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    <title>Venus Pest Company Blog</title>
    <description>Receive important pest related news and critical updates from Dr. Scott, Board Certified Entomologist.</description>
    <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/blogid/2</link>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:09:30 GMT</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:09:30 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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      <title>3 New Rules for Rats &amp; Mice</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b id="internal-source-marker_0.6522638914175332"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img alt="Rats" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/rats.gif" /&gt;Have you been trying to fight rodents on your own? &amp;#160;If so, you may have noticed some changes in what you can buy over the counter.  The EPA recently launched several &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/mice-and-rats/consumer-prod.html#changes"&gt;new rules to reduce the risk to non-target organisms from rodenticides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;. &amp;#160;Their main concerns were dangers to children, pets, and wildlife from homeowner misapplication, naturally.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.6522638914175332"&gt;
&lt;ul style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;
    &lt;li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Bait stations&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; - All rodenticide bait products marketed over the counter must now be sold as a block or paste bait, and be packaged with an &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;EPA-approved bait station&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;. &amp;#160;The biggest change here is bait stations are now required. &amp;#160;That means no more little bags of pellets...this is a very big deal! &amp;#160;Most homeowners don’t use bait stations at all or use pellets that end up spilling out of the stations, which could be very dangerous to non-target organisms. &amp;#160;Rats and mice are known hoarders and could stockpile these pellets in undesirable places where children, pets, and other wildlife might find them. &amp;#160;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;Venus Pest Company&lt;/a&gt; always has, and always will, use child and pet resistant bait stations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;
    &lt;li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Bait size limitation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; - Products marketed to residential consumers may now contain no more than 1 pound of rodenticide bait. &amp;#160;On the flip side of this, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;professional pest control companies&lt;/a&gt; now &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;have &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;to buy in quantities of 16 pounds or more. &amp;#160;They are making a bigger separation between home use and professional use, so homeowners will not be able to store mass quantities or overuse rodenticides.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;
    &lt;li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Active ingredients used&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; - While several rodenticides will still be available to the homeowner market, products marketed to residential consumers will no longer contain the most toxic and persistent active ingredients. &amp;#160;Those are the second generation anticoagulants (prevents clotting of blood) brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, and difethialone. &amp;#160;Products containing these active ingredients will only be available for commercial use and for residential use &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;only &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;by &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;professional pest control operators&lt;/a&gt;. &amp;#160;We believe the goal is such that if the homeowner still manages to misapply, the consequences are less catastrophic.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;A check on &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.medscape.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;Medscape&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; for the most current data about rodenticide poisonings presents a shocking number of incidents. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;In 2009, the AAPCC reported a total of 13,922 incidents of rodenticide exposure to US poison control centers. &amp;#160;Of these, 97% of these were of the second generation anticoagulants as mentioned above. &amp;#160;The outcome of these exposures was generally benign, however 11 of the exposures resulted in major illness, and one death occurred. &amp;#160;Approximately 85% of the rodenticide exposures occurred in children younger than 6 years&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;, thus you can definitely see why these new regulations are warranted.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;We could not find any of the reports on wildlife exposure, but the EPA specifically mentioned that there were some poisonings involving protected species. &amp;#160;In particular, the San Joaquin kit fox and Northern spotted owl were listed in addition to the Bald eagle, which is protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Act.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;img alt="Rat Hanging From Bird Feeder" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" style="font-family: Verdana; white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: small; " src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/MysteryPest13.jpg" /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Ultimately, these are good and necessary regulations as they should not affect people’s ability to control rodents at all. &amp;#160;They will simply force them to do it correctly, using an integrated approach. &amp;#160;Such an approach should include exclusion (most important), traps, rodenticide (only outside in tamper proof containers), and habitat modification (removal of bird feeder, heavy foliage, compost piles, etc). &amp;#160;If you don’t think bird feeders attract unwanted critters, look at this photo.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/157/3-New-Rules-for-Rats-Mice</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/4">Misc</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/157/3-New-Rules-for-Rats-Mice#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <trackback:ping>http://www.venuspest.com/DesktopModules/SunBlog/Trackback.aspx?id=157</trackback:ping>
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    <item>
      <title>Those Ants Are Crazy!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.42695250757969916" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.42695250757969916" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Rasberry Crazy Ant" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTNmw-I0t_Rooy5iojdSerqFV8qeMDOBFCF9wvsr0jAnkRxjIlgqA" /&gt;Why yes, they are. &amp;#160;Hairy rasberry crazy ants to be more specific. &amp;#160;Just as the &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/FireAnts"&gt;imported fire ant&lt;/a&gt; invaded the United States in the early 1900s and snuffed out other native species of insects, the rasberry crazy ant has found its way in and is beginning to do the same.  Before you ask, I did not spell &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;raspberry &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;wrong, they are named after Tom Rasberry, the pest control operator that discovered them in Houston.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Believed to have come from South America, these ants are now spreading throughout the southern states.  When I say spread, I do mean spread, as a colony can number in the millions, or possibly even billions if they combine to form a “super colony.” &amp;#160;They are considered semitropical, so the the cooler temperatures up north should eventually stop their progress. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;In this video, you can see how their sheer numbers are mind boggling as he flips over pieces of siding that are all completely covered.  There appear to be millions of them.  Notice their movements as well, it’s obvious why they’re called “crazy!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: center; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TOXoYbLfVwY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;So What’s the Problem?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The biggest problem is the potential damage they can cause to your property. &amp;#160;Like fire ants, rasberry crazy ants are attracted to electricity. &amp;#160;They haven’t figured out the reason yet, suffice to say it’s not a good thing. &amp;#160;Due to their large numbers, an ant bridge can be formed easily between circuits in a circuit box shorting out the entire system. &amp;#160;I also saw a video of thousands of crazy ants pouring out of a person’s computer mouse sitting on their desk...inside their home. &amp;#160;You certainly don’t want that kind of computer bug! &amp;#160;They don’t sting, but they do bite, so they can definitely be a hazard when people come in contact.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Another problem is these ants are either snuffing out, or displacing other native species of ants and insects that our ecosystem relies on. &amp;#160;Even the imported &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/FireAnts"&gt;fire ant&lt;/a&gt;, which displaced other species itself in the 1900s, is being overrun by rasberry crazy ants. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;If you encounter these ants, it’s&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;best to call a professional &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;pest management company&lt;/a&gt; as they are extremely difficult to control. &amp;#160;Their population numbers alone make them a very tough pest to eradicate, posing a new challenge for us that live in the southern United States, as well as us pest control folks trying to curb these infestations.&lt;/span&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/154/Those-Ants-Are-Crazy</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/154/Those-Ants-Are-Crazy#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>4 Reasons You Should Rodent Proof Your Home</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.23317894455976784" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Rats" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/rats.gif" /&gt;If you’ve lived in a home long enough, shoot if you’ve &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;lived &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;long enough period, chances are you’ve had to deal with a rodent invading your space at some point. &amp;#160;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Rats"&gt;Rats&lt;/a&gt; can enter your home through any opening the size of a quarter while &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Mice"&gt;mice&lt;/a&gt; only need an opening the size of a dime, so you can see how easy it can be for them to gain entry. &amp;#160;If you only trap rodents once they are inside, you are treating the symptom and ignoring the disease. &amp;#160;We always say it could be like trying to empty the sea of fish, they’ll keep coming.  Exterior entry points also need to be repaired to completely solve rodent problems. &amp;#160;Once inside, rodents present a variety of problems that could effect your health and your property negatively. &amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;1. Rodents Spread Disease&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Rodents are the direct and indirect transmitters of many diseases.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of all the known &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html"&gt;diseases transmitted by rodents&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;.  A couple of the more common, or well known diseases are Hantavirus and Salmonella, and who could forget about the Plague!?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;2. &amp;#160;Rodents Spoil Food&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;In addition to risk of disease, living with rodents can result in losses of food for both people and pets. &amp;#160;Not only do the rodents actually eat a lot of our food and our pet’s food, but they also damage the packaging and contaminate other food with droppings and urine.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;3. &amp;#160;Rodents Cause Damage&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Rodents have two incisors on the top and bottom of their mouths which grow continuously. &amp;#160;Thus, they must keep them worn down by gnawing, such is the reason we find many places of damage in and around our homes. &amp;#160;Look up at any place on your roof where it meets another part of the structure (i.e. at the eaves or other overhang)...can you see damaged wood there? &amp;#160;Chances are very good that it has been gnawed on by a rat or squirrel.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Attics are favorite hang outs for rodents. &amp;#160;Rats, squirrels, and even mice are amazing climbers. &amp;#160;Once in an attic the can chew through electrical wires, which can cause fires. &amp;#160;They also tunnel through insulation, soiling it with urine and feces. &amp;#160;Contaminated and disturbed insulation doesn’t only stop working as effectively as it should, it also should be removed and replaced to avoid exposure to the urine and droppings.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Here is a concerning video of rats in an attic that have chewed through the air ducts:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jBEk3qlchoY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;4. &amp;#160;Rodents Bring Other Pests&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Ticks, fleas and mites are common pests that infest rodents. &amp;#160;They can be left behind to feed on you or your pets after eliminating a rodent infestation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;What’s the point?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;If you exclude rodents from gaining access inside your home to begin with, you will not have to deal with any of these problems! &amp;#160;By sealing up and eliminating any potential entry point, your home can be &amp;#160;“rodent proofed.” &amp;#160;Finding all those quarter and dime sized holes can be nearly impossible without a great deal of experience. &amp;#160;Over the last 10 years, we have found and eliminated entry points in hundreds of homes. &amp;#160;If you want an experienced professional to give you the peace of mind of knowing your home is rodent proof, call us at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;Venus Pest Company&lt;/a&gt;.  Oh and please don't put a bunch of poison in your attic...unless you enjoy the smell of dead rat!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/129/4-Reasons-You-Should-Rodent-Proof-Your-Home</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/129/4-Reasons-You-Should-Rodent-Proof-Your-Home#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:25:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Bed Bugs: Don't Do It Yourself!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.43481087405234575" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Bed Bug" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/bedbug.jpg" /&gt;In a past blog post, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/dNB5Ig"&gt;Don’t Do It Yourself: 8 Jobs You Should Leave to the Pros&lt;/a&gt;, we highlighted an article discussing some jobs around your home that were suggested you leave to the professionals. &amp;#160;On the list were things like electrical work, tree removal, and most importantly for our purposes here...&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;pest control&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The reason we’re bringing up pest control again in this manner is because of an article that a customer sent me regarding folks that are taking bed bug control in their own hands. &amp;#160;A report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found many illnesses and even one death, caused by the misuse of chemicals, or applying the wrong product while trying to eliminate a &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Bedbugs"&gt;beg bug infestation&lt;/a&gt;.  The one death was caused in North Carolina where a lady used 18 chemical foggers in her home. &amp;#160;For the record, we would never use one of these foggers in your home, &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;not even one&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, not to mention 18.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What Are The Dangers?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Luckily, the numbers of ill people are still low at this point, but the CDC is urging people to contact a professional if they come across bed bugs in their home. &amp;#160;Mostly due to the misuse, or over application of products, it is highly recommended you contact a professional that is trained to not only handle certain materials, but also is well versed on the application methods that will lead to a successful eradication of your bed bugs, without negatively affecting anything else. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Bedbugs"&gt;Bed bugs&lt;/a&gt; have become resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, which are the most common insecticides sold over the counter and in foggers &amp;#160;&amp;#160;Also, bed bugs are fond of hiding in hard to reach places like box springs, behind cabinets, picture frames, window blinds, and switch covers. &amp;#160;What that means is that successful treatments must be very thorough and use the right products in the right places.  Successful treatments also require certain sanitation steps be taken by the homeowner to avoid re-infestation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What Can We Do?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Unfortunately, bed bug calls are still on the rise nationwide, with the epicenter seemingly being in the northeast as New York and Ohio have been hit particularly hard. &amp;#160;However, with our transient society, these pests are surfacing everywhere across the globe, including here in all of our home markets. &amp;#160;Please be extremely careful when handling any &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;pesticides, and make sure you are using them properly and according the labels. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;If you suspect bed bugs, call &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;Venus Pest Company&lt;/a&gt;. &amp;#160;Often you’ll even save money in the long-run because one call to Venus and your problem will be taken care of. &amp;#160;Because of our vast experience treating bedbugs, we know what to use, where to use it, and how to advise you against reinfestation. &amp;#160;Do-it-yourselfers will often find themselves fighting a losing battle for months with over-the-counter products and eventually have to call a pest management company anyway.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/127/Bed-Bugs-Dont-Do-It-Yourself</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/3">Personal</category>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/127/Bed-Bugs-Dont-Do-It-Yourself#Comments</comments>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/127/Bed-Bugs-Dont-Do-It-Yourself</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:42:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <trackback:ping>http://www.venuspest.com/DesktopModules/SunBlog/Trackback.aspx?id=127</trackback:ping>
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    <item>
      <title>Why Are The Mosquitoes Back?  2 Reasons You Are Under Attack!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Mosquitoes Thrive in the Fall" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/mosquitodictionary.gif" /&gt;Many of you have noticed, or at least brought to our attention, that &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Services/PestControl/MosquitoControl"&gt;mosquito&lt;/a&gt; pressure has not been as bad this year as it typically is during the summer. &amp;#160;Most folks blame the drought and lack of rainfall for that. &amp;#160;However, if you look outside, you will notice your yard is probably still nice and green. &amp;#160;What about your neighbors’ yards? &amp;#160;Hmm, how did that happen? &amp;#160;Must be plenty of water around to keep all those lawns green!? &amp;#160;To put it simply, through irrigation alone, there is plenty of water for mosquitoes to thrive around your house, despite a lack of rainfall.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Then why have the mosquitoes been less this year?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; &amp;#160;We believe it is due to a different reason; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;temperature&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;. &amp;#160;The high temperatures this year have lead to a couple reasons the mosquito pressure has seemingly been less.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;1.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;For starters, this summer was so hot people spent a lot less time outdoors. &amp;#160;So, even if there are mosquitoes out there, we wouldn’t know it because we’re all inside trying not to sweat to death. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;2.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Secondly, insects (including mosquitoes) are cold blooded, meaning that their body temperature is the same as that of their surroundings. &amp;#160;The ability of the insect to be active, as well as to develop, is impacted greatly by temperature. &amp;#160;It makes sense that cold insects slow down and warm insects speed up, think of your car. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;But did you know that hot insects also slow down and can even die? &amp;#160;The point at which this happens is called the upper developmental threshold. &amp;#160;This temperature can vary widely among mosquitoes breeds, but represents the highest temperature that a mosquito can healthily develop. &amp;#160;A study on two of the more troublesome mosquitoes, the yellow fever mosquito and the southern house mosquito, shows that ideal development occurs from &lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;68F to 81F&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;At these temperatures, around &lt;strong&gt;90%&lt;/strong&gt; of eggs tested made it to the adult stage. &amp;#160;At 59F, less than &lt;strong&gt;40%&lt;/strong&gt; survived to adulthood. &amp;#160;At 93F, less than &lt;strong&gt;60%&lt;/strong&gt; survived to adulthood. &amp;#160;You can see from this information that mosquito problems should decrease in the when the temperature dips to the lower 60’s, and also when it reaches the upper 90’s. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;We are all welcoming fall and a reprise from the heat, so are the &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Services/PestControl/MosquitoControl"&gt;mosquitoes&lt;/a&gt;. &amp;#160;We’ve seen a big spike in mosquito calls the last couple weeks since the temperature has finally dropped. &amp;#160;Of course, there is still plenty of water out there for healthy mosquitoes, and now the temperature is to their liking! &amp;#160;A quick call to &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/"&gt;Venus Pest Company&lt;/a&gt; and we can keep you &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Services/PestControl/MosquitoControl"&gt;mosquito free&lt;/a&gt; through the end of this year’s mosquito season.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/125/Why-Are-The-Mosquitoes-Back-2-Reasons-You-Are-Under-Attack</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/125/Why-Are-The-Mosquitoes-Back-2-Reasons-You-Are-Under-Attack#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:08:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
      <trackback:ping>http://www.venuspest.com/DesktopModules/SunBlog/Trackback.aspx?id=125</trackback:ping>
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    <item>
      <title>3 Ways To End Up With Pantry Pests</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Red Flour Beetle" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/redflourbeetle.jpg" /&gt;Occasionally, we receive requests to treat people’s pantry for pests. &amp;#160;The requests are usually for “weevils” or “those little moths”. &amp;#160;In the pantry, they are typically stored product pests, the most common of which are the drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle, weevils (granary, rice, maize), flour beetles (red and confused), sawtoothed grain beetle, and Indianmeal moth. &amp;#160;Believe it or not these guys are all pretty easy to tell apart under magnification.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;For the most part, all these pests live and reproduce in your stored food. &amp;#160;So the question is how do we spray for them? &amp;#160;The answer is we don’t.  Sanitation is the proper method for control in a home pantry (i.e. You have to locate the infested food items and throw them away). &amp;#160;You may also vacuum up any spilled food in the pantry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;How did you get the infestation to begin with? &amp;#160;You’re clean and organized right? &amp;#160;Well there are three things that can put you at greater risk for an infestation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;1. Pet food&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Pet food is often stored for long periods of time in stores, which leaves them open for infestation. &amp;#160;Also, pet food can get spilled behind racks at the stores and cause a recurring infestation. &amp;#160;We have noticed that the problem is especially bad with bird seed. &amp;#160;The best way to avoid this problem is to store all pet food in sealed plastic containers away from where you store your human food.  This is good advice to keep rodents away too, please don't keep an open bag of dog food in your garage!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;2. Buying Bulk&lt;img alt="Maize Weevil" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/maizeweevel.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The same rule for pet food applies to bulk purchases. &amp;#160;There is a chance for infestation at the store level, and if you buy way more than you need, your own storage can become infested over time. &amp;#160;Again, store any bulk stuff in sealed plastic containers. &amp;#160;Another option is to store it in the freezer as this will stop any infestations from developing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;3. Buying unique items from International Stores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Generally this is along the same lines as the first two, but definitely worth mentioning. &amp;#160;International stores may keep all their rarely purchased items for a long time, leaving them susceptible to infestation.  We see folks with large canvass sacks full of grains or rice that is often the problem. &amp;#160;The solution is the same, use sealed plastic containers and/or keep these purchases in the freezer.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;--&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Remember, it’s not always just this short list of items that you need to look out for. &amp;#160;If you have a pantry infestation, you must check everything and throw it out if found to be a problem. &amp;#160;We’ve seen issues arise from tea bags, cereal, grains, rice, flour, sugar, almost anything in bags, and even some sealed up better than that.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;News Flash!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; &amp;#160;The Indianmeal moth is one pantry pest we will soon be able to treat. &amp;#160;There have been recent advances in control using mating&lt;img alt="Indianmeal Moth" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/indianmealmoth2.jpg" /&gt; disruption, or MD. &amp;#160;MD has been used for years in agriculture against codling moth - a.k.a. the worm in the apple. &amp;#160;Using MD, Indianmeal moth pheromone dispensers are used to permeate the air with their pheromone. &amp;#160;With so much “love” in the air, it is impossible for the moths to find each other, putting a stop to reproduction.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: small; "&gt;Don’t worry, it has no effect on humans or even other insects.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Right now, this method is gaining popularity in Industrial areas, and will soon be launched in residential applications. &amp;#160;My uncle, Bill Lingren, owns the company that is developing it, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.trece.com/"&gt;Trece, Inc.&lt;/a&gt;! &amp;#160;Is that insider trading&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/124/3-Ways-To-End-Up-With-Pantry-Pests</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/7">Bee Green</category>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:14:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>5 More Spider Myths</title>
      <description>&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.290488388389349" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Brown Recluse Spider" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/brownrecluse.jpg" /&gt;Last week, we wrote about &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/122/4-Ridiculous-Pest-Myths"&gt;four ridiculous pest myths&lt;/a&gt; that we wanted to debunk, one of them was about spiders. &amp;#160;Well, today we’re devoting the entire post to spider myths alone, and there are plenty of them! &amp;#160;How dangerous are brown recluses? &amp;#160;Are daddy long legs poisonous?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This first one we mentioned in last week’s post but we’ve heard more details so figured we’d mention it again.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;1. &amp;#160;The average person swallows 8 spiders in a lifetime.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This myth was traced back to an article purposely posted to see what people will believe if they read it on the internet. &amp;#160;Turns out, even the author that wrote the article cannot be found, so it’s a “myth within a myth!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;2. &amp;#160;Brown recluse bites are always deadly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Brown recluse bites do cause skin necrosis, and if treated properly 90 percent heal without serious injury or skin damage. &amp;#160;Although deaths have occurred, they are extremely rare (1 every 5-10 years), and are typically children with prior kidney damage that are unable to fight off the toxin. &amp;#160;However, if the symptoms of a recluse bite are diagnosed early, the kidney damage can be reversed with dialysis and hydration. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Rick Vetter from the University of California, Riverside has written a fascinating article&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; about how often necrotic &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html"&gt;skin lesions are mis-diagnosed as brown recluse bites&lt;/a&gt; - even in places like Canada and Alaska where the spider does not exist. &amp;#160;Typically, if you are bitten by a brown recluse, it is because you accidentally smashed it. &amp;#160;You will definitely feel the bite and see the spider.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;On a personal note, my mom was bitten on the face while she was sleeping one night as she rolled over on top of one that had crawled on to her bed. &amp;#160;Frightening for sure, and she said it hurt like heck. &amp;#160;But, after a quick visit to the doctor and a little medicine to help the swelling, she turned out fine...other than what looked like a black eye for about a week.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;3. &amp;#160;Daddy longlegs spiders are the most poisonous spiders in the world, but their fangs are too short to penetrate human skin.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This myth was actually busted on Mythbusters, the video is below.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;There are two different critters called daddy longlegs. &amp;#160;The correctly named one is actually not really a spider, but a close relative. &amp;#160;Also known as harvestmen, you may see them clumped up on your eaves during the summer. &amp;#160;They release a nasty defensive smell when disturbed but do not have poison glands at all.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The second "daddy longlegs" is a spider. &amp;#160;The correct name for them is cellar spiders and they are one of the most common spiders we find inside garages. &amp;#160;Adam from Mythbusters forced one to bite him and he did not die, he didn’t even get sick! &amp;#160;He described the bite as a slight pin prick and nothing more.  Watch the video to see their experiment.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe id="dit-video-embed" width="384" height="216" src="http://static.discoverymedia.com/videos/components/dsc/794e6ae57a1fcc719d38aefea11124fed9006f71/snag-it-player.html?auto=no" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;4. &amp;#160;Spiders will nest in hairdos that require no washing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This myth seemed to have originated in the 1950s with the beehive hairstyle, and has been updated with the afro, dreadlocks, and other more modern hair styles. &amp;#160;Supposedly the spiders would nest and lay their eggs in the unwashed hairdo, then the babies would hatch and bite the host etc. &amp;#160;This myth is completely untrue and ties in with our next myth quite nicely, the answer kind of covers both.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: medium; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;5. &amp;#160;Spiders bite humans to feed or cause a rotting flesh wound to nourish their young.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Disgusting, and not true! &amp;#160;No spiders feed on humans, their toxins are designed for quick paralysis of insects. &amp;#160;Again, most of the time you have to force a spider to bite you. &amp;#160;Spiders attempt to lay their eggs in protected areas because they can take a month or more to hatch. &amp;#160;Thus, they would never place their egg sacs on a living, moving animal because the sacs could get destroyed during normal activities (i.e. running, laying down, grooming).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The truth is getting one spider bite in a lifetime is a rarity, to get more than one is almost impossible! &amp;#160;Almost. &amp;#160;We’d like to credit &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.mypmp-digital.com/pmpdigital/201102/?pg=45&amp;amp;pm=2&amp;amp;u1=friend#pg45"&gt;PMP Magazine&lt;/a&gt; for much of this information.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/123/5-More-Spider-Myths</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/4">Misc</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:38:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>4 Ridiculous Pest Myths</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="Ziploc bags filled with water WILL NOT repel flies!" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.on-stjohn.com/images/WATERBAG1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;You know that you have heard many, and probably believe(d) some of these myths! &amp;#160;If you have, don’t feel alone...we hear them all the time. &amp;#160;If you’ve heard any other ones that you know or suspect to be false and would like to know more, post them in the comments.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;1. There is a special rodent poison that makes rodents go outside to find water so they won’t die inside.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;For starters, it is a terrible idea to use rodent poison indoors. &amp;#160;Not only do you run the chance of a child or pet getting into it, the rodents might move it anyway. &amp;#160;Mice are notorious for hoarding food, so where will they hoard the poison? &amp;#160;There is no evidence that rodents go looking for water after ingesting any type of bait. &amp;#160;They most often die in their nests or near the bait, another reason to never use poison indoors. &amp;#160;You’ll just end up with a stinky carcass on top of an infestation. &amp;#160;Rodenticide should ONLY be used in tamper proof containers outside.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;2. Bags of water hung near doors keep flies and mosquitoes away.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The theory says they they can see their reflection and get scared and thus will stay away. &amp;#160;Some people recommend putting pennies or tin foil in the bags as well. &amp;#160;We’ve covered this one before in an earlier post and it is absolutely not true.  Actually tests have shown it could attract more flies instead of scaring them off. &amp;#160;Snopes agrees...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/flies.asp"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/flies.asp&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;3. The average person swallows 8 spiders while sleeping during their lifetime. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This is another one that Snopes has covered. &amp;#160;It was totally made up just as a example what kinds of ridiculous things people would believe if they read it. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: smaller; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt; &amp;#160;&amp;#160;Have you ever read articles from the Onion? &amp;#160;Same sort of deal here, I read one once that they found a chemical that would make male bed bugs “murder” other bed bugs by using their spiky reproductive parts. &amp;#160;Then why do we have such a bad bed bug epidemic going around?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;4. Mosquito hawks eat mosquitoes. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Crane Fly" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" src="http://house-flies.net/crane_fly.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: smaller; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;You know the big flying insects that most folks call mosquito hawks? &amp;#160;Well, despite their resemblance to a large mosquito, they are actually crane flies.  As larvae, they are predators in damp soil so there is a slight chance they could encounter and eat mosquito larvae in a puddle if they were lucky. &amp;#160;But really crane fly larvae would not be a significant cause of death for mosquito larvae. &amp;#160;&amp;#160;Adult crane flies may feed on nectar, but they generally do not feed at all. &amp;#160;In some areas of the United States, the larvae actually cause turf damage and are considered pests, but they will certainly not help reduce the mosquito population around your home.  You just need to make a quick call to &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;Venus&amp;#160;Pest Company&lt;/a&gt; for that!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "&gt;There are always lots of new home remedies popping up claiming to help cure diseases or rid your home of pests. &amp;#160;Remember, everything on the internet is TRUE!!!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: small; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/122/4-Ridiculous-Pest-Myths</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/4">Misc</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:40:00 GMT</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>3 Scariest Diseases Spread by Mosquitoes in America</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="internal-source-marker_0.03078768285922706" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;&lt;img alt="Skeeters got you down?" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/angryguysmall.gif" /&gt;Everybody knows mosquitoes bite, and that can be an annoying problem by itself, what with the itching and the welts and such.  However, that problem pales in comparison to the real issue with biting mosquitoes, and that’s the spread of disease. &amp;#160;The mosquito's ability to spread disease has earned it the title of the most deadly animal in the world &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://listverse.com/2007/07/13/top-10-most-deadly-animals/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;http://listverse.com/2007/07/13/top-10-most-deadly-animals/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Because of the mobile nature of our now global society, we are increasing the chance of introducing diseases not typically found in the US. &amp;#160;Mosquito borne diseases can end up in the United States if a mosquito, person, or animal carrying the disease infects local mosquito populations. &amp;#160;That scenario is only a plane ride away. &amp;#160;If you’ve ever had a mosquito inside your car that bites you four times on the face, you know what we’re talking about.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;In addition to our native mosquito species that can carry diseases, exotic mosquitoes like the Asian Tiger Mosquito and the African bush mosquito have become established in the United States. &amp;#160;They are known transmitters of 22 different viruses that impact human health. &amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The three scariest mosquito-borne diseases are:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Malaria&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Caused by a microorganism and spread by mosquitoes, malaria is the 5th leading cause of death from infections diseases world-wide.  There about 300 million cases annually around the world and nearly 1 million of those cases result in death. &amp;#160;Malaria was largely eradicated from the U.S. in the 1950’s through a spraying campaign using DDT. &amp;#160;Since then, there have been around 60 outbreaks caused, probably, by local mosquitoes biting a person that was infected elsewhere in the world. &amp;#160;Symptoms include chills, fever, sweats, headache, and nausea. &amp;#160;There is no vaccine, although the Gates foundation is donating millions of dollars to researchers to find one.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Dengue fever&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;This disease is caused by a virus and spread by mosquitoes. &amp;#160;It had been absent in the U.S. for 65 years, but re-emerged during 2009 in the Florida Keys. &amp;#160;Around 28 cases have since been reported. &amp;#160;The disease causes severe fever along with a rash. &amp;#160;Dengue fever is also known as break bone fever because of the severe pain and aches accompanied by the fever. &amp;#160;Fortunately, there is a 99% survival rate. &amp;#160;&amp;#160;There is no vaccine.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;West Nile Fever&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Found originally in Africa, West Nile Virus was detected in the U.S. In 1999. &amp;#160;It is thought to have been introduced by migrating birds.  West Nile Virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected bird, then bites a human. &amp;#160;Mosquitoes may also transfer the virus to their offspring. &amp;#160;Incidence usually peaks in August. &amp;#160;Most infected people develop West Nile fever, which is similar to the flu. &amp;#160;About 1 in 100 infections result in West Nile encephalitis which can cause paralysis or death. &amp;#160;People over 50 are much more likely to develop encephalitis. &amp;#160;In Texas, there were 89 reported human cases of West Nile Virus during 2010. &amp;#160;Seven of those cases resulted in death.  There is a vaccine that is used for horses, who can also be infected.&lt;img alt="Mosquito Control by Venus Pest Company" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/mosquitodictionary.gif" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="background-color: transparent; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); "&gt;So What Can We Do?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;Heat and humidity drive the rate of reproduction in mosquito populations. &amp;#160;We definitely have plenty of that in Texas these days. &amp;#160;While we aren’t having a ton of rain right now, most residential areas are heavily irrigated, and that creates plenty of breeding habitat. &amp;#160;We’ve seen mosquito eggs and larvae in tire tracks in the middle of alleys, there does not need to be much water at all to keep these guys going.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "&gt;The CDC recommends avoiding mosquito bites by using repellent, avoiding the outdoors during dusk and dawn, keeping screens in good condition, and reducing habitat (dumping standing water and keeping foliage trimmed). &amp;#160;Venus Pest Company offers a &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Services/PestControl/MosquitoControl"&gt;mosquito treatment program&lt;/a&gt; that can reduce mosquito bites by 85-100% for around 1 month. &amp;#160;It is one of our most popular programs and very affordable.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/106/3-Scariest-Diseases-Spread-by-Mosquitoes-in-America</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/4">Misc</category>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
      <comments>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/106/3-Scariest-Diseases-Spread-by-Mosquitoes-in-America#Comments</comments>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:45:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <trackback:ping>http://www.venuspest.com/DesktopModules/SunBlog/Trackback.aspx?id=106</trackback:ping>
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      <title>Bed Bugs - The #1 Most Disturbing Thing In Pest Control</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="Bed Bug" vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="left" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/bedbug.jpg" /&gt;It's been a long break from our countdown of the most disturbing things that we come across as &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com"&gt;pest management professionals&lt;/a&gt;, but we return today for our final installment with &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/bedbugs"&gt;bed bugs&lt;/a&gt;! &amp;#160;Bed bugs are truly the #1 most disturbing pest that we encounter and the problem only seems to be getting worse. &amp;#160;We've written extensively about bed bugs before, so I won't reiterate everything here, but bed bugs are gross people!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Read our earlier blog on &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/67/6-Exciting-Bed-Bug-Facts-Tips"&gt;6 Exciting Bed Bug Facts &amp;amp; Tips&lt;/a&gt; where there is more detail on how to check for bed bugs and how to keep them out of your home. &amp;#160;Here are a few of the most important things to remember.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. &amp;#160;Bed bugs travel on people&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, so always check your beds at hotel rooms and don't sit any of your stuff on the bed before thoroughly checking it. &amp;#160;Here are some &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11877871/"&gt;tips on checking your hotel room for bed bugs&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;2. &amp;#160;Bed bugs do not transmit disease&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (at least it hasn't been proven yet), but they do a tremendous amount of pshycological damage to say the least. &amp;#160;Ask anybody who's had an infestation of bed bugs how well they slept during their ordeal. &amp;#160;Trust me, it wasn't very much. &amp;#160;People will go as far as sleeping in a plastic chair in the middle of the room to avoid being bitten...unfortunately that doesn't always work either! &amp;#160;Then comes the investment of getting rid of them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;3. &amp;#160;Nobody is impervious!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &amp;#160;It doesn't matter how much money you make or how clean your house is (although that helps for a lot of other reasons, see our blog on &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/100/German-Cockroaches-2-Most-Disturbing-Thing-In-Pest-Control"&gt;German cockroaches and hoarders&lt;/a&gt;). &amp;#160;They've been found in hospitals, retirement homes, apartments, offices, airports, hotels of course, buses,subways...everywhere! &amp;#160;Even &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.musicrooms.net/urban/3687-Who-Let-The-Bedbugs.html"&gt;Jay-Z and Rihanna were forced to shut down their recording studio due to bed bugs&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: larger; "&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102); "&gt;4. &amp;#160;They can hide anywhere&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;...and they will! &amp;#160;We've found bed bugs and eggs&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt="Bed Bugs on a mattress." vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.venuspest.com/Portals/96/PestID/bedbugs.gif" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;on the bottom of trophies, in books, lamps, picture frames, blinds, curtains, bedframes, cabinets, night stands, cracks in floorboards, outlet covers, lightswitch covers...anywhere and everywhere!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The most important thing to remember is it's up to you to keep your home free of this horrible pest. &amp;#160;Read our information or call us with further questions, but please make sure you're always checking the rooms you stay in, no matter where you go, because if you come visit my house afterwards and bring some home with you, we might not be friends for too long after that! &amp;#160;:-)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>http://www.venuspest.com/Blog/entryid/105/Bed-Bugs-The-1-Most-Disturbing-Thing-In-Pest-Control</link>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/3">Personal</category>
      <category domain="http://www.venuspest.com/blog/categoryid/5">Pest Control Tips</category>
      <author>service@venuspest.com</author>
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      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:29:00 GMT</pubDate>
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