The Seville Colony and farm boss Thomas Wipf pleaded guilty in October to misapplication of pesticides after the horses ate strychnine-laced oats being used to kill gophers. Colony secretary Edward Walder pleaded guilty to false statements for lying to an Environmental Protection Agency inspector about the pesticide use.

An EPA cleanup found about 300 acres of illegally applied pesticide.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday the colony and Walder received a year of probation, and Wipf six months.

The plea agreement recommended the colony pay restitution to the EPA.

Wipf and Walder were each ordered to pay $1,000 in addition to the $90,274 the colony must pay

Much of the time, a bed bug infestation is only suspected when bites appear on a person. Oftentimes, the bites are misidentified, thus allowing infestations to go unnoticed, which gives the bed bugs time to spread to other areas of the house.

When cleaning, changing bedding, or staying away from home, look for:

• Dark spots (about this size: •) which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would
• Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and white
• Skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger
• Live bed bugs
• Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed

Preventing Bed Bug Infestations

Bed bugs are very successful hitchhikers, moving from an infested site to furniture, bedding, baggage, boxes, and clothing. Although they typically feed on blood every five to ten days, bed bugs can be quite resilient; they are capable of surviving over a year without feeding.

A few simple precautions can help prevent bed bug infestation in your home:

• Check secondhand furniture, beds, and couches for any signs of bed bugs.
• Use a protective cover that encases mattresses and box springs which eliminates many hiding spots. The light color of the encasement makes bed bugs easier to see. Be sure to purchase a high quality encasement that will resist tearing and check the encasements regularly for holes.
• Reduce clutter in your home to reduce hiding places for bed bugs.
• When traveling:
  • In hotel rooms, use luggage racks to hold your luggage when packing or unpacking rather than setting your luggage on the bed or floor.
  • Check the mattress and headboard before sleeping.
  • Upon returning home, unpack directly into a washing machine and inspect your luggage carefully

The reason? A poisonous sting from a creepy, crawly, scorpion.

Stephanie Moors was on a yoga retreat with her six-month-old daughter in Oracle, Arizona. She had just laid Daisy down on the floor to feed her when a scorpion suddenly crawled under the child’s head.

“The worst thing that could possibly happen was happening,” Moors said, “I knew what it was and I panicked, and I picked her up as quickly as I could.”

But the scorpion had already stung the little girl behind her ear.

Daisy, who was vomiting and convulsing, was airlifted to the hospital.

Little Daisy wasn’t breathing, her lung had collapsed, and the scorpion sting triggered a Staph infection.

Recently, young victims of scorpion bites were treated at the University of Arizona with a new anti-venom. The children recovered quickly.

But unfortunately for Daisy, the anti-venom was unavailable. She struggled for five days in the hospital before finally recovering.

In Arizona, there are over 8,000 reports of scorpion stings annually.

Ben Holland actually hunts down the creatures on people’s property. In the course of a month, Holland said he pulled 200 scorpions from one person’s home!

Scorpions usually only sting when they are surprised or cornered, but that doesn’t bring any comfort to the parents who watched their daughter nearly die.

“I am terrified of scorpions now. I hope I never see one again,” Moors said

Drywood termite galleries

Drywood termites do not need a connection to soil and there is no soil in their feeding galleries. They do not build mud tunnels; they construct large, irregular galleries that run across and with the wood grain, with a very smooth, clean, and sandpaper-like appearance. The galleries are connected by openings small enough for one termite to pass through. The sure sign of drywood termite feeding is their fecal pellets that are ejected from the galleries via kickout holes, often found right below the damaged wood. These pellets are quite distinctive, and are hard, elongate-oval with rounded ends, and have six concave sides.

Drywood species

Approximately 400 global species of drywood termite species are known, but only a few species are important in the United States.

Powderpost or “furniture termites” (Cryptotermes spp.) have small fecal pellets and are smaller in size than other drywood termites. Their feeding in furniture or movable wooden objects can reduce wood to a fine powder. They can be found in Florida, southern Louisiana, Texas, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. The most widespread species is the tropical rough-headed powderpost termite (C. brevis), which is easily distributed by human activity such as transporting infested furniture, and it has been found as far west as Los Angeles and as far north as Ontario, Canada.

The other main group of drywood termites is Incisitermes spp. The most common species in the west is the western drywood termite (I. minor), which is found in southern California, Arizona, Utah, and has become established in Florida. This species infests both dead sections of living trees and wooden articles in homes. The western drywood termite swarming period is midday on warm, sunny days and typically occurs from September-October. However, in Arizona, swarming occurs at night in July.

The southeastern drywood termite (I. snyderi) is found primarily in seven southeastern states, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. This species swarms at night, peaking between 8-10 pm, and is attracted to lights. The peak time period for swarming is late May through mid-June.

If you believe your home may be in danger from Drywood Termites

This native American pest feeds on such cellulose materials as structural wood, wood fixtures, paper, books, and cotton. Occasionally, it will even attack the roots of shrubs and trees.

A mature colony of Eastern Subterranean termites can range from a low of 20,000 to a high of 5 million workers, with an average of 300,000. The colony’s queen will add 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year to the total.

While Eastern Sub termite colonies are not the largest termite colonies you can find, there will often be more than one of them working in a single building. Signs of Easterns include dirt-colored tubes built to serve as protected paths from the earth to the wood the termites are feeding on, and the translucent wings shed by the kings and queens during swarming. Swarming usually occurs in the spring, but other, smaller swarms can occur throughout the summer and fall.

Some quick facts about Eastern Subs

• An average Eastern Sub termite colony can consume 5 grams of wood per day, the equivalent of 2 1/3 linear feet of a 2′x4′ pine board annually.
• Colony growth is slow, and it may take years before swarmers are produced.
• Eastern Sub termites can enter buildings through cracks less than 1/16″ wide.
• The termite colony is made up of different types (castes) of termites – each with separate work responsibilities.
• Although Eastern Sub termite colonies are largely located in the ground below the frost line, secondary colonies can exist above ground, and examples of true above ground colonies existing without any ground contact have been seen. However, such above ground colonies have access to moisture and often the source is a roof or plumbing leak.
• Eastern Sub termites will often build mud tubes for travel between their colonies and their food sources.
• The king and queen in a colony can live for 10 to 30 years, while workers live for about two years.

This native American pest can enter structures through cracks less than 1/16″ wide, even the minute openings found in concrete slabs, around drain pipes, and between the slab and the foundation.

Western Subterranean termite colonies are usually located in the ground below the frost line but above the water table and rock formations. They are typically detected by the presence of the mud tubes they construct, or when large numbers of winged termites “swarm” or leave the colony to search out mates. Swarms occur in the daytime, and in California they occur on warm, sunny days during the fall, winter or early spring. In the northern sections of the termites’ range, spring swarms commonly occur in the absence of rainfall.

Some quick facts about Western Sub termites

• Although Western Sub termite colonies are largely located in the ground, secondary colonies can exist above ground if there is a constant source of moisture.
• Western Sub termites will often build mud tubes for travel between their colonies and their food sources.
• Damage caused by Western termites is most commonly found in the basement and at ground level, although the termites will attack wood at higher levels.
• Development from eggs to adults may take more than 5 months, and workers may live from 3-5 years.
• Swarmers are usually produced before the third or fourth year.
• Research has shown that populations are higher in urban areas than in undeveloped habitats.

Originally from mainland China, Formosans have been established in the continental U.S. for only about 50 years. Unfortunately, they are more vigorous and aggressive and successful than native termites. In fact, the Formosan termite has been called the “Super” termite because of its large colonies and its ability to consume vast amounts of wood in a relatively short time.

A mature colony of Formosan termites can number in the millions and consume as much as 13 ounces of wood per day. As a result, Formosans can severely damage a structure in as little as three months. Formosan termites are most visible during their annual mating flight. However, they actually cause more damage after the swarm is over. For this reason, it’s extremely important to start a control program as soon as you find out that you have Formosan termites on your property.

Some quick facts about Formosan termites

• Formosan colonies are big. While native subterranean termite colonies might support an average of 300,000 workers, for example, Formosan colonies can average millions of workers – all of them foraging for food (wood).
• A typical colony of Formosan termites could forage an area more than one acre in diameter.
• As Formosans infest a structure, they use soil and wood cemented together with saliva and feces to build hard nests called cartons within walls. Large cartons can actually cause walls to bulge. These nests house thousands of termites as well as hold moisture. Once established, Formosans can live indefinitely without soil contact.
• Formosan termites can also infest and destroy otherwise healthy trees.
• Swarmers are larger than native species, and they swarm in the evening and later in the year (May-June).
• Soldiers comprise about 10% of the colony.
• Formosans will even attack and destroy non-wood materials. They have been known to chew through plaster, plastics, asphalt, and even thin sheets of soft metals like lead and copper.
• Queens can produce 1,000 eggs a day.

Termites are highly social insects that live in colonies where populations can reach more than one million. A colony consists of several structurally differentiated forms living together as castes (including reproductives, soldiers, and workers) with different functions in the colony community life.

Termidor® termiticide/insecticide has a number of flexible application options. Your pest professional will determine what type of Termidor treatment will work best for your particular situation. If there are no active termites in your home, Termidor will help ensure there won’t be any in the future. This not only protects your peace of mind, but adds value to your home as well.

Termites can’t avoid what they can’t detect.

Termidor is an advanced undetectable liquid technology. That means termites cannot see, smell, taste, or avoid it. Instead, they contact, ingest and share Termidor, completely unaware that doing so inevitably will kill them.

Termidor eliminates termites several ways.

When termites eat Termidor-treated material, they will die. But Termidor doesn’t stop there. It eliminates termites by contact as well. And since termites can’t detect its presence, termites can directly ingest and contact Termidor as they go about their normal routines.

The Termidor “Transfer Effect™”

Whenever a termite ingests or touches Termidor, it can become a “carrier,” transferring Termidor to other termites it contacts. These termites, in turn, can become secondary carriers, behaving normally while they transfer Termidor to other termites they contact—and so on within the colony. Because Termidor is slow-acting, it gives individual termites ample time to transfer it to others in the population. This unique, spiraling process is called the “Transfer Effect,” and its devastating results maximize the protection of your structure.