Fire ants have long been found further south of Kentucky. Since 2000, they have been annual issues in the Land Between the Lakes area of our state. Surveys in that area have found multiple mounds of ants but Kentucky has…

In late April and early May, European hornet queens are waking up from their overwintering and are in flight looking for places to build their nests. These large wasps prefer to use hollows inside of trees but have also been…

This month, imported fire ant colonies have been confirmed and treated in two Kentucky counties: Marshall and McCreary counties. While we have had other colonies in Marshall County, this is the first instance of fire ants in McCreary County. Management…

Minute (pronounced “my-newt” not like the measurement of time) pirate bugs are insects that we often list as a beneficial species. These tiny predators will attack and eat many different types of pest insects, including small caterpillars, thrips, spider mites,…

As we head towards Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer, people are noticing some our different species of stinging insects. The inquiries we have received have all focused on these insects being Asian giant hornets (aka the “murder…

As students head to the classroom this fall, concerns over head lice may haunt some parents’ minds. These small biting pests induce itching with just the mention of their name, and the prospect of having to treat a child’s hair…

Ants bite! And several in Kentucky can also deliver a painful sting. Just like their close bee and wasp relatives, it is only the female ants that are equipped with stingers for defense. Fortunately with ants, only a few species…

While black legged ticks and Lyme disease get all of the headlines, it is important to remember that there are other tick species that call Kentucky home. Two of those species, the American dog tick and the lone star tick,…

Mosquito season is in full swing throughout the Commonwealth. Mosquitoes are a perennial nuisance for which there is no easy answer. As summer continues, there will be lots of information (both good and bad) about what works and what doesn’t.…

Human pests Recently, multiple inquiries have come in regarding eastern bloodsucking conenoses found in or near homes. These Kentucky kissing bugs often stir up a lot of negative feelings when they are found, as people fear they may have been…

One of the most annoying pests of the summer is chiggers. Chiggers are the immature stage of a parasitic mite that feeds on other arthropods when it becomes an adult. Chigger bites are often the result of working or spending…

Today (May 18), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a webinar for credit on mosquito trapping. Vector control for mosquitoes involves strategies for trapping, monitoring, identifying and sorting the mosquitoes. This free webinar will emphasize the importance of matching…

Recently, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture expanded the number of counties under Imported Fire Ant (IFA) quarantine.  This is significant for Kentucky as IFA is continuing to move northward and several of the newly quarantined counties are on the Kentucky…

The UK Department of Entomology receives numerous calls about large wasps swarming over lawns in late July through August. These are often very large cicada killer wasps. While a nest is made by a single female cicada killer wasp, they…