Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude...

Good NIght - Sleep Tight...Don't let the BED BUGS Bite!

Bed bugs are small, brownish, flattened insects that feed solely on the blood of animals. The common bed bug is the species most adapted to living with humans. They are sometimes mistaken for ticks or cockroaches. Bed bugs do not fly, but can move rapidly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces. Female bed bugs lay their eggs in secluded area, depositing 1, 2 or more eggs per day and hundreds during a lifetime. Newly hatched nymphs are straw-colored and no bigger than a pinhead. As they grow, they molt five times before reaching maturity. Bed bugs are resilient. Nymphs can survive months without feeding and the adults for more than a year. Bed bugs are active mainly at night. During the daytime, they prefer to hide close to where people sleep. Their flattened bodies enable them to fit into tiny crevices - especially those associated with mattresses, box springs, bed frames and headboards. Be bugs congregate in habitual hiding places. Characteristically, these areas are marked by dark spotting and staining which is the dried excrement of the bugs. Another telltale though less frequent sign is rusty or reddish blood smears on bed sheets or mattresses from crushing an engorged bed bug.

Bed bugs prefer to hide close to where they feed. However, if necessary, they will crawl several feet to obtain a blood meal. Bed bugs are challenging pests to control. They hide in many tiny places, so inspections and treatment must be very thorough. In most cases, it will be prudent to enlist the services of a professional pest management firm. Experienced companies know where to look for bed bugs, and have an assortment of management tools at their disposal.

For more information on BED BUGS, please call Swat Pest Management at 812-476-9708. You can also check out our web page at www.swatpest.com or click on the link to one of our videos on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFvUO-VIP_M

We look forward to speaking to you soon!

Karner blue butterfly

The Karner Blue Butterfly is an endangered species native to the Great Lakes region of the United States. It can be found in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in northwestern Indiana, and also occurs in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York. It’s life history is dependent on the wild lupine plant, a wildflower whose preferred habitat is the dry soils of open pine and oak savanna that can be found in the Indiana Dunes National Lake shore.

Reproductive Behavior: The life cycle of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly is dependent on the wild lupine plant. Two generations of this butterfly occur each year. The first hatch occurs in late April from eggs laid the previous year, and the second hatch from eggs laid early in the summer season.

This small butterfly has a wingspan of about 1 inch. Viewed from above, males differ from females, but on the underside, both sexes show a continuous band of orange crescents along the edges of both wings and scattered black spots circled with white.

Adult Karner Blues feed on the nectar of flowering plants, but the caterpillars of the Karner Blue feed only on the leaves of the wild lupine.

The wild lupine prefers dry soils in open woods and clearings such as pine and oak savannas and barrens. Because the Karner Blue depends on wild lupine, Federal recovery plans for the Karner Blue Butterfly include protection and management of wild lupine habitat.