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Let me tell you a story. It’s the story of a gnat. Let’s call him Gary. What is a gnat, you may ask. That’s a great question. Hold on a sec while I go get my soapbox. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GNAT. People use the term all the time to describe nearly any small fly they find in nearly any situation. This is a problem because there are lots of species of small flies that can be found in many different areas. Garry could be a fruit fly (also called vinegar flies), Phorid fly (

When someone finds a hole in a wool coat or a silk rug, the first thing they say is, "A moth ate my clothes!" I hate to be the bearer of bad news (well, maybe I don't, I am  an entomologist), but that’s not entirely true. The adult moths you see fluttering around? They don't even have functional mouthparts. They don’t eat anything at all. The real villains are their "teenagers"—the larvae. Whether you are managing a high-end retail boutique, a museum, or just your own walk-in

While I talk about this topic often within posts, I don’t often focus on it. It makes people uncomfortable, sometimes you can see them squirm. Some people immediately get mad, while others start to get defensive. So let’s dive into it.   Let’s say some dirty words. Pesticide. There, I’ve said it. The definition of a pesticide (per the EPA) is anything that claims to kill, control, repel, or mitigate a pest. This includes insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, and sometimes e

Since we recently talked about springtails , let’s talk about another common pest that is often confused with springtails. They are found in many of the same places and under the same conditions as springtails. If you guessed psocids, you’re right. If you’ve ever been inspecting a food warehouse or a client’s pantry and seen tiny, pale specks scurrying across a pallet of flour or a dusty shelf, you might have encountered these.   They often get called booklice, which is one

So if you follow me, and you obviously do since you are reading this, there was some good stuff last year. Along with everything else I do, I enjoy writing the blog and doing the wine-ing videos. You folks had some definite winners, so let’s take a look back and see what happened last year!   Blogs: You folks really like the “ Not My Fault! ” blog talking about when pests are coming from neighbors.   I’m with all of you who enjoyed “ We Don’t Talk about Bruno ” where I talked

It’s officially winter, and while many of us are dreaming of cozy fires and hot cocoa, our six-legged (and occasionally eight-legged or four-legged) friends have the exact same idea. In the pest world, there’s a common misconception that once it gets cold, all the bugs just… disappear. I wish it were that simple! While some go into diapause (essentially insect hibernation), others decide that your heated facility or home is the perfect place to ride out the chill. Here’s the

One of the reasons I have the best job is that I get to troubleshoot. I get to try to put puzzles together, often without all the pieces. I tend to have a “standard” set of questions I start with to pry out additional information, and then I let my brain start working through the problem. I know that when a question gets to me, it’s likely the client has already tried all the “basic” IPM steps so it’s always exciting to start thinking about how to get creative with pest contr

We're back this month with our series of ten questions with a pro. Every other month, I’m interviewing a “pro” to find out what they do, how they do it, and how it helps pest control efforts. Today, we are talking with the fabulous Dr. Jody Green! 1. Give us the quick version of what you do?  I am an extension educator and urban entomologist with Nebraska Extension. I provide education and resources to help people make better decisions associated with arthropod pests in their

I had an amazingly good picture sent to me recently for identification and I realized I haven’t talked about these little insects* on the blog yet.   There are millions of springtails in the soil. They are tiny so most people will never notice them outside. There are over eight thousand species worldwide wide but most scientists will tell you that is a huge underestimation. It’s just that no one has identified the rest yet. They get the name “springtail” because many species