Brandon Florida is a sunny little patch of land in central Florida. Living near Tampa, we have a big-city vibe slowly taking over our small town feel. But that’s not all that 1,000 new residents to the state a day bring with them. When you have more people, you have more pests. And that’s why today we’re going to touch on some Brandon Florida pest control, and which pests you can expect to have to deal with in your home.
Brandon Florida Pest Control: Overview
Florida is a hotbed for pest infestations. It’s sad but true. Our sunny little patch of humid heaven just has too much going for it that bugs absolutely love. For one thing, the natural environment of Florida was already a prime location for insect life. From our coastal plains to our lowland tropical forests, moisture and shelter for bugs are the name of the game. You can thank that for our massive diversity of beetles, ants, and other native insect life.
But beyond that, you have the current overpopulation of the state. There are more people in Florida than there are in New York, with the state population being over twenty two million people. And if you shove that many human beings into one place what do you get? Garbage! So now, filth living pests are booming in population in every county in the state. And another group of pests that go hand in hand with overpopulation is parasites. Mosquitoes, bed bugs, and all manner of bloodsuckers love it when there are millions of people in one spot for them to choose from.
So what we’ll do today is list out a few of the bugs you can expect to see from time to time. Hopefully as a one off, but let’s not forget that an infestation can happen to anyone at any time, so arming yourself with knowledge is vital for being a Florida homeowner.
Ants
Let’s start with what is probably the most common house pest on the list. And that is the humble ant. Ants top this list because almost every home in Florida has had to deal with an infestation of ants at least once. And they have a massive range of behaviors depending on the species. One person’s infestation can be a simple line of ants wandering around their counter and taking the sugar out of spilled coffee stains. Another person can wake up covered in fire ants and find themselves in a genuine life-threatening situation! Some of the most common species you’ll find indoors include:
- Fire ants
- Carpenter ants
- Big-headed ants
- Ghost ants
- Acrobat ants
The reason Florida has such a huge variety of ant species is a mixture of its welcoming climate for insects and its shipping industries. For example, fire ants are a non-native species from South America that arrived here on a shipping barge. And fire ants, honestly, are the worst infestation you can get from this species. Fire ants can actually attack and damage wood supports in your home. Not only that, but they are an extremely aggressive species of ant. When one attacks, the rest will swarm.
If you have a toddler or young child in your home, make sure to deal with a fire ant infestation as quickly as possible. Enough of these ants stinging a small enough person at once can be fatal, so get yourself some Brandon Florida pest control as soon as you spot these pests in your home.
Brandon Florida Pest Control: Cockroaches
Also popularly known as roaches, these pests are neck-and-neck with ants as one of the worst home infesters in Florida. In fact, it’s estimated that ninety percent of all homes in the state will have to deal with a cockroach infestation at some point. And when these guys are seen in your home, it’s just a bad feeling all around for everyone. They’re dirty, gross to look at, and fast enough to be a little bit scary looking when they scutter around on the floor or charge your feet to hide in your shadow.
In Florida, there are primarily going to be two kinds of roach you deal with. The first is known incorrectly as the palmetto bug but is in fact the American Cockroach. American Cockroaches are massive, sometimes breaking over three inches in length! They’re attracted to your home either through the lights or the food. Once inside, they tend to hide around sources of water, such as under the sink or around leaky pipes in the walls.
The other group of roaches you’ll likely have to deal with is the German Cockroach. German Cockroaches are some of the most widespread bugs on the planet and are so closely tied to humans that they may no longer be able to survive in the wild. They’re easy to identify at least, with a pale yellow coloration and two stripes running down their back that start just behind their heads.
Brandon Florida Pest Control: Control Tips
In Florida, pest control begins at the source. It has to! If you try to act too late, you’ll already have a well established infestation that you’ll likely need professional help with. So what you have to do is keep your home and yard bug and pest free with these tips.
For one, remove anything that can contain standing water or provide shelter for pests. This can be anything from a rusted old car you’re letting rot in the backyard to an old plastic cup your daughter discarded in the corner of the property that you both forgot about. And throw your garbage out, and make sure to do so nightly.
Making sure your home and yard are free of clutter, disorganized piles of junk, and trash is the best thing you can do to keep a pest infestation from happening. As a rule of thumb, if it can collect even a small amount of water there’s a good reason to chuck it, or at least cover it tightly with a tarp in the case of things like boats parked in your yard.
