RECENT RAINS CREATE RISE IN AREA INSECT POPULATIONS.Byline: Karen Thacker Community Columnist While El Nino's rains produced ants, cockroaches cockroaches insects which may carry Salmonella spp. in their gut and play a part in the spread of the disease. and mice in larger numbers this year in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , it's the springtails that currently have the phones ringing at local pest control pest control n → control m de plagas pest control n → lutte f contre les nuisibles pest control pest n offices. A -1/8-inch-long grayish-brown pest that hops and is frequently mistaken for a flea, springtails often are found outside around decayed vegetation. But lately they seem to be making their way into local homes' sinks, tubs and showers. ``When the outside dries up they go to the house,'' said Elaine Bloom, office manager at Western Exterminator Co. ``They are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. moisture - they'll go in drains in the nighttime and live off the algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that .'' While some pest control companies say they are receiving the usual amount of calls regarding ants, spiders, cockroaches and mice, many say they are seeing an increase they expected because of El Nino-powered storms. But the insect and rodent population increase is not just because of the rain. It was a mild winter as well, without the cold temperatures that can kill a lot of larva larva, in zoology larva, independent, immature animal that undergoes a profound change, or metamorphosis, to assume the typical adult form. Larvae occur in almost all of the animal phyla; because most are tiny or microscopic, they are rarely seen. . The rain produced more vegetation, attracting more flying insects, which other insects, like spiders, prey on. More ground cover also makes it easier for mice to survive and multiply because their natural predators can't find them so easily. While springtails are currently the source of most calls, they will disappear as summer progresses. Ants are perennially the valley's worst insect pest, exterminators say, with eight different varieties of ants living in the area. Once the temperatures rise above 68 degrees, they start invading homes. ``Ants are the No. 1 problem in the Antelope Valley,'' said Greg Coverdill, Western Exterminator supervisor in Palmdale. Exterminators say calls about ants have increased in the past few months as the weather warmed up, and they expect this summer's crop to be a big one. ``I think this year we'll have more of a problem than ever,'' said Bug Sluggers manager Richard Kreutel. Ants tend to keep resurfacing because it is difficult to treat houses built on slab foundations - like most of the ones built in the 1980s boom. The colonies find cracks, light fixtures, and electrical outlets and use them as entry points. Exterminators say they also get calls about poisonous black widow spiders black widow spider poisonous spider; consumes her mate after mating. [Zoology: NCE, 308] See : Deadliness and cockroaches. Black widows, who hatch over 300 babies from a single sack, do well because the wind carries them to different areas, known as ``ballooning,'' to set up house. Oriental cockroaches, which are usually found in older areas of cities, are now cropping up in new areas of town. They tend to hang around water pipes and water meters, but are also being found in garages and houses. The local cockroach cockroach or roach, name applied to approximately 3,500 species of flat-bodied, oval insects forming the order Blattodea. Cockroaches have long antennae, long legs adapted to running, and a flat extension of the upper body wall that conceals the is a deep reddish-brown color, 1 to 1-1/2 inches long. The springtails don't bite, but large numbers can irritate the skin. ``They aren't harmful to humans, they're a nuisance - they are a pest,'' said Denise Hicks Hicks , Edward 1780-1849. American painter of primitive works, notably The Peaceable Kingdom, of which nearly 100 versions exist. of Dewey Pest Control, noting that there isn't a sure way to get rid of them. Cleaning the insides of drains and plumbing is best, Coverdill said. |
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