Experts Share Info on Local Pests

Ants are tiny insects that work together in an army-like fashion to forage for food and protect their nest and the ants inside. Ants are difficult pests to prevent and control because they are determined to ensure the success of their colony, and they work tirelessly to find suitable food and water sources. These pests are also tricky because they can maintain multiple nests, meaning if you don't find and treat all the ants and their nesting sites, a re-infestation will occur.

In Sacramento, you may discover various ants in your yard or home; species that we deal with regularly include Argentine ants, carpenter ants, and odorous house ants. Carpenter ants are most concerning as they like to nest inside the wood. After they enter our homes to forage for food or after being attracted by moisture, they may stay and nest inside structural wood, causing costly damage to wood that is typically near leaky pipes or in areas of poor ventilation.

Ants, no matter the species, are unwanted. Not only are they annoying to deal with, but they also contaminate food, spread bacteria, and if they are getting into your home, so are other pests. Our local pest library Sacramento, has tips to keep ants out of your home. 

Spiders are arachnids that regularly find their way into our yards and sometimes into our homes. These eight-legged creatures are a welcome part of nature, helping to reduce populations of insects. However, when spiders live too close to people, they are unwanted pests, especially if they are a dangerous species like black widow spiders.

Black widows and other dangerous spiders are those with venom powerful enough to cause harm to a person. Luckily most of the spiders we come across, like wolf spiders and orb weaver spiders, aren't dangerous; their venom is only strong enough to harm their insect prey.

What makes spiders so difficult to control is that they live all around us, hiding in our yard's trees, bushes, and shrubs, hanging out on the exterior of our homes, and calling our kid's playhouses home. When in our yards in controlled populations, spiders typically aren't an issue. But when their populations explode, or they follow their insect prey into our homes, you should take action to eliminate them. The biggest reason spiders may become a problem for you is that there is plenty of food around for them to hunt.

Things like open trash cans, standing water, dense vegetation, and outdoor lighting attract insects and, in turn, spiders to your property. It is always important to remember that spiders in your home mean that you likely have an overall pest problem that needs attention.

Avoid problems with spiders by implementing the following prevention tips:

• Avoid attracting insects to your home by keeping outdoor lights off as much as possible and storing trash cans away from the exterior of your house.
• Make sure water isn't collecting around gutters or downspouts that insects can use as a moisture source.
• Eliminate hiding spots on your property by maintaining your lawn, gardens, and landscaping.
• Keep your basement, garage, or shed doors closed whenever possible to help keep spiders out.
• Make it difficult for insects and spiders to enter your home, seal cracks in the foundation, make sure weatherstripping is in place, and install door sweeps on all exterior doors.

Mice and rats are popular pets for many people; they are small, clever, and perform acrobatics. Those same reasons are why wild rodents are problematic for home and business owners and are among the most common household pests.

Rodents have adapted and learned that people and our structures equal food, water, and shelter, and they climb, jump, and crawl wherever they desire, squeezing their bodies through the smallest of spaces.

Rodents living in our homes as unwanted guests are dangerous to both people and their homes. Mice and rats use their sharp front incisors to chew through walls, floors, furniture, cabinets, and more. Wires and cables are also easily chewed through, which can lead to electrical shorts and fires.

When in our homes, they will contaminate food and spread diseases and parasites. The reason rodents move inside is because they are searching for food and water or because it's too hot or cold for them to live comfortably outdoors. They move inside through spaces they find in the exterior, damaged siding, chimneys, rooflines, vents, and open windows or doors.

The most common rodent species in our area, and throughout much of the country, are outlined below:

• Mice are small oval-shaped rodents with grayish or brown fur. They have a triangular head, pointed nose, and a long skinny tail covered in a light layer of velvety fur.
• Norway rats have heavy, dense bodies covered in brown fur with black hairs peppered throughout. This rat has a blunt nose and a scaly tail that is shorter than its head and body combined.
• Roof rats are small, thin, agile rodents covered in dark fur that prefer to nest up off the ground. They have a pointed nose, and their scaly tail is longer than the head and body combined.

To help protect your home from rodents, remove access to food, water, and shelter.

• Remove their access to food by keeping lids on trash cans, picking up uneaten pet food, and keeping food prep and eating areas clean and free of food debris.
• Repair leaky pipes and hoses that will provide a water source.
• Maintain your home and regularly inspect it for cracks and gaps that could allow rodents inside.
• Make sure to keep doors and windows closed and make sure that they have tight-fitting screens in them.
• Remove clutter from your yard and homes where these prey animals can hide.
• Employ rodent control services for your Sacramento home.

Fleas and ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. These ectoparasites have specialized mouth parts that allow them to puncture the skin of their host and feed on their blood. Both feed on various animal hosts, including cats, dogs, rodents, wild animals, and sometimes people.

Fleas are insects with a short life span that are as small as a speck of dirt and have powerful back legs that enable them to jump quickly out of the way of danger or onto a host. Ticks are arachnids. They have a life cycle that can take up to three years to complete and will feed on the blood of many different hosts.

Fleas and ticks move most effectively on the back of a host. As wildlife, rodents, and stray pets travel from place to place, they leave behind fleas and ticks. In addition to our yards, other common locations we come into contact with fleas and ticks include wooded areas, fields, meadows, parks, campgrounds, and dog parks. In our yards, fleas and ticks both hide in similar places; those that provide them with shade and moisture, such as tall grass, woodpiles, mulch, leaf piles, and under decks or other shady spots. The more fleas and ticks you have in your yard, the more likely it will be that you or your pets will come into contact with them and introduce them into your home.

Help prevent populations of fleas and ticks from taking over your property by implementing regular pest control services and taking the following preventative measures:

• Keep your lawn cut short and landscaping plants well-maintained and cut wooded areas back away from the edges of your property.
• Remove things like woodpiles, leaf piles, and other debris from your yard.
• Help get rid of stray fleas and ticks from your home by regularly vacuuming rugs and upholstered furniture.
• Keep lids on trash cans, remove bird feeders, and pick up uneaten pet food to keep flea and tick-infested animals away from your property.
• Keep your pets on a year-round control program with the help of your veterinarian.

Prolific breeders that are adaptive and determined, cockroaches are among the most difficult pests to prevent. Many people think unkempt or cluttered structures are the only ones to have problems with cockroaches; however, these pests can find their way into any home or business.

Cockroaches enter structures through gaps or other openings they discover in the exterior, or they hitchhike their way in or on things like boxes, furniture, plant pots, or deliveries.

Our local pest library Sacramento will help you learn how to keep roaches out of your home. Sacramento provides the perfect environment for quite a few different species to thrive both indoors and outdoors, so they are a challenging pest to control.

Some of the most common cockroach species in Sacramento County and surrounding areas include:

• American cockroaches
• German cockroaches
• Oriental cockroaches
• Turkestan cockroaches

Things found in and around most of our homes that will attract almost any cockroach species include trash, pet food, pet excrement, gardens, and compost. During the day, cockroaches hide. Outside, you'll find roaches under mulch, behind tree bark, within woodpiles, around drains and sewers, and in piles of garbage. After moving inside, these pests will track bacteria and pathogens they have come into contact with over food and surfaces in your home. Inside, these oval-shaped insects with long antennae hide in damp, dark areas like kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and crawlspaces.

To help you prevent your home from being overtaken by cockroaches, we want to provide you with some of our top prevention tips.

• Because moisture attracts cockroaches, repair leaky pipes and use dehumidifiers to reduce sources of excess water.
• Make sure you have proper ventilation in your home.
• Keep wandering cockroaches out by sealing gaps in your foundation, spaces around utilities, and openings around windows and doors.
• Reduce their access to food by keeping lids on trash cans, storing food properly, and cleaning and vacuuming your home regularly.
• Clear away clutter and debris on your property both inside and out.

Hospitals, airports, hotels, shopping centers, movie theaters, and laundry mats are all public places catering to large groups of people. Another thing they all have in common is that they are places where people regularly come into contact with bed bugs. Bed bugs are biting, blood-feeding pests closely associated with people because our blood is their favorite food source. Moving most efficiently by hitchhiking, bed bugs crawl onto people or our belongings and move from place to place, wherever we take them, including into our homes.

To better protect your family and home from bed bugs, it is important to know the signs of their presence and how to identify these insects. While bed bugs are small, you can spot them quite easily if you know what they look like and where they like to hide. Some of a bed bug's favorite hideouts include the seams of mattresses and box springs, in upholstered furniture, under piles of clutter, in cracks of wooden furniture, and inside electrical outlets.

Adult bed bugs are the size and shape of an apple seed; they have six legs, lack wings, and are reddish-brown. Their flat oval shape and dark color allow them to hide easily. Our local pest library Sacramento will help you identify a bed bug infestation.

If bed bugs have found a way into your home, you may begin to notice:

• Piles of shed insect skins on the floors, under mattresses, or in drawers or closets.
• Red dots of blood or dark streaks of excrement on pillows, bedding, walls, and mattresses or box springs.
• A sweet, musty odor developing.
• You or your family members waking up with unexplained bed bug bites.
• Live or dead bed bugs under mattresses or in other areas of your house.

Bed bugs are difficult pests to avoid, and you may find them anywhere people spend time. Daily work, errands, and travel put us into potential contact with these blood-feeding pests regularly.

To help you avoid a large-scale infestation in your home, we want to provide you with some helpful prevention tips.

• Keep all personal belongings up off the ground and away from other people's belongings.
• Avoid purchasing used furniture, mattresses, or box springs for your home; all three are common hideouts for bed bugs.
• Regularly wash your family's bedding and outerwear using the highest heat cycles the fabrics can handle.
• Vacuum your house and furniture regularly to remove stray bed bugs.
• Place protective bed bug-proof covers over your family's mattresses and box springs. Reduce clutter throughout your home that can conceal a bed bug infestation.
• Schedule a bed bug treatment for your Sacramento home.

The Asian needle ant (Brachyponera chinensis), originally from East Asia, is an invasive species now established in the southeastern United States, particularly in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. These ants are dark brown to black, about 4–5 mm long, with lighter-colored legs and a noticeable stinger. Though less aggressive than fire ants, their sting can cause significant medical reactions, including rare cases of anaphylaxis. Asian needle ants prefer moist, shady environments such as leaf litter, mulch beds, rotting wood, and even indoor areas like bathrooms or basements. They are active during cooler temperatures, often appearing in early spring and late fall.

Ecologically, they pose a serious threat by displacing native ants, preying on small insects, and disrupting natural processes like seed dispersal. Control methods include reducing nesting habitats, sealing entry points, and using protein-based baits or professional pest control treatments. Correct identification is crucial, as these ants are often mistaken for other species, and early intervention can prevent serious infestations.

To help stop ants from getting comfortable in your home or yard:

• Get rid of excess moisture in and around your home by repairing leaking pipes, using dehumidifiers, and ensuring your yard has good drainage.
• Eliminate their access to food by keeping lids on trash cans, maintaining gardens, keeping outdoor eating areas free of food debris.
• Indoors, regularly clean the kitchen and vacuum your home.
• Help keep ants out of your home by sealing cracks in the foundation, installing door sweeps, and repairing damaged window or door trim and weatherstripping.
• Remove things from your yard that ants could build a nest under, like fallen trees, tree stumps, and other debris.