Obviously I am not talking about bears. Presently a lot of the damage done by pests is mitigated by control measures. Should that control be removed, things could take a dramatic turn for the worse.
Insect threats
Cockroaches
Because their reproduction is temperature-sensitive, cockroaches are very easily affected by rising temperatures. So the hotter the temperature – the faster they breed and the faster they can spread bacterial diseases, contaminate foodstuffs and damage goods.
For most species of cockroach, breeding conditions begin at 20°C which is the average temperature of London in June. At that temperature, the hatching cycle of a cockroaches eggs is 94 days, or just over three months.
Increase the temperature by 5°C, however, and the hatching cycle is halved. Increase by another 5°C, and you’ve reached the optimum temperature for cockroach breeding; the hatching cycle is halved again, and it only takes 24 days for the eggs to hatch.
The only saving grace here (depending on where you live) is that cockroaches prefer moist environments.
Mosquitos
Mosquitos is such a big, and dangerous, topic that you can find out more about it in where to live and disease.
Rasberry Crazy Ants (US)
The English had the longbow. The Spanish had steel. Tawny crazy ants have their own formidable weapon—a protective acid sheath—that protects them against fire ant enemies. The revelation comes from a new study published this week.
Named for their butterscotch color and erratic movements, tawny crazy ants are the newest insect invaders sprawling throughout Texas and the Gulf states, unseating the reigning imported fire ants that have infested the region. Teeming out of electrical outlets and short-circuiting electronics, the tiny reddish-brown crazy ants have been making headlines as their numbers climb in the southeastern U.S. In some locales they can be so tightly packed together they are initially mistaken for dirt. Then they move.
As their population swells, the ants, formally known as Nylanderia fulva (but also sometimes called Rasberry crazy ants in honor of the Texas exterminator that discovered them), are harming the environment—not to mention people’s homes and electronics. (link)
Yellow Crazy Ants (Australia)
The much hated cane toad has met its match in the Yellow Crazy Ant, and we should be worried.
Since yellow crazy ants were discovered in Cairns in 2001, they have maintained their stranglehold on 400ha of property in Edmonton, Bentley Park and Kuranda.
The rice grain-sized insects have brown abdomens and brownish-yellow or orange-yellow heads and bodies.
Their name is derived from their crazy walking style and frantic movement, particularly when disturbed.
CRAZY PROBLEM: A nest yellow crazy ants and eggs under a rock at a cane farm at Edmonton
It is behaviour that Frank has experienced up close and personal, after being woken by the ants invading his bedroom.
“Three times they got me in bed there. I woke up one night ... the first thing you do when you wake up is you blink or you do something,’’ he said.
“They go all over your face, spraying acid.
“You open up one eye when you’re asleep and I had the lens on my eye burnt off.”
The formic acid, which the ants spray from their abdomens, is used as a defence mechanism.
The acid is so strong, it is used as the main ingredient in some cleaning products, such as limescale remover and toilet bowl cleaner.
The ants, which are attracted to moisture in Frank’s home, wreak havoc on his electronic appliances, destroying items such as his television.
The article goes on to describe how they attack livestock and their dogs.
Rodents
Rodents are very common and incredibly adaptable. About 40% of mammal species are rodents, and they are found on all continents apart from Antarctica. They eat everything humans do, and they even thrive on contaminated food and water. Rodents consume 20% of the world’s growing and stored grain, eating 13% of the USA’s grain and up to 75% in some African countries.
Given that they live so well in contaminated, waterlogged areas, it’s unsurprising that wild rodents can carry so many diseases. Leptospirosis, for example, is a major vector borne disease that needs to be considered following natural disasters.
Climate change causes wild variations in weather patterns, often bringing long periods of drought followed by a warm, early spring. These are ideal conditions for these hardy animals, as it increases their mating season and the conditions in which they – and little else – can survive:
- In 1994, India suffered the re-emergence of The Plague following a blistering summer.
- Rodent populations in southern Africa exploded after torrential rains in 1993 and 1994.
- The United States recorded the first-ever outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the wake of 1991 and 1992’s El Niño phenomenon.
(link)
Mice populations can explode if the circumstances are favourable. The plague is building. They are also great swimmers, which is why flooded areas often find themselves fighting a mischief of rats on top of dealing with the waters.
The 22 counties surrounding Dongting Lake in China found this was the case when they were invaded by an estimated 2 billion rats after floodwaters burst in June 2008.
The 22 counties surrounding Dongting Lake in China found this was the case when they were invaded by an estimated 2 billion rats after floodwaters burst in June 2008.
There is a reliance on using chemicals to kill rodents. As has been demonstrated with rabbit baits, resistance will spread. When a regional mouse plague occurs it will be very difficult to contain at a local level should the resistance have built up or the infrastructure is not available.
Domesticated threats
There are 2 categories of dogs and cats. Pets and Pests. Understanding them is essential to your ability to grow food in a hostile environment.Cats
Pets
Nothing can catch a mouse like a cat can. A store house of food can be gone in no time at all, if you let the population get out of control.
Pests
Nothing can climb a fence like a cat can. If you are breeding, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs or any other small animal, cats will find them.
Dogs
Pets
Dogs are invaluable as companions, for security and as hunters.
As a companion you will live longer
For security you want a dog that will forewarn of danger
As a hunter you want them killing rats and rabbits.
They will be susceptible to heat. Pick a dog breed that is small and short haired. A German Shepard might give you confidence, but you have to feed it. A better breed would be a Jack Russel. If you are going to get a dog, then invest in training it, or you will regret it.
Pests
Dogs are vicious hunters. Outside of humans these are our greatest threat for an isolated community's food. In modern society we don't give them a second thought. But in an environment where they can be feral they are extremely difficult to control. It may be assumed that a pack could be hunted down but in the wild that is proving to be extremely difficult.
This as much as any other should be a reason to rely on vegetarian food production. The only way to control them would be huge fences dug into the ground, or electric fences.
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