Tag Archives: bugs

Ruh-roh. One of New York’s most expensive neighborhoods will be sprayed this week with pesticide to combat the West Nile virus, officials said Tuesday. The city regularly sprays against the mosquito-borne disease, which has seen a surge in outbreaks in the United States this year. Friday’s spraying is notable because it will target Manhattan’s prestigious Upper West Side neighborhood and …

In order to fight the mosquito-borne West Nile virus and armed with a recently-tweaked city ordinance, the New York City Health Department is issuing $300 tickets to people with “standing water” on their property. That includes birdbaths. In a city where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has all but banned smoking and waged war on soda and trans fats, some New …

Scientists have developed a method for genetically modifying mosquitoes so that their offspring die before reaching adulthood. But science fiction fans already know where this could lead. The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria. But the …

As a few of you have pointed out by email, a handful of posts from the last week seem to have vanished. The problem was first noticed last night and appears to be continuing. I’m checking into this, but nothing has been noted on the host’s “issues” page thus far. The posts do appear to remain in the RSS feed. …

Towleroad points out an interesting story about why mosquitoes prefer some folks over others. It turns out only about 10% of humans are “highly attractive” to skeeters. “People with high concentrations of steroids or cholesterol on their skin surface attract mosquitoes,” Butler tells WebMD. That doesn’t necessarily mean that mosquitoes prey on people with higher overall levels of cholesterol, Butler …