Halloween is upon us, and with it comes an affinity for all things creepy… and creepy crawly. In addition to pumpkins, ghosts, and ghouls, we often decorate our homes with oversized sparkly spiders and giant spiderwebs.
In addition to a neighborhood full of spider-themed holiday decorations, you may be seeing more real, live spiders than usual. Is there a reason we seem to see more spiders in the fall?
Playing in a pile of autumn leaves is a core childhood memory. We all remember crisp, cool weekends spent raking leaves and jumping into the ever-shifting heap of reds, yellows, and golds.
When you were younger, you probably didn’t realize that those piles of pure joy had a hidden ick factor. Before you share the leaf-jumping experience with your own kids or pets, be aware that your pile of fallen leaves may be harboring troublesome pests.
They’re smart, difficult to eradicate, and – as a species – will probably outlive us all. Yes, we’re referring to cockroaches. These prolific pests can produce hundreds of offspring during their lifetime, and they can live for nearly a year… a robust lifespan for an insect.
You might think that cold weather would reduce their numbers… but cockroaches are nature’s little problem solvers. They find ways to survive the winter, and you may be unwittingly helping them to do just that.
Watching squirrels frolicking is a late summer pleasure. Let’s face it, they’re adorable – chasing each other across the yard and gathering food for the cooler months to come.
They may be cute, but are squirrels truly welcome on your property? And what about your garden: do they do more harm or good for your plants?
Dealing with an ant infestation can be frustrating. Just when you think you’ve eliminated them, they mysteriously pop up in a different location and work in concert to avoid your extermination efforts. You think surely, they’re gone… but there they are, marching in lockstep into your pantry.
How can these tiny insects with minuscule brains be so good at thwarting your efforts to get rid of them? The answer lies in how those tiny brains work together to manifest an outsized level of intelligence.
Bees and hornets may look similar at first glance. But they have some clear differences if you know what to look for. They have distinct physical characteristics, nesting locations, diets, aggression levels, and sting severity.
