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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

If you’ve recently opened a newly constructed building or moved into a brand-new home, you might have noticed some tiny, dark specks crawling near the baseboards. Before you call the movers or file a massive insurance claim, let's talk about the beetles in the family Latridiidae, commonly known as plaster beetles or minute brown scavenger beetles. These beetles are the ultimate "I’m here because it’s damp" indicators. In fact, they have a history that goes back to the days

I'm in Orlando this week at PestWorld so I'm super excited to see what's new and get to talk to everyone. Which brings up an interesting point. Is there anything new? Aside from a few new invasive insects which aren't necessarily structural pests (spotted lanternfly, spotted lady beetles, etc.) our pests haven't changed much. So here's a quick rundown of some history on our common pests. Starting with one of my favorites: cigarette beetles. These go back to ancient Egyptian

I’m inspecting a food facility this week and there’s always something interesting that you find. So this week, let’s talk about...

I needed a few things from one of the big box hardware stores. My hard hat was way past its use-by date , and I needed a newer...

I fly a lot for work and for fun. I’ve been flying since I was about three. Aside from being locked in a metal tube with 100 people you...

I was giving a webinar on rodents last week and someone asked a brilliant question: what can you do when the pest problem is coming from...

Apparently, March is National Flour Month. It’s also National Invasive Species Week this week. It only makes sense to feature flour...

Pesticides often get a bad reputation, especially in the media, and can be viewed as “nasty chemicals” or “harmful” or even just “evil”....

I do not live out west where the devastating fires are continuing, and that doesn’t mean I’m not impacted. All of us will be in some way...

As sometimes happens, I have a blog post almost ready to go. Then something happens, or I see an article, or my news feed lights up. What...