Insects and Animals
Yellowjackets – Control
Yellowjackets are extremely aggressive and will attack if their nest is threatened. When stung, an intruder is marked with a special scent that encourages other yellow jackets to attack. As with fire ants, some people can have severe reactions to...
Deer – Repel with Baby Formula
In a strange but promising study published last year in the journal HortScience, Bruce Kimball and others at the National Wildlife Research Center reported that white-tailed deer were consistently turned off by food sprayed with highly concentrated hydrolyzed casein (also...
Hemlock Adelgid
Note from entomologist Keith Douce: “This insect is indeed a major concern to anyone who has hemlocks. As far as I know, it has been found in only Rabun county in Georgia, but may be beyond that area. We have...
Diagnosing Holes in the Yard
Sometimes many heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem. Wade Hutcheson, my Extension colleague in Spalding county, gets plenty of calls from the citizens of his area asking his help in identifying various holes in...
Love Bugs
Who can forget traveling in south Georgia or Florida and finding the front of the car covered with mating “love bugs”? Adult love bugs neither sting nor bite but they hover above highways on their mating flight. They spatter on...
To a Roach – A Poem
from NURSERY RHYMES FOR THE TENDER-HEARTED by Christopher Morley (1890-1957) (Dedicated to Don Marquis) SCUTTLE, scuttle, little roach— How you run when I approach: Up above the pantry shelf, Hastening to secrete yourself. Most adventurous of vermin, How I wish...
Palmetto Bug (Roach) – Control
We have noticed palmetto bugs (a.k.a. large brown roaches about two inches long) in vast numbers all over our driveway. My daughter is afraid to walk up the driveway and I am always prepared to hear one crunch under my...
Nuisance Animals – Controlling
Controlling nuisance animals can be a frustrating business. They often seem smarter than any educated human hopes to be – eluding traps, disregarding repellents and generally acting as if our efforts are useless. Wildlife specialists use a four-step sequence to...
Skunk – Odor removal
A chemist in Illinois believes he has discovered a way to obliterate one of the most noxious odors known to humans: skunk. Paul Krebaum used concentrated hydrogen peroxide to remove noxious smells from the chemical processes in his laboratory. When...
Ermine Moth Caterpillar Webs on the Web
DOUBLE YUCK!!!! When a friend sent me a link to pictures of moth caterpillar webs I could not believe my eyes. Caterpillar Infestation Ermine Moth Caterpillars in UK What insect could have made those webs that cover ALL nearby surfaces?!...
Large Flies – In house in Spring
Radio listeners think it is remarkable when I can answer a question with just a word or two of description of a problem. Here’s a problem I’ve wondered about for years: “What are those large flies that arrive early every...
Cicada – Emerging from Shell
You’ve probably seen their shells stuck to pine tree bark…..and wondered if small aliens had landed! The brown things are the exoskeletons of dog-day cicadas, also called “July flies”. They take from two to five years to complete their metamorphosis....
Fire Ant – Control Organically
Fighting fire ants is tough enough…but doing it organically is even tougher. Dr Bart Drees, at the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research center, says there is a way! He suggests modifying the “Texas Two-Step” method to use organic insecticides: Spread...
Cluster Fly
You’ve seen them…I’ve seen them. Big flies that appear out of nowhere inside your house. I didn’t know what they were until my friend Jim Howell wrote about them in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cluster FliesBy Jim HowellAtlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 01/14/05...
Termite – Identification
Termites and ants are similar in that both have winged “reproductives.” When you see a swarm, are they ants or termites? To tell them apart, look at their body shape. The ant will have a very distinct neck and waist....
Termites – What to do When Found
One of my earliest childhood memories is the discovery that termites had taken up housekeeping amongst the Reeves family. When the termite man came to inspect our hallway, his inspection revealed an entire wall whose interior was the consistency of...
Fire Ant Control – Grits
There is much to be learned “over the fence” when you’re gardening. Your friends and neighbors can tell you how their plants have behaved in certain situations and you can use their experience as a guide. But some of the...
Mosquito Control – Automatic Misting Systems
Mosquito control can be a maddening exercise. No matter how hard we try, it seems nothing can stop their appearance on summer afternoons. My friend Dr. Paul Guillebeau is an entomologist at the University of Georgia. He recently made some...
