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Centipedes are arthropods that will often make their way into your home. Although centipede means “100 legs,” not every centipede actually has that many. Most centipedes prefer dark, damp spaces and are commonly found outdoors under rocks, logs, or piles of leaves. Other species can be found in your home. Here are 5 of the most common type of centipedes you may come across in our area.
House centipedes are found throughout North America and even in Hawaii. They can grow to be 1-1/2″ long and have 15 pairs of legs. Their bodies are yellowish-gray in color with 3 stripes on their backs. They have long antennae. House centipedes are usually found in dark areas of your home, like the basement. They are usually harmless, but will bite you if they are handled. They are quite beneficial to have around as they will eat roaches, moths, termites, and other household pests.
The Eastern Red centipede is found across the East Coast. These centipedes grow to about 2-1/2″ long. Their bodies are red or orange in color with lighter orange legs. They like moisture and will burrow under wet leaves, logs, compost piles, and woodpiles. They are venomous with a very painful bite.
The Eastern Bark centipede can be found in the Eastern United States and Canada westward to the Rocky Mountains. They can grow up to 3″ long. These centipedes vary in color, ranging from solid orange-brown to dark brown. Some species also have an olive colored stripe on their back. Their heads are brownish-red and their antennae and legs are yellow. These centipedes are nocturnal and live under rocks and logs. They are venomous and will bite.
The diamondback soil centipede will grow up to 2″ in length. They have light brown bodies with dark brown diamonds on their backs. They are found throughout North America, typically in gardens rather than inside the home. They live under debris and will burrow into the soil. They don’t have eyes and don’t bite. They secrete a poisonous substance from the underside of their bodies in an attempt to ward off predators but they are not considered a threat to humans.
Brown centipedes originated in Europe (where they are quite common) but can now be found on the Eastern seaboard of the United States. They grow to about 1″ in length. They have brown bodies, long antennae, and long tails. They hunt at night and can often be found in dark areas of the home, such as the basement. They do have venomous fangs but they are so small that they do not pose any threat to humans. In fact, they are beneficial to have around because they eat other household pests.
Centipedes and millipedes are two common household pests that are often mistaken for each other. How can you tell them apart? How can you tell if they’ve infested your home? Learn the difference between centipedes and millipedes, along with tips to prevent both of them from taking over your home.
Centipedes have elongated, flat, segmented bodies with 1 pair of legs per segment. They can have anywhere from 15 to 177 pairs of legs. They have long antennae on their heads, as well. They can come in a variety of colors but the most common species are either brown or reddish-orange. These pests are attracted to damp, dark areas like basements, bathrooms, and closets.
Centipedes are nocturnal and can move very fast, making them hard to spot by homeowners. In fact, the only real sign of centipedes in your home is spotting live pests.
Millipedes have long, cylindrical bodies with 2 rows of legs on their bodies and 1 row of legs on the front of their bodies. They grow to about 1 to 2 inches in length. These pests will curl into a ball when touched or threatened. They prefer dark, damp spaces and are often found under wood piles, under rocks, and under trashcans. When they come indoors, they can often be found in attics, basements, sheds, and crawlspaces. These pests eat damp and decaying wood particles and plants.
Millipedes are also nocturnal so spotting them can be difficult. Signs of millipedes include seeing live pests in your home and signs of structural damage. These pests will eat damp or decaying wood so look out for damage to firewood, cardboard boxes, etc.
Although centipedes and millipedes don’t pose a significant threat to humans or homes, they can be a nuisance to have around. Routine pest control can help keep these, and other common household pests, from taking over your home. Contact your local pest control company for an inspection.
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Whether inside or outside, flies can be a huge annoyance. These small pests seem to find their way back into your space after you’ve already swatted them away multiple times! At a glance, you might be able to tell what kind of fly it really is, but they can all look the same. Each type of fly has its own set of characteristics. Let’s break down the common flies you might see in your Jasper, Alabama home.
Being the most common out of all the flies, this easily identifiable pest is widespread throughout the United States. House flies can be spotted with red eyes and gray, hairy bodies. These types of flies don’t have teeth or stingers, so they feed off liquids found from human food, animal carcasses, and garbage.
While they can’t sting humans, they can spread more than 100 different pathogens including salmonellosis, typhoid, and tuberculosis. They also contaminate food surfaces by spreading diseases picked up on their legs and mouths when feeding on any trash or feces.
These oval-shaped insects are known for rapidly reproducing and can be found indoors year-round. Fruit flies are attracted to and eat rotting food; more specifically they tend to gravitate towards fruits and vegetables. They are known to breed in dark, moist areas like drains, disposals, and trashcans. They also lay around 500 eggs that can hatch in as little as 24 hours.
These pests also don’t sting or bite, but they can contaminate foods with dangerous bacteria and disease-causing pathogens.
These moth-like flies are commonly found in dark, damp conditions, like drains. Drain flies don’t bite, but their presence can aggravate asthma in some people. These household pests appear light gray to tan with a dark border around their wings.
If you have an infestation of any species of fly in your Jasper, Alabama home, then contact your local pest control company to discover a treatment and prevention plan best for you!
Ranging from 12 to 19 mm in size, silverfish are household pests that are attracted to dark, damp areas. They range in colors including white, brown-grey, and bluish-silver. Silverfish are wingless with a flat appearance and 3 thread-like tails. Their size and shape allow them to hide in small spaces.
They feed on starch and sugar and find a lot of these options in your home. You can find them eating paste from book bindings, photos, clothing, bedding, curtains, old papers, wallpaper paste, shampoo, dead insects, pasta, flour, cereal, and other common starches. Because of this they are typically found in kitchens and pantries.
Beyond the kitchen, they can be found in bathrooms, basements, attics, and laundry rooms, which provide dark, damp spaces. They usually find their way indoors when the weather begins to get warmer and drier or when there is excessive rainfall.
Their jaws aren’t strong enough to pierce human skin, but they are fast and can usually escape predators fairly quickly. They will cause damage to your home by chewing fabrics, contaminating food they are eating, and triggering allergies.
Common signs of silverfish include:
If you notice an increase in silverfish in your Georgia home, contact your local pest control company for a thorough evaluation.
American cockroaches are a major household pest. Also known as water bugs and palmetto bugs, these pests are the largest of the cockroaches that infest homes. American cockroaches will make their way indoors in search of food and water. Their diet consists of leaves, wood particles, algae, fungi, small insects, food scraps, crumbs, and pet food. They can spread diseases and contaminate any surfaces they touch. They are also known to cause allergies and trigger asthma. These roaches will pick up germs on their legs and spread them to any surfaces they touch. They are known carriers of pathogens that cause diarrhea, cholera, leprosy, dysentery, plague, typhoid fever, and several viruses like poliomyelitis.
The first step in cockroach prevention is identifying the type of cockroach you are dealing with. Once that is determined, you can implement our favorite prevention tips to keep them from infesting your home.
American roaches are reddish-in color with a yellow band on the back of their heads. They range in size from 1-1/4″ to 2-1/8″ long, with some even reaching lengths of 3″. They have oval shaped bodies with 6 legs and a set of antennae. Despite their name, these cockroaches are found worldwide. Males and females both have wings and they can fly short distances. They can bite, but they rarely do. They normally live outdoors but will come inside looking for food and water. Outdoors they are commonly found in flower beds, trees, and under rocks. They are also commonly found in sewer systems. Inside the home they can be found in laundry rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and crawlspaces.
Learning how to spot signs of an roach infestation is critical to getting it under control. The most common sign is seeing the presence of cockroaches in your home. They will often flee to dark spaces when they’ve been discovered. They also leave behind droppings in the areas where they inhabit. These droppings have blunt ends and ridges on the sides and are often mistaken for mouse droppings. American cockroaches will also leave egg capsules behind. These are dark colored, about 8 mm long, and are often glued to surfaces near food sources. Finally, roaches emit a pheromone that gives off a musty odor. Smelling this in your home is another indication there is a cockroach infestation inside.
American roaches are highly resilient pests. They have evolved several adaptations over time that give them survival skills that make them difficult to eradicate. They can even survive up to a week without their heads! You can prevent cockroaches by:
If you have a problem with roaches in your home, contact your local pest control company who can identify what kind of roaches you have, how they are getting in, and the best treatment and ongoing prevention plan for your home.
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