Items
of Interest:
Agencies
and Partners Intensify White-Nose
Syndrome to Save Bats (Oct 12,
2010)
Pennsylvania Game Commission.
State wildlife agencies in the Northeast,
including the Pennsylvania
Game Commission, are ratcheting up their
response to White Nose Syndrome as they enter
their
fourth year of researching this disorder
in cave bat populations with an aim to better
understand,
and hopefully slow, its spread to other states.
Researchers Seek Elusive Answers to Stink-Bug Infestations (Sep 29, 2010)
Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Live.
Brown marmorated stink bugs were first found in Lehigh County in Pennsylvania in 1998 and have since become a perennial nuisance to homeowners as the bugs seek winter shelter. This year due to the warm spring and early summer they have reproduced at a faster pace, Entomologists at Penn State report that stink bugs have also become a serious agricultural pest in the Mid-Atlantic region, causing extensive damage to fruit, vegetable and farm crops. Stink bugs are difficult to control; they are native to Asia and have few if any natural enemies in the United States. In addition, pesticides are not a particularly good option for home owners or growers, some of whom have lost 40 to 50 percent of their crops to stink bugs. Mechanical exclusion is the best method to keep stink bugs from entering homes and buildings.
Asian Tiger Mosquito Invades Allegheny County (Jul 28, 2010)
Allegheny County Health Department.
The Allegheny County Health Department reported that on Jul 26, several samples of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) were collected from an area in West Mifflin. While the Asian tiger mosquito has been sporadically trapped in the County for several years, this is the first time it has infested an entire neighborhood. Efforts are planned to control the source of the problem in West Mifflin. In addition, mosquitoes collected last week from Pittsburgh's West End and North Side have tested positive for the West Nile virus.
Emerald
Ash Borer Survey Program
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
The emerald
ash borer was first detected
in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2007. One
of the easiest ways for exotic invasive pests
like Asian Longhorned Beetle, Emerald Ash
Borer, Sirex Wood Wasp and Bark Beetles to
spread is by people unintentionally moving
infested products. To minimize the spread
of the pests, the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture has implemented a quarantine
banning the importation of out-of-state firewood.
People who suspect they have seen Emerald
Ash Borer should call the department's toll-free
pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189.
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