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When most people hear the word "plague," they immediately picture medieval Europe, wooden carts, and plague doctors in bird masks. It feels like an ancient historical artifact. The plague is still very much active today. Yersinia pestis (the bacterium that causes plague) has been quietly circulating in the wildlife of the American West for decades. A recent announcement from the New Mexico Department of Health: a wild rodent in Santa Fe County officially tested positive for

The FIFA World Cup is here, and the numbers being tossed around are staggering. A recent piece by food safety expert Francine Shaw highlighted a logistics nightmare: one host city expects up to 10 million visitors but only has 28 health inspectors on staff. Yep, that’s my city of Atlanta. Let that sink in. Ten million international fans. Thousands of temporary food trucks, pop-up tents, and fan zones. The Atlanta airport has new food stalls in many terminals. All being monito

My cat was playing with a cockroach the other day, just one of the woods roaches that occasionally get in. Of course, I yelled at her (lots of good that did!) and removed the dead cockroach from her mouth and threw it out. Is my precious Max in danger from sucking on a cockroach? Probably not. Cockroaches elicit a definite “ew”, a distinct “yuck”, and a pretty definitive “nope” from most people and for good reason. The conditions they are found in are nasty and disgusting. So

I’m back from an amazing trip overseas. That being said, I have lost all sense of time and I’m a bit jetlagged. So I forgot yesterday was Tuesday. I’m now pretending today is yesterday and getting the blog out. Speaking of time travel, do you know how old termites are? (and yes, all the pictures in this week's blog were taken by me on this trip!) While I was in Kenya last week, in between inspections and other work, I had the privilege of going on safari with some absolutely

I was in Egypt last week helping out with some accounts and learning all about pest control in the region. Here are some cool things I'm taking back with me (aside from pounds/Kgs of dates!). Sorry there are no pictures, my internet is terrible here so suck it up. Large flies are one of the biggest problems there. Between infrastructure issues, stray animals, trash, and sanitation problems, there is prime breeding grounds for huge infestations. Mostly coming in from the outs

It was World Bee Day last week, and that’s a great time to talk about bees. Honey bees specifically. Honey bees are an invasive species. These are sometimes referred to as the European honey bee, the western honey bee, but ESA states the common name is simply the “honey bee”. If you want to get scientific about it, it’s Apis mellifera*, which comes from the Latin of Apis meaning bee and mellifera meaning honey-bearing. There is still a little controversy, but most science poi

It’s a few weeks into May and that means the grass is getting longer and the weeds are coming in. Literally, in many cases, because May is “No Mow May”. This is apparently the month to not mow your lawn and let it just do its thing. You would think that whoever came up with this is brilliant to explain away their laziness in this way. It does have another purpose. The purpose was to help early-season pollinators. Not mowing allows the wildflowers (what many people will see as

It just hit the news – Hantavirus is typically spread through the feces and urine of rodents. There has been mention of human-to-human transmission, but according to a 2022 paper reviewing that claim, “The balance of the evidence does not support the claim of human-to-human transmission.” It’s important to remember that Hantavirus is not a “flu-like symptoms” sickness. It can be, and in this case is, a lethal disease. Sure, it starts with flu-like symptoms but progresses qu

I’m currently on a semi-holiday, and let me tell you: work is a whole lot better when you’re watching the Atlantic Ocean, sipping tea, and enjoying a pastry from the local bakery. (Shout out to the amazing Bagel Stop here in Florida!) But even with the salt air, I can’t help but think about the unique challenges of pest control in vacation rentals. Whether it’s a tiny one-room cottage or a massive condo complex, one thing is certain: there will be guests... and there will be