Other Pest Control Services
Ticks
Color: Depending on the species, their color can range from brown to reddish brown, and black. When engorged, ticks generally appear to be a gray or blue color.
Characteristics: Although there are several different species of ticks their appearance is quite similar. Their bodies are flat, broad and oval in shape. When ticks are embedded their appearance is closely related to that of a bubbly mole.
Size: Varies by species, but generally range in size from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch.
Potentially Dangerous: Yes
Description: Ticks rely on a host for transportation, such as a dog or a cat. If you have noticed a fluctuation of ticks on your property it may be that wildlife introduced them to that area. The most common ticks found in Texas include: the Lone Star Tick, the Black Legged Deer Tick, the American Dog Tick, and the Brown Dog Tick.
Dangers
Ticks are a parasitic pest that feed on the blood of other animals as well as humans. Ticks can pose serious risks to our health as they are known transmitters of Lyme disease and the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Tick Prevention
Ticks are most generally found in grass, tall weeds, brush, or wooded areas; making the property around many homes a perfect haven for them. Ticks can be hard to find, and are nearly impossible to eliminate without the help of an expert.
- Keep grass and weeks cut short
- Cover legs and feet when in the yard
- Check yourself when coming inside
Indian Meal Moth
Color: The wings are pale gray and the front wing is reddish-brown and coppery on the outer parts. The larva is usually an off white, but may vary in color depending on the food it eats.
Characteristics: The back wing on the Indian meal moth is broader than the front wing, which has long hair-like scales.
Size: Indian meal moths have a wingspread of about 5/8 of an inch to 3/4 of an inch.
Potentially Dangerous: No
Description: The most common way that they enter into homes is through products purchased from the store that are already infested with Indian meal moth larva. Once Indian meal moths get into your home they will infest other food in your pantry and become a huge nuisance. Indian meal Moths have a wide range of food that they find suitable to eat. Indian meal moths are also known for their ability to be found in even the tightest of sealed containers. While the adult Indian meal moths flying around your kitchen may be what first alert you to an infestation, it is actually the larvae that do most of the damage to stored food sources.
An adult female will lay her eggs on a food source like pasta, flour or rice the larva will then emerge from the egg and cover the surface of the food in a silken web and begin feeding. Once they are ready to pupate they will leave the contaminated food source and find a suitable place to do so in.
Dangers
Indian meal moths do not bite or sting and aren’t known to transmit any dangerous diseases to people. However, they will breed in and contaminate your stored food products with their silken webs, feces, and shed skins requiring them to be thrown out. In fact, large populations of Indian meal moths can become quite damaging to food sources.
Sawtoothed Grain Beetle
Color: Brown
Characteristics: Flattened body and 6 saw-like teeth on each side of prothorax. Wings are present and developed, but this insect is not observed flying. Mature larva is long and fairly smooth, and the antennae have 3 segments (2nd segment the longest, 3rd segment very small).
Size: Approximately 1/8 of an inch long.
Potentially dangerous: No
Color: Brown
Description: Sawtoothed grain beetles are found in a variety of foodstuffs including grains, cereals, bread, pasta products, dried meat and fruit, nuts, sugar, chocolate and other candy, tobacco products and drugs. They will lay their shiny white eggs in small crevices in food materials. You may have these pests in your home or business if they are living in stored products that you purchased from the grocery store.
Sign of Infestation
You may see a sawtoothed grain beetles by finding the adults crawling around on surfaces, or on food storage shelves. Other signs may include finding them inside of dry goods or by finding holes in food packaging.
Dangers
They pose no real health risks and are not known to transmit any diseases to humans. However, if sawtoothed grain beetles gain access to kitchens they may contaminate your food sources which you will then have to discard- costing you both time and money. Also, sawtoothed grain beetles can create the proper conditions for mold growth in the areas that they are found infesting.
Millipedes
Color: Brown or black
Characteristics: Many legs
Size: 1 1/16 to 4 1/2 inches.
Potentially Dangerous: No
Description: Millipedes have a long worm-like segmented body with many pairs of legs. Their name means “thousand leggers”, but in reality they only have about 30-333 pairs of legs depending on the species. In general adult millipedes are 1/16th to 4 ½ inches in length although some species can be much longer; millipedes are black or brown in color and they may have orange or red markings on their body.
Nesting Sites: Millipedes are nocturnal and can usually be found hiding under rocks, piles of leaves, piles of garbage, and mulch during the day, during the evening hours they will scavenge for food- decaying plants and other dead insects.
Millipedes will enter into homes after periods of heavy rains, when the ground becomes saturated with water. They crawl up the sides of foundations, exterior walls, windows and doors and enter through gaps and spaces. Once inside millipedes can be found hiding in dark damp places, underneath of boxes and furniture and in basements, kitchens, bathrooms and in crawl spaces.
Dangers
Millipedes do not bite or sting and are not dangerous to people or pets. They do have the ability to excrete a toxic liquid through spaces along the sides of their body. This liquid can cause problems for small pets and can cause the skin on humans to become blistered or irritated. The liquid can also leave behind a foul smell that needs to be cleaned away.
Millipedes Prevention
- Reduce humidity levels
- Caulk gaps around windows and doors
- Keep water away from around the home
- Use de-humidifier
Earwigs
Color: Brown to reddish-brown
Characteristics: Long slim bodies. Pinchers or “cerci” on the back of their abdomen.
Size: Varies by species
Potentially Dangerous: No
Description: earwigs will cause damage to gardens. They will feed on the shoots of young seedlings, damaging the plant so that it will not be able to yield a crop. Your houseplants might be in danger if earwigs have infested the house. They will not consume entire houseplants but will feed on decaying organic material found in the soil and may eventually damage the roots of plants, especially young ones.
Nesting Sites: Earwigs are attracted to outdoor lighting and often enter homes through cracks in the foundation and underneath doors. This is often by accident when they are searching for food. They may also migrate inside when the weather become too hot or too dry. Earwigs favor damp, dark places. You may also find earwigs inside because they were on the newspaper that the paperboy threw on the lawn, on packages the deliveryman left on your step and on potted plants that had been set outside.
Dangers
There’s a myth associated with earwigs that they crawl into brains and lay eggs. Thankfully this is completely untrue. Really, there is nothing dangerous about earwigs. Even their pincher-like appendages are not used against people. Earwigs are primarily nuisance pest, both inside and out.
Earwig Prevention
- Reduce humidity levels
- Caulk gaps around windows and doors
- Keep water away from around the home
- Use de-humidifier
Carpenter Bees
Color: Carpenter bees have abdomens that are black and shiny, not hairy; males are orange and black in color and females are completely black.
Characteristics: Solitary bees that resemble bumble bees. They bore holes in wood to create nesting areas.
Size: A large type of bee, these pests range in size from ½ to 1 ½ inches in length.
Potentially Dangerous: Yes
Description: Carpenter bees do not use the wood around your home as a food source but for a nesting site. They bore circular holes in it to lay their eggs and will also use those holes to nest in over the winter months. They prefer unpainted, weathered softwoods; these areas are usually found on decks, porches and sheds. Carpenter bee breeding pairs will often come back to the same area year after year to make their nest; this also increases the amount of damage that they can do to your home.
Danger
Female carpenter bees do have stingers, but rarely sting people unless they are directly handled or threatened. Male carpenter bees are aggressive, but do not have a stinger; they will fly around your head and buzz loudly in an effort to intimidate you. The holes that the carpenter bees create in the wood of your home can be enough to weaken the structure. Woodpeckers, attracted to carpenter bee larvae, may also cause damage to the structure.