Ottumwa Courier, IA
05-25-06
Bugs survive mild winter
BY CINDY TOOPES Courier staff writer
OTTUMWA — Remember how great the mild winter weather was? The sounds
of people swatting gnats, however, is dimming that memory for many southeast
Iowans.
Lynn Schulte, the horticulture program assistant at Wapello County Extension
Service, said Wednesday this year will be “a buggy one.”
“I’ve already seen more gnats but there will be more bugs in general,” she said.
“The eggs of ladybugs, stink bugs, or whatever, weren’t killed off because winter
was mild.”
What can the average person do about the problem?
“Prepare for it, just as you would for any other season,” Schulte said.
“Environmentally this occurs once in a while — it’s not a natural phenomenon. Be
patient with it.”
Schulte also recommended taking precautions, such as burning citronella
candles when sitting outdoors and using mosquito repellent.
“You have to be willing to protect yourself and you need to prepare for them.
They will be here,” she added.
Schulte urged people to check any bug bites they receive because some bites
can be severe and can become infected.
Iowa State University Extension experts have provided a lot “buggy”
information on Web sites, such as www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin. Another
nuisance attracting attention in Iowa is the house centipede. ISU updated the
centipede information about a week ago.
The house centipede is up to 1.5 inches long and has 15 pairs of very long,
almost thread-like, slender legs. Its legs are encircled by dark and white bands
and its brown to grayish-yellow body has three dark stripes.
House centipedes can be found indoors or outdoors. The ones found indoors,
such as on the bedroom or bathroom wall, attract the most attention. The
centipedes aren’t harmful to humans — just a nuisance.
While the centipedes are often found in bathrooms, they don’t come up through
the drain pipes. They prefer to live in damp portions of various rooms,
unexcavated areas under the house, and beneath the bark of firewood stored
indoors, according to the Web site.
ISU experts said controlling house centipedes indoors means “drying up and
cleaning, as much as possible, the areas that serve as habitat and food source.
Centipedes discovered outdoors shouldn’t be controlled.”
As Schulte said, “Mostly, the bugs will be just be a nuisance.”
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at
cindy@ottumwacourier.com.