Pest Library

Ants

Ants are small insects that we usually don't view as a threat, that is until they start marching into our homes by the hundreds or thousands. Unfortunately for us, ants have come to view our yards and California homes as places they want to gather food for their colonies and nest. While it is true that ants aren't typically a huge threat to people, they can cause us harm by biting or stinging (red fire ants), and some can cause damage to the structure of our homes. However, in most cases, ants in our area like Argentine ants and pavements are less dangerous and more of an annoyance to deal with, are difficult to control, transmit bacteria to surfaces, and contaminate food sources.

Ants primarily nest outside, but after finding a way into your home, they may stay and create a satellite nest to expand their colony. Their indoor nests are usually placed in difficult-to-reach locations like inside insulation, below floors, behind walls, and in attics or crawl spaces. Though their nests are well hidden, the ants themselves tend to make their presence well-known. Ants are active during the day, and if living on or near your property, you will see them trailing through gardens, flowerbeds, over decks, and on floors and counters in your home. Once you see ants, it is important to take quick action to effectively eliminate ants. Ants are persistent pests that won't hesitate to take over spaces that offer them their basic needs of food and water and a safe place to nest. 

To help prevent your Riverside property from being overrun by ants, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our ant control solutions. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with these pests.

• Ants are tiny so inspecting your home's exterior and sealing any small crack or opening you discover is vital to preventing problems with these pests. 
• Don't provide them with easy access to food; keep lids on trash cans and recycling bins.
• Keep grill areas and outdoor eating areas free of leftover food.
• Inside your home, regularly vacuum to pick up stray crumbs.
• Ants are often attracted to areas of moisture repair leaky pipes, faucets, and dripping air conditioners to reduce excess water they can utilize.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are pests that live indoors with people, preferring our blood over the blood of their other common hosts like cats, dogs, rodents, and birds. If there is a pest that can ruin the relaxing atmosphere of your home, it is the bed bug. These small oval-shaped insects hide within our homes and emerge at night to feed on us. Knowing that these blood-feeding pests are in our house quickly makes it a place we don't want to be and a place we can't sleep soundly in. Bed bugs are hitchhiking pests, and once transported into your home, they will stay until you contact a professional to eliminate them.

Bed bugs live wherever there are people because they travel with us moving from place to place. However, knowing some of the most common hot spots for bed bugs is important so you can be vigilant and avoid accidental contact with them. Bed bugs move by crawling onto people and our things like outerwear, luggage, purses, and other belongings. Some of the most common public places you may come into contact with bed bugs are hotels, resorts, amusement parks, laundry mats, dormitories, movie theaters, schools, and hospitals. 

To help you prevent a bed bug invasion in your Riverside home, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our bed bug control solutions in Riverside. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with these biting pests.

• When traveling, always inspect your hotel room for bed bugs or signs of them before bringing you and your family's belongings inside.
• After returning home from a trip, immediately wash all clothing taken. Vacuum out and wipe down all bags and luggage taken. 
• After spending the day out and about and in public locations, inspect bags for bed bugs and wash your clothes on the highest heat setting the fabrics can handle. 
• Always try to keep your belongings away from other people's belongings when at work or school. Keep bags up off the ground as much as possible.
• Regularly vacuum your home and change bedding to remove stray bed bugs before they become a problem.
• Place bed bug-proof covers on mattresses and box springs to protect them from being infested by bed bugs.

Cockroaches

Much to everyone's dismay, cockroaches are common household pests. In our area of California, if you come face to face with oval-shaped, greasy-looking cockroaches, it is likely either a German cockroach or an American cockroach. German cockroaches are light tan to brown and are small in size; they do not fly but move quickly using their legs. American cockroaches are reddish-brown, much larger than German cockroaches, and can fly short distances. No matter the species, if cockroaches have become a problem in your home, it's because it is providing them with two things they need to survive — food and water.

Having cockroaches that are big or small in your house is extremely problematic. They spread diseases, bacteria, and parasites that make people quite ill. These scavengers quickly contaminate surfaces and food with things that cause gastrointestinal and other health issues. They also stain and damage walls, furniture, clothing, and the like. Large populations of these pests create an unpleasant musty odor that will overtake a structure. 

All in all, cockroaches are never welcome living with people. Knowing how these pests enter our homes will help you to guard against them. American cockroaches can move indoors through openings in exterior walls or inside things like boxes stored outside and brought indoors. German cockroaches regularly move from place to place by hitchhiking inside items like appliances, electronics, boxes, or deliveries. 

To help you prevent your Riverside property from being a place where cockroaches can thrive, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our cockroach control solutions. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with these dangerous pests.

• Seal cracks that develop in your home's exterior.
• Place covers over vents and drains entering into your home.
• Wipe down tables and vacuum floors and upholstered furniture in your house to remove crumbs.
• Cockroaches have high moisture needs, so remove sources of standing water in or around your home. 
• Always inspect deliveries or secondhand items for signs of cockroaches before bringing them into your home.

Earwigs

Earwigs are pests that feed on garden pests like aphids, small plants, and decaying vegetation. These insects are naturally attracted to areas of moisture. Therefore, if you have excess moisture in or around your home, earwigs are likely to exploit it and become a problem for you. Earwigs are interesting-looking insects with elongated black, brown, or reddish bodies and pincers extending from the back end. An old wives tale associated with earwigs states that these insects crawl into people's ears and create holes in our brains to lay their eggs. Rest easy knowing that story is false and earwigs lay their eggs in damp soil, not in our ears and brains

While earwigs aren't physically harmful to people, these pests are annoying and can potentially move into our homes if the environmental conditions are right. Things like excess humidity, poor ventilation, and leaky pipes can lead to issues with earwigs in Riverside. Living outside in gardens, flowerbeds, and other areas of dense vegetation, earwigs often hang out near our home's exterior. As earwigs are moving around and scavenging for food or looking for sources of moisture, they often end up inside of our homes, moving through cracks in the foundation, drains, and gaps under doors. Once inside, they gravitate to humid areas, like basements, bathrooms, and kitchens. They gather under sinks, around tubs, and in folded towels, linens, or clothing.

To help prevent sharing your Riverside home with earwigs, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our earwig control solutions. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with these pests.

• Place garden areas away from the outside walls of your home.
• Cut back landscaping plants from your home's exterior. 
• Use steel wood or caulk to seal openings around wires or cables entering your house.
• Use silicone caulk to repair cracks that develop in your home's exterior.
• Place door sweeps under exterior doors.
• Repair damaged door or window trim.
• Ventilate kitchens and bathrooms.
• Repair leaky pipes and fixtures that provide them with a source of water.

Rodents

Rodents are common pests that cause problems for home and business owners across the country. They are prolific breeders and can take over any indoor or outdoor space that provides for their basic needs. In California, there are several species of rodents that cause problems for people and damage structures. Some of our area's most common species include roof rats, Norway rats, deer mice, and house mice. All four species live quite successfully outside, but they won't hesitate to move indoors when conditions outside become less than desirable — too hot, too cold, too wet, or if there's a lack of food

What initially attracts rodents to our Riverside yards is typically the lure of food and the shady, secluded shelter our yards provide. Food odors from trash cans, outdoor eating areas, and pet food dishes will attract rodents and provide them with reliable food sources. When living or foraging for food in your yard, it won't be long until they move indoors searching for more food or to make a nest in a climate-controlled environment. Inside, rodents are problematic because they spread diseases and parasites, cause structural damage, and contaminate food. Rodents are unwanted houseguests and should never be allowed to dwell in your home for one day longer than necessary!

To help you stop your property from being a place where rodents feel comfortable, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our Riverside rodent control solutions. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with dangerous rodents.

• Never be lazy about food storage. Always keep food in airtight containers or the fridge. Keep indoor and outdoor eating areas clean and free of food debris.
• Rodents like to take cover in yard clutter or debris that builds up in storage areas in your home. Keep your property's indoor and outdoor spaces as free of clutter as possible.
• Keep lids on trash cans and compost bins.
• Pick up uneaten pet food each day. 
• Check the exterior of your home and seal any openings you discover in the foundation, exterior walls, and roofline.

Spiders

Most people are scared of spiders because they are pests that frequently startle us. We typically mind our own business walking across our lawn, sitting on the couch, or opening a closet door, when all of a sudden, we see a spider or a spider web from the corner of our eye. While spiders certainly are pests that we ever want to cuddle up with, the good news is that, for the most part, they want to stay away from us, and most of those we come in contact with are harmless to people. Spiders are predators that feed on other spiders and insects, helping to control populations of both. Spiders living in your yard are not a problem in controlled numbers, but you need to take action when these arachnids become too numerous. If spiders are living in large numbers on your property, so are the insects that they hunt

Our area of California is home to many different species of spiders; some, like the wolf spider, are mainly harmless, and others are considered dangerous. Spiders are labeled as dangerous when their venom is strong enough to cause harm to people. Black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders are examples of dangerous spiders that can find their way into the yards and homes in our area. Dangerous and nuisance spiders are shy and reclusive and not aggressive to people but will protect themselves from being squished by biting. Being vigilant and looking for spiders in their usual hiding spots can help you avoid an accidental bite. Closets, bedding, folded towels and clothing, spaces under furniture and sinks, and areas of dense vegetation are common spots to come into contact with spiders.

To help you prevent your Riverside property from being a place where spiders thrive in large numbers, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control to learn about our spider control solutions. The following tips will help you to avoid problems with Riverside spiders.

• Vacuum your home and declutter it regularly to dislodge hiding spiders.
• Make sure screens are secure in your windows and doors.
• Cut back shrubs and bushes from your home's exterior that allow them to nest on your home's exterior walls.
• Remove overgrown vegetation and keep the grass cut short to reduce hiding spots in your yard for spiders.
• Get rid of areas of standing water that provide spiders and their prey with a water source. 
• Keep lids on trash cans and recycling bins to stop food odors from attracting insects to your yards that spiders like to feed on.

If you are a home or business owner in Riverside looking for assistance in eliminating or preventing pests, reach out to Power Pros Pest Control today. Our professionals are committed to helping each of our customers meet their specific pest control needs. To learn more about our home pest control or commercial pest control services, reach out to us today!