A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Dust Mites The house dust mite (sometimes referred to by allergists as HDM) is a cosmopolitan guest in human habitation. Dust mites feed on organic detritus such as flakes of shed human skin and flourish in the stable environment of dwellings. House dust mites are a common cause of asthma and allergic symptoms worldwide. The mite's gut contains potent digestive enzymes (notably proteases) that persists in their feces and are major inducers of a...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Crickets Crickets, family Gryllidae (also known as "true crickets"), are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets (family Tettigoniidae). They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets. They tend to be nocturnal and are often confused with grasshoppers because they have a similar body structure including jumping hind legs. Crickets are harmles...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Earwigs Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, found throughout the Americas, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With 1,800 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forceps pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short forewings, hence the scientific order name, "skin wings." Some groups are tiny parasites on mammals and lack the typical pince...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Fire Ants Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. They have several common names, including ginger ants, tropical fire ants and red ants. Scroll up... and click on "Buy Now" to deliver almost instantly to your Kobo or other reading device.

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Centipedes Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, "hundred", and pes, pedis, "foot") are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, e.g. 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs) but never 16 pairs (32 legs)....

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Millipedes Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are short...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Maggots As with fleas and ticks, maggots can be a threat to household pets and livestock, especially sheep. Flies reproduce rapidly in the summer months and maggots can come in large numbers, creating a maggot infestation and a high risk of myiasis in sheep and other animals. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis. Interaction between humans and maggots usually occurs near garbage cans, dead animals...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Gnats A gnat (play /ˈnæt/) is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the Dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. Male gnats often assemble in large mating swarms or ghosts, particularly at dusk. Gnat larvae are mostly free-living and some are aquatic. Many feed on plants, though some are carnivorous. Larval plant feeders (such as the Hessian fly larva) c...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Grubs A larva (Latin; plural larvae) or grub is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Larva is Latin for "ghost." The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (e.g. caterpillars and butterflies), and a larva often has unique structures and lar...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Hornets Hornets are the largest eusocial wasps; some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex (part of the head behind the eyes), which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters (the section of the abdomen behind the wasp waist). Scroll up... and click on "Buy Now" to deliver almost insta...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Chiggers Trombiculidae (pronounced /trɒmbɨˈkjuːlɨdiː/) is a family of mites called trombiculid mites (also called berry bugs; harvest mites; red bugs; scrub-itch mites; aoutas; and, in their larval stage, chiggers). The term chigger is often confused with the term jigger , the Chigoe flea. Trombiculidae live in the forests and grasslands and are also found in low, damp areas where vegetation is rank such as woodlands, berry bushes, orchards, al...

A Crash Course on How to Get Rid of Moths Most moth species are nocturnal in nature. While some are harmless and others are known to be beneficial for their silk and nutritional value, most moths and caterpillars are considered nuisance pests. A few, including the Io moth, the Saddleback caterpillar moth and the Southern flannel moth, are more sinister because the larvae can sting.  Particularly in agricultural communities, some moth and caterpillar populations cause severe ...