The Portable Insect Misting System controls
and eliminates more than 300 types of flying and crawling
insects, spiders, and bugs. Count on your system to rid
the area of mosquitoes, wasps, stable flies, deer flies, bottle
flies, face flies, horse flies, bot flies, house flies, black
ants, red ants, fire ants, wood ants, mud daubers, red wasps,
yellow jackets, hornets, no-see-ums, moths, german roaches,
cockroaches, spiders including dangerous black widow spiders
and brown recluse spiders, scorpions, caterpillars, grasshoppers,
silverfish, crickets, centipedes, millipedes, lice, ticks,
june bugs, other beetles, fleas, gnats, love bugs, crane flies,
chiggers, and many other pests that can ruin your outdoor activities
or threaten your health.
Don't let insects ruin your outing, camping experience,
outdoor wedding, reception, horse show, trail ride, fishing
expedition, hunting trip, or any other planned activity. Get
your own Portable Insect Misting System and put the fun back
into your outings.
You can order a
system by going to the "Order The System" page. If
you have questions or special requests please call or email
us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Read below for more information about some of
the insects our system controls and information about
the West Nile virus.
WEST NILE VIRUS (WNV)
West Nile
virus (WNV) is a potentially serious illness. Experts believe
WNV is established as a seasonal epidemic in North America
that flares up in the summer and continues into the fall. When
dealing with West Nile virus, prevention is the best hedge.
Fighting mosquito bites reduces your risk of getting this disease,
along with others that mosquitoes can carry.
When possible, wear long-sleeves,
long pants and socks when outdoors. Spraying clothes with
repellent containing permethrin or DEET will give extra protection.
Do not spray repellent containing DEET on the skin under your
clothing.
The hours from dusk to dawn are peak mosquito biting
times for many species of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes lay their
eggs in standing water so limit the number of places around
your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items that
hold water.
Keep mosquitoes outside
by having well fitting screens on windows and doors.
Dead birds may be a sign
that West Nile virus is circulating between birds and the mosquitoes
in an area. More than 130 species of birds are known to have
been infected with West Nile virus, though not all infected
birds will die.
The chance that any one
person is going to become ill from a single mosquito bite remains
low. The risk of severe illness and death is highest for people
over 50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.
MOSQUITO
Female mosquitoes are usually larger than males. Females have fine threadlike
antennae with few hairs, whereas males have bushy antennae.
Adult mosquitoes have delicate legs, a long proboscis and one pair of transparent
wings.
The larvae and pupae of mosquitoes are aquatic. Larva go through
four larval instars in about 4 days before pupating. The pupa emerges as
an adult mosquito in 3 days.
Adult mosquitoes are free flying. Adult females can live several weeks. The
male mosquito typically lives less than a week Both male and female adult
mosquitoes feed on nectar. Females also feed on blood which is needed to
produce eggs. Some species can produce eggs without a blood meal. Adult mosquitoes
hide in vegetation near water or in cool, damp places.
Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that cause some of the worst diseases known,
including malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever and encephalitis. However,
mosquitoes only transmit the pathogens. In most cases, they must feed on
an animal with the disease to be able to transmit it from mammal to mammal.
Horse Fly
House Fly
FLIES
Flies go through four
distinct morphological stages; egg, larva (maggot), pupa and
adult. Larvae are maggots. They
are legless with soft bodies and dark mouth hooks.
Larvae feed on
decaying meat and feces. Adult flies feed on sugary food
of any kind, including nectar and rotting fruit.
Flies
live in garbage and wherever animal feces are available. Dead
animals attract flies within hours after death. Most flies
are diurnal. Birds, bats, spiders, dragonflies
and other insects eat the adults. Predatory and parasitic insects
eat the larvae.
A fly's eyes are among
the most complex in the insect world. They are compound eyes
with many individual facets, each representing a separate
light-detecting unit. The light reflected from the eye of
a horsefly can form a rainbow. The eyes of
a fly do not have eyelids, so flies rub their eyes with their
feet to keep them clean.
Flies taste, smell, and feel with the hairs that
cover their bodies. The hairs on the fly's mouth parts and
feet are used for tasting. Flies taste what they walk on. If
they walk onto something tasty, they put down their mouth and
taste it again.
A fly cleans itself constantly. Flies
walk on smooth surfaces using sticky soft pads that act like
glue. This allows them to walk on vertical glass surfaces and
upside down. Because of their
habits of being attracted to feces and decaying meat, flies
have been implicated in transmission of disease such as dysentery,
typhoid fever, and cholera . Excerpt from a paper contained
in the Center for Insect Science Education Outreach. The University
of Arizona.
NO-SEE-UM or
BITING MIDGE
A very small fly. No-See-Ums have blade like
mouthparts that make a painful wound which is out
of proportion to its size. Welts, resulting
from the bite, may itch and hurt for days. No-see-ums
breed in damp places that are high
in organic matter. Most are attracted to lights so
are especially noxious at night.
CHIGGERS
Chiggers
are tiny red mites. Immature chiggers are major pests that
feed humans, rodents, birds,
snakes and other animals. Chiggers actively seek hosts by
crawling around looking for hosts. The chigger
inserts its mouthparts into the skin, then injects a
fluid that dissolves the cells upon which it feeds. The
chigger does not burrow into the skin. Itching begins
three to six hours after exposure. It is possible to
see the minute red mites moving rapidly over the skin
surface.
BLACK WIDOW
SPIDER
The female Black Widow Spider is shiny black with a globular
abdomen.
The spider is easily recognized by the yellow or red hourglass
on its abdomen. Males are smaller, lighter in color, with
light streaks on the abdomen. The black widow's web is irregular
in shape.
Black Widow spiders lurk in dark, hidden places
like under buckets and lumber, in wood piles,
under stones and rocks, and behind shrubs.They are not usually
found inside buildings.
A Black Widow spider will bite
if provoked. The bite causes sharp pain, much like a needle
puncture. 15 minutes to an hour after the bite muscular
cramps begin. Black Widow bites are rarely fatal, but medical
attention should be sought immediately.
BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER
The Brown Recluse spider's body is yellowish brown to dark
brown, Its body is about 1/2 in size with long legs that increase
the overall spider's size to an inch or larger in diameter.
The Brown Recluse is easily recognized by a dark brown violin
shaped marking behind its head.
A Brown Recluse spider's web
is off white to gray in color. These spiders can be found inside
and outside of buildings. Brown Recluse spiders lurk
in storage areas, closets, basements, attics, garages and
cellars. People are often bitten while reaching for something
that is stored in these areas. The initial bite is not
intensely painful so may go unnoticed. Over the next 8-12 hours,
pain becomes more intense. As tissues die, over the
next few days, large sores form. Immediate medical treatment
is imperative when one is bitten by a Brown Recluse spider.
ANTS & FIRE ANTS
Fire ants are
very aggressive. A Fire Ant sting can cause reactions
anywhere from an irritation to nausea to a extremely severe
reaction when one is allergic to the bite. Pustules at
the bite site can itch and hurt for up to a week.
Fire ants
have been known to repeatedly attack animals that may intrude
on their mounds.
In addition to biting people and animals Fire Ants cause damage
to homes, buildings, air-conditioning units, and
wiring.
Workers from single queen Fire Ant mounds are territorial.
They forage within their territory. Workers from multiple
queen colonies are not territorial. These Fire Ant workers
forage from mound to another.
The bite of the Fire Ant is immediately painful but not life
threatening unless one has an allergy to the bite. Allergic
people should seek medical attention immediately.
Other types
of ant pests include Pharaoh Ants, Pavement Ants, Argentine
Ants, Odorous House Ants, Ghost Ants, Red Ants, Carpenter Ants,
and Leaf cutter Ants. None of these ants pose the
threat of Fire Ants but are obnoxious in their invasion of
food containers, drink cups, spilled liquids, and other areas
where humans gather.
Striped Back Scorpion
Bark Scorpion
SCORPIONS
Scorpions are close relatives of ticks, mites
and spiders. Scorpions are very common in the southern
an southwestern states . Two poisonous species can be found
in the southwestern states like Arizona, California, New Mexico,
and Texas.
Scorpions can be found in the desert, in grasslands
and savannahs, deciduous forests, pine forests, rain forests,
and caves.
Striped Back Scorpion - Will strike if touched
or grabbed. The poison glands in the swollen tip
of the tail secrete a venom that is a neurotoxic and is deadly
to insects and causes extreme discomfort in humans. The sting
sensation is a sharp pain that lasts about 15
to 20 minutes. Reactions vary depending on how much venom the
scorpion has at the time.
Bark Scorpion - This scorpion is found over much of the Southwest. The
Bark Scorpion is pale and small, making them extremely difficult to see.
The Bark Scorpion's sting can cause severe pain and swelling at the site
of the sting, numbness, frothing at the mouth, difficulties in breathing
(including respiratory paralysis), muscle twitching, and convulsions but
death is rare. Those stung by a Bark Scorpion should seek medical attention.
During the day scorpions hide under stones, in rock piles,
in cracks in masonry, in wood piles, under shoes and clothing,
and under the bark of trees.
Brown Dog Tick
Deer Tick
Lone Star Tick
TICKS
Tick species vary in
appearance, but all of the adults are small, round with eight
legs. Ticks feed on the blood of vertebrates.
"Seed Ticks"
are actually a tick's larval stage. "Seed Ticks" have
only six legs. At this stage the ticks attach themselves to
a host, feed from the host's blood, then drop to the ground
emerging as eight legged nymphs.
Ticks can carry serious diseases like Lyme Disease and Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever.
Three areas in the United
States are now identified as areas of concern for Lyme Disease
- the Northeast(coastal areas from northern Virginia
to southern Maine), the northern Midwest (Minnesota and Wisconsin),
and the West (parts of California, Oregon, Utah , and Nevada).
Lyme
disease is caused by a type of bacteria that affects
humans and dogs, as well as wildlife species.
Symptoms of Lyme disease include flu-like
symptoms and a red rash in the shape of a bull's eye.
Because the symptoms of Lyme disease so closely mimic the flu,
it often goes undiagnosed. Serious health problems arise
from untreated Lyme disease.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can be difficult to diagnose
in the early stages. Symptoms of Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever can resemble a variety of other diseases. Initial
symptoms may include: fever, nausea, vomiting, severe headache, and loss
of appetite. Later signs and symptoms include: maculopapular
rash, petechial rash, abdominal pain, and joint pain.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can be severe, and even fatal. Those
most effected include the elderly, men, African-Americans, and chronic alcohol
users. Long-term health problems following acute Rocky Mountain spotted fever
infection include partial paralysis of the lower extremities, gangrene requiring amputation of fingers, toes, or arms or legs, hearing loss, loss of bowel or bladder control, movement disorders, and language disorders.
Red or Paper Wasp
Mud Dauber
Yellow Jacket
Honey Bee
Bumble Bee
Hornet
WASPS & BEES
Wasps fall into two main categories,
solitary wasps and social wasps. Adult solitary wasps are fertile.
Social wasps live in large colonies build nests. Generally,
only the wasp queen and male wasps can mate. The remainder
of the population consists of sterile females.
Social wasps
produce several types of nests from paper pulp that they
create. The wasp's nests can be located in bushes,
trees, in attics, holes in the ground, cracks, or other sheltered
areas that allow access to the outdoors.
Solitary
wasps are typically either parasitic or predatory.
Wasps have slender bodys, narrow waists, slender legs, and
are usually smoothed skinned and shiny. Yellow Jackets,
hornets, and red or paper wasps are the most common pests
encountered by people.
Bees are full bodied and
hairy. The bee's hind legs are flattened to aid in collecting
and transporting pollen. Bees are important pollinators. Bees
live in large colonies above and below ground. Bees
support a single queen who spends her life laying eggs. Most
bees, that humans encounter, are sterile females.
Wasp, bee,
yellow jacket, and hornet stings can be the source of serious
medical issues. There are more deaths each year in the
U.S. from bee and wasp stings than from snake bites.
Stings cause pain, itching, and swelling that can be debilitating
and last for days or weeks. But the most serious effect is
an allergic reaction to the venom. Allergic
reactions vary from mild systemic reactions - hives, itching,
runny eyes and nose, and wheezing, to very severe systemic
reactions including sudden swelling of the throat,
dropping blood pressure, collapse and even death. People
with known systemic allergic reactions to bee or wasp stings
should consult with their physician and carry prescribed medications
with them at all times.
Wasps and
bumble bees can sting more than once because they are able
to pull out their stinger without injury to themselves.
The honey
bee's stinger is connected to the digestive system of the
bee. Once a bee has stung its victim the bee soon dies.
The honey bee's stinger should be removed, by scraping across
the skin with your fingernail or a credit card, as soon as
possible. Don't try to pull out the stinger out. That only
forces more venom into the sting site causing greater irritation.
The venoms of bees and wasps are different,
so having a severe reaction to a wasp sting does not mean a
person will have the same reaction to a bee sting.
Stings
can be treated with ice, vinegar, baking soda, honey, household
ammonia, meat tenderizer, or commercial topical ointment to
relieve the itching. Do not drink alcohol. An over-the-counter
antihistamine can also bring relief from the pain, burning,
and swelling of a sting. If you experience any of the
following symptoms seek emergency care immediately: large
areas of swelling, abnormal breathing, tightness in throat
or chest, dizziness, hives, fainting, nausea, vomiting, persistent
pain, or swelling.
Oriental Cockroach
American Roach
German Roach
COCKROACHES & OTHER ROACHES
The German cockroach
is considered it to be a pest because it
invades where we live, eat and sleep but other roaches can be
pests inside and outside of homes and other buildings. Though
there are between 4,000 to 7,500 different species of roaches
only one percent are considered pests.
Common species include the Oriental Cockroach, American Cockroach,
and Brown banded Cockroach.
Roaches carry pathogens
on their bodies, but none have been known to be
transmitted to humans. However scientists have found many people
have allergies to roach excrement.
Most roaches are nocturnal. They prefer the dark and are
sensitive to all forms of light except for the red spectrum.
Roaches are most active from dusk to dawn.
Roaches
prefer warm, moist places but can live in almost
any environment.
Roaches are superior survivors thanks to their rapid reproductive
cycles and adaptability to poisons, and environments.
The American
Cockroach is the largest of the roaches infesting homes. American
Cockroaches, also called Water Bugs, contaminate food, carry
diseases, damage book bindings, fabrics, wallpaper, etc.
The Oriental
Cockroach survives indoors and outdoors. Oriental Cockroaches
are found under debris, stones, mulch, and leaf litter. They usually
enter buildings via door thresholds, under sliding glass doors
and along utility pipes.
