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Beyond Bedbugs: 8 Insects Businesses Should Really Worry About
While bedbugs have commanded the headlines lately, there are plenty of other creepy crawlers that can wreak havoc on businesses and their customers.
Posted 11/ 10 10 at 6:00 PM | Business Trends, Business Travel, International Business, Consumer Products & Services, Environmental Services, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing
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"Don't let the bedbugs bite" used to be just a cute expression to say before saying goodnight. Today, it's an actual warning. Bedbugs are back and they continue to attack a variety of businesses, from clothing retailers to hotels to movie theaters. According to a new study by the National Pest Management Association, 95 percent of pest-control companies nationwide have had run-ins with bedbug infestations in the past year.While bedbugs get all the attention, plenty of other interesting, rather ominous insects are out there wreaking havoc on consumers and costing companies millions. So if you feel like being unnerved by bedbugs isn't enough and you're wondering what other creepy, crawling critters your business should be scared of, check out this list.
What they threaten: California's $1.3 billion citrus industry.
Modus operandi: The Asian citrus psyllid isn't such a bad bug on its own, but it can carry the devious and deadly Huanglongbing (HLB) bacteria, which kills all varieties of citrus trees. And what's truly sneaky is that it's often not evident for years that a citrus tree has been infected, so if the owner of the trees isn't aware of what's going on, the psyllids continue to eat away at the tree, allowing HLB to continue to spread.
"Left unchecked, the Asian citrus psyllid will spread throughout California," warns Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell, a University of California entomologist working to minimize the Asian citrus psyllid population. As for the disease it carries, "There is no cure," Grafton-Cardwell says, "and it is a death sentence for citrus."
Fun fact: "The adult psyllid tilts its rear end up in the air when it feeds -- a unique posture among citrus pests," Grafton-Cardwell says.
What they threaten: Wooden furniture manufacturers, lumber companies and at least one famous baseball bat company.
Modus operandi: This metallic-green, beautiful-but-devastating insect is attempting to destroy 7.5 billion ash trees in the United States. They were first discovered in Michigan in 2002. How they got here is anyone's guess, but most international insects travel to America for a better life as stowaways in luggage or on humans traveling on planes, or they burrow in cargo on ships or in packages sent through the mail. The emerald ash borer is now found in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Maryland. Pennsylvania's trees, meanwhile, are the source for the Major League Baseball bats manufactured by the famed company Louisville Slugger, and the state has been girding itself for the emerald ash borer's arrival but has so far kept them at bay.
Fun fact: Minnesota is introducing stingless wasps into the state to combat the emerald ash borer.
What they threaten: California's $320 million avocado industry, where 90 percent of the nation's avocados are grown, as well as the peach and apricot industries.
Modus operandi: They like to feed on avocados, which causes the plant's leaves to fall prematurely. As the leaves fall too soon, the bark becomes sunburned, the fruit doesn't grow properly and the avocado trees in general get stressed out.
Fun fact: The average persea mite only lives 15 to 40 days. The warmer the weather, the shorter the life. Sixty-seven degrees Fahrenheit seems to be the sweet spot.
What they threaten: Every business in parts of Texas, mostly in Houston. Reportedly seen in southern Arkansas.
Modus operandi: Crazy rasberry ants are named for exterminator Tom Rasberry, who first identified the critters in Houston in 2002. These ants bite humans and are oddly attracted to electrical equipment -- they enjoy nesting in it and chewing it up. In fact, the NASA Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake City, Texas, had some crazy rasberry ant sightings and brought in Rasberry to exterminate them.
After exterminations, "I've seen them in piles of two to three inches," says Ron Harrison, technical director for Orkin, the national pest control chain. Harrison says the businesses that seem to be the most in danger of infestation are manufacturing firms that have warehouses and storage areas among trees.
Fun fact: They're called "crazy" because the ants don't move in a straight line -- they move all over in a lot of different, zigzag directions.
What they threaten: The grape and wine industries -- and any business that has a building
Modus operandi: Basically, this is the Asian version of the ladybug, and mostly, they're harmless. But during the winter, they fly into buildings and crawl into windows, walls and attics. Before dying, they'll often release an annoying stench and a yellow fluid that stains. But if you're a fruit grower, you'll be much more than annoyed. This is war. After all, these Asian lady beetles like to munch on peaches, apples and grapes, among other fruit, and as wine growers have found, if even just a small number of these beetles are accidentally processed along with the grapes, it can taint the wine's flavor.
Fun fact: The Asian lady beetle's stench, which you'll discover if you try squashing them, Harrison says, "is their way of discouraging things from eating them."
Varroa Destructor
What businesses they threaten: The beekeeping industry -- a $12 billion industry in the United States alone.
Modus operandi: The varroa destructor is a blood-sucking parasite, attacking both adults and kids. The juvenile honeybees born under the influence of a varroa destructor often are deformed, missing legs or wings. It's a very bad situation for the bees and not a great one for the honeybee industry, and considering how we depend on bees to pollinate flowers and crops, it's a bad situation for the world at large.
Fun fact: The varroa destructor was first discovered in Southeast Asia in 1904. They first turned up in the United States in 1987.
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
What they threaten: Farmers, and they could embarrass some business owners in their own stores.
Modus operandi: Although the United States has plenty of stink bugs, this one first showed up in Pennsylvania in 1998. Since then, they've been attacking farmers' crops, including apples, figs, peaches, citrus and mulberries. On the plus side, "Often, they just do cosmetic damage rather than actually destroying the fruit," says Ron Harrison. Of course, try telling a potential customer the apple he's eying isn't as disgusting as it looks. As for getting into a place of business, they won't -- unless you have cracks around your windows or doors, or if they can find a way through the utility pipes or by invading your siding.
Fun fact: Once stink bugs move into your storefront, they will come year after year. They return because they can smell the odor they left behind. It's kind of like leaving out a sign to other stink bugs that your establishment is a fun vacation spot.
Coffee Borer Beetle
What they threaten: Hawaii's coffee growers, an estimated $60 million industry.
Modus operandi: These insects, which are well-known in Central America and South America, were recently discovered in Hawaii by a University of Hawaii graduate student. The bug bores into the coffee cherry and lays its eggs. As soon as the larvae, the juvenile coffee borers, arrive on the scene, they instantly feeding on the coffee bean. Borers typically ruin about 20 percent of a crop and do an estimated $500 million in damage every year.
Fun fact: The coffee cherry borer is a small beetle, about the size of a sesame seed.
Geoff Williams is a frequent contributor to AOL Small Business. He is also the co-author of the book Living Well with Bad Credit.
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Comments (Page 1 of 2)
It's from letting thos Dad Gummed Foreigners into America..
They got lotsa bugs on them..!!
what planet are you from? Have you watched Hoarders on TV? Lady, this is filmed in America. The filth. Better clean up America before you open mouth and insert foot about Foreigners.
Lea
People like you give Foreigners a bad name for themselves. I bet you live in America and have the nerve to say that !!!!! Some people like you have shallow minds and big mouths!
I'm Frank Como the "BedBug Chaser" and not only do I get rid of things like bedbugs, spiders & stink bugs with 100% safe GREEN electric heat but it also kills mold and most air borne pathogens! Did you know in WW1 the US Armed Forces guidelines described how to heat an entire structure to get rid of Bedbugs? A shot of frozen gas or a little steam wand won't get into all the areas bedbugs hide nor will pesticides. You've read the horror stories about pesticides - STOP don't expose your home to those call me 908-510-8110 or just Google the "BedBug Chaser" I'm easy to find.
You've read the stories about people "cashing in" on bedbugs - here's your chance too. We're going Nationwide very soon and will be offering BedBug Chaser opportunities across North America. If you would like to be considered call me personally at 908-51-8110 and I'll put your name on the list and let's see if we can start the New Year out togethe
That probably why you call yourself the BEDBUGCHASERS instead of KILLERS are you licensed to practice pest control in any state ?.Sounds like a take the money and run gimmick to me.What reputable person would put his phone number on a random posting.I believe you will run like begbugs do when the lights go out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The solution for all of this is simple. We must bring back DDT. Yes, it is hurtful to other species and its use must be controlled to minimize the periferal damage. But, make no mistake folks, the days of pussy footing around with girly men pesticides so that innocent species now recovered from the damage done by DDT won't be hurt again, are over. We must bring DDT back and knock down these invasive species before it gets so bad that when we do resort to DDT, we will have to apply is so intensely, we will probably send some species into extinction. Bring back the DDT NOW!!!! We will hurt some innocent species but if we control the usage now these species will survive and can later recover. It is common sense folks. It is time to use the tool we know will get the job done.
Nice, except it isn't exactly as easy or as true as you proclaim. First, DDT wasn't and isn't banned as a disease vector control: it is still in use as an insect control agent and has been all the time in many areas. It was a ban on the agricultural use. Second, DDT had already begun to not be effective BEFORE it's use was reeled in on the very insects (mainly the Anopheles mosquito) it was being used to control: they had already had to resort to other insecticides for control. Insects are very good at adapting and evolving against the controls we use. The problem with DDT use (and virtually all insecticides) is we tend to overuse them; and when they lose effectiveness, instead of discontinuing or restricting their use, we try to force them to work by using more and more.
Sam is correct!! There is no doubt that DDT controlled these insects that are harmful to humans. Malaria was once almost removed from Earth until some high minded woman started the campaign to have it banned. This was a terrible "political correctness mistake" allowing stupidity to control what science has proven to be the answer to many disease problems in the world. Aids could be caused by bugs, or autism or any several diseases that could be transmitted by bugs. Go to South America in the jungles or to Africa in the jungles and look at the damage done by bugs since the ban on DDT.
where did you get info on what God will do
autism isn't caused by bug bites you idiot!!!!!!! it's caused by too much ''electrical wiring'' in the frontal lobe of the brain, among other things!!!!! my daughter has autism, get your facts straight before you let your butt do the talking.
WELL, WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE BUGS.. IF NOT, WHO WILL? AND REMEMBER.. AFTER WE HUMANS ARE LONG GONE, THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH WHEN GOD TRIES AGAIN TO POPULATE THE EARTH WITH IMPROVED HUMANS? SO WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE BUGS..
AND NOTICE WHERE MOST OF THESE BUGS COME FROM?
THERE ARE A FEW BUGS THAT COME FROM WASHINGTON, DC.. THAT ARE WREKING HAVOC ON THE USA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD AS WELL.. THE "EXTERMINATORS" HAS BEEN BROUGHT OUT TO GET RID OF THEM.. FROM DOING MUCH MORE HARM...IE: REPUBLICANS..JUST DON'T EXPECT ANY IMPROVMENTS.. THEY ARE JUST EXTERMINATORS AND MIRACLE WORKERS.. (TIC)
what do stink bugs eat once in the houseand how do they maltiply??
bedbugs are small and stink bugs are big body of both look like a sheild ?
I'm Frank Como the "BedBug Chaser" and I get rid of bedbugs, spiders & stink bugs with 100% safe GREEN electric heat. Did you know the US Armed Forces dealt with BedBugs - they cooked them, just like me! A little shot of frozen gas or steam won't get to where bedbugs hide . You've read the horror stories about pesticides - STOP don't expose your home to those call me 908-510-8110 or visit our site www.BedBugChaser.com - I'm easy to find. If you're interested in ridding the world of bedbugs and making some money here's your chance. Call me personally at 908-51-8110 and I'll put your name on our list and let's see if you have what it takes to be a "BedBug Chaser
I have the solution to all bugs of any kind. There are people who protect bugs. And yes, this will never be posted. All I can say is, have a happy bug life.
My family had B-Bugs for ten years that know of & then came DDT we put 1 can in each room [4] opened each can closed all doors & windows came back the next day [24 hrs.] & never had another bug.I am 79 yrs. old know with no side efects. Just do the way the instructions say. JRE
Can we still buy DDT. If YES, tell me where
Greenbug All Natural Pest Control Products kill all bad pests and are harmless to humans, animals and the environment. You can use Greenbug yourself to get rid of bed bugs, fleas, roaches, ticks, head lice, mosquitoes, etc. but Greenbug does not harm beneficial creatures like honey bees. It is new and FABULOUS! 100% effective in University research, totally green. Toxic pesticides (like DDT) are not the answer because of pesticide resistance - eventually DDT would not work either. Go natural - get Greenbug! Go to www.greenbugallnatural.com
Has anyone ever seen the film The Holstrum Chronicle? It's a documentary that demonstrates the uncanny ability of all insects to adjust themselves to any adverse conditions. They mutate and add appendages and shields and can restructure themselves physically. The movie ends by saying that long after mankind is extinct, the BUGS will remain and flourish.
You do not need DDT and you don't need to pay someone else to take care of pests! Greenbug All Natural Pest Control Products are the 'green' way to take care of bugs. Rutgers University proved Greenbug to kill 100% of bed bugs 100% of the time! You can purchase it and use it yourself to kill AND repel bed bugs so you don't get them in the first place. Completely safe, Greenbug is FDA approved for use 'in and around food' and Greenbug does no harm to humans, animals or the environment. No harm to honey bees and other pollinators! Greenbug kills and repels all kinds of pests - bed bugs, fleas, ticks, roaches, mosquitoes, head lice, ants, chiggers, sand gnats, dust mites, etc. - the list goes on and on! Order Greenbug products online - save money, save the planet and get rid of pests!!!