Pest Library

What You Need To Know About Pests Living In Rochester, New York

Learn more about the pests that call our region of New York home with the help of our pest control guide. Our guide provides you with a brief description of the pests common to our area, how to prevent them from taking over your property, and how we can help!

Ants

There are a variety of pests that New York homeowners regularly discover in their homes; one of the more common unwanted visitors is the ant. We have many species living in our area, and all have equal opportunities to find their way into our homes in the pursuit of their basic needs. Carpenter ants, fields, ants, pavement ants, pharaoh ants, and odorous house ants live in our area and use the food and shelter that our yards and homes offer to their benefit! Ants are omnivores and will eat most of the same food we do, which is why our kitchens, trash cans, and dining areas are so attractive to these pests. Our properties provide them with many choices to build one or more nests within the damp soil, in fallen trees, under landscaping ties, behind wall voids, in attics spaces, or inside structural wood.

To successfully guard your home against ants, you first need to understand that ants are social. Being social means that they live together in large groups; if you see a few ants trailing in and out of your home, don't be fooled into thinking it's no big deal because there are hundreds or thousands close by that you don't see! Ants are excellent communicators and leave pheromone trails to alert other colony members to food sources. Their ability to communicate helps them succeed and makes them difficult pests to control. In addition, you can't forget that ants are not just nuisance pests; they will contaminate your family's food, and some species pose even more significant dangers. Two examples of dangerous ants are the pharaoh ant which spreads disease-causing pathogens that make people ill, and the carpenter ant that causes costly structural damage when nesting inside our homes.

Below are some tips you can follow to help you guard your Rochester area property against these unwanted guests.

Be diligent about sealing cracks and holes in your home's exterior, especially around doors and windows and in the foundation.
Fix leaky pipes or use dehumidifiers to reduce excess moisture in your home that attracts ants.
Take your trash out often, regularly wash dishes, wipe down surfaces, and vacuum daily.
Store your family's food and pet's food in the fridge or sealed containers.
Make sure trash cans outside of your home have lids, are stored away from your home's exterior, and the trash is removed from your property regularly.

Guard your home year-round against the ants in our region with the help of us Precision Pest Management and our effective home pest control options. By working together, we can remove ants from your property and prevent them from taking over in the future!

Bed Bugs

First things first, when it comes to bed bugs — every one of our homes is at risk of an infestation. Bed bugs don't just target "dirty" or cluttered spaces; they are equal opportunity pests that will make themselves at home inside any structure they are introduced into. Bed bugs have adapted to living inside structures because that is where they have the easiest access to their preferred food source; human blood, and if we aren't available, they will happily feed on our cats, dogs, or the rodents living behind your walls! Bed bugs are small reddish-brown insects that look similar to apple seeds or lentils. They have six legs, and their sole food source is blood.

Since bed bugs are indoor pests, they move from place to place by hitchhiking; these wingless insects will crawl onto our clothing or a piece of luggage or other bag and go where we take them. They also are moved easily from place to place on secondhand items; that free mattresses doesn't seem like a good deal anymore, does it! Bed bugs are tiny pests, and you can easily overlook a small infestation. Bed bugs like to hide near people, so the seams of mattresses, upholstered furniture, electrical outlets, and the cracks of headboards and footboards are some of their favorite hangouts. Regularly inspecting these areas in your home can help you discover a problem with these pests before they can take over your house!

Below are some tips you can follow to help you guard your Rochester area property against these unwanted pests.

Be vigilant when spending time in places where bed bugs hang out like airports, hotels, dormitories, shopping centers, libraries, movie theaters, and laundry mats.
In public spaces, always keep your belongings up off the ground and away from other people's things.
Avoid purchasing secondhand items for your home, especially mattresses and upholstered furniture.
Regularly vacuum your house and wash and change your family's bedding to remove stray bed bugs.

Don't live with bed bugs for one day longer than necessary. These pests bite, cause red itchy rashes, and interrupt your family's sound sleep. If you are concerned about bed bugs, we can help! Call Precision Pest Management today. We will quickly remove these unwanted pests using our bed bug control services.

German Cockroaches

The German cockroach is the most widespread, troublesome cockroach living worldwide. If a roach has found its way into your New York home, it is more likely than not a German cockroach. These small, feisty, quick-moving cockroaches have adapted to living in man-made structures, and once they find their way inside, removing them is quite a task! Since German cockroaches are so common in our homes, it is crucial to have a general understanding of their appearance. They have tan or brownish bodies with two dark lines on their backs; their bodies are a flattened, oval shape, and adults grow to about half an inch in length. These roaches have wings but prefer to use their legs to get them from place to place. Dealing with German cockroaches is not only an annoyance but downright dangerous. These pests are responsible for spreading unpleasant odors, allergens, bacteria, and disease-causing pathogens in any home they find their way into.

You need to know some things about German cockroaches to help you prevent these tenacious pests from finding their way into your home. Cockroaches have adapted to living indoors with people, relying on the warm, humid living conditions our structures provide. Since German cockroaches are indoor pests, they don't enter our homes the same way other insects do; they typically don't crawl in through windows or cracks in the foundation. People unintentionally bring them indoors. German cockroaches are excellent hitchhikers and move from place to place in appliances, furniture, boxes, deliveries, and other items that get brought into your home. Once they are inside, they will quickly establish themselves. German cockroaches breed continuously, and each female can produce about 400 eggs in its lifetime. A few of these pests finding their way into your house can quickly lead to a big problem!

Below are some tips you can follow to help you guard your Rochester area property against German cockroaches.

These scavengers are always looking for a free meal. Keep lids on trash cans, regularly wash dishes, pick up uneaten pet food, and never leave food out on tables or counters.
Regularly pull out large pieces of furniture and appliances to clean the debris that gathers under them.
Regularly vacuum your floors and wipe down counters and tables.
German cockroaches are attracted to moisture; make sure to repair leaky pipes, ensure your home has property ventilation, and use dehumidifiers in naturally damp areas of your house.
Always inspect deliveries, bags, and secondhand items you bring into your home for hitchhiking German cockroaches.

If you ever discover German cockroaches in your home, Precision Pest Management can help! Our commercial and residential pest control services will ensure German cockroaches are eliminated from your structure and don't return.

Rodents

One of the most recurring pest problems that homeowners have to deal with is rodents. Rodents pop up in our homes unexpectedly, where they cause many problems, including spreading diseases, contaminating food, and using their sharp front incisors to cause structural damage. Rodent infestations are also well-known for triggering short circuits and fires. If a rodent has found its way into your New York home, it is most like either a rat or mouse. Adult mice are smaller than adult rats, but both can move their flexible skeletons through small spaces and into our homes.

The reason rodents love to live near people isn't because they like us; it's that they like what we have to offer them. Our gardens, trash cans, outdoor eating areas, kitchens, attics, basements, and wall voids provide them with warm, safe shelter and easy access to food sources. Rodents are omnivores and can eat almost anything we do, making our properties places they thrive! Once rodents find a place they can call home, it won't take long for these prolific breeders to take over. A female mouse can give birth to six pups or more every 25-36 days, and babies reach maturity and can begin reproducing at six to eight weeks of age! As you can see, one or two mice can quickly turn into many, and these opportunistic scavengers will overrun your property.

Below are some tips you can follow to help you guard your Rochester area property against rodents.

Never leave uneaten pet food out in the open for long periods.
Remove bird feeders and other wild animal feeders from your property.
Always places lids on trash cans and recycling bins.
Store your family's food in airtight containers or the fridge.
Seal any spaces you discover in your home's exterior with caulk.
Make sure screens and weatherstripping are intact.
Cut back overgrown vegetation from your home's exterior walls that could camouflage entrances and exits rodents are using to move in and out of your home.

Let us help you protect your home and family from unwanted rodents. Through our residential pest control services, we will perform the rodent control services necessary to keep these pests away!

Spiders

The more spiders you have living in your yard and gardens, the greater the chance a spider infestation will occur in your home. Spiders eat various insects, so insect activity is a driving factor in the number of spiders living in or around your house. Most of the spiders that call New York their home are harmless, but a couple of spider species have venom potent enough to cause harm to a person. Spiders do their best to stay away from people, but they will bite to save themselves from being squished or otherwise harmed!

Spiders will take over any space where their insect prey spend time and provide the spiders with a safe place to build their webs or burrows. In yards and gardens, spiders are helpful by feeding on aphids and other harmful garden pests. But when spiders start to follow their insect prey indoors as they forage for food from our kitchens or seek shelter in basements and attics, they are less helpful and more of an unwanted nuisance! Spiders belong outside; we shouldn't have to share our homes with these eight-legged pests. Not only is finding spiders throughout your home unsettling, but their webs are also annoying to deal with, and no one wants to experience a spider bite!

Reduce insect activity around your home to prevent spider activity by doing things like:

Keeping lids on trash cans and recycling bins.
Turning off exterior lights whenever possible or replacing the lights with yellow bulbs that are insect resistant.
Removing areas of standing water from your property.

In conjunction with limiting insect activity, make it more difficult for spiders to move into your Rochester area home by sealing cracks in the foundation, installing door sweeps to cover gaps under doors, and ensuring screens are intact.

Stinging Insects

There aren't many people that enjoy sharing their backyard with stinging insects. Most people understand their eco-importance, but that doesn't take away just how painful their stings are. The venom injected with each sting from a bee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket can elicit allergic reactions that range from mild to severe and even life-threatening. Guarding your property against these pests is so difficult because our yards provide them with multiple areas to forage for food, water sources, and safe, sheltered areas to build their nests.

Yellow jackets regularly inhabit New York yards. Most yellow jackets are black and yellow striped and have a thin and defined waist. Their wings are as long as the body and fold laterally against the body when at rest. These stinging insects pose a significant danger in our yards; they will attack as a group, chase their victims down, and sting multiple times. In addition to nesting aboveground, these pests regularly build nests in the ground or at the base of trees, making stepping on a nest in your yard a real threat.

In addition to our stinging insect control services, below, we have provided you with some tips to make your property less attractive to stinging insects.

Cut back overgrown shrubbery and bushes that can hide nesting sites.
Keep your grass cut short and fill in bare spots and holes that develop in your lawn.
Remove dead trees from your property.
Regularly inspect roof eaves, under decks, and doorways and windows of your home for nesting sites.
Avoid being stung by stinging insects by never purposely provoking them and staying away from their nesting sites until a professional can remove the nest.

Partnering with Precision Pest Management is the best way to live in harmony with stinging insects. We can help you eliminate those that are putting you and your family in danger and implement the services necessary to keep them from returning.

Custom Solutions For Your Local Pest Problems

At Precision Pest Management, we are committed to solving our customer's pest problems using family-friendly, high-quality pest control services. We make sure always to treat people the way they should be treated! Trust us and our over 20 years in the pest control industry; whatever your pest problem is, we have a solution! Call today to learn more about our year-round residential pest control and commercial pest control options!