What the experts at Patton Termite & Pest, a trusted Pest Control Wichita KS company will ask you is this:
What’s more terrifying…the killer from the Texas Chain Saw Massacre standing in your front yard with his chainsaw running, or a plume of flying insects blowing up in your living room?
For some people, it is the bugs suddenly exploding in an unexpected place in their homes. For me, it is the chainsaw guy. That’s because I know why the creepy invaders are there and exactly what kind of bugs I am dealing with. This is the advantage of being a bug guy for almost 40 years. For most homeowners, they are more creeped out by the bugs in their home. The issue is one of mystery and terror. What are these creepy-crawlies doing here? And, are they going to hurt me, my family, or my home?
What Pest Control Wichita KS experts do to Solve Insect Problems
First, let’s examine why the bugs are streaming out of a crack in the basement, garage, or showering the front porch. Ants and termites are social insects. They have a caste system where the colony creates certain members who take care of specific tasks. The colony has produced a large number of alates, or reproductives through the winter, and with the right conditions intact, are leaving the colony to start new families. Usually, when temperatures are in the 80’s and right after a rain, the colony will push the reproductive out and, BOOM!… like a kid throwing up in the living room, a mass of living protoplasm is expelled in a home. What to do?
Identify Insects
GOODBYE TERMITES
The best thing to do is capture a few of the insects immediately for identification later. You can do this by using a piece of transparent tape, or scraping a few bugs into a zip lock baggie.
Certain physical characteristics are keys to telling if the specimens are ants or termites. The easiest is to look at the body segmentation.
Ants have an easily identifiable segmentation with a sort of hour-glass look where you can see definite body parts, head, thorax and abdomen. A termite has an unbroken silhouette that resembles a grain of rice and is about that size.
There are several other keys such as antennae and wing length, but these are a bit more difficult to determine.
The County Extension Office in each county has literature and personnel who can help identify which species you have; or good sources can be found on the internet. A seasoned pest control Wichita KS professional service like Patton Termite & Pest can also provide identification.
HOME PEST CONTROL
Vacuuming is the Way to Go
As far as what to do with all of the bugs crawling around, a vacuum cleaner is your best tool for dealing with the mess. Just vacuum up the insects. It’s much better to vacuum up the bugs rather than spray a bunch of insecticide. You are still going to have to clean up the mess. The trauma of being sucked up in a tornado- like wind, forced through a long tunnel and flung into a dark, prison-like bag will typically do in termite or ant swarmers.
Insecticides
If the insect swarm occurred within the wall of your home or on the porch, this is a clear sign you have an active infestation in your home. Using Insect baits labeled for the particular pest you have is usually the most effective and environmentally sound way to deal with the problem.
Trust Patton Pest Control Wichita KS
If you have termites, or if you are not comfortable with using insecticides, you are better off calling a professional. Help is usually just a phone call away… as for the guy with the chainsaw on your porch, you’re on your own.