In Pasadena, Texas we deal with a wide variety of pests. We’re fortunate enough to have warm weather for most of the year with a temperate winter. This beautiful weather also means we get pests because they can breed for the majority of the year. And during the winter months, when it gets a little cooler outside, they make their way indoors into your house or building if you run a business. This can then lead to a yearly cycle if the problem isn’t handled professionally.
That being said, I’m going to talk about common pests we have and give you some tips for keeping them out of your Pasadena home and business.
Rodents
Rodents are common not only in Texas but in almost all areas. The species vary depending on where you are but in general, it’s rats and mice. When it comes to keeping these pests out, you have to consider that they’re always in search of three things:
- Shelter
- Water
- Food
And if they can find these in or around your home or business, they’ll set up shop. Another thing most people don’t realize is that they can enter your home through holes as small as a quarter. Oftentimes they’ll make their way onto your roof via power lines and trees, then find a small entry into the attic and form nests there.
The first thing you can do to prevent them is to trim any trees that would give them access to your roof. Then seal up any holes that they could enter through. And finally, remove any sources of food and water. This means repairing leaky pipes and making sure your trash can lids are on tight.
Spiders
Spiders are mostly harmless but in Pasadena, we have two varieties of spiders that are very venomous. These are the black widow and the brown recluse. They like to form their webs and nests in areas out of the way so they’re not likely to be disturbed. That being said, when you see one, there are more.
The first thing you can do to minimize the occurrence of spiders around your house is to replace the porch light with a yellow-tinted bulb. These bulbs attract fewer insects which ultimately attracts fewer spiders. Additionally, you want to trim bushes so they’re not touching your house, install door sweeps, and close up any cracks around windows.
Next, you should get a general pest control treatment. These treatments will kill the existing spiders and prevent more from returning for several months. General pest control treatments are typically quarterly (they last for three months). So if you get one spray, you’re good for that amount of time. However, we recommend you just get on a yearly plan because you’ll save more money and you won’t have to think about pests.
Termites
Termites cause billions of dollars in damage every year. And the thing most people don’t realize is that insurance will not cover the cost of your repairs because this is preventable damage. So if you have termites, you should call a professional ASAP to handle the problem. That being said, there are things you can do to at least minimize the chances of getting them.
First, make sure you don’t have any areas where the wood from your house or garage comes into direct contact with soil. Termites will burrow underground and into the wood completely undetected. From there, they can chew away for several years before exhibiting any outward signs that you would notice.
The next thing to do is make sure you don’t have dead stumps, woodpiles, or fallen trees around your property. These will often serve as a home base for the termites and makes it easier for them to move from there into your house.
And finally, you want to seal up any areas like vents or cracks that they could enter through. Some species of termites swarm. This just means they fly around looking for new homes. If your attic has access to them, they’ll become a problem for you.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are extremely common. They reproduce quickly, they can survive in the worst conditions, and they only come out at night so you may not even realize you have them until it’s a full-blown infestation.
To prevent roaches, use the same methods of exclusion that you would use for other insects. Install door sweeps, seal up windows, etc. Then you want to make sure you don’t have any leaky pipes or food sources because they’re always searching for food and water.
When it comes to professional intervention, general pest control is the best method.
Ants
Ants can be challenging because they’re able to enter your house from the smallest of cracks. Often, they can make their way into your walls and then into your house from behind baseboards, light sockets, etc. The best way to exclude them is to keep your counters clean and make sure they can’t access any food in the pantries.
Fire ants, on the other hand, tend to stay outside and form underground tunnels connecting their colonies. These are problematic because if you stumble into a nest, you can suffer from hundreds of painful bites which can trigger an allergic reaction in some people. This is a big problem for pets, children, and the elderly because they may not move quickly enough or know when to do when they’re covered in ants.
The best treatments for ants in general pest control. There may be some added costs associated with killing the colonies in your yard but the price is generally minimal and well worth the cost.
Fleas
Fleas are common even if you don’t have pets. They can enter your home in a million ways including being transported into your house by rodents like rats and mice. In fact, fleas can carry the plague so it’s very important you don’t let a flea problem get out of hand.
When it comes to prevention, the main thing you can do is keep your pets clean and make sure they don’t have fleas. Once fleas are in your home, they form infestations quickly and it’s a process to get rid of them. If you do have fleas in your Pasadena, Tx home, you should call us so we can help you. You can treat them with DIY methods all you want but 9 out of 10 times, the eggs aren’t killed so they re-hatch and you’re stuck in an infinite loop of treating infestations.
If you need help with pest control in Pasadena, TX, reach out to Big Dave’s today.