The most common way to contract pubic lice is through sexual conduct. It is possible to also get them through bedding and shared clothes, though getting them from a toilet seat or other method is very rare. The reason you don’t get these sorts of lice from toilet seats or furniture is that any lice that happen to have made their way to this object generally fell off of another person. The fall itself killed or greatly injured the louse, making it extremely hard for it to then jump onto  you.

Symptoms of pubic lice generally take weeks because most of the time, one just contracts a few lice and it takes a few weeks for those lice’s eggs to hatch. Once a fair amount of lice invade your pubic region, symptoms are generally itchiness. The itchiness is generally worse at night, when the lice are most active. There are special shampoos you can buy to kill the lice if you happen to contract pubic lice.

Army ants are a specific variety of ants whose size ranges between 3 mm-12mm. They have long pointed mandibles (lower jaw), long legs and an elongated body. The color of army ants ranges from deep golden to dull brown.

Army ants find nests, develop a social hierarchy and unlike other ants migrate to other areas. A typical army ant colony consists of about a million ants, which include a queen, her eggs, soldiers and workers. Every ant in the colony follows a hierarchy. The queen lays eggs the whole day. The soldier focuses on defense and attack. The workers do the foraging and the small worker ants take care of the queen’s eggs. Army ants are carnivorous and feed on other insects. They are capable of capturing much bigger animals like lizards, birds and pigs by organized group raids. Army ants have a huge appetite and can kill and eat 50,000-100,000 insects in a day. Due to this need for food, army ants have to migrate after sometime. The ants form temporary nests and migrate to a new place after raiding the whole colony. Any ants left in the raided colony become the slaves of the new ant society. Army ants fluctuate between a nomadic phase and a temporary resting phase. In the nomadic phase the ants march at night and rest during the daylight in their nests.

The nests of the army ants are quite different from that of any other ants. The nests are made up of the ants themselves. They form walls in the nest in a structured way so that the queen and the eggs are protected and there are enough chambers and corridors for other activities like, transportation of food.

Unlike all other ants and insects, army ants have single eyes instead of compound eyes. Their communication is dependent on chemical signals, vibrations and touch. Army ants release a chemical compound called pheromones by wiping their abdomen on the ground. The chemicals act as a devise to communicate a need for food, assistance and changing behavior pattern.

Malaria is the most deadly disease of the mosquito-borne diseases. In the Western world, we do not think of malaria much because it has been eradicated for the most part. People get scared of the occasional West Nile scare, but these are rare and most people who contract West Nile do not even notice it.

In contrast, malaria is a disease of the third world. It is common in countries in Africa. Hundreds of millions of people die from malaria each year, meaning it is a bigger killer than the AIDS pandemic.

Avoiding mosquitoes is a combination of planning and using mosquito repellent. When mosquitoes are abundant, generally in the fall, avoid being outside at night, and avoid places near sitting water, since that is where mosquitoes breed. It is imperative that you get rid of any standing water areas near your home, since you would not want mosquitoes breeding near your home. In contrast to popular thinking, it is only the female mosquito while she is pregnant that she needs human blood, so this is why avoiding mosquito breeding areas is so important.

One of the problems commonly encountered by our children is head lice infestation. An occasional itch may not really indicate the presence of head lice but beware when the itching becomes persistent! Head lice may just be the culprit!

The common head louse is tan to grayish white in color, just about the size of a sesame seed and with hook-like claws at the end of each of their six legs! No wonder they can’t easily be pulled out of your child’s locks!

Head lice can be so irritating. These parasitic insects feed on blood by biting the skin and their bites truly itch! Among the favorite feeding spots of these parasites are the areas behind the ears and those near the nape of the neck.

There are three stages of development in a head louse’s life. They start off as nits (head louse’s eggs), hatch into nymphs and eventually mature into adult lice.

Nits are commonly found attached to the hair shaft. They are very hard to find especially for an untrained eye especially since they usually resemble dandruff or tiny droplets of hair spray in appearance.

A week after the nits are laid, they hatch and develop into nymphs. Nymphs usually look like adult lice but are generally smaller. Give it a week and they will soon emerge as mature head lice! A mature head louse has an average life span of 30 days but it can cause considerable irritation to an infected person.

What causes head lice infestation? Among the things which may have caused the problem are the following:

. Contact with an infested person

. Wearing an infested person’s clothing or using an infested person’s personal effects such as comb, brush or towels

. Lying in a bed or elsewhere recently used by an infected person

The early detection of head lice infestation may just save our children from the irritation and embarrassment usually brought about by these crawling and blood sucking parasites. It may even help deter the spread of the infestation to other unsuspecting victims.

Just how do we do this?

To effectively treat and prevent the spread of the infestation, we need to treat not just the infested person or persons but the whole house where the infested person lives.

Treating Persons with Head Lice Infestation

To effectively eradicate head lice, a prescription medication called pediculicide is usually used. Here are some useful tips to get the most out of your treatment.

. Remove all clothing prior to treatment and put on clean clothing afterwards.

. For best results, follow label instructions religiously.

. Shake off dead nits and remaining live lice out of your hair using a nit comb, which usually comes with these medications or you may use clean flea combs, which are designed for pet cats and dogs. It may be awkward at first but hey, if it works, it works!

. After the treatment, continue checking for nits and lice using your nit (or flea!) comb. Do this regularly for two to three weeks.

Other useful tips:

. Do the head lice treatment for every member of the family. If one is infested, chances are, others may be too. Eliminate the possibility of a recurring attack by thwarting the problem before it even has a chance to resurrect itself!

. If you are planning to apply the lice medicine, do not use cream rinse or a shampoo and conditioner combination before the treatment. It may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.

. If no dead lice are found 8 to 12 hours after the treatment, the medicine may not be working. Consult your doctor so that he or she may recommend another medication.

. Don’t forget to have all clothing materials (worn two days prior to the treatment) washed!

. Also, clean up the house. Do some vacuuming and have all clothing and linens washed, dry cleaned or stored in plastic bags.

Fire ants also known as red ants are one of the must aggressive and violent insects, and they will attack almost everything that can possibly threaten and harm them and their colony. Not many people know that the fire ants are an important member of the hymenoptera order in which you can find also insects such as bees and wasps.

The most awful and long-lasting bite it is possessed by the South American Bullet ant, and can cause great sufferings and pains, but it is not causing death.

The most deadly ant bite from Australia is the Jack Jumper ant bite that can easily kill animals and even humans.

The most agonizing and burning ant bites, are possessed only by two types of fire ants

The most aggressive and violent ant bite is held by the Red Imported ants. Their highly deadly poisonous blow contains a highly toxic substance called piperidine alkaloids. The blows can produce on the skin awful white fluid filled bumps.

The bites of the Southern Fire ants can easily produce itchiness and blisters that are usually very painful and annoying.

Although ants are considered as been one of the most important threats for the modern society we live in now, there are still used in many ways. Their destructive behavior that have been to us our enemy it can become our friend, because in many parts of the entire world ants are use to control other threat full insect populations such as the carpenter, pharaoh and argentine ants.

The home-made antidote for ants and ant bites

In order to have an ant proof home, the first thing you need to do is to seal up all the cracks and crevices, especially the little ones, from where ant can easily break in the home and infest you and your family.

Keep all the time of the year your lawns mowed and clean your garden.

Mint is a very powerful insecticide, so you can plant mint inside and outside your home as well.

You can put on your windows and doors solutions based on citronella, citrus, cinnamon or even peppermint, combined with water.

You can also use non-toxic powders that you can find in specialized stores all around the world, such as the Diatomaceous Earth, that can easily destroy exoskeletons, but take care when you use this product. It will be indicated to use a mask for a better protection.

Another old method of cleaning your home by ants and their painful ant bites is to pour boiling water on the ant hill. It can be effective in some cases, but it can make them only retreat temporarily and after that they will come and attack very violent and aggressive.