| Pest Spotlight: Bat Tick
| | October 1, 2008 | The bat tick is a species of soft tick occasionally found associated with bats roosting in structures across the contiguous United States and into southern Canada. Soft ticks get their name from the flexible, granular texture of the exoskeleton, as opposed to hard ticks, which have a prominent dorsal shield, as exemplified by the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, and brown dog tick, Thipicephalus sanguineus. Adult bat ticks measure about ⅜-inch (1 centimeter) in length and may range in color from gray to reddish-brown to black. |
| | Pest Spotlight: European Starling
| | August 1, 2008 | | The European starling is yet another example of a failed attempt at releasing non-native species thought to be beneficial. One hundred European starlings were imported from England and released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s, with hopes that this species would help control insect pests. Instead, the starlings spread throughout North America — to the detriment of certain native bird species that were outcompeted in claiming available nesting holes. |
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| Rodent Reports: What the EPA's Rodenticide Ruling Means to PMPs
| | July 1, 2008 | | On May 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final ruling on rodenticide mitigation measures that will become law. These risk mitigation decision (RMD) measures have been the subject of much debate for nearly a decade, and the subject of some prior articles in the pages of this magazine (for example, see the March 2007 cover story). Here are the significant points that Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) need to know about the Agency's latest decision. |
| | Rodent Reports: (more) Myths About Rodents
| | May 1, 2008 | | In my last column ("Myths about Rodents," March), I covered some common misconceptions about rodent behavior and activity, and what follows are some additional tall tales. Check with your staff to see if they know the truth behind these and other myths. They may hear these as statements or as questions from their customers. Sometimes, uninformed technicians may pass these on as fact or use them as sales claims. | |
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