What Are the General Pests of Texas?
Pests are inevitable in the Great State of Texas, as you know. And when they attempt to invade your home, will you be ready? Having an experienced and professional pest control company on hand will give you the control, and not the pests. Also, did you know there are all sorts of general pests not fitting into the usual roach, ant, and spider categories? Well, in this article, we will clue you into the general pests of Texas and how Tom Samples Pest Control can help you take back control from those pesky bugs.
Tom Samples Pest Control helps homes and businesses get rid of General Pests including the following:
- Mosquitos
- Fleas and Ticks
- Millipedes
- Silverfish
- Springtails
- Indian meal moths
- Weevils
- Saw-toothed grain beetle
Honestly, there are few worse things than finding roaches in the pantry or spiders in the shower. So, let’s dig right in and identify the general pests you need to be aware of in Texas and the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex.
Mosquitos
Four common mosquitos are located in Texas, ruining picnics and outdoor time for so many families. Don’t let that happen to you. Mosquito season is from around March 15 to the beginning of April. So, protect your family from these blood-sucking insects and get your family outside playing again.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Zika virus, West Nile Virus, Chikungunya, Lyme Disease, and Dengue fever are just a few of the diseases known to spread through the bite of a mosquito. Your local pest control company can help you eliminate the majority of mosquitoes with both natural and synthetic treatments to the perimeter of the home.
Fleas and Ticks
Fleas and ticks are carried in by all sorts of critters. Raccoons, deer, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, foxes, and household pets are all hosts to the fleas and ticks. Obviously, that makes critter control and insect management imperative for any home with pets.
Fleas are a parasitic pest that feeds on the blood of humans and animals. When fleas jump onto you or your pets, their saliva can cause an allergic reaction, skin conditions, and even parasitic tapeworms.
Ticks are also parasitic and can transmit various diseases, some of which can be very dangerous. These diseases and conditions include Lyme disease, Tularemia, Heartland virus, Bourbon virus, and Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness. Most common in Texas is the lone star tick.
Always make sure your pets are on a preventative flea and tick medication, so they don’t get infested, and bring them into your home. Your pest will thank you for keeping those itchy pests off them.
Millipedes
Millipedes live in humid, moist environments and will be found in soil, leaf litter, or under rocks or wood. They are a long, segmented worm-like creature with two pairs of legs on each segment. And if you encounter a millipede, it will most likely curl up into a ball to defend itself.
Luckily, millipedes do not transmit disease to humans and pets. However, millipedes can do a great deal of damage to farmers’ crops.
Silverfish
These prehistoric-looking little creatures are especially numerous in Texas. They thrive in the heat and humidity of the Texas climate. Silverfish are tiny wingless pests that are silverish in color. In addition, they have three long tails and two antennae.
Silverfish are destructive when it comes to their feeding habits. They will ingest paper, cloth, glue, food, and proteins. Frankly, that is just about everything. They will contaminate food, damage paper goods, and stain or put holes in clothing. But, they are medically harmless to humans and pets alike.
Springtails
According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension,
“One of the most unusual and smallest insect inhabitants of Texas lawns are springtails. Far from being harmful, springtails serve as decomposers, one of a community of organisms that help break down organic matter and return valuable nutrients to the soil.”
They are indeed tiny, about .04 inches long, and if they were larger, they would look a lot like the flea. They are found in lawn debris, mulch, and grass. What’s more, they do not bite or sting, but they will damage crops and plants.
Indian meal moths
Its two-toned wings and thin and long look are the identifiers of these household pests. They are often found in kitchens and pantries specifically, as they eat grains. And their caterpillars can come in some packaged foods. They are pretty standard in Texas, but they are not dangerous to humans unless they get into a home or business’s food supplies.
Weevils
The weevil is actually just a beetle, and there are several species of weevil in Texas. They appear slender and oval-shaped and are dark-colored. And the adults have an elongated head with a snout that ends in a mouth.
Weevils are easy to bring in the home in flour, rice, pasta, cereal, and other grains. Their eggs are invisible to the naked eye, so you would never know if they were in the products until they are hatched. They can ruin an entire pantry full of food, causing you to have to dispose of the entire contents. However, they are not harmful to humans.
Saw-toothed grain beetle
These little flat-bodied buggers are quite common, and they also infest grains in the homes and factories. They are usually brown in color and are long and slender, but only about 18th to 1/10th of an inch long. Like the weevils, they are not dangerous to humans. But they are a pantry pest that can do a lot of damage to your pantry and your food budget.
For help reducing the number of the general pests of Texas you come across in a day, contact your local pest management team to put a plan into action for your home or business.
How to Get Rid of the General Pest of Texas
Regardless of what an excellent housekeeper you are in your home or how much you invest in the cleanliness of your business, it will likely be infested at one point or another. Therefore, if you see more insects inside of your property than outside of your property, contact your local pest control experts as soon as possible.
Here are a few things you can do at home to limit the number of insects and critters entering your home.
- Install a barrier of rock or stone around any structure you do not want them entering.
- Dump out all pots, bowls, and pools of stagnant water around the home. Ensure planted pots have a hole in the bottom for proper drainage.
- Turn mulch to allow it to dry.
- Keep all shrubbery trimmed and free of underbrush.
- Mow the lawn weekly to shoo out critters and eliminate insects in the grasses.
- Wash and vacuum pet areas often.
- Inspect any used clothing or furniture before bringing it to the home.
- Seal any possible entry points to the home or business.
- Inspect foods and grains when bringing them into the home.
That said, it is best to call a pest management company in your area to enroll in a maintenance plan for pest elimination.
From the moment you contact us, you will have access to the number one pest control team at your disposal through the entire process, letting you know just what to expect. Tom Samples Pest Control will not rest until the interior and exterior of your building have full pest control coverage.
A Pest-Free Environment Starts with Tom Samples
Choosing a quality pest control company like Tom Samples gives you the confidence your home will be pest-free in no time. We have been providing effective pest control solutions throughout the DFW Metroplex area for more than 60 years.
Our family-owned and operated business is fully equipped to effectively handle all your pest and critter control needs. Tom Samples covers all the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Additionally, we have locations in Springtown and Midlothian for your convenience.
Call for an inspection.
Schedule treatment.
Gain control over your home and yard.
Call for peace of mind.
Call on the friendly professional of Tom Samples Pest Control.
So, if you have not scheduled your pest control consultation yet, this is the time to do it. Get ahead of the seasonal bugs and critters with Tom Samples Pest Control.