Other Household Pests

ALLGone Services is a full-service pest control company, able to handle any pest problem that you may experience. Here are some less-common pests that occasionally become problems in the Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas Metropolitan area.

Sowbugs and Pillbugs

Sowbugs and pillbugs are really not "bugs." They're not even insects. They're crustaceans.

Sowbugs and pillbugs tend to live outside in moist, decaying organic matter like leaf litter, mulch, etc. They often can be found outside homes, under rocks, and in other wet areas rich in organic matter. They're harmless scavengers, but occasionally they become an annoyance when they migrate inside (where they often die due to lack of sufficient moisture).

In most cases, no chemical control is necessary. Correcting excessive moisture conditions outside the home and removing leaf litter and organic mulches often will solve the problem by itself. When this is impossible, however, there are several products labeled for their control.

Silverfish and Firebrats

Just like sowbugs and pillbugs aren't bugs, silverfish aren't fish. Silverfish are insects who favor dark, secluded, fairly damp areas such as voids around plumbing pipes and under bathtubs,gaps behind cedar shakes and roof shingles, unfinished basements and crawl spaces, manholes, and utility tunnels. They move very quickly and their bodies are very "squiggly." They can be quickly identified by their three bristle-like tail appendages.

Silverfish live on things that humans don't usually think of as food, such as wallpaper paste, mold, and even some soaps and cosmetics.

A closely related insect known as the "firebrat" looks a lot like a silverfish, but firebrats favor warmer, dryer environments such as boiler rooms and hot mechanical spaces.

Bedbugs

Bedbugs are parasitic insects that until a decade or so ago were thought to have been pretty much eliminated in the United States. But in the last few years, the incidence of bedbug infestations has been steadily rising.

Most entomologists attribute the return of the bedbug to two factors. The first is that we live in an increasingly mob lie society in which international travel to places where bedbugs are still found is common. The second is the shift in pest control practices away from the use of broad-spectrum spraying (which killed bedbugs even when they were not the targeted pest) to more narrowly targeted treatments like baits and gels.

Bedbug extermination is usually accomplished by the precise, thorough application of liquid insecticides and growth regulators to all affected areas, including bedding, textiles, cracks and crevices, and furniture. Sometimes dusts or aerosols are also used inside inaccessible void areas.

Millipedes and Centipedes

Millipedes and centipedes are not insects because they have more than six legs. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, and millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment.

Most centipedes and millipedes are harmless and usually stay outside in dark, secluded areas. But once in a while they become indoor pests and require treatment. Treatment may include the correction of conditions conducive to these arthropods, exclusion, sticky traps, or the use of insecticides labeled for their control.

Earwigs

Despite their appearance and their prominent pincers, earwigs actually are harmless insects that usually live outside in damp, secluded areas that are rich in decaying organic matter.

Contrary to the old wives' tale, earwigs don't really crawl into people's ears at night and make them crazy. But they do occasionally crawl into homes and create a nuisance. Earwig control may include correction of conducive conditions (such as moisture problems, bad grading, or organic mulches), exclusion, or the use of insecticides.

For control of these or any other pest problems you may have, contact the experts at ALLGone Services.