Pest Control Professionals Inc

Information may not be reliable

3 WAYS TO FIGHT AGAINST TERMITES
1. Eliminate Moisture Problems - Repair leaking faucets, water pipe san a/c units, divert water from foundation keep gutters and down-sprouts clean, ventilate crawl spaces, Remove excessive plant cover and wood mulch, get rid of standing water on roof, keep all vents clear an open, seal entry points around water and utility lines or pipes.
2. Remove Food Sources - keep firewood, lumber or paper away foundation or crawl space, get rid of stumps an debris near house, place screens on outside vents, check decks and wooden fences for damage, wood on your home shouldn't contact the soil

3. Warning Signs - Some indications you may have termites are a Temporary swarm of winged insects coming from the home or soil around the home, any cracked or bubbling paint, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, mud tubes on exterior walls, wooden beams or in crawl spaces, discarded wings from Swarmers

TERMITE TIPS AND DAMAGE
Termite treatments can break down over time and their effectiveness is diminished depending upon a variety of factors, including where you live.
In five to six years treatments may have to be re-applied. Treating termites is a complex job with difficulties. That is why we make sure you only get honest, reliable service from our network of pest control companies.
Above is a list of things you can do as a homeowner to protect your home against Termites and the damage they will inevitably cause. However, keep in mind that the only guarantee to help lower the risk of termites is ongoing protection and prevention

Carpenter Ants are ubiquitous pests found throughout North America. Camponotus pennsylvanicus, the black carpenter ant, is the most common carpenter ant species found east of the Rocky Mountains. Although worker ants are often seen searching for food and water, their importance as pests is based upon their invasion of structural wood for nesting sites. Carpenter ants do not consume wood but excavate galleries in wooden timbers to create nests.

Over fifty species representing the family Dysderidae are found in Europe; however, only one species Dysdera crocata occurs in North America. This species, which lacks a common name, is cosmopolitan in distribution in the United States. Many professionals either encounter these spiders trapped on glueboards or when submitted by clients. Occasionally, encounters with live specimens result in human envenomizations, much like a bee sting

The little black ant, as its name implies, is very small in size and black in color. The adults may have slight brown tones in their coloration. Although distributed throughout the United States, it is primarily found in the eastern half of the country, and in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay area.

Spiders are a large class of arthropods widely distributed throughout the world. Representatives of this group live in habitats which cover environmental extremes. Some species, "traveling" on wind currents, have been collected as high as 5,000 feet in the air. Wind-current travel is a major method of dispersal for some species.
Spiders are predacious, feeding on a wide variety of animals - mostly other arthropods. However, some species feed on larger animals. The most common problem with spiders is the general fear people have of them, and the "bad press" of some species such as black widows and brown recluses.

Pavement ants are most common in urban areas of the Atlantic states, as well as in large midwestern cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland and St. Louis. You may also find pavement ants in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, Calif. In the Washington, D.C. area, pavement ants are probably the predominant house-infesting ant.

The 200 species of Clubionids found in North America are commonly referred to as the two-clawed hunting spiders. Members of the genus Cheiracanthium are called sac spiders. Cheiracanthium mildei (L. Koch) and C. inclusum (Hentz) are the two spiders referred to as yellow sac spiders, or yellow or tan house spiders, depending on locale.
They have been associated with numerous cases of human arachnidism (spider bites). These spiders are suspected of being responsible for most indoor arachnidism; in the United States, however, neither severe trauma nor deaths have been reported. Their venom is cytotoxic, mainly affecting tissues at the site of the bite.

Distribution of the red imported fire ant is primarily limited to the tier of states ranging from central Texas up the East Coast into North Carolina. They are often introduced into new locales, including northern states, through potted or balled shrubs and trees imported from infested areas. This ant species not only stings humans, but also pets, livestock and wildlife. In addition, they can damage crops by feeding on and destroying seedlings.

The bald faced “hornet” is taxonomically a black-and-white yellow jacket. Vespid wasps, members of the family Vespidae, are capable of stinging when threatened. Representatives of Dolichovespula spp. can be found throughout North America, inhabiting self-constructed paper nests usually attached to trees, shrubs or structures.

The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, is the most common and widely distributed termite in North America. This wood-destroying insect is well known for its damage to urban dwellings and structures. Pest status is given to termites when a colony is foraging on food sources with economic value. However, this insect is beneficial when it infests dead wood in forests, providing nutrients for new vegetative growth.

There are two genera of carpenter bees in the United States, the small carpenter bees, Ceratina spp., and the large carpenter bees, Xylocopa spp. The latter genus is represented by nine species which infest a wide array of plant materials including decayed wood, hollow or pithy stem plants, and sound structural wood. it is the damage to structural wood that earns them their name and concerns the property owner

The southern dry wood termite, Incisitermes snyderi, is commonly found in the southeastern United States, including the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and west to southeastern Texas. Like the name implies, these non-subterranean termites infest wood with relative low moisture content and do not need to maintain contact with the soil. Dry wood termites may infest structural timbers and framework, millwork (e.g., door and window framing), furniture, crates and other wood products.

Digger bees, also known as flower-loving bees, are distributed throughout most of North America. These robust bees usually go unnoticed as they feed, collecting nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers in meadows and gardens. When they begin to build their numerous solitary nests in the same area, however, they become a nuisance to property owners.

The Western subterranean termite, Reticulitermes Hesperus, as its name implies, is found principally in the western part of North America, from British Columbia south to western Mexico and east to Idaho and New Mexico.

Polistes wasps are most often referred to as paper wasps. However, Walter Ebeling Ph.D., author of Urban Entomology, suggests that they be called “umbrella wasps” for two reasons: the distinctive shape of the nest; and the fact that other wasps, such as yellow jackets and hornets, also construct paper nests, which invites confusion during identification.

The American cockroach is frequently found in commercial and residential accounts. This cockroach is the predominant species inhabiting sewers, and is often found infesting ships as well. Occasionally, this cockroach will injure indoor plants by feeding on stems and leaves.

The American dog tick attacks man and domestic animals. It is an important vector of several disease organisms. This hard tick (Ixodidae family) is usually found outside and transported into structures on dogs. Often called a “wood tick,” this tick should not be confused with the brown dog tick. Their habits differ – only the brown dog tick can lay eggs indoors.

The brown cockroach is primarily tropical in distribution. In the United States, this species is found mostly in the South, from Texas to Florida, but some sightings have been made in northern states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The brown cockroach is often mistaken for the American cockroach. Both species are similar in appearance and habits, but upon close examination of the cerci (a pair of dorsal appendages at the posterior end of the abdomen), their difference is evident. The adult brown cockroach has short, blunt cerci, whereas the American cockroach cerci are long and thin. As detailed in the drawing, the last segment of a brown cockroach cercus is short and fat, compared to that of the American cockroach, which is a least two times longer than it is wide.

The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is generally southern in distribution. Its range extends from central Texas north through Oklahoma and Missouri, and along the East Coast as far north as New York. Lone star ticks can feed on humans during any of its three developmental stages: larva, nymph and adult. This species is a vector of tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and is suspected of being involved in the transmission of Q fever and Lyme’s disease. It is also one of four ticks most often associated with tick paralysis, a condition caused by a neurotoxin injected during feeding that leads to ascending paralysis, that is, from the legs upward. If the tick is not removed, this paralysis can result in death

The Asian cockroach is the most recent cockroach species introduced (circa 1980) into the United States, increasing the total number of species to 66. The Asian species is found throughout central Florida and has the potential to spread to other temperate regions.

The German cockroach, which has worldwide distribution, is by far the most important and the most common cockroach. In addition to being a nuisance, it is associated with outbreaks of illness, allergic reactions in many people, and transmission of a variety of pathogenic organisms including at least one parasitic protozoan.

Although more common in the southeastern states, the Surinam cockroach is often transported to other areas of the United States by the tropical plant industry. These occasional pests prefer vegetative habitats such as interiorscapes of malls, homes and hotels. In Florida and other semi-tropical states, Surinams can survive outdoors. They frequently hide beneath stones and mulch during the day and forage on a variety of plants at night.