Indoor Pests We Control

The Black widow spider is a shiny black color and has a red hourglass shaped mark on the underside of her abdomen. The mature female is about 1.5 inches long and .25 inches in diameter. This spider gets her name because she will kill and eat her mate after reproduction. During a summer a black widow can lay anywhere from 4 to 9 eggs sacks. Egg sacks can contain between 100 to 400 eggs.

The black widow bite can be dangerous to humans. The venom affects the nervous system causing a severe response. Once a person is bitten the victim will experience muscle cramping, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pains and respiratory problems. The bite of the black widow can be life threatening particularly in cases where small children or the elderly are victim.

The brown recluse spider has a brown or gray body. The abdomen is covered with fine short hairs ranging from 6 to 20 mm in length. They can be identified by the violin pattern on the celphalothorax. They are unique having 3 pairs of eyes 2 lateral pairs and 1 median pair.

The venom of this spider is extremely toxic to cells and tissues. When a victim is bitten venom is released into the skin destructing the cell membranes. This causes a break down of the skin, fat, and blood vessels in the bite area. This can lead to tissue death in that area. A brown recluse bite can lead to more serious side effects such as destruction of the red cells, blood clots in capillaries, kidney damage, coma and even death. Fatalities from the bite are generally in children under the age of 7.

The palmetto bug, also known as the American cockroach, is reddish brown in color and has a yellow margin behind the head. It is approximately 1-2 inches in length. They have wings and can travel quickly.

The palmetto bug is drawn to warm moist areas like our Florida climate. These bugs do not tolerate cold and will find their way into the home to find food in many ways even through plumbing, sewer connections, under doorways and air ducts. They can survive up to one year. Though its large size they can be difficult to kill since adult palmettos have fully developed wings that allow them to fly away from danger as well as hide.

The German cockroach is dark brown to almost black in appearance. Distinguishable from other species by the dark parallel streaks that run from head to wing. These are small cockroaches ranging from 1-2 cm in length. Though they due have wings, they are unable to sustain flight. This species is the most common found worldwide.

The German cockroach is found not only in your day to day household but can usually be found in hotels, restaurants, nursing homes, and food processing centers. Since they have such a high reproductive rate and small size for hiding, this type of cockroach is the most difficult to exterminate. They are highly resilient and will not only feed on human food and other insects but can survive on soap, toothpaste, glue, and even by cannibalism.

The Carpenter ant is black or red in color. They are easy to identify by their large size. These ants any range in size from .25 inches to 1 inch in length.

Carpenter ants live and nest in moist wood. These ants cut an intricate maze of passage ways through wood, weakening the wood as they go. A sign of carpenter ant activity is a saw dust material that they leave behind. This is a good indicator of a potential nesting sight. Since they prefer moist wood areas of the home that are most at risk are decks, porches, roof eaves, and around the windows. If colonization is left untreated they can spread in to the walls, attic, ceilings, and floor boards. The damage can be severe and costly to your home.

Odorous house ants are either black or dark brown in color. They are quite small body size ranging from 1/16 to 1/8 in. These ants are easy to identify due to their ability to travel long distances. Due to the colony size they travel in a long path along baseboards, carpet edges, and counter tops.

These ants are scavenger ants that will eat anything from house hold foods to other insects. Colonies can be as large as 10,000 ants with up to 200 queens in a colony. A queen can lay 20 to 30 eggs per day. When a home is invaded with these large colonies homeowners find that no food source is safe. Odorous ants are very resilient and can survive in many areas of the home.

Silverfish are light gray to blue in color. Their metallic body color along with wiggle like movement and fish shape is what gives them their name.

Silverfish are not harmful to humans. The reason they are considered pests is due to the consumption and damage to personal property that they cause. Silverfish can live a normal life span in your home from 2 to 8 years. They eat mainly starches and dextrin. This includes glue, book bindings, paper, photos ,food, coffee, hair, and carpet. They can damage fabrics such as silks, cottons, linens, synthetic fabrics, and even leather. They reside in moist areas in the home such as bathrooms, attics, and closets.