Q: I have heard the term rat baiting fly around from time to time and wondering what is means. Can you tell me?

Back in the beginning of the 16th century, rat baiting was a blood sport in which a terrier dog was placed in a pit with 100 rats and bets were placed as to how long it would take the terrier to kill them all. A horrific gambling sport, the scene was often described as being dirty and rather small. Usually located in an underground cellar, full of smoke and the overpowering stench of beer, hundreds of rats were placed in a small ring enclosed with wooden barriers. Large wagers were placed back and fourth on whose dog could kill the most rats within a minute.

To read more visit Wikipedia, for more information regarding rat baiting.

Q: What is the myth with daddy-longleg spiders? and what do they look like?

Well believe it or not did you know that there are two creatures referred to as daddy-longlegs? and the real one isn’t the spider.

Both are part of the class arachnida, but they have their very own order - Opilion. Known as harvestmen, they are often confused as cellar spiders, pholcidae, crane flies or insects. In simplest observations, arachnids have eight legs, no wings and no antennae with two visible body segments usually six to eight eyes while crane flies, being insects have six legs and appear as one body segment with two eyes.

At any rate, it’s become acceptable to refer to pholcidae as daddy-longleg spiders as opposed to just daddy-longlegs, the title for the real deal.

Fossil evidence has reported that this species has existed for more than 200 years and nearly 6,500 have been discovered to date.

Harvestmen neither have spinnerets nor produce silk. If they’re in a web - they’re most likely the dinner. They eat all sorts of insects, earthworms, decaying plant matter and are very fond of aphids. Following dinner, they floss by pulling their legs one by one through their jaws. As they grow larger, they molt. After their outgrown body skin, or casing, splits, they then draw each long leg out of its worn casing.

Myths seem to persist, but daddy-longlegs are harmless to people because they don’t have poison glands. But if threatened, they may give off a stinky smell through scent glands.

When handled or caught, they can shed a leg which twitches, much like the familiar, green lizards known as anoles. This puts a daddy-longlegs at a disadvantage since legs are also used as sensory receptors. In addition, there doesn’t appear to be any recorded incidents of cellar spiders being venomous to or biting people.

Silverfish are one of the most early known insects pre dating even dinosaurs. Chances are even cavemen were dealing with this pest from time to time. If you live in America, the chances are very good that silverfish thrive in your home. There are 4 Lepisma (the category that silverfish are in) that are considered pests. They are truly hardy and thrive in places most insects do not tolerate. The attic is the most common place to find silverfish. Most undisturbed storage can become severely damaged by its eating. Their diet ranges from cereals to glues to wall paper to leather. The common silverfish needs high humidity of about 75% to thrive. They are born white but grow by molting. It is amazing that this insect has lasted since pre-historic times and learned to adapt while remaining physically the same.

I have heard that some scientists are using DNA barcodes to monitor insects that damage crops? How true is this?

It is true, that USDA scientists are using DNA barcodes as a way to monitor insects that damage crops as diverse as wheat, barley and potatoes. These DNA barcodes are being developed on a range of plants and insects as part of a global effort to catalogue the diversity of life on earth.

Scientists are using barcodes in a very unconventional way. They want to identify insect predators best equipped to control the potato beetle; which is the most damaging insect pest of potatoes in the east part of the United States.

Studies are still being conducted to see if this is the most efficient way to monitor insects but so far so good.

People are crazy when it comes to getting rid of pests. This Arizona man in Tucson attempted to get rid of bees by placing smoldering cow manure in his storage unit over night in hopes of repelling bees with smoke. Unfortunately, the manure caught fire and caused $5,000 worth of damage.