What You Need To Know About Pests In Lake Mary, FL And Surrounding Areas
Whether they’ve gotten inside or not, there are a lot of pests living on your Lake Mary property. Knowing what pests are common in our area can help you quickly identify a pest problem and know how to treat pest problems in your home. Our Pest Library provides the information you need about the most common pests in the Lake Mary area.
Ants
Are you tired of finding ants traveling through your home or taking over your yard? If you are, know that you are not alone; ants are among the most common insects to find their way to our Florida properties and become permanent but unwanted members of our households. Florida's hot, humid weather allows ants to remain active and feed throughout the year. Our region is home to many different species; some are dangerous to people, some are destructive to our homes, and others are simply a nuisance to have wandering in and out of our homes!
The biggest thing to remember about ants is that they are social. You aren't going to share your yard or home with one ant, but hundreds or thousands of ants. Ants live together in large groups, and all colony members work together to care for the nest, take care of the young ants, and gather food. Our indoor and outdoor spaces often provide ants with what they need to make their colonies successful; water, food, and nesting spots. When ants discover a reliable food source like an open trash can, garden, or compost bin, they will alert the other colony members by laying down a pheromone trail. Ants are excellent at communicating with each other, another reason why these tiny insects are so successful and so challenging to keep off our properties!
The following prevention tips will help you maintain an ant-free property.
- Keep outdoor eating areas free of food debris.
- Regularly harvest gardens and fruit trees.
- Keep lids on trash cans and compost bins.
- Ensure your yard has good drainage; many ants are attracted to excess moisture.
- Repair defects in your home's exterior.
- Make sure weatherstripping is intact, and door sweeps are under exterior doors.
- Maintain a clean kitchen and regularly vacuum to remove as many crumbs as possible from your home that ants could use as a food source.
Let the professionals at Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions help you eliminate ants from your Florida property through our home pest control services. We know the ants that call our region home and know how to identify and treat more than 20 species.
Chinch Bugs
Lawn pests are insects and other critters that live, breed, and feed in our yard's grassy areas. These pests are difficult to keep off our lawns and, once there, are even more difficult to eliminate. The chinch bug is an example of a typical lawn pest that lives in our region of Florida. Chinch bugs are tiny insects that are black with whitish-colored wings that overlap the body. Nymphs (young chinch bugs) are an orangish color. These lawn pests are most problematic in open sunny areas.
Chinch bugs thrive in the heat that Florida provides, and their preferred food source is St. Augustine grass. Though St. Augustine grass is the chinch bug's primary food source, it will also feed on and damage other types of grass, trees, and plants. Chinch bugs use their sucking mouthparts to remove sap from the plant. They inject it with a toxin that prevents the plant from transporting water and nutrients from the soil during the feeding process. A lawn infested with chinch bugs typically has large, unsightly patches of yellow or dead grass.
We have put together a helpful list of tips to make your yard less attractive to chinch bugs.
- Make sure your lawn is well irrigated and aerated.
- Don't mow the grass in your yard too short.
- Remove thatch (dead grass and weeds) from your yard.
- Make sure your grass is properly fertilized.
At Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions, we will work closely with you to keep your yard healthy and free of chinch bugs through our highly effective Lawn Care Program!
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are well-known for being icky, disease-spreading insects that no one wants to share their home with. There are many stories associated with cockroaches, some of them true; some are far-fetched! The only thing you need to know about cockroaches is that they should never be inside of your home. Cockroaches aren't just annoying to see scurrying across our home's surfaces; they pose significant health risks. Cockroaches hang out in decaying organic matter and other less sanitary areas like bathrooms and sewers. On their bodies and legs and in their feces, cockroaches carry and spread various allergens, viruses, bacteria, and disease-causing pathogens that make people very ill.
There are thousands of cockroaches living worldwide, but in our region, there are three that are most well-known for invading our homes and becoming a danger to families; German cockroaches, American cockroaches, and Australian cockroaches. Once cockroaches find a way into our homes either on their own or by hitchhiking in something like a plant pot, piece of furniture, or secondhand appliance, they will quickly build their numbers and wear out their welcome. Cockroaches typically hang out in warm areas of a house that provide moisture and give them easy access to food. Those preferences are why cockroach infestations often take hold in kitchens, bathrooms, and wall voids near water pipes.
The following cockroach prevention tips will help you maintain a pest-free property.
- Always keep lids on trash cans. Have the trash removed from your property every week.
- Cockroaches love to feast on leftover food; never leave dirty dishes for long periods or food out on counters overnight.
- Vacuum and sweep often. And always clean up spills or crumbs immediately.
- Quickly repair leaky air conditioners, refrigerators, sinks, and tubs.
- Check the outside of your home for gaps or cracks in the foundation or exterior walls.
- Always inspect items you are bringing into your home for hitchhiking cockroaches.
If you discover cockroaches have made their way into your Florida home, let the professionals at Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions help you eliminate them through our home pest control services.
Mosquitoes
If you have ever spent any time outside you, have run into mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are small flies that live in considerable numbers throughout Florida. Standing water and warm temperatures allow mosquitoes to thrive, two things that are plentiful in Florida! The reason mosquitoes are so problematic is that the female mosquito uses their long extended mouthpart to pierce the skin of people and animals and feed on their blood. They can acquire diseases from one host during the feeding process and then spread those diseases to their next host that cause serious illnesses.
Though mosquitoes are not social, they do tend to congregate in the same areas. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on top of areas of standing water. Once the larvae hatch from their eggs, they develop into adults in the water. Mosquitoes can fly some distance looking for food or breeding sites but tend to stay close to where they hatch. Therefore the more standing water you have on or near your property, the more mosquito activity there will be. In addition to standing water, mosquitoes are attracted to properties with grassy areas, trees, and dense vegetation. During the day, many mosquitoes like to hide in shady areas that keep them out of direct sunlight.
Make the following changes around your property to control mosquito numbers:
- Keep grass cut short.
- Cut back overgrown landscaping and trees.
- Remove as much standing water from your property as possible.
- Always store containers upside down when not in use so they won't collect rainwater.
- Keep gutters free of debris.
Mosquitoes are outdoor pests and challenging to keep away from our Florida yards. The best way to keep your yard as mosquito-free as possible is to partner with a professional. At Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions, as part of our Lawn and Tree Service, we provide a targeted mosquito control service. Our mosquito control program effectively treats high-risk areas, and our professionals will make recommendations for areas of standing water and breeding sites they discover on your property. Call today to learn more!
Sod Webworms
Sod webworms are small insects that resemble caterpillars. They are greenish or yellowish-brown and, in most cases, are less than an inch long. The sod webworm is the larval stage of a small brown moth, and they thrive in hot, humid weather, making Florida a place where sod webworms invade in large numbers. Grassy open, sunny areas are where these pests prefer to live and feed; therefore, athletic fields, parks, golf courses, and of course, our backyards are regularly infested with these pests.
These unique lawn pests feed on grass as caterpillars for several weeks before turning into their adult form; a moth! Sod webworms are voracious feeders, and as they eat, they cause unsightly damage to our Florida yards. As they feed on the blades of grass, they damage the grass and cause a once lush, green yard to turn brown. In addition to the damage that sod webworms cause, their presence will attract hungry birds to your lawn; as the birds feed, they will dig up and cause even more damage to your yard.
Like any lawn pest, sod webworms are challenging to keep out of our yards. Maintain a healthy lawn and keep it free of sod webworms and other lawn pests throughout the year by partnering with a local expert. At Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions, we will work with you to keep your Florida yard healthy and free of sod webworms through our highly effective lawn care program. We can help you maintain a healthy lawn that is less apt to be damaged by sod webworms. Grass with a robust root system is better able to withstand an attack by sod webworms.
Spiders
It's no secret that many different creepy, crawly critters thrive in Florida. Some cause us no worry, and others can make us want to run away from our homes! Spiders are an example of pests that homeowners fear and never want to find lurking in the corners of their homes. Unfortunately, spiders are regular inhabitants of our yards as its grass, gardens, trees, and landscaping provide the spiders and the insects these predators feed on with a place to live. When spiders live in our yards, they are likely to find a way into our homes eventually.
The number of spiders on your property reflects an area's insect population; the more insects living around your home's perimeter and crawling on its exterior walls, the more spider activity you will see. Spiders generally like to live outdoors but regularly move into homes and other structures following their insect prey. If the weather becomes unsuitable or there is a lack of food, the insects living in our yards will move into our temperature-controlled homes to meet their basic needs. Common entry points for spiders and the insects they are following include cracks in the foundation, damaged weatherstripping, gaps under doors, and through vents.
Let the professionals at Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions help you prevent spiders from taking over from your Florida property. We know the spiders that call our region home and how to accurately identify the spiders on your property and provide effective treatments. In addition to our home pest control services, the following prevention tips will help you prevent problems with spiders in your yard and home.
- Rake back weeds, leaves, and other debris from your foundation.
- Cut back shrubs and bushes from your home's exterior.
- Place gardens away from the exterior of your home.
- Keep lids on trash cans; spiders don't feed on trash, but the insects they eat do.
- Install door sweeps on exterior doors and repair damaged weatherstripping.
- Repair cracks and other openings that develop in your home's exterior.
- Turn your exterior lights off when they aren't necessary. Many insects are attracted to light.
Custom Solutions For Your Local Pest Problems
Let the professionals at Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions provide you with the best pest control in Seminole, Orange, Brevard, and Lake Counties. We are a family-owned and operated business completely committed to our customers and solving their pest problems. Our 100% satisfaction guarantee means that you will always be happy with the services we provide! To learn more about our residential or commercial pest control offerings or our lawn and shrub service, please, give us a call today!