Living in Texas, we are all well aware of the vast numbers of insects and spiders living alongside us, in our homes, gardens, and lawns. Some can be toxic to the touch while other kinds can be quite helpful because they eat other harmful insects. Knowing what kind of pests can enter your house and lawn area can be useful in getting rid of harmful ones and how to react when you're caught in a bug situation.
Wolf Spiders
One of the more common spiders people encounter are wolf spiders. These spiders are often large and hairy - a fact that can alarm many people! Their brown and black color helps them to blend into the dark and in concealed areas. They can run very fast and will startle people when they are discovered. They commonly rest in areas such as under stones, landscape timbers, firewood, under decks, around compost piles and other dark areas.
A unique fact about wolf spiders is that they do not build a typical snare web, they actively hunt their prey. Wolf spiders normally habit pastures and fields and serve as a natural control against harmful insects. Hundreds to thousands of wolf spiders may be living in any average backyard. They often enter homes through gaps under doors, or other openings. They are not normally permanent residents in structures, but once inside they will generally stay. However, they pose no danger at all to people or pets.
Springtails
Springtails are small wingless insects that can flip into the air via a structure on the underside of their abdomen. These insects usually surprise homeowners as they can usually group together in large numbers on driveways, backyards, and mud puddle surfaces. They can enter the home through moist and damp areas such as cellars, bathrooms, and kitchens. They can even pop up near drains, leaking water pipes, sinks, and in the soil of over watered house plants. They usually appear in the spring and early summer, but can be found all year round.
Outside of the home, most springtails live in rich soil or leaf litter, or under bark and decaying wood. Many springtails are themselves scavenger and feed on decaying plants and fungi.As a result of this, most springtails cannot survive in dry conditions.
Preventing Springtails
To get rid of springtails, take steps to improve ventilation and increase drying. Removing piles of wet leaves or other moist organic clumps will help to upset their breeding grounds.
Springtails are not harmful to humans at all, other than the annoyances they cause by showing up at your home.
Large Cockroaches
The American cockroach is considered to be the biggest and one of the most common cockroaches in Texas. The size of an average American roach is 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and are a dark reddish brown color. They are also distinctive by their tan to light-yellow bands outlining the shield behind the head. These cockroaches are not only big, but they can also fly!
The American cockroach usually habit areas of high moisture and humidity. They commonly live outdoors under the bark of trees or in leaf litter and places like barns. These roaches also habit sewers, which allows them easy transportation throughout campuses and major metropolitan areas. Through sewer pipes, they can enter homes into kitchens or bathrooms. Once they make it inside the home, they prefer to live in moist areas closest to furnaces or heating ducts.
Preventing Roaches
An important idea to consider with cockroaches is that it is much easier to prevent cockroach problems that it is to control the infestations once they have occurred.
One initial thing that should be on a home owner's priority list is eliminating any source of food, water, and a place for them to live. This makes tackling the roach problem more effective. The Texas Cooperative Extension recommends good sanitation control, use of non-chemical control tactics, and exclusion to prevent your home from a roach infestation:
Inspection
Before taking steps to control cockroaches, you need to identify problem areas, so first conduct a quick home inspection. German cockroaches are most likely to reside indoors around kitchens and bathrooms. Check under sinks and in cupboards, closets, cracks and crevices that provide dark hiding places near food or water. Also, check warm spots or areas near food. Look for cracks with tiny black specks (droppings) that indicate cockroach hiding spots. For outdoor species like American, smokybrown and oriental cockroaches, look in dark, moist areas close to decaying organic food sources, such as in overgrown ground-cover or flower beds and around trees, wood piles or compost piles. Also, check for leaking roofs, inspect water-meter boxes, and look at sewer lines near your home, especially those with manhole covers, all of which are favored sites for these cockroaches.
Cockroach sticky traps are useful inspection tools. Traps typically consist of a piece of cardboard covered with sticky adhesive. Cockroaches enter traps and get stuck on the adhesive. Traps help identify areas with cockroach infestations and track the effectiveness of control efforts. Place traps along paths cockroaches may use to travel to and from feeding and hiding areas. Traps should be placed touching walls and in corners with both ends unobstructed.
For active infestations, relocate traps if no cockroaches are caught after two or three nights.
Sanitation
Sanitation is extremely important for successful cockroach management. Do not leave unwashed dishes, used kitchen utensils or food out overnight. Promptly clean counter-tops and spilled liquids. Regularly clean hard-to-reach areas where food may be spilled, such as beneath and behind cabinets, furniture, under and behind stoves and refrigerators. Store food in tightly sealed containers. Where cockroaches are a problem, kitchen waste and excess refuse should be kept in cockroach-proof containers and disposed of every night. Dry pet food should be stored in tight containers away from the kitchen and separate from other foods. If pets are fed indoors, left-over food should not be allowed to remain overnight in their feeding dishes. Outdoors, garbage cans, racks, platforms or slabs should be cleaned regularly. Roof gutters should be kept free of debris to prevent moisture accumulation in eaves and attics. Leaky water faucets or pipes inside and outside the home should be fixed. Debris such as bricks, lumber or firewood stacked near a house should be removed to eliminate cockroach infestation.
Exclusion
Keep cockroaches out of a home by sealing as many cracks in the foundation and exterior walls as possible. Weather-stripping around doors and windows should be kept in good repair. Pipe penetrations into a home should be sealed with caulk or expanding foam. Caulking around counters, cabinets and plumbing fixtures helps reduce cockroach infestations in these areas.
Chemical Control - Baits
Baits are among the most effective insecticides for control of cockroaches in homes. The most common bait formulations sold to consumers come in ready-to-use plastic bait stations or tubes containing gel baits. Baits consist of food mixed with an insecticide and give best results in buildings with few alternative food sources. Always use the number of bait containers needed to effectively treat the area where cockroaches are to be controlled. Place baits next to suspected cockroach harborage areas. Examine bait containers frequently to ensure that they remain fresh and that bait is not depleted. Baits can be used in combination with sprays or dusts, but care should be taken to avoid contaminating bait stations with other insecticides or with household chemicals. Do not spray close to bait stations, because baits work most effectively when cockroaches can feed freely, then return to their harborages to die.
Chemical Control - Insecticides
Many effective insecticides are available for consumer use in controlling cockroaches. Pesticides vary in how they are formulated, how they are applied, how long they last, and how they kill. Most insecticides sold to consumers for cockroach control have low toxicity to humans when used as directed. Information about toxicity can be obtained from the product label; from a Material Safety Data Sheet available on the Internet or from the manufacturer; or from information provided by Cooperative Extension agents. Use pesticides after applying sanitation and other preventive measures listed above.
With springtime making its way to Texas, homeowners can expect to see an abundance of insects as well. Now that you are familiar with the most common types of pests and insects that can invade your home this month, take some precaution and control methods above to save prevent you and your family from having to deal with the headaches of an uncontrollable infestation.
Fran Phalin is a freelance editor and writer specializing in home improvement topics. She is based in Austin, TX.
For professional pest control assistance, please contact ABC! ABC Pest deals with all crawling insects. You can visit their website at http://www.abcpest.com
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