Pest Library
A Guide To Common Henderson & Las Vegas, NV Pests
Ants
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are a difficult pest to prevent and control. Not only are they tiny, but bed bugs play an exceptional game of hide and seek! Though small, bed bugs are easy to identify if you know what you are looking for. Adult bed bugs have an oval shape, are reddish-brown, have six legs, and are wingless. Before feeding, a bed bug looks very similar to an apple seed. After feeding the body swells and elongates, and they turn a deeper purplish-red color, making them much easier to spot. Identify a bed bug infestation sooner rather than later by knowing how to spot bed bugs! If you suspect bed bugs, immediately seek out professional assistance to eliminate them from your home.
If bed bugs do ever get into your home, understand that they have not moved inside your structure because it is dirty. Many associate bed bugs with filth, but the truth is a bed bug infestation can happen to anyone in any home. Bed bugs hitchhike inside new structures on people’s clothing or belongings after coming into contact with when out in a public place or while visiting a home infested with them. Common areas one would come into contact with bed bugs include a family member’s home, an airport, a hotel, a cruise ship, a movie theater, a library, a school, or really any other place where there are people. Bed bugs prefer to feed on human blood, but may feed on other warm-blooded animals if necessary. Blood is a bed bug’s sole source of nutrition. Even though bed bugs aren’t attracted to areas of filth, if a structure has a lot of clutter, they will take advantage and hide in it, making discovering them even harder!
Helpful tips to prevent problems with bed bugs: Prevent easy access to your personal belongings by making sure to place them up off the ground whenever you are in a public place. When at work or school, keep your bags and coats away from others. Reduce the clutter in your home where bed bugs can hide. Use bed bug proof covers on mattresses and box springs, and keep storage areas neat and organized. Limit other hiding spots by placing covers on outlets, sealing cracks along baseboards, and regularly cleaning behind pictures and other wall hangings. Routinely wash and dry (on the highest heat setting possible) all bedding. Vacuum your floors and upholstered furniture regularly. Also, while purchasing a piece of used furniture or used mattresses may seem like a good idea, know hitchhiking bed bugs could be hiding in them. If you are dealing with bed bugs, contact the professionals at Anver Pest Control for the best bed bug removal in Henderson, NV. Our bed bug control services will help you to maintain a property that is free of bed bugs and other pests
Cockroaches
A difficult pest to control, cockroaches are nocturnal and hide during the day. If you start seeing cockroaches scurrying around your home, it is more than likely that the infestation has been present for some time. Cockroaches are easily identified by their oval-shaped bodies, long antennae, and spiny legs. In addition to seeing cockroaches in your home, other signs of their presence include finding pepper-like droppings in places like drawers or cabinets. Other signs include noticing a strong unpleasant odor developing in areas of your home cockroaches are living or finding piles of shed skins. Protecting your property from cockroaches is important due to the number of diseases and pathogens they spread, how quickly they contaminate food and surfaces, and their ability to trigger allergies and asthma attacks.
There are several species of cockroaches that have become pests for people living throughout the United States. In our area of Nevada, the most common are the large American cockroach, the small, indoor loving German cockroach, and the moisture-loving Oriental cockroach. Cockroaches get inside homes and businesses after moving inside in things like boxes, deliveries, or in used appliances or furniture. They also get inside after taking advantage of openings into your home while foraging for food or water. Once inside, cockroaches hide in various dark, secluded places, with their favorite hangouts being in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and laundry rooms. Walls voids, spaces behind appliances, the inside drawers and cabinets, and around floor drains or sump pumps are where these pests like to rest during the day.
Helpful tips to prevent problems with cockroaches: Repair damaged siding or shingles and caulk gaps in the foundation. Always inspect appliances, furniture, and delivery boxes for signs of cockroaches before bringing them into your home. Moisture attracts roaches, so eliminate as much excess moisture as possible. Repair leaky pipes and fixtures, make sure gutters are in good working order, and use dehumidifiers or air conditioners. Eliminate the cockroach’s access to food by cleaning under appliances, vacuuming floors, and regularly wiping down counters. Cockroaches also love pet food, so each evening, make sure to pick up uneaten pet food. If you are dealing with cockroaches, contact the professionals at Anver Pest Control for the best cockroach control in Henderson, NV. Our residential or commercial pest control services will help you maintain a property free of roaches and other pests!
Rodents
A type of mammal, rodents are common pests that have learned to live near people. Rats and mice are two of the most regular visitors into our homes and businesses, taking advantage of the temperature-controlled environment and easy access to food they provide. Mice and rats are similar creatures, with the biggest difference being their size; adult rats are larger than adult mice. Another difference between the two is that mice have a more triangular shaped nose, while the rat’s nose is blunter. The ears on a mouse are larger than the rat’s, compared to the size of their head. Also, the tail on a mouse is thin and covered in a velvety layer of hair, while the rat has a thick, scaly tail that is free of hair.
One thing that rats, mice, and all other rodents have in common is their ever-growing front incisors. Rodents use their strong front teeth for many things, including chewing their way into buildings, gathering food, and defense. To keep their teeth healthy and from overgrowing, rodents constantly gnaw on objects they come across. Mice, rats, and other rodents that move into a building cause many problems for people and our structures. They damage wires, pipes, drywall, flooring, and, wood trim with their chewing habits. With a high metabolism, rodents are always on the lookout for food. Inside our homes, they quickly contaminate food and surfaces with saliva and excrement. Rodents also spread a lot of diseases and introduce parasites into that make people ill. Never tolerate the presence of rodents in our around your home or business.
Helpful tips to prevent problems with rodents: Make your home less available to rodents by sealing gaps around windows, doors, and cracks in the foundation and exterior walls. Use a material that can stand up to their strong teeth like metal flashing or steel wool to fill in spaces located around wires, pipes, and other utilities entering your home. Rodents, like any living creature, like to live near sources of water, so repairing leaky pipes, clearing out clogged gutters, and eliminating containers in your yard that collect water is important. Limit a rodent’s access to food by placing tight-fitting lids on trash cans and compost bins, picking up uneaten pet food every evening, and harvesting fruits and vegetables from gardens. Inside, remove food from their original containers and place inside containers with airtight lids. Never leave food out in the open on counters or tables. Store fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator. If you are dealing with rodents, contact the professionals at Anver Pest Control for the best rodent removal in Henderson, NV. Our rodent control services will help you to maintain a property that is free of rodents and other pests!
Spiders
Spiders live outside in various places; in fact, whenever you are outside, there are more than likely spiders lurking nearby. Spiders are predators and feed only on other living things. The spider’s feeding habits help control populations of dangerous and nuisance pests, including mosquitoes, flies, and garden pests. To hunt, spiders use specialized mouthparts (fangs) to inject venom and paralyze their prey. Some species living in our area like the black widow spider have venom strong enough to affect a person’s health if a bite were to occur. But luckily, most of the spiders we run into daily, including the large wolf spider pose us no threats, except giving us goosebumps!
Spiders love our yards as they provide them with everything they need. Our yards and gardens provide them with plenty of sheltered hiding spots, plenty of food (insects and other spiders), and easy access to water. Trash or recycling bins, compost, pet food, gardens, fruit trees, and standing water attract both insects and spiders to a property. If you are suddenly noticing an increase of spiders living near or inside your home, it is an indicator that you have an overall pest problem on your property that you need to address. Spiders usually don’t want to live inside our homes, but rather move in while following a food source. Entry points include spaces in the foundation, gaps along the roofline, gaps around windows and doors, and torn screens.
Helpful tips to prevent problems with spiders: Reduce hiding and nesting spots for spiders on your property by keeping the grass cut short and removing piles of leaves and dense vegetation from your yard. Cut back shrubs and bushes from the outside walls of your house; spiders use the branches to gain easy access to your home’s exterior. Stop spiders and insects from gaining easy access into your home by sealing cracks in the foundation, spaces around utilities, and putting covers over vents and drains. Maintain gutters, fix leaking pipes, repair foundation damage, and use dehumidifiers to eliminate excess moisture. Replace white outdoor lights with LED lights that are less attractive to insects, which spiders hunt. The fewer insects you have gathered around your doors and windows, the less spider activity you will have. If you are dealing with spiders, contact the professionals at Anver Pest Control for the best spider control in Henderson, NV. Our residential or commercial pest control services will help you maintain a property that is free of spiders and other pests!
Scorpions
Scorpions thrive in dry, desert-like conditions making Nevada a place where home and business owners often run into them. Some of the more common species in our area include the desert bark scorpion, giant desert hair scorpion, brown scorpion, and wind scorpion (sun spider). No matter the species, avoiding contact with scorpions is important. They are a type of stinging pest and will use the stinger found at the end of the tail to defend themselves. The venom a scorpion possesses is strong enough to cause an allergic response in people. If ever stung by a scorpion, seek medical attention immediately.
While scorpions do prefer desert conditions, they also require moisture. During the heat of the day, these critters hide either in an underground burrow or under things like woodpiles, rocks, landscaping ties, or under trash cans. At night they emerge to hunt for crickets, spiders, cockroaches, and other small prey. Moisture and cooler living conditions often draw scorpions to a home. If the weather is very hot and dry, they will move inside through cracks in the foundation or exterior walls, holes screens, or gaps around windows and doors. Once inside, they move to the damp, cool areas of a home like bathrooms (sinks and tubs), kitchens, and basements. Scorpions tend to travel in groups, so if you spot one in or around your home, know that more are lurking nearby.
Helpful tips to prevent problems with scorpions: Easy access to their favorite foods (insects and spiders) is what attracts scorpions to a property. Implement a year-round pest control program to eliminate their preferred food sources from your property. Keep scorpions out by sealing entry points in exterior walls. It is also important to repair loose or torn screens and place covers over vents. Eliminate a scorpion’s access to moisture by fixing leaky pipes, and using dehumidifiers and air conditioners. Cut black overgrown shrubbery and tree branches away from the outside of your house. Remove piles of debris from your yard and store trash cans and recycling bins up off of the ground. If you are dealing with scorpions, contact the professionals at Anver Pest Control for the best scorpion control in Henderson, NV. Our scorpion extermination services
will help you to maintain a property that is free of scorpions and other pests!