It’s Snowing in Cherokee County Georgia, So what can a bug guy do? All the bugs are frozen right?
Or are they? SNOW FLEAS!!!
Snow fleas are a small bug about the size of a coffee ground. They are a type of Spring-tail.
You see them in northern states up through Canada. Like all spring-tails, they jump when disturbed.
People often mistake the Spring-tail for a flea become of its jump. I was once called out to a house whose owner was concerned about a moving wave of fleas on his driveway after a rain shower. He had a mass of spring-tails jumping in waves across the concrete surface and up the side of the structure.
But the Snow Flea has an even better trick up its sleeve. It make a special kind of anti-freeze in its body so it can live in very cold environments. Researchers at Queen’s University (Canada) have sequenced and synthesized the anti-freeze-like protein that allows snow fleas to operate in sub-zero environments.
There are hopes that similar proteins may be useful for storing transplant organs and for producing better ice cream. By preventing the formation of ice crystals in tissues, organs could be stored at lower temperatures, increasing their lifespan outside a living body.
So if your kids are playing in this short lived Canton, Georgia snow like mine are, look around for the little snow flea. It may contribute to a breakthrough on organ transplant or maybe just make ice-cream taste better.
So say thanks to the little guys, I promises they won’t bite.
Give us a call today at 770-479-1598 and ask for a FREE 58 Point Pest Analysis of your home or office.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Tim
