There are many creatures that can be considered pests when they enter, reside in or infest your home. When these things occur, your first desire as a homeowner is to remove the pest from your property, and we are here to help make that happen for you and your family. A survey found that 84% of homeowners experienced a household pest problem in the year prior to it, so you certainly aren’t alone.
However, correct identification of the pest but occur before removal or extermination can begin. Identifying household pests is easy in some cases, but in others, it can be challenging. For example, some ants look very similar to an untrained eye, but the strategies for removing different species may be quite different.
Identifying Common Household Pests
Correct identification of the pest is paramount. Pest control specialists need to determine what type of pest is causing an issue first so a coordinating plan can be made for removal or extermination. The behaviors, lifestyle, and habitat of each type of pest is specific to that pest, and strategies used by pest control specialists vary greatly dependent on the specific creature that is causing your issue.
Although it is possible to identify some pests on your own using internet searches or nature guidebooks, it’s important, helpful, and often necessary to call a professional for definite identification. Our pest control specialists can quickly determine the perpetrator of damage on your home, often without even seeing the actual insect or animal, and can begin to formulate a plan of attack. Further, our staff can differentiate between different types of crawling insects, stinging insects, and flying insects quickly and accurately.
The sooner your pest is positively identified, the sooner action can begin to take place on removing it from your home. The fastest way to positively identify a pest is by calling a professional.
However, if you are simply curious about the bugs crawling around in your home or the critters banging around in your attic or basement, read on to learn more about pest identification of specific pests.
Mammals
In most cases, you can likely identify pest mammals on your own – especially if you encounter one face to face. Rats, mice, squirrels, and raccoons can wreak havoc in your home if they get into your walls, storage areas, or crawlspaces. Often you won’t even see them, but you will hear them, and you will find their droppings or see other evidence of their chewing or stealing.
These animals are known as nuisance wildlife when they enter your home and you will need professional assistance to get them out. Although rabies is very rare in the United States today, it is still a possibility, so your best bet for removal of nuisance wildlife is to call a pest control specialist.
Ants
Ants are one of the most common household pests. There are about 12,000 different species of ants worldwide and around 1,000 of those are present in the North America. However, there are only a few types that are commonly found in homes in the United States.
Some of the most common ants found inside homes in Tennessee are carpenter ants, fire ants and little black ants, but there are others, too. All ants are similar, but they may eat different things and build their homes in different ways. Although they look different, it is often difficult to identify a specific type with an untrained eye, but using an online bug identifier may help.
No matter how many ants you step on or spray in your home, if you have an ant infestation, you will need to call a professional. Ant colonies can host thousands of ants, and the nest will have to be removed from within your walls for full eradication. This is not something you can do on your own; if you want to successfully remove a colony of ants from your home permanently, please call us today.
Bees, Wasps and Hornets
Nobody likes to be stung, and for some, an insect sting can even be life-threatening. Bees, hornets or wasps in your home or on your property can be dangerous, especially if you have pets or children.
There are a wide variety of insects in this category, and most of them will sting you if provoked. Some of them, like bumble bees, honey bees and carpenter bees, can nest in your walls. Others, such as yellow jackets and ground-nesting hornets, can nest in hidden holes in the ground on your property.
Many of these insects look very similar to one another, but a pest control specialist will quickly be able to identify what’s bugging you and will quickly develop an effective course of action.
Whether your bees, wasps or hornets are living inside or outside, it is imperative that you get them removed immediately by a professional. It’s not a good idea to try to remove or destroy a stinging insect nest independently. Methods vary based on species, so a pest control specialist will best know how to handle the situation for you once they determine what kind of stinging insect you are experiencing.
Termites
Termites are small insects that live in large colonies and that survive by eating the cellulose found in dead plant material, like wood or leaves. They are of no direct danger to humans but they can do a great deal of damage on a home when they move in. It is estimated that termites cause more than five billion dollars of property damage in the United States every year.
Often, a homeowner isn’t even aware of termites’ presence until they can see visible damage – such as a hole in a wall or even a support beam collapsing – and by then the infestation is immense. Clearly, this can cause structural danger and damage that may be difficult if not impossible to repair.
There are signs that can help you to identify a termite infestation in your home. One common indicator is the construction of thin, mud tunnels running up your walls indoors or outdoors. Termites build these tunnels to help them get from place to place without exposure to light or danger. Also, sagging floors and hollow sounding walls are also signs of these insects and their destruction.
In order to rid a house of termites, the main nest and colony must be found and destroyed, and this can be difficult. Also, juvenile termites have wings and can swarm and fly elsewhere to start their own colonies. When it comes to termites, its best to call a professional before an infestation gets out of control.
Bed Bugs
Bedbugs are easy to identify. Although they are small, they have a very distinct round, flat shape and they can be spotted easily against a white background like a sheet or a mattress cover. Further, bed bugs can often be discovered and identified based on the rash-like bites they leave on human skin.
No one wants to deal with bed bugs; in fact, your skin may crawl a bit just thinking about them. High heat, like a clothes dryer, usually works to kill them off, but you need to be sure that you get every single one in your home. It’s best to call a bed bug control specialist for a complete application of heat and other pest control strategies throughout your home to ensure complete extermination.
Mosquitoes
There are mosquitoes in most parts of the USA, but they are especially prevalent in the southern states including Tennessee. In the summertime, it’s difficult to enjoy the outdoors without being bothered by these blood-sucking pests. They buzz in our ears, make us itch, and worst of all, they can carry and spread blood-borne diseases that can get us sick.
Mosquitoes can usually be identified with little difficulty as everyone has experienced a mosquito bite in their lifetime. There are many pest control strategies that can be applied to reduce the number of mosquitoes in your yard. One of our pest control specialists can certainly help you with this, and you can go back to enjoying your property all summer long.
Spiders
A few spiders in your home can be beneficial because they eat other bugs, but if you start to see many in a short period of time things may start to get creepy fast. Many people fear spiders and do not want them in their house at all. And, there are two venomous spiders in Tennessee to be aware of: the brown recluse and the black widow, both of which do enjoy hiding in people’s homes.
If you have more spiders than you would like in your house, it’s likely that a spider laid eggs and new spiders were born. Because spiders can live up to two years and will lay eggs of their own several times during their lifespan, you will definitely want to get ahead of this problem with the help of a professional.
Spiders are sometimes easy to identify, but many species look similar. To determine what type of spiders you have in your home, a pest control professional will be able to give you the most accurate identification.
Cockroaches
No one wants roaches in their home, but sometimes it just happens. Although many people equate roaches with filth, your house can be very clean and you still may have roaches. They can get into your home in a number of accidental, unintentional ways, such as by hiding in the bottom of a cardboard box from the store, or by jumping into your bag or suitcase when you are traveling somewhere.
Once roaches enter your home, they lay eggs and reproduce – fast and frequently.
Most people know a cockroach when they see one; if you see roaches crawling around in broad daylight, then you already have a growing roach problem. You must move fast to get it taken care of, or it will just get worse. Call us for roach control and we’ll provide an assessment and swift action to remedy the problem so you can return to feeling comfortable in your own home.
We’re Here to Help
No matter what creature you have in your home that you wish to evict or eradicate, we are here to help you. If you cannot even identify your specific trespasser independently, but know that you have something else living in your house, one of our pest control specialists can quickly identify it for you. Once it’s identified, we can take care of it for you, and also help you to strategize to ensure that they will never return.
Please contact us today. We’re here to help.
