#6 in the list is no slacker. Fire ants are a major pest in the southern U.S. and they certainly have earned their place in our top ten list. A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds of soil or sand in open areas, and they mostly feed on young plants and plant seeds. They’re known to attack small animals and can kill them given the opportunity. Unlike many other ants, which bite spray acid on the wounds they create, fire ants bite only to get a grip and then proceed to sting from their abdomens. The stinging process involves injecting a toxic alkaloid venom called Solenopsin, a compound from the class of piperidines (a little trivia: the toxic alkaloid coniine from poison hemlock, which was used to put Socrates to death, is from the same family!). For us humans, this creates a painful sting that feels like being burned by fire.  It’s no wonder how the fire ant earned its name. The sting has been known to be deadly among people with hypersensitivity to insect stings and they can cause severe duress for the elderly or infirmed when they can’t escape from the swarming insects. Not only content to harass people and animals, they are proficient at reducing the aesthetic, recreational, and physical value of your home. In addition to the unsightly mounds creating no-go zones on your own property, fire ants are known to damage transformer boxes, air conditioning housing, and other electrical devices such as relay switches which cause power outages and equipment failures. In just the state of Texas during 2001, costs associated with fire ant damage to electrical and communications equipment came to an astonishing $146.5 million per year! If there’s any good news, it’s that fire ants can be managed outside your home or business to reduce their numbers and the risk of damage their unfettered populations could cause. After ants are eliminated and their nests removed from electrical equipment, re-infestation and damage can be prevented by sealing many sensitive electrical components with insulation, often taking the form of rubber gaskets or rings. An electrical box in a plastic housing containing switches, relays, or circuit breakers are great candidates for insulation. Add to that a long-residual contact insecticide and the threat of ant infestation can be eliminated or greatly reduced. Labelling the enclosures with a date or engaging in an ongoing treatment plan can ensure that regular treatments are applied and your home or business remains adequately protected.

#7 is the all too familiar German cockroach. Beyond the “ew” factor and their repugnant appearance, German cockroaches in your home or business are just plain unhealthy. Research has demonstrated that children growing up in environments with German cockroaches present are far more likely to suffer from allergies and asthma. This is due to their feces and dried skins that become aerialized which are allergenic and can carry pathogens as they float through the air. German cockroaches are hardy and require a stout cleanup effort to eliminate their food sources and the proper placement of bait to get them under control. Done right, aerosol sprays need not be employed to control the German cockroach.

#8 on our list of pesky pests are rats and mice. One need only harken back to the black plague, carried by rodents that enjoyed a population boom when superstitious beliefs railed against cats, the predator keeping the mice and rats in check. They can be the most unhealthy and damaging pests encountered due to the rodent’s need to keep chewing in order to maintain their teeth at a proper healthy length. On top of the chewing damage, a single house mouse leaves behind 3,000 micro-droplets of urine a day. Multiply that times a fair number of mice and you’ve got huge potential for property damage and allergen creation. Rodent urine contains numerour bacteria and viruses, and these sneaky beasts have no qualms about dusting your kitchen counters, floors, and silverware with their unhealthy footprint. Rats are known to carry salmonella, murine typhus and other diseases. Snap traps are normally the best method for getting rid of limited infestations of rats and mice so they can be removed without the danger of a rodent dying in the wall and creating a stench that lasts for weeks.

#9 is the bed bug which seems to garner so much press. They reduce the attractiveness and livability of any room they’re found in by leaving fecal smears on mattresses and furnishings. Bed bug bites can leave itchy welts on the skin and can cause allergic reactions. Some people suffer severe itching while others fail to react to the bite at all. Having existed since ancient times, bed bugs are found throughout the world and menace the whole of the human race.

#10 on our list is the squirrel. While cute up in a tree, they can be astute destroyers within your home left unchecked. They start families in your attic, attack birds and their feeders, destroy fruit on trees, and sometimes make a nuisance of themselves “screaming” at people coming and going from their homes and businesses. Elimination of easy attic access and the installation of one-way doors are excellent ways of diminishing the threat of squirrel infestation inside your home or business.

Contact Emergency Pest Patrol for mosquito control service and ask us for pricing and service call scheduling.

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#1 on our list is the ultra-destructive termite. Each year termites cause over $5 billion of damage to homes and property, according to the National Pest Management Association. Termite control is not something easily performed by laymen. In fact, just the process of identifying the termite can be difficult for the non-professional as they are often misidentified as ants or flying ants. A professional exterminator will help homeowners identify the particular variety you have encountered and will use a targeted method of control to eliminate the threat. The tools, technology, and methods for termite control have continued to improve over the years, especially in the hands of a seasoned professional improving your chances of mitigating any potential damage these awful insects can inflict upon you and your wallet. Subterranean termites eat 24/7, making them enormously and insatiably destructive. Furthermore, damage by termites is typically not covered by a regular homeowner’s insurance policy so contact a termite expert if you suspect that the damage or bugs you see might be this terrible pest.

#2 on our list is the carpenter ant. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their strong muscled mandibles, preferably in dead, damp wood. Unlike termites, they do not consume the wood. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of dead, weakened, or diseased trees, but they’re happy to work their way into a live healthy tree if the habitat suits them. Beyond trees, they commonly infest wooden buildings becoming a major cause of structural damage. They are content to live in hollowed out areas inside doors, behind insulation and even in soft styrofoam insulation. Even so, carpenter ants are only one colony expansion away from destroying your property and are known to show up on real estate transaction paperwork as a potential liability. In the United States, the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is quite common out of a genus that includes over 1,000 species so consumers are bound to cross paths with them at some point.

#3 on our list is the formidable powderpost beetle. Belonging to the subfamily Lyctinae, they are part of a group of seventy species of woodboring beetles. While most woodborers have a large prothorax, the powderpost beetle does not, making its head more pronounced with antennae that appear as two-jointed clubs. These pests attack deciduous trees where, over time, they reduce the wood to a powdery dust. You might discover their larvae, which are white and C-shaped. A headache for homeowners, the powderpost beetle only attacks hardwood. This means that they will not destroy a home but will infest certain areas usually consisting of molding, flooring, cabinets, doors, hardwood furniture, and other hardwood items. An infestation can be found by the presence of very fine sawdust or by discovering small, 1/32 to 1/16 in diameter round, holes in hardwood items with sawdust leaking out. Sadly, most lyctid beetle infestations occur in newly built homes (1-5 y/o) that were assembled with already infested wood. Often, removing infested wood is the most economical solution to remedying this problem.

#4 is the wild honey bee, our next pest on the list. They are great for making honey but when they find their way onto your property, look out! They have no problem setting up shop within the confines of your home’s walls, becoming an expensive nuisance that is best handled by experienced professionals. A typical colony can consist of tens of thousands of bees and their hive may weigh up to several pounds within a few days of construction. If killed by insecticide without a proper extraction plan, the mass of wax, honey, and propolis from the hive will leak fermenting honey, melting wax (the bees work to keep wax from melting when they’re alive), and dead bees, all oozing out into your home or property in the form of a huge mess. Now you have a new problem along with the gooey remains: insect scavengers, moths, and rodents that feed off the dead hive. In some instances, it’s possible to extract the bees alive at a higher cost, but this isn’t always practical depending on the number of affected people nearby and the location of the nest. And to be clear, we’re referring to wild honey bees, not their domesticated cousins who have been endangered.

#5 is reserved for indoor ants. Finding them crawling through your food stores, up the walls, and across counters is unsettling at best. When they find their way into a drain pipe or electrical panel causing backups and burnouts, their true destructive potential becomes acute. Knowing what kind of ant you have is essential to controlling them through treatment. Some ants are only visitors, living mostly outside but stopping to forage, while others are very choosy when it comes to the bait they’re attracted to. Don’t waste your money or spray excessively with over the counter bug spray; not only can they smell bad and make some surfaces in your home unsafe to touch, they’re not nearly as effective as what an experienced professional from Emergency Pest Patrol can bring to bear. We can identify your ants and start the best treatment that will work for you in the most effective manner.

Contact Emergency Pest Patrol for mosquito control service and ask us for pricing and service call scheduling.

The post Pesky Pests That Can Damage Your Home, part #1 appeared first on Tampa Pest Control Services.

Carpenter ants are big and black in color. They can grow to a length of about ½ inch if not a bit bigger. They’re not poisonous nor can harm humans, but it’s the damage to the home or office building’s structure that poses the biggest threat. Yes they’re capable of causing damage to the wood primarily but not like termites that can destroy a structure. Carpenter ants aren’t as invasive nor destructive, but they can do quite a job on a building if left unchecked which is why you’ll then need carpenter ant control.

These ants gain access to your home in several ways. Once they get a foothold inside they’ll bore into the wood, usually moist wood and build a colony. It’ll take some time and which is why they’re so hard to detect. You might only see a few ants foraging around in the open but if you see a few, that means there’s far more hidden behind the walls, inside the floors, roofing and wherever the little buggers can carve out a niche.

With carpenter ant control, prevention is the first step. It’s tough but there are things you can do. Move vegetation away from the house. Don’t keep stacked firewood or kindling near the home. Tree limbs should be trimmed so that ants can’t use them as a bridge. Same goes for clotheslines and wires if possible. Tools and toys that lean against the home are a no-no too. Don’t give carpenter ants a chance and you’ll be first stage in preventing them access. If the house rests on the ground and wood is part of the foundation, you may need to do some work to cover it up. Be careful when bringing in packages or items from the outside, inside. Even a shopping bag or toy left to rest on the ground could harbor a carpenter ant that will find your kitchen a goldmine, forage around to find out what’s there, then leave a scent trail back to the ant colony for others to follow.

If things get too bad, it’s time to go to war. There are some things you can do on your own but it’s best to call in a professional. The reason being is that the professional knows these creatures inside and out. They know their modus operandi and will be able to do things you won’t even think of. A professional will do a thorough inspection of your house and the surroundings. They’ll look for the opportunity spots that ants like, they’ll sue equipment that can detect if ants are hidden deep inside the structure of the home where eyesight and superficial examination would be fruitless. They might have to do some drilling and removing of wall portions or floors, roof pieces and more. Not a major thing or major displacement, but just enough to examine and apply the proper pesticides. Remember, each state has rules as to what pesticides you can use, so don’t pick up something from your uncle’s house in the neighboring state and drive home to use it, it could get you in trouble which is another reason to hire a professional.

Once the professional applies what’s needed they’ll give you further instructions on how to do carpenter ant control. You may have to change some habits but it’s worth it.

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