IFAS News
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – University of Florida
UF researchers turn up the heat on bedbugs with new low-tech treatment method
July 7, 2009
Topic(s): Agriculture, Entomology and Nematology, Household Pests, New Technology, Pests, Safety
Caption at bottom. Click here for high resolution image.
Multimedia available: http://news.ufl.edu/2009/07/07/bed-bugs-multimedia/
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bedbug infestations are notoriously hard to eliminate, but University of Florida researchers have developed a low-cost, low-tech method to kill the bloodsucking insects in furniture and bedding, using heat.
With less than $400 in equipment they created a portable chamber big enough for a bed or dresser. Heaters inside the chamber gently raise its air temperature to a minimum of 113 degrees Fahrenheit – enough to destroy the insects but not damage the items.
Treatment takes from two to seven hours, said urban entomologist Phil Koehler, a professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. In a study, the method killed 100 percent of bedbugs in nine out of 11 trials conducted in dormitories and apartments.
The study appears in the current issue of Journal of Economic Entomology.
“You’re very limited in what you can do to fight bedbugs,” said Koehler, an author of the study. “This is a good way to relieve infestations in bedding and other items people have close contact with, and it controls all life stages of bedbugs.” (more…)
Mosquitoes aplenty this July Fourth bring disease concerns for North Florida
July 1, 2009
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Household Pests, Lawn & Garden, Pests, Safety, Weather
Caption at bottom. Click here for high resolution image.
Caption at bottom. Click here for high resolution image.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Recent weeks of heavy rain have left conditions statewide ripe for a Fourth of July rife with mosquitoes. For some North Florida areas, however, the pests are more than a holiday annoyance — they bring the threat of the eastern equine encephalitis virus, known as EEEV.
“This year doesn’t look like it’s going to be tremendously unusual in terms of overall cases of mosquito-borne diseases,” said Jonathan Day, a professor of medical entomology with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “But transmission of [EEEV] tends to be very focal, and there are some areas that are looking risky.”
EEEV is best known for being deadly in horses, but humans can contract the virus as well.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus can cause a severe infection of the central nervous system in humans, and is fatal for nearly a third of those afflicted.
So far this year, 26 horses have been found to be infected in North Florida, with five more in the state’s Panhandle.
UF Entomologists Warn Floridians New Roaches May Be on the Way
October 8, 2008
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Household Pests, Invasive Species
- By:
Mickie Anderson – (352) 273-3566 - Sources:
Phil Koehler – pgk@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2484
Roberto Pereira – rpereira@ufl.edu, (352) 392-1901
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As if Floridians aren’t bugged enough by roaches, a growing interest among reptile enthusiasts to farm the insects as lizard food could result in several new cockroach varieties invading the state, University of Florida entomologists warn.
Phil Koehler and Roberto Pereira, researchers with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, wrote an article in last month’s Florida Pest Pro magazine, alerting pest control operators and homeowners to be on the lookout for several new species of cockroach. (more…)
Genetic Pesticide Developed in UF Lab
May 28, 2008
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Household Pests, Pests, RECs, Research
- By:
Stu Hutson – (352) 392-0400 - Source:
Michael Scharf – mescharf@ufl.edu, (352) 392-1901 x143
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Each year in the United States, termites gnaw away more than $1 billion in structural damage despite an ever growing array of insect control techniques. In this battle, the next generation of weapons could target the termite’s very genes.
“The trend in insect control is to find methods that eliminate the problematic insect without affecting anything else in the environment,” said Michael Scharf, an entomologist with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “What could possibly be more specific than genes that are unique to the insect itself?” (more…)
UF Web Cams Give Curious Glimpse into Daily Lives of Ants and Termites
May 1, 2008
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Household Pests, Pests
- By:
Chuck Woods - Sources:
Phil Koehler – pgk@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2484
Roberto Pereira – rpereira@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2326
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The daily adventures of live termite and ant colonies are now available on two Web cameras at the University of Florida, giving viewers an inside look at what happens when these pests invade a home.
The Web cams watch the colonies around the clock and are meant for consumers, pest control operators, students and science teachers, and anyone else who wants to learn more about these common household pests, said Phil Koehler, an entomologist with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. (more…)
UF Research Shows Termite Damage Cuts Insulation Values by Nearly 75 Percent
March 26, 2008
Topic(s): Conservation, Families and Consumers, Finances, Household Pests
- By:
Chuck Woods - Sources:
Phil Koehler – pgk@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2484
Roberto Pereira – rpereira@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2326
Cynthia Tucker – ctucker@ufl.edu, (352) 392-2326
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Termites aren’t just out to eat the wood in your home. A new University of Florida study shows the voracious insects like to feast on your home’s insulation, too – making it nearly 75 percent less effective.
In tests measuring how termites damage the thermal properties or insulation in homes and other buildings, three types of widely used construction materials – 2-by-4 boards, five-ply plywood and foam board insulation – were exposed to the pest for eight weeks by entomologists at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. (more…)
Overfertilizing St. Augustinegrass Could Encourage Chinch Bugs, UF Researcher Warns
March 3, 2008
Topic(s): Cultivars, Entomology and Nematology, Families and Consumers, Household Pests, Landscaping, Lawn & Garden
- By:
Tom Nordlie – (352) 273-3567 - Sources:
Eileen Buss – (352) 392-0400
Fred Baxendale – fbaxendale1@unl.edu, (402) 472-8699
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A little fertilizer can perk up a St. Augustinegrass lawn as spring arrives, but homeowners who overdo it may find they’re growing more than grass.
A University of Florida study suggests that repeatedly using large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer can ignite a population explosion of Southern chinch bugs – the No. 1 insect pest of St. Augustinegrass, the state’s most popular turfgrass. (more…)
Finding too-small-to-see bedbugs no problem for these sniffers, UF researchers say
May 2, 2007
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Families and Consumers, Household Pests
By:
Mickie Anderson (352) 392-0400Source(s):
Pepe Peruyero pepe@jkk9.com, 386-454-3647
Phil Koehler ppgk@ufl.edu, 352-392-2484
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — At the sound of a bag of treats being latched onto her handler’s waist, she bounds up and down, as if on springs.
Nine-pound Nudie’s feet skitter across the concrete floor as she speeds by, keeping her tiny nose to the ground. She scurries around the perimeter of a bed, then hops on top. (more…)
New mosquito-borne illness may be headed to United States, UF experts say
April 26, 2007
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Families and Consumers, Household Pests, Invasive Species, RECs
By:
Tom Nordlie (352) 392-0400Source(s):
Walter Tabachnick wjt@ufl.edu, 772-778-7200 ext. 124
Roxanne Connelly crr@ufl.edu, 772-778-7200 ext. 172
Stephen Higgs sthiggs@utmb.edu, 409-747-2426
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The next mosquito-borne illness in the United States may be chikungunya (“chicken-GUN-ya”) and despite its odd name the viral disease is no laughing matter, University of Florida experts say.
Though generally not fatal, chikungunya has sickened 1.6 million people in the Indian Ocean region since early 2005 and could be transmitted by two mosquitoes found in the southern United States, said Walter Tabachnick of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. (more…)
German cockroaches winning the war against pest control baits
December 6, 2006
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Household Pests
By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-0400Source(s):
Phil Koehler pgk@ufl.edu, 352-392-2484
Barbara Bayer bbayer@ufl.edu, 352-392-2326
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The German cockroach — one of the most common and hated household pests — is winning the war against some of the newest insecticides and baits, according to University of Florida researchers.
“Whatever you throw at them, they have an amazing ability to quickly adapt and overcome adversity,” said Phil Koehler, an entomology professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “We know that they have developed resistance to many of the most widely used insecticides, and now they are turning up their noses at baits, including some that were very effective just a few years ago.” (more…)
