Venice Pest Blog

No matter what state you live in, you are going to have your own set of lawn care woes. Only Florida residents, however, have a special understanding of the following lawn-care dangers. Lawn Care Hazards that Only Florida Natives Understand Snakes A total of six venomous snakes call Florida home: the Southern Copperhead, the Florida Cottonmouth, the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, the Canebrake Rattlesnake, the Pygmy Rattler, and the Eastern Coral Snake. While mowing the grass, trimming your hedges, cleaning gutters, and mulching the garden, be careful to learn to distinguish these six from the other 50+ species of Florida snakes. The life you save might be your own. Falling Hazards Living in Florida, it's important that you keep your trees trimmed back in order to prepare your yard for Hurricane Season. But according to OSHA, tree-trimming and other tree-care work can lead to dangerous falling hazards. Those trimming the trees might fall, and those working beneath could be...

It’s summer in the Sunshine State and that means tropical sod webworms are at the top of our Florida lawn care list. Unlike traditional earthworms, they cause a lot of property damage and eventually turn into moths. As such, they are more closely related to caterpillars than the worms often found in gardens and compost bins. These hungry Crambidae start their lives as tiny, flat piles of eggs. The inconspicuous piles are often found on blades of grass and underneath of healthy leaves that are low to the ground. In general, the eggs will change color and eventually reveal little larvae within one to two weeks. This most often occurs during the height of summer, when healthy turf grass is plentiful. Once free of their egg casings, they’ll generally eat all of the vegetation that they can find until fall. Afterward, Florida lawn care professionals expect to see them pupate and...

Ants are one of the most prevalent insects on the planet, outnumbering all other individual animals combined. Ants live in underground colonies (formacaries) and are extremely social, working in teams to forage for food to feed the colony queen and her immature offspring. Many species create single nests with one or more queens. Other species create multiple nests connected by underground passages. “Supercolonies” of millions of nests and billions of ants have been discovered in Japan, southern Europe and Australia. Florida is home to billions of ants, nests of which occur in all areas of the state. Ant colonies bring environmental benefits to their neighborhoods. Their colonies are a puzzle of underground tunnels and voids that allow air and water to infiltrate beneath the soil surface. The vegetation brought into the nest for food decomposes into plant nutrients. Ants prey on insects that invade lawn and plant systems, and their activities above and below...

Termites are destructive little creatures that have one major fatal weakness: they are entirely dependent on their queen for survival. After all, the queen produces the eggs that gives their colony life. While you should never try to deal with a termite infestation on your own, spotting the queen can help you streamline your exterminator's job. First of all, you need to know what the termite queen looks like. They are very hard to miss: they are easily the largest termite in a colony. While most termites are less than an inch long, the queen can be up to six inches long and two to three inches in diameter. They look a little like a sock filled with sand and range in color from pale yellow to black. Unfortunately, the queen will likely be hidden somewhere deep within the colony. The easiest way to find her is look for her reproductives:...

Imaging walking around your home and having something that looks like a tarantula jump out of a hidden hole in the ground and attach itself to your pants leg. Scary thought isn’t it? Well, that is exactly what may happen if North America’s trapdoor spiders decide to share your outdoor living space.  And unfortunately, they’re so good at subterfuge; you may not know that they’re around it is too late. Once they’ve revealed themselves though, you’ll be able to count on trapdoor spider control pros to make them permanently disappear. Until then, it is important to know that trapdoor spiders love to nest near permanent structures. This is especially true in areas where the soil has recently been disturbed. They tend to gravitate towards those areas of a property because the loose dirt makes the job of excavating their trapdoor-enabled homes less strenuous. Plus, living so close to humans is their...

Between 2005 and 2006, Mexico's Red Rump Tarantula began slowly taking over South Florida. It's not that the spider was totally new to the state at that time. After all, the first Red Rump Tarantula to be found in South Florida citrus groves was discovered in 1996, and within weeks, it became apparent that the spiders had already been breeding there. Nearly two decades later, the situation has become acute. Red Rump Tarantulas can be found all over South Florida, particularly in citrus groves and overgrown areas near swamps and canals.  Learning to recognize these spiders is important, because although their effect on humans is not life-threatening, contact with their venom is still painful, and their effect on pets and small mammals can be serious.  How to Recognize a Red Rump Tarantula: (Information courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo.) Size: Large, measuring form 5-7cm, with a legspan of 13cm. Females are larger than males in both body and legspan. ...

According to recent reports, there's a new pest on the loose: the Super Termite. This hybrid is bound to cause all kinds of damage if it's not stopped. Scientists in Florida have tracked the development of a new hybrid species of termite — one whose colonies grow twice as fast as the parent species. Researchers say the new "super-termite" is even more destructive than other species and may carry a significant economic cost (NPR). It's the phrase "even more destructive than other species" that really sends our eyebrows up. After all, regular termites are already destructive enough. According to some estimates, over two million American homes are damaged or destroyed by termites every year, as opposed to only 350,000 destroyed by fire. It's easy to get people worked up about the dangers of fire, of course. Children in school are taught to "Stop! Drop! and Roll!", and parents are encouraged to make Family Emergency...

It doesn’t snow in Florida but there are times when palm fronds look like they are covered with a thin dusting of powder. Of course it isn’t really powder at all. Such discoloration is typically a sign that one group of lawn pests has been hard at work, mealybugs. There are numerous mealybugs that cause Floridians problems but the one we wanted to talk about today is the coconut mealybug. It is a lawn pest that poses significant damage to palms. Thought to be natives of Asia, they sport oval-shaped, yellow or pink bodies that have been embellished with their own natural secretions. The secretions resemble powdery snow but are actually quite waxy. They use the secretions in reproduction and to foster symbiotic relationships with other insects, like ants. Unfortunately, those same secretions lead to a deadly palm disease known as sooty mold. Sparking the rapid development of sooty mold isn’t...

Have you been noticing persistent brown areas in your lawn? Perhaps you thought they were dry areas in need of water. If watering doesn't make the areas greener, then you could have an infestation of white grubs which are the larvae of beetles. The test for white grubs or lawn grubs is simple. Grab some grass in your hand and pull up. If the grass is infested, then a patch of grass and its sod will easily pull right out of the ground. If you turn the sod upside down, you will see the grubs on the underside curled into C shapes. The reason the grass and its sod pulls out so easily is because most of the roots have been eaten away by grubs. If you don't want to get on your knees to test for them, shovel three sides and lift up the patch of grass. White grubs thrive...

Mosquito Control is important because of the vector potential that exists in the transmission of diseases such as dengue, malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, and other serious diseases.  While many home remedies for mosquito control can be found on the Internet, it is vitally important that their extermination be left up to professionals that understand mosquito's life cycles, their mating habits and the best ways to eliminate them and to help prevent their recurrence. In addition to carrying diseases, mosquitoes can also put a damper on outdoor activities.  It is difficult to enjoy a picnic or baseball game when annoying mosquitoes are flying about biting people and resulting in painful itching for hours at a time. Mosquitoes are a nuisance and can affect labor efficiency in outdoor workers, and can even cause depreciation of real estate values when houses are located near standing bodies of water such as lakes. The insects can...

If you suspect that there’s a dead mouse somewhere in your home, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get the problem cleaned up right. In addition to carrying dangerous bacteria that puts your family and pets at risk for infection, dead mice attract worms and produce an overwhelmingly unpleasant smell that can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Tackling the carcass removal quickly is the best way to reduce the risk of contamination and prevent odor from seeping into your living space.  How Can I Find a Dead Mouse? It’s not uncommon for poisoned mice to die in hidden crevices within walls, ceilings and floorboards. If you don’t come face to face with the carcass, the odor trail should lead you to the problem area. Once in the room where the smell is the strongest, check superficial hiding spots, like behind the refrigerator, inside cabinets and...

Your bathroom is the place you get clean, but the humid atmosphere in the room can also be a welcoming home for a variety of bugs. When left uncontrolled, infestations can quickly take over your bathroom and cause damage. Some of the most common culprits are drain flies, silverfish, book lice, moth flies and psocids. However, other household pests may be found in the bathroom. Ask a professional for help identifying the pest infesting your area so that you can find the best methods to control them.  Many homeowners would like to take simple, do-it-yourself measures to keep their bathrooms from becoming infested. However, pests attracted by water and dampness can be tough to control with such measures because they are incredibly resilient and can hide in places that you simply can't reach. Small pests such as psocids can even be hard to detect, making it difficult to eliminate them effectively. ...

Pests don't just invade homes; they also infest offices and cause problems for workers and customers. In fact, a pest infestation can deter customers from returning to your business. With a few simple steps, you can prevent a pest infestation and make the office a much happier, cleaner place to work. Keep food areas clean. Make sure the employees eat in a designated area, and keep all food out of the work space. All trash belongs in the garbage bins and should be taken out every day. In addition, clean up any spills as they happen to prevent ant and roach infestations later. Keep the garbage under control. Indoor and outdoor garbage bins should have tight lids to prevent trash from falling onto the ground. If the outside garbage bin overflows, invest in a second garbage bin if possible. Maintain both garbage areas each day to prevent rodent and insect infestations...

February 14 is the day of love. It's also the one day of the year when you are allowed to enjoy candy without concern for calories or fat grams. From cute candy hearts etched with terms of endearment to boxes of gourmet chocolates, it's a tradition to give someone special a sweet treat for Valentine's Day. The problem is that most of these gifts are boring and outdated. If you're tired of giving the same presents year after year, it's time to step into modern times and give your loved one a gift to remember. This is best accomplished by offering chocolate-covered bugs instead of yet another red heart filled with the typical chocolates. While we work hard to keep bugs from infesting your home every year, there is no denying that bugs have nutritional benefits. If you were stranded in the wilderness, you would actively hunt worms and a variety...

By far, the most abundant rodent pest in Florida is the roof rat. This creature ranges in color from dark brown to black. Including its tail, it can be anywhere from 13 to 18 inches long. Weighing five to nine ounces, it is slender in build, with large, virtually hairless ears. In short, roof rats are neither cute nor cuddly, and you definitely do not want them to infest your property. One way to determine if they are over-running your home is if you see a lot of their long, cylindrical droppings. Perhaps you also are hearing them running around in the upper levels of your home, particularly the attic. This, along with ceilings, is a prime nesting location. They also love outdoor places such as woodpiles and dense vegetation. Roof rats do much more than just annoy you with their scampering. In fact, they can eat through pipes and wiring....

Is there a secret to effective pest control? While your neighbors or friends may swear by a particular regimen, the answer isn't quite so easy as jumping on the bandwagon. The only proven way to manage pests is to get an annual plan tailored to your property.   Different Tactics for Different Pests Pests come in many forms; each species leaves a unique calling card to mark its presence, but these traces are difficult to distinguish. In most cases, you need some professional experience. Property owners with annual pest control contracts get the benefit of working with someone who can keep an eye on continuing problems and devise a plan that combats serious issues with the appropriate responses.   When Should I Get Started? The New Year is by far the best time to get an annual contract plan started. During the height of the coldest season, many insects enter a...

Homeowners may occasionally hear scratches, scurrying sounds or other noises coming from the ceiling area. These sounds may seem to persist during the winter months; however, they are probably more audible because people tend to spend more time indoors when it is cold. While it may seem amusing during December to tell the kids that these sounds are just the hoofs of Santa’s reindeer, the truth is that these noises are probably being generated by pests. Attic Pests  Common attic pests thrive in the dank and dark areas above the ceiling. These critters may penetrate into other areas of the home when searching for food and water. They can quickly move between rooms by using the hollow vestibules between different walls.  If there are sounds coming from the attic during the cold months of the year, you might have one of these common winter pests: •Mice •Rats •Roaches •Spiders Insects, rodents...

Pest control services protect private property, but the elimination of common pests can also improve the health of the inhabitants as well. One of the major barriers to accessing these benefits is the simple understanding of how pests hide inside the structure of the building. This knowledge can help homeowners and businesses decide if they are facing a silent pest invasion. Common Pests Some of the most common pests can easily hide in crevices, attics, basements and other concealed areas without being detected for extended lengths of time. Homeowners often know next to nothing about the best methods used to detect an infestation. They might not know how to look for trails, eggs, carcasses or other signs of an active pest presence. Another problem involves the process of interpreting the meaning of a single pest. For example, some homeowners may spot a single mouse, roach, spider or other pest without thinking...

The season of cooler temperatures is upon us, and you will no doubt want to spend more time on the inside of your warm and cozy home. Unfortunately, several outdoor pests will also want to escape the elements and share your warm home right along with you. You may find such unwelcome visitors as spiders, stink bugs, beetles, roaches, silver fish, ants and centipedes inhabiting your home, but there is a way to avoid this unpleasant occurrence. Those bugs won't be able to enter your home through even the tiniest of openings when you choose to have a professional pest control company provide you with perimeter protection services. Timely Application Insects tend to gather in large numbers towards the end of the fall season when temperatures become unpleasantly cool to them. You will want to make arrangements for your perimeter protection services before those insects have had the chance to make...

Pests can be as common as pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a time of feasting and family, and those who are planning to either host or attend a large holiday get-together should be aware that uninvited guests may want to drop by. Rodents and bugs are often attracted to the excess food, people and activity that comes with a Thanksgiving celebration. Whether you’re traveling across town or across the country to visit family Thanksgiving weekend, you should be aware of the possibility that small insects can travel there or back with you. Even the cleanest of homes can have a pest invasion that goes unnoticed, such as bed bugs in the spare bedroom or fleas on the family pet. Cockroaches and ants can end up sneaking into luggage or hitching a ride on a pair of shoes, and just those few sneaky pests can turn in to a full-scale invasion...