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New Theory on
DEET: Mosquitoes Just Dislike It
New research suggests that mosquitoes smell DEET directly
and avoid it. Earlier this year, researchers announced they
had solved a mystery: how DEET works. DEET, the most popular
mosquito repellent, jams odorant receptors in insect nervous
systems, masking other odors that attract the bugs.
Not so fast, say Walter S. Leal
and Zainulabeuddin Syed of the
University of California, Davis.
they have a simpler explanation.
Mosquitoes, they say, smell DEET
directly and avoid it.
Read the rest of this story.
Just as they've made an itchy, scratchy comeback in
hotel rooms, bedbugs increasingly are appearing in dorm
rooms, say college officials and pest-control experts,
who are busy devising ways to eradicate the
bloodsuckers." They're taking off right now," says Dan
Mizer, associate director of residence life at Texas A&M
University. Bedbugs are everywhere, he says. "They're
finding these things in public transit, in movie
theaters, in cruise ships, in all the hospitality
accommodations."
• Ohio State University has seen
"several incidents" over the past 15 months, spokeswoman
Ruth Gerstner says, including an outbreak in May 2007 in
three rooms of a high-rise dorm. Workers treated 114 rooms.
• At the University of Florida's
4,000 dorm rooms and 980 apartments, "bad" infestations are
limited to a couple of times a year, says Wayne Walker, who
supervises dorm pest control. The school treats the problem
with extreme heat, steam cleaning and pesticides.
• Greg Baumann of the National Pest
Management Association says he has heard from "quite a few"
members called to campuses. Like hotel rooms, dorms are the
ideal bedbug habitat: small and crowded, with "quite a bit
of humanity per square foot."
Texas A&M has spent $37,000 in the
past year to fly in bedbug-sniffing dogs. This fall, Mizer
plans to call in a Minnesota outfit called Temp-Air, whose
eradicator heats the room overnight to 130 degrees, killing
the bedbugs but leaving students' belongings unharmed. His
other secret weapon: eternal vigilance. "When we get a
report, we get the pest-control staff, and we respond. These
bugs can take over quickly."
The
single most crucial operation in bed bug elimination is the
inspection. Randomly spraying pesticides will not get rid of
bedbugs.
Most
of us like to solve problems around the home before we call
I the experts. The tips below may help you but remember a
well trained experienced pest management professional will
know what to look for, where to look and most important,
recognize the evidence.
At
about 3/8 inch long and thin as a credit card, intent on
hiding in cracks and crevices, an adult bed bug can be
difficult to find. The nymphs are smaller than 1/16 inch
so you have a real inspection problem. Eggs even smaller are
a pale white and seldom seen by the inexperienced eye.
The
most likely place to find bed bugs is near their food, and
keep in mind that their food is humans at rest. Bed frames
and mattresses are prime harborage for bed bugs. The other
common areas are couches, upholstered furniture, etc.
Be
alert to other areas where people sit quietly such as the
video game console where children may sit for hours without
changing positions and paying no attention to the bed bugs
feeding quietly on their legs. The heavier the infestation,
the more widespread the infestation will get.
Suitcases, backpacks, duffle bags and other luggage that
travels may be the route of entry that brought the bed bugs
in. While the hunt is always on for live bed bugs, droppings
and blood spots are easier to see. The crack- and
crevice-oriented bed bugs are good at sliding into tight
spots out of sight. When you see the dark droppings,
intensify your search. Some areas should draw your eye, such
as knotholes, screw slots and countersunk nails, screws and
staples. Be especially alert for eggs. It is common for a
female to be hidden in a knothole or similar indentation,
but her eggs are laid carefully around the edge of her
hiding spot.
With
flashlight in hand, inspect in a systematic pattern to cover
the inspection area. Be alert for color, shape and movement.
A consistent inspection pattern can minimize the chances of
missing evidence. Visit
Harmless Sowbug/Pillbugs Are Number
One Pest.
Spraying pesticides will kill most of the small creatures
that are visible in our living space,
including sow bugs and pill bugs, but a vacuum
cleaner or fly swatter
may be just
as effective.
Why contaminate your living space with
chemicals? Most of the pest
populations in structures are not visible and
over-the-counter pesticides available to the general public
have no effect on these hidden creatures. Changing
conditions around the outside perimeter of a building can be
much more effective.
Do it yourself.
If sow bugs or pill bugs are invading your space find
out why they are there and the best ways to eliminate the
problem on this web page: Sow
Bugs.
"pop
environmentalism"
"That's why I left Greenpeace: I could see that my fellow
directors, none of whom had any science education, were
starting to deal with issues around chemicals and biology
and genetics, which they had no formal training in, and they
were taking the organization into what I call 'pop
environmentalism,' which uses sensationalism,
misinformation, fear tactics, etc., to deal with people on
an emotional level rather than an intellectual level.
—— Patrick Moore,
Co-founder
of Greenpeace, explaining why he no longer supports the
organization in an article from
Newsweek
"The effect of Malaria right now
is equivalent to crashing
seven jumbo jets filled with children every day".
Professor Wen Kilama of
the African Malaria Vaccine Testing Network in Tanzania
Read Full Story
.
The
rates of death and illness caused by malaria
has not abated.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/malaria/index.cfm
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