You know the feeling of dread if you have ever spotted a cockroach scurrying across your kitchen counter or have seen its long antennae peaking out behind a loose bathroom tile. Cockroaches are one of the most unpleasant pests for Corpus Cristi homeowners to discover in their homes. When cockroaches invade, they contaminate our food, spread pathogens and allergens, produce foul odors, and multiply quickly. Cockroaches are scavenging pests and live in areas that put them in constant contact with dangerous bacteria, like sewers, drains, bathrooms, and trash piles. 

The critical thing to remember regarding these pests is that an infestation can happen in any of our homes. These pests can enter indoors on their own after being attracted by moisture and food odors, or they will hitchhike inside. It is common for homeowners to unintentionally bring these pests into their homes in secondhand furniture, appliances, storage boxes, or deliveries. If you find cockroaches in your house, don't ignore the situation and hope they will go away; they won't! Please reach out to us for help with a cockroach infestation as soon as possible. We will provide the swift action needed to eliminate these pests from your home. 

To help you maintain a cockroach-free home, take advantage of our most helpful cockroach prevention tips. Most cockroaches are attracted to moisture, so ensure your home is well-ventilated, use dehumidifiers in damp areas, and repair defects in pipes and faucets. Cockroaches are scavengers, so you need to remove as many food sources as possible by keeping lids on trash cans, regularly washing dirty dishes, and maintaining a clean home. You must also inspect any items you bring into your house for hitchhiking cockroaches!

Many types of rodents live across our large state of Texas; some will never find their way to our homes, and others are frequent visitors. Mice and rats are rodents that have developed a close relationship with people and want to share our homes. These small mammals have discovered that our yards, trash cans, kitchens, and outdoor eating areas provide them with an almost never-ending buffet, and they won't hesitate to take advantage. 

A rodent infestation can happen any time of year; these animals want to survive, and our homes provide a place to escape from harsh temperatures, predators, and other dangers. Unfortunately, rodents in our homes provide us with no benefits. Rodents contaminate surfaces and food with pathogens and bacteria that make people ill. Both mice and rats are destructive, and their teeth will damage wiring, pipes, clothing, boxes, rugs, and furniture. 

We want to help you avoid issues with rodents by offering you our top prevention tips:

• Inspect your home's exterior and use appropriate materials to seal openings leading into your home.
• Clear away clutter and yard debris that will offer rodents hiding spots and camouflage their presence on your property.
• Remove food sources by keeping lids on trash cans and keeping food in your kitchen off counters and out of their reach. 

If you spot rodent droppings or gnaw marks or hear scratching sounds behind walls, immediately reach out to us to remove them from your home and implement regular rodent control services to prevent them from returning.

All of our Corpus Christi homes are vulnerable to spiders. With around 900 species of spiders in Texas, it's safe to say that at least one will find its way into your yard and eventually into your home. Our yards offer these shy, reclusive creatures plenty of places to burrow or build their webs, like trees, shrubbery, yard clutter, and the exterior of our homes. Though most spiders you come into contact with are harmless, it doesn't mean you want to share your home with these eight-legged, creepy critters.

Spiders are predators feeding on and helping to control populations of insects. Outside, in our yards in controlled numbers, spiders typically aren't a problem; and provide a free form of pest control. However, when spiders follow their insect prey (flies, ants, and cockroaches) into our homes, they become unwanted pests, and you need to take action to remove the spiders and their prey from your house. Spider infestations are typically the result of a widespread pest infestation on your property; regular pest control services are the best way to avoid problems with spiders and common household pests!

You can use the following spider prevention tips to make your home less vulnerable to these eight-legged pests:

• Place mesh screens over vents and chimneys leading into your home.
• Seal gaps around pipes and wires entering your house.
• Use silicone caulk to seal cracks in exterior walls and your home's foundation.
• Ensure screens are intact and don't prop open windows and doors.
• Install door sweeps.

For high-quality residential and commercial pest control to avoid issues with common spiders in Texas and their insect prey, please call today!

Stinging insects in Texas, like bees, are responsible for pollination, while others, like wasps, are predators and help control nuisance insect populations. Stinging insects are outdoor pests and find their way to any property that meets their needs. Unfortunately, our Corpus Cristi yards often supply bees, wasps, and other stinging insects with reliable food, water, and shelter sources.

The biggest thing that attracts any pest to our properties is food. Depending on the species, stinging insects feed on insects, nectar, sweets, honeydew produced by garden aphids, and things they scavenge from our trash cans. Properties with many gardens, woodpiles, garbage cans, and outdoor eating areas have the most problems with stinging insects. Stinging insects swarming our yards is not only unpleasant but dangerous. These insects deliver painful venom-filled stings that can trigger severe allergic reactions in people. 

To help make your property less attractive to stinging insects, make the following changes around your yard.

• Keep the grass cut short and fill in ground holes.
• Cut back shrubs and bushes and tree branches from your home.
• Limit the number of flowering plants you plant near your windows and doors. 
• Remove standing water that offers them a water source.
• Keep outdoor eating areas free of leftover food and keep lids on trash cans. 

In addition to the above tips, put into place year-round pest control to control stinging insects.

Subterranean termites are a threat to wooden structures across Texas. These tiny insects live together in large groups, and when workers find their way into our homes, its structural wood becomes their colony's new food source. The damage termite cause to our homes doesn't happen overnight, but because termites live and work out of our sight, their presence can go unnoticed for months or years. An unseen termite infestation can lead to costly and extensive damage. 

Subterranean termites are the most common type of termite species in Texas. They nest under the ground and have high moisture needs. These termites prefer to feed on decaying or water-damaged wood like tree stumps, dead trees, fallen trees, and construction debris. As termites forage for food, damp soil around your home's perimeter will attract them to your home's exterior. As they forage for food, small cracks and crevices they discover in your home's exterior offer the termite's entry and exit points. Once inside, if they find water-damage structural wood within your home, they will regularly return to your house, causing more and more damage each day they visit. 

Did you know most homeowners' insurance doesn't cover termite damage? That's right; insurance companies view termite damage as preventable. When it comes to guarding your home against termite damage, being proactive and partnering with a pest control professional is the best way to avoid their costly damage. It is also essential to do things around your home, like repair defects in its exterior, remove unnecessary wood debris from your property, and repair areas of excess moisture in and around your home. Please contact us today for more information about our termite inspection and treatment plans!