Ticks are a highly disliked organism and for pretty good reasons! Ticks are tiny blood-sucking parasites that are small enough to go unnoticed and can host several dangerous diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets. Tick Awareness Week takes place in May each year. With recent increases in Lyme Disease cases, we are…
If you’ve tried to get approved for a VA Loan in the last few weeks, you may have heard about the new regulation here in Wisconsin. Per this new regulation, people looking to get a VA Loan in many of Wisconsin’s counties are now required to prove that the home has been inspected for wood…
Did you know bed bugs have creepy-crawly cousins called chimney swift bugs? How about bat bugs and swallow bugs? All four of these insects are fairly similar in appearance and all have one annoying characteristic: they feed on blood. Bed bugs have more recently gained a spot as one of the worst pests to have,…
We’ve had quite a few calls lately from panicked clients who have come across a swarm of bees. While this can be unsettling, especially for those with allergies to stinging insects, this is actually a common and very natural occurrence, and there is typically very little threat from the bees at this time. These swarms…
I had a friend during college who absolutely hated spiders. If he came across one in a stairwell, for example, he would turn around and find another set of stairs. That is how I feel about cockroaches, and why they top my list of least favorite insects. Like my old college buddy when he saw…
Yellow jackets are like the ugly stepsisters to the honey bee’s Cinderella. And I don’t mean the version of the story where the stepsisters become friends with Cinderella by the end, I mean the version where the stepsisters are hateful and malicious for the whole story. Yellow jackets are the reason why most people (aside…
There are various diseases that are carried by wild animals that can cause harm to humans or their four-legged companions. We will be highlighting some of the most serious, common, or notorious diseases that fall into this category in a series of blog posts. The focus of today’s blog post is raccoon roundworm, known scientifically…
I’ve recently become a proud plant parent, graduating from basic, no-nonsense succulents and aloes to more care-intensive houseplants like pothos, fittonia, and shamrocks (more correctly known as oxalis). Each of these plants requires its own unique care routine, and one small screw up can sometimes mean disaster for these plants. My shamrocks seem particularly prone…
The first insect on the list of my top five least favorite insects that can cause real harm is the mosquito. In my eyes, there is not a single redeeming quality to mosquitoes. What can possibly be good about bugs that suck your blood, leaving behind itchy red welts and possibly causing serious infections? Variations…
My Top Five Least Favorite Insects – Number 5, the Boxelder Bug Boxelder bugs are one of my top five least favorite insects. When looking at the facts, there’s very little reason for this: they don’t look creepy and they don’t bite or sting. In most cases, these bugs are completely innocuous. But I still…