Articles

We’re Here For You…

This website, Bugs In The News, is published by EntomoBiotics Inc. EcoSystem Forensics, a full service pest management firm that has served all of Texas since 1980.

Bugs In The News is an informative project published in conjunction with its not-for-profit biological research arm, the Megatherium Society. It is on the Internet for one reason, to serve you as a trustworthy source of carefully researched and pertinent information regarding human safety in the fields of zoology, entomology, arachnology, and herpetology. Each article contains links to relevant peer-reviewed scientific papers, if available, that help readers conduct further research.

The articles published here are prepared by our principal research analyst, Jerry Cates — inventor of a series of patented termite detection, monitoring and control devices, and editor of E2M2C™ CHRONICLES, the constantly updated newsletter on our rat and mouse control research program — and by our company biologist, Adette Quintana — inventor of The Hawk Star Pet Protection Vest. Adette joined the EntomoBiotics Inc. team in 2020, and has been a major contributor to our research projects and the work we perform for our clients in the field. She has a special love for animals, and a deep appreciation for the need to keep places where folks live, work, play and visit free of harmful contaminants. Her extensive experience with snakes and commensal rodents has led her to a firm commitment toward maintaining our clients’ sites in the safest, most secure conditions possible. An accomplished innovator, she has multiple patents on devices that protect small animals from birds of prey. At EntomoBiotics Inc. she plays a key role in the implementation of our E2M2C™ program.

The following table of contents lists articles posted on BugsInTheNews.

Articles are listed alphabetically, by category of organism or topic of discussion. Click on an article title, or enter a key word in the search box to find related articles:

• Air Conditioners & Bugs…
  • Pest Management & Air-Conditioner Maintenance
• American Cockroaches
  • Sewerology 101
• Animals
  • E2M2C™ Chronicles
  • E2M2C™: To Assay or Not To Assay… A Difficult Question of Great Importance…
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
  • The Most Dangerous Organisms in North America.
• Ants
  • Acrobat Ants in South Austin, Texas
  • Acrobat Ants in Temple, Texas
  • Literary Expositions on Ants
  • Little black ants in Round Rock, Texas
  • Longhorn Crazy Ants in Victoria, Texas
  • Pharaoh Ants Rebound in Round Rock, Texas
  • Tawny (a.k.a. Rasberry) Crazy Ants in West Houston, Texas
  • The Penny Ant (Tetramorium bicarinatum) in central Texas
• Armadillos
  • Texas Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
• Asps
  • Exterminating Puss Caterpillars
  • Natural Predators of the Puss Caterpillar
  • Puss Caterpillar or Asp — General Information
  • Puss Caterpillars Don’t Always Sting
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings–Appropriate Medical Interventions
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings; First Aid Measures
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings Visitor to San Antonio River Walk
  • The Stinging Apparatus of the Puss Caterpillar
• Bacteria
  • Listeria in California Onions
• Bats
  • An Invasion of Evening Bats at a Residential Home in Georgetown, Texas
• Bed Bugs
  • Bed Bugs in Texas
  • Bad Bed Bugs in Austin, Texas: Why they’re so Hard to Exterminate…
  • How to Avoid Getting Bed Bugs…
• Beetles
  • A Cottonwood Borer from Round Rock, Texas
  • Carpet, Hide, and Skin Beetles of North America
  • Texas Eyed Click Beetles in Temple, Texas
• Bird Feeders, Rats, & Mice…
  • E2M2C™ Chronicles
  • The Truth About Bird Feeders
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Bites (Insect, Mite & Spider Bites):
  • What’s Biting You? Bed bugs, bat and bird bugs, kissing bugs, dermestid beetles, fleas, ticks, mites, and spiders in Texas…
  • Brown Recluse Spider Bites: Loxoscelism
  • Connecting the dots: Causes Behind Mysterious Bites, Bite Sensations, and Skin Disturbances
• Bugs
  • A Milkweed Assassin Bug from League City, Texas
  • Seed Bug in Commercial Kitchen Pantry, Round Rock, Texas
• Caterpillars
  • Exterminating Puss Caterpillars
  • Natural Predators of the Puss Caterpillar
  • Puss Caterpillar or Asp — General Information
  • Puss Caterpillars Don’t Always Sting
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings–Appropriate Medical Interventions
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings; First Aid Measures
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings Visitor to San Antonio River Walk
  • The Stinging Apparatus of the Puss Caterpillar
• Cats
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Centipedes
  • Giant Centipedes in Texas
• Dragonflies
  • A Skimmer Dragonfly or Meadowhawk in Austin, Texas
• Flies
  • A Picture-winged fly from League City, Texas
  • A White-tailed Robber Fly from League City, Texas
  • An Eastern Dobsonfly from Southwestern Pennsylvania
• Forensics
  • Forensic Pest Management: Practical Urban IPM for the 21st Century
  • Connecting the dots: Causes behind Mysterious Bites, Bite Sensations, and Skin Disturbances
• Foxes
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Genetics
  • Batesian Mimicry of Western Pygmy Rattlesnakes by Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes in the Sam Houston National Forest
  • The Red Queen Hypothesis of Selective Adaptation
  • The Red Queen Passage of Lewis Caroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass”
• HabitatBiotics™ Herbal Cleansers & Habitat Modifiers
  • HabitatBiotics™ Herbal Cleansers & Habitat Modifiers
  • HabitatBiotics™ LR35 — An Herb & Spice Based Cleanser for the New Millennium
• Honey Bees
  • Africanized European Honey Bees in East-central Austin, Texas
• Lake Midges
  • Lake Midges & Long-jawed Orb Weavers at Walden Marina, Lake Conroe (Montgomery, Texas)
• Lawns and Ornamentals:
  • Rational Care of Lawns & Ornamentals for Texas Homeowners
• Millipedes
  • Millipedes in Texas
• Mites
  • Forensic and Pestiferous Mites and Ticks of North America
  • Connecting the Dots: Causes behind Mysterious Bites, Bite Sensations, & Skin Disturbances.
• Mosquitoes
  • Mosquitoes of Texas and the Southeastern United States 
  • EntomoBiotics Declares War on Mosquitoes
  • Texas Mosquitoes and the Zika Virus
• Moths
  • A Leopard moth in Austin, Texas
  • Slug moths in North America
  • Spiny Oak Slugs from McKinney Roughs Nature Park, and locales in the vicinity of the Texas Cities of Cedar Creek and League City
  • A Tersa Sphinx Moth Larva from League City, Texas
• Nematodes
  • Effects of Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate on the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae and its bacterial symbiont, Xenorhabdus nemtophila
  • Entomopathogenic nematodes and Their Enterobacteria Symbionts as agents of Termite Control
• Nursing Homes
  • A Tribute to Texas Nursing Homes
• Opossums
  • An Opossum in Temple, Texas
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Owls
  • An Invasion by Great Horned Owls of a Commercial Structure in Austin, Texas
• Pest Avoidance
  • How to Avoid Getting Bed Bugs…
• Pest Management
  • Pesticide Exposure implicated in Autism, Developmental Delay
• Philosophy
  • Definition: Expert
  • Definition: Infestation
  • Definition: Occam’s Razor
  • Definition: Water Pollution
  • Intuition, Common Sense, & Truth
  • Mistakes & Learning — The Elixir of Life
  • William Wordsworth: The Tables Turned (1798)
• Puss Caterpillars
  • Exterminating Puss Caterpillars
  • Natural Predators of the Puss Caterpillar
  • Puss Caterpillar or Asp — General Information
  • Puss Caterpillars Don’t Always Sting
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings–Appropriate Medical Interventions
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings; First Aid Measures
  • Puss Caterpillar Stings Visitor to San Antonio River Walk
  • The Stinging Apparatus of the Puss Caterpillar
• Raccoons
  • Stopping a Raccoon Invasion of a Commercial Structure in Denton, Texas
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Rats & Other Rodents
  • E2M2C™ Chronicles
  • Snakes, Rodents & Droughts
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
  • Why “Rat Control” Using Snap-Traps or Live Traps Only Rarely Works…
• Scorpions
  • An Invasion of Striped Bark Scorpions at a Residence in Cedar Creek, Texas
  • Striped Bark Scorpions in Texas: Taxonomy, Anatomy, Behavior, & Case History
• Sewers
  • Sewerology 101: How & Why Bugs, Rats, Snakes, and other Creepy Crawlies Get Into Homes & Businesses from the Sewer
• Skin Lesions
  • Connecting the Dots: Causes Behind Mysterious Bites, Sensations of Bites, and Skin Disturbances
• Skunks
  • Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…
• Snakes
  • A Broad-Banded Copperhead in Round Rock, Texas
  • A Broad-banded Water Snake near Houston, Texas
  • A Buttermilk racer in Tomball, Texas
  • A Canebrake Rattlesnake in Blue, Texas
  • A Prairie Ring-necked Snake in Sweetwater, Texas
  • A Ruthven’s Whip Snake from the Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • A Southern Black Racer near Seymour, Texas
  • A Southern Copperhead in Allen, Texas
  • A Diamond-backed Water Snake in Bullard, Texas
  • A Texas Blind Snake in Temple, Texas
  • A Western Cottonmouth Snake in Santa Fe, Texas
  • A Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnake in a Commercial Facility in San Antonio, Texas
  • Western Diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
  • A Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake from Cedar Creek, Texas
  • A Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake in Round Rock Texas
  • A Western Ribbon Snake in Santa Fe, Texas
  • A Juvenile Ratsnake from Frisco, Texas
  • Blotched Water Snakes in Texas
  • Checkered Garter snakes in Austin, Texas
  • Cottonmouths & Copperheads in Texas
  • Duvernoy’s Gland Secretions in Colubrid Snakes
  • Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes in Texas
  • Index to North American Snakes
  • Key to North American Snakes, Photos
  • North American Coral Snakes (Micruroides euryxanthus, Micrurus tener, and Micrurus fulvius)
  • North American Snake Marking & Coloration Guide
  • Snake Anatomy & Physiology
  • Snake Teeth & Fangs — Structure & Specialization
  • Snakes, Rodents & Droughts
  • Sweetwater Texas, 2010 Rattlesnake Roundup–PART I
  • Sweetwater Texas, 2010 Rattlesnake Roundup — Part II
  • Sweetwater Texas, 2010 Rattlesnake Roundup — Part III
  • Texas Ratsnakes in Alvin and Dripping Springs, Texas
  • The First Coral Snake Sighting in 2016
  • Western Pygmy Rattlesnakes in the Sam Houston National Forest
• Snake Bites
  • Snake Bite First Aid
  • Snakebite from a Juvenile Western Cottonmouth in Manvel, Texas
• Snake Exclusion
  • Snake Exclusion — How to “Snake-Proof” Your Yard & Home
  • What is Meant by “A Reasonably Snake-free Environment”?
• Snake Repellents
  • Snake Repellents — How, and How Well, Do They Work?
• Spider Bites
  • Spider Bite First Aid
• Spiders
  • An American House Spider from Silsbee, Texas
  • A Bold Jumping Spider from San Antonio, Texas
  • Notes on Brown Recluse Spider Behavior
  • A Brown recluse Spider from Wichita Falls, Texas
  • A Brown recluse spider in Collin County, Texas
  • A Brown recluse spider at Lake Travis,Texas
  • Brown Recluse Spider Bites: Loxoscelism
  • A Brown Spider in NW Austin, Texas
  • A Brown Tarantula near McKinney, Texas
  • A Female Arabesque Orb Weaver in Lufkin, Texas
  • A Foldingdoor, Collardoor, Turret, or Trapdoor Spider from Yoakum, Texas
  • A Male Johnson Jumping Spider in San Isidro, Texas
  • A Male Trapdoor Spider in Cedar Creek, Texas
  • A Male Trapdoor Spider in Kempner Texas
  • A Male Trapdoor spider in San Antonio, Texas
  • A Mature Female Southern Orb Weaver in Houston, Texas
  • A Giant Lichen Orbweaver near Burnet, Texas
  • A Giant Lichen Orb Weaver in Helotes, Texas
  • A Giant Wolf Spider from Lufkin, Texas
  • A Longjawed Orb Weaver Spider
  • A Male Jumping Spider in Lufkin, Texas
  • A Male Wolf Spider in College Station, Texas
  • A Metaltella simoni Spider, imported from South America, in Arlington Texas
  • A Miturgid Spider at a North Houston Golf Course
  • An Orchard Orb Weaver in Houston, Texas
  • An Orchard Orb Weaver in The Woodlands, Texas
  • A Pantropical Jumping Spider from Walden Marina, Montgomery, Texas
  • A Rabid Wolf Spider in Southlake, Texas
  • A Red & Black Jumping Spider in Chihuahua, Mexico
  • A Red Male Jumping Spider from North Zulch, Texas
  • A Triangulate Household Spider from League City, Texas
  • Black Widow Spider vs. Eastern Black-necked Garter Snake; near Moffat, Texas
  • Brown recluse spider anatomy
  • Brown recluse spiders in Austin, Texas
  • Funnel-Web Spiders from Sam Houston National Forest and San Antonio, Texas
  • Hogna baltimoriana Wolf Spiders in Kempner, Texas
  • Male and Female Yellow garden spiders in Texas
  • Metaltella simoni, Imported from South America, in Houston and Humble, Texas
  • Red-spotted Antmimic Spiders
  • Southern House Spiders in Texas
  • Southern Orb Weaver Spiders near Houston and Orange, Texas
  • Spider Scopulae
  • A Spitting spider from North Austin, Texas
  • Spitting Spiders in South Austin, Texas
  • Territorial, Subsocial Spiders in Marble Falls, Texas
  • Thomisid Crab Spiders in Grand Prairie, Texas
  • A Thomisid Crab spider from Cameron Texas
  • A Thomisid Crab Spider near Athens, Texas
  • Trapdoor Spiders in North America
  • Trapdoor Spiders in Texas
  • A Male Trapdoor Spider from Austin, Texas
  • Vegetarian Jumping Spiders in Blanco, Texas?
• Spider Exclusion
  • Spider Exclusion, Extermination, & Control
• Springtails
  • Dealing with an Infestation of Springtails inside a Residence in North Austin, Texas
• Squirrels
  • Fox Squirrel (Sciuris niger)
• Termites
  • Entomopathogenic nematodes and Their Enterobacteria Symbionts as agents of Termite Control
  • Termite Food Consumption in North America
  • Texas Termites: How To Keep Them Honest
• Turkeys
  • A Male Wild Turkey in Temple, Texas
• Viruses
  • Texas Mosquitoes and the Zika Virus
• Wasps
  • The Grape Mealybug Parasitoid (Pseudaphycus angelicus)
• Wind Scorpions
  • A Camel Spider from Afghanistan
  • A Wind Scorpion in Edinburg, Texas
  • A Wind Scorpion in Reynosa, Tamulipas, Mexico
• Wild Animals
  • E2M2C™ Chronicles
  • Stopping an invasion of Raccoons, Skunks, Opossums, Rodents, Feral Cats, and a Fox, at a home in Northwest Austin…

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— Questions? Corrections? Comments? BUG ME RIGHT NOW! Feel free to e-mail jerry.cates@entomobiotics.com. You may also leave a comment in the space provided below.