Contact us
David R. Hoffman
Specialist: Bedbugs, Termites
Phone: 513-602-5424
David S. Hoffman
Specialist: Animal Control, Bedbugs
Phone: 513-602-0274
Merlin's Pest Control Shop
DIY Products Sold to General Public
Bedbugs, Ants, Rodents, Cockroaches
Phone: 513-432-8622
Common Pests
Pests are everywhere. They are on your body right
now. They are living inside you. Pests are something that we cannot
escape. We can, however, control them.
This is a simple list of just a few pests that may
be lurking around inside your home. This page has scientific
information, as well as our own spin on each pest.
Ant
Ants
are
social
insects,
related
to
wasps
and
bees.
Ants
evolved
from
wasp-like ancestors 110 and 130
million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants.
More than 12,500 out of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been
classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and a
distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist. A few ants
classified as pests include the pavement ant, yellow crazy ant, sugar
ants, the Pharaoh ant, carpenter ants, Argentine ant, odorous house
ants, red imported fire ant and European fire ant.
Most ants are harmless, although there are a few
dangerous varieties. Fire ants are a kind of wingless wasp that has
been known to kill humans. Carpenter ants, while probably cannot kill
you directly, can chew through important areas in your home's woodwork
and cost thousands of dollars in damage.
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the
order Blattaria. There are about 4,500 species of cockroach, of which
30 species are associated with human habitations and about four species
are well known as pests. Most kinds of cockroaches don't even bother
mankind, but the few species that do bother us bother us so much they
make up for the 4,496 species that don't.
Among the best-known pest species are the
American cockroach, which is about 1.2 in long,
the German cockroach, about 1/2 in long, the Asian
cockroach, also about 1/2 in in length, and the
Oriental cockroach, about 1 in.
While oriential, American, and asian rarely hurt us,
German cockroaches do. They are sometimes called "Kitchen Roaches"
since they harbor where food is. Diseases spread from these can kill
humans. Necrotizing fasciitis, otherwise known as flesh-eating disease,
has been associated with German cockroaches.
Bedbug
Bedbugs
are
small
hemotophagious
(blood
eating)
parasitic
insects.
The
term usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood,
although there are many kinds of "bedbugs". All
insects in this family live by feeding exclusively on the blood of
warm-blooded animals. The name 'bedbug' is derived from the insect's
preferred habitat of houses and especially beds or other areas where
people sleep. Bedbugs, though not strictly nocturnal, are mainly active
at night and are capable of feeding unnoticed on their hosts.
In heavy cases, their feces left behind can be thick
enough to harbor some nasty diseases, such as the bacteria MRSA
(Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which can be fatal.
Diseases spread by bedbugs include Lyme Disease, Hepititus B, and
American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas Disease).
Raccoon
The
common
raccoon
is
a
medium-sized
mammal
native
to
North
America. It has a body
length of 16 to 28
in and a body weight of 8 to 20 lb. That's about the size of a beagle
hound.
The raccoon is usually nocturnal
and is omnivorous, with a diet consisting of about 40% invertebrates,
33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates. Most people picture raccoons as
only living out of trash cans, but they eat just about anything.
It has a grayish coat, of which
almost 90% is dense underfur, which insulates against cold weather. Two
of its most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws
and its facial mask, which are themes in the mythology of several
Native American tribes.
Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with
studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up
to three years later. The original habitats of the raccoon forests of
North America, but due to their adaptability they have extended their
range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas
(urbaniziation), where
many homeowners consider them to be pests.
Raccoon's can spread very serious illnesses. One is
rabies, and rabies is fatal. Only one rabies related human death by
spreading directly from raccoon is documented. Of course, if a rabies
stricken raccoon bites a dog and then the dog bites a human...
Squirrel
Squirrels
are
highly
agile
arboreal
rodents.
They
are
incredibly
fast. The
tree squirrel is part of the
genus Sciurus, which is native to the eastern and midwestern United
States, but in Ohio there are over seven squirrel species. They
are incredibly adaptive and can live on every
continent except Antartica, just like raccoons.
Squirrels are very aggressive when they
feel in danger, and can seriously harm humans. Their claws are sharp
and their jaws hold a set of rodent incisors that can bite to the bone.
It is highly suggested to call Animal Control to deal with these
rodents. Don't underestimate their size.
Termites
Termites
are
a
group
of
social
insects
that
are
polyneopterous,
which means that
according to scientific classification, they are related to cockroaches
and mantids. Along with ants and some bees and wasps, termites divide
labor among gender lines, produce overlapping generations and take care
of young collectively.
Termites mostly feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10% of the estimated 4,000 species are economically significant as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Don't let that number fool you, as typically one termite colony has enough termites to fill an entire pick-up truck bed.
Termites have also been shown to actually farm
fungus for consumption. They grow fungus in a chamber, and when the
fungus is ripe enough, they can use it to sustain themselves.