Sure, they’re sometimes beautiful. They’re always strange. A life form that lives on death and decay. It’s about as alien as you can get. These micro organisms are found everywhere…even on us! Mold is a type of fungus that are found in a wide array of colors. Remember, not all fungi are awful. Mushrooms are fungi and where would we ever be without a single celled fungi called yeast. No beer and no bread, that’s where. Fungi thrive on moisture and reproduce by emitting spores that travel through the air. Sometimes, they even grow on your feet and cause “athletes foot”. Disgusted yet? You bet. So what’s the real difference between all these alien creatures that we’re exposed to each and every day?
Mold is a fungus that has multiple nuclei that penetrate below the surface of things. Mildew is a flat growth that remains on the surface where we can easily see it and remove it. Algae is a naturally occurring moss like plant that spreads by air borne spores too. Algae grow…like mold and all other fungus…in humid climates and in a wide range of temperatures. Nothing is safe from algae growth. They cling to your roof shingles, grow on your downspouts and take away from the beauty and value of your home.
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Since our involvement with fox urine as a humane way of deterring small pests, we’ve learned a lot about the fox. But, we’re continually amazed by the many things we didn’t know. Although much of this information is pulled directly from the internet, we thought that we should share it with our audience because it is quite remarkable. Take a look below at some of the attributes of the amazing fox:
Foxes
live on every continent except Antarctica and thrive in
cities, towns, and rural settings. But despite being all around us, they’re a
bit of a mystery. Here’s more about this elusive animal.
1. FOXES ARE SOLITARY Foxes are part of the Canidae family, which
means they’re related to wolves, jackals, and dogs. They’re medium-sized,
between 7 and 15 pounds, with pointy faces, lithe frames, and bushy tails. But
unlike their relatives, foxes are not
pack animals.
When raising their young, they live in small families—called a “leash of
foxes” or a “skulk of foxes”—in
underground burrows. Otherwise, they hunt and sleep alone.
2.
THEY HAVE A LOT IN COMMON WITH CATS. Like the cat, the fox is
most active after the sun goes down. In fact, it has vertically oriented pupils
that allow it to see in dim light. It even hunts in a similar manner to a cat,
by stalking and pouncing on its prey. And that’s just the beginning of the
similarities. Like the cat, the fox has sensitive whiskers and spines on its
tongue. It walks on its toes, which accounts for its elegant, cat-like tread.
And foxes are the only member of the dog family that can climb trees—gray
foxes have
claws that allow them to climb and descend vertical trees quickly. Some foxes
even sleep in trees—just like cats.
3. THE RED FOX IS THE
MOST COMMON FOX. Geographically, the red
fox has the widest
range of
the more than 280 animals in the order Carnivora. While its natural habitat is
a mixed landscape of scrub and woodland, its flexible diet allows it to adapt
to many environments. As a result, its range is the entire Northern Hemisphere,
from the Arctic Circle to North Africa to Central America to the Asiatic
steppes. It’s also in Australia, where it’s considered an invasive
species.
4. FOXES USE THE EARTH’S
MAGNETIC FIELD. Like a guided missile, the
fox harnesses the earth’s magnetic field to hunt. Other animals, like birds,
sharks, and turtles, have this “magnetic sense,” but the fox is the
first one we’ve discovered that uses it to catch prey.According to New Scientist, the fox can see the
earth’s magnetic field as a “ring of shadow” on its eyes that darkens
as it heads towards magnetic north. When the shadow and the sound the prey is
making line up, it’s time to pounce.
5. THEY ARE GOOD PARENTS. Foxes reproduce once a year. Litters range
from one to 11 pups (the average is six), which are born blind and don’t open
their eyes until nine days after birth. During that time, they
stay with the vixen (female) in the den while the dog (male) brings them food.
They live with their parents until they’re seven months old. Vixens have been
known to go to great lengths to protect their pups—once, in England, a fox pup
was caught in a wire trap for two weeks but survived because its mother brought
it food every
day.
6. THE SMALLEST FOX
WEIGHS UNDER 3 POUNDS. Roughly the size of a kitten, the fennec fox has
elongated ears and a creamy coat. It lives in the Sahara Desert, where it
sleeps during the day to protect it from the searing heat. Its ears not only
allow it to hear prey, they also radiate
body heat,
which keeps the fox cool. Its paws are covered with fur so that the fox can
walk on hot sand, like it’s wearing snowshoes.
7. FOXES ARE PLAYFUL. Foxes are known to be friendly and curious.
They play among themselves, as well as with other animals, like cats and dogs
do. They love balls, which they will steal from backyards and golf courses.Although foxes are wild animals, their
relationship with humans goes way back. In 2011, researchers opened a grave in
a 16,500-year-old cemetery in Jordan to find the remains of a man and his pet
fox. This was 4000 years before the first-known human and domestic dog were
buried together.
8. YOU CAN BUY A PET FOX. In the 1960s, a Soviet geneticist named Dmitry Belyaev bred thousands of foxes before achieving a domesticated fox. Unlike a tame fox, which has learned to tolerate humans, a domesticated fox is docile toward people from birth. Today, you can buy a pet fox for $9000, according to Fast Company. They’re reportedly curious and sweet-tempered, though they are inclined to dig in the garden.
9. ARCTIC FOXES DON’T
SHIVER UNTIL -70° CELSIUS. The arctic fox, which
lives in the northernmost areas of the hemisphere, can handle cold better than
most animals on earth. It doesn’t even get cold until –70°C (-94°F). Its white
coat alsocamouflages it against predators. As the seasons change, its coat
changes too, turning brown or gray so the fox can blend in with the rocks and
dirt of the tundra.
10. FOX HUNTING CONTINUES
TO BE CONTROVERSIAL. Perhaps because of the
fox’s ability to decimate a chicken coop, in the 16th century, fox hunting
became a popular activity in Britain. In the 19th century, the upper classes
turned fox hunting into a formalized sport where a pack of hounds and men on
horseback chase a fox until it is killed. Today, whether to ban fox hunting
continues to be a controversial subject in the UK. Currently, fox hunting with
dogs is not allowed.
11. THEY APPEAR
THROUGHOUT FOLKLORE. Examples include the
nine-tail fox from various Asian cultures; the Reynard tales from medieval
Europe; the sly trickster fox from Native American lore; and Aesop’s “The
Fox and the Crow.”
The Finnish believed a fox made the Northern Lights by running in the snow so
that its tail swept sparks into the sky. From this, we get the phrase “fox
fires” (though “Firefox,” like the Mozilla internet browser,
refers to the red
panda).
12. BAT-EARED FOXES
LISTEN FOR INSECTS. The bat-eared fox is aptly
named, not just because of its 5-inch ears, but because of what it uses those
ears for—like the bat, it listens
for insects.
On a typical night, it walks along the African savannah, listening until it
hears the scuttle of prey. Although the bat-eared fox eats a variety of insects
and lizards, most of its diet is made up of termites. In fact, the bat-eared
fox often makes its home in termite mounds,
which it usually cleans out of inhabitants before moving in.
13. DARWIN DISCOVERED A
FOX SPECIES During his voyage on
the Beagle, Charles Darwin collected a fox that today is
unimaginatively called Darwin’s Fox. This small gray fox is critically
endangered and lives in just two spots in the world: One population is on
Island of Chiloé in Chile, and the second is in a Chilean national park. The
fox’s greatest threats are unleashed domestic dogs that carry diseases like rabies.
14. WHAT DOES THE FOX
SAY? A LOT, ACTUALLY. Foxes make 40 different
sounds. The most startling though might
be its scream.