The late Robert N. Stewart, a former Columbus mayor, used to say, “We always sent the weird questions to Extension,” referring to his years in office. Of course, the weird questions relating to city government would be handled in-house, but folks with questions about insects, plants, weeds or the phase of the moon were referred to Purdue Extension.
Indeed, we handle all manner of questions relating to natural resources as well as every kind of agriculture practiced locally. Most aren’t weird, but they may seem that way to folks who don’t work in agriculture. Questions such as “How many of these 18-foot walnut logs can I legally carry on this trailer before I’m overweight?” or “What is be best seed mix for grazing?” are tied to livelihoods and not all that strange. There was, however, the time – 1982 summer job – I helped the Marathon County (Wisconsin) sheriff solve a UFO sighting. It’s all in a day’s work in Extension.
The most typical questions involve identifying insects, weeds, plants, plant diseases and the occasional reptile. About 80 percent involve home and community horticulture, and the rest deal with agriculture production, farm management and natural resources. It’s an honor to do this work, and I learn something new every day.
Pest makes comeback
One weird issue that has become common after decades of inactivity is bed bugs. Infestations are now considered to be widespread, and everyone who travels or welcomes guests into their home will want to know about prevention.
People who contact us about bed bugs are usually surprised and dismayed to be dealing with such hitchhikers in their homes, cars or offices. Poor housekeeping is typically not a factor, as bed bugs can enter a home via luggage brought home from a hotel stay or a child’s backpack from a visit to a home with an infestation. This is a pest that infests regardless of income or education level.
Here are a few preventive travel practices recommended by our specialists:
- Follow check-in at a hotel or vacation rental with an inspection of the accommodation’s furniture and bedding. Use a flashlight. Instructions on how to do this can be found online at extension.entm.purdue.edu/bedbugs/pdf/BedBugFacts.pdf
- Never put or leave luggage on a bed. Use luggage racks or tabletops. In high-risk situations, the careful will keep their luggage in the shower/bathtub except when showers/baths are needed.
- Signs of infestation? Request a different room or unit.
- Once home, wash all clothes that were in the luggage – worn or not. If the travel was high-risk, vacuum the luggage – focusing on creases and seams. Discard the vacuum bag.
- At home, never store luggage in or near a bedroom. An uncarpeted, unfurnished, unoccupied, storage room, attic or basement is a better choice.
- At home, provide luggage racks or other furniture for guests’ luggage, and ask guests to not put luggage on beds.
Folks finding an infestation will want to work with a qualified pest control company to address it. While there are things you can do yourself — see the publication referenced above — home remedies can pose hazards, and offer no record of success. Control will be a team effort between the resident and the pest control operator.
Other insect hitchhikers we help people with this time of the year include ticks and chiggers, and we identify the occasional spider. Unusual recent questions have had to do with earthball fungus destroying an asphalt driveway, and artillery fungus ruining a home’s siding. But no UFO sightings — yet.
Kris Medic is Purdue Extension Bartholomew County’s educator for agriculture, natural resources and community development. She can be reached at 812-379-1665 or [email protected].
