Other rodents and insects hide under floorboards, in wallpaper, or even under electrical switch plates. Some pests can cram their bodies into surprisingly small spaces. And while that list of insects is quite diverse, there are some pests that seem to appear more frequently than others. The main candidates for inclusion are cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.
Of course, there are also other bugs running around, such as termites, cereal moths, centipedes, spiders, beetles, flies and mosquitoes. But the latter do not seem to raise the same concern as our main contenders, with the possible exception of termites, which are the nightmare of anyone who has ever owned property. If you are the victim of a bed bug infestation, you will need to act quickly and decisively. These pests can multiply at an astounding rate and ultimately reach every corner of the house.
First, make sure that the bugs in question are actually bed bugs. You can easily identify them by their small, flat, oval bodies, which are usually brown in color. Why are bed bugs so hard to kill? Because they can hide everywhere and anywhere, and you have to track them all down. First, you have to vacuum all surfaces in the house, including baseboards, furniture, mattresses, box springs and box springs, as well as shelves, curtains, carpets, etc. You should also get rid of all the accumulated clutter (which bed bugs love) and wash your bedding and clothes thoroughly.
It is also difficult to locate cockroaches, although it is true that they have an affinity for all types of debris, which can include piles of cardboard, magazines and newspapers, as well as dark spaces in and around water pipes. Cockroaches need a constant source of water to survive.) To help keep them away permanently, check the basement, attic, and surroundings of the house for visible cracks or gaps and close them up. In addition to searching underneath all of your appliances, you should also inspect appliances, as well as any cables, hoses, and ducts that may allow these pests to enter. To stay away from ticks, try to avoid tick-friendly places when you're outdoors, treat your clothes and equipment with products that contain 0.5% permethrin, and use a safe and reliable EPA-approved insect repellent. Finally, check your pets, you and your children for ticks every day, especially if they've been outside.
And, like ticks, they carry their own variety of diseases, such as malaria and St. Louis encephalitis, Eastern and Western equine encephalitis, California encephalitis, Dengue virus, Zika virus and West Nile virus. Mosquitoes rarely breed indoors, so it's best to look for them outside, where they like to lay their eggs, usually in swamps, clogged ditches, and temporary puddles and puddles. You can also find their descendants in tree hollows, old tires, buckets, toys, trays and saucers for plants in pots and plastic or canvas covers.
In fact, anywhere where water can accumulate. One of the reasons why it's notoriously difficult to get rid of them is because they're everywhere outdoors. To control mosquitoes, the EPA recommends eliminating potential habitats. Eliminate “standing water” in rain gutters, old tires, buckets, plastic covers, toys, or any other container where mosquitoes can breed.
You should also empty and change the water “in birdbaths, fountains, children's pools, rain barrels, and trays for potted plants” at least once a week. Using the appropriate pesticide can help keep mosquitoes away from your four walls, but the best defense is often to create a physical barrier. Block gaps in walls, doors, and windows, and make sure the mosquito nets on windows and doors are intact. Fleas are particularly difficult to get rid of for those of us who have pets.
Cats and dogs, in particular, pick them up outside and fleas feed on them as hosts. Then, our furry friends transport the bugs inside, where they can become very comfortable guests. But you can also be a victim of fleas, especially in the warmer months. You can protect your pets with flea treatments, and if you get bitten, you can use one of the many effective over-the-counter topical ointments designed to alleviate flea bites. Usually, carpenter ants forage outside the structure they have chosen as their “home”, but they always create easy-to-use paths to reach their nests within the insulation of a building, on their mezzanines or in any available attic. And while they don't actually feed on wood, they can cause an enormous amount of structural damage.
That is why the nest must be hunted down and eradicated quickly. Carpenter ants like moist areas, such as structures or floors, that are soft and malleable, usually due to a leak in the roof or a water pipe. So, look for areas damaged by water, such as attics, bathrooms and exterior walls. Punch holes and you're likely to find the nest before long.
Then spray it with an insecticide. Sterifab kills nearly every type of pest that exists, including lice, ticks, dust mites, centipedes, bed bugs, fleas, mealybugs, ants, silverfish, cockroaches, bats, and many more. Adult mealybugs and juveniles. They can be annoying, but they're not that harmful.
Of course, I've never seen this kind of invasion, and living in the Midwest, I've had a lot of run-ins with bugs of bugs. They are red and black (the same color as most ladybugs, and people also tend to think that they are Japanese beetles) and, although they feed on trees, not insects, they do not usually cause permanent damage and are not considered an agricultural pest. This is the full life cycle of ladybugs. Pay attention to the scary larval stages, since they are not small monsters, if you see them in your garden don't crush them.
But make sure you kill the right insects and spread knowledge, public education about these insects is important. Therefore, people in the rest of the country learn about the existence of the bug long before they have seen it and, therefore, it is possible that they misidentify it. Nobody believes what I say about Boxelder bugs, but I keep spreading my story about them and maybe someone will notice what I've seen and won't take the Boxelder bug for granted. I thought that everyone knew what a ladybug was, that is, they are represented in cartoons, television, media, clothing, art and other cultural representations, and yet several people have convincingly told me that a ladybug is a Japanese beetle. So people hear the news about an invasive stinky bug that's a huge agricultural pest and think, “aha, that must be this.” This bug is a serious agricultural pest and, like the Japanese beetle, is somewhat slow and easy to catch and crush (although it can smell wrong).
