Loudon County, VA Declares Lyme Disease An Epidemic, Encourages Home Owners To Spray Their Yards

Loudon County, VA, neighboring Frederick County, MD has declared Lyme disease to be epidemic and launched a 10 point plan to reduce the cases of Lyme Disease in the county.  According to an April 9, 2012 report on Fox 5 DC, “There’s also going to be a significant awareness campaign and we want to encourage private homeowners to spray their own property to go after the ticks,’ Supervisor Ken Reid says.”

The news story describes how the tick-borne disease has impacted its victims.

“”’I taught kindergarten, but when it effected my voice, I couldn’t teach anymore,’ Benalayat says.

Speaking is difficult for her now, and everyday life focuses on treating her Lyme Disease.

‘I give myself I-V medicine and that takes an hour. I also take 30 pills every day as well’” Benalayat says.

Linda McGee was diagnosed with Lyme 8 years ago, and two of her three children have it too. Her family has paid more than $12,000 out of their pockets to treat her.

‘Insurance doesn’t cover much, and the I-V treatment was a thousand dollars a week back then,’ McGee says.

So they had to make a choice, college tuition or her intravenous antibiotic treatment. They sent their daughter off to college, and then in February, she relapsed.

‘I had some problems, and the Lyme went to my heart,’ McGee says.”

Deer ticks have a two-year life cycle and require a blood meal in order to molt from one stage to another.  Typically, the nymph ticks look for a blood meal in the spring.  Deer ticks typically look for their first blood meal from small animals, including white-footed mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and even foraging birds, and later blood meals from large mammals (like humans and deer).  Experts have predicted that the risk of contracting Lyme disease is extremely high this year.  Several factors play into this.  First, the ticks, and other insects, were able to survive the mild winter better than they would in a harshly cold winter.  Second, oak trees are producing fewer acorns this year.  Researchers indicate that white-footed mice feed on acorns and their population goes up and down depending on the acorn production.  Less mice means the ticks must look for another source for their blood meal.

Researchers at Yale University found that throughout the entire northeast from Connecticut to Maryland 1 in 5 ticks carried the bacteria that spread Lyme disease.  Other studies have found that same ratio.

What can you do to protect yourself?  Mosquito Squad has prepared the 6 Cs to help:

1. Clear out. Reduce your tick exposure by clearing out areas where lawn and tree debris gathers. Ticks thrive in moist, shady areas and tend to die in sunny, dry areas. Locate compost piles away from play areas or high traffic. Separate them with wood chips or gravel. Don’t position playground equipment, decks and patios near treed areas.

2. Clean. Eliminate leaf litter and brush by cleaning it up around the house and lawn edges, mow tall grasses and keep your lawn short.

3. Choose plants. Select plants and shrubs that are not attractive to deer and/or install physical barriers to keep deer out of your yard. Check with your local nursery to determine the best choices for your area.

4. Check hiding places. Know tick hiding places and check them frequently. Fences, brick walls and patio retaining walls are popular hiding places.

5. Care for family pets. Family pets can suffer from tick-borne disease and also carry infected ticks into the home. Talk to your veterinarian about using tick collars and sprays. As with all pest control products, be sure to follow directions carefully.

6. Call the pros. Professionals utilize both barrier sprays that can kill “adult” ticks on the spot as well as “tick tubes.” Strategically placed, “tick tubes” prompt field mice to incorporate tick-killing material in their bedding, effectively eliminating hundreds of tick nymphs found in each mouse nest.

University of Maryland Entomologists Worry Stink Bugs and Mosquitoes Will be Bad in 2012

WTOP news published on 4/5/12 an  article discussing concerns the University of Maryland entomologists have about the 2012 stink bug population.  If you hate stink bugs and like to watch them die, the article is worth looking at just to see the photo of a praying mantis “feasting” on a stink bug.  Not surprisingly, the story suggests that this year could be really bad for stink bugs, mosquitoes, ticks.  First, the article points out that the mild winter did not kill off as many of the bugs as a harsh winter would have.  University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp tells WTOP that bugs that have multiple generations could be extremely bad this year.  Included in this group:   brown marmorated stink bugs, Asian tiger mosquitoes, spider mites, etc.

The article states:  “Although Raupp said it’s not definite that pesky insects like mosquitoes and Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs — which are native to Asia and invaded the area several years ago — will be more prevalent this summer, some signs are already favoring the critters.”  Additionally “[University of Maryland pest management specialist Galen] Dively said the advantage could be particularly strong for stink bugs.”   The only thing the article suggests could suppress the bugs:  weather.  “Dively said a wet spring or extremely hot summer could end up suppressing populations that would have otherwise thrived.

‘The weather in the spring or summer can actually change the whole scenario real quick, that’s why it’s hard to predict anything,’ Dively said.  That is an interesting quote because WTOP has posted the audio of an interview with Raupp where he worries that 2012 is starting to shape up like 2010, which he called a “watershed” year for stink bugs.  In Western Maryland the summer of 2010 seemed extremely hot to us, with several consecutive days of 100 degrees and the region being declared to be in drought.  Even with that extreme temperatures many compared the 2010 stink bug problem to a biblical plague.  So far (April 5, 2012), we at Mosquito Squad are hearing many people report mosquitoes already in their yards, reports of deer ticks, and many other insects getting started weeks before they normally do.  It appears to us that rain was more of a suppressor for the stink bugs than hot  temperatures.  As discussed earlier, a warm drought led to massive stink bug invasions.  Meanwhile, last year was extremely wet.  While we had and have several customers with huge stink bug problems last year (and this spring), we note that the rain seemed to suppress some stink bug migration to homes in some areas.  If Raupp is correct that this year is shaping up like 2010, we should prepare for it.  Our customers have reported great satisfaction with the control we have achieved for them.  One researcher from the University of Maryland told us it is advisable to treat for stink bugs early. We could not agree more.

Meanwhile, other articles have suggested that the tick population may be  aggressively biting humans this year.  One such article says that acorns are in a down part of their cycle.  What does that have to do with ticks? Field mice eat acorns and without that food source, their populations could diminish.  Deer ticks often get their first blood meal from mice. With less mice, the deer ticks will need to search out other sources, including humans, for their blood meals.

In that case the old saying ”an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” may be sound advice.

Experts Predict Surge in Lyme Disease in Northeast

News articles published on March 20, 2012 warn that the mild winter will lead to a spike in Lyme Disease in the northeast.   In a previous post, we pointed out that the tick population is expected to be extremely high in 2012 because the winter has been so warm.  In fact, in March 2012 we have heard several people talking about several ticks in their yards.  I even had a tick on me while standing on a customer’s deck while I treated for stink bugs.  Thanks to the customer for pulling it off my back.  However, this article tells us that the they expect the mouse population to decrease this spring, causing the nymph ticks that normally feed on mice to seek other sources for their blood meal.  Interesting to note that the have noticed a correlation between the number of acorns and the white-footed mouse population.  White-footed mice typically feed on acorns.  The researches noticed a decrease in the acorns, a part of a normal bust and boom cycle, and predict the mouse population will decrease due to the lack of food for that species.

The story reports:  “

Mice are the preferred host for black-legged ticks, which transmit Lyme  disease. Black-legged ticks need a bloodmeal at three different stages — as  larvae, as nymphs and as adults. As of the spring, the larval ticks that fed on  2011′s large mouse population will be looking for their nymphal meal.

“This spring, there will be a lot of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected  black-legged ticks in our forests looking for a blood meal. And instead of  finding a white-footed mouse, they are going to find other mammals — like us,”  Ostfeld added.”

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay662869_20120320_Northeast_U_S__Should_Brace_for_Spike_in_Lyme_Disease__Expert.html?cmpid=138896494#ixzz1plbQ4fTi Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else.

This creates an interesting dynamic.  Mice have one of their main food sources decrease, which will cause their population to decrease.  Meanwhile, the mild winter is creating a large population of nymph ticks, which will need to find other mammals to feed on.

According to the Centers for Disease Control homeowners should “Consider using a professional pesticide company to apply pesticides at your home” to protect from ticks in your yard.

Role Birds Play in Transmitting Lyme Disease

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By Lockerz

In a previous post, we mentioned that Maryland is one of the states where residents are at a high risk of getting Lyme Disease.  A 2009 study done at Yale University and reported by Healthnewsdigest.com concludes that birds help to spread the Lyme Disease bacteria.  How does this happen?  Ticks infected with Lyme Disease–Yale concludes that at least 20% of all deer ticks carry the Lyme Disease bacteria–feed on birds that walk on the ground. As the birds scavage for food, ticks crawl on and bite them.  The birds then migrate to other areas of the country where the tick falls off ready to spread the disease to other mammals.   Healthnewsdigest.com reports:  “The researchers found that I. scapularis (black-legged ticks) most consistently parasitizes bird species such as thrushes, brown thrashers, wrens and wood warblers….

Lyme disease can cause severe health problems, including arthritis, nervous system abnormalities and irregular heart rhythm. It is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, with the number of reported human infections doubling between 1992 and 2006.”

The Yale 2009 findings corroborate findings made in 1989 by other researchers in a published article entitled Lyme Disease and Migrating Birds  in the Saint Croix River Valley, Weisbrod and Johnson, Appl. Environ. Microbiology, 1989, 55(8) 1921-1924. In that study the authors contend that 22.4% of the deer ticks they encountered were infected with Borrelia Burgdorferia, the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease.  They conclude their article by saying “Our data corroborate previous observations that migratory birds are important agents in the dispersal of tick-borne diseases (13, 14, 24) and support the suggestion (2, 7) that the widespread distribution of B. burgdo.feri is a function of dispersal by tick-infested birds.”

Healthnewsdisgest.com points out that deer play a role in keeping the tick population alive, but not in spreading the disease.  Most people do not know that White-tailed deer have blood that is immune to the Lyme Disease bacteria.  That means deer do not spread the  disease, but they do provide a blood meal for deer ticks and help their population grow.

In short, we need to be aware that Lyme Disease can be easily found anywhere where birds, deer, or other wildlife can be found.

Professor of Entomology Says Warm Winter Likely Will Result in More Ticks and Mosquitoes

An article  on CNYcentral.com indicates that the warm winter we are experiencing in 2011-2012 will cause an “explosion of ticks and mosquitoes.”  The article quotes Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, a professor of entomology and a specialist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. She says that if the  winter remains mild “This year, lots and lots of hungry ticks will emerge even on warm winter days. I anticipate the mosquito problems we normally see to be much more intense and begin earlier than usual if the weather continues to be mild. Even the fleas have had a boost so far this winter and many people are complaining about flea problems right now, in the middle of winter.”  Professor Gnagloff-Kaufmann is not the only authority to say that a mild winter will mean more ticks and mosquitoes.  In 2006, the Associated Press reported that experts in New Hampshire said “The wet fall followed by a mild winter tends to mean more mosquitoes, he said. A rainy spring would make things worse.”   Most people remember that the fall of 2011 was very wet in Frederick, MD and this has been a mild winter.  Be prepared for lots of ticks and mosquitoes in the region.  Our pest control solution has proven to be effective in controlling those and other insects.

Warm Winter Likely Will Mean More Mosquitoes This Spring

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We have been experiencing a warm winter this year (2012).  In fact, we received a phone call from somebody asking about mosquito control on February 8, 2012.  The caller reported being bit by a mosquito in early February.  A recent news article out of Georgia predicts that a warm winter could cause mosquitoes to come out earlier than they normally do.

According to the article “As long as the temperatures are below 40 degrees most insects won’t grow and spawn, according to Paul Guillebeau, professor of entomology at the University of Georgia.

But with high temperatures expected to be in the 40s this weekend, entomologists say we’ll likely see insects emerging soon.”

Professor Guillebeau also says that each generation of a species of insects cause the population to grow tenfold.   In addition to the threat to humans, the article talks about the threat to dogs.  Another entomologist at the University of Georgia,  Nancy Hinkle, says “Mosquito bites are the only way they (pets) can get heartworm. There is never a day of the year where you don’t have to worry about your dog getting heartworms.”

One piece of advice from the professors is to reduce the standing water in your yard.  ”A female mosquito lays eggs about every five days, so by cleaning things like bird baths once a week the eggs won’t have a chance to mature. ‘A lot of the nasty species develop in containers, just anything with standing water, trash, tires, etc., so it’s important to be dumping those kind of things out all year long,’ [Evan] Lampert (Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Gainesville State College) said.   We have found that it is impossible to drain all the standing water that mosquitoes breed in.  This is due to the fact that Asian Tiger Mosquitoes, a very prevalent species here in Frederick, lay their eggs in dry areas that they know will flood when it rains.  For that reason, our customers have found that our regular mosquito treatments will help them take back their yard and enjoy the outdoors again.

Maryland Residents are at High Risk of Lyme Disease

Living in Frederick, MD, and owning a pest control company that offers to kill ticks that carry Lyme Disease, we have heard multiple stories about people getting Lyme Disease in the area.  We meet customers who appear to be permanently disabled because of the Lyme Disease that infected them.  Many experts hypothesize that most people get Lyme Disease in their own backyard and that treating your yard in the spring and fall will go a long way to eliminating deer ticks in your yard.  A story published in USAtoday on February 3, 2012 reveals that researchers at Yale University have concluded that Maryland is among the states with the highest risk of Lyme Disease.   The researchers canvassed large areas of the country from 2004 to 2007.  According to the article the researchers map shows ”a clear risk of Lyme disease across much of the Northeast, from Maine to northern Virginia. Researchers also identified a distinct high-risk region in the upper Midwest, including most of Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and a sliver of northern Illinois.”

Other interesting findings include:  ”More than 90 percent of those cases were in 12 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. (emphasis added)”; and “About 1 in 5 ticks collected were infected — more than researchers expected — and that percentage was fairly constant across geographic areas, she said. Researchers had expected the infection rate to vary. (emphasis added)”   This study is an important contribution to understanding where Lyme Disease was the biggest threat to public health in 2004-2007, and is and will be a threat in the future.   The lead researcher indicates that the places that were at high risk would not change, except that places that were considered emerging threats may have increased their risk.  People who are infected by  a Lyme Disease infected tick, and aren’t treated timely, “can develop arthritis, meningitis and some other serious illnesses.”

The Best Way to Kill Stink Bugs

On October 28, 2011 I attended a conference for pest control professionals where the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) was the main topic of discussion.  Some highlights from the conference.  The University of Maryland says that exclusion is the best way to control stink bugs.  In other words, they suggest that homeowners simply seal their house.  Many of our customers report having tried everything to seal their homes, but their homes were still infested with stink bugs.  Sealing your house can only get you so far.  One of my customers told me that he heard a BMSB can shrink down to the size of two pieces of paper stacked on top of each other.  The BMSB can enter your home from various places, including vents, chimneys, windows, under the siding, the eaves, doors, etc.  Of course, sealing the house only gets you so far.  I have met several people who stopped using doors to their homes because they knew that if they opened that door, stink bugs would come in in droves.   What good does it do to seal a house, if they swarm into your home when you open a door to go in or out?

The University of Maryland extension recommended that homeowners simply use a vacuum on any stink bugs that enter their home.  If you choose to do this, you run the risk of ruining the vacuum for any other purpose because the vacuum will smell horrible and, if you have a large infestation, you will spend hours a day vacuuming.  Many of my customers have reported that before they called Mosquito Squad of Frederick they would spend hours a day vacuuming up stink bugs during peak periods.

Our experience confirms that it is best to keep them out.  We find that our comprehensive treatment has helped hundreds of happy customers live without stink bugs invading their homes.  To see one customer’s video testimonial click here.  To see another, click here.

University of Maryland Predicts This Year Will Be the Worst for Stink Bugs

We just found this article in the Courier-Post out of Southern New Jersey.   Not only does the article say that we should expect billions of stink bugs this spring, it actually suggests that they will start mating later this month.   Our information is similar to the articles, except that we anticipate that the stink bugs will start mating in the spring, perhaps April or May.  If the weather stays warm the rest of the winter, perhaps they will come out sooner.   You may want to get some stink bug treatments in the spring to prevent as much mating as possible. 

I found it interesting that the person they chose to quote about how bad his stink bugs are happens to live right here in Frederick. 

The article says “In his 90-year-old farmhouse south of Frederick, Md., Doug Inkley is already under siege. He’s a biologist for the National Wildlife Federation, and he loves bugs.”  Poor Mr. Inkley has actually counted the number of stink bugs that he has vacuumed up inside his home, more than 12,000 since January.   According to the article the brown marmorated stink bug, plaguing this area, are at least one bug he does not like, or love for that matter. 

Brace yourself, the experts discussed in this article, say this year should be the worst.  “Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland who’s been studying the bugs, predicts this year will be the worst so far.” 

Here are some tips from the article:

How to kill stink bugs

You may be tempted to crush them, but you’ll be rewarded with an odor you won’t like. Instead:

- Vacuum them. This also will help kill stink bug eggs. But dispose of the vacuum bag, maybe dousing it with some insecticide as you set it in the trash can.

- Attract them. Use a wide-mouth can. Fill with an inch of water, sweet-scented dish soap, and a little cooking oil on top. Make sure that pets cannot lick this trap. The sweet smell lures the bugs; the oil smothers their discharge; the soapy water smothers them as they sink.

- Exterminate them with commercially available insecticides. But apply the chemicals outside. If you do so when they are in your walls, you could attract carpet beetles that feed on their carcasses and potentially your woolens.  (At Mosquito Squad, we use a product that kills the stink bugs as they land on the treated area for two to three weeks, and sometimes longer.  This product is only sold to certified applicators.). 

- Repel them. They don’t like the smell of garlic – if you can handle it.

- Block them. Caulk small openings and cracks in your house or elsewhere to keep them out of structures. Repair damaged screens.

Sources: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences, city of Burkittsville, Md.

Fort Detrick Scientists Receive Award for Mosquito Trap

According to a January 29, 2011 article in the Frederick News Post,  two researchers in Fort Detrick (located here in Frederick, MD), developed a mosquito trap to help reduce Dengue Fever. 

Realizing that the Aedes Genus of mosquito is one of the biggest vectors of Dengue Fever, “The two combined their efforts behind the idea that female Aedes mosquitoes will lay eggs only in a container holding water.”  That is not true of all Aedes mosquitoes.  In fact, the Asian Tiger Mosquito found in many places in and around Frederick,and a potential vector (transmitter) of Dengue Fever and other diseases like West Nile Virus, are Aedes mosquitoes.  The Asian Tiger (Aedes Albopictus) are known as floodwater mosquitoes because they lay their eggs in containers, tree holes, or other places that the female mosquito knows will flood when it rains.  They often will lay their eggs, then, in places that do not contain water when they lay their eggs. 

The scientists at Fort Detrick created a pint-sized water container with a strip covered in pesticide to kill the female mosquitoes and the larvae.  According to the report it was successfully used in Key West, FL where they had a Dengue outbreak.  Dengue Fever had not been known to be transmitted in the continental United States for many years, but last year the disease was once again documented to be transmitted inside Florida’s boundaries. 

I doubt that the trap would be successful here against the Asian Tiger mosquito, whose latin name is Aedes Albopictus, as they can breed in a container the size of a bottle cap and consequently do not need a pint of water to lay eggs.  As I said before, the Aedes Albopictus does not need water to be present either when it lays eggs. 

Nonetheless, it is good to read about efforts to reduce the transmission of disease through mosquitoes.  As the article concludes, the World Health Organization recommends mosquito control to prevent the outbreak of mosquito borne disease.