6 Winter Pests Common in Albany

Pest control problems are certain to come around your Albany home this season, so don't let common household pests ruin your holiday season; protect your home and family from the damage they cause, diseases they spread, and the general nuisance common house pests cause.

Common Pests to Watch for this Winter

1. Bed Bugs

Bed bugs feed on nothing but the blood of warm-blooded mammals, including you or your family, for as long as 12 minutes.

When unfed, bed bugs have reddish-brown coloration and are flattened and oval-shaped. Their abdomens are also ribbed. When fed, they have a balloon shape and are a darker red color.

Signs Include:

• Discarded exoskeletons
• Pepper-shaped feces that stick
• Egg casings that look something like yellowish crumbs
• Bloodstains on your bed sheets

Hiding Places:

• Curtain folds
• Drawers and drawer runners
• On clothing and any plush material
• Places where walls meet floor or ceiling
• Crevices in box springs and bed frames
• Seams in mattresses and box springs

2. Cockroaches

Roaches move quickly between your food sources and eat and drink the food and water you and your family do.

They live in sewers and will crawl all over your food immediately afterward, which allows them to spread diseases like dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, and other viral infections.

Cockroach Cuisine Includes:

• Sugary or starchy foods
• Milk and dairy products
• Bread and grain products
• Glues used in residential construction and clothing fabrication
• Meat, including other insects or dying cockroaches
• Blood
• Human waste
• Toenails and fingernails

3. Mice and Rats

Rodents can cause problems in a household, including the spread of several diseases by contaminating your food, gnaw holes in the walls, carpet, or papers.

Control Rodent Attractants

• Proper food storage | Prevent rodents from accessing your food or pet food by storing your it in airtight containers
• Clean your property | Fruits and vegetables fallen on the property are excellent sources of nutrition, and fallen branches or other debris provide excellent harborages also
• Composting and Firewood | Place your compost pile and firewood pile on separate platforms away from siding cracks, and store firewood at least 20 feet from the home and raised at least one foot off the ground. Install steel screening with 1/4 gauge around these for additional protection
• Garbages | Never leave garbages inside at night and ensure the outdoor garbage container is at least twenty feet from the house and has a lid that seals properly

Infestation Identification

• Squeaking and scratching at night in the walls, attic, or crawl spaces, since mice and rats are nocturnal
• Fecal matter | Mouse droppings look like dark rice, and rat droppings are larger. Some rats have oblong and rounded or pill-shaped fecal matter
• Shredded nesting material, including wall insulation

4. Carpenter ants

There are over 1,000 species of ants, but these are the most destructive to your homes. Like termites, they can cause enormous amounts of damage to wood inside or around your property, so ensure you are protected.

Some mature colonies create satellite colonies without any reproductive ants, only workers, eggs, pupae, and larvae to establish and widen new foraging territories. So your wall could be harboring an enormous satellite colony that never goes away because the queen is located elsewhere.

Ant Identification:

• Black, red, or brown solid coloration, or a combination of red and black
• 1/4 to 1/2 inch long workers
• Colonies general harbor only a single queen, but mature colony sizes range from 10,000 to 50,000
• Antennae with an elbow in the middle
• Three body segments with six legs

5. Flies

Drain flies, fruit flies, and houseflies are the most common types of flies found in most households.

Prevent drain flies from coming by cleaning your drains regularly with an over-the-counter pipe cleaning product.

Keep houseflies and fruit flies away by sealing your food, especially sugary

and starchy foods in airtight containers, and frequently clean your kitchen and bathrooms.

6. Spiders

The two most dangerous spiders in the United States are the black widow and brown recluse, but few people have lasting effects from their bites because of antivenin.

The brown recluse spider can bite with devastating effects over the long term, as opposed to black widow spiders, because of the venom's necrotic effects.

Pest Protection Techniques

Block entry points with silicone caulking, including

Gaps around utility pipes

Cracks and crevices around doors and windows

Cracks around foundations and sill plates

Leave it to Fox Pest Control

Fox is a pest control company that provides quality pest control services. Call today to receive a free quote and talk to your Pest Pro technician about what plan works best for your home. Pests ... it's what we do.