Pests in your Mother's Day Flowers?

May 9, 2012 | Pest Control

Mothers, there is a good chance that you may be getting flowers this Sunday!  Flowers are a beautiful gift that bring light and happiness to a person’s day when they are the lucky recipient.  But holidays like this Sunday’s Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day, brings lots of work for US Customs and Border Protection workers.  For Mother’s Day, an estimated 40 million flowers will be examined for pests.

Plants are often imported from other countries and can carry pests or even diseases.  According to msnbc, “On a typical day, the CBP seizes about 4,436 prohibited plant, meat and animal byproducts and finds 570 agricultural pests from abroad that could harm US agriculture.” (Source)

Read Getting the bugs out–literally–of Mother’s Day flowers at LAX on dailybreeze.com for more information on the inspection of plants that are being imported into the US.

Now you can appreciate that beautiful bouquet that you get on Sunday even more knowing all of the hard work that goes into them.  They have been thoroughly checked, put together, and purchased with LOVE!

Northwest Exterminating would like to wish all the moms a Happy Mother’s Day and say Thank You for all that you do!!

What was your favorite Mother’s Day gift?

 

5 Bugs to Love

Feb 14, 2012 | Pest Control

Valentine’s Day is a day of LOVE!  Bugs aren’t something that we usually “love” but in the spirit of the holiday, here are 5 bugs to love!

  1. Ladybugs are not only one of the cuter bugs out there but they are beneficial because they eat large quantities of aphids, mites and other arthropods that feed on various plants in your yard or garden. Imported more than 100 years ago to defend orchards and orange groves, ladybugs can eat up to 5,000 pests in their lifetime.
  2. Earthworms are nature’s most efficient composters.  These scavengers create the kind of well-aerated, humus-rich soil gardeners call “black gold.”
  3. The love bug is also known as the honeymoon fly, kissing bug, or double-headed bug.  The adult is a small, flying insect common to the southeastern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast.  During and after mating, adult pairs remain coupled, even in flight, for up to several days.
  4. The praying mantis is named for the “praying” position that it often assumes.  This insect will eat just about any living thing it can fit in its mouth, helpful or not. It is known to consume mosquitoes, nocturnal moths, bees, beetles, small lizards, even frogs—as well as fellow praying mantises.
  5. Bumblebees collect nectar and the pollen that will make tomato plants and apple trees produce more fruit.  The female bumblebee can sting but they much prefer to stick to gentler business.

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