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A New Squirrel Color: Pennsylvania Purple?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:56:08 +0000

Squirrels come a vast array of colors, black, brown, multi-colored, purple, albino ... wait a minute ... Purple?!

According to an article on AccuWeather.com, a purple squirrel was trapped by a couple in Pennsylvania in early February. After keeping the squirrel in the cage for a couple days, they released him into the wild.

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Control Garden Pests With Pests

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:20:40 +0000

Many parts of the U.S. have seen an extremely warm winter, which gets many of us thinking about and itching for spring and all that comes with it.

For better or worse, one of the things that comes with spring is a rise in insect presence and bugs in and around our homes. While this is often "for worse," there are many more "for better" insects than you may realize -- that is, beneficial insects that actually help control pest insects. There are even some insects that have both destructive and beneficial species, such as thrips.

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Feral Cats Given Another Chance

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:21:25 +0000

In California, feral cats that arrive at the Animal Outreach or Lodi Animal shelters are being given a second chance: the opportunity to become beneficial citizens through a work program. Work using their natural tendencies to hunt rats, mice and other rodents and become natural pest control "professionals," that is.

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Scorpion Sting Treatment Now Available

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:15:49 +0000

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first specific treatment for scorpion stings. The product, Anascorp, is approved for a scorpion sting by Centruroides scorpions, the most common type in the United States.

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Pesticides Can Become "Storm-Driven Debris"

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:18:23 +0000

As winter rainstorms pelt portions of the U.S., particularly the Northwest, state environmental departments are reminding homeowners to check on any hazardous materials and chemicals, such as pesticides, that they have in storage to ensure that they are protected from the elements and secured, KCBY News reported earlier this week.

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Winter storage of pesticides

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:47:03 +0000

Pesticides can be dangerous if improperly used or stored. At the least improper storage can break down the product and reduce efficacy, or even make the product completely ineffective.

When considering winter storage of pesticides, select a location:

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What Is That (Squash) Bug In My House?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:18:14 +0000

I recently received a question from a friend about the bugs that were cropping up in her home and office. The bugs were appearing one by one, except in her daughter's room, where the slow-moving beetles were continually appearing on the inside of the window screen.

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Report ALB Today!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:39:46 +0000

Introduced to the U.S. in the 1990s, the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) is continuing to be a destructive force as it moves across the U.S. infesting maple and other hardwood trees.

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Pigeon Feeding Outlawed?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:48:22 +0000

A new law was proposed in Arizona's unincorporated Clark County: Banning the feeding of pigeons.

As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, the commission meeting at which the regulation was proposed brought passionate response both pro and con. One point that had pigeon lovers upset was the proposed ordinances description of the birds as "flying rats."

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Happy New Year's "Flea"

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:23:43 +0000

On Flea Hill in Eastover, N.C., residents will be celebrating the entry of 2012 with their own version of New York's ball drop. But instead of a shining ball, these North Carolina residents will be dropping a flea. A flea made of foam and fabric and set on wire and wood, that is.

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