Latest news with #NewYorkStateIntegratedPestManagementProgram
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
This 1 Common Household Item Actually Attracts Cockroaches
You may want to recycle that stack of delivery boxes. No, really. It turns out that cardboard is a common shelter for cockroaches, experts say. 'Cardboard is, interestingly, very attractive to cockroaches. It goes so far as the researchers who are doing work with cockroaches, we actually use cardboard as their harborage ... that's what we have them living in,' said Aaron Ashbrook, an assistant professor of urban and peri-urban entomology at Louisiana State University. Now, not all cockroaches will make a home in cardboard, it depends on the species (more on that below). But the cockroaches that tend to infest homes unfortunately do like this material, and there are many reasons why. First, cardboard is a food source for cockroaches, said Ashbrook. 'I readily see it in my colonies. They will eat the cardboard. They will also consume the cardboard for water. So if it is wet, they can also get both food and water from cardboard,' Ashbrook added. And since cardboard is absorbent, it can gather odors from their pheromones, too, which makes it an even more attractive surface, said Matt Frye, a rodent and structural pest management specialist at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University. Cardboard is also sound-deadening, said Frye, 'So, if insects are in there and they're moving around, you may not hear them.' 'Because people tend to store [cardboard] often in places that are overlooked or forgotten, they can be there for a long time and not be noticed, which allows their populations to grow and then spread,' Frye said. And particularly with corrugated cardboard, which is the cardboard with ridges and grooves between its layers that most delivery packages come in, there is enough space for the cockroaches to actually live in those ridges and grooves, added Frye. Seeing a cockroach scurry across your kitchen counter is gross for many reasons, and more importantly, is also a clear health hazard. But, not all cockroaches carry the same risks as there are many different types of cockroaches. American cockroaches and German cockroaches tend to be the ones folks worry most about in their homes in the U.S. The American cockroach is a big, reddish brown cockroach that is also called a water bug or a Palmetto bug, according to Frye, and they tend to live in sewers or damp environments. They are more common in warmer environments or during the summer months, added Ashbrook. German cockroaches are more prevalent and more commonly found inside of homes, particularly in kitchens and in bathrooms, and tend to be a little smaller than American cockroaches and exist across the country. But, both are 'mechanical disease vectors. They typically inhabit unsanitary environments, whether that be sewer drains or decaying matter,' said Ashbrook. Then, they crawl into home settings and often head to food-handling surfaces where they defecate and vomit, Ashbrook added. 'And when they do that, that is then depositing those pathogens that they carry both on their bodies and in their bodies onto our food and onto our surfaces,' Ashbrook said. In some cases, this can cause contamination in humans, he said. 'Although we have not necessarily found a smoking gun implication of specifically German cockroaches causing disease transmission, there is the potential for salmonella, E. coli and noroviruses to be transferred by American cockroaches,' said Ashbrook. The most common issue that comes from a cockroach problem in your home is allergies, said Frye, and this is especially true for German cockroaches. 'That is the most abundant cockroach that people deal with, and it has allergens that affect people ... those allergens are associated with their feces, their droppings, as well as their exoskeletons,' noted Frye. 'To add to this health effect, cockroaches are actually much worse for children to be around, and there has been some research to show that if children are exposed to cockroach allergens and their body parts that contain the allergens that they can develop asthma,' said Ashbrook. 'So, this doesn't happen with adults, but it can happen with children.' The likelihood of having a cockroach in your home depends on where you live. People in standalone homes in suburban and rural areas may have cardboard stored in a basement and never have a cockroach issue while someone living in a city where there's shared sewers, shared utility lines and shared walls may face a pest problem, said Frye. Nonetheless, there are prevention methods you can tailor for your needs depending on your environment. The first step is awareness, said Frye. Once you understand that you could have cockroaches in your cardboard boxes, inspect them regularly. 'Not just leaving the pile there forever, but going down there and turning on the lights, and if you see things skitter, then you know that you might have to take action to address a pest issue,' Frye said. While it's wise to seal cracks and crevices in your home, it may not prevent a cockroach from getting in. 'An adult American cockroach can actually fit into a gap that is as high as two pennies stacked together,' said Ashbrook. You can also spray preventative insecticides at the entry points of your home, 'so that if a crawling insect were to try to get into the structure, they would contact that insecticide and then die.' It's also important to regularly clean your home, properly store food and take out the trash regularly, Ashbrook said. Cockroaches are attracted to decaying matter and food odors, which can all be found in a kitchen. If your cockroach problem gets really bad, you can have a pest control company step in, too, Ashbrook added. 'The one thing that is important to know is that correct identification is really important,' said Frye. 'There are a lot of cockroach species that can turn up in homes. There's some that can actually fly to your lights at night if you live near a wooded area, and they can get into your home, but they do not infest homes.' To figure out if you have a problematic cockroach in your home, you should aim to get correct and unbiased identification, Frye noted. You can do this by getting in touch with the land grant institution in your state, said Frye. You can find this by searching 'land grand institute' and your state to find a location near you. You'll likely be able to send them pictures of the pests or visit them in-person with samples. They can help you determine if you've got a problem on your hands or a one-off bug. 'So, that's definitely something to be aware of — not every cockroach is one that's going to infest your home,' Frye said. Ashbrook added that 'there are a lot of cockroaches as well that aren't as pestiferous as the American cockroach or the German cockroach.' 'A lot of them are just out in the environment, consuming decaying matter, and they don't want anything to do with us,' Ashbrook noted. 'However, those pest are of concern, and we should be aware of them and manage them when possible.' If You Use Loud White Noise For Sleep, We've Got Some Bad News For You The 4 Biggest Early Warning Signs Of Lyme Disease Why You Should Seriously Consider Reheating Food Delivery That Arrives Lukewarm
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Get ready Georgia, the cicadas are coming back
Get ready for another Cicada invasion. The noisy, alien-looking bugs are expected to return to the Peach State once again this spring, but this year's brood is not to be as it was last year. Brood XIV is expected to emerge starting next month. They last emerged in 2008. They start to emerge once the soil temperature reaches about 64 degrees. Three species of cicada that only emerge once every 17 years are gearing up to spring to the surface this year. RELATED STORIES: 'Cicada-geddon' is here! Here's what you need to know about the noisy creatures in north Georgia Freaky bugs and venomous snakes: Why you may see more copperheads during 'cicada-geddon' Georgia woman finds inspiration with cicadas, makes jewelry out of their wings Brood XIV was first discovered by European colonists in the 1600s, who assumed the swarm of insects was akin to a biblical plague before they realized the pattern of emergence, said John Cooley, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut. Periodical cicadas differ from annual cicadas that emerge every year, the experts said. Annual cicadas have a green coloring but periodical cicadas are black and orange, Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an entomologist and associate director at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University, told ABC News. In addition, annual cicadas tend to emerge in the 'dog days' of summer -- in July and August -- rather than in the spring, Cooley said. The areas around Georgia that will likely see most of the cicadas include Fannin, Lumpkin, Rabun and Union counties
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Most tick bites go unnoticed. Here's are photos and expert tips to help you identify them
Ticks are so small that it's easy to miss when they bite. But they're worth making a big deal over, experts say, because ticks can spread serious diseases. Knowing what to look for can help you identify a tick bite more quickly and, if necessary, get treatment too. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as "tick season" these days. With changing climate patterns and milder winters, 'every season is tick season,' Matt Frye, Ph.D., an entomologist and educator with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University, tells 'If the temperatures are above freezing, you have a chance of encountering a tick,' Frye explains. That makes it even more important to be on the lookout for tick bites pretty much year-round. Ticks are tiny parasites, and they're able to hide just about anywhere — not just in the woods or overgrown grass. "We live in a residential neighborhood, and you can walk up the side of the street and our dogs come home with ticks on them," Frye says. "Even just on the side of the road, there's plenty of habitat for ticks to thrive." Some ticks can transmit illnesses to humans, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and even Powassan virus. So, whether you're venturing out into the wilderness or just going out for a walk around the block, here's what experts want you to know about keeping yourself safe from ticks and pictures to help identify tick bites. There are many types of ticks in the U.S., and many of them can spread multiple pathogens that cause illness in humans. Here are some of the tick species that experts worry most about from a public health perspective: Blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, which transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease along the East Coast. These ticks also spread babesiosis and Powassan virus, the Centers for Disease Control explain. The American dog tick spreads the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as the bacteria that leads to tularemia. The Western blacklegged tick, which can also spread Lyme disease but primarily lives on the West Coast. The lone star tick can transmit Heartland virus and Southern tick-associated rash illness. It can also cause alpha-gal syndrome, which causes people to develop an allergy to red meat. Tick bites can look very different from person to person, Dr. Melissa Levoska, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells "And it depends on what stage you're catching the patient in after the bite," she adds. Depending on the type of tick and the individual person's immune system, they may have a large obvious rash — or nothing at all. People that do notice tick bites often see a bump that is: Small Itchy Raised The bump may look similar to a mosquito bite, the Mayo Clinic says. However, that kind of reaction can easily be confused for may other skin issues, including other common bug bites. In most cases, people who get a tick bite never even notice the bite itself thanks to the tick's biology. Ticks have compounds in their saliva that "prevent pain, clotting and an immune reaction,' Frye explains. 'So you may never see any evidence of the tick bite.' While you're unlikely to notice a tick bite immediately, you are more likely to catch the tick still attached to you with its mouthparts stuck into your skin. That's why experts encourage people to frequently check themselves (and their pets) for ticks during and after spending time outside in an area where ticks might live. People who get Lyme disease from a tick bite can sometimes develop a red rash called erythema migrans. This rash shows up in a bullseye pattern, Levoska says. "It can present anywhere on the body, but more commonly it's on the chest, abdomen, back area or the legs," she says. Unfortunately, "the bullseye rash is a really unreliable thing to look for with the tick bite," Frye explains. While experts originally estimated that somewhere between 60% to 70% of people with the disease would develop a rash like this, more recent evidence suggests that number may actually be as little as 10% to 30%, he says. That means you shouldn't rely on the rash alone to tell you whether you were bitten by a tick. You shouldn't assume that you'll see a bullseye rash if you get bitten by a tick, and you also shouldn't assume that you weren't bitten if you don't have the rash. Other tick-borne illnesses, like southern tick-associated rash illness and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, can also cause distinctive rashes, the CDC notes. You don't necessarily need to see a doctor every time you notice a tick bite, Frye says, because it may not have been attached to you long enough to transmit a pathogen. But Frye does recommend taking a photo of the tick (if you can) so that it can be identified later if necessary. You can also consider sending it to researchers in your area to find out if it carried any pathogens, but that's not required, he says. '"It'd be great to know what type of tick it is, so definitely saving it can be helpful," Levoska agrees. Even knowing what stage the tick is in the lifecycle — whether it's a nymph or full-grown adult, for instance — can help identify disease risks, she says. But you should make note of the tick bite and when it happened. Then, notice if you develop a rash or any flu-like symptoms in the following weeks, he adds. It can take up to 30 days for Lyme disease symptoms to appear after a tick bite, the CDC says. According to the CDC, the symptoms of diseases transmitted by ticks can include: Fever Chills Headache Fatigue Muscle aches Joint pain Rash, which may appear away from the site of the bite "If you're starting to feel feverish or have any (of the above) systemic symptoms, that's a sign to contact a dermatologist or physician to get further evaluated," Levoska says. In some cases, your doctor might be able to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics after a tick bite, she adds. Specifically, if the tick that bit you looked engorged with blood, was removed within the last 72 hours and was a blacklegged tick, your doctor might give you a single dose of antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease, the CDC says. Frye suggests thinking about tick-bite prevention in three distinct phases: What to do before you leave the house, while you're outside and when you get back. Prepare a bag of clothes to change into when you get back, he suggests. Consider treating your outdoor clothes with permethrin or buying permethrin-treated gear. Unlike repellants, permethrin actually kills ticks. Use repellants, like those containing DEET or other ingredients approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Wear light-colored clothing that will make it easier to see ticks crawling on you. You can tuck your pants into socks to make it harder for ticks to get to your skin, Frye says. But if that's not your style, that makes pre-treating your clothes all the more important, he says. In tick-dense areas, perform regular tick checks while you're outside. If you know you were exposed to ticks, put your exposed clothing directly into the dryer on high heat for 20 minutes to kill any ticks. If you can't do that right away, isolate your exposed clothing in an airtight bag until you can. Regularly check your body — and any pets that go outside — for ticks. "It is kind of a heavy lift, but we tell people to check themselves every single day for ticks," Frye says, which makes it easier to spot changes in your skin that might be the result of a tick. "That's way more reliable than hoping for a rash," he says. It's also crucial to learn how to properly remove a tick that's attached to your skin, Frye and Levoska agree. "The most important thing to do if you were to be bitten by a tick and you see it on your body is to remove it immediately," Levoska says. "The best way to remove an attached tick is to use a pair of very pointy tweezers to grab as close to the head as possible, and then gently and steadily pull up," Frye explains. Try to avoid any twisting motions as you pull because that might break the tick and leave its mouthparts in your skin, Levoska says. And if that does happen, you should not try to dig them out, Frye advises. Instead, if you can't remove them with tweezers, just leave it alone. "Our bodies will push it out just like a splinter over time," he says. This article was originally published on
