Summer Pests
Carpenter Ant – Occasional/Wood Replacement Warranty
Carpenter Ants are in the family Formicidae. Members of this family, less than 1/16-1" (1-15 mm) long, are mostly black, brown, or reddish.
- They have a complex social structure usually consisting of a wingless worker caste composed entirely of sterile females and a reproductive caste made up of winged, fertile males and females. But some species do not have a worker caste, and some reproductives do not have wings.
- Ants have a slender "waist," or pedicel, of 1 or 2 beadlike or scalelike segments between the thorax and abdomen. They differ from wasps in having distinctly elbowed antennae. Ants live in colonies in underground tunnels or in galleries in dead wood.
- From time to time, winged males and females emerge from the nest and perform a brief mating flight. After mating, the males die, and the females lose their wings and return to the ground to start a new colony. Workers gather food, maintain and defend the nest, and tend eggs, larvae, and pupae.
- Most species are predators or scavengers, but a few harvest seeds, visit clusters of aphids to eat their sweet secretions, raise fungus for food in small underground gardens, or eat leaves cut from plants. Some species produce eggs, which are eaten by the queen and workers.
- When disturbed, most ants are capable of "biting" or "stinging" people. Warning These ants will bite if aggravated.
Fire Ant
Description: Worker 1/16-1/4" (1-6 mm), 2 or more worker castes of different sizes. Dull yellow to red or black. Head large, jaws incurved and usually lacking teeth.
- 2-segmented "waist" (pedicel) between thorax and abdomen. Fine hair mostly on head and abdomen. Legs long. Warning Stings from Fire Ants produce a painful, burning sensation.
- Food Other insects, seeds, poultry, fruits, honeydew, vegetables, and flowers. Life Cycle Females excavate nest close to shrubs for protection from burrowing ant-eating animals, spreading large mounds of waste earth. Sometimes nests are built in rotting logs or under stones. Mated queen tends 1st generation eggs and larvae, then 1st generation female workers take care of eggs, larvae, and queen.
- Habitat Fields, woodlands, and open areas, in dry to moist soil. Range Florida and Gulf states to Pacific Coast, north to British Columbia. Discussion Reports of devastating battalions of Fire Ants are well known in the South and Southwest.
- But although these ants often damage young plants, they rarely destroy established crops. Some people even consider this species a beneficial predator of insect pests. Other members of this common genus are found throughout North America but the range of individual species is more restricted.
Crazy Ant
These ants are known as Crazy Ants because of their characteristic rapid and erratic movement. The worker ants have extremely long legs, making them relatively easy to identify.
- Yellow Crazy Ants are yellow-brownish in color. They are present in American Samoa, Australia, Brunei, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, South East Asia, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiriabati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Myanmar, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Reunion Island, Samoa, Seychelle Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, USA, Vanuatu and the Wallis & Futuna Islands.
- Crazy ants (Paratrechina longicornis) were introduced to the United States from India. Their distribution is limited to the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. They are easily identified by their long legs and their habit of erratically moving from place to place (hence the name "crazy"). Crazy ant trails are not readily obvious because of this erratic movement. The easiest way to find the nest is to look for workers carrying pieces of food or workers with swollen abdomens. These ants are carrying food back to the nest. By observing their movement, it should be possible to find the nest. Crazy ants are highly adaptable and will nest in a variety of locations, from very dry to moist. They will nest under objects, in rotten wood or trash, in tree cavities, as well as in debris left standing in buildings for long periods of time.
- These ants feed on a variety of foods including grease, sweets, and other insects. In some areas they are considered a biological control agent for houseflies. They also tend aphids and scales to feed on their honeydew. While crazy ants need moisture, elimination of water by itself will not get rid of these ants since they can survive under a wide range of conditions. Elimination of food sources and nest sites are equally important in the management of this ant.
- Crazy ants do not respond well to baits, so they cannot be relied upon for management of this ant. Surrounding buildings with vegetation-free barriers such as stone or brick (but not wood mulch) will keep ants from entering buildings to nest.
American Cockroach - 365
The American cockroach is the largest cockroach that infests buildings in the United States. This insect may be recognized by a yellow "figure-8" pattern on the shield at the front of its body. In Florida, the American cockroach is called the "palmetto bug," and it has the nickname "water bug" throughout the United States.
- Behavior – Like all cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will and many things we won't.
- Habitat – This cockroach thrives in warm, damp environments, such as sewers, steam tunnels, basements, crawl spaces, and boiler rooms. In southern states, it will also be found living and breeding outdoors.
- Tips for Control – The key to control is to find and treat these sources directly. In many cases, the services of a professional company, are required to achieve long term relief. In southern states where this cockroach lives outdoors, successful control involves treating the attic, crawl space, and exterior cracks in the home and finding and treating likely cockroach harborages over the entire property
Smokey Brown Cockroach - 365
Coming Soon...
House Spider - Occasional
Characteristics – Size: May measure up to 1- inch in length with a leg span up to 2 inches. Color: Brownish gray with a number of various markings.
- The domestic house spider is closely related to the hobo spider and is difficult to distinguish from that species.
- Behavior – Domestic house spiders are funnel-web spiders, meaning they construct flat webs which have a funnel shaped retreat at one end. The females spend most of their lives in the webs, while the males and immature spiders may wander about in search of females or better nesting sites. It is usually these males or young spiders that are seen by homeowners. Unlike the hobo spider, which resembles this spider, the domestic house spider does not have a dangerous bite.
- Habitat – The domestic house spider is found from central and northern California up through the Pacific Northwest in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. This species prefers to build its webs where a hole or crack exists in which it can locate its funnel retreat. Such webs are usually found in basements, crawl spaces, garages and outdoors in vegetation.
- Tips for Control – The key for controlling the domestic house spider is to look for webs and remove them, making sure a treatment is applied into any crack associated with a web to be sure the spider has been killed. Steps that should be taken to prevent new spiders from entering include:
- Removing or limiting heavy, ground-covering vegetation near the building. Sealing cracks and holes in the building’s exterior.
Installing tight-fitting screens on all attic and foundation vents.
Sealing holes around pipes indoors to prevent spiders from entering the living spaces of the home by following plumbing lines in basements and crawl spaces.
Wolf Spider - Occasional
Coming soon...
Cat Flea - Occasional
Coming Soon...
Bald-faced Hornet - Occasional
Coming Soon...
Yellow Jacket - Occasional
Description: 1/2-5/8" (12-16 mm). Body stout, slightly wider than head. Abdomen narrow where attached to thorax with short "waist" (pedicel). 1st antennal segment yellow, 2nd and subsequent segments black. Head, thorax, and abdomen black and yellow or white. Wings smoky.
*Click a pest for more information
- Warning Workers will sting repeatedly if they perceive you as a threat to their nest, otherwise, they are less aggressive.
- Food Adult eats nectar. Larva feeds on insects pre-chewed by adults.
- Life Cycle In spring mated female constructs small nest and daily brings food to larvae until 1st brood matures and females serve as workers, extending nest and tending young. In late summer males develop from unfertilized eggs and mate. When cold weather begins, all die except mated females, which over winter among litter and in soil.
- Habitat Meadows and edges of forested land, usually nesting in ground or at ground level in stumps and fallen logs.
- Range: Throughout North America; various species more localized.
- Yellow jackets can be pests at picnics, and they will carry off bits of food. If the nest can be found and its opening covered at night with a transparent bowl set firmly into the ground, adults will be confused by their inability to escape and seek food in daylight; they will not dig a new escape hole and will soon starve to death. The Western Yellow Jacket (V. Pennsylvania) and Eastern Yellow Jacket (V. maculifrons) are similarly colored, except the first antennal segment of the latter is all black