Bug Season Starts: NDSU’s Bug Man

Don Carey has bugs. Now we're bugs -- for bugs.

We’re in the middle of mosquito and tick season, which means the danger of Lyme disease, West Nile, and in some parts of the United States, even Zika virus.
And as if the spread of disease weren’t worrisome enough, insects can also be a nuisance and create property damage problems around the home.
But they can also do a great deal to help our environment.
And some predatory insects like preying mantises, ladybugs and dragonflies can help control the spread of destructive insects – as well as arachnids like spiders and scorpions.

That’s why the work of Don Carey, of NDSU’s Entomology Department, is so important. Carey does outreach for the general public with much of the emphasis on K-12 grades, to explain the relationship we have with our insect and arachnid friends.

Carey explained why, if you find a big scorpion like the one who visited Emily Welker on the Morning Show for a live in-studio visit, it’s probably not super-venomous, and why once you’ve handled a tarantula like George, the Chilean Rose-Toed tarantula, you should always wash your hands afterwards. And why spiders, scorpions, and other bug-eating creatures can be great to have around, if you’re lucky enough to find them.