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Thursday, June 9, 2016
Transcript:
Paul:
[inaudible 00:00:00], Ron, thanks very much. As promised, we've got the expert here. Mark Vanderwerp, manager of education and training for Rose Pest Solutions, and they're in Troy. Nice to see you, sir.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Hey, great to be here, good morning, Paul.
Paul: '
Tis the season, isn't it? 'Tis the season.
Mark Vanderwerp:
It's always the season. There's always bugs out there.
Paul:
Well, the ones that are really dangerous, the ones that cause Lyme disease and all the other things, West Nile virus, all the other things we worry about. Now, we add to that, Zika. Can you give us the latest from where you stand as a professional maybe a Zika virus update?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Sure, everyone's talking Zika these days, and that, I think it's good, because it brings the whole concept of mosquito control and vector-borne diseases into the public eye, which is always important. It's always a threat. However, at this point, it really doesn't look like Zika is going to be a big player in the Great Lakes Region, so that's good news for us.
Mark Vanderwerp:
It's still absolutely important to take precautions when you're traveling, especially to Central, South America, the Caribbean, these kinds of places. You absolutely want to wear mosquito repellents, if you're going to be outside in those kinds of places.
Paul:
I'll just try to help by saying I saw a quick study, and now Consumer Reports has a thing out, I don't have it in front of me, but there are certain, you have a can there maybe, that is what you're here to talk about, but OFF! and now I'm told it's the Deep Woods OFF! I mean specific. There's, you need DEET, I guess is one of the chemicals you want to-
Mark Vanderwerp:
Sure.
Paul:
... to kill these mosquitoes properly?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Well, so the thing with DEET is it's a repellent, so it's not going to kill mosquitoes, but it just keeps them away from you. The funny thing is, this is chemistry that's existed since the mid-1940s, and it still is the gold standard for insect repellents. It still is the thing everything gets compared against. It works really well. Some people will have some skin sensitivity to it, but, aside from that, it's very effective. It works well. Yeah, we brought you some presents in case you're going to head outside later on today, Paul-
Paul:
Well, I do have to go outside to go home.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yeah, yeah, the car ride can be dangerous for many reasons.
Paul:
Yes, indeed, it can be. But, DEET has been, as you say, it's been around a long time, and it really is the effective chemical. There are some other ones. As I say, Consumer Reports has a whole list of them. We're also concerned about the West Nile virus. You want to protect yourself from those mosquito bites. I talk about killing them. I was all for bringing back DDT. At one point in this country, we were very close to eliminating all mosquitoes, and we stopped, because everyone said, "Oh, but DDT's killing a lot of other things too." It probably did. But, we killed all the mosquitoes, and we really need to do that again. Be that as it may, what works around the house? The people to call, the Pros from Rose, I know you're the experts in that, even though you help them with so many other things, mosquitoes are on people's minds. Not to be overly concerned or worried, but it's a reality.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Sure. Like I say, it's great that it is. It should be on people's minds. Instead of a nuisance, you really have to think of them as unlicensed phlebotomists that are sticking dirty needles into you.
Paul:
That's exactly how ... Don't you guys think of mosquitoes the same way?
Stacy/Barb:
Yep.
Paul:
Unlicensed phlebotomists.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yeah-
Paul:
It's the first thing that came to my mind. Oh, ah, oh, there goes another, unlicensed, phleb ... whatever you said. It doesn't matter. All right, so-
Mark Vanderwerp:
But, if you-
Paul:
phlebotomist.
Mark Vanderwerp:
... define it like that, yeah.
Paul:
Drawer of blood. Yes?
Mark Vanderwerp:
It'd be like if you went to get your blood drawn, and they took a needle out of a trash can. You'd be very alarmed by that. "Hey, this has been used before."
Paul:
Ugh.
Mark Vanderwerp:
This is essentially what a mosquito bite is.
Paul:
Ugh. Taking the needle out of the trash can, this is really putting it in graphic terms. I hope they don't do that when I'm not there. I'm sure they don't. Well, let me do a quick rundown on ticks too. We have a Romeo woman battling Lyme disease. A Romeo woman coming down with a potentially deadly disease. Fortunately, she survived. Now, she's sharing her story serving as a warning to others. "A tick can not only drain your blood, it can drain your life as well," she goes on to say. In fact, you say, you're quoted in the story, "It's kind of like," he's got great descriptives here, doesn't he?
Stacy/Barb:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Paul:
An unlicensed phlebom ... whatever you said. Now, you're saying, "A tick is like a little zombie." What is this stuff, Mark? You're making this a lot of fun.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Well, Paul, I'll tell you what, I love live radio, because you can't get a quote taken out of context.
Paul:
Right.
Mark Vanderwerp:
You can do a half hour interview with a TV station, and I'll tell you the craziest, zaniest thing you say is for sure going to make into the story, so-
Paul:
Of course.
Mark Vanderwerp:
... I don't know what I said about zombies.
Mark Vanderwerp:
But, the point is ticks are also trouble. They also stick dirty needles into you and take blood. Lyme really in our region is what should be on people's tongues, not so much Zika, because Lyme is definitely an emerging disease in our area. There's more than 20,000 cases in the US every year. This is a big deal, and it can really screw up people's lives.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Tick management is something that Rose can help out with. There's lots of things, there's lots of components to that. Maybe we'll get a call about-
Paul:
Why do you think-
Mark Vanderwerp:
... ticks this afternoon.
Paul:
I'm sure we will this morning. I'm not waiting around 'til this afternoon. This morning, I'm sure we will, 800-859, see, it's live radio.
Mark Vanderwerp:
I'm trying to milk this day.
Paul:
Yeah, you can't stay 'til this afternoon. 800-8, I'm not staying, so you can't, 800-859-0957, 800-859-0WJR. Why the up ... Oh, here's a pun. Why the uptick in ticks? I didn't mean it to happen that way.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Great question. Yeah, so, historically speaking, we think that these ticks especially ... They're called the blacklegged tick, which is the one that transmits Lyme disease in this area. We think they were always very common, and they went away like so many things did, and it was because of human management both of deer populations and landscape changes. It turns out to really have vibrant deer tick populations, you've got to have, drum roll, wait for it, deer. Deer are very important to these things. These days there are a lot of deer. Deer population is doing really well. Especially, in urban areas, people have to protect their gardens with fences and that kind of thing, because there's deer walking through their yard.
Paul:
Oh, dear, yes. It is 8:24. We're coming back with your calls and Mark Vanderwerp, a board-certified entomologist, board member of the Michigan Entomological Society, and one of the Pros from Rose. Give us a call here, right now, at WJR 800-859-0957, 800-859-0WJR.
Paul:
[Stacy 00:06:50] and Barb are here to help out, so that I don't make any mistakes.
Stacy/Barb:
You're doing well.
Paul:
Am I? All right, okay, and very quickly, Mark Vanderwerp, or as we affectionately call him, V-dub, not to be confused with P-Dub. Steve Courtney calls me, "Hey, P-Dub, P-Dubs," anyway. We do need to clarify a little bit about ticks, because Lyme disease is the real problem. Even though we're all hearing about Zika, and I'm concerned about Zika, and you should be aware and wear repellent before you go out all the time, get rid of the standing water, get rid of mosquitoes. As far as I'm concerned, if they were an endangered species that would be a good thing. But, be that as it may, ticks are the problem, and they're carried on deer, and we all have deer all around us it seems. The tick numbers are increasing. Let's talk very specifically, before we get to our phone calls which at our WJR toll-free number 800-859-0957, 800-859-0WJR, your chance to ask very specific questions regarding your home and your health regarding bugs and, in this case, ticks. Where we look for those ticks? How little or big they are? Baby and adult ticks, the differences, and what to do if you think you have a tick on your skin?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yeah, okay, great, so real quick, tick biology 101, they go through three stages. They start off really small as an egg, and what hatches out of there is darn near close to being invisible. That thing has to take a meal and then molt to a bigger stage. That bigger stage, so after they've had a blood meal, which means they could be infected with Lyme, that bigger stage is now the size of a poppy seed. This is the teenager size, and so they can have Lyme at that stage. If you're going through a wooded area or something like that, and you're worried about ticks, a lot of people don't realize you may be looking for something as small as the size of a poppy seed crawling up your pant leg to look out for it. Yeah, just being aware of what's exactly is going on. Now, if you do find a tick on yourself, the best thing to do is take a sharp pair of forceps or tweezers, as the laypeople call them.
Paul:
Yeah, I remember you guys saying that in the past, "Well, pull out your forceps." Guys, most of us don't have forceps, okay, so tweezers.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Get a pair.
Paul:
Yeah, right.
Mark Vanderwerp:
It's becoming necessary in the world we live in.
Paul:
Do they have them at Staples? For my office, I need some staples, and I need forceps. Okay, so get tweezers.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yes, and you grab the tick right at the base of the mouth part where it's plugged into you, and you just evenly and smoothly pull back. Because, they glue themselves to you, so it does take a little doing, but they'll come loose. If you get the tick off within 24 to 48 hours, the chances of getting Lyme disease, even if it was in the tick, is really low.
Paul:
Oh really, so that's good.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yeah, you have a time window.
Paul:
Check yourself and the kids for ticks. Check very carefully when you come in from outside, period, end of story.
Paul:
I like this, I know you didn't say this, but if you get the tick, you see it, and you said grab down by the mouth area ... Who sees anything on a tick? They're so small. But, anyway, if you just get it off, I always rub everything with rubbing alcohol after I do it. Does that help? I do it on anything. It's kind of like magic elixir to me.
Mark Vanderwerp:
In this case, you're on the money. It's always good to sanitize the area afterwards in case you smooshed the tick, and you got some icky stuff squirted out on your skin.
Paul:
Ugh.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Now, actually, living in Michigan there is, if you check out the Michigan.gov website, there are some great links on there to ticks as far as identification. You can actually, if you pull it off yourself, and it's alive, you can send it in, and they will test it for Lyme disease for free, if it's the type of tick that carries Lyme, which is pretty cool. Otherwise, it's about a $50 diagnostic test, so nice benefit.
Paul:
Pull the tick off your skin, put it in an envelope, and send it to the government. I don't know, somehow there's something wrong here. Let me think about that a little bit. It's 8:41 at WJR.
Paul:
Let's get to your phone calls here. Now would be the time to call in, before we say goodbye to our Pros from Rose. Our WJR toll-free number 800-859-0957, 800-859-0WJR, and how appropriate, the first caller is from Roseville. Gary, good morning.
Gary:
Good morning, Paul, this is an honor to talk to you. I'm a bit nervous, first-time caller. God bless you-
Paul:
Don't be.
Gary:
... for what you do.
Paul:
Don't be nervous, my friend. We're all friends, and we're just talking.
Gary:
Well, I had a comment to make about mosquitoes. I would imagine it would work for ticks too, but it does work for mosquitoes and flying, biting bugs, or biting flies, I should say. I own a pest control company myself, but when I found this out I wasn't even in the business. My wife and I would eat a bag of garlic-flavored bagel chips on our way out to the North. When we would get into the woods, the mosquitoes would buzz all around us, but they wouldn't land on us. I've tested this myself, and it does work with mosquitoes and biting flies.
Paul:
Wow.
Gary:
I'm not sure. I've worked with Rose before, it's a great company. When I don't know something I always go to them. But, I think it's because it confuses the smell. That it confuses the mosquitoes. But, I do know it works, because I have tried it.
Paul:
Well, that's a-
Gary:
It's a safe, healthy way to do it.
Paul:
Sure, it is, and I love garlic and garlic chips. Let's go to the board-certified entomologist in the room that would be Mark Vanderwerp, or as we affectionately say V-dub, have you heard this before?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, people have talked about diet and mosquito repellents for a while.
Paul:
Could a double pepperoni, double cheese pizza work as well, if we're trying to-
Mark Vanderwerp:
Well, you got to be careful, because especially when you're talking garlic. There are some, it's the law of unintended consequences. You may also be repelling some species that you don't want to repel when you take garlic. Now, there has been some work done. It's never been clear one way or the other. There does seem to be a large genetic component. It depends on your own body chemistry quite a bit. Some people even it doesn't matter what they eat will be less attractive to mosquitoes.
Paul:
Yeah, it does seem to me, there are some among us that appear to attract mosquitoes more than others. We've noticed that. A lot of times, we've said it's because they're wearing perfume or cologne or something. But, it could be just their own body makeup, that's doing that?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Absolutely. There does seem to be a genetic component to it as well as a dietary component to it. Garlic's one of those things that's been mentioned. Although, I don't think that is a terribly powerful repellent on its own. In other words, there are some people who could eat a triple-decker garlic burger and still get bitten by mosquitoes.
Paul:
A triple-decker garlic burger, where do you go?
Gary:
Well, I know it works for me.
Paul:
Where do you go to eat, pal? I have never seen that. I love the idea. But, all right, well, Gary, kind of you to say that you're in the business, and you also turn to the Pros from Rose when you have a question. That's good. We appreciate that.
Gary:
If it's something I don't know I go to them, yup.
Paul:
Good for you, Gary.
Gary:
Great company.
Paul:
Well, that's good to hear, thank you.
Mark Vanderwerp:
That's good.
Paul:
Thank you, Gary, very much. We appreciate that. The idea of cologne and perfume, is that true? Does that attract mosquitoes or no?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Well, a lot of colognes are based on floral scents, and mosquitoes, so only female-
Paul:
You-
Mark Vanderwerp:
... mosquitoes-
Paul:
... run the risk-
Mark Vanderwerp:
... take blood.
Paul:
... of being pollinated?
Mark Vanderwerp:
Yeah, there could be some action going on there. I don't think it's real strong. Usually, when mosquitoes are looking for you, they're not after a flower. They want a blood meal, so they're looking for an animal at that point in time.
Paul:
Every time you say that, Mark-
Mark Vanderwerp:
Blood meal.
Paul:
Blood meal, I just ... We should have an organ that plays after or something [inaudible 00:15:00], or the thing that Brian plays, the duhn, duhn, duhn. There it is a blood meal.
Mark Vanderwerp:
I vant a blood meal.
Paul:
We'll leave it at that. Mark Vanderwerp, thank you so much for being with us. You can always find Rose Pest Solutions.com, Rose Pest Solutions.com, or at their 800 number to call the Pros from Rose, which I urge you to do every morning, 877-740-6787, 877-740-6787. Thank you, Stacy and Barb, for keeping me in line, and, of course, always a pleasure to see V-dub.
Mark Vanderwerp:
Thank you, P-Dub.
Paul: All right, 8:51, WJR, we're-
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