Bees

Carpenter Bees: Broad heads, shiny tail section, black and yellow in color. Can be found on dry wood outside, producing 1/4 - 1/2 inch tunnels at a 90-degree angle to entry.

Honey Bees: Hairy, yellow, black, and brown in color - though they may appear to be grey. They will be 1/2 to 3/4 inch in size. (picture)

Honeybees are a protected species and need to be identified by a PCO.

Wasps

Are usually yellow and black or red/brown/blue in color. They range from 1/4 to 2 inches in size with four wings and a narrow waist. You will commonly see their paper nests on eves and in trees. Depending on the species they may also nest in the ground. To help cut down on the wasp population around your home make sure you don't leave open soda cans, cups, or bottles outside. Be sure to dispose of anything with sugar in a covered trash can. (picture)

Spiders

Wolf Spiders: Have 8 pairs of eyes. Bite symptoms may include itchiness, pain, swelling, dizziness, rapid pulse, and nausea. Each female usually rears 2-4 sacs of eggs in her 2-year lifespan, each containing between 50 to 200 lings.

Yellow Sac Spiders: They may appear either light or dark but have a dark coloration on the head region. The body is covered with short hair, which gives the spider its silky appearance. Bite symptoms may include localized redness, a burning sensation, and a slight swelling which may last 24-48 hours.

Black House Spiders: Appear to be dark brown on abdomens, small to medium in size. This spider is known to bite and may cause severe effects.

Brown Recluse Spiders: They are often confused with the Yellow Sac spider. A marking in a violin shape appear on the flatted area of the head and thorax. Both male and female are similar in appearance and are equally as dangerous. younger stanges of the spider resemble the adults except for a slightly smaller size and slightly lighter color. Most people get bitten while putting on clothing or cleaning, the brown recluse isn't agressive. Reactions to brown recluse bites may not appear for a few hours to a few days. A small white blister will usually rise at the bite site if there is a severe reaction. Other reactions may include restlessness, fever, chills, nausea, weakness, and joint pain. If you think you have been bitten by a recluse please seek immediate medical attention! (picture)

Rodents

House Mouse:

Mice are commonly found in and around homes, commercial buildings and well as open fields. The house mouse contaminates food meant for humans, livestock and other animals. They also can transmit diseases such as salmonellas and swine dysentery. The house mouse is a small rodent with large ears and small black eyes. Most are light gray in color but also have been seen a light brownish color. An adult mouse is about 51/2 to 7 ½ inches long including the tail. Signs of infestation include having droppings in drawers, cabinets, closets, around the water heater, etc. Shredded paper, fabrics, and installation materials are often found in the nesting areas. Mice have a musky odor that identifies their presence. Mice are active mostly at night though they can be active in the daylight hours. The house mouse will feed on things like cereal grains, dog food, cat food, crackers, chips, birdseed, etc. Even though they prefer these types of foods they will feed on almost anything. Mice have been known to store up dog food in places like the wall voids of a home. In the long run you could end up with a stored product pest (flour beetles, Indian meal moths, ect) problem. Mice have a life span of 9-18 months, a gestational period of only 19-25 days, with an average litter consisting of 6-8. They have the potental to breed 6-10 litters per year.

Norway Rats:

These are larger rodents that may grow to a body length of 10 to 12 inches. Rarely will a rat weigh more than one pound. Their color can vary from gray to brown to black. Rats are excellent climbers and are capable of gaining entry through holes around soffit vents, around cables entering the building, and through turbine and box vents on roofs. Many garage doors on homes allow enough space for rats to fit underneath as well. Norway rats have a life span of 6-18 months, a gestational period of only 21-25 days, with an average litter consisting of 8-12. They have the potental to breed 4-8 litters per year. (picture)

Rodent Control

Baiting… This is the best control we at Central Pest Exterminators have found to in the work long term. We might not be able to stop all the mice from coming into your home but we can put a baiting control program inside and outside of your home to work along with you to control the infestation of mice. When we come out to your home we will be able to inspect your home and work with you to point out the holes or access areas that the mice might be entering through. Materials such as steel wool and wire mesh can be used to help close access areas. There are other means of control, such as traps, which can be used. Placement of traps is important. Mice will run the base of a wall but mice like to cut corners. Call if you have any questions.

Control Tips For the home owner – The best way to avoid invasions of rats is to (1) provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents, and (2) seal as many holes and cracks in the outside of the home as possible through which rats might enter. The following recommendations should help prevent rats from seeking the food and shelter provided by your home:

If at any time your domestic pet eats any anti-coagulant bait from a department store of any kind, or from a treatment by a pest control operator please remember that VITAMIN K1 is the antidote for several rodenticides and can be given in a shot form by your vet.

Termites:

Subterranean termites are ground-inhabiting insects that live in colonies. A colony or nest of subterranean termites may be 18-20 feet below the surface. These termites travel through mud tubes to reach food sources above the soil surface. The mature termite colony has three castes: 1) the reproductives (king and queen), 2) soldiers, and 3) workers. The winged reproductives are dark brown to brownish black and have two pairs of equal size wings that extend well beyond the body. Swarms are common in spring and fall, especially after a rain. After a flight, the now wingless males and females pair off and search for sources of wood and moisture in soil. Eggs are yellowish white and hatch after an incubation of 50 to 60 days. Mature termite workers are soft-bodied, wingless, blind and creamy white. Workers mature within a year and can live from 3 to 5 years. The head of the soldier is enormously elongated, brownish, hard and equipped with two jaws. Soldiers mature within a year and live up to 5 years.

Subterranean termites feed exclusively on wood and wood products containing cellulose. Although termites are soft-bodied insects, their hard, saw-toothed jaws work like shears and are able to bite off extremely small fragments of wood, a piece at a time. Termites often infest buildings and damage lumber, wood panels, flooring, sheetrock, wallpaper, plastics, paper products and fabric made of plant fibers. The most serious damage is the loss of structural strength. Other costly damage may include attacks on flooring, carpeting, art work, books, clothing, furniture and valuable papers. Subterranean termites do not attack live trees.

Carpenter Ants:

Ants have complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. They are social insects and the colonies contain 3 distinct castes: workers, queens, and males. Workers are female, and lay eggs that develop into male ants. Workers may very in size and form. Workers do just what their name implies, they work. They are the ones that gather food, work on the colony, caring for the young, and enlarging the nest. Queens are typically the largest ants in the colony. Their function is to establish new colonies and lay eggs. The males of the colonies only have one function, to inseminate the queen. Males die shortly after mating, usually within 2 weeks.

Adult ants, workers and reproductives, do not eat solid food. They only eat liquids which may be stored in their crop. Carpenter ants do not eat wood, as termites do, which is why a good indicaction of which one you have is usually found in the evidence left behind. Carpenter ants don't eat the wood, they go through it, so there is usually a saw-dust like material left behind.

Flying ants and swarming termites are often difficult to tell apart. Termites have relatively straight, bead-like antennae while ants have elbowed antennae. Termites have two pair of wings (front and back) that are of almost equal length. Ants also have two pair of wings but the fore wings are much larger than the hind wings. The abdomen of the termite is broadly joined to the thorax while the abdomen and thorax of the ant are joined by a narrow waist called a petiole.