrats and Traders
What do human packrats, traders, and woodrats have in common?
Big-eared Woodrat – aka Packrat
Big-eared Woodrats AKA Packrats and Traderats
You’ve heard the term “packrat” used to describe a neighbor, a family member, maybe even yourself … yep, I see you raising your hand, albeit slowly. …
It’s ok, no one is judging, I’m raising mine too. I admit, I’m a bit of a packrat myself. You just never know when that piece of shiny ribbon will come in handy.
I bet you have special places for such things, a drawer, a box; this way you know exactly where they are when it comes time to use them.
You argue, “I might need it someday, or ‘member the time I threw such-and-such out just to find I needed it two weeks later?”
As a nature guide, when I come upon a mound of sticks, I’ll stop and ask if anyone knows where the term “packrat” came from and most people will say they don’t.
I then tell them about California’s Big-eared Woodrat, formally known as the Dusky-footed Woodrat, aka “packrat” or “trader” and why some of us share her name.
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Posted by Donna Walker
Rat Lungworm Disease Transmitted via Snails
by Donna M. Walker
Here’s a very good reason not to eat snails … just in case you were thinking of picking one up and popping it into your mouth, yuck, right?!
Who would have thought the little slimes, with long beady eyes, could be such a health hazard?
You think you’re safe because you’d never eat a snail? Not so. …
Why? – Rats! They carry a parasite called “rat lungworm,” Angiostrongylus cantonensis.
The larvae of lungworm pass through a rat’s feces, a.k.a. rat droppings, snails then come in contact with the droppings, leaving trails of infected slime behind (grounds for washing lettuce, not once but thrice!).
The result, if infected, is meningitis. In humans, juvenile worms migrate to the brain; as adults, they live in the arterioles of the ileocecal area (blood vessels around a valve between the small and large intestines). Lovely.
Rat Lungworms use rats as their host.
Washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly is the best preventative measure against Rat Lungworm disease.
If snails are not part of your diet then how do these worms get into your system? Remember, I mentioned washing your lettuce, not once but thrice? If you eat salad or raw vegetables that an infested snail has come in contact with, you could very well ingest the parasite.
Rat Lungworm disease causes Eosinophilic meningitis. Contaminated produce is the main culprit from trails of slime left by snails, slugs, and flatworms. And, it’s not just humans that can become infected; dogs, even horses have been known to become a host for Rat Lungworm.
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Posted by Donna Walker
Native Bees, Honeybees, and Mimics
by Donna M. Walker
“Auntie, auntie, the biting flies are chasing me! You know – the ones with the little yellow shorts!” exclaimed Calvatina’s niece as she ran inside the house. …
Springtime Pollinators
It’s spring and all that buzzing you hear isn’t just coming from honeybees! . . .
The Honeybee arrived in North America during the 17th century via European settlers but did you know that we already had an abundance of native bees? – 4,000 different species, to be precise.
These resourceful native insects, unlike honeybees, have managed to escape domestication.
Native bees, including bumblebees and mimics, have been pollinating the continent’s flowers for eons.
Honeybee on red poppy.
Most people don’t realize that native bees are still around and play an important role in pollination. It’s not all about the honeybee; we need to protect our native bees as well.
For instance, the European honeybee doesn’t know how to pollinate tomatoes or eggplants (What would salad be without tomatoes, or Eggplant Parmesan without the eggplant?).
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Posted by Donna Walker
California’s Crazy Ant Invasion
by Donna M. Walker
There’s a new invasive species of ants making their way to California from the eastern and southern states.
Actually, they’ve already arrived but not in large numbers like in Florida and Texas.
How do they travel across country?
Map of both the Crazy and Argentine ant invasion into the U.S. By way of human transportation – potted plants, cargo, trash, boxes, etc.
The Tawny (AKA Rasberry) Crazy Ant has made its way from Argentina and Brazil into the U.S. causing millions of dollars in damage.
If these Crazy ants are anything like their cousins from Argentina, the invasive Argentine Ants, then we could be in for another supercolony of ants crawling all over the state.
Tagged: crazy ant
Posted by Donna Walker
by Donna M. Walker
Protecting California’s Monarch Butterflies
Black and orange wings soar through the air for thousands of miles … then flutter gracefully towards the ground where they find rest in southern and central California trees.
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Male – Note the two black spots on the bottom wings.
If there is one insect, because of its beauty, that has captured the heart of Californians, it’s the Monarch Butterfly … unless of course, you happen to be an entomologist, then you probably find beauty in Jerusalem crickets – as only an entomologist could and would!
Migrating Monarchs
In southern California, once fall approaches, Monarch butterflies take refuge from their long journey south to the sheltering trees of San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties.
Map of Monarch Butterflies Fall Migration
There are two populations of Monarch butterflies in North America that are separated by the Rocky Mountains; each with different migration patterns.
The Monarchs east of the Rockies migrate south to spend their winters in Mexico.
West of the Rockies, here in California, Monarchs migrate from Canada to the coast of central and southern California where they overwinter.
Wintering Monarchs
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Posted by Donna Walker
There is no Poop Fairy!
Our pets are our family
Animal lovers absolutely love their pets. Pets are part of the family but they are incapable of cleaning after themselves!
Dogs poop, cats puke. Lucky us – we get to clean it up!
When the cat spits up a hairball, all of a sudden he’s my cat!
Normally, I wouldn’t use “pets and pests” in the same sentence but, our friendly companions do attract certain kinds of pests, especially dogs.
OK, so maybe I’m biased since I’ve always had several cats, to the point of bordering on “Crazy Cat Lady” . . . but – cats cover it up, keeps the flies away you know. …
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Posted by Gerry Weitz
Wintertime Pests
Wintertime Pests in Southern California.
In Southern California, one of the ways you can tell its wintertime is when you see Californians remove their sunglasses! Otherwise, we natives (and those from afar) enjoy sunshine all year round, (wildlife and insects included).
Winter in sunny Southern California is so mild that insects and wildlife enjoy not only the weather but the abundance of resources California has to offer, including our pantries. Plus, when the weather does turn cold and rainy (at least for California standards), insects and rodents are not shy about making your home their home during our short winter months. Read more
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Posted by Gerry Weitz
Wintering Mice
Winter has arrived in sunny California, just in time for the House mouse to find a warm and cozy place to build a nest. …
There’s a Mouse in the House!
Mice and humans have lived together for eons in a “commensal” relationship, meaning they live on the same premises and eat at the same table (sometimes, literally!).
Three mice discussing how to get a very large chunk of cheese back to their “living quarters.”
People are often afraid of mice and given their propensity to carry disease, they probably should be but others have a love of mice and keep them as pets.
For decades, mice in literature have captured the imagination of both children and adults. Mice figures in anthropomorphic drawings depict them with human characteristics in stories about these tiny-tailed creatures.
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