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Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Warren Pierce:
It's that time of the year again, folks, as we check in the vice president of technical services, the last time I checked, with Rose Pest Solution, none other than Mark Sheperdigian. Am I the only one, Shep, who calls you by your full name over there?
Mike S.:
Yeah, probably. Most people just call me Shep.
Warren Pierce:
Oh well. Nice to have you with us. Did you hear some of the bugs popping up in that song that introduced you? Weather, the impact it's had on this season in terms of the number of those insects in and around our place?
Mike S.:
You know, I don't think so. We always talk about the weather, and we say, "Oh, a harsh winter, going to be a summer full of bugs," but you know it doesn't take but one incident to kind of knock populations down. It takes kind of a perfect storm to make a great, big population, so I don't think the weather affected things, but boy was that a cold April, huh?
Warren Pierce:
No doubt about it. I would guess, though, in terms of precipitation, and this past May turned out to be, I think, the fifth-wettest on record, it in some way, shape, or form affects or impacts the mosquito population?
Mike S.:
Well, it does, but keep in mind that while most people get bitten by a mosquito, and they slap it, and that's the end of that, there's a lot of different species. There's dozens of, sixty-some species, I think, here in Michigan, and maybe a dozen of them that bite us regularly. Different species come out at different times. There's a group of mosquitoes they refer to as snow-melt mosquitoes, early-spring mosquitoes that develop in the very cold water that's those pools in the spring. You know how it looks like everything's flooded? That's called a vernal pool in the spring. There are mosquitoes that just breed in that, and they come out, and they bite us for a couple of weeks, and we go, "Oh, must have been a, must going to be a bad summer for mosquitoes." Nah, just a bad couple of weeks.
Warren Pierce:
And I know-
Mike S.:
Now, summer mosquitoes start later, and they've started now.
Warren Pierce:
Yeah, no doubt about that. As an MSU grad working in what pest management profession since 1983 and a board-certified entomologist, Shep, there was a bug mentioned in that song, so I guess it's been around for a while, that I've been killing seemingly increasingly in my place. What can you tell us about the one bug, the stinkbug? How long has that been around?
Mike S.:
Well that, this is the one we're worrying about is the brown marmorated stink bug. We have a number of stinkbugs that are native, but the brown marmorated stink bug is an invasive species. Invasive means it was a foreign species that's been introduced, it's going to town. Started, I believe, around the turn of the century over on the eastern seaboard and was so bad 15 years ago, or somewhere in that vicinity, they were driving fruit producers out of business.
Warren Pierce:
Wow.
Mike S.:
We certainly hope that does not happen here in Michigan. They've been moving across the nation, and we've certainly got them. Most counties, now, have seen some brown marmorated stink bugs, and some of us see them pretty bad. The problem with homeowners is they tend to overwinter in your house, and that's what really, that's what drives the homeowners nuts.
Warren Pierce:
I posted a picture of the different bugs on our Warren Pierce Show Facebook page, including the stink bug. I killed one last night. They don't seem, although I'm trying to think if it was a brown color or maybe a white color, but they, Shep, they don't seem to be aggressive, necessarily. They just, one was sitting on the floor. Another one was on the wall, I take time to go get a towelette, and go over, and kill the thing. So, A, do they stink and B, what kind of impact can they have on our places?
Mike S.:
Well, yeah, they're pretty calm. They don't spend too much time running away, although I'm sure your true intentions they would've made a greater effort. Now, they call them stink bugs because the whole group has a scent gland that when you crush it, it lets off an odor. The brown marmorated stink bug doesn't have too bad a stink and it's not the kind of that would drive you nuts. The impact on our homes isn't too much as long as there aren't too many of them. Overwintering pests, there's a lot of insects that'll come in for the winter, come in in the fall. They show up in the winter time, and then they leave in the spring. That's what's happening now, is that brown, these are the last days of marmorated stink bugs leaving. They should be gone, and you won't see them for the rest of the summer until they decide it's time to stay for the winter again.
Mike S.:
Now, understand that not all of them go out, so if they can get into your house, into the walls and most time the attics, they'll die there. A bunch of dead bugs in the walls might not seem like a big deal. In fact, they probably have a pretty decent R-value, but I've never checked. However, they will breed some other beetles that eat dead insects, and that could be a problem. You wouldn't want that. Best thing to do is to walk around your house and look for the little cracks that a bug could walk into and have them sealed. There is a treatment that could be done and that you should go towards the end of the summer that will reduce the number that goes in the house.
Warren Pierce:
And very quickly, here, ticks are in the news seemingly more than in past seasons, Shep.
Mike S.:
Well, that's true. More ticks are on the rise, there may be a number of reasons for that. We're seeing warmer and we've been seeing ticks coming into the state that haven't been here previously.
Warren Pierce:
And what kind of damage can they do, not only to the house but on humans?
Mike S.:
Well, most people get pretty freaked out about ticks and, I got to admit, should be careful. Ticks can carry some pretty horrible diseases which would give one reason to not want to be bitten by ticks. So-
Warren Pierce:
Well, would Lyme disease, for example?
Mike S.:
Yeah, ah, there you go. You know it was escaping my mind. There's a disease you got to mention. Yeah, so Lyme disease is horrible and pretty widespread. Spread by a tiny little tick most people don't see until it becomes engorged on them, or that kind of thing, or they may never see it. What you do end up with, though, the telltale sign is usually a spreading, red rash. Take that to a doctor.
Warren Pierce:
Well, lots to look out for. People want more information, we're out of time now, they can just call you guys?
Mike S.:
You sure can. Call us at 1-800-966-ROSE or visit us at www.rosepestsolutions.com.
Warren Pierce:
All right. Thanks for checking in with us this morning. There was no odor, and I squished that little stink bug, and I didn't smell anything, so I ...
Mike S.:
No, they're not so bad, but yeah, he's probably pretty put-out.
Warren Pierce:
Yeah. So lethargic. I don't know, maybe he was still in a hangover from the winter. We'll talk again, Shep. Thanks for getting with us this morning.
Mike S.:
Thank you, Warren.
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