While the temperatures drop, insects busy themselves with preparing for the dead-cold of winter. The survival strategies of insects differ depending on the species. Here are a few of the ways that our six-legged friends prepare for winter and live to see the next spring.

In the amazing world of nature, several unique species of insects and spiders actually produce or respond to the pheromones of other insects for their own benefit.

If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the crunching, munching, rasping and chewing of those tiny, stored product insects working their ways through packaging materials into our food and personal belongings.

The benefits of a pheromone monitoring program are quite well defined. When used correctly, pheromones can; 1. Give an early indication of pest species before damage or loss occurs 2. Pinpoint the sources of pest activity in large areas, and 3. Relay information on whether the steps taken to reduce pest activity are working. This article isn’t about the benefits of a pheromone program that we know to be true though.

The grey silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudatum, AKA “longtail silverfish” seems to be getting a lot more attention these days around the globe.

Museums are sanctuaries of culture and history, housing priceless collections that convey the tale of our cultural history. While these institutions strive to provide an immersive experience for visitors, an unexpected threat lurks within the very spaces designed to…

Clothes moths are the number one pest in the world that consume and damage our clothing and rugs. Unknown to many, adult clothes moths do not eat, instead the larval stage of this damaging pest is the only one doing the damage.

If part of your job involves pest management, trying to solve pest outbreaks can often become a roller coaster ride with all its ups and downs.

Initially, insect pests make themselves known to us by spilling into our living spaces and workspaces.

First reactions can include annoyance, disgust and in some cases shock when pest damage is revealed.

There is often a knee-jerk reaction is to apply a pesticide to the area to kill everything on six legs.

When the common name of an insect includes what it likes to eat, (think clothes moths, flour beetles, saw-toothed grain beetles, etc.) you know that those items are particularly at risk of being eaten by that specific species. While carpets made from wool are a fond food source for black carpet beetle larvae, carpets are only one menu item in a long list of potential foods for this pest. Somewhat surprising to many is that black carpet beetles are a common pest on grain-based, dried food goods.

It is amazing to me that, excluding the oceans, insects and arthropods inhabit nearly every environment that we have on earth. This includes the icy conditions on some of the highest mountain peaks, and some of the hottest and driest desert conditions around the globe.

Pheromone plumes are an intriguing and complex part of nature. Knowing a bit more about them gives us a lot of respect for how amazing insect communication can be and it also helps us become better at setting up trap monitoring programs and providing integrated pest management.

This is the 5th year in a row that Insects Limited has released a ranking of the top 15 clothes moth cities in the U.S.

Getting insects to enter monitoring traps can be challenging, but the right attractant lure and other factors can provide enough incentive for them to approach the trap, enter and ultimately be captured.

Samantha Kiever, an Entomology major from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was welcomed in by the Insects Limited’s staff this summer to share her skills with the company while gaining some important experience in an entomology lab while working with three Board Certified Entomologists.

Insects Limited is all about pheromones. We synthesize insect pheromone, blend pheromones, test pheromones and provide pheromones to our customers around the globe. Simply stated, the concept for sex pheromones is that a chemical scent is launched into the air by a female insect and that scent ultimately translates into boy bug finding girl bug. While many people know this much about pheromones, most don’t understand the process that goes into making the male behave this way.

What do clothes moths have to do with apartment complexes?Insects Limited annually ranks US cities with the most clothes moth issues. The takeaway each year is that there are many more problems with clothes moths in highly-populated urban areas compared to issues in rural settings. This is almost certainly due to the fact that people pass the moths from person to person as they gift, sell or trade their belongings with each other. We also know that the moths can travel from residence to residence more easily in densely populated cities. Large apartment complexes are the most “at-risk” dwellings within cities to contract clothes moth issues.

When implementing an IPM program within a museum, library or historic house, one should begin by placing blunder traps un-baited flat, sticky glue traps) snug against the wall on either side of all doorways, in corners and (click to view…)

By no means was 2020 a typical year by anyone’s imagination, but the insect pests that plague us went on like everything was just fine. So, when we looked back at the year concerning which cities in the U.S. have the worst clothes moth problems, we saw many cities stay in the same ranking spot while a few others moved down on the list.