Adult ants are one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are females that do not reproduce, but do gather food; feed the larvae; and maintain and clean the nest. Workers are wingless, and it is the worker stage that is seen foraging around for food or defending the colony from intruders. The male ants are winged, but their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.

Habits

Ants inside your home or apartment can be a seasonal or year-round problem. Many ant species build their nests outdoors, and become a nuisance when they forage for food inside your home. Once they discover a good food source, they may continue to come inside, collect their food and leave to take the food back to their outdoor colony. However, other ant species enter the interior of the building, build their nest inside and become permanent indoor residents. Some of the more common ant species that may invade and choose to reside inside are pavement ants, carpenter ants, odorous house ants, thief ants, acrobat ants and pharaoh ants. Any of these ants can be challenging to control, but the pharaoh ant is known as one of the most, if not the most, difficult indoor ant to control.

Inside ants may be found near their food sources, moisture and in hidden, protected places like wall voids, under appliances, behind window frames and beneath floors. Ants are commensal pests, meaning they like to live close to people and eat some of the same things we do – sweets, meats, starches and liquids.

Defense

• Make your house as unwelcoming to ants as possible. If the ants can’t find readily available food and water sources, they will be less likely to try to come in. Any type of food or food particles can attract ants.
• Store food, especially pet food, in tight containers. Wipe down your counters and floors frequently.
• Most do-it-yourself ant control approaches kill only the ants you see. Some truly effective treatments can penetrate and destroy nests to help prevent these pests from returning. Also, home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown, oval insects up to 4 to 5 mm long or the size of an apple seed. They are normally swollen and reddish after a blood meal.

Habits

Bed bugs only feed on blood. Under cool conditions, bed bugs have been able to survive up to a year without a meal. They prefer to be more active at night when the host is asleep.

Bed bugs are found in cracks and crevices, including mattress seams, sheets, furniture, behind baseboards, electrical outlet plates and picture frames. Often found in hotels, where they can travel from room to room and in visitors’ luggage or other personal belongings such as purses and briefcases.

Defense

• Remove all clutter from your home, which makes finding bed bugs easier.
• Wash and dry your bed linens on the hottest temperature permitted.
• Closely inspect any second-hand furniture before bringing it in your home.
• Inspect your home after moving, trips, service calls or overnight guests

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Cockroaches can measure over 50 mm (2 in) length, with tropical species tending to be larger than those found in other climates. Cockroaches have six legs, two antennae and some have wings. However, most winged cockroaches are not particularly adept at flying.

Habits

Some species invade human dwellings and are considered pests. Others are beneficial to the environment as important recyclers of decaying organic material. The pest cockroaches can be carriers of various diseases because they are commonly found near waste deposits or in the kitchen, where food is present. Restaurants may also experience cockroach infestations. Cockroaches emit unpleasant odors and may also produce sound.

Defense

• The most rapid and effective pest control methods are those administered by trained pest control professionals. There are several techniques and tools that can be employed or recommended by these professionals to get rid of cockroaches.
• One strategy is for the pest control professional to partner with the homeowner to reduce the cockroach attractants. Sources like pet food dishes, drains, dishwashers, trash cans, etc. should be maintained, cleaned and/or stored properly.
• Another step is to determine the source or entry point for the cockroaches. Some cockroaches, like the German cockroach, are primarily carried into the home.
• Homeowners should be careful to inspect items such as used furniture or appliances for cockroaches before bringing them home. Outdoor cockroaches may invade under doors and through open windows. Homeowners and the pest control professionals should collaborate to seal up the home as much as possible.
• Pest control professional also can employ traps such as glue boards in areas where cockroaches may travel or hide. Yet another tool can be proper applications of products such as baits and residuals to cracks/crevices, harborage areas and the exterior of the home. The actual plan and time to get rid of cockroaches will vary by home and situation.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Flies are often metallic in appearance, with feathery hairs on the terminal antennal segments of the males. Adult flies have sponge-like mouth parts, while maggots have hook-like mouth parts.

Habits

Common house flies are attracted to decaying organic filth such as feces and rotting meat, whereas fruit flies seek sugary substances and feed more commonly on overripe fruit, spilled soda and alcohol. Drain flies require moist climates and organic materials and will be attracted to drains where they will lay their eggs.

Defense

• Identifying a fly and what it feeds on will assist in targeting an appropriate pest control method. It will also help to locate breeding sites.
• After identifying a feeding site, be sure to clean the area thoroughly to prevent a repeat infestation.
• Your local pest control professional can act as a resource for you in identifying the infestation and eradicating the intrusive insect population.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Latin Name: Subclass Acari
Appearance: Mites are an arachnid and are comprised of thousands of species. Most mites are less than 1mm long. Their bodies are made up of the prosoma and the abdomen with four pairs of legs. Mites can be difficult to spot with the naked eye, though as they move across surfaces they can sometimes be detected.

Habits

Mites begin as eggs, and develop through the larval and pupal stage before becoming fully grown adults. Mites live on both land and in water. Typically they are not detrimental to other animals, but some species are parasitic.

Parasitic mites feed on other animals and can cause significant skin irritation to their hosts known as mange. Bird mites feed on poultry, while spider mites feed on crops.

Defense

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Mosquitoes belong to the same group as the true flies, diptera. As such, they have a single pair of wings. They typically have long, thin legs and a head featuring a prominent proboscis. Mosquito bodies and wings most often are covered in tiny scales. Adult sizes may range from 3 to 9 mm.

Habits

Mosquitoes are best known for the habits of the adult females which often feed on blood to help generate their eggs. The lesser-known side is that mosquito adults, males and females, also feed on nectar from flowers. Their immature stages usually are located in standing, preferably stagnant, water. The larvae feed on variety of materials, depending on species. Most consume organic flotsam and tiny aquatic organisms. However, some species are predatory and will consume other mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes prefer to be most active from dusk until dawn but can become active with sufficient cloud cover or in dark shady areas. They do not prefer to be active in the sunshine since they may desiccate and die.

Defense

Mosquito treatment is usually an integrated effort involving source reduction plus the use of chemical control products when needed. Since mosquitoes develop in water, source reduction targets and eliminates water sources favorable for mosquito breeding. While source reduction is the more effective long-term approach to mosquito treatment, the mosquito treatment plan may require using chemical products to supplement source reduction.

The mosquito treatment plan begins with your pest management professional conducting a thorough property inspection and identifying the kind of mosquitoes causing problems.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Rodents are warm-blooded mammals that, like humans, can be found throughout the world. They have oversized front teeth for gnawing and check teeth, which are adapted for chewing. Rodents chew on a variety of items available to them and cause great damage in and around homes.

Habits

Rodent infestations can cause considerable damage to infested buildings and local agriculture. Rodents are also known carriers of many diseases and prove a health hazard to humans. Rodent populations grow quickly and steadily. Rodent control is best started prior to infestations. In order to protect your home, garden and health from existing rodent infestations, professional, customized solutions are often necessary.

Defense

Rodents tend to be rapid breeders. Some species breed year-round, and populations are maintained through constant reproduction. Because of the rodents’ body plan, they are capable of squeezing through spaces that appear to be much too small for them. All such holes should be sealed to prevent entry and reentry of rodents. A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.

Habits

They feed on insects, other spiders and any other prey they are able to subdue. Spiders have three or four pair of eyes. Many spiders have poor vision, but some species of spiders, such as the jumping spider, have exceptional vision. Spiders do not have chewing mouthparts and commonly utilize digestive enzymes in their saliva to break prey down before consuming it. Additionally, the gut of a spider is too narrow to allow for consumption of large food particles. Almost all spider species are predators, although one plant-feeding species has been documented.

Spiders are capable of producing silk that is elastic, adhesive and strong. This silk is used to spin webs as well as to construct egg sacs and line spider dwellings. The size and shape of spider webs vary by species: some are orb-shaped, while others are funnel-shaped; some webs are orderly, while others appear haphazard. Some spider species live in burrows rather than webs, while others are free ranging and take refuge in crevices.

Defense

1. Keep Spiders Out to Begin With

   A good way to prevent spiders from getting into your home, is to make sure you don’t have an environment around your house that attracts spiders. Spiders often make their homes outside in plants, piles of leaves or wood, or dark undisturbed places like old tires or buckets. Having these things right next to your house makes it more likely that a spider will wander in. Create some distance between these things and your house, to make it less likely that a spider finds a way inside

2. Get Rid of Their Food Source and Shelters

   Making sure that your house is clean is generally a good way to decrease the number of pests in your home. In the case of spiders, not only will a clean home provide fewer places for the spiders to hide, but it will also make it less likely that small insects will be around for the spiders to eat. Without a reliable food source, and with fewer hiding spots, it will be harder for spiders to stay.

A pest control professional should be contacted for assistance.