Ask the Bugman


Book Description

How to control household pests in a more environmentally friendly way.




The Bugman on Bugs


Book Description

This sequel to the authors' Ask the Bugman (2002) contains more valuable information on how to identify assorted insects and arthropods and the best ways to keep them out of your house, all presented with the wry humor that fans of Fagerlund's nationally distributed newspaper column have come to treasure. Fagerlund and Strange are proponents of Integrated Pest Management rather than the technique they label "Spray and Pray" used by most exterminating businesses. Anyone concerned about the health effects of pesticides will want to follow the useful advice in The Bugman on Bugs, including specific information on what kinds of substances and techniques work best for particular pests. p>In addition to illustrated chapters on roaches, ants, flies, spiders, centipedes and scorpions, fleas, lice, bed bugs, mice, termites, and other kinds of pests, the authors discuss human reactions to these creatures, turning their attention both to phobias and to the place of insects in our religious and spiritual lives. Amazing pest control tales are sprinkled throughout the book (have you thought about greasing your linens with hog lard to make yourself disgusting even to fleas?), as well as peculiar facts and even a recipe for sautéed termites.




The Killing Winds


Book Description

A chilling mystery of environmental disasters and corporate greed from international bestselling author Clare Francis Daisy Field is a tough young environmental lawyer and activist, campaigning against an international conglomerate marketing agrochemicals with nasty side effects. Their profitable pesticide, Silveron, appears to be causing serious illness in the British farming community, but Daisy is struggling to prove it. When famous pop star Nick Mackenzie loses his wife to a crop-spraying incident, it seems that Daisy has finally found the powerful, deep-pocketed ally she needs. But will the handsome musician remain on her side or will he be persuaded that Daisy is fighting a lost cause? And what about the hired thug who seems to be anticipating Daisy’s every move? Originally published in the UK under the title Requiem (1991), The Killing Winds takes us from the Scottish highlands to corporate London and from Chicago to New York City.




The Bug Man Collection


Book Description

All four novels from the Bug Man series now available in one e-book collection. First the Dead Nick tries to find a killer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s attack on New Orleans. But the more he digs the stronger—and deadlier—the resistance becomes. Nick is there to collect bodies, and he's going to do just that—especially when he starts finding bodies that were clearly dead before the hurricane. He understands that all forensic evidence will soon disintegrate in the hot, contaminated water . . . and he knows that's exactly what the killer wants to happen. Less than Dead Nick has finally met his match. When a grave is discovered on property owned by the front-running candidate for the next presidential election, the FBI immediately becomes involved. The graves then vanish and Nick follows local legend to the bizarre Alena who keeps to herself in the mountains of Northern Virginia, training cadaver dogs. Together they discover that this small town—and the presidential-hopeful—have closets full of skeletons. Ends of the Earth Nick struggles to protect a victim’s family from agro-terrorists in North Carolina. After dissecting the remains of a bale of marijuana scattered in the tomato fields, Nick learns that the South American marijuana is strangely infested with a common North Carolina insect: the tobacco hornworm. To further confound the mystery, the bugs are infected with a fungus from Asia, and Nick begins to suspect his victim wasn't killed because of the marijuana, but because of the insects it contained. He then discovers that a vicious agricultural scheme is underway to cripple US corn and ethanol production. Nick of Time The Bug Man is getting married on Saturday . . . if his fiancée can find him. Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak lives in a world of maggots and blow flies and decomposing bodies. No wonder he's still single. But Nick has finally found a woman as strange as he is—dog trainer Alena Savard, a woman who is odd, reclusive, and can seemingly talk to animals. It was a match made in heaven. Nick and Alena are scheduled to be married on Saturday—but there's one small problem. Nick has disappeared. Caught up in a murder case involving an old friend, Nick finds himself on a manhunt that's drawing him farther and farther from the church where Alena is waiting. But will he make it back in time? Could Nick's single-minded focus cause him to forget his own wedding? Is he really pursuing a killer, or is he running away from something else?




The Bug Man 3-in-1


Book Description

Three novels from Tim Downs now available in one e-book collection. First the Dead Nick tries to find a killer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s attack on New Orleans. But the more he digs the stronger—and deadlier—the resistance becomes. Nick is there to collect bodies, and he's going to do just that—especially when he starts finding bodies that were clearly dead before the hurricane. He understands that all forensic evidence will soon disintegrate in the hot, contaminated water . . . and he knows that's exactly what the killer wants to happen. Less than Dead Nick has finally met his match. When a grave is discovered on property owned by the front-running candidate for the next presidential election, the FBI immediately becomes involved. The graves then vanish and Nick follows local legend to the bizarre Alena who keeps to herself in the mountains of Northern Virginia, training cadaver dogs. Together they discover that this small town—and the presidential-hopeful—have closets full of skeletons. Ends of the Earth Nick struggles to protect a victim’s family from agro-terrorists in North Carolina. After dissecting the remains of a bale of marijuana scattered in the tomato fields, Nick learns that the South American marijuana is strangely infested with a common North Carolina insect: the tobacco hornworm. To further confound the mystery, the bugs are infected with a fungus from Asia, and Nick begins to suspect his victim wasn't killed because of the marijuana, but because of the insects it contained. He then discovers that a vicious agricultural scheme is underway to cripple US corn and ethanol production. Nick of Time The Bug Man is getting married on Saturday . . . if his fiancée can find him. Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak lives in a world of maggots and blow flies and decomposing bodies. No wonder he's still single. But Nick has finally found a woman as strange as he is—dog trainer Alena Savard, a woman who is odd, reclusive, and can seemingly talk to animals. It was a match made in heaven. Nick and Alena are scheduled to be married on Saturday—but there's one small problem. Nick has disappeared. Caught up in a murder case involving an old friend, Nick finds himself on a manhunt that's drawing him farther and farther from the church where Alena is waiting. But will he make it back in time? Could Nick's single-minded focus cause him to forget his own wedding? Is he really pursuing a killer, or is he running away from something else?




Bugged


Book Description

The creators of Poop Happened! share an irreverent, fact-filled chronicle of the rivalry between the human and insect worlds that draws on myriad disciplines to explain the varying roles that bugs have played in building and toppling empires as well as the bug stories behind infamous disasters. Simultaneous.




Ends of the Earth


Book Description

Nick Polchak must stop a terrorist from causing a global ecological nightmare. Two beautiful women from Nick's past are competing for his heart. He's not sure which impending disaster makes him more nervous. When forensic entomologist Nick Polchak is called to the scene of a murder on a small organic farm in North Carolina he is astonished to find that the victim's estranged wife is an old friend, a woman he once worked withùa woman he once had feelings for. When she asks Nick to investigate her husband's drug-related murder, Nick seeks the assistance of Alena Savard, the reclusive dog trainer known to the people of northern Virginia as the Witch of Endor. Alena jumps at the chance to renew her relationship with Nickùbut when she arrives in North Carolina she discovers that she's not the only woman who has her eye on the Bug Man. Soon Nick finds his usually analytical mind clouded by thoughts of a strangely human nature. These two women have stirred feelings that he can't quite fathom, feelings of lost opportunities and future possibilities . . . Now Nick must navigate the unexplored territory of his own heart while he solves an agroterrorist's plot to ignite an environmental holocaust that could spread to the ends of the earth.




Wicked Bugs (Young Readers Edition)


Book Description

Did you know there are zombie bugs that not only eat other bugs but also inhabit and control their bodies? There’s even a wasp that delivers a perfectly-placed sting in a cockroach’s brain and then leads the roach around by its antennae — like a dog on a leash. Scorpions glow in ultraviolet light. Lots of bugs dine on corpses. And if you want to know how much it hurts to get stung by a bullet ant (hint: it really, really hurts), you can consult the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It ranks the pain produced by ants and other stinging creatures. How does it work? Dr. Schmidt, the scientist who created it, voluntarily subjected himself to the stings of 150 species. Organized into thematic categories (Everyday Dangers, Unwelcome Invaders, Destructive Pests, and Terrible Threats) and featuring full-color illustrations by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, Wicked Bugs is an educational and creepy-cool guide to the worst of the worst of insects, arachnids, and other arthropods. This is the young readers adaptation of Amy Stewart’s bestselling book for adult readers.




Wicked Bugs


Book Description

In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It’s an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives (“She’s Just Not That Into You”), creatures lurking in the cupboard (“Fear No Weevil”), insects eating your tomatoes (“Gardener’s Dirty Dozen”), and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs (“Have No Fear”). Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard.




Jake Digs a Hole, Luke and the Bug Man


Book Description

Jake wants to help prepare for the Fourth of July clambake, but he can't find a way to be useful. How will Jake's knowledge of the tides help him save the day? Luke can change his failing grade in science to a B by helping the visiting insect expert. Will he succeed, or will he bug his idol? Read these stories to find out.