5 Summer Pests and How to Control Them

Here comes the warm and sunny weather, along with summer pests! Learn about common summer pests in your neighborhood, and tips on how to prevent and control their activity in your home.

Silverfish

Silverfish are summer pests easily identified by their carrot-shaped bodies and silver-gray color. These nocturnal pests favor dark and damp environments such as basements, bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. They feed on carbohydrates, sugars, starches, and protein-rich materials like dead insects. 

Here are tips to control silverfish activity in your home: 

• Seal Cracks and crevices to prevent entry
• Reduce moisture levels by using a dehumidifier and repairing leaks or water damage
• Eliminate food sources like books, paper, and clothes lying around your home and put them in protected places like sealed containers. 

Earwigs

Earwigs are small insects known for their slender brown and/or black bodies and distinctive pincer-like appendages at the rear of their abdomens. Despite their appearance, these appendages are not stingers but are used for defense, mating, and wing folding.  Earwigs can be found in gardens, fields, forests, and urban areas. They feed on plants, insects, rotting vegetables, and sometimes small invertebrates. They are nocturnal pests. , They can be beneficial by eating plant pests like aphids and mites.

Some tips to help control earwig activity are:

• Sealing Cracks and crevices around your home
• Removing debris such as leaves or mulch

Asian Lady Beetles

Asian ladybeetles are a pest that looks like a commonly known pest, ladybugs! Their appearances are similar with dome-shaped bodies, bright orange or red, and black spots. They can be found in a variety of habitats such as agricultural fields, gardens, forests, and urban areas, and will feed on aphids and other agricultural pests. Once temperatures begin to lower, they will seek shelter and move towards inside homes to protect themselves.

With this summer pest, here are some ways to maintain control of their activity:

• Vacuum beetles - If any beetles are seen inside your home, it’s important to vacuum them and dispose of them in the exterior trash immediately.
• Install screens - Installing screens on your vents and any openings around your home will prevent them from getting into your home
• Seal cracks and crevices - Doing regular seal-ups around windows, doors, and other openings in your home will prevent any activity from moving inside.

Centipedes

Centipedes are easily identified with their long flattened bodies and multiple legs. Against popular belief, and the Spanish name “Cien Pies”, centipedes do not have 100 legs and the number varies from the type of centipede. They are found in a variety of places such as in soil, leaf litter, under rocks and logs, and in dark and damp areas. They are pests that are beneficial to the environment and help control populations of other insects by feeding on spiders, worms, and other centipedes. 

Some activity control tips for centipedes are:

• Reduce moisture - Fix any leaking pipes or water damage around your home as this is what will attract them. Also, using dehumidifiers in basements and crawl spaces to create an environment they will not be attracted to. 
• Remove debris - Cleaning up around the outside of your home like leaf litter or mulch as this will be used to sustain themselves.
• Trim Vegetation - Trim shrubs and trees away from your home, as centipedes will use them to make their way toward your home if contact is made. 

Voles

Voles are small rodents that will invade your yard and their damage is unmistakable. Often referred to as meadow or field mice, they are 3-9 inches with short legs and tails, small eyes and ears, stocky bodies, and can vary in a brown to gray color. They primarily feed on grasses, herbaceous plants, seeds, roots, bulbs, and crops. Voles will create significant damage by making underground runners and runways as they are foraging, nesting, and escaping predators such as owls, foxes, and hawks. They easily adapt to the environment they are in and will create damage to lawns and gardens. 

Voles are difficult rodents to maintain, and they cause significant damage that is easy to identify.  highly suggested to contact a professional and licensed pest control company. Our pest professionals are trained to know what products will be effective and how to properly place them, even after continuing regular weekly checks to ensure the activity is lowering until they are no longer there. 

Say Goodbye to Summer Pests with Spidexx

The best approach to maintaining summer pests is having a regular maintenance treatment. With the service at Spidexx, we guarantee to create a pest-free environment inside your home and will have a service that fits best with your home needs. Contact our office at (844)922-7732 and get your service started today!

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