Search Results for: Lacewing/feed/Common house mite

Crab louse

…louse has a mixed reputation as not only a pests but also a parasites that feed on human blood. Appearance The small louse is perfectly adapted to its peculiar way of life and therefore has no wings. Its head is designed for its blood-sucking purpose, which is why the mouthparts are built to stick and suck with, while the eyes are quite reduced. Also, the body bears the imprint of this purpose, and its hind legs end in a kind of claw or powerful c…

Longhorn beetles

…es lay their eggs in bark crevices or splits in the timber, and the larvae feed on the wood. Their development may take several years. When fully grown each larva prepares an enlarged pupal chamber, often lined with coarse wood fibres, in which it pupates and later metamorphoses to the adult beetle. The different species vary widely in their choice of timber. Some can thrive only in hardwood, others exclusively in softwood, some attack fresh, newl…

Animals in masonry and insulation

There are no animals which actually feed on bricks, mortar or plaster, but there are many, such as woodlice, earwigs and spiders, which use the holes and cracks that appear in masonry as places to hide in or for laying their eggs. There are, however, some which actually dig their way into mortar. A Davies’s colletes returns home to its nest with pollen Woodpeckers Now and again woodpeckers find out that there are fat, juicy bee larvae in the wall…

Horse-fly bites

Only the female horse flies suck blood. The males feed on nectar. A horse fly, which is about to suck blood, is almost impossible to get off, and is therefore easy to kill. Their eyes are well developed, and they often use their eyesight when finding their hosts. They move towards dark silhouettes in the landscape, and there is a greater risk of being bitten by them, when wearing dark clothes. The horse fly prefers to bite white people through da…

Davies’s Colletes

…y there are 2-8 cells in each tunnel. The larvae which hatch from the eggs feed on the stored food, overwinter in the cell, pupate in the following spring and emerge as adult bees, usually in early July. In normal circumstances the damage done by these bees is fairly restricted, but it can be annoying when plaster is being gnawed out the whole time, and in a serious attack when much mortar is being removed it may be necessary to take countermeasur…

Trypodendron

…Xyloterus ) Timber showing the activities of this ambrosia beetle is quite commonly seen in Europe. It lives in conifers; others are associated with deciduous trees. After mating the female drives a short tunnel into the trunk of the tree, and from this she makes two or three horizontal egg-galleries, which usually follow the annual rings. She then gnaws small niches in the roof and floor of the galleries and lays an egg in each one. When they hat…

Moths in the food industry

…dustry. Moths are typically seen as problems among breakfast producers and feed manufacturers for dog and cat food. However, they can also be a nuisance in chocolate factories, so it is not only the drier products that moths go into. One of the reasons that moths in the food industry can cause problems with so many different types of food is that there are simply several different moths. Here we will deal with three specific species, namely Plodia…

Ant beetle

…(Latin: Corynetes coeruleus) (Ham beetle) – Ant beetle, corynetes coeruleus This beetle has very similar habits to the preceding species, Opilo. Its larvae wander round in the tunnels and attack wood-boring larvae. They may also feed on the larvae of moths and larder beetles, for example in birds’ nests, and like the copra beetles (p. 75) they are sometimes found on dry carrion. Ant beetle is a natural enemy of timber pests….

Ambrosia beetles

…d and they produce nutritious spores on which the beetles and their larvae feed. This food is known as ambrosia. In Greek mythology ambrosia was the food of the gods, and their drink was nectar. Aisles of ambrosia beetles in a split piece of wood. The horizontal passage is the mother passage, from whose floor and ceiling the short larval passages emanate. When the tree dries out the fungi can no longer thrive and the attack dies out, so in normal…

Honey bee

…ing the colony. This is followed by a period in which the workers tend and feed the larvae. After this they turn to a period of constructional work, producing wax from special glands on the underside of the abdomen which is used for building new cells, and they also look after the pollen and nectar brought into the colony. The latter part of their lives is occupied in foraging for food to support the colony. From time to time the workers build a f…

The lesser mealworm beetle

…opics and can be found as it eats mould from very damps cereals, flour and feed residues. It had its first chance to form large populations when we began feeding chickens in large chicken coops with litter in which manure accumulates for a long time. It performs the important piece of work it is to reduce fertilizer volume and it also reduces the amount of fly larvae. In laboratory tests it has been possible to show that the lesser mealworm beetle…

Biscuit or drugstore beetle

…ed. When they have found a food that suits them they gnaw their way in and feed very rapidly, and become so fat and lethargic that they are quite helpless if they should accidentally fall out. Drugstore beetle larvae in cough drops The larvae prefer hard, dried products such as crisp bread, pasta and dog biscuits. They can also live in dried vegetables, nuts and spices. The adult beetles fly well and as they are attracted by light they are sometim…

Bookworm

…with wood-boring larvae may, when they make their way out of timber, gnaw holes in paper that is nearby, as for example wallpaper….

Stable fly bites

Both sexes feed on blood, and the meals are a few days apart. Stable flies prefer cattle blood, so in the barn, they rarely attack humans. The stable flies that stray into living quarters, however, are likely to put their proboscis in humans. They mostly bite legs and it hurts, it almost feels like a needle prick. Stable flies only bite during the day, and usually there is no doubt regarding the diagnosis. Stable flies can be a nuisance for human…

Yellow swarming fly

…early autumn. Especially in properties located on the upper floors of tall houses and buildings. But the yellow swarming fly also has a particular tendency to visit – or invade – houses covered with ivy or wild wine. The reason for this is presumably because such areas can constitute ideal natural wintering sites for the grass fly. However, there is no reason to move heaven and earth if the yellow swarming fly should have found its way inside. The…

Swallow

…en the individual nests. They often return to the same nest year after year, and in Britain they usually start to lay eggs in the middle of May. They feed on insects, mainly flies, gnats, midges, which are caught in the air….

Beech marten

…gh not Britain) beech martens occur quite commonly on farms and in holiday houses in the country. They sometimes live in the lofts where they make their lairs in hay or straw, or even in the roof insulation. The 2-5 young are born in late April. The adults catch rats and mice, and also take quite a number of birds and their eggs. Normally martens are not much seen, for they start to hunt about an hour or two after midnight, having first moved arou…

Bed bugs

…by an oval flattened body, which depends on if it has been feeding. After feeding the hind body will swell. When feeding it will get a reddish- brown color. Biology and behavior There are various stories about the history of this pest, but many believe that its origin can be dated back to the cave existence of our ancestors, as other cave animals also have bed bugs. The pest itself is nocturnal and often hides in cracks during the day and will co…

Prevention of dog- and cat fleas

…r. You can also get the product in the form of tablet which the dog or cat must swallow once a month during the flea season. In the spring, dogs and cats can bring bird fleas inside. Bird fleas can only survive inside the house for short periods of time, and consequently, control is rarely necessary. If the dog or cat suddenly is infested with fleas in April-May, be sure to determine the species before deciding if control is necessary….

Blowflies

…the summer months. Eggs, flyblow from blowflies in fish The blowflies most commonly seen in the house are the large bluebottles, Calliphora erythrocephala and the slightly smaller, iridescent greenbottles such as Lucilia sericata. Under normal conditions female blowflies lay their eggs on dead animals, the smell of which can attract them from a distance of several kilometres. They also lay on other decomposing organic matter and on faeces. During…

Who will take care of the problem.

…ified. If you neglect to inform that you have bed bugs, you may incur a liability in damages if the animals spread throughout the property. It is the property, which, according to “the Danish Rent Act”, has an obligation to provide control. If you live in your own house you have to either take care of the problem yourself – further instructions can be found on the Internet – or you can turn to one of the companies that deal with this kind of pest…

Hedgehog fleas

…st and they die very quickly if they are taken into the dry climate of the house. Hedgehog fleas can infest dogs and cats if they are playing with a hedgehog or sniffs at a hedgehog nest, but hedgehog fleas cannot survive on these animals for long periods of time. If you are constantly infested with new hedgehog fleas from one particular corner of your garden, you must locate the hedgehog nest, which is probably abandoned, and treat it as well as…

Brown rat

…of man and his domestic animals. Under favourable conditions, in grain warehouses and outhouses, brown rats will breed throughout the year and they are extraordinarily prolific. A pair of rats and their offspring can produce about a thousand individual in the course of a year. Brown rats live in groups, the individuals within each group recognising each other by smell. They are shy animals which are mainly active during the hours of darkness. They…

Occasional visitors

…Many different animals may be brought into the house more or less accidentally, e.g. with fruit or flowers. It would be impossible to catalogue them all, but a few examples may suffice….

Pesticides and methods

…ime it had become clear that these repellents have many adverse effects on people exposed to them, not to mention their effect in nature. Insecticides for use in the house have one by one been removed from the market, so that today, there are no really powerful repellents…

General treatment

…lea problem by treating the person which has been bitten. Neither powder, nor sprays or ointment has effect in this regard. The only rational thing to do is to find the hot bed and eradicate the fleas, where they are found in the house. If the itching is so bad that there is a danger that you might scratch a hole, it may help some to apply a local anesthetic on the bite. The remedies that pharmacies sell for relief of sunburn are excellent for thi…

Prevention

…You can avoid hornets settling into the house, by covering potential nesting holes with nylon nets. First and foremost, the gaps between boards in the eaves and vents in the walls need to be covered….

Mouse proofing

…be made proof against mice when it is actually being built. Even the best houses have their weak points where mice can gain entrance, and it is often difficult to find these and render them secure. It is always a good idea to ensure that cellar windows are closed, that window panes are unbroken, and that doors close tightly. All cracks and holes in the walls that are more than 7 mm across must be covered with fine-mesh netting; this would include…

Butterflies

…duce a hard, angular, immobile pupa (Page 24). These pupae can be found in houses and other sheltered places throughout the winter. The adult butterflies emerge from them in the spring and fly out into the open. Sometimes, instead of pupating in the normal way, a cabbage white caterpillar will stop feeding and a mass of tiny larvae will crawl out of it; sometimes they come out of the butterfly pupa. These larvae will then pupate immediately, each…

Prevention

…been there, it is a good idea not to bring your luggage directly into the house. Find an appropriate place where it can be in “quarantine” and check the content before it is brought inside. Clothes may be put directly into the washing machine, or a week or so in the freezer. If the suitcase or backpack has any suspicious cavities it can be sprayed with an insecticide. Used furniture poses a risk. The beautiful painting from the flea market or the…