Browse Ants, Termites, and Other Pests Stories - Page 8

The recent rains have reinvigorated Georgia’s mosquito population. As a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent, I have received numerous calls about mosquito control and what can be done to get relief from the biting when outside.

For scientists who study insects, having a correct model of how an insect forms melanin is important for not only their research on insect structures but also on how to control them. In a new study, published May 17 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, University of Georgia entomologists find that the model they and other scientists have been using is wrong.

This year’s unseasonably cool spring has left middle and north Georgia virtually mosquito free so far. But with the return of warmer nights that old familiar buzz won’t be far behind.

Most people take action against pests when they see them – roaches scurrying across the kitchen counter, ants taking over the cookie jar, moles digging up the petunias. But what about the pests you can’t see, like termites?

Kudzu bugs have awakened from their winter slumber and can be found alighting on just about anything white or light-colored, from small cars to large trucks and homes to commercial buildings. University of Georgia experts say controlling this new pest isn’t as easy as spraying a pesticide.

The University of Georgia will offer a mosquito control update and recertification class on Tuesday, April 23 on the campus in Griffin, Ga.

The University of Georgia Bug Dawgs of the UGA Entomology Department are hosting the 28th Annual Insect Zoo Open House on Friday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the campus in Athens. The event is open to the public and will be held on D.W. Brooks Drive in front of the UGA Miller Plant Science building.

Ground-nesting bees are actually “good bugs” that are doing their job as pollinators or serving as useful predators by controlling other harmful insect pests. But when ground nests are located in areas such as yards, gardens, flowerbeds or playgrounds, most people would rather not hear a discourse in entomology.

The 2013 Georgia Pest Management Handbook is now available for purchase. The thirty-fourth commercial edition, published by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, provides more than 800 pages of current information on selection, application and safe uses of pest control chemicals around farms, homes, urban areas, recreational areas and other environments where pests may occur.

University of Georgia public service assistant Chuck Bargeron has been named to the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) for the National Invasive Species Council (NISC).