Summertime is the primetime for picking watermelons, swimming in the lake and scratching fleas.

If it were a matter of life over death, most people would munch on a grasshopper. But would you do so purely by choice? University of Georgia student Harman Johar is counting on it.

As children get out of school for the summer, many will be spending time at outdoor camps or just playing in the woods. Unfortunately, in Georgia, just a few summer hours spent outside can mean coming home with red bug bites.

County and city officials in the Southeast spend millions of dollars each year to combat mosquitoes. But those costs are only a fraction of what Southeastern families spend to keep their furry family members safe from mosquito-born parasites.

Black flies drink blood and spread disease such as river blindness—creating misery with their presence. A University of Georgia study, however, proves that the pesky insects can be useful.

There won't be any lions, tigers or bears, but the University of Georgia’s annual Insect Zoo will let visitors get up close and personal with roaches, crickets and other bugs.

This year’s exceptionally warm winter and the early spring temperatures mean Georgians may be dealing with warm weather pests, like ticks and mosquitos, earlier this year.

The 2012 Georgia Pest Management Handbook is now available. The thirty-third Commercial Edition, published by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, provides more than 800 pages of current information on selection, application and safe use of pest control chemicals around farms, homes, urban areas, recreational areas and other environments where pests may occur.

It’s summer, and outdoor activities are on the menu. Make sure you don’t end up on the menu of a blood-sucking travel partner when you are out and about, say University of Georgia experts.