The Ants come marchin........

Are you tired of the cold weather?  So are the bugs.  Spring is just around the corner.  The weather will start warming up, and the bugs will start to invading your home with full force.  

Here are a few tips to help keep the bugs out:

1.  Make sure all bushes and trees are cut away from the home. (These are perfect places for pests hide.  They will use the bushes and trees as bridges onto your home.)

2.  Make sure you have screens on your windows, and they are in good repair. (Screens don't work very well to keep out most pests, but they will keep out the flying insects.)

3.  Check door sweeps.  (Just a small crack under the door is like leaving the door completely open for pests.)

4.  Clean out those window wells.  (Dirty window wells create a perfect environment for pests.)

There are many more ways to keep pests out of your home.  

Mice moving in.

They may look cute and cuddly, but these little animals can cause damage, and can carry disease. The weather is starting to change, and the temperature is turning colder. Mice are looking for a warm place to hang out for the winter. This could include your shed, garage or home. Mice can squeeze through an opening 1/4 inch in size. They can contaminate food by nibbling on it or covering it with feces, urine, and fur. Under stable conditions a mice will forage 10 to 33 feet from their nesting area. A successful rodent control program should include a combination of baiting and trapping. This should also include exclusion techniques, general clean up and removal of their hiding places (harborage areas).

TARANTULA

Wednesday the 10th,

I was driving down the highway heading to Eureka. For those of you who don't know where Eureka is, it is out in the middle of no man's land. West of Santaquin, Utah. While driving down this road I rounded a bend and thought that I saw a black rock in the road. I swerved to miss it and realized it was a wild Tarantula. Well of course I pulled of the road to try and catch it. This is a problem, everything that I have in my vehicle is made to kill bugs, not catch them to keep them. I decided to dump out my mouse bait stations and use the box for this large spider. He is really cool to look at. The next day I took the spider to my sons school so he could show it off to his class. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet.

Dirt has never tasted soo good!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
32 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling

DIRECTIONS
Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear.
Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl.
In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.
Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.
Layer in flower pot, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers.
Chill until ready to serve.
Add gummy worms, bugs and trowel. Enjoy!

Wolf Spiders

Wolf spiders received their name due to an early belief that they hunted in packs. Other names for the Wolf spider are Ground spider and the Hunting spider. Wolf spiders do not make webs, instead they hunt for their food. This is why most people will see more Wolf spiders than any other spider. They hunt for their prey both during the day and during the night. They have both excellent vision and touch. The mother Wolf spider will usually carry its egg sack on its back which can make the spider look very large. After they hatch, the mother will carry the newborn spiders on her back until they are half grown and can hunt on their own. Even though the Wolf spider is poisonous, its venom is not lethal to humans. The Wolf spider is not known to be aggressive, but will bite if it feels it is in danger or being attacked. They also move extremely fast when they are disturbed

Earwigs are in full swing.

Earwigs are primarily nocturnal, feeding at night. They are scavengers, eating primarily dead insects and decomposing plant materials. Some earwig species are attracted to lights.
During the day, earwigs will seek shelter under organic matter such as mulch, pine straw, leaf litter, and other debris. Earwigs prefer dark and damp areas like under sidewalks, and stones.
Earwigs eat live plants and can do damage to field crops.
Earwigs are found in homes and can get in through entry points like doors and windows, and by going up the foundation.
Their populations build up around foundations. Earwigs produce large populations rather quickly and are often a major problem in new subdivisions.
Earwigs live in habitats that also harbor centipedes, sow bugs (roly-poly), and millipedes.

In a season, females reproduce up to 20-60 eggs laid in burrows (called chambers), 2 to 3 inches beneath the soil.
Most species have one generation a year, over-wintering in the soil. Both adults and the young require moisture to live.