Bees, hornets & wasps...oh my!

Today's post is the first of another 3-part series all about bees, hornets and wasps. First up: Bees

Honeybee

There are over 1000 native species of bees in Canada, but the honeybee is not one of the native species. Honeybees were originally from Eurasia where they have been a domesticated species for centuries. All the "wild" honeybees we have in Canada are from colonies that escaped from domesticated hives.

Bees are able to live year-round and their hives are self-sufficient as long as the colony is able to collect enough nectar and pollen during the summer. They have been able to adapt to the Canadian climate and to life in our forests and woods since they have the ability to generate their own heat in order to warm their hives in the colder months.

Honeybee population has unfortunately been in decline due to two types of parasitic ites that have infested many hoves in the past few decades. Wild honeybees in Eastern Canada have been nearly exterminated by these parasites and the infestation has spread to a large number of domestic hives. These losses, in addition to the loss of wild habitate, the effects of pesticides in and around agricultural operations and the transmission on other bacterial diseases from hive to hive mean that the numbers are continuing to decline rapidly.

Honeybees are amber to brown in colour with alternating black stripes. They are furry (with short hair) and are approximately 1.3 cm. They eat nectar from flowers and when they sting (which they won't do unless provoked as they are considered gentle) it will kill them. Honeybees live in large colonies in flat wax-based honeycomb hives that hang vertically.




Bumblebee

 Bumblebees lived in the wild for thousands of years before people started capturing them in order to domesticate them. Unlike honeybees who have short tongues, bumblebees have long tongues which means they are able to pollinate a larger variety of flowers.

In the late 1880's, researchers began to think about using bumblebees to their advantage when it came to agricultural matters. In 1885 and again in 1905, hundreds of bumblebees were captured and introduced into New Zeland in order to try and improve the production of red clover seed.

In Canada, the bumblebee was first used commercially in 1990 as a tomato pollinator. Throughout the world there are 5 species of bumblebee that are commercially reared. In North America only 2 are used commercially--the Bombus impatiens and Bombus occidentalis. The B. impatiens species is very successful in being used as greenhouse crop pollinators and recent studies have shown that "only 7 to 15 colonies are needed per hectare of greenhouse tomatoes, which is equal to approxiately 2000 bee trips per hectare, per day".

Bumblebees are yellow with black stripes and are furry, but with long hair. They are considerably larger than a honeybee at 2.5 cm but like the honeybee they also eat nectar from flowers and their stings will kill them also. They too are considered gentle and will not sting unless provoked in someway. Bumblebees can be found living in the soil in small cavities.

Yes, honeybees and bumblebees are beneficial to the environment and agriculturally but that doesn't mean you necessarily want them building hives around your home or cottage. Especially if you or someone in your family is allergic to their stings, so Cottage Country Pest Control can come in and using IPM methods we can help make your environment safer for you and your family.

To book an appointment or for more information email or call us at 705-534-7863.

German Cockroaches

Cockroaches have been around for an estimated 4 million years and  there are well over 3,500 species of roaches worldwide, but the most common cockroach in Canada is the German Cockroach (Blattella germanica).

Appearance

The German roach is about 1.3 to 1.6 cm long and has a flattened oval body with long spiny legs. They are tan or light brown colour with 2 dark parallel streaks that run from their heads and down to the base of their wings. Despite having wings, German roaches are unable to sustain flight.

Habitat

German roaches can be found in any part of your home, but they usually prefer a damp environment such as kitchens, bathrooms, basements,etc. Anyplace they can find food, which for them is not hard, and warmth they will be hapy to settle in there. These roaches will eat just about anything--from food stuff, paper, cloth, glue from book bindings, etc, so they really can be comfortably anywhere.

It's very common for people to not realize they have cockroaches until the infestation is very bad because German roaches are really only active during the night, so it can be difficult to determine whether or not you have an infestation without doing some detective work.

Life Cycle

A female German cockroach will carry an egg capsule containing approximately 40 eggs, which she will then drop just before they hatch. A female can produce up to 8 egg cases a year.

The development of German roaches from egg to adult will take 3-4 months and they will live up to about a year.

The egg case that is carried by females is a tiny, brown purse-shaped capsule that can be seen protruding from the posterior end of the female and is about 8 mm long, 3 mm high and 2 mm wide.

The second (and third) stage in their life cycle is Nymph. This stage begins with the eggs hatching and at this stage (in the beginning) they are dark brown or black in colour with the distinct parallel bands running down their bodies. At this stage, German roaches do not have wings yet. It is also at this stage, that German roaches will molt. They will do this a number of times (the most commonly reported number is 6, but it can vary) and it is at this stage they are called an instar.

The last stage in their life cycle is as adults, which as we already stated means they are about 1.3 to 1.6 cm long and has a flattened oval body with long spiny legs. They are tan or light brown colour with 2 dark parallel streaks that run from their heads and down to the base of their wings.

Did you know that an infestation is generally comprised of 80% nymphs and 20% adults?

German cockroaches are also considered to be a public health concern because they have been known to carry Salmonella bacteria,which it has been shown can remain in their feces for several years. German roaches (and many other species of roaches) have been known to also cause allergies in people that can result in skin rashes, asthma and other reactions. Allergies are primarily caused by their feces, saliva and eggs.

German roaches can also carry bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and other bacterial pathogens that can make you or your family sick through contaminated food. This is because, once those bacteria and pathogens are in the cockroach they can remain in their digestive system for a month or more. Once that happens, if their feces is anywhere near say your food or utensils, it can get into your system and make you sick.

Prevention

Little can be done to prevent an infestation from occuring, however by practicing good sanitation and by eliminating accessible food sources for them you can help minimize the risk or extent of an infestation. It's important to know that roaches and their eggs can enter your home through furniture, food items, empty beer and pop bottles/cans, shipping cartons, boxes, etc. Once they are in your home they can travel quite easily and they have easy access to a food source they will breed and cause an infestation that can reach numbers in the thousands.

So what can Cottage Country Pest Control do? Well, by practicing IPM (which if you are not familiar with, you can read about here) we can approach the infestation and find the best way to solve the problem using environmentally responsible and people-friendly ways.

Contact Cottage Country Pest Control through email or call us at 705-534-7863 to book and appointment or to find out more information.

Friday Link Round-up

Every Friday we'll be posting links to news articles and websites that our readers will hopefully find interesting, so read on.

Toronto Star 2 Toronto restaurants closed for rodent infestation

The Vancouver Sun Fungus poses 'imminent threat' to survival of Canada's bats

Marketwatch.com Insecticide Chalk Contains a Highly Toxic Substance

Examiner.com New Eco Safe Grass Seed Expected to be a Hit at the Ontario Turfgrass Symposium

Have fun reading and maybe you'll learn something and if anyone reading, has suggestions for articles to post in upcoming link round-ups, please feel free to email them to us.

 

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management is something that a lot of pest control companies use in their daily operations, however not everyone is aware of what it is, so I want to explain it a bit so you can get an understanding of it and how it can benefit you.

IPM is an effective and environmentally responsible approach to pest management that integrates pesticides and herbicides into the management system and incorporates a combination of common-sense practices. It uses current and comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interactions with the environment.

This information, in combination with pest control methods is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible harm to people, property and the environment.

IPM is not a single pest control method, but as series of evaluations, decisions and controls.

As stated on Wikipedia, IPM focuses on the following:

1. Proper identification of pest - What is it? Cases of mistaken identity may result in ineffective actions. If plant damage due to over-watering are mistaken for fungal infection, spray costs can be incurred, and the plant is no better off.


2. Learn pest and host life cycle and biology. At the time you see a pest, it may be too late to do much about it except maybe spray with a pesticide[citation needed]. Often, there is another stage of the life cycle that is susceptible to preventative actions. For example, weeds reproducing from last year's seed can be prevented with mulches. Also, learning what a pest needs to survive allows you to remove these.

3. Monitor or sample environment for pest population - How many are here? Preventative actions must be taken at the correct time if they are to be effective. For this reason, once the pest is correctly identified, monitoring must begin before it becomes a problem. For example, in school cafeterias where roaches may be expected to appear, sticky traps are set out before school starts. Traps are checked at regular intervals so populations can be monitored and controlled before they get out of hand. Some factors to consider and monitor include: Is the pest present/absent? What is the distribution - all over or only in certain spots? Is the pest population increasing, decreasing or remaining constant?

4. Establish action threshold (economic, health or aesthetic) - How many are too many? In some cases, a certain number of pests can be tolerated. Soybeans are quite tolerant of defoliation, so if there are a few caterpillars in the field and their population is not increasing dramatically, there is not necessarily any action necessary. Conversely, there is a point at which action must be taken to control cost. For the farmer, that point is the one at which the cost of damage by the pest is more than the cost of control. This is an economic threshold. Tolerance of pests varies also by whether or not they are a health hazard (low tolerance) or merely a cosmetic damage (high tolerance in a non-commercial situation).

Different sites may also have varying requirements based on specific areas. White clover may be perfectly acceptable on the sides of a tee box on a golf course, but unacceptable in the fairway where it could cause confusion in the field of play.

5. Choose an appropriate combination of management tactics For any pest situation, there will be several options to consider. Options include, mechanical or physical control, cultural controls, biological controls and chemical controls. Mechanical or physical controls include picking pests off plants, or using netting or other material to exclude pests such as birds from grapes or rodents from structures. Cultural controls include keeping an area free of conducive conditions by removing or storing waste properly, removing diseased areas of plants properly. Biological controls can be support either through conservation of natural predators or augmentation of natural predators.

It's important to know that not all pest control companies that claim to follow IPM actually do. Cottage Country Pest Control is environmentally responsible, and we do follow IPM. Always.

We firmly believe that IPM is the way to go and that when done properly it can be the most effective approach to getting rid of pests in your home. If you have any questions or you want to book an appointment please call 705-534-7863 or email us today.

Salmonellosis

So after writing yesterday's blog post on Mice, I decided to do a quick follow up on salmonellosis, which is one of the most common illnesses caused by mice in humans.

Salmonellosis is a bacterial food poisoning that is caused by bacteria of the genus Salmonella. Symptoms can appear 12-72 hours after ingesting the bacteria, which can be passed from mice to humans through infected stool. Basically this means that if you have a mouse infestation and 1 (or more of them have this bacteria) and they use the food in your cupboards as a bathroom and you well...hopefully you get the idea.

Generally, the illness will only last 4-7 days and most people will recover without the treatment of a doctor, however sometimes the patient can become severely dehydrated and should seek treatment at a hospital. Patients who end up in the hospital may receive I.V. fluids to treat the dehydration, and may be given medications to provide symptomatic relief.

In very severe cases, the infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and could continue spreading to other body sites which if left untreated, could cause death.

The people most likely to suffer from severe cases of salmonellosis include the elderly, infants and small children and anyone with a weakened or impaired immune systems.

Symptoms of salmonellosis include:

• Gastrointentinal
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Rose spots

More severe cases can sometimes be complicated by septicemia, menegitis, endocarditis and various focial lesions (such as on kidneys).

In order to prevent possibly getting salmonellosis (at least from mice), it's important you take steps to get rid of an infestation if you know you have one and if you aren't quite sure, take the steps to confirm or not. Cottage Country Pest Control can help and we can do it using environmentally responsible ways. Contact us through email or call us at 705-534-7863 to book your appointment today.

Mice

Deer Mouse

 Aren't mice cute? Maybe a little, but that doesn't mean you want them running around your home. There is a variety of small rodents found in Ontario but for today, I'll be talking about mice. Specifically deer mice and house mice.

Both these species can be found in Urban and Rural areas and often in close contact with humans.
First up: Deer Mice

Deer mice (peromyscus) are usually about 5-8 inches long and can be distinguished from common house mice by their larger eyes and two-toned bodies. Generally, a deer mouse will have a darker colour over their backs with white on their abdominals and limbs.

Their name is in reference to their agility and deer mice are known to be accomplished jumpers and runners, especially in comparison to house mice.

While mice can be cute, they are a pain, because not only will they gnaw on food storage and leave little brown "presents" for you, they can be a health problem. Deer mice are the primary reservoirs for Hantavirus and they can carry lyme disease and they can also be carries of Ehrlichiosis (tick-borne bacterial infection), Babesiosis (maleria-like parasitic disease), salmonellosis (baterial food poisoning) and bubonic plague.
Now: House Mice

House mice are considerably smaller than deer mice at only about 2 inches long. This species is the most common rodent pest in most parts of the world because they are able to adapt to changing conditions and they breed throughout the year.

They are the most domesticated and as pets, fancy or labratory mice. As labratory mice, they are one of the most important model organisms in medicine and biology and they are the most used genetically altered labratory mammal.

Their appearance can vary in colour from white to grey or light brown to black and they have short hair with very little hair on their tails and ears.

House mice are adept at thriving under a variety of conditions and can be found in and around homes and commerical structures as well as in open fields and agricultural lands. They can live anywhere in a house--they will nest in wall spaces, under floors and around cupboards or under counters.

There are diseases that house mice can carry and potentially pass along to humans. These include:

• Leptospirosis-aka. Weil's Syndrome, 7-day fever, canicola fever, canefield fever, nanukayami fever, Rat Catcher's Yellow, Fort Bragg fever, black jaundice and Pretribal fever. It is one of the most common diseases transmitted from animals to people, however it is a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans. The infection is commonly transmitted to humans by allowing water that has been contaminated by animal urine to come in contact with unhealed breaks in the skin, eyes or with the mucous membranes.
• Murine typhus-aka. endemic fever. This is a form of typhus
• Rickettsialpox- This is an illness caused by a bacteria of Rickettsia
• Tularemia-aka. Pahvant valley plague, rabbit fever, deer fly fever and Ohara's fever- this is a serious infectious disease caused by bacterium Francisella Tularensis.
• Lymphocytic choriomengitis- this is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease the presents as aseptic meningitis, ensephalitis or meningencephalitis.
• Salonellosis- bacterial food poisoning, infection with or disease caused by bacteria of the genus Salmonella typically marked by gastroenteritis but often complicated by septicemia, meningitis, endocarditis, and various focal lesions (as in the kidneys) when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces.
• Bubonic plague.

 Signs of a mouse infestation

• Live sightings (obvious right?)
• Droppings
• Tracks/footprints
• Gnaw marks
• Rub marks
• Nests
• Damaged goods such as food

If you find evidence that you have a mouse infestation and you want them gone, give Cottage Country Pest Control a call at 705-534-7863 or email us to book an appointment. We have environmentally (and people) friendly ways of handling all your pest problems.

White Nose Syndrome



Bat displaying White Nose Syndrome

 White Nose Syndrome is a disease named for the distintive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats. It is a poorly understood disease that has been associated with the deaths of more than 5.5 million bats within North America.

The first known case of White Nose Syndrome (or WNS)  was in Schoharie County, New York cave back in 2006. Since that time the disease has rapidly spread and as of 2010 was found all over the United States and into Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The first known case of WNS in Ontario was in March 2010.

Since being discovered research has been done and in late 2011 it was shown that the syndrome appears to be caused by a fungas called Geomyces destructans. Unfortunately, despite knowing the cause of WNS, there is still no known treatment or means of prevention. Researchers do have a good idea how how the fungus is spread and that is bat-to-bat transmission. In a lab experiment it was shown that direct physical contact was needed in order for the fungus to be spread, however it is also know that the fungus is a cold-loving fungus that grows in cold temperatures of below 20 C and that it will grow on bats while they are hibernating in caves and mines. So this means that not only can bats get the disease just by hibernating, they can also pass it to each other through direct contact.

As a result of this the mortality rate of some species affected by WNS is estimated at at about 95%. In fact, a once common species of bat (the little brown myotis) has in recent years suffered a major population collapse and is headed towards being at risk for a rapid extinction in the Northeastern United States. Should the population continue to decline as it has been, this species of bat could become extinct within 20 years.

Currently, there are 9 hibernating bat species confirmed to have the infection and Big Brown Bats, Northern long-eared bats, Tri-colored bats, Eastern small-footed bats and the Indiana bat have also suffered major mortality. In fact, many of these 9 species are listed on the United States endangered species list.

In Canada, caves infected with WNS are displaying a 90-100% bat mortality rate and according to a Department of Environmental Conservation survey, there is a 93% decline of Little Brown Bats in 23 caves.

So how is White Nose Syndrome killing the bats? Well bats infected with WNS have been known to display odd behaviour such as waking up from hibernation every 3-4 days as opposed to every 12-20 days and are flying outside during the day. The fungus also damages the connective tissues, muscles and skin of the bats while also disrupting their physiological functions. The bats wake up dehydrated and hungry during the cold winters when there are no insects to eat and unfortunately, about 90% of the bats affected perish due to starvation.

The impact that WNS is having and with continue to have is serious. Not only are many bat species facing the possibility of extinction, but because bats are the primary predators of night-flying insects and an individual bat can thousands of insects every night, with such a large number of bats dying there are more and more insects being uneaten, which could lead to crop damage. Insect-eating bats are crucial to a healthy ecosystem and bats play a crucial role in maintaining an ecological balance, which is why researchers are spending so much time trying to find a treatment or cure.