Chinch Bugs — Maintaining a healthy lawn throughout the summer months can often end up feeling like a daily battle against a wide range of environmental factors seeking to destroy it. Damage caused by chinch bugs can transform your green oasis into a dry, brown desert in a matter of weeks, undoing all of the nurturing care you’ve put into it. Homeowners, take heart! With proper identification and management methods, these insects are an enemy that can be easily defeated without the use of harsh pesticides.

Chinch Bugs — Life Cycle and Feeding Habits

Chinch bug is the common name for several species in the Lygaeidae family. These insects are most prevalent in the mid-western, north-eastern and southern parts of the United States. As adults, these insects spend the winter months in the relative protection of shrubs and plants near the home. In the late spring they transition onto open lawn areas where females spend weeks laying eggs. These eggs will hatch in the summer, and your lawn is the perfect nursery to feed this new generation of hungry chinch bugs.

These insects have a dual method of attacking and killing grass. First, they pierce each blade of grass with their mouthpieces, sucking out the essential sap. At the same time they inject toxins through their saliva which cause the blade to die.

Chinch Bugs — Identifying the Problem

Since lawn disease and death can occur for many reasons, you’ll want to first do some investigating to find out if chinch bugs are the source of your problem. There a few factors that can be good indicators of a chinch bug infestation. These insects are most active during the very hot weather of the late summer and are particularly attracted to sunny, open areas of the lawn. Damage from these pests usually appears as a dead patch of grass which grows larger in circumference as the newly hatched insects eat, destroy and expand outwards. If your lawn damage occurred somewhat suddenly in the late summer in the sunniest areas of your yard, there’s a good chance you’ve got chinch bugs.

The simplest method for finding and identifying these insects is to look for them near the roots of the lawn. The best time to do this is in the early morning after any dew has evaporated. Investigate the borders of dead and living grass patches by spreading the blades gently and looking near the roots. Young chinch bugs are a bright red color and are easy to spot, while winged adults have white banded markings on their backs. The presence of chinch bugs in both nymph and adult form is a good indicator of an infestation. This YouTube video gives an excellent demonstration of how to check for chinch bugs.

Chinch Bugs — Taking Back Your Lawn

A chinch bug attack does not have to ruin your lawn. First and foremost, it’s important to understand that proper care can afford your lawn a good chance of bearing a chinch bug population without sustaining noticeable damage.

Watering and mowing are two key factors in keeping your lawn healthy and able to fight the damaging effects of chinch bugs. Lawns that are watered often and watered slowly over several hours retain more moisture, reducing areas of drought susceptible to insect damage. In addition, mowing grass at your lawn mower’s highest setting can help keep each blade hydrated. The roots of a lawn reflect its surface appearance, and longer blades will create longer root systems able to reach farther into the soil for crucial water and nutrients. Mowing high and frequently can also reduce thatch, the least healthy portion of grass between the soil and the green surface. Thatch makes a wonderful home for insects, and keeping it under control with appropriate mowing can help keep them away.

If you’ve noticed new, sudden damage to your lawn, your chinch bugs may still be highly localized and can be dealt with using spot treatments such as the sheet trap method. Mix about an ounce of mild dish soap into a bucket of water and soak the infested area. Lay large towels or a flannel sheet over the soapy grass. The insects will rush to the surface of the lawn to escape the soap and become caught in the fabric, which can then be disposed of. The sheet trap technique can be highly effective in saving a patch of grass just beginning to show signs of insect damage.

It’s important to treat damaged grass immediately to prevent attacks in the future. Chinch bugs will reappear every year if a lawn is left uncared for, so using proactive mowing and watering methods as well as decisive action at the first sign of attack can help guard your lawn against these tiny nuisances for years to come.

Avoiding Chinch Bugs is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

Bed bug bites come from parasitic insects that prey on warm-blooded animals, including humans. Bed bugs get their name from the fact that they often congregate in and around beds. The bugs then feed on humans while they sleep. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally hard to detect, given that they typically come out at night and that they hide in cracks and crevices. People usually do not notice they have bed bugs in their homes until they start showing symptoms of their bites.

Bed Bug Bites: Why are They So Common?

At one time, bed bug infestations were under control due to the use of DDT. Because some pesticides are now known to harm humans, they are no longer used to fight pests in developed countries. There is also the fact that bed bugs are particularly resilient and are becoming immune to human methods of fighting them. Foreign travel also contributes to the prevalence of bed bug bites. Travelers go to countries where bed bugs are common and then return with the critters in their clothes and luggage. Apartment and condominium living also contributes to the problem. If one residence in a building becomes infested, they are all at risk. Every person who lives there is then capable of transporting bed bugs to other residences outside of the building and thus the cycle continues.

Bed Bug Bites: The Symptoms

Bed bug bites can cause a range of symptoms or no symptoms at all. Victims may notice small red marks to large red welts at the site of the bite. A rash may also occur over a period of exposure because it appears that victims become more, rather than less, sensitive to bed bug bites over time. People who have allergic reactions to bed bug bites may notice hives, severe itching and discomfort at the site of the bite and elsewhere on the body. The bites may also become infected, becoming more noticeable as the infection worsens. Bad infestations may also cause psychological issues as the bites and sensation of bed bugs becomes unbearable. It may also become difficult to sleep. Elimination of the bed bug infestations will alleviate psychological symptoms and eventually rid the victim of bite symptoms.

Bed Bug Bites: How to Treat Them

Treatment of bed bug bites involves treatment of the symptoms and treatment of the infestation. If the bed bugs were encountered away from home, place all clothing that was in that home in a dryer on high heat for a full cycle before bringing them home. Place belongings that cannot go in the dryer in the hot sun for a few hours, if possible. If not, clean and inspect them before bringing them home. If the bites occur at home, call an exterminator.

To treat the bites themselves, first clean them thoroughly with soap and water. Use anti itch cream to soothe itching and ice packs to relieve swelling. If there is an allergic reaction to the bites, use a topical or oral antihistamine. In rare cases, anaphylaxis can occur. If there is shortness of breath, swelling of the mouth or face, or shock associated with the bites, go to a hospital immediately. If the victim has an EpiPen prescribed by a doctor and there is clearly anaphylaxis, administer the EpiPen.

Bed bug bites can be debilitating in a psychological sense. It is important to spot them and treat the symptoms and infestation as soon as possible. This is also a public health issue. If an infestation goes untreated, the bed bugs that are causing the bites can spread to other buildlings. Some areas are so infested with bed bugs as to be nearly epidemic. College dorms, apartment buildings and cheap motels are the most susceptible. To learn more about the spread of bed bugs and bed bug bites, watch this video.

Bed Bug Bites – Spotting And Treating is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

The mature brown recluse spider can be definitively identified by the presence of a dark violin on the top of its thorax. At full size, this Midwestern and Southern spider measures a little less than one inch from leg to leg, and the body itself is less than half an inch at maximum size. Younger spiders have the same venomous bite of adults, yet their coloring is lighter and markings less distinguishable. A further identifying attribute of the spider is fine hairs on the legs, versus the spines present on the legs of most other spiders.

While all spiders carry venom, the commonly named daddy long-legs and many others do not have the capability of piercing human flesh. The brown recluse does pose a threat, though it can be avoided with the proper precautions. Most people have a natural aversion to spiders of all kinds, and the feeling is mutual. Though they are not fond of contact with humans, preferring to hunt at night while we sleep, the brown recluse is drawn to human dwellings for prey and habitat. Their bite, while toxic and even deadly for certain populations, can be treated effectively.

Brown Recluse Spider – Why Worry?

The brown recluse is second only to the black widow in the fear it engenders among otherwise cool and collected people. There is good reason for this, despite the fact that the brown recluse has no interest in biting humans. It would far rather be left alone to hunt down the many annoying insects that humans spend a lot of time and money trying to get rid of. In this sense, the brown recluse can actually be a welcome guest in human habitats, because it makes meals of insects that can carry disease, like mosquitoes and those hated cockroaches. Of course, any creature this small and innocuous that can take down a cockroach is something to worry about.

Not everyone worries about the brown recluse though. Some experts, like the one in this video, have even befriended these 8-legged, nocturnal hunters.

Brown Recluse Spider – Finding and Avoiding

The brown recluse comes to live near and inside human dwellings for two reasons only, habitat and food. To decrease anxiety over spider bites, the first step is removing their habitat and food from your home and yard as much as possible, especially important if there are small children involved.

The brown recluse prefers small and dark places for sleeping during the day. The modern home, with its emphasis on maximizing storage space with bins and organizers, is literally on big spider nest waiting to happen! The only thing to be done in most cases is be aware when reaching for things in small places. Look before reaching into potential spider sleeping spots. Shake out clothes before putting them on. Change the bed linens on a regular basis.

The brown recluse hunts insects that frequent the kitchen and bedroom. Keeping a clean house is a major step to preventing unintended meetings with spiders. Keeping a clean yard will help too. Consider planting herbs and ornamentals that are known pest repellents around the home. Catnip, rosemary, gardenia, and many others will keep those undesirables from infiltrating the home and attracting the brown recluse.

Of course, there is the chemical pesticide route for eliminating insects, though with small children this may be undesirable. Pesticides will also indiscriminately kill pest insects and their hunters, from the brown recluse to frogs. Once chemical pesticides are used, they will have to be reapplied regularly. A better option is to use spider traps in the home. After all, the brown recluse is not actually an enemy to humans, though being bitten by one can convince a person otherwise.

Brown Recluse Spider – Bite Symptoms and Treatment

The bite of the brown recluse is generally not much to worry about for a healthy adult. Certain other populations can be at risk of severe complications, however, including children, the elderly, and other immature or less than healthy people. In the worst case, bite victims will experience the onset of fever and shivering within days, followed by nausea and vomiting. The wound will become swollen and begin sloughing dead tissue after a week or so, forming a deep, painful, and gangrenous ulcer. Toxins may lead to kidney problems or hemorrhaging.

Treatment begun within 8 hours is most effective, though it requires exact diagnosis. Most brown recluse bites will heal sufficiently on their own in healthy adults, though other populations are advised to seek medical help as soon as possible. If you suspect that bite is from a brown recluse spider, or just want more information on the topic, visit a well-frequented forum like this one.

Brown Recluse Spider is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

The Silverfish Bug, or Lepisma saccharina, is a common household pest. Silverfish have been around for over 300 million years. Unlike the dirty cockroach, which can spread disease, bite, and cause worsening of asthma and allergies, Silverfish don’t spread diseases. Silverfish are wingless insects about three-quarters of an inch long. They have long antennae. They are named for their silvery color, tiny scales, and fish like movements. The Silverfish Bug is nocturnal, like most other household pests, except for ants – one of the most searched insect in the household for insect identification.

They are found throughout much of the world and like moist environments, such as basements and bathrooms. They are also found in garages, attics, and closets. A Silverfish Bug can live for two to eight years. Infant silverfish are called nymphs. Silverfish are often mistaken for Fire-brats, but Fire brats are smaller and darker.

The Silverfish Bug – What Does It Do?

Unlike cockroaches and rats, silverfish don’t spread disease or cause asthma and allergies. Silverfish eat carbohydrates and protein, hence the scientific name of Lepisma saccharina. The Silverfish bug is a big eater. They are often found in libraries because they like to eat paper, magazines, glue, and book bindings.

In the home, Silverfish have been known to eat wallpaper, carpet, clothes, photographs, paper insulation, storage boxes, flour, oats, and dried meat. Silverfish contaminate food and damage household property.

The Silverfish Bug – What Are Some Way To Get Rid of It?

First, remove or properly store items that Silverfish like to eat. Old clothes, magazines, books, papers, and cardboard boxes stored in attics, basements, and closets are buffets to Silverfish. These items should either be discarded, or stored in plastic tubs with tight-fitting lids. Any paper items of value, such as books or important documents, should be safely stored in containers impenetrable to Silverfish and other pests such as mice. Silverfish can come into the home in cardboard boxes or old books from libraries or thrift stores. Thoroughly look over items such as these before bringing them inside.

Because Silverfish like dampness, use air conditioning, fans, or dehumidifiers in places where items tempting to the Silverfish’s appetite are stored. Plumbing leaks, such as under sinks and in basements, create habitat preferred by Silverfish. Take a look around the house and make any repairs necessary to make it less inviting to Silverfish.

For a small amount of Silverfish, sticky traps may be used. Since Silverfish also live in the outdoors, treating the perimeter of the home with chemicals may stop them from coming inside. For large infestations, chemicals such as Drione Dust may be used. Drione Dust is an insect desiccant. It is applied in places where insect pests such as Silverfish live. Once applied to an area, insects can’t live there any more. In addition to killing Silverfish, Drione Dust also eliminates ants, bedbugs, cockroaches, dry wood termites, pill bugs, fleas, ticks, and wasps. When applied properly in only the areas where the insects live, Drione Dust should be safe for use in a home with pets and children.

Finally, for large or persistent infestations, seeking the services of a professional exterminator may be the wisest course of action to get rid of the silverfish bug.

Silverfish Bug – What They Are, And How To Get Rid Of Them is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

Household insects are as numerous as the stars in the sky and can flourish anywhere, both in and around the house, wherever they can find food. Just because a household insect may be small, does not mean it is not dangerous.
At the very least it can be a nuisance. Though pesky little creatures, common household insects actually play an important part in our lives. Insects, like the honeybees, aid man just by getting their food – so it is import to know them by insect identification.

Common Household Insects

Unfortunately, many insects are extremely destructive and harmful. Houseflies, fleas and mosquitoes are quite annoying but also spread deadly diseases. Termites destroy the wood in a home. Carpet beetles, silverfish and moths feed on various textiles. Many insects can be both harmful and, at the same time, beneficial to the environment and to man. Bees, moths and flies help to pollinate plants and fruit trees. If all the bees, moths and flies were to be demolished, thousands of plant species would also disappear and orchards would cease to yield. The pollination they provide produces the new seeds from which new plants develop.

Flies are pests of major proportions, but they are helpful scavengers that remove waste material and decaying animals. Actually, ants serve the same purpose as flies, cleaning up the leftovers, so to speak. Spiders give most people the creeps and have a very bad reputation for death and disfiguration.

Actually, very few spiders are dangerous to man and their voracious appetite helps keep the population of insects under control. Not only do they feed ravenously on bugs we consider to be pests, but they, too, are below some animals, birds and fish on the food chain.

Insects in your house can include ants, bees, flies, lady bugs, spiders, mosquitoes, bedbugs, centipedes, roaches, beetles, gnats and crickets. Carpenter ants gnaw into wood to create their habitats, thereby damaging the structure. Termites create the same type of wood damage, but they actually eat the wood, leaving behind structures that are soft and spongy.

Bedbugs feed on human blood and are usually found in upholstered furniture, mattresses and behind damaged walls and wallpaper. Carpet beetles and clothes moths feed on clothing, hair, fur and wool fabrics such as carpeting. Cockroaches are typically nocturnal foragers that contaminate food items. House centipedes, though unattractive, are not dangerous to humans. Normally found in damp interiors, such as basements, they feed on other insects, but most people still consider them unwelcome in their home. An infestation of mosquitoes should be controlled. They can carry dreaded diseases such as malaria and encephalitis and they can transmit these diseases to humans through their bloodsucking bite.

Household Insects Identification

Insect identification is not always easy. You may have a reference book showing insects pictures, but may still not be sure what type of bug you have. This is understandable. Entomologists (zoological insect experts) have classified insects into more than thirty-five separate orders, according to their resemblances to each other in certain ways.

Each insect family or order has many varieties, often with vague differences in appearances, making it difficult for even the professional to rapidly identify insects in your house. For instance, there are many common species of bees, from the bumblebee, to the honeybee, wasp and yellow jacket. Bees are fairly easy to differentiate, but variances in other insects, especially small ones, can be much harder to detect. The descriptions within the classifications of the orders enable professionals to correctly provide household insects identification.

Household Insects Pictures

Insect pictures are a good way to educate yourself and your family. Most pictures of insects are clear but some may be so vague as to make insect identification difficult. Insect pictures found on the internet or in resource books can be helpful in identifying exactly what type of bug you have. You may want to actually print the picture to compare with the insect, preferably dead, but hopefully not flattened to the extent that identification is not possible. Insect repellent sprays for your household are a good way to kill a bug while keeping it intact for identifying.

Identify Household Insects

Since identifying insects can be difficult for the average person, there are helpful resources. If you cannot identify the pest using pictures of household insects from other sources, it may become necessary to obtain professional assistance. Not only can they identify the culprit, but they will also be able to recommend the best solution for safely ridding yourself of the pests.

Insects are a part of daily life that includes everything in existence on earth. They aid in the plant and animal life cycle by fertilizing flowers and plants that provide fruit and seeds. They often carry disease, but they are also beneficial because they provide food for fish and birds and other animals. Without them, our food supply would be diminished. To keep the  insects in your house at bay within the home requires good housekeeping practices. For instance, a flea’s worst enemy, within the home, is the vacuum cleaner. Not only does it suck up the errant fleas, but also the thousands of eggs and larvae produced by one lone female flea. If you determine that an insecticide will be necessary, be sure to read all instructions carefully to avoid contaminating the surroundings and harming people and pets. If you need help in identifying insects in your household or if an infestation is unmanageable, it is best to consult a professional.

Household Insects is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

With over one million known species and an estimated nine million more, being an insect identifier seems like an arduous task for beginners.

The general body plan of insects encompasses an exoskeleton made out of chitin covering fused body segments known as tagmata. The tagmata is made up of a head, thorax, and abdomen. The head contains the mouth, eyes, and antennae; six legs sprout from the thorax, which may also contain wings – so this is an easer taskt for insect identification.

Insect Identifier – How To Identify Insects

The first question for an insect indentifier is whether or not the insect in question has wings.

If it does not have wings, it is either a bristletail or a silverfish. The living orders can be distinguished by their coloration, and the presence of scales on the silverfish insect.

Insect Identifier – Bee Identification And Winged Insects

Winged insects belong to the subclass Pterygota. If the wings of the insect cannot fold back over the abdomen, the insect belongs in the orders Ephemeroptera, which make up the mayflies, or Odonata, which compose the dragonflies and damselflies.

Mayflies are aquatic, dragonflies have large compound eyes, and damselflies are smaller than dragonflies and unlike dragonflies, hold their wings parallel to their torsos at rest. Bee identification is also a very interesting yet complex field.

If the wings of the insect can fold back over the abdomen, it belongs in the infraclass Neoptera, containing the rest of known insect species, whose taxonomy is currently a matter of debate. If the insect is small, brown, associated with freshwater lakes and streams, with an intricate vein pattern present on the wings, it is likely a stonefly.

Insect Identifier – Cockroach Identification Facts

Insects that do not have distinct stages of metamorphosis are grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts. Grasshoppers are large with short antennae, crickets are smaller with flatter thoraxes, and locusts travel in swarms.

If the body of the insect is long and cylindrical, with long legs and camouflaged pigmentation to match its surroundings, it is a stick insect. These insects are often confused with praying mantises. Beetle-like insects with flattened abdomens indicate cockroach identification. Insects mere millimeters in length can be lice or thrips.

Insect Identifier – Beetle Identification

The order Endopterygota, which includes butterflies, moths, fleas, ants, and beetle identification, is composed of insects with distinct stages of metamorphosis that can be easily distinguished from one another by their adult forms.

Insect identification between different kinds of flies is difficult but classification can be established by looking at adult forms and checking for characteristics such as eye size and shape, chewing mouthparts, and wing type. Another special topic is worm identification covered in one of the next posts is also very interesting for the insect identifier.

Insect Identifier is a post from: Guide to Insect Identification

This blog offers comprehensive information for identifying insects and insect identification.
You will learn a lot about mosquito identification, dragonfly identification as well as the insect life cycle and in some cases – how to get rid of household insects.

This blog will also offer resources for identifying insects, comprehensive scientific information and other interesting online insect guides.