Tag Archives: bats

Texas bats to emerge soon: Learn more about the risks, benefits of bats.

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Bats are beginning to become active in some southern parts of the state, and while cold fronts could reduce activity, it is a good time for the public to be aware of the benefits and risks associated with Texas species. Janet Hurley, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service integrated pest management specialist, Dallas, said Texas residents should expect bat activity to increase as temperatures climb. Hurley said bats are typically more prevalent in areas with agricultural fields in proximity, but cities like Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Waco, Temple and… Read More →

SPN: Managing Wildlife on School Campuses

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When I asked School IPM Coordinators what topics they wanted to learn more about this year, managing wildlife topped the list.  For most people, “nuisance wildlife” means an animal is destructive or menacing. The animal may be damaging property such as buildings, crops, pets, livestock, gardens, or public parks. Wildlife may threaten human health or safety by spreading diseases; through direct attacks; or accidentally, because of collisions with cars, airplanes, or trains. The most common wildlife issues in Texas are bats, skunks, racoons, opossums, coyotes and feral hogs.  For… Read More →

SPN: Texas IPM Stars; Head Lice and Bats

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AgriLife Extension program bolsters Texas schools’ pest management approach Writer: Gabe Saldana More than a decade of work alongside Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts in integrated pest management, or IPM, has culminated in the national certification of four Texas school districts as “IPM Stars,” said Janet Hurley, AgriLife Extension school IPM specialist in Dallas. IPM Star certification from the IPM Institute of North America was awarded in April to Plano, Conroe, East Central and Killeen independent school districts for consistent exemplary marks on the institute’s 37-point evaluation…. Read More →

School Pest News, Volume 13, Issue 12 December 2014

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Fall pest has many South Central Texans seeing spots before their eyes: Experts say insect ‘invasion’ will continue as temperatures drop By: Paul Schattenberg If you think you’re seeing spots before your eyes around the holidays, it may just be a tiny gnat-like insect “getting up in your grill,” according to entomologists with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “If you’ve seen some tiny insects flying around and possibly gathering on cars, windows or the sides of buildings around South and Central Texas, what you may be looking… Read More →

School Pest News, Volume 13, Issue 10, October 2014

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Attention Administrators, Faculty, and Nurses! Bonny Mayes, MA, Epidemiologist, Zoonosis Control Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services The Texas Department of State Health Services would like to invite the kids at your school to participate in a Rabies Awareness & Prevention Poster Contest. Rabies is a viral disease that kills over 50,000 people every year around the world. Human deaths from rabies in the United States are very rare (approximately one death per year, almost exclusively due to rabies associated with bats). This is due to strict… Read More →