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Hello and welcome to another Agricultural Spotlight here on Wellsboro Home Page. Today’s feature is Part II of a look at home invaders, the creepy crawly kind.

This time we are highlighting the blood suckers!

Lice:
This is the time of year, unfortunately, that lice come calling at your door. But don’t feel singled out. Do you know that the louse has been hitchhiking a ride through history for as long as Homo sapiens have walked about?

You can read more about human lice on Scientific American’s website story of lice and men, an itchy history.

But regardless of which one has you itching, it’s important to remember that lice don’t just bite – they can and do infect humans with deadly microscopic parasites.

Do you remember reading about Typhus? The virulent and horrific bacterium was one of the greatest killers in human history and is spread by human lice.

You can read more about the history of typhus and the vaccine at NPR’s tutorial on how scientists created a typhus vaccine.

Bed Bugs:

Bed bugs are a small, root beer colored, flat as a frying pan insect that feed on the blood of animals – including us. In fact the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) prefers feeding on humans, it’s done so since before the time of Aristole. Colonists brought the hitchhikers with them to North America and they’ve been bedeviling us ever since. To learn more, click here to watch today’s feature.

To see images on the differences between bed bug bites and fleas, click here.

Now, before you go – one last pesky question. Have you been bitten by the kissing bug?

Assassin Bugs / Kissing Bugs:

These bloodsucking insects are in the order Hemiptera.They are an abundant family and quite common in the outdoors, so the name does not go far enough to tell you which members of this family are the cause of worry. Watch today’s feature to learn about some of the more common kissing bugs in our neck of the woods.

To find out more about these bloodsucking pests and how to rid your home of these uninvited guests, read this informative fact sheet from the University of Kentucky.

Thank you for joining us here on Wellsboro Home Page, and too all, I wish you a bed-bug-free good night!