Pest Library

One of the most common indoor pests to find their way into Dayton homes is the ant. Ants are scavengers and eat almost anything; in fact, the promise of food is the thing most often attracts ants to our indoor and outdoor spaces. Ants are social and live together in large groups. The ability of these insects to easily adapt and communicate with each other is what helps them be so successful and makes them so difficult to control and prevent.

Many different types of ants live in our region; most are nuisance pests and, though unwelcome in our homes, don’t pose significant problems. However, there are dangerous ants in the United States. Dangerous ants do things like spread illness, bite or cause structural damage. Accurately identifying the type of ant on your property is key to successfully eliminating them. If ants have become a problem on your property, please get in touch with us for the best ant control services in Dayton.

To prevent problems with ants, we always suggest removing as many food odors as possible and limiting their access to food. Ants are scavengers and constantly searching for food. Keep lids on trash cans and recycling bins and pick up uneaten pet food. Indoor and outdoor eating and cooking areas should be clean and free of food debris. It is also essential to properly store your family’s food; keep perishables in the fridge and dry goods in solid, airtight containers.

Carpenter ants received their name because they are the carpenters of the ant world. These ants tunnel through and build nesting galleries within trees and pieces of wood. Carpenter ants have high moisture needs and prefer to nest within decaying or water-damaged wood. When carpenter ants decide to nest within our houses, they can cause costly damage to their structures.

Carpenter ants are among the largest ants to invade structures in the United States, with adults ranging in size from ¼ to ½ an inch. These ants thrive in urban and rural areas meaning any home is susceptible to a carpenter ant infestation. In addition to tunneling through your home’s structural wood, carpenter ants traveling in and out of your home will contaminate surfaces and food they come into contact with while searching for food.

The following prevention tips will help you to keep these tiny carpenters out of your home.

• Remove decaying trees and wooden structures from your property. 
• Seal up cracks and crevices in your home’s exterior.
• Never stack firewood piles near your house.
• Eliminate food odors by keeping lids on trash cans, washing dirty dishes, and picking up uneaten pet food. 

For help with carpenter ant control in Dayton, call now!

Like carpenter ants, carpenter bees create their nests inside pieces of wood. The carpenter bee is a solitary stinging insect. Though females make their own nests, they can cause significant damage by returning to the same area every year. In addition, woodpeckers love to eat carpenter bee larvae and will peck at and damage the wood further as they try to access the larvae.

Female carpenter bees are docile; though they can sting, they aren’t a serious threat. Males are aggressive but cannot sting and are all bark and no bite! Like other stinging insects, carpenter bees are vital to the ecosystem. They only become pests when they decide to nest on and cause damage to our properties. Older or untreated wood is most susceptible to carpenter bee damage.

To make the exterior of your home less susceptible to carpenter bee damage, we want to provide you with some helpful prevention tips.

• Stain, paint, or otherwise treat any wood on your home or wooden structures on your property.
• Caulk holes and cracks you discover in your home’s exterior.
• Remove older or decaying wooden structures from your property. 

Get rid of carpenter bees professionally; call today for more information!

While we would all like to think that there is no way that cockroaches will find their way into our homes, the unfortunate truth is that these insects are equal-opportunity invaders. Cockroaches could infest any of our Dayton, OH, homes. Roaches thrive in human structures that offer them a warm, humid environment and easy access to food, making our homes and businesses prime targets for these pests.

There are several different types of cockroaches in our region; what they all have in common is that they spread bacteria, human pathogens, and parasites. Cockroaches in our homes also contaminate food, stain surfaces with excrement, and produce foul odors. Entering our homes on their own through any openings they discover or moving inside undetected storage boxes, secondhand items, or deliveries makes preventing cockroach infestations challenging.

Cockroaches are a threat to people and our Dayton homes. Doing the following things will help you to keep these pests out of your house:

• Inspect your home’s exterior and seal any cracks or gaps you discover.
• Eliminate moisture in and around your home.
• Inspect deliveries, storage boxes, and secondhand items for cockroaches before bringing them inside.
• Maintain a clean kitchen, practice proper food storage, and regularly vacuum and mop your home.

Please call us today for the most effective cockroach pest control in Dayton!

Fleas are wingless, blood-feeding insects. While they will bite and feed on human blood, their preferred hosts are dogs, cats, rodents, raccoons, skunks, and other wild animals. Fleas spend their adult lives on the backs of their animal hosts and move wherever they take them, including into our Ohio yards and homes. Fleas are prolific breeders and create large-scale infestations in indoor and outdoor spaces in the blink of an eye.

The tick is another blood-feeding pest. Ticks are arachnids and, like fleas, feed on various hosts, including people, pets, and wild animals. Ticks are primarily outdoor pests and, when ready to feed, crawl to the top of a blade of grass or another type of vegetation. When people or animals brush past them, they crawl onto their bodies, attach themselves, and feed. Once full, they drop to the ground and repeat the process once they are ready for a new meal. Both ticks and fleas travel to different places via their hosts. Unlike fleas, most ticks cannot complete their life cycles indoors and are primarily outdoor pests.

Both fleas and ticks pose health risks to people and animals, making controlling their numbers important. Making your yard unattractive to wild animal hosts can go a long way in curbing flea and tick infestations. Keep your grass cut short and remove yard debris and clutter. Eliminate foraging sites by keeping lids on trash cans and recycling bins and removing bird and other wild animal feeders. It is also important to maintain and regularly harvest gardens.

Pests can fly, jump, and crawl into our homes. Pest infestations are a year-round concern as our Dayton homes offer pests a temperature-controlled environment, safe nesting sites, food, and water. When it comes to pests, it is best to be proactive and implement a home pest control plan to stop them before they can wreak havoc in your house.

Pests are more than just a nuisance in our homes; they create health risks, destroy personal property, and can damage the structure of your house. It can be so difficult to keep pests out of our homes because there are so many ways they can get in. Many will hitchhike inside on you, your belongings, or construction materials. Others enter on their own, moving inside through cracks in the foundation, torn screens, chimneys, vents, and gaps under doors or around light fixtures.

In addition to professional pest control, doing the following things can help secure your home and keep pests out:

• Use silicone to seal cracks in the foundation.
• Install door sweeps.
• Place weatherstripping around windows and doors. 
• Make sure screens are intact and fit tight.
• Place appropriate covers over vents and chimneys.

For more information about residential and commercial pest control in Dayton, please call us; we are here to help you maintain a pest-free home!

The hornet is a stinging insect. We identify hornets by their hairless bodies and thin waists. They are essential predators; their feeding habits help control insect populations. These stinging insects aren’t overly aggressive but will sting to defend themselves or their nests. Like other stinging insects, their venom is potent enough to trigger severe allergic reactions in people allergic to their venom.

The two things that draw hornets to our properties are regular food supplies and suitable nesting sites. Hornets typically like to nest up off the ground; some of their most common nesting sites include:

• Tree branches
• Within large shrubs
• Roof eaves
• The undersides of decks or porch railings

Hornet nests look like a paper ball; if you spot what you think is a hornet’s nest on your property, stay away from it and call for professional help.

Hornets and other outdoor pests are difficult to control and keep away from our yards. The best way to quickly resolve problems with hornets and prevent future issues with them is with the help of a professional. Scheduling regular pest control services throughout the year will keep hornets and other pests from making your property home. For more information about our hornet control offerings, contact us now.

Spiders are pests that are hard to misidentify. They have two body segments, eight legs, many eyes, and a lack of wings and antennae. They are also the pest we regularly spot scurrying through our homes or that build the unsightly webs we are constantly dusting away.

As a predatory species, spiders are a vital part of the ecosystem, feeding on and helping to control insect populations. Having spiders in your gardens or your yard isn’t bad and helps keep nuisance and dangerous insects in check. The problem with spiders is when they follow their insect prey indoors. Spiders and their insect prey don’t belong sharing our homes. Regular pest control services are the best way to keep spiders and the insects that attract them at bay.

To help prevent finding the common types of spiders that live in Ohio inside your home, make it as difficult as possible for them to wander inside. You can use silicone caulk to seal cracks in the foundation and repair damage to your siding and roof. Place mesh covers over vents and chimneys. Inspect your windows and doors, repair damaged screens, and make sure weatherstripping and door sweeps are intact.

Termites are one of the most destructive pests that will enter our homes. The diet of these insects consists of the cellulose found in wood and other organic matter. The most common type of termite in our region has high moisture needs. Damp soil, decaying trees, woodpiles, and water-damaged structural wood attract termites to our Dayton, OH, properties.

While termites aren’t a significant threat to people, their presence substantially threatens our homes’ structures and bank accounts. Termites enter our homes largely unnoticed and can feed on structural wood for months or even years before you might notice the infestation. Termites are responsible for causing billions of dollars in damages across the country each year. Unfortunately, homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover the damage termites cause, so the cost of repairs is left up to you. Partnering with a professional is the best way to eliminate termites and guard your home against them in the future.

Use the following tips to avoid a termite problem in your Ohio home:

• Check your foundation and seal any cracks or defects you discover.
• Limit as much wood to soil contact on your property as possible.
• Cut back shrubs and bushes from your home’s exterior to keep the soil dry.
• Use dehumidifiers to reduce humidity levels in your home.
• Remove water-damaged wood from in and on your house.

Don’t wait another day for termite control in Dayton; call today!