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In this issue…
1. Lyme Disease
2.
Lice
3. Stored
Product Pests
4. Carpenter
Ants
5. Quick
Facts
…It's hunting season so be careful in the fields and wooded areas of New Mexico…
Lyme disease (LD) is an infection caused by bacterium called spirochete (pronounced spy-ro-keet) that is carried by deer or blacklegged ticks. An infected tick can transmit the spirochete to the humans and animals it bites. Untreated, the bacterium travels through the bloodstream, establishes itself in various body tissues, and causes inflammatory disease that affects the skin, in its early stage, and spreads to the joints, nervous system and other organ systems, in its later stages.
When spending time outdoors, make these easy precautions part of your routine:
Wear enclosed shoes and light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily
Scan clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors
Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails
Use insect repellant containing DEET on skin or clothes if you intend to go off-trail or into overgrown areas
Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls (havens for ticks and their hosts)
Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening
Do a final, full-body tick-check at the end of the day (also check children and pets)
Now that school's back in session, Lice are again a topic of conversation in families with small children. Much to many parents' annoyance, the head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Although they may sound gross, lice (the plural of louse) are a very common problem, especially for kids ages 3 years to 12 years (girls more often than boys).
Lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease, but they are contagious and can just be downright annoying. Their bites may cause your child's scalp to become itchy and inflamed and persistent scratching may lead to skin irritation and even infection.
You may be able to see the lice or nits by parting your child's hair into small sections and checking for lice and nits on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck (it's rare for them to be found on eyelashes or eyebrows). A magnifying glass and bright light may help. But it can be tough to find a nymph or adult louse - often, there aren't many of them and they're able to move fast.
Though they can't fly or jump, these tiny parasites have specially adapted claws that allow them to crawl and cling firmly to hair. They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats can also help pass them along. Children and teens are most prone to catching lice because they tend to have close physical contact with each other and often share personal items. You may wonder if Fido or Fluffy may be catching the pests and passing them on to your family, but rest assured that pets can't catch head lice and pass them on to people or the other way around.
Your child's doctor can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. It isn't uncommon for treatments to be unsuccessful because of incorrect use or because the lice may be resistant to the chemical in the shampoo. Unfortunately, newer prescription medications can be highly toxic and are definitely not recommended for children under 2. There is a natural alternative to these medications, though. Olive oil massaged into the hair and scalp will smother the pests and re-moisturize the scalp in the process.
No matter what treatment you choose, here are some other things you can do that may help get rid of the lice and their eggs:
Use a fine-tooth comb on your child's hair after regular shampooing every 3 to 4 days for 2 weeks. Wetting the hair beforehand is recommended because it temporarily immobilizes the lice and they become easier to comb out.
Wash all bed linens and clothing, that's been recently worn by anyone in your home who's infested, in very hot water (130 degrees Fahrenheit, or 54.4 degrees Celsius) then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
Have bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can't be washed dry-cleaned. Or, put them in airtight bags for 2 weeks.
Vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car).
Soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You can also wash them in hot water or just throw them away.
Stored product or pantry pests include several beetles, moths, and a mite that can infest whole grains or processed foods. Usually, the first sign of a problem is the appearance of small beetles crawling over counter tops, moths flying across rooms, or caterpillars crawling up walls or across ceilings. The solution requires finding and destroying all infested products in which these pests have developed, a general cleanup, and use of sealed storage containers to prevent recurring problems.
Some stored product pests feed inside whole kernels. These include the granary weevil and the rice weevil. The larval stage is a legless grub that develops inside kernels of wheat or corn, or other whole grains or caked materials.
A much larger number of insects feed on processed grains or broken kernels, or a variety of spices. Common pests include the red and confused flour beetles, sawtoothed grain beetles, drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle and Indian meal moth. Some of these pests cannot attack whole or undamaged grains but will feed on a wide variety of processed grains (flour, meal), as well as dried fruits, dry dog food, dried meats, candy bars, drugs, tobacco, and a variety of other products.
While adults are the signs of an infestation, merely killing them is not the solution. Infested articles must be found and destroyed. Identification of the pest can provide clues on where to look but some of these insects can live on a wide range of materials.
In general, the greater the number of insects seen, the older the infestation. Often the initial source is partially used boxes or bags of products that have been forgotten in the backs of pantries and shelves. The infestation spreads as the active adults search for new food sources. A thorough search is needed to locate all infested items. If they are not found in pantries or cupboards, then begin to look at such things as decorative items or birdseed.
Disposal of infested materials is the best way to eliminate the problem. Also check all items in pantries or on shelves. Often beetles can be found beneath cans and other items. Thoroughly vacuum the shelves, both upper and lower surfaces, and use a crevice attachment to clean cracks and crevices. It is better to do a very thorough job one time than to have to repeat a hasty inspection and cleanup.
After treatment, good sanitation and proper storage are keys to preventing future problems. Place products from cardboard, paper, or plastic containers into jars or other containers that can be sealed tightly.
Carpenter ants vary in size and color but are usually large (1/4-1/2 inch) and blackish. Occasionally, swarms of winged carpenter ant reproductives will emerge inside a home. Carpenter ant swarms usually occur in the spring and are a sure sign that a colony is nesting somewhere inside the structure. Winged carpenter ants can be distinguished from termites by their larger size and shape of their antennae, waist and wings.
Besides being objectionable by their presence, carpenter ants damage wood by hollowing it out for nesting. They excavate galleries in wood, which have a smooth, sandpapered appearance. Wood, which has been damaged by carpenter ants, contains no mud-like material, as is the case with termites. Shredded fragments of wood, similar in appearance to coarse sawdust, are ejected from the galleries through preexisting cracks or slits made by the ants. When such accumulations are found (typically containing dead ants and bits of insects which the carpenter ants have eaten), it's a good indication that a carpenter ant nest is nearby. Oftentimes, however, the excavated sawdust remains hidden behind a wall or in some other concealed area.
Carpenter ants nest in both moist and dry wood, but prefer wood that is moist. Consequently, the nests are more likely to be found in wood dampened by water leaks, such as around sinks, bathtubs, poorly sealed windows/ door frames, roof leaks and poorly flashed chimneys. Nests are especially common in moist, hollow spaces such as the wall void behind a dishwasher, or in a hollow porch column. Since there often will be no external signs of damage, probing the wood with a screwdriver helps reveal the excavated galleries. Another technique for locating hidden nests is to tap along baseboards and other wood surfaces with the blunt end of a screwdriver, listening for the hollow sound of damaged wood. If a nest is nearby, carpenter ants often will respond by making a " rustling" sound within the nest, similar to the crinkling of cellophane.
Carpenter ants may establish nests in a number of different locations. It is important to realize that these locations can be either inside or outside the structure. Carpenter ants actually construct two different kinds of nests: parent colonies which, when mature, contain an egg-laying queen, brood and 2000 or more worker ants, and satellite colonies which may have large numbers of worker ants but no queen, eggs or young larvae. The carpenter ants inside a home may have originated from the parent colony or from one or more satellite nests. For example, the ants may be coming from the parent nest located outdoors in a tree stump, landscape timber or woodpile, or from one or more satellite nests hidden behind a wall in the kitchen or bathroom, or perhaps from wood dampened by a roof leak in the attic.
The extent and potential damage to a home depends on how many nests are actually present within the structure, and how long the infestation has been active. Although large carpenter ant colonies are capable of causing structural damage, the damage is not normally as serious as that from termites. In some cases, the damage may be relatively insignificant, but this can only be determined by locating and exposing the nest area.
A number of steps can be taken by homeowners to reduce the potential for future carpenter ant problems:
Correct roof leaks, plumbing leaks and other moisture problems that will attract carpenter ants.
Eliminate wood-to-ground contact such as where landscaping has moved soil or mulch up against the wood siding of a home.
Clip back tree limbs and vegetation touching the roof or siding of the house.
Limbs and branches serve as "bridges" between carpenter ants nesting in a dead tree limb and the structure.
Seal cracks and openings in the foundation, especially where utility pipes and wires enter from the outside.
Stack firewood away from the foundation and elevate it off the ground.
Never store firewood in the garage or other areas of the home, as firewood is a prime nesting area for carpenter ants.
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