Where
do they live in my home? Everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, and in the
basement. Cockroaches can live in
electric appliances. Some enter even
the cleanest homes in shopping bags and soda cartons. Others just crawl or fly in.
Warmth, food and water are cockroaches only needs. Your house keeps them warm. They thrive on leftover human or pet food. Even the glue in your furniture and
wallpaper gives them nourishment. They
drink the water in your bathrooms and kitchen.
These tenacious little “bugs” have been around for over 350 million
years. They reproduce rapidly and often
develop biological resistance to pesticides.
For versatility and persistence they’re unbeatable.
Why
get rid of them? Because cockroaches
contaminate food and spread disease.
They’re filthy. They’re smelly.
They’re disgusting!
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? It helps if you keep a clean
house. But even then you can’t always
keep them out or get rid of them.
Effective control techniques depend on what kind of roaches are in your
home and where they are hiding out.
Domestic roaches like the German and Brown-Banded roaches require a
special bait treatment guaranteed to totally eliminate them from your home or
business. Other roaches known as
“outdoor” roaches (or Periodomestic roaches), once eliminated from your
home or business are controlled through regular outdoor treatments. Since new roaches may continue to try to
enter the home, restaurant or other structure, regular indoor pest control may
not be effective. In most cases, it is
important to treat the outside and under the structure, in ornamental
plantings, rock or block fences, wood piles and other places these roaches
might hide. In areas of heavy
infestations and in the southern states, these treatments may need to be year
round. Accurate cockroach
identification is necessary for control since treatment for “outdoor roaches”
differs from that for domestic roaches.
Where
do they live in my home? Fleas are not particular and
will establish themselves anywhere.
Flea eggs brought in by household pets fall to the floor or onto
furniture. The lay in cracks, crevices
or folds until they hatch. Hatching
time is brief-a few days. Over a
two-week period they can complete a generation! And then fleas start eating….your dog, your cat, you or whoever
happens to be warm blooded and available.
Why
get rid of them? Almost everyone who is exposed
to fleas is bitten. Some people get
itchy, red welts. There is an added
danger. Because fleas dine on blood,
they transmit disease. One kind of
flea, for example, transmits bubonic plague from rats to man.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? Inspecting
and cleaning your pets will help keep the flea population in control. Flea collars also may help, but it’s
advisable to first check with your veterinarian. In addition, you should wash or change your animal’s bedding
frequently. Getting rid of fleas can be
a problem. If no animals or people are
present, they’ll live in a state similar to suspended animation. This happens when you go on vacation. Once you return, they’ll begin feasting
again. So, once your house is invaded,
chemicals may be necessary to effectively and completely eliminate the fleas.
Where
do they live in my home? Brown dog ticks favor
baseboards, walls, window frames and sills, paper curtains, drapes, picture
frames and ceilings. Wherever they find
cracks and crevices. Brown dog ticks
can become genuine household pests.
Once inside, an adult female may deposit as many as 3,000 eggs in a
single hiding place. When the eggs
hatch, the homeowner has a real nightmare!
In this country, Brown dog ticks feed only on dogs. Before each stage of their growth, they must
have a full blood meal. After eating,
they drop off the host and seek a crack for hiding.
Why
get rid of them? Because brown dog ticks will
irritate your pet by taking his blood.
They may ruin his health. In
addition, they will become residents in your home.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? You can make it harder for
ticks to invade your home by inspecting your dogs. Carefully look around the ears, neck and beneath the pads of the
feet. If your dog has ticks, consult
your veterinarian. If the ticks already
are in your home and on your property, however, you may need to have us locate
all their hiding places and thoroughly apply the proper chemicals for a
long-lasting residual effect.
Where
do they live in my home? The answer depends on the
type of ant that has selected your home as its residence! If they are honey ants, they nest outdoors
and troop inside regularly for food.
Pharaoh ants, on the other hand, never go outside. Carpenter ants, the most destructive of all,
find warm moist places where they build nests in wood. Homeowners notice carpenter ants when they
see small piles of sawdust-like debris or insulation. Ant diets are varied. One
will favor grease. Others prefer seeds,
other insects or leftovers from your dinner.
Over 20 varieties of ants invade or live in homes in the U.S.; each
variety has its own habits and its own preferred location in your home.
Why
get rid of them? No ant is a productive addition
to your home. They are unsightly and
contaminate food. Some bite. Others sting and occasionally cause a severe
reaction in sensitive individuals.
Carpenter ants do the most damage by destroying structural wood and
furniture.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? Clean homes
and sealed food containers discourage ants from taking up residence. Once ants have entered your home, however,
you’ll need to identify then accurately.
Then you can get rid of them most effectively. Because household pesticides can actually make the situation
worse by splitting the colony, we recommend the use of baits. Once the ants have been identified an
appropriate bait should be carefully applied.
Not all ants can be controlled by baits so other methods may be used but
only after positive ID.
Where
do they live in my home? House mice live in walls,
floors, cabinets and furniture. They
build nests out of most any kind of soft material. They require warmth, food and only a little, if any, water. House mice can enter homes by squeezing
through cracks in basement windows, foundations and attic vents. They can even ride in with cartons or garden
goods. Once inside, they are hard to
detect because they rarely go more than 20 feet from their nest and come out
only at night.
Why
get rid of them? The house mouse will chew up
your books, clothes, upholstery and food.
He’s a nibbler and a dribbler.
He’ll chew small holes just for the fun of it and leave urine wherever
he goes. If he’s eating your food,
he’ll contaminate it.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? If you have
resident mice, you can try using mousetraps and baiting them with peanut
butter, bacon, sweet potato or apple.
Mice can squeeze through tiny holes only ¼” in diameter so to keep them
out seal all holes this size or larger.
Check to make sure doors and windows fit snuggly. Pet doors and dryer vents are also commonly
overlooked entrances.
Where
do they live in my home? Rats live in the ground in
burrows, in foundations of buildings, in basements, walls and under
flooring. They also inhabit sewers, garbage
dumps and other scenic locations! Rats
eat everything-meat, fish, cereal and garbage.
They prefer traveling over flat surfaces, but will climb pipes, wires
and rough walls to reach food.
Why
get rid of them? Because they carry
disease. Deadly disease. In the U.S., rats are potential carriers of
plague and do carry typhus fever, as well as Leptospirosis and food
poisoning. They also contaminate food. Rats are definitely undesirable.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? You can
start by sealing all openings (including attic openings) ½” or larger and
making sure your garbage cans are properly sealed. You also can check potential rat shelters-woodpiles and stacks of
almost anything. Removing harborage
will cause the rats to move to another location.
Where
do they live in my home? Spiders prefer protected, warm
places and, inside, will seek cracks or darkened areas such as closets, attics,
foundations and baseboards. Spiders
feed on live insects and rarely bother man.
There are two exceptions: The
Brown Recluse Spider and the better known Black Widow. Both of these have venomous bites that are
particularly dangerous to man. The
female Black Widow is distinguished by a red hour glass marking on her
stomach. The Brown Recluse has a violin
shaped marking on its back.
Why
get rid of them? Not all spiders are bad to
have around, although they do create some cleaning problems when they spin
their webs. The danger is in their
bite. All spider bites should be
checked immediately by a physician.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? Since
spiders require insects for their diet, you can minimize spider problems by
keeping your home insect-free. Vacuum
thoroughly, and clean up spiders and webs at the same time. Removing webs from the outside of the home
is also beneficial because most spiders can’t eat if they can’t have a
web. They’ll starve or move on.
Where
do they live in my home? Termites usually live in the
ground under or outside your home. They
tunnel through the soil or build aboveground mud tubes to reach their food-the
wooden parts of your home. They can
squeeze through cracks as small as 1/64 of an inch wide. Termites are organized insects. They divide up their work. Workers and nymphs are the cellulose
eaters. They supply food to the
soldiers and reproductive ones flying off to start new colonies.
Why
get rid of them? Primarily to protect your home
and its contents. Termites eat not only
structural wood, but also books, clothing and anything else that contains
cellulose, their basic nutritional staple.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them?
Subterranean termites are almost impossible to control on a
do-it-yourself basis. You’ll need a
professional termite specialist. We place
a chemical barrier around your home by injecting chemicals into the soil. A complete treatment may include some
drilling inside the home as well. Once
the home has been treated, the specialist will conduct an annual inspection if
you contract for it. Reputable pest
control companies guarantee their work.
Where
do they live in my home? Silverfish often are your first guests, uninvited to be sure. New homes are infested before the owners
even arrive because silverfish are brought in on lumber and wallboard. They seek dark damp, warm places and feast on
wallpaper paste, book bindings, sweet foods and fibers such as linen, rayon,
silk and cotton.
Why
get rid of them? The silverfish is not harmful
to your health, but he can cause considerable damage to your property. He’ll work on your upholstery, curtains,
clothes and wallpaper.
How
do I keep them out or get rid of them? Vacuuming
rugs and floors will minimize infestations.
If lots of silverfish are living in your house, you may need to have the
inside of your home treated thoroughly with a pesticide.