Amygdala: The Area Of Our Brains Hardwired To React To Animals

Whether our reaction is affection at the sight of a cute kitten, revulsion when we see a cockroach, or fear of a snake, our reaction to animals is hardwired into our brains. the amygdala is the region of the brain, with lobes in both the right and left hemispheres, that processes our emotions. In a study researchers discovered that only the neurons in the right amygdala responded when subjects were shown a variety of images of animals, whether cute, frightening or disgusting. The team believe this reaction stems from our distant evolutionary past when we were both predators and prey and our brains evolved to respond quickly to animals.

Read More at Discovery

Posted by Astrojenny

For all you pest control problems, contact Capybara Pest Control Solutions. We'll try and keep your amygdala happy!!

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Moths Are On The Increase

Moths Are On The Increase

Infestations of the common clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella have risen sharply in the past six months. That we have more clothes now & these are not laundered as often or as thouroughly as they were in the past, the decline in the use of mothballs & rise in room temperature due to central heating & even global warming have been blamed for the increase. The larvae can live for upto 2 years.

Read More at The Independent

For all you clothes moth pest problem visit our web store, www.capy.co.uk

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Clothes Moths!

Now's the time of year where we normally take fall clothes out of storage...only to find that our sweaters now sport a constellation of small holes. Moths love nothing more than to chomp on cashmere, winnowing a collection of cardigans down to a small handful.
Moths seem to be a hit-or-miss issue with most people. Some toss their woolens aside for a season without any special consideration for storage and never have an issue. Others painstakingly dry clean and pack away their cold weather clothing and find the tell-tale holes. Can you guess what camp we're in?
Which leads to the question: Are we using moth balls? No. They might keep moths away, but the smell also has a repellent effect on the world around us. But we have tried the go-to natural repellent (cedar) products and came up...well, still hole-y.

Capybara recommends the exceptionally strong, odourless, clothes moth pads!

http://www.capy.co.uk/Clothes_Moth_Pads_10/p747937_3656100.aspx

The attractant in these glue pads is pheromone based, using the same slow release matrix technology as the crawling insect glue pad, no need for fiddly attractant tablets.

An excellent clothes moth pad! The best we can find and the best value for money. Easy to use, simply peel back and place in room.

Perfect product to place in wardrobes to protect clothing.

Will catch for up to 3 months!
Simply the best clothes moth pad on the market!

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Rat wakes up Homeless man in New York Subway...

Transport workers blame budget cuts as even MORE rats than usual plague New York subway

Even more rats than usual are running wild on the New York subway because of budget cuts, transport workers claim.

Staffing cutbacks have allowed the rat population to explode as rubbish goes uncollected and refuse storage rooms are inadequately sealed, MTA empoyees say.

Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 chanted: 'Cutbacks mean the rats are back!' at a rally at an entrance to the Parsons/Archer subway hub in Jamaica, Queens, which has one of the worst rodent infestations.

Nasty surprise: Even more rats are running wild on the New York subway because of staff and budget cuts, transport workers claim (file photo)

Union members collected thousands of signatures from subway users for a petition urging management to increase the frequency of rubbish collection, put more bins in stations and seal off refuse storage rooms more effectively.
Kevin Harrington, a Local 100 vice president and one of the three dozen campaigners at the station, told the New York Daily News: 'We have a huge rat problem."

 

Charles Seaton, a spokesman for the MTA, said: 'This has proven to be a problem location and even following some of the suggestions offered by the TWU, it has failed to yield positive results.
'In the short term, we are baiting the [Archer] station more often and removing refuse from the station more often.'

Horror: Subway rider awakes to find the rodent inches from his face

The MTA's 2010 and 2011 budgets would eliminate 254 subway car, track and station-cleaning positions to save $21 million annually, budget documents show.

The MTA said it doesn't have a rat population estimate and said it was unclear if there has been a surge but plenty of people who use the subway have horror stories about rat encounters.

Earlier this year video of a rat scurrying up the leg and on to the face of a man asleep on the 4 train became a Youtube sensation.

In the video the passenger then wakes up and recoils in horror as the rodent does a runner across the carriage.

However, while passengers sometimes encounter rodents on platforms and trains, subway workers have to contend with the rodents in greater numbers in utility rooms, track beds, locker rooms and lunch rooms, according to Harrington.

The union said it plans to hold additional rallies at rat-plagued stations.

The MTA said they are working on a solution.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040571/Transport-workers-blame-budget-cuts-MORE-rats-usual-plague-New-York-subway.html#ixzz1YraZLIbK

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How bedbug insecticides are 'more dangerous than the bloodsucking themselves'

Bedbugs don't make you sick, but the poisons used to kill them can.

Dozens of Americans have fallen ill from the insecticides, and a North Carolina woman died after using 18 cans of chemical fogger to attack the tiny blood suckers, a government report revealed.

Because many of the cases, including the lone death, were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or applied the wrong product, federal health officials are warning consumers to be careful and urging them to call professionals.

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2011 file photo, a bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington. A government study counted one death and 80 illnesses linked to bedbug-targeting insecticides used from 2008 through 2010. Many were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or used the wrong product. Most of the cases were in New York City, the apparent epicenter of a recent U.S. bedbug comeback. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 80 illnesses and one death linked to the insecticides over three years.

Most of the cases were in New York City, the apparent epicenter of a recent U.S. bedbug comeback.

The CDC was able to get data from 12 states, and only seven had reports of such illnesses.

One was New York, where bedbugs have become a highly publicized problem and where health officials have also been extra vigilant about reporting unusual chemical poisonings.

Investigators were relieved to find a relatively small number of cases.

'At this point, it's not a major public health problem,' said Dr. Geoff Calvert, a CDC investigator who co-authored the study.

Bedbugs are wingless, reddish-brown insects that bite people and animals to draw blood for their meals.

Though their bites can cause itching and welts, they are not known to spread disease.

'There's nothing inherently dangerous about bedbugs,' said Dr. Susi Vassallo, an emergency medicine doctor who works at New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center and occasionally treats patients who report bedbug problems.

Danger: Incorrect use of insecticides have killed one person and made 80 sick in the past three years

But the insects are a major hassle. In recent national surveys of exterminators, bedbugs were named the toughest pest to get rid of.

They can hide for months, only come out at night and can be hard to spot with the human eye.

They are also creepy, provoking intense fear in the minds of many people unnerved by the threat that an almost invisible insect could emerge at night to drink their blood.

'Sometimes people get hysterical,' said Theresa Braine, a New York City journalist who lived with bedbugs in her apartment for a year and now writes a weekly Internet column about the pests.

The CDC study was the first to look at the dangers of bedbug insecticides.

Researchers reviewed reports from California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Texas and Washington.

They counted 111 cases from 2003 through 2010.

Most occurred in the last few years, when bedbug reports rose across the country. More than half were in New York City.

People suffered headaches, dizziness, breathing problems and nausea and vomiting.
More than 80 per cent of the illnesses were considered mild.

The one death was a 65-year-old woman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, who had a history of heart trouble and other ailments.

In 2010, she and her husband used nine cans of insecticide fogger one day, then the same amount two days later, without opening doors and windows to air out their home afterward.

She also covered her body and hair with another bedbug product, and covered her hair with a plastic shower cap.

Two other illnesses were carpet cleaners who had not been told the apartment had recently been treated with pesticides.

Two more were emergency medical technicians who responded to a scene and were exposed to a white powder believed to be a pesticide.

CDC officials said they could not be absolutely certain that the insecticides caused every problem.

For example, there was no record of an autopsy on the North Carolina woman.

It's possible that some of the illnesses were coincidental to the insecticide exposure.

But it's also likely these kinds of illnesses are under-reported, Calvert said.

About 90 per cent of the cases were linked to pyrethroids or pyrethrins, insecticides commonly used against bedbugs.

Such products are not a health risk to most people but should still be applied by a trained exterminator, said Vassallo, who is also a toxicologist and a clinical associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center.

But in some cases, an improper and more dangerous product was used.

That happened in 2010 in Ohio, where an uncertified exterminator used malathion to rid an apartment of bedbugs, even though the chemical is never supposed to be used indoors. A couple and their six-year-old child got sick.

'It would be helpful if the labels were easier to read, understand, and better conveyed the message that the insecticide can be toxic'

CDC officials suggested people trying to rid their homes of bedbugs should first thoroughly vacuum all floors and furniture and wash linens.

If it doesn't work, call an exterminator to apply the chemicals, and then carefully follow their directions about re-entering the room and airing it out, they said.

Exterminators can be expensive. Braine said it cost her more than $1,000 for one treatment of her small Brooklyn apartment, which was only briefly successful.

She has since moved to another place.

For products that are sold to the public, labelling could be a little better.

'We think it would be helpful if they were easier to read, understand, and better conveyed the message that the insecticide can be toxic and should be used with great care,' Calvert said.

A spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association, a trade group, said the industry is continually looking at improving its labeling. But some people just don't read labels.

For example, foggers are not recommended for bedbugs, she noted. And it appears some people use much more than is recommended.

'We live in a society where people believe that if a little bit is good, more is better,' said the spokeswoman, Missy Henriksen. But sometimes more is dangerous, she added.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040786/Bedbug-insecticides-dangerous-bedbugs-says-new-report.html#ixzz1YrWccflQ

Capybara says: If you are going to perform the DIY treatment yourself, please use a reputable company and seek professional advice, before purchasing the goods. They are certain products that do certain jobs, Capybara customer service will explain and help you choose which products are best and also the quantities required. For example, aerosols are pointless against bed bugs are they leave no residual insecticide down. Bed bugs are clever, so please, if you decide to combat the problem yourself, contact us on help@capy.co.uk or 01905 35 45 49.

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Charges for residents in Winchester confirmed.

http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/9269341.Charges_for_residents_confirmed_for_rat_control_in_Winchester/

Charges for residents confirmed for rat control in Winchester

Winchester residents will be hit with charges to get rid of rodents.
Winchester City Council cabinet members have approved a charge of £35 for dealing with rats and mice, a traditionally free service, from October.
Currently, other treatments like wasp nests, insects including fleas and bed bugs are done on a commercial basis through Serco, though the city council has determined that the pest control service will be brought back in house.
Under the proposals, those on means tested benefit would pay half price, with discretion to waive the fee in extreme circumstances.
Treatments of rats and mice in the Winchester district are typically 2,500 to 3,000 per year with 2,700 last year.
The city council expects the scheme to bring an income of £15,000 for 2011-2012 and £30,000 for 2012-2013 onwards.
Cabinet members at a meeting on Wednesday September 14 gave the scheme the go ahead, subject to approval by full council.
Richard Moseley, British Pest Control Association's technical manager, had said prior to the meeting that by removing a free service it was likely people would stop using it, choosing to not deal with rats or sort it out themselves, which in some cases they could not, leading theoretically to an increase in rodent activity.
At the meeting Alan Rickman, chair of Winchester's Tenants and Council Together (TACT), said he had “grave misgivings” on the proposals and that there were many borderline cases not receiving benefits who would struggle to survive in today's climate to pay the amount.
He said: “This could well mean infestations will go unreported leading to more infestations in a wider area at a later date.”
Liberal Democrat leader councillor Kelsie Learney said she supported charging, saying she thought it would lead to a better service and that the level was reasonable, but said that charging for those on benefits at all was not done by the majority of local councils and asked for the service to remain free for them for a trial period.
Council officer Rob Heathcock, assistant director for high quality environment, said to not charge those on benefit the council would lose an estimated £6,000 to £7,000 in income.
He also said that the number of rats was actually reducing following several harsh winters and that householders could help prevent the problem by not putting out too much bird feed.
Cabinet members asked officers to assess the impact on means tested benefit areas and report back in six months.

Capybara says: more and more councils are cutting back with expenditure and more often than not, services like pest control are cut first.

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