.png)
PEST
GUIDE
Correctly identifying your particular pest is a critical first step in getting the best pest control for your property. Our pest glossary will show you images and facts about the pests we most commonly treat, like arthropod pests including ants, cockroaches, flies, wasps, fleas, stored product pests (moth and beetle larvae), fabric pests (moth larvae) and spiders, along with bed bugs, beetles, earwigs, pillbugs, ticks, aphids and whiteflies – and many more. You’ll also see wood-destroying pests like termites (dampwood, drywood and subterranean), carpenter ants and wood-boring beetles. And don't forget rodents like mice and rats.
If you're still unsure about what you have, give us a call and we will confirm for you. The most effective pest control starts with knowing what we're up against.
ANTS
Did you know that an ant can lift 20 times its own body weight?
There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world. An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car! Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies! Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet. When ants fight, it is usually to the death! Queen ants have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest. Ants don’t have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes. When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce.
Argentine Ants
Common in the southern region of the US and in the following states California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Washington. Argentine ant colonies are located in wet environments near a food source. These colonies can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such as an entire garden or your whole back yard. Argentine ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.
Prevention:
-
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
-
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
-
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
-
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants get their name because they build their nests in wood. This pest can cause significant damage to your house. Carpenter ants build nests anywhere they can find water and moldy or damp wood, such as tree stumps, firewood or in the plants around your house. Carpenter ants also build nests inside, usually entering buildings through wet, damaged wood, although it isn’t uncommon for them to adapt to drier environments.
Carpenter ants don’t carry disease, but when building a nest inside a home, Carpenter ants dig smooth tunnels inside the wood. These tunnels weaken the wood and potentially damage the wood that keeps the house standing. This kind of damage can be very expensive to fix.
Prevention:
-
Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
-
Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
-
Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
-
Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.
Need to get rid of ants? Call us at 1-800 BUGS to schedule a FREE inspection of your home or business.
.png)
