New research sheds new light on insects and how they protect themselves from outside threats of all sizes.

According to a report from The Scientist, new findings show that the enlarged forelimbs of tiny soldier thrips, otherwise known as thunderbugs, are armed with antimicrobial compounds to help them fight microscopic fungi, which pose a threat to them.

“It’s been somewhat overlooked that one of the consequences of social cooperation is big colonies, which are prime conditions for pathogens,” Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, who was not involved in the study, told the news source. “So one really does expect to find strong anti-pathogen adaptations, it’s an underappreciated phenomenon.”

In Georgia and other parts of the South, mild winters have led to a surge in numerous insects and pest, which have led many pest control companies to report a surge in calls typically uncommon for this time of year. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city's pest control companies have reported their call volume has increased by as much as 40 percent in April compared with April 2011.

In Oklahoma, the recent mild winter is having lingering effects, one of which is insect infestation happening earlier and more often, according to Tulsa NBC affiliate KJRH.

Greg Gibson, of a leading area pest control company, told the news source that homeowners specifically have to look out for carpenter ants and termites that can find their way into cracks throughout the home and cause significant structural damage. But other insects and pests can cause issues too.

"We're right smack in a swarming season right now, the mosquitos are out, the fleas and ticks are out early," Gibson told the news source. "Wasps, bees are out really early."

He added that getting rid of clutter around the home and yard and eliminating any hiding spots that may be attractive to mosquitoes and spiders can be an effective pest control management tool.

According to a similar report from the Oklahoma City ABC affiliate KOCO, scorpions and deadly spiders like the black widow can be found in the Oklahoma City area, which could lead to deadly results if affected homeowners don't pursue professional help from a pest control expert.

A new report from The Telegraph, a central Georgia newspaper, finds that bed bug infestations are prevalent throughout the region's apartments and hotels.

Sometimes bed bug bites can be mistaken for mosquito bites, as was the case when Vinnie Orene Fennell, a 72-year-old resident of Mobile, Alabama, first encountered a bed bug attack after staying at the Rodeway Inn on Eisenhower Parkway in Macon, Georgia, the news source stated.

“It took a few minutes for me to wrap my mind around that sudden realization,” Fennell wrote in a letter to the hotel chain. “Seriously, it was like someone telling me that people had been discovered on Mars. It was just that alien to me.”

Fennell is not alone. The 13 counties that comprise the North Central Health District have confirmed 38 bed bug complaints since the start of 2011, Carla Coley, the district environmental health director, told the news source.

Termite control issues have also plagued residents in Georgia and elsewhere throughout the South. A recent report revealed that 84 percent of homeowners have experienced a pest issue of some kind in the past year, with termite swarms afflicting those most notably in Florida, Texas and Georgia.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, recently announced how to deal with the new Asian longhorned beetle pest issue.

Worcester County has been ground zero for the beetle, and the next steps have been announced in eradicating the issue and they include removing infested trees, delimiting surveys, and other regulatory methods and activities that can be developed to improve program operations.

“The priority is to complete delimitation as soon as possible by focusing efforts on survey,” said Christine Markham, national director for the APHIS ALB Eradication Program. “Surveys will determine the full extent of the central Massachusetts infestation and the information gained will help determine what additional eradication control strategies will be used to fight the infestation.”

Elsewhere in Massachusetts pest control, the state's Attorney General Martha Coakley recently announced a settlement with a former commissioner of Plymouth County and a pest control company surrounding allegations of attempted bid rigging. Both parties will pay the state $5,000 in penalties and $2,500 in costs.

Pest control experts throughout Texas are coming together to inform and educate the state's residents about termites, fleas, moths and other insects that can cause infestations.

Megha Parajulee, an entomologist at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the rainfall has affected the patterns of insects because there were no crops available to protect themselves with.

“Larger insects build a large population during a growing season,” Parajulee told the news source. “When a fall season starts, they try to hibernate and seek hiding places. We didn’t have any of those last year.”

Specifically in Lubbock, the termite problem has reached a fever pitch, Jay Stone, president of a local pest management company, told the news source. He added that they are attacking more often and eating away wood and similar products.

A recent report from Abilene ABC affiliate KTXS reveals that moths are also a growing issue in Texas. Pennye Salazar, a local expert, told the news source that a lot of rain and humidity are leading to a surge in the moth population.

Texas farmers who are dealing with pest issues and others related to their profession have a useful resource in one newsletter.

According to the Southwest Farm Press, the Rio Grande Valley Newsletter has been published for several decades and has served as a companion to area farmers and has made itself relevant with the Pest Cast newsletter.

“I first started editing the newsletter in the mid-'70s, but it is possible it was started back in the late 1940s,” John Norman, retired entomologist with Texas AgriLife Extension, told the news source. “Before me there was Jimmy Deere, and before that someone else and so on. I understand it was started by a grower somewhere before 1948 and eventually was taken over by the South Texas Cotton & Grain Association and eventually by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in the Valley.”

Knowledge and information are two essential aspects of effective pest control methods. Insecta Fiesta, recently held at the University of Texas Natural Science Center's Breckenridge Field Lab, served to put all kinds of insects, bugs and pests on display for the public to view and learn more about.
 

Bed bugs are invading the central region of Texas and consumers are looking for viable solutions to their problems.

According to KCEN, some people decide to go the prevention route themselves and look into various formulas, liquids, traps and dust to get rid of the pesky critters.

"We are using more and more abates for things like cockroaches and termites, so we aren't using the same pesticides on the interior structures like we used to," Dr. Roger Gold, entomology professor at Texas A&M, told the news source. "Therefore, the bed bugs have escaped being controlled inadvertently."

Bed bugs typically attack at night, Gold said, adding that they climb onto an individual's body and probe with their mouths until they find a blood vessel to feed on.

Bed bug control has been an issue at Texas A&M, where Gold teaches, as the Smith and Berry residence halls at the school's Commerce campus have reportedly been afflicted with the critters despite substantial efforts to get rid of them. According to The East Texan, 80 documented complaints have been made over the past two years concerning the issue.