Centipedes are a garden pest and perfectly happy to remain outdoors. But if you give them an opportunity, they'll follow moisture and humidity indoors and become a pest problem in your home.
Taking steps outdoors to remove entry possibilities is your best hope to keep centipedes outdoors. If you've already discovered there's widespread evidence that you have centipedes on your property, your best move is to call a professional pest control service like Abell Pest Control, which will assess the severity of the infestation and recommend a treatment plan. They'll also suggest ways for you to avoid the problem in the future.
While centipedes don't present a significant health danger to humans, they can bite and cause swelling, pain, fever and weakness. However, in addition to avoiding painful contact, you'll want to prevent multi-leg centipedes from entering your home because they're a nuisance that no homeowners want to see disturb their household routine.
Assess the outside of your home to find out where centipedes may gather. Any cracks or crevices should be sealed up to keep the pests out. If there's water around the home's foundation, make sure your rain gutters are positioned for run-off away from the house.
Clear away piles of mulch or leaves that can harbor decay and moisture that draws centipedes. Keep up with your gardening to remove dead leaves and weeds that also encourage the spread of these pests in your planters or landscaping.
Inside the house, assess whether humidity levels are excessive for the indoor environment, particularly in basements. Invest in a dehumidifier to dry out your basement or any other space that fosters moisture. If there's a persistent problem, consult with a contractor who specializes in removing moist interior conditions that can damage your home and draw pests.
Don't leave outside doors open, especially in warm weather, because a host of pests like centipedes will be able to enter easily. Rather than slide the door stop into place, remember to close the door while you're bringing groceries into your home or going back and forth during an outdoor party. Make sure all your windows and doors have undamaged screens so that pests can't slip through a small tear.
Be sure to alert all members of your family and frequent visitors of these preventive steps and encourage them to make closing doors a habit. You'll be thankful later when you don't find bugs in your house.
You probably already know that most people are repulsed by the simple sight of cockroaches. If you are personally dealing with a cockroach infestation, the feelings of disgust are probably even more intense. Unfortunately, the cold winter weather tends to be one of the reasons this pest ends up in your home in the first place, according to Any Pest. While you may know that you don't want to share your home with cockroaches this winter, there are a number of interesting facts about this pest that you've probably never heard.
Because of the high amount of traffic and the versatility of the facilities, pests are naturally attracted to long-term care institutions. Many nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other care facilities include on-site kitchens and cafeterias as well as private rooms and common spaces. All of these places are susceptible to attracting pests because of the presence of food, water and viable habitats.
During the summer months, some people love to go camping with family and friends. Yet this fun trip can be ruined with a few unwanted visitors, most notably different types of bugs. Crawling spiders, hungry mosquitoes and buzzing flies can become annoying quickly. How can you avoid these pests when you're outdoors? Consider these tips to keep bugs out of your campsite.
Carpenter ants can chew through the strongest studs and stringers in a house as they hollow the wooden beams out for nesting. The resulting damage can weaken the home's structural support and require expensive repairs. Professional pest control workers can remove a colony of ants, but the best practice for homeowners is to learn the best ways to keep out an ant colony and prevent the problem before it begins.
As the weather cools, you'll probably see fewer pests than you did during the warmer months, but that doesn't mean they're all gone just yet. Some insects can actually come out in full force during the autumn, while others might seek refuge in your warm home. Here are some key tips to keep in mind as fall gets underway:
As the middle of summer approaches, you need to be vigilant about keeping your garden free of pests. Many insects breed during the summertime, which means they're on the lookout for great places to lay their eggs. For many bugs, that means near a source of food. In fact, some species of insects will lay their eggs inside budding vegetables and fruit so their larvae have something to eat as soon as they hatch. That's why you have to keep harmful bugs out without damaging the bugs that could help you, such as bumble bees.
You might have noticed that, with the exception of the kitchen, you find more pests in your bathroom than in the rest of your home. This is because insects and rodents see the bathroom as a convenient watering hole. Pests love leaky pipes and standing water because these offer them a hydrating oasis in the otherwise dry biome that is your house or apartment. And if your bathroom develops mold, all the better for pests, who may eat fungus or use it to lay their eggs.
The kitchen is largest gathering place for pests in a residential home. The reason is simple: pests can grab a bite to eat and take a sip of water while they're here. And when they find such a bountiful place, they will return home to their nests and report the finding - before you know it, your whole pantry is a buffet for ants! The problem could get even worse if a piece of food falls somewhere and begins to rot. Similarly, fruit and vegetables you bring into your home may be harboring unseen pests waiting to hatch.
