Pest Information

Ants
Ants can spoil more than a picnic. Some species can destroy wood buildings, and others can bite. Although ants play important roles in nature, they don't belong in people's homes. Fortunately, there are many simple steps you can take to resolve the problem once you know what kind of ant you are dealing with. Some ants eat wood. Others eat people's food, and some feed on decaying plants and other insects.

Bed Bugs
By nature, bed bugs are stow-a-ways. They enter homes or apartments by hiding out in the cracks and crevices of luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows, boxes and other objects when they are moved between apartments, homes and hotels. Bed bugs hide during the day and typically feed at night. Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding, so they may be present in vacant, clean homes when new tenants unpack. Once bed bugs are established, they rapidly reproduce and spread from room to room.
Bed bugs can be very difficult to control, even for trained professionals. Many insecticides are not effective at killing the eggs, so a repeat treatment is often necessary to kill the juveniles after they hatch. Alternative methods include heat and steam treatments, structural fumigations and cold treatments.

Fleas
In addition to the itchy bites, fleas can also transmit diseases and possibly affect you and your pet's health if they are not controlled. Fleas live and feed on the skin of animals all over the world. Fleas are small (1/13 - 1/8 inches long; 1-3 mm), wingless insects with flattened bodies that are dark brown. Their small flat bodies allow them to move through body hair where they bite and suck the blood of their host. Only adult fleas bite their hosts. Female fleas can lay 30-50 eggs per day on their host and many of the eggs can fall off of the pet and end up in the carpet, furniture, pet bedding, or other locations. They hatch into flea larvae in about a week. After feeding on dried blood left behind by the adults, the larvae spin a cocoon and change into adults. That is why it's important to focus on both the pet and the living environment when controlling fleas.

Mold
Molds produce tiny invisible spores as they reproduce that are found almost everywhere. Mold spores do not grow unless they find some moisture. If you have a mold problem in your home, you must also have a moisture problem. Finding and eliminating the moisture source is the key to controlling mold. Outside the home mold plays an important role in breaking down dead organic matter (such as leaves), thus mold spores are everywhere and there is no way to completely eliminate mold spores indoors or outdoors. In order for mold spores to grow, they need moisture, so controlling mold growth can be as simple as preventing moisture in your home.

Roaches
The sight of a cockroach running around in the kitchen cupboard may be familiar to some, but you don't have to live with them. Cockroaches can eat food items in your home, including crumbs trapped in cracks and spilled drinks. While they don't generally bite people, cockroaches shed, and their waste products can get into the air you breathe. Indoor cockroach infestations may cause allergy and asthma symptoms to get worse.

Rodents (Rats and Mice)
Rodents move indoors in search of food and optimal temperatures. Once inside, they can damage the structure of your home. Among the most destructive vertebrates in existence, mice and rats can chew through wood, plaster and electrical wiring. Rodents also pose serious health threats - transmitting disease-causing organisms through urine, droppings and bites. Rats can carry more than 40 disease-causing viruses and bacteria, including Hantavirus and salmonella. The house mouse is the primary carrier of an illness called Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus, or LCMV, which causes symptoms such as headache, fever, chills and muscle aches in people with poor immune systems. Rodents also have been known to bite, most commonly sleeping babies, inquisitive children or the bedridden elderly.

Spiders
Spiders are helpful outdoors because they eat many insect pests. Some spiders use webs to catch their prey, others chase and capture it. Most spiders are shy and harmless to humans. Although all spiders have venom, most cannot bite through human skin. However, a few can deliver very painful, poisonous bites, usually when cornered or agitated. If someone has been bitten by a spider, keep the person calm and seek medical assistance right away.

Termites
Termites are wood eaters and they can cause significant damage to homes and other wooden structures. There are three different types of termites: dry wood, subterranean, and damp wood. Because of their different habitats and behaviors, specific control measures are used for different types of termites.