Ants are most often seen one at a time. In the spring, you may find large numbers of flying ants. These are the reproductive members of the colony. They indicate the presence of a mature colony nearby, and this is cause for concern. This colony must be found and destroyed immediately because ants are capable of doing severe structural damage if left untreated.
There are several kinds of ants that may occur in and around the home ranging in size from about 1/32 to 3/4 inch long and colored yellowish, light brown, reddish-brown, brownish-black or jet black. Ants, as all insects, have three body parts, head, thorax, and abdomen. Most are wingless, but the homeowner sometimes may confuse swarming, winged ants with swarming, winged termites, causing alarm. Ants can be easily distinguished from termites by several characteristics:
- Ant bodies appear constricted or pinched in at the waist, while termites do not have the waist constriction.
- Ants have elbowed antennae, while termites have straight, bead-like antennae.
- The forewings of ants are much larger than the hind wings. Termites’ wings are equal in size and shape.
- Ant wings are transparent or brownish, while termite wings are milky-white or grayish and longer than the body.
- Ant wings are firmly attached, while termite wings are easily removed or shed (fall off).
Life Cycle and Habits
Ants are social insects that live in colonies or nests usually located in the soil near the house foundation, under concrete slabs, in crawlspaces, in structural wood, in the yard or garden, in trees and in other protected places. Ants have three castes, namely queens, males and workers. Queens and males are the reproductive. Workers are sterile wingless females. New ant colonies are started by a single fertilized queen that lays eggs and tends her brood (larvae and pupae) that develops into worker ants. Tending of the brood is then taken over by the worker, which may shift the brood from place to place as moisture and temperature fluctuate in the nest. When workers forage for food for the queen and her young, they often may enter houses and become a nuisance by their presence and contaminate food.
Fleas are parasites, feeding directly on humans or other warm blooded animals. Usually you or your pet serves as these hosts. A skin reaction to a flea bite appears as a slightly raised and red itchy spot. Sometimes these sores bleed. Fleas usually require warm and humid conditions to develop. Due to the flea cycle and weather conditions, many people don’t realize they have a flea problem until they return home from vacation or after a move to new premises and are confronted by hungry fleas. There are several types of fleas, but the most common is the cat flea, even on dogs. Fleas are attracted to body heat, movement, and exhaled carbon dioxide.
Fleas are identified by the following characteristics:
- The average size ranges from 1/12 to 1/6 inch long.
- They are very small and have no wings.
- Their bodies are narrow if viewed from the sides.
- The slender flea can get into and move around in narrow areas.
- Because their bodies are covered with spines projecting backward, they are difficult to remove by shaking or scratching.
- Adults feed on blood; the larvae eat “flea diet” consisting of dried blood.
Recommended Products & Treatment
The best time to start a flea control program is in the late spring, prior to an infestation, since adult fleas comprise only 5% of the total flea population. To contain an infestation, fleas must be controlled in every way:
The use of insect growth inhibitors and residual insecticides.
Frequently dust, sweep, vacuum, and mop all surfaces where pets or you have been. Eggs are laid on the pet and drop off as it moves. All affected pets should be treated at this time and removed from the premises for 4 to 6 hours.
Remove birds from the home. Cover or remove fish, and turn off the pump. You should keep covered shoes on until all treated areas have dried (4-6 hours). Successful treatment involves the use of a residual insecticide to control the adult flea and a growth inhibitor to prevent the egg from developing.
The German cockroach is by far the most important and usually the most common of the cockroaches. In addition to being a nuisance, it has been implicated in outbreaks of illness, the transmission of a variety of pathogenic organisms including at least one parasitic protozoan, and allergic reactions in many people. This species has worldwide distribution.
Adults about 1/2-5/8″ (13-16 mm) long. Color light brown to tan except for 2 dark, almost parallel longitudinal stripes/bars/streaks on pronotal shield. Female darker than male, her abdomen broader.
SIMILAR GROUPS (Adults only)
Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai) with almost identical color pattern
Brownbanded cockroach (Supella longipalpa) and Pennsylvania wood cockroach (Parcoblatta pensylvanica) lack 2 dark longitudinal stripes on pronotal shield.
Field cockroach (B. vaga) with a median dark line between eyes on front of head.
Other cockroaches are either smaller or larger, lack characteristic pronotal stripes, and/or are not associated with structures.
German cockroaches are found throughout structures but show a preference for warm (70 degrees F/21 degrees C) and humid places. They are usually found in kitchens and secondarily in bathrooms, but infestations often occur in rooms where people eat and drink while watching television such as the den, bedroom, etc. Any crack or crevice located near a source of food and/or water is prime harborage, and they spend about 75% of their time in such harborages.
Follow the standard control procedures but more frequent service may be required because of their rapid reproductive rate. At least 95% of the population must be eliminated on the initial or clean-out service, or the typical maintenance program will usually fail. Baits are particularly effective, but correct placement along junctions and/or in cracks and crevices in or near harborages is essential. Incorporating IGRs (insect growth regulators) into the service helps with long-term control. Be sure to follow label directions.
Few people really like rats or mice, and no one wants them in their house. Rodents live everywhere outside and could enter at any time, but fortunately, this does not occur often. Usually, most home invasions occur in the fall because the seeds and plants on which rodents feed outside are gone. Rats and mice must then seek new food sources.
House mouse It’s body rarely exceeding two inches long and one ounce in weight. The color is usually gray, but some may appear darker. Mice are more numerous than rats and are more widespread throughout urban and suburban communities. A mouse can be distinguished from a young rat since the rat’s head and feet will be overly large in relation to its body.
Roof rats Rodents may grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches. Seldom will a rat weigh more than one pound. The color can vary from gray to brown to black. Found in coastal states, roof rats have long tails, thin bodies, and large eyes and ears. Rats are more prevalent in urban and rural areas, and are found in homes less often than mice because of their larger size.
Mice are found in urban and suburban communities. Mice are found in buildings more often than rats because they are smaller and are able to find more available entryways into a building. Mice can fit through a crack or hole 1/4 of an inch or larger – or about the width of a pencil.
The best way to avoid invasions of rats and mice is to provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents, and seal as many holes and cracks in the outside of the home through which rats and mice might enter. Follow these recommendations to help prevent rodents from seeking the shelter provided by your home:
- If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc.
- Do not allow piles of leaves to accumulate next to the home’s foundation
- Seal any hole or crack larger than 1/4 of an inch. A good rule of thumb is that if a pencil can fit into it, a mouse could too.
- Install good, thick weather-strip on the bottom of all doors to prevent rodents from entering.
- The installation of one or two wind-up mouse traps in the garage can catch many mice as they enter.
In fact, termites evolved from the cockroach about 150 million years ago. Perhaps this long legacy gives termites their astounding tenacity and adaptability. Termites exhibit complex and rigid social interactions in a colony. Particular tasks are performed by individuals specialized for the purpose. The typical termite colony is composed of members showing structural characteristics that scientists use to classify the termites.
Don’t Be A Victim of Termites
More than 365,000 homes in the United States are involved in a fire each year. More than 600,000 U.S. homes suffer termite damage totaling over $1.5 billion annually. This is more damage than is caused by all fires, storms and earthquakes combined.
Finding out that your home has termites instills a sense of fear among most homeowners. You typically can’t see them, you can’t hear them and frequently only a trained inspector can find signs of infestation. Treatment by the homeowner for the control of termites is virtually impossible. Specialized equipment is used and the experts have the knowledge necessary for control strategies.
GROUND TERMITES can consume over 15 pounds of wood in a single week and can create secondary nests above the ground called “aerial colonies”. Common interior water sources include; roof leaks, plumbing leaks, leaky showers or tubs, toilet leaks, etc… Ground termites require three things to survive; food (wood or other cellulose (material), a consistent source of moisture as well as a moderate to tropical environment
DRYWOOD TERMITES These termites can survive on a small amount of moisture within wood and require an outside moisture source. This may be from the soil, leaky plumbing, roof tops, etc…
Infestation may take two years before evidence of droppings is present.
Use treated lumber during construction.
Coat any untreated wood or exposed wood end cuts with an appropriate termiticide.
Seal all cracks and crevices with cauking.
Install a termite monitoring or detection system at the home or structure.
Perform treatment to the soil before construction with an appropriate termiticide.
Eliminate conditions conducive to infestation.
locate kick-out holes
lightly puncture kick-out hole
Inject appropriate insecticide in kick-out hole.
Seal kick-out hole with caulk.
Heavy Activity: Tent fumigation