It’s unwise to
assume that everything you see creeping and scurrying around your house
and yard is up to no good. Although more than 86,000 species of insects
have been identified in North America, making up approximately 85
percent of all living creatures on the continent, only about 1 percent
can hurt you and damage or destroy your belongings. Don’t classify
anything as a pest unless it causes trouble. This general information will give you an insight into
many common household pests and what to do about them. In some cases
you may be able to eradicate them yourself; in others you may need to
hire professional services. Even in the do-it-yourself cases, it is a
good idea to check with a pest control company to get up-to-date
information on how to best control pests and to learn the latest about
integrated pest management, (commonly referred to as “IPM”).
MAKING PESTS UNWELCOME
Conditions in your home may offer a comfortable haven where pests flock
not only to visit, but nest and multiply. Some like it hot, some like
it cool, most like moisture and darkness, and all like something to
eat. Damp, dark basements are favorite habitats, as are kitchens and
bathrooms. If you don’t leave them a gourmet meal in the kitchen,
they’ll snack on carpets, books, and even the walls of your house.
Sometimes, despite faultless housekeeping and the best of intentions,
pests enter in bags or cartons from the grocery store, in furniture, or
even in secondhand appliances. Television sets, because of their
darkness and warmth, are prime offenders.
ZEROING IN ON THE WORST OFFENDERS INDOORS
The National Pest Control Association says the 10 most common household
pests are cockroaches, mice, rats, termites, ants and carpenter ants,
fleas, dog ticks, spiders, and silverfish. Each requires different
tactics for eradication.
Cockroaches exist in 55 varieties in the United States, but only 5
kinds are troublesome indoors. Not only do they spread disease by
contaminating food, they create an offensive odor in large populations.
Indeed, even dishes crossed by cockroaches may give off an offensive
order unless they are washed thoroughly before food warms them.
Because cockroaches multiply so rapidly - one common German cockroach
produces forty more every thirty days - it is essential to determine
their hiding places. One method of doing this is to enter a dark room
quietly, turn on a bright light and see where they run. To eliminate
roaches, make access to their hiding places difficult and keep the
areas where they were seen spotless. Be sure there are no food crumbs
or wet spots. Pay particular attention to the undersides of tables and
chairs, behind mirrors, inside drawers, on closet and bookcase shelves,
inside the motor compartment of the refrigerator, around sinks and the
dishwasher, and under loose floor coverings. As a next step, consider
using baits and traps. Some people have had success using boric acid in
cracks and crevices where roaches like to hide out.
Mice look for a steady source of food supply. They, as well as the
parasites that live on them, contaminate food with droppings, urine and
hair. Able to squeeze through incredibly small openings, these tiny
animals - often weighing less than an ounce - can enter a house through
basement windows, small holes in the foundation, vents in the basement
or attic, and gaps in weather-stripping. Blocking or screening these
openings and using a mousetrap with tasty morsels of peanut butter,
bacon, gumdrops or cookies usually is sufficient to rid a house of
them.
Rats pose a larger problem, especially in areas where poor sanitation
and the accumulation of garbage provide ideal conditions for them to
breed. Ranging from six inches to a foot long, they nest in basements,
attics, sewers, subflooring, open garbage cans and piles of trash.
Active mainly at night, rats contaminate food with disease germs and
filth that can cause acute food poisoning. Worse, they will bite people
- particularly small children who have been left in bed with milk,
juice or other food.
Controlling rats requires sealing all openings around the house with
sheet metal, iron grills, hardware cloth, cement mortar, or similar
substances they cannot gnaw through. Elimination of food sources
requires constant community cooperation to see that garbage is stored
in sealed containers and collected often. Furthermore, attractive
nesting areas, such as firewood stacked against a house, must be
removed. Where rat infestations are confined to a single area (a garage
attic for example), large traps may be adequate to rid the vicinity of
these rodents. In some cases, potent poisoned baits called rodenticides
are needed, as a last resort. These must be used with the utmost care
to prevent harm to humans and household pets.
Termites live in underground colonies and feed on wood products. You
may never see them, even if they’re feasting on the lumber that’s
holding your house together. Fortunately they work slowly, giving you
several years to discover their presence before causing substantial
structural damage to your house. You might see a swarm of termites
during the spring due to temperature and moisture conditions. A
telltale sign is discarded wings on the floor or windowsills after a
warm rain in early spring. But, termites can be active other times
during the year, such as during the winter in heated basements.
Because termites strike five times as many homes every year as do
fires, the annual bill for the damage they do is astonishing. In
addition to destroying wood, they’ll eat books, clothing, and anything
else containing cellulose. One way to detect their presence is by their
characteristic pattern of destruction: they eat the soft part of the
wood and leave the annual rings intact. Another sign of their presence
is mud tubes constructed along obstructions they cannot chew through.
However, such signs are not often readily visible.
It is virtually impossible for you to get rid of termites yourself. If
you’re fortunate, your house was designed and constructed with
prevention of termite damage in mind. The ground beneath your house may
have been treated to repel termites, and specific care may have been
taken to prevent any contact of wood with the soil. Call in a reliable
pest control company if you suspect termites are at work in or near
your house. Having an annual inspection to detect termite damage is a
sound investment, like fire and accident insurance.
Ants come in more than twenty household varieties and have many tastes.
Some prefer sweets, others like grease, and still others feed on
insects and seeds. Consequently, do-it-yourself eradication with bait
is often a trial-and-error effort. To get rid of these annoying indoor
species that contaminate food and in rare cases bite humans and pets,
find and destroy their nests and remove their source of food by
practicing vigilant housekeeping and storing foodstuffs in tightly
closed containers.
Carpenter Ants are frequently confused with termites because they, too,
destroy wood. Unlike termites, however, they do not eat the wood,
preferring instead to tunnel channels through it in order to enlarge
their living space. Although a carpenter ant has wings, its front pair
is much longer than the back pair; its termite cousin has two pairs of
equal length. Another distinguishing feature of the carpenter ant's
body is a pinched-in waist like that of a wasp.
If you find little piles of sawdust near the baseboards of your house,
suspect that carpenter ants are at work. Since their nests are
extremely difficult to find, call in professional pest control help to
determine the extent of damage and stop these creatures in their
tracks.
Fleas have been troubling mankind and animals for thousands of years.
These tiny tormentors reproduce at astounding rates, laying several
hundred eggs which hatch and mature in less that two weeks, with each
new flea ready to reproduce hundreds more. They enter your house on
pets and lay their eggs in carpeting, bedding, and upholstered
furniture. Since they must feed on blood to survive, hungry fleas can
make life miserable for you and your pets, causing itching and swelling
wherever they bite.
Getting rid of fleas is tricky. As always, prevention is your best bet.
Vacuum thoroughly and regularly, especially areas where your pets
sleep. Use flea combs on your pets regularly and consider Insect Growth
Regulators. Once you have a flea problem, you must eradicate all fleas
and eggs in the house and stop more from coming in. If you do it
yourself, thoroughly clean infested rooms with a vacuum cleaner.
Include baseboards, rugs, upholstery, floor and wall cracks,
ventilators, closets and any other areas where eggs or larvae may be.
Discard the vacuum cleaner bag in a sealed container at once. Talk to
your veterinarian to determine if your pets should be treated at the
same time you clear the house and to get advice on the use of flea
collars. If the problem is really serious, consider calling in
professional pest control services.
Ticks come in two varieties: American and Brown Dog. American ticks
usually live outdoors but can be brought in by pets, mice and rats.
These ticks are dangerous because they transmit serious diseases such
as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease to humans.
The Brown Dog Tick usually lives indoors and is the only kind of tick
to frequently infest homes in the United States. Once they enter a
house, they prefer to stay there because it is dry and warm. They are
flat shaped and about 1/4 inch long with a uniformly red-brown
appearance. They must have blood to survive, but they rarely bite
humans. After feeding on your pets, they drop off the animal and hide,
living for months or even years without a meal. Meanwhile, they occupy
themselves by laying from 100 to 5000 eggs at a time. When the eggs
hatch and all the new ticks hop on your dog in search of blood, you'll
wonder why your pet has suddenly gone berserk.
As with fleas, both your pet and home must be treated simultaneously.
You may need to take your pet to a veterinarian to determine the best
treatment. Then check and thoroughly clean all hiding places, i.e.
baseboards, furniture, window frames and sills, molding, loose
wallpaper and linoleum, rugs, curtains, drapes, picture frames, and all
cracks and crevices. Again, prevention of the problem is your best bet.
Vacuuming your home thoroughly does help. As for your pet, comb the fur
with a flea or tick comb with your pet sitting on a white piece of
paper or a sheet. You will be able to see if your pet has an
infestation or not and how serious it is.
Spiders have a bad reputation. Actually, many of the 25,000 varieties
in America are helpful because they trap and eat other pests. Although
they rarely bite humans unless they are injured or cornered, their
venom can cause painful sores. Two species especially dangerous to man
are the brown recluse and the black widow. Found in out-of-the-way
spots like closets, attics and garages, the brown recluse attacks only
when disturbed. Seek treatment at once, because untended bites can be
fatal. The venom of a black widow is 15 times more powerful than that
of a rattlesnake, but because the spider injects so little during a
bite, death does not often occur except in very young children.
Your best protection against spiders is to cut down on the insect
population inside your house so they will move out in search of a more
dependable food supply.
Silverfish and their close relatives, the firebrats, pose no known
danger to humans, but they can do extensive damage to clothes made of
natural fibers, books, wallpaper, and important records. Silverfish are
wingless, slender insects with a color ranging from dark steel gray to
almost black with a glistening metallic sheen. Small and unobtrusive,
they work at night and are rarely seen unless they get into a sink or
bathtub and cannot climb out again.
To get rid of these pests, first control the moisture. These insects
flock to wet and damp areas. Next, clean and caulk all cracks and
crevices. Look at your baseboards, door and window casings, closets and
places where pipes go through walls. The results may not be immediate,
but if you are persistent, your problem may be eliminated within a few
weeks. However, if the problem is serious, you may need to call in
professional services.
DEALING WITH PESTS IN THE LAWN AND GARDEN
By practicing prevention, you can head off most pests without resorting to pesticides.
Here are some simple suggestions:
-
Inspect plants or seeds to see if they are free from insects and disease. Don't bring insect problems home with you.
- Fertilize properly to enable plants to outgrow insect attacks.
- Keep the vegetable garden free of pests and grass.
- Don’t
plant the same varieties of flowers or vegetables in the same spots
year after year. Their enemies, lying dormant in the soil, may not
attack a different plant.
- Rake, remove and destroy all plant debris after the growing season.
- Buy and grow insect-resistant varieties, if available.
- The best way to control pests is to make the environment inhospitable for them.
- Remember that many insecticides are nonspecific and will affect many beneficial insects as well as pests.
- Take
time to learn and make use of natural repellents. For example, planting
marigolds around asparagus wards off the asparagus beetle; beds of
rosemary and thyme keep cabbage worms away from nearby cabbages.
- Reduce
the mosquito population by draining all places where stagnant water
stands. Mosquitoes can multiply in a small spot, such as a discarded
tin can from nearby cabbages.
- Spray aphid-infested
houseplants and garden plants with soap-and-water solutions rather than
insecticides. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley,
say this old remedy still works to keep pest insects at non-damaging
levels.
- Make use of the wide variety of booklets
published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s extensive series of
home and garden pest control leaflets and bulletins detailing how to
eradicate hundreds of specific pests. Get them at your library or
contact your county’s Cooperative Extension Service agent.
USING NATURE’S ALLIES
Some of nature’s strangest looking creatures are actually your allies
in getting rid of pests. As many as 100 insects in your environment may
be valuable biological control agents; many birds, mammals, amphibians,
reptiles and spiders also work to your advantage.
Before you declare a war on pests in your home and garden, you may want
to see if you can use or restore the balance of natural forces that can
keep troublesome creatures in check. For example, every day of their
lives ladybug beetles eat two and a half times their own weight in
aphids, mealybugs, moth eggs, spider mites and scale insects. Or
consider this: it is not unusual for a single bird to gather hundreds
of caterpillars, flies, grasshoppers, snails and spiders.
In some states there are now companies that raise and sell “pests of
pests”- predators that kill and eat pests, parasites that weaken or
kill them, and pathogens that cause fatal diseases in unwanted species.
Some of these firms are legitimate sources of ladybugs, praying mantis,
and other beneficial creatures. But mail-order pest control is risky.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH BEFORE YOU MAKE A PURCHASE. Something
advertised as a “Foolproof Natural Method for Killing Pests” may turn
out to be two blocks of wood with instructions to place an insect on
one block and hit it with the other. Know if companies are required to
register in your state. New York State, for example, has strict
requirements for registration.
SELECTING AND USING PESTICIDES WISELY
Sometimes a pesticide is the only solution to a stubborn problem. Every
pesticide marketed today must be registered with the Environmental
Protection Agency, and in New York State, with the State. The EPA
offers these tips for their safe use:
-
Always read the label before buying or using pesticides. Use them only for the purposes listed and in the manner directed.
- Do not apply more than the specified amount of pesticide. Overdoses can harm you and the environment.
- Keep pesticides away from food and dishes.
- Keep children and pets away from pesticides and sprayed areas.
- Do not smoke while spraying.
- Avoid inhalation of pesticides.
- Never spray outdoors on a windy day.
- Pesticides that require special protective clothing or equipment should be used only by trained, experienced applicators.
- If you mix pesticides, do it carefully to avoid splashing.
- Avoid breaks or spills of pesticide containers.
- If you spill a pesticide on your skin or your clothing, wash with soap and water and change clothes immediately.
- Store pesticides under lock in the original containers with proper labels.
- Never transfer a pesticide to a container that would attract children, such as a soft drink bottle.
- Dispose
of empty containers safely by wrapping them in several layers of
newspaper, tying them securely, and placing them in a covered trash
can.
- Wash with soap and water after using pesticides, and launder your clothes before wearing them again.
- If
someone swallows a pesticide, check the label for first aid treatment.
Call or go to a doctor or a hospital immediately and keep the pesticide
label with you.
Keep in mind that research updates and improves pest control methods,
including the use of chemicals, from time to time. You should call a
reliable pest control company, or your state coop extension, to get the
latest information on which pesticides are the most useful against your
particular problem.
GETTING PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE
When the job gets too big for home remedies, it’s time to call in a
pest control company. Of course, you may want to, rather than keep
pesticides around the home, particularly if you have children. Before
you do, check around for a reliable company; otherwise, you may wind up
with self-style exterminators who are pests themselves. Decide what
treatment you want and then make sure you get it. Some companies, for
example, claim to use IPM, but don’t. You decide what you want.
A federal law requires commercial applicators, with few exceptions, of
“restricted use” products to be certified. The certification program is
left up to the state. Homeowners can call the certifying state agencies
for information.
Be wary of the person who comes to your home uninvited and offers to
give your house a free inspection for pests. He or she may try to scare
you into authorizing immediate and costly treatments to prevent the
collapse of ceilings or floors. Such a person may bring along
frightening specimens of spiders or cockroaches, or fragments of wood
riddled with termite channels, and pretend to find them in your house.
Always deal with a licensed exterminator. Exterminators are licensed,
in New York State, by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Your local Cornell Cooperative Extension Service agent is a good source
of information on pest control methods. Ask friends and neighbors to
recommend companies they have used successfully. Check prospective
choices with the Better Business Bureau for a reliability report.
Before you sign a contract for pest control services, be sure you fully
understand the nature of the pest to be exterminated, the extent of the
infestation, and the work necessary to solve the problem. Find out if
the company has liability insurance to cover any damages to your house
or furnishings during treatment. If a guarantee is given know what it
covers, how long it lasts, what you must do to keep it in force, and
what kind of continuing prevention and control is necessary. Don’t
expect an application or series of treatments to last indefinitely.
Rarely, for example, can a firm guarantee to leave a house free of
cockroaches for more than six months. Some pest control companies offer
renewable retreatment warranties. But remember, changing the
environment to prevent pests can last indefinitely.
If a sizable amount of money is involved, don’t hesitate to get bids
from several pest control companies. Even termite damage will not be
significantly worse if you wait a week or two before authorizing
treatment. Don’t rush your decision. Since you are paying for
professional knowledge as well as skillful application of pesticides,
look for someone whose judgment you can trust. Non-chemical controls
can be recommended and implemented by properly trained professionals.
If you want to reduce your exposure to chemicals, you can indicate your
preference. IPM may be economically reasonable and some claim it is
cheaper in the long run.