Apr 25, 2024 | Florida Pest Control
Rats are practically year-round creatures in Florida, seeking your home for a warm place to nest and find a food source. Once these rodents find their way inside your home, they will reproduce quickly, making it difficult to remove them. Here is what attracts rats to your home and easy prevention tips to avoid a future infestation!
What Attracts Rats To Your Home
Dirty & Cluttered Home
Rats are attracted to homes that are both dirty and cluttered. These wildlife creatures look for leftover food crumbs and spills for their food source. Likewise, rats tend to utilize piles of old newspapers or cardboard boxes to create a nest and hide out.
Easy Access Inside
Rats can enter homes through a gap or hole the size of a quarter! If any openings are found, they’ll use it to their advantage to make their way inside your home. You can often find these openings around your foundation, doors, and windows.
Cluttered Yard
Your yard is the first line of defense for avoiding rodents but there could be factors attracting them right onto your property. Leaf piles and deep mulch are the perfect materials for rats nesting sites. Likewise, dirty outdoor grills and open garbage cans can be an invitation for rats to scavenge and find a food source.
Available Water Source
Rats need water to survive and will look for any source available in and around your home. If there is a constant supply of water dripping from your pipes, that’s enough for rats to move into your home. Common areas where rats find water include leaky bathroom faucets, pipes in your basement, hose faucets, and even HVAC systems.
Access to Food
One of the biggest rat attractions is any available food source. Leftover crumbs, drink spills, and open food containers in your pantry will all attract rats into your home. Rats are not picky eaters and are attracted to all kinds of food, including meats, vegetables, fruit, and more.
Preventing Rats from Your Florida Home
Having a rat infestation can be alarming, not only because of the damage they can cause but also the diseases they can spread. One of the best ways to keep rats from entering your property is to place the preventative measures to deter them in the first place. Consider these tips and tricks to avoid rats:
- Empty your garbage on a regular basis and always use a tight-fitting lid or lock it.
- After each meal, make sure to clean up food crumbs and drink spills. Don’t forget to wipe your countertops and stovetops of food too.
- Avoid leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight; instead, wash, dry, and put them away.
- Repair windows and doors, making sure there are no open gaps, holes, and loose or broken seals.
- If you have pets, consider storing their food in plastic containers with a lid instead of the bag it comes in; always bring in your outside pet food and water bowls at night.
- Check your exterior home for any cracks or gaps that rats could fit into, seal these openings as soon as possible.
- Reduce all standing water on your property by fixing leaky pipes and eliminating moisture in your crawlspace through encapsulation.
- Maintain your yard by keeping your grass mowed, trimming back shrubbery, and removing debris.
If you’ve noticed rodent activity at your property or would like to start rodent control now, it’s best to call a pest control company near you. These professionals can provide you with a thorough inspection, rodent identification, and a rodent treatment and removal plan based on your needs.
Apr 18, 2024 | Florida Pest Control
Florida is no stranger to dealing with stinging pests! These insects can become a real nuisance to your Bonita Springs property once they have invaded your yard and can pose a health risk to your family. Let’s review some common stinging pests in Florida and how you can avoid them on your property.
Common Stinging Pests in Florida
- Hornets: Large and can be aggressive, hornets can pack a powerful sting! These pests build large paper nests in hollow trees, bushes, and attics. Hornets are attracted to light and will often fly into windows at night, infesting the inside of your home. Hornets do not hesitate to sting if they feel threatened.
- Wasps: These pests will build their nests on branches, porch ceilings, eaves, and attic rafters. If wasps feel threatened, they will sting multiple times and call on reinforcements by emitting pheromones.
- Yellowjackets: These stinging insects tend to nest in the ground and inside wall voids, where their colonies can number up to 4,000! Yellowjackets are territorial and will sting humans, often causing allergic reactions.
- Fire Ants: These pests are small but known for their painful sting. Fire ants will build large mounds in lawns, gardens, and even HVAC systems! If a fire ant stings you, it can be painful and often result in a raised welt.
Preventing Stinging Pests
Stinging pests are most active during summer and early fall, so it’s crucial to start placing preventative measures throughout your property to avoid their infestation! Check our tips and tricks on avoiding stinging insects:
- Keep your garbage cans covered with a tightly sealed lid.
- Thoroughly inspect the exterior of your home for any openings or gaps in your screens, doors, and windows; fix any openings as soon as possible.
- At night, keep your doors and windows shut and turn your outside lights off.
- Sweet smelling perfumes or cologne can attract stinging pests, so it’s best to avoid wearing them when you’ll be outdoors for long periods of time.
- When eating food outside, make sure to place it in sealed containers and clean up any trash, spills, and crumbs after you have eaten.
If you happen to be stung by a stinging insect, it’s best to seek medical attention immediately. Likewise, if you’ve seen an influx of stinging pests on your property, it’s best to contact a pest control company near you. Removing nests can be extremely dangerous, so it’s best to leave it to the professionals who will safely remove the nest and provide you with recommendations on preventing these common stinging pests in the future.
Mar 26, 2024 | Florida Pest Control
Cockroaches are one of the most common household pests that Florida residents will deal with. While these pests won’t cause structural damage, they can be a health risk to you and your family as they will transmit diseases and contaminate food. Spotting a roach inside your home doesn’t always mean your home is dirty, as roaches can easily get into the cleanest of homes to look for food, water, and shelter. One question homeowners often ask is “How can I stop roaches?” One of the best ways you can prevent them from entering your home is to understand how they can get inside in the first place and familiarize yourself with the cockroach prevention tips that you can utilize.
How Do Roaches Get Inside?
Roaches can be extremely resourceful when trying to enter homes. These small insects will flatten themselves to be able to crawl through the smallest holes and cracks leading inside a building, including openings around your foundation and utility pipes leading inside the home. Likewise, they will squeeze through any available openings around doors and windows, whether it’s gaps or if it’s been open too long. Roaches are known to hitchhike and lay their eggs on certain items to get inside the home, including luggage, backpacks, used furniture, used appliances, and packages.
How Can I Stop Roaches?
One of the best ways you can stop roaches is to create an environment they aren’t attracted to that will deter them away. Check out our common roach preventative tips to consider:
- Identifying where roaches are getting in is the first step in preventing them. If you’ve seen these pests in a certain area of your home, like the kitchen, it is likely that is where they are entering from. Inspect both the inside and outside of these areas, sealing any cracks or crevices you find with caulk.
- Consider placing sticky roach traps in the areas where their activity is the highest, as it can be closer to the nest and closer to where they are entering.
- Use weatherstripping on doors and windows.
- Before you bring in any items, inspect them for roaches, such as packages or used furniture.
- Roaches love to nest in clutter so it is crucial to clean out piles of old newspapers and magazines, cardboard boxes, and paper bags.
- After cooking or eating meals, clean up any spills or food crumbs from dining tables, countertops, stovetops, microwaves, and floors.
- Check for leaky faucets and repair them as soon as possible.
- Consider having your exterior lighting on motion sensors to reduce roach activity.
- Sweep and vacuum behind larger appliances and get rid of any food stuck in the bottom of your dishwasher.
Cockroaches are extremely resilient and once an infestation occurs, they can grow overnight! If you’ve noticed one too many roaches than you are comfortable with, contact a pest control company near you for a free evaluation and the recommended pest control treatment and prevention plan based on your current pest situation.
Jan 24, 2024 | Florida Pest Control
Contamination, disease, and property destruction are all possible in your home if a rodent invades it! Rodents, including mice and rats, can be destructive creatures and once they’ve invaded your home, it can be difficult to remove them since they reproduce so quickly! One of the best ways to ensure these pests don’t enter your Florida home is taking the necessary precautions to avoid them in the first place. We break down the types of rodents to be cautious of and our best do-it-yourself rodent prevention tips to keep rodents out of your Sunrise home.
Types of Florida Rodents
- House Mouse: Preferring dark, secluded areas in your home, these rodents are found in crawlspaces, basements, and attics. Mice adapt quickly to our human environments, seeking out food and water for survival. These rodents are also skilled climbers and can jump a foot high to reach isolated areas!
- Roof Rats: With their padded feet, roof rats will climb into our homes at the highest points, including our attics, eaves, and roof lines. These rodents typically live in colonies and stick together once they’ve found a place to habitat.
- Norway Rats: One of the largest rodent species, Norway rats are nocturnal and will seek food sources at night, especially in your trash can. Once they’ve infested a home, they are known to gnaw on furniture, walls, plastic, lead pipes, and even electrical wires.
Preventing Rodents in Sunrise
Rodents are attracted to food, water, and available shelter, so it’s crucial to eliminate these factors from your property to avoid a rat and mouse infestation. Check out our DIY rodent prevention tips for your Florida property:
- Seal and repair windows and doors that are loose or have a broken seal.
- Utilize screens on doors and windows, especially for those that tend to be open.
- Inspect the exterior of your home for any cracks or gaps and seal them immediately.
- Avoid leaving your pet food and water bowls outside overnight and store pet food in plastic containers with lids.
- Repair any leaky pipes and eliminate excess moisture in your crawlspace; we recommend enclosing crawlspaces to moisture issues and help eliminate household pests.
- Keep your yard well-maintained by mowing your grass, trimming back shrubbery, and removing debris on a regular basis.
- If you store lumber on your yard, look to place it at least 20 feet from your home and elevated off the ground.
- Have a regular cleaning schedule that includes vacuuming, mopping, and sweeping.
If you suspect you have a rodent infestation or are interested in getting ahead of preventing them, call your local pest control company. Professionals will provide you with a thorough inspection, identification of the rodent, possible entry points, and a rodent control and prevention plan.
Jan 17, 2024 | Florida Pest Control
It’s always alarming spotting a roach in your home. These pests are highly adaptable and seek out human environments for a food and water source. Once they’ve infested your home, it can be difficult to control and eliminate them as they reproduce rapidly! The first step in preventing roaches is understanding the signs of cockroaches and the factors that could attract them into your Florida home.
Common Signs You Have Cockroaches
- Smear Marks: Roaches seek out areas with moisture, where they will produce dark, irregularly shaped spear marks as they rest or crawl along walls. You can find these smears where the wall and floor meet.
- Droppings or Egg Casings: Depending on the roach species, droppings will vary but you can often find them near floor corners, cabinets, under the fridge, and under the stove.
- Musky Odor: If there’s a large number of roaches that have infested a home, a strong musky odor may be present in your home. This smell can indicate live or dead roaches.
- Allergies: Roaches contain proteins known to trigger allergy symptoms, including a stuffy nose, wheezing red itching eyes, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and an increased use of inhalers.
- Live Roaches: An obvious sign that roaches have infested your home is actually seeing them present on your property. If you’re seeing them during the day, overcrowding from an infestation could force them out into open areas.
Common Roach Prevention for South Florida Homes
The best way to avoid roaches from entering your Sanibel property is placing preventative measures throughout! Check out our tips on preventing cockroaches:
- Seal gaps and openings including in walls, around electrical sockets, around doors and windows, and along your foundation with silicone-based caulk or steel wool.
- Keep counters, sinks, floors, and tables clean of drink spills and food crumbs.
- Vacuum on a frequent basis; we recommend at least once a week!
- Don’t leave pet food outside overnight, instead bring it indoors and store your pet food in a plastic container with a tight lid.
- Consider enclosing your crawlspace to help reduce moisture and prevent household pests like roaches, mice, termites, and more.
If you’ve noticed the above signs of cockroaches, it’s best to call your local Florida pest control provider. These professionals will identify the type of roach, any entry points, and the best treatment and ongoing prevention for your home.
Dec 28, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean
pests can’t invade your home! Unfortunately, there are several overwintering pests looking to your home to provide them with food, shelter, and water. Let’s breakdown the most common winter pests to lookout for at your Florida property.
Roaches
Cockroaches are common household pests seeking a warm environment to provide them with food and water. These pests can pose a serious health risk to humans as they transmit diseases and trigger allergies and asthma. Roaches will utilize any small hole, gap, or cervices to enter your home. They are also known to hitch a ride inside grocery bags, boxes, and used appliances.
Rodents
Rodents, including rats and mice, are year-round pests but they can become a major problem as the winter season approaches. Rodents will seek out warmth, food, shelter, and water inside our homes, squeezing through small holes and gaps to get inside. Mice and rats can cause damage to our homes and be a health risk to humans as they are known to chew through insulation, wiring, wood, and contaminate surfaces through their droppings.
Silverfish
These pests will look to your basements and bathrooms to seek a damp, cold place to live in. While silverfish are harmless to humans, they can invade in numbers, and cause them to be a major nuisance to remove them. These pests will often gain access to your home by hitching a ride through the items you’ve taken out of storage in your garage or attic. Silverfish will also feed on your books, glue, wallpaper, and boxes.
Preventing Winter Pests in Florida
It might seem impossible to deter wildlife creatures from your home during the winter but by placing certain preventative measures throughout your property, you can avoid their infestation! Check out these winter pest control tips when you want to keep these pests away:
- Inspect the exterior of your home for any cracks, gaps, and holes, seal them as soon as possible.
- Avoid leaving your pet food and water out overnight.
- Fix any leaky faucets or pipes found as soon as possible.
- Take your garbage out on a regular basis and utilize a trashcan with a tightly secure lid.
- Declutter your home by removing old newspapers, mail, and cardboard laying around your home.
- If you’re using mulch in your landscaping, place it at least 1 foot from your foundation.
- Consider reaching out to your local pest control company to get a customized plan to prevent pests from invading your home.
Dec 26, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
Purchasing and owning a home brings a sense of pride and responsibility for many Florida homeowners. A home is not only an investment but it’s the place where you can raise your family, so it’s crucial to keep it protected. Having a routine pest control service can bring several benefits to your property and family. Here are 5 reasons to consider it.
5 Benefits to Routine Pest Control Services
- Stops Pest Infestations Early: Professional pest control technicians can identify potential pest problems before they become a full-blown infestation! Once identified, your pest professional will place preventative measures to help keep pests from returning. Likewise, they can give you advice on how to seal entry points, repair problematic areas, and reduce pest attractants around your home.
- Benefits Your Health: Pests, like roaches, can trigger allergies and asthma, while mice are known to contaminate food and surfaces through your home. Routine pest control will help correct these unhealthy conditions.
- Promoted Healthy Environment: Your pest professional will identify moisture issues, leaks, cracks in the foundation, openings around doors or windows, and crawlspace issues. All these issues can lead to water damage utility bills, stress on your HVAC systems, and structural damage. A routine pest service will help identify these issues early so you can repair them sooner.
- Decrease Pest Costs: Catching pest issues early will save you money in the long run. It can be costly to treat a pest infestation, especially if they’ve created considerable damage to your home needing expensive repairs. With a routine pest service, catching the damage early will save you thousands of dollars in the future.
- Scheduled Visits: Ongoing, scheduled visits are included in a routine pest service, saving you time to call around to find help at the last minute for a pest issue. These visits will also guarantee you priority if an unexpected infestation occurs between your regularly scheduled visits.
If you’re interested in recurring pest control services, contact your local South Florida pest control company for more information and a free inspection.
Dec 21, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
Florida has a unique climate compared to the rest of the southeast, especially in the winter months. Due to the humidity and active pests this time of year, effectively storing your holiday decorations to prevent a pest infestation can require a bit more strategy. Let’s go over the best ways to store holiday decorations pest-free, year-round!
Moisture-Resistant Containers
Opting for moisture-resistant plastic containers with tight sealing lids makes it easier to create a protective barrier against the damp Florida air. This not only guards your decorations against moisture-related damage, but also helps to deter pests attracted to humid environments.
No More Cardboard
Cardboard is susceptible to moisture damage and is an attractant for certain pests. The material is easy to chew through for cockroaches and silverfish, making it a not-so-great option for storing items year-round. Utilizing plastic storage containers is a great way to discourage pests from taking over your décor.
Throw Away Edible Décor
Items like gingerbread houses or even candy canes should be discarded after the holiday season ends. It’s better to remake or repurchase the food-based decorations yearly.
Use Shelving Units
If you are storing boxes in your basement or garage, utilize a shelving unit to place boxes on. When boxes are stacked on the ground or piled up, they can become ideal hiding spots for pests or rodents. Using shelves will keep these boxes off the ground, limiting the chance for them to become an unwanted pest’s home.
Use these tips to store holiday decorations and preserve the holiday spirit in your Florida home! If you notice more pests than normal in your storage space, contact your local pest control company for a customized pest plan and enjoy a pest-free holiday!
Dec 7, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
As the holiday season approaches, most of us are gearing up to host dinners and celebrations with friends and family. While preparing for your guests, the last thing you want to deal with is a pest infestation! Spiders, roaches, rodents, and more household pests are looking to your home for food, water, and shelter. Before you break out your holiday decorations, check out our pest prevention tips for holiday pest control!
Inspect Your Decorations
If your South Florida home has an attic, basement, or a garage, it’s likely you’re storing your holiday decorations in them. While these areas can be a great way to store items, they are also dark and secluded, making it the perfect place for pests to invade. Pests, like rats and mice, will crawl into your holiday storage boxes you put away last year, destroying and contaminating them!
Before you bring down your holiday decorations, make sure to inspect and unpack them outside of your home. After the holiday season is over, pack certain decorations, like potpourri, foliage, and Indian corn in airtight containers to help prevent a pest infestation next year.
Check Your Trees & Wreaths
If celebrating Christmas, many families tend to buy an authentic Christmas tree and wreath. Unfortunately, these items can carry pests like spiders, moths, mites, and even squirrels! To prevent these pests from hitchhiking their way into your home, inspect both items outside and shake them to ensure they aren’t hiding in them. Likewise, before buying the items, check to see if they contain any droppings, gnawing marks, and other damage before bringing them inside.
Keep Your Home Tidy
Pests love clutter and with extra guests in your home, trash and clutter can add up. It’s important to keep your home tidy and clean as much as possible. After each meal, clean up any crumbs and spills in your dining room and kitchen areas. Don’t forget to take the trash out every night and place it in a trash container with a tightly sealed lid. If you know you will have extra food supplies, look to store them in an air-tight container and place it in your pantry or refrigerator.
Call Your Local Pest Control Company
If you’ve noticed more pests than you’re comfortable with before your guests arrive, consider calling your local South Florida pest control company. These professionals will be able to inspect your home, identify the pest and entry points, and recommend the best pest control and prevention plan to avoid holiday pests in the future!
