Bed bugs are small parasitic insects well-known for their nightly feeding activities. Bed bugs are attracted to areas with plenty of warmth and carbon dioxide that humans emit when they sleep, indicating that bed bugs are safe to feed. And while bed bug bites don’t transmit serious illnesses, they are itchy, may result in allergic reactions, and will cause problems like stress, anxiety, and insomnia.

Most of the time, bed bug infestations start unnoticed as these insects, no larger than an apple seed, hide in your clothing or luggage. After you’ve traveled through an infested area and picked up bed bugs, you easily bring them back to your home or business; this will be the start of an infestation. The best way to avoid a bed bug infestation is to check areas you pass through for signs of bed bugs, such as reddish staining, unpleasant musty odors, and bed bug sightings.

Stinging insects are dangerous pest invaders thanks to their aggressive nature and the potential for allergic reactions as a result of their stings. Stinging insect species in our area include honey bees, paper wasps, and yellow jackets, and our pest professionals at Integrity Pest Elimination can help you with further stinging insect identification.

You should never attempt to remove a stinging insect nest by yourself due to the risk of painful and dangerous stings. Signs that a stinging insect problem is taking hold on your property include:

• An increased sighting of stinging insects. 
• Finding nests in trees or along your eaves, decks, or patios.
• An increased pest prey presence that attracts stinging insects.

If you see an increased presence of these pests, contact Integrity Pest Elimination for help.

Cockroaches are well known as one of the most unhygienic pests in existence. They are notorious for their adaptability and difficulty in ridding your property of them once they invade. Many types of cockroaches may invade human structures today, but the most common ones in our area include oriental, American, and German cockroaches.

Once they infest your property, cockroaches easily spread bacteria and pathogens around as they scavenge for food. Illnesses you might pick up from a cockroach infestation include dysentery, salmonella, and gastroenteritis. Furthermore, widespread cockroach infestations often trigger asthma and allergy issues.

In addition to seeking cockroach control help from Integrity Pest Elimination, take steps to prevent cockroaches around your property by sealing trash tightly, never leaving out food or drink spills, storing leftover food properly, and sealing up potential cockroach entry points around your windows, doors, and foundation.

There are a lot of nuisance pest invaders that may easily invade your property and cause serious problems, including health issues. Problematic pest invaders that you need to keep an eye out for in our area include:

• Earwigs
• Crickets
• Fleas
• Ticks

You should take infestations of any of these pests seriously, as their populations may quickly grow out of control. Earwigs are attracted to moist areas and may be frightening to encounter; the same goes for crickets. Cricket infestations may also produce loud noises as these insects chirp all night long.

Infestations of fleas and ticks typically start when these parasitic pests are introduced to your property by a pet or wild animal and bring major health issues due to their ability to transmit illnesses such as Lyme disease and murine typhus via their bites.

Basic pest prevention tips that you can follow to keep all of these pests at bay include clearing outdoor areas of long grass, debris piles, and overgrown foliage and fixing moisture issues that contribute to damp and humid conditions. You may also want to treat pets on your property with flea and tick prevention medication and seal any potential pest entry points around windows, doors, and your foundation.

Spiders are among the more frightening pests you may encounter on your property, and many individuals are wary of these eight-legged arachnids. The most common spiders you may see around your property are house spiders, which are relatively harmless, even though they are a nuisance, and black widow spiders. Black widow spiders are considered medically dangerous due to the venom transmitted through their bites. They are easily recognizable by their bulbous shiny black bodies and the red hourglass females have on their abdomen.

Easy ways to deter spider infestations on your property include clearing outdoor areas of brush and debris, storing woodpiles in elevated areas, sealing cracks around windows and doors, and frequently cleaning and decluttering the interior rooms of your house.