I bet you haven’t seen our technicians out and about today, right? That’s because today is our monthly training day! We are pleased to welcome Paul Bello, a certified entomologist and pest expert from Atlanta. Some of his training sessions for today include ants (because, well, ’tis the season!) as well as  how to handle difficult pest situations.

Temperatures in the 90’s. Last day of school. Pools opening for the season. BBQ plans coming together. Lemonade stands. Oh yeah — sweet summertime is here! As I think of summer (and now a nice tall glass of ice cold lemonade — yum!), one word that comes to mind is refreshing. The word refresh means to invigorate or to welcome and stimulate something that is new or different. 

Thanks, Lucy, for writing us to let us know how refreshed you felt by our customer service when we recently helped you out with an ant issue. From your first email to us (by the way, your use of the ant emoji was on-point!) to calls with our customer service reps to a visit from our technician Nate, we love that we were able to introduce you to experiencing pest control in a new and different way — a “refreshing” way.  We are a family-owned company and treat each other as well as our customers just like we would our own family members with kindness, honesty, respect and consideration. We have built a strong reputation in the community for excellence and we love when that shows through to our customers in refreshing ways. 

Now there’s only one question left when it comes to refreshing lemonade: yellow lemonade OR pink lemonade? (Total #TeamPinkLemonade here!) 

The Bug Barometer is released twice a year by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and their team of entomologists. It predicts seasonal forecasts of pest pressures by region based on weather patterns, long-term predictions and pest biological behaviors.

Here’s what the Bug Barometer predicts for our area (North Central US):

“After a very cold and wet winter, warm & rainy spring conditions may jump-start mosquito populations and allow tick populations to flourish. Warm, dry summer conditions in the northern part of this region will help ant populations thrive and could mean more exposure to stinging insects.”

Hot sunny days call for ice cream. But…insect ice cream?

An Australian researcher is exploring how maggots, locusts and other insects can be used as alternative forms of proteins by being added to familiar foods. I mean, lobsters aren’t exactly pretty but dip them in drawn butter and your mouth will melt. But why does this researcher suggest we turn to bugs when tasty steaks await us?

Professor Lowrens Hoffman is convinced that the livestock many of us rely on for protein sources will not be able to accommodate the growing populations of the future. He suggests that Westerners, who typically wouldn’t eat bugs, might be much more willing to do so if they’re disguised and tucked inside other more familiar foods.

As of now, there’s 113 counties that practice entomophagy, a scientific word for eating bugs. Over 2,000 different insect species have won the approval of the United Nations as edible sources of protein.

So, tell me: Are you up for maggot sausage followed by cricket ice cream for dessert?

Ever had eye pain? Sure.

Watery eyes? 100%.

How about swollen eyelids? Yep. (Once you hit your 40’s, everything swells!)

But…what about bees LIVING IN YOUR EYES? Uh. Nope. #AndThankGoodness

A 29 year old woman in Taiwan started feeling some discomfort in her eyes while cleaning a relative’s grave. Assuming it was dust or dirt, she tried flushing it out with water but that didn’t help. Later that evening, after experiencing sharp pains and watery eyes, she went to the hospital where the doctors discovered four (yes, FOUR!) sweat bees underneath her eyelids that were feeding on her tear ducts.

Sweat bees are very small, typically non-aggressive bees that fly around looking for some human sweat to lick up as a way of supplementing their diets. Attracted to human sweat and often found near graves, the bees most likely flew into the woman’s eye while she was cleaning off the grave.

Carpenter ants get their name from their nest-building technique. Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat wood; however, they do chew through wood to excavate it & create smooth tunnels inside that form their nest.

TRUE or FALSE: Carpenter ants live in colonies of up to 1,000 workers. (Scroll down and look below the picture of the carpenter ant to learn the correct “ant”swer!)

“Ant”swer: We wish! Add another zero to that number and you have roughly the minimum number of worker ants that live in a colony. A colony can have anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 workers living in it!

Bed bugs aren’t picky at all when it comes to selecting their nightly accommodations. You’re just as likely to find them in a one-star motel (like a Motel 6) as you are to find in them in a five-star luxury hotel (like a Ritz-Carlton).

Sleep on that “fun” fact tonight. Until then…

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite. (Literally!)

Happy Mother’s Day to all you ladies! Whether you’re a mom or not, we bet there’s someone out there who wishes you were their mom. Make this day just as beautiful as you are!