Summer Common House Pests in North Carolina

The summer not only means tourists and trips to the beach. It also brings its own fair share of house pests that you need to prepare for. Bugg Busters, a local award-winning pest control company, has released their common house pests in North Carolina to prepare the residents of Gaston County and the surrounding area. Throughout this article, we will dive deeper into the facts surrounding ants, bed bugs, mosquitoes, wasps, and ticks.

Ants

Carpenter Ants can be extremely hard to kill. Mature colonies usually contain up to 3,000 individual ants! The worst part is the ants are known to leave a pheromone smell that paves the way for other ants to enter your home and wreak havoc.

You may have a carpenter ant problem if you find wings of swarmer carpenter ants laying around near window sills, baseboards and vents. Another common sign of an infestation is seeing small piles of sawdust near wood holes. Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat wood; they simply dig it out.

Bed Bugs

Just hearing the word “bed bugs” will make any homeowner cringe. They require warm blooded animals to survive and typically feed on humans as they sleep. They mature in about 35 days, meaning the issue can get out of control rather fast. The fact that they can live up to one year is a horrifying example of why you should cringe as well. Bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide that people breathe out, so they are able to hone in on their “prey” and have a feeding frenzy.

Bed bugs are able to be seen with the naked eye. You should check for them in any fold or crevice near where you sleep. This means headboards, nightstands, loose wallpaper, baseboards, mattress seams, and other personal belongings. Other signs of bed bugs include raised bumps on your body, shedded bed bug shells, fecal spots on your bedding, and blood stains on your sheets and clothes.

Mosquitoes

Recently, multiple publications have deemed both Charlotte and Raleigh as two of the Top Ten Worst Cities for Mosquitoes in the United States. For the most part, these pests are active during the warm months and dormant during the cooler ones. Mosquito bites actually itch due to an enzyme that is in their saliva that causes your blood to not clot so they can feed as much as they can.

You are most likely to find your home has a mosquito infestation if your yard has a body of water that runs through it or will have sitting water after rainfalls. In some cases, you might also hear constant high pitch buzzing. If you have a mosquito problem and spend a decent amount of time outside, it would be nearly impossible to not notice. Their bites are severely itchy and can last for a little over a week.

Wasps

You may have heard of hornets or yellow jackets, but these are all subspecies of insects widely known as wasps. They actually contain a pheromone that, when stinging, alert other wasps in the area to attack the prey. Wasps live in self contained colonies that have a caste system of queens, males, and workers.

To tell if the nest you see on your property is a wasp nest, there are several giveaways. Wasp nests are typically very active, as the males are leaving and returning very often to feed their queen and take care of the young. When a group of wasps establish a nest, they make an unmistakable buzzing sound as well. Lastly, many times a wasp nest appears paper-like or made out of muddy deposits.

 Ticks

Due to this year’s mild winter, ticks are in full swing this summer. These little arachnids are actually very dangerous to you and your pets due to causing diseases like Lyme Disease. Similar to bed bugs, they require feeding on blood in order to survive. It normally takes 24-48 hours of feeding in order to successfully transmit any infections.

The main spots to search for ticks on yourself include the groin, under arms, inside ears, inside your hair, inside your belly button, and behind your knees. You should always check you and your furry friends after a hike or some time outdoors. Never squish a tick. Always utilize tweezers to grab a tick as close to the skin as possible.