If you’ve ever been bitten by a mosquito, you know how bad it can sting. After a few minutes, redness in the area appears and your skin feels incredibly itchy. Why is that? What causes mosquito bites to itch? To better understand the problem, it’s important to know what goes on in the body following a mosquito bite. Acting quickly prevents the itchiness from worsening and causing you further discomfort. Let’s take a look at mosquito saliva’s toll on the skin, shall we? Public Enemy #1 is Mosquito Saliva The main culprit behind itchy mosquito bites is mosquito saliva. The substance releases through the feeding stylets used to pierce your skin. While the mosquito sucks your blood, its salivary glands go into overdrive. It can get what it wants from you that way. Mosquito saliva is an anticoagulant which allows the pest to feast upon your body rapidly. In order to get the nourishment the mosquito needs to survive, it must act quickly. After all, how many of the insects survive being swatted at? Few live to see the light of day once they’re discovered sucking the life force out of your shoulders, arms, and legs. Still, it doesn’t explain that relentless itch that comes from the welted skin on your body. The reason why it feels so unbearable is that you’re allergic to the saliva. You are now producing histamines which take connective tissue and mast cells and break them down. The itch is a side effect of the process and best treated with an antihistamine. The Best Ways to Prevent and Treat Mosquito Bites Among the most...
Pests are irritating and also can cause some health effects. There are different types of pests including flies, fleas, mosquitos, bed bugs, fungus, rats, cockroaches, termites, mice, and others. It’s best to do what you can to reduce the pests in your home and in your yard. There are several ways through which you can prevent pests, they include: Cover Your Food and Wash Dishes Always make sure your food is covered or stored in airtight containers. Using containers with rubber seals on their lids are best. Wash your dishes thoroughly because the leftovers in the dirty dishes are a such a treasure to pests such as cockroaches and ants. Get Rid Of Any Sources Of Unused Water Remove stagnant water from unused bowls and buckets. This is especially important outdoors, from pools, gardens, old tires, and any other water-holding objects or containers. Stagnant water acts as breeding spots for pests such as flies. Make Sure Your Trash Can Has A Tight Lid All The Time And Dispose of The Garbage Regularly A tight lid in your trash can will keep the pests away and they will not be able to either feed or breed. Disposing of the garbage regularly will also keep it clean and avoid any attention from the pests. Inspect your Home or Office For Holes and Crack And Seals Seal any holes, cracks, and vents as soon as you notice any to prevent pests such as termites and roaches. You can have an expert to inspect and seal the openings in your home or office. Keep Bushes and Trees as Far Away (as possible) Ensuring...
Bees are amazing insects. We have relied on bees to pollinate many of our crops and it’s estimated that honey bees pollinate a third of all the food crops consumed by humans. Despite their uniqueness and close association with human beings, there are many facts about the bees that you may not know about. Below are 10 fascinating facts about bees: A Single Colony Can Contain Up To 60,000 Bees Yes, that’s right, one colony can have up to 60,000 bees. They are very organized with each member of the colony playing their specific role. There are construction workers who build beeswax foundation, where the queen bees lay eggs and it’s also the place where workers store honey. Nurse bees are responsible for caring for the young ones. The queen bee also has her attendant workers who feed and bathe her. There are guard bees who keep guard while the undertakers carry away the dead bees from the hive. Foragers are responsible for collecting enough pollen and nectar which is used to feed the whole colony. Worker Honeybees Are All Females All the workers in the hive are females. The males only make up about 15 percent of the population in most colonies. You can recognize males from the stinger. Their only job is to mate, and they don’t even feed themselves. In the fall or at the end of the mating season, the males (also known as drone bees) are kicked out of the hive to avoid drainage of resources and also because they are no longer useful. A Queen Bee Stores A Lifetime Supply of Sperm A...
Mice are some of the most common pests, not just in the US but around the globe. It’s no surprise that most households will eventually have to deal with mice infestation. Mice will try and get into your home to seek shelter and food. You might have some understanding of mice, but here are 10 fascinating mouse facts: Mice Consume A Lot of Food Mice have big appetites despite their small bodies and stomachs. They eat between 15 to 20 times a day and they will stop at several foods areas during the course of their day to eat or carry food. Because of their frequent eating habits, they tend to settle or build their homes near the source of their food. They eat all kinds of grains and fruits from the plants. Their Teeth Never Stop Growing Mice, just like many other rodent species, have incisor teeth that never stop growing. The mice teeth grow at a rate of 0.3mm daily. This is the main reason why they gnaw their teeth on different items like cardboard boxes, furniture, and wires to grind their teeth down to a comfortable length. In some instances, mice have caused electrical fires and other damages as a result of grinding their teeth in electrical wires. Mice Are Excellent Gymnasts Mice have superb gymnastic skills and they are brilliant climbers, jumpers and even swimmers. They can easily jump a foot and climb up with ease onto kitchen counters or pantries to get some food. You should always store your pantries stuff in plastic containers that are hard and close them with tightly sealed lids....
What Do Fleas Look Like? Fleas are wingless parasites with thin and small bodies that are few millimeters long and are brown or reddish-brown in color. Their long back legs are modified for jumping and they can jump as high as 100 times their height from the ground to their host or from one host to another with ease. They only travel by jumping and crawling and don’t ‘fly’ at all even though they might appear as if they’re flying when moving. There are covered with hair in their bodies which make it easy for them to root themselves to their host’s hair or fur and move easily. Flea Lifecycle Fleas have four lifecycle stages and understanding them can also help you to treat and even prevent their infestation in the future. Eggs: Fleas eggs are small and whitish in color. One female flea can lay 50 eggs or more in just one day. The female can lay eggs on the pet and because they’re light, they can fall off in the home environment. Larvae: Eggs become larvae after 2-10 days and feed on the feces of the adult fleas or dead flea larvae. Larvae avoid light and hide into carpets, cracks in hardwood floors, upholstery and under baseboards. The larvae stage lasts for 5-11 days. Pupae: The larvae will then create a cocoon or pupa. It is in the pupa that the larvae mature into an adult. It is not easy to get rid of fleas’ infestation as they are protected from most treatments used on the premises. They are also mostly situated beyond the reach of the sprays and even...
Did you know that termites play an essential role in nature? They help in breaking down dead wood and other cellulose materials which is vital in the ecosystem. Termites range in size from 1/8 of an inch to 1 inch long. Their colonies vary in colors from brown to white and black. However, their colors depend on the life stage of a particular termite and their species. The most common behaviors of termites are useful ecologically, they can be a pest in a home or business. Some common behaviors of termites include: Colonies Termites are social insects, and they tend to live together in an organized family structure called territories. One colony can comprise of 100 to 1 million termites, depending on the species. In each colony, there are smaller structures called castes which have different functions in the colony and have their own unique and distinguishable form of characteristics. Further, each termite colony has a king and a queen who are responsible for reproduction. There are three principals in caste which include: The soldiers, workers and the reproductive. Swarming Swarming is the most conspicuous sign of termite behaviors around the homes. Swarming is the process which a new termite colony forms after a queen termite leaves the colony with a large group of workers. About 60% of the workers leave the original location with the queen termite and where they go on to form another colony. The primary purpose of termites swarming is to mate and start new colonies. Colonies of subterranean termites can produce thousands of swarms while other species like dry wood termites produce fewer swarms. Termite species are...
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