Pest Information

On the hunt for food, a single ant can lead the way for the entire colony to invade your home. The best way to control the problem is to find the nest and remove the queen. Fleas are tiny insects with bodies thin and flattened from side to side much as a fish is flattened. The flea is one of the most troublesome of insects and one of the most dangerous. This makes it easy for them to slip quickly about among the hairs of the animal upon which they live, for all fleas are parasitic.

Many different species of Florida ants from North to South, east to west inhabit this great state. There are 221 species of ants recognized here in Florida. They inhabit a wide variety of nesting locations including tree limbs and twigs, grass culms, rotten logs, leaf litter, soils of all types, acorns, pine tree bark and even pocket gopher burrows deep underground. The favorable habitat and climate conditions that exist in Florida also make it easier for exotic ant species to become established, especially when combined with this state's vagabond human population and history of tropical plant commerce. Of the 221 species, 52 are exotic, more than any other state.

Pest ants in Florida include the Acrobat Ant, Argentine Ant, Bicolored Trailing Ant, Big-Headed Ant, Black Carpenter Ant, Crazy Ant, Destructive Trailing Ant, Elongate Twig Ant, Florida Carpenter Ant, Florida Harvester Ant, Ghost Ant, Little Fire Ant, Pharaoh Ant, Pyramid Ant, Red Imported Fire Ant, Rover Ant and the White-Footed Ant.

The Florida Carpenter Ant is a large to very large type of ant. It's coloring is that of black and orange. These ants are mainly nocturnal. They nest in dead tree branches, rotting logs, tree stumps, piles of lumber, or under yard objects (potted plants, trash cans etc.) in voids such as curtain rods, hollow porch columns, wall and attic insulation, timer boxes, and pump housing.

Florida Fire Ants are considerably the most dangerous ants here. They are tiny, little creatures packed with poison and as a group, they bite in unison.

Florida Black Ants are similar to a carpenter ant, but they are covered in long yellowish or white hairs. Their colonies have 1 queen normally. These ants are prominent in North Florida.

Appearance:

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, which means "handwing". They are the only mammal that can truly fly. Florida has 13 resident bat species. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind. Their vision is adapted for low light levels. However, bats can maneuver in complete darkness using echolocation. Echolocation is the use of sound waves to detect objects. Bats emit high pitched sounds and listen for them to echo back. The length of time it takes the echo to return tells the bat how far away it is from an object. This allows the bat to fly in the dark and hunt for food. Bats' feet are uniquely adapted for grasping structures so that they can rest while hanging upside down. Bats undergo a state of torpor in the daytime; their heart rate and body temperature decrease so that they can conserve energy. Because of this, bats are reluctant to fly in the daytime even when disturbed. If they are forced to fly, they must first raise their body temperature and heart rate.

For their size, bats have the longest lifespan of any mammal. Some can live for more than thirty years.

Habitat:

Bats live in many different habitats across Florida. They can be found from sand hills to the hardwood forests along the banks of rivers, and probably even in your neighborhood! For bats, one of the most important parts of their habitat is an area to roost. Some bats, like the Brazilian free-tailed bat, the evening bat, and the big brown bat are colonial, meaning they gather together in a colony to roost during the day. Other species, like the Seminole bat and the tricolored bat, are solitary, meaning that they roost by themselves. In Florida, natural roosting sites can be cracks, crevices, and hollows of trees, caves, dead fronds of palm trees, Spanish moss, and tree foliage. Bats also use man made structures including buildings, bridges, culverts, tile roofs, and bat houses.

Behavior:

Florida's native bats are insectivorous, meaning they eat insects including beetles, mosquitoes, moths, and other agriculture and garden pests. In fact, bats are the most important controller of night flying insects because a single bat can eat hundreds of insects a night!

In Florida, bats mostly mate in the fall and winter. The female does not usually ovulate until the spring when the insect population increases, but she can retain sperm for months before ovulation occurs. Most female bats only have one pup per year. For their size, bats are the slowest reproducing mammals. Pregnant females of some species will gather together in nursery colonies. Bats do not build nests. They normally give birth from mid-April through July, and their young begin to fly within 3 to 6 weeks. Juveniles are then weaned from their mothers and by mid-August the young are able to forage and fly on their own. Bats will not reach reproductive maturity until they are about one year old. This is considerably longer than most small mammals.

Bats and People

Bat populations are declining in many areas. The loss of roosting sites (such as trees and caves) can cause bats to roost in areas where they are more likely to become a nuisance for people. The use of pesticides to control insects can take away the food that bats eat, and sometimes poison the bats themselves. These unique mammals have been sensationalized in the news and horror movies, creating a great deal of anxiety among Americans. Fear of rabid bats has caused mass destruction of bat populations for decades even though they seldom pose public health problems. Ironically, this fear has caused more people to come in contact with bats while attempting to eradicate them! Rabies, a virus usually transmitted from a bite, affects a very small portion of the bat population in Florida. Histoplasmosis is a respiratory illness caused by a fungus. This fungus is found in soil that is enriched with bat or bird feces. This fungus is sometimes found on chicken farms or in caves. According to the Florida Bat Conservancy, "this illness has been associated with bats in Florida in only a few cases, all of which involved visits to bat caves". Attics and roofs are normally dry areas that do not provide the proper conditions for this fungus to survive. For more information about bats and rabies or histoplasmosis, including what to do if a person makes contact with a bat, contact your county health department, the Florida Department of Health, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Bats, like many other wildlife species, have lost a great deal of natural habitat to development. Some species have been able to adapt to habitat loss by moving into man-made structures. Female bats of some species will roost in large colonies when they have their pups. The potential of exterminating large numbers of bats at once means that bat populations are particularly vulnerable to extirpation.

White Nose Syndrome

White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is named for a white fungus that has been found covering the muzzles and wings of hibernating bats in the eastern part of the United States. More than a million bats with WNS have died.

No cases of WNS have been found in Florida, but WNS is spreading and biologists now know that both bats and people can carry the spores of the fungus.

Human health implications of WNS are not known, but there is no indication that people have been affected by WNS from exposure to the fungus or affected bats. Regardless, the public should never handle sick, injured, or dead bats.

Learn more about White Nose Syndrome and How to Report Bat Die-Offs

Protecting Bats

It is illegal to kill bats in Florida in accordance with Florida Administrative Code number 68A-4.001 General Prohibitions and 68A-9.010 Taking Nuisance Wildlife. The use of pesticides or poisons for the purpose of harming, killing, or deterring bats is prohibited in the state of Florida. There is one legal registered repellent: naphthalene (also known as moth balls). Unfortunately, moth balls are rarely effective or practical in repelling bats from a structure.

When bats take up residence in a structure where they are not wanted, the legal, safest, and most effective technique for getting rid of them is a process known as "exclusion". Excluding bats from their roost sites involves the use of a one-way device which allows them to exit the structure, but prevents them from returning. After the bats are gone, the device is removed and the entrance holes into the building are sealed. Prior to excluding the bats, any other potential openings the bats might use should be sealed, including openings as narrow as ½ inch. Bat-proofing for most structures involves a few simple, energy-efficient home improvements such as applying caulking and weather stripping.

To ensure that all bats have exited, exclusion devices in Florida legally must be used for four consecutive days before the opening is sealed. Because insect activity slows during cold weather, bats often become inactive and may not exit the structure. In order to keep inactive bats from being trapped inside of a structure, bat exclusion devices may not be used if the National Weather Service forecasts four consecutive days of the minimum temperature below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Exclusions cannot be conducted between April 16th and August 14th because when the mothers fly out of the structure and can't return, they are separated from their flightless young, leaving the young bats trapped in buildings. No permit is required to exclude bats from a structure between August 15th and April 15th, and more information on the simple equipment needed can be found through the Florida Bat Conservancy and University of Florida/IFAS.

Bees can cause problems around structures. Most are social insects that live in colonies. They aggressively defend their nests by stinging. The sting usually involves the injection of a venom that is a nerve poison. The sting may cause death in cases of allergy or when many wasps sting.

Bumble bee, Bombus spp. : It nests underground in colonies of several hundred individuals. The nests are usually in abandoned rodent burrows, in mulch, or under logs or debris. The abdomen of the bumble bee is covered with hairs.

Honey bee, Apis mellifera. : Honey bee colonies have 20,000 to 80,000 individuals. They are raised for honey and beeswax, and are essential for pollination of crops. The stinger has barbs, so that the stinger and the poison sac remain in the skin. Unlike wasps, honey bees can sting only once.

Honey bee swarm : Most honey bee colonies are in hives managed by beekeepers, but some colonies swarm in large numbers and can be found outside. They may become established in house walls or eaves. The nests in walls can contain a lot of honey. If the bees are controlled or removed, the nest and honey should also be removed to prevent problems to the house.

Cockroaches can spread germs, make allergies worse and multiply at a record-breaking speed.

The cockroach is considered one of the most obnoxious of household pests. This brown or black insect can be found in houses, apartment and office buildings, ships, trains, and airplanes in many parts of the world. Domestic cockroaches, which are also called roaches, have a disagreeable odor. They live in warm dark areas. Their broad flat bodies permit them to crawl in narrow cracks and along pipes. They hide in the daytime coming out at night to feed. The diet of the cockroach includes both plant and animal products ranging from food, paper, clothing and books to dead insects. Although cockroaches can be difficult to eliminate there are a variety of baits and traps that are very effective. Used in combination with good sanitary practices cockroaches can be controlled or eliminated. Cockroaches are believed to be able to transmit several different human diseases.

Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria. There are about 4,500 species of cockroach, of which 30 species are associated with human habitations and about four species are well known as pests.

Among the best-known pest species are the American cockroach, Periplaneta Americana, which is about 30 millimeters (1.2 in) long, the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, about 15 millimeters (0.59 in) long, the Asian cockroach, Blattella asahinai, also about 15 millimeters (0.59 in) in length, and the Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis, about 25 millimeters (0.98 in). Tropical cockroaches are often much bigger, and extinct cockroach relatives and 'roachoids' such as the Carboniferous Archimylacris and the Permian Apthoroblattina were not as large as the biggest modern species.

More homes are damaged by termites each year.

The termites are a group of eusocial insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera. Termites mostly feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10% of the estimated 4,000 species (about 2,600 taxonomically known) are economically significant as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Termites are major detritivores, particularly in the subtropical and tropical regions, and their recycling of wood and other plant matter is of considerable ecological importance. As eusocial insects, termites live in colonies that, at maturity, number from several hundred to several million individuals. Colonies use a decentralised, self-organised systems of activity guided by swarm intelligence to exploit food sources and environments that could not be available to any single insect acting alone. A typical colony contains nymphs (semi-mature young), workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals of both genders, sometimes containing several egg-laying queens. Termites are sometimes called "white ants", though they are not closely related to true ants.

Behavior:

Termites possess organizational traits resembling ants, specifically the male monarch, the female monarch, flightless infertile soldiers with large heads and powerful jaws conformed for defending the colony, and workers. Termite colonies may incorporate limitless numbers who hunt for food and provisions. Termite female monarchs demonstrate the ability to produce an egg in increments of 15 seconds around the clock, and the queens live for about 15-25 years. A few queen termite species live up to 50 years. Termites embark on their swarming ritual typically in the months of January. Termites encompass over 20,000 specific types of termites. The more common variety of termites includes Subterranean termites, Dry wood termites, Damp wood termites, and Formosan termites. The easiest way to tell which termite species you are looking at is by looking at the soldiers. Each type of termite soldier has distinct physical attributes that set them apart.

Termite Swarms

Termite swarms occur when a termite colony has grown so large that they send out new reproductive termites to start new colonies. The swarmers can come out during the day or night depending on their species. Subterranean termites generally swarm during the day and have more individuals than dry wood termites which swarm generally at night. Swarming termites are easy to exterminate and can be done so using any household cleaning product. The important issue here is that swarmers are a sign of termite infestation, and that means you have a problem.

Termite Damage:

Due to their wood-eating habits, many termite species can do great damage to unprotected buildings and other wooden structures. Their habit of remaining concealed often results in their presence being undetected until the timbers are severely damaged and exhibit surface changes. Once termites have entered a building, they do not limit themselves to wood; they also damage paper, cloth, carpets, and other cellulosic materials.

Infestation Warning Signs:

Swarm of winged insects in or around your home

Wood that sounds hollow when tapped

Any cracked, bubbling paint or sawdust-like droppings (frass)

Wings from swarmers

Mud tubes on wooden beams, in crawl spaces, or on exterior walls.

Termite Control:

Do you live in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida? Specifically Pinellas, West Pasco and Hillsborough Counties? Termites may be invading your home. Green-Tech termite and pest control offers specialty termite control treatments designed to control and eliminate termites!

Before you decide on a treatment plan for termites, it is very important to determine the species you are dealing with. In the southern part of the United States, subterranean termites are the most common. Subterranean termites are the underground termite and travel in mud shelter tubes. They make up about 90% of the termite infestations in the United States. Subterranean termite species that are the most common are the Eastern subterranean termite, Arid Land subterranean termite and the western subterranean termite. Formosan termites are also a species of subterranean termite that are common in areas of Louisiana, Texas and Florida. If you live more than 500 miles from the gulf coast, it is likely that your termites are subterranean.

Dry wood termites live in dry wood and do not need moisture from the ground to Survive. Dry wood termites are most common in areas near the Gulf Coast and in Southern California. Dry wood termites require a different treatment than subterranean termites, so it is important if you live in these areas to determine what species you have. You could have both subterranean termites and dry wood termites at the same time, and they would require 2 different treatments to control them. Click here for more info on Dry wood termites.

There are two types of termites commonly found in structures in Florida. One is the subterranean termite and the other is the dry wood termite. In order to properly treat termite problems it is important to know which type of termite you are dealing with.

Feeding

Subterranean Termites eat the soft part of the wood, between the grains, in layers. They leave a pattern in the wood that is very different from those left by dry wood termites.

Dry wood Termites eat though the wood across the grain, and the pattern left on the wood does not follow the grain of the wood; it goes in any direction.

Section 2 Content The house mouse is remarkably well-adapted for living year-round in homes, food establishments and other structures. Homeowners are especially likely to notice mice during winter, following their fall migration indoors in search of warmth, food and shelter. Once mice become established inside a home, they can be extremely difficult to control.

Reasons To Control Mice

Although most people consider mice less objectionable than rats, mice are more common and cause significantly more damage. Mice are prolific breeders, producing 6-10 litters continuously throughout the year. The greatest economic loss from mice is not due to how much they eat, but what must be thrown out because of damage or contamination. Food, clothing, furniture, books and many other household items are contaminated by their droppings and urine, or damaged by their gnawing. House mice gnaw through electrical wiring, causing fires and failure of freezers, clothes dryers and other appliances. Mice also can transmit diseases, most notably salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces.

Mouse Behavior

Mice are nocturnal creatures, and, therefore, are rarely seen by the homeowner. The most obvious indicators of their presence are droppings (1/8 - 1/2-inches long, dark and pointed at both ends), sounds of them running, gnawing or squeaking, or damage to stored food or materials used for nesting.

Compared to rats, mice forage only short distances from their nest -- usually not more than 10-25 feet. When food and shelter are adequate, their foraging range may be only a few feet. For this reason, traps and other control devices must be placed in areas where mouse activity is most apparent. Mice prefer to travel adjacent to walls and other edges-- another critical point to remember when positioning control devices. Mice are very inquisitive and will investigate each new object placed in their foraging territory. If control devices are not initially successful, move them around to a different location.

Mice feed on a wide variety of foods but prefer seeds and cereal grains. They also are fond of foods high in fat and protein such as nuts, bacon, butter and sweets (an important point to remember when choosing a bait for snap traps). Mice are "nibblers" and may make 20-30 visits to different food sites each night.

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus Rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats.

Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size; rats are generally large muroid rodents, while mice are generally small muroid rodents. The muroid family is very large and complex, and the common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Generally, when someone discovers a large muroid, its common name includes the term rat, while if it is small, the name includes the term mouse. Scientifically, the terms are not confined to members of the Rattus and Mus genera, for example the pack rat and cotton mouse.

Wasps can cause problems around structures. Most are social insects that live in colonies. They aggressively defend their nests by stinging. The sting usually involves the injection of a venom that is a nerve poison. The sting may cause death in cases of allergy or when many wasps sting.

Cicada killer, Specius speciosus . It is 40 mm long and black with pale-yellow markings on the last three abdominal segments. It is a solitary wasp, but colonies of wasps nest in the same location. Each female digs its own hole up to 10 inches deep. It stings and paralyzes cicadas, placing one in the hole with an egg. Closely related species attack and kill flies.

Mud dauber wasp, Sphecidae: It is a black wasp with a long, thin waist, and is not a social wasp. It is not very aggressive and rarely stings people. However, it often builds its mud nests close to human activity.

Mud dauber brood chamber : The mud dauber constructs brood chambers from mud on the sides of buildings and under eaves. The wasp stings and paralyzes spiders, lays an egg on them, and seals them inside the chambers. The wasp larva hatches and feeds on the spiders.

An emergence hole in the mud means the wasp has emerged from the chamber.

Paper wasp, Polistes spp. :It is usually yellow with brown markings or black with red or yellow markings. These wasps are aggressive and they readily sting. People are usually stung while trimming shrubbery or cleaning nests from eaves of houses.

Paper wasp nest : Paper wasp nests are made of a papery material that is shaped like an inverted umbrella. It usually has a single comb with up to 250 wasps. Nests are often built under eaves or on branches of shrubs. The eggs are laid in a cell. When the larvae hatch, the wasps feed them. They forage for caterpillars and other small insects to feed the larvae.

Yellow jacket, Vespula spp. : It is about 12 mm long and has alternating yellow and black markings on the abdomen. The wasp is very aggressive in defending itself or the nest. The stinger is not barbed, so the wasp can sting repeatedly.

Yellow jacket nest : The nest can be quite large for some colonies of yellow jackets. It is made of a papery material. Inside, the new nest has layers of combs to raise the brood. Some nests are aerial, but usually the nests are subterranean or are both aerial and subterranean. People are usually stung when they step into or disturb a nest. `

Bed bugs are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. The term most commonly refers to members of the genus Cimex of which Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known as it prefers to feed on human blood although other Cimex species are specialized to other animals.

A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. Diagnosis involves both finding bed bugs and the occurrence of compatible symptoms.

Adult bed bugs are light brown to reddish-brown, flattened, oval-shaped and have no hind wings. The front wings are vestigial and reduced to pad-like structures. Bed bugs have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4–5 mm in length and 1.5–3 mm wide.

Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they moult and reach maturity. A bed bug of any age that has just consumed a blood meal will appear to have a bright red translucent abdomen; this color will fade to brown over the next several hours and within two days will become opaque and black as the insect digests its meal. Bed bugs may be mistaken for other insects, such as booklice, small cockroaches, or carpet beetles, however when warm and active, their movements are more ant-like, and like most other true bugs, they emit a characteristic disagreeable odor when crushed.

Bed bugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding and reproduction.

The life span of bed bugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants cut "galleries" into the wood in your home. Colonies can contain up to 50,000 workers, and infestations are very difficult to control. Carpenter ants may also be mistaken for termites.

Crickets

House crickets can damage silk, woolens, paper, fruits and vegetables. They can eat almost anything available.

Earwigs

Earwigs often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Damage to foliage, flowers, and various crops are commonly blamed on earwigs.

Silverfish

Water is the key element for silverfish survival. Silverfish are able to live up to a year without food. Be sure to sweep, vacuum, or mop diligently. Silverfish eat cereal grains, starches, and anything else they can find.

Spiders

Not only are their webs a nuisance around the house, but spiders can inflict painful, sometimes dangerous bites.

Fleas

Fleas are tiny insects with bodies thin and flattened from side to side much as a fish is flattened. The flea is one of the most troublesome of insects and one of the most dangerous. This makes it easy for them to slip quickly about among the hairs of the animal upon which they live, for all fleas are parasitic.

Fleas feed on human blood through small bites in the skin. They can jump from your carpet up to your ankles and calves, and a female flea can produce up to 800 eggs during her lifetime.

Ticks

Ticks have life cycles that involve three distinct life stages of development- larval (infant), nymph (immature) and adult (mature). The ticks known for the greatest quantity of disease infections are the Ixodes group. The group consists of many ticks but the ones of most concern are ixodes scapolarius, ixodes pacificus, ixodes damini, and ixodes ricionoiuse. Ticks don't fly, jump or blow around with the wind; these suspects are not ticks. Ticks are slow and lumbering, while spiders are quick and nimble. They are small, very patient and amazing in their capacity to locate their host/prey. Their purpose in life is only to propagate their species and unknowingly pass diseases to those hosts they feed on. They don't feed often, but when they do, they can acquire disease agents form one host and pass it to another host at a later feeding. Their sensory organs are complex and they can determine trace amounts of gases, such as carbon dioxide left by warm-blooded animals and man. They can sense the potential host's presence from long distances and even select their ambush site based upon their ability to identify paths that are well traveled.

Understanding the disease potential ticks threaten us with and having the capability to identify the basic tick group will help you present your systems or potential disease issues to your Doctor so that treatment can be initiated.

Although the number of tick species is in the hundreds, there are relatively few ticks that interact with mankind and domestic animals causing harm. While most ticks limit their host selection, others are opportunistic feeders and will feed on almost any accessible host. A tick, which feeds on a select host group, will move infective agents within that group. However, when a tick is a nonselective feeder, it can transmit disease agents from one host group to another. These nonselective ticks pose the largest threat of infection in man.

Ticks generally are not born with disease agents but rather acquire them during various feedings. They then pass the disease on to other animals and mankind during subsequent feedings. When an infection moves from an animal host to a human it is called zoonosise. Lyme disease, babiosisos, erlichiosious and tularemia are examples of such diseases.

Water buts

Water buts are found wherever there is standing or gently running water and are found are most commonly seen in the late summer and early fall. Although not really dangerous Water Bugs can give one a nasty bite.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are similar in appearances to Bumble bees. Carpenter bee nests always have a perfectly round opening.