Look to Earthwise for the best Woodlands pest control services. The Woodlands is home to a variety of wildlife, spectacular tree species and a large variety of insect life. With our office minutes from the Woodlands Parkway, this area is a familiar spot. We see just about every type of general pest in the North Houston area. However, we see all of these insects in the Woodlands due to the optimum breeding areas.
The Woodlands Termite Control
Termites and other wood destroying insects cause billions of dollars in damage annually. It’s important to keep up with termite treatments, and understand the things in our home that attracts termites. Consistent treatments post-construction and a little know-how will keep your foundation in tact.
When building a new home, you have several options with regard to termite treatments. The first option is having the soil treated before the concrete is poured. When utilizing this treatment option timing is very important. The pest control company and the builder will coordinate schedules having the soil treated just before the concrete foundation is poured. After the final grade is complete, the pest control company will return to treat the perimeter of the home.
The next option is favorable when factoring efficacy and scheduling. This termite treatment option involves treating the wooden studs at the interior of the home when the home is in the dried in stage. BoraCare is applied directly to the studs and all plumbing penetrations. This treatment option will give the homeowner maximum shelf life to help guard against termites. Much of this has to do with the product itself and the fact that the chemical is not subject to the elements.
Are you buying a new home in the Woodlands? Ask your agent to find out if the home has been treated for termites recently. If not, we can help with a baiting system, or a post-construction termite treatment. That involved digging a small trench around the home’s perimeter, then filling the trench with a high quality treatment, like Termidor.
How do you prevent termites in the Woodlands?
There are a number of things to be vigilant about to prevent termites from entering your home. It’s common for termites to come into the home through the soil, so consistent treatment is a must.
Termites love moisture, so don’t allow leaky pipes to go unattended to. Keep all wood away from the home. If you use firewood, inspect it before taking inside.
Look out for termite swarmers. Flying termites will have an elongated body with no segments. Flying termite wings are about twice the size of its body. Termite swarmers will shed their wings on window sills, driveways, pools, deck and in areas where a swarming colony is located like a flowerbed for instance.
The Woodlands Mosquito Control
Conditions in the Woodlands make for ample opportunities for mosquitoes to breed and spread all over our community. We spend nine months out of the year dealing with mosquito issues throughout the Woodlands. This is a result of the heavy foliage throughout the area. For the obvious reasons, mosquitoes are an unwanted pest. These insects are associated with a number of diseases. These vary from Zika virus, West Nile virus, Malaria, Dengue just to name a few. Necessary precaution should be taken at all times when mosquitoes are active.
Some mosquitoes are active all day. However, dusk and dawn are the peak hours of concern. We have been treating mosquitoes in the Woodlands for years. Prevention will go a long way.
Mosquito Prevention in the Woodlands
Inspect your yard for any standing water. After a rain, inspect all items in your backyard for standing water. Backyard get-togethers have been ruined due to standing water in kids toys, unused flower pots, pool chemical bucket lids and anything else that can hold water. Eliminating the breeding areas is crucial to keeping mosquitoes under control between services.
What attracts mosquitoes? When adult mosquitoes are active in your area, mosquitoes will be attracted to carbon dioxide. This lets the insect know there is a blood meal close by. The female will feed on animals and unfortunately us. I witnessed many backyard events compromised by mosquitoes. An upside down frisbee with standing water next to the kiddie pool is all it takes. Inspecting your bird baths often during the warmer months is a good idea. If you want to play it safe, empty your bird bath once a week. Working with your immediate neighbors will help reduce mosquito issues in your yard. Ask them to establish an inspection regiment to help minimize breeding areas next to your home. Although mosquitoes do not travel far, they can easily make the trip from your neighbor’s home to yours.
The Woodlands Roach Control
Roaches are the second most populated insect in the Woodlands.
Types of Roaches Most Common in The Woodlands
Most frequently found are the Smoky Brown Cockroach and the American Cockroach. These two types of roaches bear the nickname “Tree Roaches”. These insects thrive during the spring and summer months. To help minimize their presence at your home, inspect the home for leaks. Repair any dripping from the water hose valve and eliminate any standing water. The Smoky Brown and American roach will be found in flower beds, garbage cans, sewer cover openings and gutters. Try to keep gutters free of pine needles, leaves and other debri. This will help with a variety of insects.
These big roaches like very humid wooded areas making the Woodlands a cozy home. Typically out of sight during the day and very active during the evening hours. These big roaches will enter the home through open windows, open doors or small holes in the siding and eaves. Often they will complete their life cycle outdoors. However, these big roaches can breed inside the home in areas like the attic. Once in the attic, a population can go unnoticed.
Have your pest control operator place a long lasting bait in the attic to help eliminate or minimize a potential problem before it begins. Here are some additional helpful tips to keep Smoky brown roaches and American roaches out of your home.
Prevent roaches in your home
Try to minimize leaf clutter close to the home. Remove any rotting organic material in your yard. Keeping your yard dry and free of debris will increase the success of any preventative pest program. Eliminate all food sources. Keep your trash cans covered at all times. Do not leave any pet food or water out over night. This will attract big roaches and other unwanted pests. By eliminating all food sources, this will radically reduce the potential roach population close to your home.
Seal up any gaps around your entry areas. You should not be able to see any daylight coming in from around your front and back door. If so, try some weather stripping from your local big box store. Even if the gap is small you still want to prevent small insects from crossing your threshold. Check all firewood before bringing it into the home. Keep all stacked firewood away from the home and off of the ground at least a few inches. Keep all counters wiped down and all dishes washed before bed. Place all trash in trash cans each evening.
Keeping big roaches out of the garage is always a challenge. Many of us store personal items in the garage creating plenty of harborage for big roaches. The less clutter you have in your garage the less of a roach issue. Keep a couple of sticky traps on the inside of your garage either side of the garage door. The garage door will typically have plenty of access to your garage. Keeping a couple of sticky traps either side of the garage door will help minimize a potential issue.
Are you struggling with pests around your property in the Woodlands?
Earwig Control in The Woodlands
Earwigs are harmless to humans. There’s no need to fear the name, as earwigs cause more of a nuisance in the home. Earwigs will not enter the ear causing damage used by their pincers. This is a myth with no historic support. Can an earwig crawl into your ear? Sure, but so can any other insect that size. The odds however, are slim to none.
Earwigs can be a real problem in the summer months. Many of my customers over the years have referred to them as “pincher bugs”. Earwigs range anywhere from 5 to 25 millimeters in length. Earwigs have an elongated flattened body. Their size enables them to gain access to the home very easily . Because of their flattened body, they can easily get into cracks around the doors. If you can see daylight coming in from around your door, earwigs can easily get into your home.
Many customers in the past have had concern about the earwig pincers on their abdomen. These pincers are mainly used for defense and pose no real threat to humans. Although earwigs thrive in the summer, they prefer moist cooler areas around the home. I found these insects primarily in flower beds. Flower beds will stay shaded much of the day providing an ideal breeding area for earwigs. Many Woodlands homes will have flower beds very close to the front door. By far this will be the area of entry into the home. However, you will see them in various rooms including the kitchen and bathrooms.
What do earwigs look like?
They range in color for black to a brown reddish color. Sometimes weather stripping will fix gaps around doors. However, depending upon the location of the gap, weather stripping may not be a viable solution for earwigs. Many times I’ve watched earwigs, with the aforementioned flat bodies, crawl under the metal threshold of the front door. A quick fix here would be some clear epoxy. Run a bead across the threshold and work it in with your index finger. Make sure if you have bricks in this area to seal the grout between the bricks. Aesthetically this works well and does a great job of keeping earwigs from gaining entry under the threshold of the front door.
When temperatures get close to the 90’s in the Woodlands, earwigs are leaving their exterior comfort zones and heading for the interior. Typically this will be in the month of August when temps are consistently in the high 90’s, low 100’s. During this time of year there are certain preventative measures you can take. Earwigs are nocturnal insects. You will find them under large rocks, garden timbers and in mulch areas like flower beds. Anything left out overnight will be a temporary home for earwigs.
During the evening hours they will crawl under items left outside and hide during the day. Try to keep bags of mulch or soil off the front and back porches. The same with charcoal left near the BBQ pit. Flower pots will be a very popular gathering area for earwigs in the summer. These areas not only provide shade during the day, but also have an abundance of moisture. Keeping any of these items near the front or back door will result in an earwig issue inside the home.
80% of Homes we Check in The Woodlands Have Eagwigs
I make sure to have my technicians check under the doormat during the months of August and September. Eight out of ten homes will have earwigs under the mat. When temperatures are high this is a great area to hangout during the day. As soon as the front door is open, here they come. One way to keep earwigs from gathering under door mats, is to make sure this area stays dry. More times than not, when I inspect under mats in the heat of the day there is plenty of moisture. Move the doormat about a foot away from the home before you leave in the morning. This will cause the area to dry and discourage any earwig activity present at the time.
Remember, it’s usually during extended periods of dry hot weather that earwigs will be a problem indoors. They like cool places and usually crawl right through the front door when left open. Female earwigs can lay up to 20 to 80 eggs usually in the spring. These will hatch in about a week depending upon the particular species. Earwigs cannot complete their life cycle indoors. This will be done underground around the exterior of the home. Once hatched and full grown, earwigs are very predictable as with most insects.
Taking the proper preventative measures explained in this article will go a long way to keeping your home earwig free.
Eliminating Unwanted Spiders in The Woodlands
Spiders can be a real issue in The Woodlands. At the same time some spiders are very beneficial. Coming up on two decades in The Woodlands area, one dangerous spider stands out, the black widow. I have spent years in the field servicing Woodlands homes. Although I do not see the black widow spider on a regular basis, I do come across them from time to time. In the category of dangerous spiders, this is the most common to our area.
How do you tell the bad spiders from the harmless? Identification is key. Black widows are approximately 1/14 – 1/38 inches is size. One of the main identifying marks on the black widow is the red hourglass underside the abdomen. This characteristic marking is very easy to see.
You can minimize the amount of black widow activity by removing clutter from the garage, porches and the immediate perimeter of the home. Become familiar with black widow webbing. If you see webbing in your home or garage and you suspect it’s from a black widow, make sure to wear heavy gloves before getting close to the area in question.
If you’re in an area where black widows are active, check your shoes before putting them on. In addition to removing clutter, always store firewood away from the home. Inspect all firewood before bringing it into the home. Check under buckets before handling them or bringing them into the home. With most 5 gallon buckets, there is a little space under the bucket leaving a couple of inches between the ground and the underside of the bucket. Inspect the underside of the bucket before handling.
Venom from a black widow is typically not fatal. However, it will cause nausea, fever and muscle pain. Even though fatalities are rare, you should seek medical attention immediately.
Other Common Spiders Found in Homes in The Woodlands
Next let’s discuss some of the common household spiders. Along the exterior of the home, the wolf is most commonly found. These spiders are harmless however, they will bite if provoked. These particular spiders pose no medical threat should you be bitten. The wolf spider is very large compared to other commonly found spiders in and around the home. The wolf spider is often mistaken for the brown recluse. In well over a decade, I have only received a few calls about the brown recluse (more on these guys later).
The wolf spider can move quickly. I typically find these spiders along the foundation of the home when servicing customers in the Woodlands. Try to keep the grass trimmed along the foundation. This will help minimize the wolf spider activity along the perimeter. Wolf spiders are large and hairy, needless to say they can get your attention.
Benefits of the wolf spider
Wolf spiders are actually beneficial. They prey on other household pests like, ticks, roaches and roaches. These types of spiders do not wait for their prey to come to them. They are very aggressive when it comes to chow time and will attack their prey. Wolf spiders will not create any webbing. This is nice compared to other household and yard spiders. There’s nothing like walking around the corner of your home face first into a spider web. It’s not like the webbing is easy to remove either. Of course, the first thing we think is, “Is there a spider on my head”? Rest assured that it’s normal to flail about clawing the webbing from your face. It also makes for some pretty good comedy when watching from across the street.
In my many years in the pest control industry, I have only had a handful of calls for the brown recluse. Usually when I receive a call from a customer about the brown recluse, more times than not it’s a different spider with similar size and color. The brown recluse is mainly found in southern states up through the Midwest. Many refer to the brown recluse as “fiddleback spider” or “violin spider” This is due to the distinct marking of the brown recluse found on the dorsum or neck. I’ve only found one infestation of brown recluse in almost two decades. This was in an area of Magnolia Texas off of FM 1774. The home had a severe problem both inside and out. An aggressive treatment strategy was formulated and the problem was solved. This insect can cause some problems and should be avoided.
Contact The Woodlands Expert, Independent Pest Control Service
Earthwise is your neighbor in the fight against unwanted pests in the Woodlands. We’re standing by, ready to assist and can provide a free consultation on any problem pests in your home. Call today and keep the pests at your Woodlands home under control.