Termites
A significant portion of homes in San Antonio suffer from severe termite infestation. Termites cause $2-3 billion dollars worth of damage every year. Termites cause more serious threats than fire. They live in colonies which are mostly located in the ground or in wood.
Termites are mainly divided into three types – subterranean termites, dry wood termites and damp wood termites, based on location and biological habits. They could be actively causing damage to your property without you even knowing about it until substantial damage has already been done. They squeeze through expansion joints, tiny gaps, electrical service entries and cracks as narrow as the thickness of a penny.
For termite pest control in San Antonio, a definite knowledge base of each of the species is necessary for effective control. We use soil treatment at the base of a building to prevent entry of subterranean termites into the building. The termites cannot detect the chemical in the soil as it has no odor or taste. They are not aware of the lethal effect of the chemicals until it is too late.
Tips to Reduce Termite Infestations
- If your area is a known termite infested area, we recommend that you have your home inspected once each year.
- Avoid wood to ground contact. There should be a clearance of minimum 6 inches from ground.
- If wood decking is built on the soil surface, period checks should be performed.
- Vines and shrubs around the house should be regularly trimmed to avoid heavy foliage.
- Tree branches contacting the structure should be removed.
Fire Ants
A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants, seeds, and sometimes crickets. Fire ants often attack small animals and can kill them. Unlike many other ants, which bite and then spray acid on the wound, fire ants bite only to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom called solenopsin, a compound from the class of piperidines. For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire—hence the name fire ant—and the after effects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive individuals. The venom is both insecticidal and antibiotic.
Fire ants nest in the soil, often near moist areas, such as river banks, pond shores, watered lawns and highway shoulder. Usually, the nest will not be visible, as it will be built under objects such as timber, logs, rocks, or bricks. If there is no cover for nesting, dome-shaped mounds will be constructed, but these are usually only found in open spaces, such as fields, parks and lawns. These mounds can reach heights of 40 cm (15.7 in), and can also be as deep as a metre and a half (five feet). [1] Colonies are founded by small groups of queens or single queens. Even if only one queen survives, within a month or so, the colony can expand to thousands of individuals. Some colonies may be polygynous (having multiple queens per nest). A lack of mounds in your yard does not necessarily mean there are no fire ants active. Their mound building is influenced by moisture present in the soil. After a good rain you may notice mound popping up seemingly overnight. Those fire ants were already in your yard.
A fire ant colony can be active in up to two acres of area (think of the size of three football fields combined). Fire ant control can often be accomplished by application of a bait they will take home with them thinking it is food.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are elusive and usually nocturnal, which can make them hard to spot. They often lodge unnoticed in dark crevices, and eggs can be nestled in fabric seams. Aside from bite symptoms, signs include fecal spots, blood smears on sheets, and molts.
Bed bugs can be found singly, but often congregate once established. They usually remain close to hosts, commonly in or near beds or couches. Harborage areas can vary greatly, however, including luggage, vehicles, furniture and bedside clutter. Bed bugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds, or rodents. The eggs of bed bugs are found in similar places where the bed bugs themselves are found, and are attached to surfaces by a sticky substance. Attractant devices for detection use heat and/or carbon dioxide.
Bed bug control requires significant work on the part of both the resident and your pest control technician.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can act as a vector for many disease-causing viruses and parasites. Infected mosquitoes carry these organisms from person to person without exhibiting symptoms themselves. Mosquito-borne diseases include:
Viral diseases, such as yellow fever, dengue fever and Chikungunya, transmitted mostly by Aedes aegypti. Dengue fever is the most common cause of fever in travelers returning from the Caribbean, Central America, and South Central Asia. This disease is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes and cannot be spread person to person.
Severe dengue can be fatal, but with good treatment, less than 1% of patients die from dengue.
- The parasitic disease malaria, carried by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles
- Lymphatic filariasis (the main cause of elephantiasis) which can be spread by a wide variety of mosquito species
- West Nile virus is a concern in the United States, but there are no reliable statistics on worldwide cases.
- Tularemia, a bacterial disease caused by Francisella tularensis, is variously transmitted, including by biting flies. Culex and Culiseta, are vectors of tularemia as well as arbovirus infections such as West Nile Virus.
Though originally transmission of HIV was a public health concern, practical considerations and studies of epidemiological patterns suggest that any transmission of the HIV virus by mosquitoes is in practice extremely unlikely at worst.
Various species of mosquitoes are estimated to transmit various types of disease to more than 700 million people annually in Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico, Russia and much of Asia, with millions of resultant deaths. At least two million people annually die of these diseases, and the morbidity rates are many times higher still.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches live in a wide range of environments around the world. Pest species of cockroaches adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings. Many tropical species prefer even warmer environments and do not fare well in the average household.
Cockroaches as structural pest fall into two general categories. Occasional invaders and those that breed and live in your home. Of the occasional invaders the most common are known as Smoky Brown, Oriental, and American cockroaches. These generally breed outdoors in sewer and drainage systems, under homes, septic tanks, and almost anywhere else they can find food and shelter. The German Cockroach will take up residence in cabinets, door frames, and any crack or crevice where they can feel safe. Treatment for the occasional invaders versus German Cockroaches is very different and varies with the level of infestation, chemical sensitivity, and building type.
Cockroaches leave chemical trails in their feces as well as emitting airborne pheromones for swarming and mating. These chemical trails transmit bacteria on surfaces.[citation needed] Other cockroaches will follow these trails to discover sources of food and water, and also discover where other cockroaches are hiding. Thus, cockroaches can exhibit emergent behavior, in which group or swarm behavior emerges from a simple set of individual interactions.
Rodents
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing.
Forty percent of mammal species are rodents, and they are found in vast numbers on all continents other than Antarctica. Common rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rodents have sharp incisors they use to gnaw wood, break into food, and bite predators. Most rodents eat seeds or plants, though some have more varied diets. Some species have historically been pests, eating seeds stored by people and spreading disease.
Rodent infestations intensify during the fall and winter as they seek to move indoors to stay warm.
Fleas and Ticks
With 62 percent of households owning pets – 68 million dogs and 73 million cats in the U.S. – it’s no wonder that it sometimes seems like a continuous problem with flea and tick infestation. Even the most diligent pet owner can’t eliminate the risk of fleas or ticks, and when preventive methods fail, it’s time to get tough with these parasites.
Fighting on Several Fronts
Putting a stop to a flea or tick infestation requires treating the pet itself, home, yard and sometimes the car. Simply eliminating adult fleas and ticks from a pet may not be sufficient because eggs and larvae may be hiding in carpeting, bedding, upholstery and in cracks in doors, windows and floors. The maturation process may take months, so thoroughness and perseverance are key to effectively eliminating fleas and ticks.
Your best resource for control of ticks and fleas on your pets is your veterinarian. The vet has a wide variety of medications that can prevent a flea or tick infestation of your home from ever happening. Our company mascot, Tink, takes a monthly dose of Trifexis prescribed by her veterenarian. http://www.trifexis.com/