Questions About Pest Control
Plain answers to questions we hear about pests, visits, safety, cost and prevention.
Identifying Pests
What does a German roach egg case look like?
A light brown capsule about a quarter inch long, shaped like a tiny purse with faint ridges. The female carries it until the eggs are nearly ready, then tucks it into a crack. Finding one in a drawer or behind a cabinet hinge means the roaches are breeding indoors.
Is that a paper wasp, a yellowjacket or a mud dauber?
Look at the nest. Paper wasps hang an open gray comb under eaves and sunshades. Yellowjackets build a closed nest out of sight, in the ground or inside a wall, and use a single hole; they are the quickest to sting. Mud daubers build tubes of dried mud on walls and rarely sting at all.
Are the swarms of small flies near the lake mosquitoes?
Usually not. Clouds of small, mosquito-like insects by lakes and ponds, often at dusk and around porch lights, are mostly midges, which people here call blind mosquitoes. They do not bite. Mosquitoes come a few at a time, bite, and breed in standing water close to the house.
What are the little piles of soil along my baseboards?
Often big-headed ants, which push fine soil up through cracks along the slab and the baseboards. Brush a pile away and check a day later: fresh soil means the ants are still at work. Firm, pencil-wide mud tubes running up a wall are a different matter, and point to termites.
Ants come with clues of their own: where they trail, their size and color, and whether they come from a mound point to which ant is in the house.
Preparing for a Visit
Should I clean up before the visit?
Ordinary tidying is fine, but leave the signs where they are if you can: an ant trail or roach droppings in a cabinet corner show where pests travel and hide. If something has to go, take a photo first, and wet rodent droppings with disinfectant before wiping them up.
Should I stop using store-bought sprays before you come?
Yes, for a few days if you can. Sprays scatter roaches and ants into new hiding spots and make their trails harder to follow. Keep the cans, though, so you can tell us what was used and when.
Should I keep a pest I caught?
Yes, if you can do it safely. Drop an insect into a sealed bag or a small jar, or press a tiny one onto clear tape. Leave rodents, wasps and anything else that stings or bites alone; a photo is enough for those.
Should I fix leaks before the visit?
If it is an easy fix, yes: a dripping trap under the sink gives roaches and ants the water they need. If not, leave it and show us where it is, because a leak is often where the problem started.
Once you know what you have seen and where, book an appointment and pick the days that suit you.
Safety for Family and Pets
How long should children and pets stay off treated areas?
Until the treatment has dried, or longer if the product label says so. After the visit we tell you what we did, including which spots were treated, so you know where to keep everyone off. Pick up toys, pet bowls and blankets beforehand.
What about fish tanks, birds and reptiles?
Tell us about them when you call; it is part of why we ask whether pets or children are in the house. A fish tank is usually covered and its air pump switched off during treatment nearby, and birds and reptiles should go to another room.
Can someone with allergies or asthma be home during treatment?
Tell us about allergies, asthma or chemical sensitivities before the visit, and ask about anything we plan to use. If you are unsure, plan to stay out of the treated rooms until they are dry, and follow your own doctor’s advice.
Where should pest sprays and baits be kept at home?
In their original containers, closed, and up high or locked away from children and pets, never in a food or drink container. Set bait stations where small hands and paws cannot reach them, and read the label before each use.
Roaches, ants and spiders are treated where they hide, not across every room, as part of general pest control.
Choosing a Service and What Shapes the Cost
Does a bigger house always mean a bigger job?
Not always. Size counts, but a small condo kitchen full of German roaches can take more work than a large house where a palmetto bug wanders in now and then. The pest and how far it has spread weigh as much as the square footage.
Which pest problems can wait, and which should not?
Chewed wiring, a wasp nest over a busy door and fire ants where children play are worth dealing with right away. German roaches and rodents should not wait either, since they multiply where they settle. A single palmetto bug after a storm, or ants that vanish once the counter is clean, can usually be watched for a week or two.
Can pests come back after a treatment?
They can, when the gaps, water and food that drew them are still there, or when new ones come in from the yard or a neighboring unit. That is why we tell you what to watch for afterward, and why some customers choose recurring service to keep pests out year-round.
Is termite work handled the same way as roach work?
No. Roaches are treated where they hide and travel. Subterranean termites come up from the soil through mud tubes, and drywood termites live inside the wood and push out small pellets, so termite work follows the soil and the wood instead.
Before choosing a pest control service, it helps to know which pest you have and whether it keeps coming back.
Prevention at Home
Does lowering the humidity indoors help?
Yes. Roaches and silverfish thrive in damp air, and Orlando summers bring plenty of it. Run the bathroom fan after showers, keep the AC running through the wet season so it pulls moisture out, and fix drips quickly.
Do trash cans near the house attract pests?
They can. Roaches, ants and rats all follow the smell of food scraps. Keep the lids shut tight, rinse the cans now and then, and keep them a few steps from the door.
Can a clean house still get pests?
Yes. Palmetto bugs wander in from the yard however clean the kitchen is, ghost ants come for water as much as for food, and termites care only about the wood. Clean counters make a problem smaller, but the gaps and the moisture around the house matter as much.
Do plug-in ultrasonic repellers keep pests away?
Tests have not shown them to keep roaches, ants or rodents away for long. Closing gaps, cutting off food and water, and dealing with nests where they are do far more than any gadget in an outlet.
Keeping pests out is mostly small chores, and many of them change with Florida’s wet and dry seasons: that is the idea behind seasonal pest prevention.
Call with any other question about the pests in your home.