Cindy Hughes is a pet owner who supports organic gardening practices. She’s not the kind of person you would expect to have her house chemically treated for insects each season.
“I’m absolutely a believer in non-toxic stuff,” Hughes, of Wethersfield, Conn., says. “I like natural things to take care of bugs.”
Yet each season, a technician from a pest-control company conducts a perimeter inspection, treats the property for wood-boring insects and checks for rodents such as mice and chipmunks.
Nobody loves spending money on pest control, Hughes says, but it gives her peace of mind. “When I consider it out over a 12-month period, it’s very cheap insurance.”
Whether it’s carpenter bees, carpenter ants, wasps, ticks, mice, bats or squirrels, co-existing with wildlife has its challenges–whether in urban, suburban or rural communities.
“My home is well maintained. I never thought I’d have mice in my garage,” Hughes says. “It turns out it’s a really common problem.”
Practically everyone has a home pest story. The presence of wild animals or insects in your yard or home is not a sign of filth, experts say. It’s just part of life. Houses offer plenty of features that are attractive to wild creatures seeking nest sites and foraging for food.
The following is a field guide to household and garden pests–and a batttle plan for each.
Ants: About 80 percent of homes have ants. Wash countertops with white vinegar as a deterrent. If you can track the point of entry, spray a 50-50 solution of white vinegar and water around the ants’ point of entry, or sprinkle cayenne pepper or ground cinnamon around it, suggests Donna Smallin in her book “Cleaning Plain & Simple” (Storey Publishing, $16.95). If you see three or more ants in one location on a daily basis, for more than two weeks, it’s usually a sign of a problem.
Gale Ridge, an entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, suggests sweet bait that contains Boric acid, such as Combat Ant Killing Gel, Revenge or Terro. Ants drink the sweet syrup and bring it back to the colony and queen. Like all ants, carpenter ants are attracted to moisture, and they’ll forage through soft wet wood to make their home. If you continue to see ants after you treat them yourself, pest-management experts suggest calling in a professional because carpenter ants can cause structural damage.
Bats: Don’t attach bat houses to the side of your house; it’s OK to mount them on trees that border your property and are several yards from your house. Bats build nests under eaves, so if you see what looks like droppings on your siding, you may have bats. If bats get inside your house, a professional can install one-way doors so they can leave at night but not get back in; after about two weeks when they’re all gone, the door is removed and the hole is sealed. Although bats are beneficial because they eat so many insects, their droppings inside a house can build up and emit hazardous particles.
Bedbugs: USA Today reported in December 2005 that bedbugs, the nocturnal nuisance, are on the rise nationwide. Bedbugs can be living in four-star hotels, college dorms and apartments, and they’re terrific hitchhikers, says Cindy Mannes of the National Pest Management Association. She recommends vacuuming luggage and backpacks before bringing them inside and removing all clothing upon entering the house after a trip and washing it immediately in hot water.
Bedbugs, which are about the size and shape of a piece of rice, can survive six months without a meal. Their calling card is spots of blood on the sheets. Applying insect repellent on your body before you sleep won’t deter them, Mannes says.
If you do bring them home and discover them in your bed, take whatever clothes you need out of your room, close the door and call an exterminator immediately. They’re hard to eradicate, so expect two or three treatments from the pest control company to get rid of them.
Carpenter bees: Female carpenter bees look like big, black bumble bees and will tunnel into wood, following the grain for about 8 inches. They will lay about 10 to 15 eggs in little cells. They’re more likely to build nests in a home that hasn’t been stained in a while or has peeling paint. If a woodpecker starts attacking your siding following a line, it is likely going after carpenter bees.
If you detect carpenter bees, you can puff Boric acid into tunnels or, at night, spray tunnels with hornet or wasp spray and seal the hole with duct tape to kill the female. The following morning, remove the duct tape and putty up the holes or other females will use them. (Or call an exterminator.)
Indian meal moths: Indian meal moths are commonly called pantry moths. Don’t store pet food in your kitchen pantry because that’s often how this nuisance pest is introduced to homes. If you find larvae in food, check all the other places where they’re likely to be: pasta, rice, hot and cold cereal, flour, cake mix, dried fruit. If you have larvae, you can kill them by freezing them or cooking them. Or discard infested foods in outdoor trash bins. Meanwhile, squash adult moths or kill using a bait or sticky trap. Remove everything from infested cupboards, vacuum tops and bottoms of shelves, crevices and corners and wash with soap and water. Store food in sealed containers. (Moths can penetrate zippered plastic bags.)
Mice: Many are smart enough to take the bait without being trapped. If you try to put down chemical killers, follow instructions exactly. (Most consumers tend to overuse chemicals.) Consumers can trap and poison mice themselves using similar materials the pros use.
Mice can enter a home through an opening the size of a pencil, so seal all holes around the outside of your house. They eat wires and are suspected to be the biggest cause of house fires in which the cause is officially classified as “unknown.”
Mosquitoes: To discourage mosquitoes from your yard, eliminate stagnant water and clean gutters. Apply insect repellent to skin and clothing, especially at dawn and dusk. Citronella candles help. If you’re planning an evening barbecue, you could spray a product containing Malathion 50 onto your tree line the night before or the morning of the party, but follow instructions. Doubling the dosage won’t make it more effective, says Nick Armento, owner of Bugs to Beast in Riverton, Conn. “It won’t work as well.”
Stinging insects: Homeowners can treat many wasps’ nests themselves, but read and follow directions exactly. Spray wasps’ nests at night while they are less active. Paper wasps are aggressive and will attack unprovoked. They build their papery-gray nests from the size of a golf ball to the size of a basketball in a month. When you see a large nest, typically in July, call a professional to remove it.
Termites: Termites cause Americans $5 billion in damage a year, according to the pest control association. When it gets warm, termites swarm. Another telltale sign is mud tubes around the foundation where it looks like mud was splashed onto the foundation. Hire a licensed pest-control company. The house won’t collapse overnight, so ask friends for referrals and get a couple of estimates.
Ticks: Ticks carry Lyme disease. Apply insect repellant containing DEET when outdoors. Pest-control companies can treat the perimeter of the house, the lawn and the border of the lawn where it meets the woods. If the soil is treated with chemicals, the material will kill beneficial insects such as worms and praying mantis.
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PREVENTION
In general, regular maintenance will discourage pests from making themselves at home.
– Trim shrubs and trees so they don’t touch or hang over your house. Keep mulch several inches from wood siding. Trellises should not lie directly next to siding; there should be a few inches of space between them.
“You don’t want anything green and growing that will absorb moisture and hold it against the wood,” says Michael Lavery, owner of AbairLavery pest management company. “That’s what rots wood.”
– Don’t stack firewood next to the house.
– Clean gutters annually so water can drain properly away from your house.
– Seal any openings or cracks around the house’s exterior.
– Wrap wire netting around window air conditioners and over the chimney opening to prevent rodents and birds from getting in.
– Don’t feed pets outside; it attracts raccoons and skunks. Store birdseed or pet food in the garage in a plastic or metal container.
– A healthy lawn is the best defense against grubs. Sprinkle a layer of composted leaves over the yard to give it the nutrients it needs to survive when its roots become dinner for a bunch of grubs.
CALLING IN REINFORCEMENTS
Some pests require help from a pest-management professional. Call one immediately if you find:
– Bedbugs (bite; spread easily; hard to eradicate)
– Termites (cause structural damage; when selling a home, it’s important to document that a professional was hired)
– Paper wasps (attack people)
– Raccoons, skunks and foxes (can carry rabies)
– Squirrels trapped in the attic (will try to chew their way out)
– Bats
