Pests infest homes and businesses, damage or spoil goods, and can cause health problems such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, and salmonella.
Clutter provides hiding and breeding places for many pests. Sealing cracks and crevices can help keep them out. Contact Pest Control ST Charles MO now!
Identifying pests can help determine the type of control strategy needed. Monitoring can involve observing or trapping pests and checking weather conditions. Biological control uses natural enemies such as parasites, predators, or pathogens to reduce pest populations.
Ants
Ants are a fascinating part of nature, but they can be problematic when they invade homes or public spaces. Their complex social structures and organized behavior make them challenging to control.
When left alone in the wild, ants are beneficial insects that help to maintain healthy ecosystems. They are scavengers that clean up decaying animal matter, discarded food particles and other organic waste. Many species also disperse seeds and assist with plant propagation by storing and transporting them. They even prey on the eggs and larvae of bothersome pests, including flies, mosquitoes, silverfish, fleas, bed bugs, and cockroaches.
But indoors, ants can be a major nuisance, invading kitchens and dining areas, where they are often seen contaminating food. They are also known to cause damage to wood and other structural materials by chewing through them. Ants are tiny enough to nestle within cracks in walls and floors or in the smallest of voids in exterior foundations and wooden siding. Ants are also prone to invading lawns, gardens, and other outdoor spaces.
Beetles
Beetles make up about a quarter of the insect kingdom, but they’re not all pests. Rather, they’re an important part of the ecosystem because their bodies help to recycle plant and animal material. Some beetles, like the ladybugs that many gardeners use to control aphids, are predatory and help to break down insect pest populations in the garden.
Other beetles, such as the wood-boring bark beetle, can be destructive to homes and commercial buildings, particularly if left untreated. The larvae of these beetles chew holes through the side of wooden structures, weakening them and causing rot. They are also a common problem in gardens, where they can cause damage to vegetable roots.
The best way to prevent beetle infestations is to practice good sanitation and moisture control. A regular inspection of food, clothing, and furniture can help identify potential beetle problem areas. Practicing regular vacuuming, and applying a mixture of pyrethrum and isopropyl alcohol can help kill beetles that are infesting your home. If an infestation does occur, it’s a good idea to call a professional to come up with a treatment plan. This can include a series of traps that use a scent to lure beetles into them, and spraying the area with diatomaceous earth, which dehydrates and kills insects.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches, members of the Order Blattodea, are insects familiar to many people. They exist worldwide, and while their presence can be unsettling, cockroaches play an important ecological role, breaking down dead organic material and cycling nutrients.
While most cockroach species do not survive indoors, those that invade homes and apartments can be extremely difficult to control. This is because these pests do not require much to thrive in the human environment—food, water and shelter are readily available.
These omnivorous scavengers seek food sources in a wide variety of environments, including restaurants and home kitchens. They are also a source of irritation to some people, who may experience allergic or asthmatic symptoms from breathing in cockroach feces and skin particles.
Getting rid of a cockroach infestation requires thorough cleaning, particularly to remove food scraps and other attractants. This includes sweeping floors, wiping down counters and cabinets, and cleaning the gaps under large appliances like stoves and refrigerators. In addition, it is a good idea to seal the cracks and crevices where cockroaches enter the home. The appearance of cockroach droppings and/or fecal stains, a musty odor, and shed exoskeletons can all indicate a severe infestation that needs to be addressed.
Fleas
Fleas are tiny, wingless parasites that feed on blood of warm-blooded mammals (cats, dogs, squirrels, rats, mice, rabbits, hares, raccoons, skunks and other wild animals). They also bite humans causing itchy welts. They can also transmit pathogens such as the bacteria that cause plague and flea-borne typhus. They are a major nuisance for pets and humans and the source of internal parasites such as tapeworms.
Most flea infestations start with household pets (cats and dogs) that pick up the pests while spending time outdoors. They are then carried inside where they can reproduce and spread to other areas in the home. Other possible sources of fleas include rodents and raccoons that live in or around buildings, as well as feral cats that are common in some neighborhoods.
After a host animal (cat, dog, rat, squirrel, rabbit, hare or other wild animal) is infested with fleas, they lay eggs on the pet’s skin, fur and feathers where they will remain attached for up to 14 days while feeding and mating. The eggs then fall off into bedding, carpeting and other resting and activity areas where they will hatch into worm-like larvae. After a few weeks the larvae develop into pupae that are encased in silk cocoons.
Rodents
Rodents seek out shelter and food, and their presence can cause significant damage in our homes. They can also spread bacteria and germs that can make you and your family sick. Rodents are also reservoirs for zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted directly or indirectly, such as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and leptospirosis.
Rodents are opportunistic feeders and are attracted to any type of food, including vegetables, grains, meat, and fruits. Routine sanitation is vital to prevent rodent infestations. Store food in sealed containers and address any spills or crumbs promptly. Consider using one-way rodent-proof vents in your home’s plumbing, and keep garbage cans tightly closed.
The most common signs of rodent activity include droppings and gnaw marks. They can chew through a variety of materials, including insulation and weather-proofing products, wires, pipes, and food containers.
Rodents are highly adaptive and can adapt to new environments easily, making them difficult to control with traditional methods. Rodents may cause significant health risks and economic losses. Ecologically based rodent management (EBRM) integrates population dynamics with local ecological and sociocultural factors to optimize control strategies. This approach provides the best results when used in tandem with integrated pest management techniques.
Spiders
Spiders are natural predators of insects, reducing populations of mosquitoes, fleas, flies and other pests that carry diseases like malaria, dengue fever, typhoid fever and food-borne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella. These effective arachnid assassins help to control pests that can damage property and pose health risks for humans and pets.
Their low-maintenance lifestyles make spiders an ally for those who want to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides. Their lack of grooming means they have a reduced chance of ingesting toxic residues from treated surfaces and their hunting strategies reduce their exposure to chemical sprays.
Spiders also play an important role as natural ecosystem balancers. As prey to many pests, they provide vital nutrients to forests and gardens while preventing overpopulation of certain species. Some species, like the Black Widow and Brown Recluse, are venomous but their bites are rarely serious for most people.
Keeping pests at bay by removing their food source is one of the best ways to prevent spider infestations. Avoid storing firewood near the house, keep shrubs and plants far enough away from the home to allow sunlight to penetrate, and remove webs from patio furniture and decks. Also consider switching to yellow or sodium vapor bulbs for outdoor lighting, as these emit less light that attracts insect prey.
Wasps
Despite their scary appearance and painful stings, wasps play an important role in the natural world. In fact, some wasps prey on pest insects that damage crops and help reduce the need for chemical pesticides.
The papery nests you see hanging from trees or building eaves are regurgitated wood pulp mixed with wasp saliva. Many types of solitary wasps also lay their eggs in the nests of other insects or spiders to protect their offspring from predators. The larvae then paralyze and consume the other insect until it is completely dead.
Like other insects, wasps need water to survive. They are attracted to areas where there is moisture such as leaky pipes, puddles and condensation. Eliminating these sources of moisture can limit wasp activity around homes.
Wasps are extremely protective of their nests and may sting people who come in close contact with them. If you encounter a wasp’s nest, it is best to call in a pest control professional to minimize the risk of being stung. A pest control professional can use a commercially prepared, pressurized spray for wasps and hornets that will penetrate the nest and decompose it. Be sure to follow the product label directions carefully.