The lady bug is no pest

The lady bug does no harm to humans or human possessions. But it does devour hordes of harmful insects, including a variety of plant lice.

About the only problem this lady of the insect world may cause you is that it sometimes makes a nuisance of itself during cold weather when it hibernates around windows or between the inner and outside windows of a house. It often chooses a spot near houses and buildings because it's cold enough there to

allow hibernation without being cold enough to kill it. It spends the winter in a state of suspended animation and will only wake up again when the weather is warm enough. In fact, if the lady bug warms up too quickly, it could be fatal. The bug's ability to hibernate during cold weather and its characteristic of gathering in large numbers is put to good use by fruit growers and other farmers in some parts of the country. They go into the mountains and collect the hibernating beetles by the bushel, and keep them in cold storage until spring. Then they ship the bugs to orchards and farms where they may warm up and go to work on plant enemies.

The lady bug is truly a lady. As the weather warms, if you find her flying around the house one of these warm days, just open the window and let her go on about her business.

Your home can be a luxurious resort for the most bothersome pest in the nation: the lowly cockroach.

German cockroaches, for instance, will feast on everything from dirty garbage cans to the glue in a dresser drawer: American cockroaches - a larger variety often found in older city dwellings - love your left-overs and crumbs, but will also enjoy your book-bindings, soap, and glue. Most roaches can live for a week without water, and four weeks without food. Roaches can carry and pass along dysentery, typhus, and salmonella.

It's easy to see why cockroaches are consistently picked as the most hated and disgusting pest, since they spread disease and bacteria rapidly. About eight percent of the U.S. population is allergic to roaches.

There are things you can do to control cockroaches:

Store food in airtight glass or plastic containers.

Wipe up food spills immediately

Keep counters, floors and cabinets clean

Vacuum frequently

Keep garbage cans tightly covered

Seal cracks and crevices. Caulk openings around pipes, fixtures, and cabinetry.

University of South Florida researchers have found another reason for people with allergies and breathing problems to pay close attention to what's lurking inside their homes.

Years ago, studies in Atlanta found that more than 44 percent of inner city children are allergic to cockroaches.

Now researchers have found that flea eggs and body parts can also circulate in the air and cause allergic reactions. Though allergies to insects have not been extensively studied by allergists, there is growing evidence that they may be as signifcant as pollen and other more recognized sources of allergies.

People who live with pets in air-conditioned homes create a dust-filled environment that's rich in allergy producers.

Flea allergies, according to one researcher, are one factor in the reported increase in asthma nationally. Cats, dogs, cockroaches, and dust mites produce materials that are the most common household causes of allergies.

If all the termites and all the people in the world were put on opposite sides of a scale, the termites would weigh more than the humans, experts say.

And all these termites need to eat. When they eat fallen trees, leaves and branches, they perform an important function in the maintenance of our ecosystem.

But when they decide to make a snack of our home, they can become a problem...a really big problem. Last year, these wood-eating pests were found in 600,000 U.S. homes and they cause nearly $1.5 billion in damage.

Since termites do their dirty work out of sight, it takes a trained eye to detect an infestation. They establish colonies - sometimes very large colonies - underground, so there's no way to know exactly where colonies are located. So, you must look for subtle signs that include termite wings on window sills, tiny mud tunnels on the ground near the house and thin patches of paint on the baseboards where the insects have eaten through the wood.

Left untreated, damage by termites may cause sagging floors and ceilings, cracked plaster, and, eventually, major structural repairs.

But there are many things you can do to make your home less attractive to termites and avoid the damage that they can cause to your home:

Always stack firewood away from the house.

Do not allow wood from your porch, patio or deck to come in contact with your home's foundation.

Replace decorative wood chips with stones.

Keep heavily watered gardens away from the house.

Check crawl spaces for moisture buildup

If you suspect that you may have a termite problem, contact a professional pest control operator immediately.

The carpenter ant is at best a nuisance and an eyesore as it wanders through kitchens and other rooms in search of food. At worst, it is a wood-excavating machine determined to transform your beloved home into Swiss cheese.

In the spring, carpenter ants send out large swarms of winged adults for reproduction. If there is a nest already inside your home, swarms of winged insects often are seen trying to escape through a window. This is usually the homeowner's first clue that there is a problem. Other telltale signs are piles of wood particles and

large black ants in and around the house. Also, if it's quiet, you might hear these carpenter ants inside the walls.

If you see any of these tell-tale signs, give us a call immediately.

Rats and mice are no small nuisance. They cause between $500 million and $1 billion a year in damage in this country. They transmit diseases like salmonellosis and trichonosis. Some 20 percent of fires of unknown origin are thought to be cause by rodents gnawing through electrical wiring. Worse yet, it takes only three weeks for a young rat or mouse to start creating as much damage as their parents.

To control rodents in your home or office, take a few precautions.

The average pile of firewood is an excellent home for

rodents, especially when the wood is left undisturbed for months. Stacks of cardboard boxes in the attic, piles of lumber in the basement, or general clutter in the garage all provide hiding places for rodents.

Keep the foundation of the home in good repair. Rodents can enter a building through a half-inch hole. it's important to seal openings and cracks around pipes and wires and to fix damaged screens and doors.

Look for the telltale signs of a rodent problem: chewed wires, furniture, books or food storage containers, or droppings.

It's possible to stop common household pests before they come into your home or office. Do what you can to make your building unattractive and inhospitable and you might avoid pest problems entirely.

Here are a few tips:

INDOORS:

Before bringing plants, grocery bags and soft drink containers into the house, inspect for bugs that may be hiding in them.

Keep garbage pails, floors, and the kitchen clean.

If you have a pet, take up its food dish at night and wipe any food spills.

Most pests need water. Fix leaky faucets and pipes, and keep drains unclogged.

Pay Special attention to paper products and food containers that you're storing for recycling, they're particular tempting to insects and rodents.

OUTDOORS:

Store firewood outdoors, away from the house and off the ground. Shake off the logs before you bring them into the house.

Inspect your home for possible entry points. Caulk or screen areas to seal openings around windows, door frames and pipes. Fill cracks and holes in the foundation of your home.

Trim tree limbs so they don't touch or hang over the house. Trim bushes and shrubs back and away from the house so they don't become a hiding place for insect and rodents.