Homeowners in Odessa have to put up with several pests in the region. But which ones are the worst?
In this quick guide, we’ll show you:
- The top five worst pests in Odessa
- The identifying attributes of each type
- Possible damage and health risks
- The secrets the pros use to tackle each one
#5. Scorpions
Desert scorpions in Texas are slightly smaller than Arizona bark scorpions, and they typically carry less venom. However, their sting is just as painful.
That’s why pest control companies in Odessa offer scorpion protection as one of their mainstays. This painful menace stings far too many people in the area each year to simply ignore it.
However, scorpions aren’t easy to eliminate from your home. So, try these expert techniques, for starters:
- Remove pine needles, leaves, and branches from your yard
- Repair water leaks around your home
- Store woodpiles away from your house
- Spray the perimeter of your home with an insecticide containing lambda-cyhalothrin every 30 days
- Use diatomaceous earth in attic spaces along with crack and crevice treatments
- Monitor for scorpion activity using five to eight mouse glue boards set up in various locations throughout your home
#4. Fire Ants
The red imported fire ant is a vicious, stinging insect that constructs enormous mounds in the center of yards, baseball fields, and landscapes. Their stings cause large welts on the skin, and they are capable of killing small pets when left in the yard to fend for themselves.
Here are a few simple ways to get fire ants out of your yard:
- Be sure to cut back weeds and limit water leaks in your sprinkler system
- Apply a granular ant bait about two feet away from the mound
- For quick eradication, drench the mound using a wettable powder containing cyfluthrin
#3. Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are gaining traction as one of the most prolific pests in Texas, and being a major stopover along the I-10 corridor, Odessa is not immune.
It doesn’t matter about the accommodation, either. Even the best five-star hotels can succumb to the ravages of bed bugs, and when you bring them into your home, they can be a challenge to eliminate.
Here are some advanced methods used by the pros to get rid of bed bugs:
- Quick knockdown of adult bed bugs using a pyrethrin aerosol
- Earth-based materials injected into cracks and crevices
- Steam clean mattresses to eliminate all stages of the bed bug’s life cycle
- Residual insecticide spray around the room perimeter for long-term control
- Insect growth regulator application to disrupt instar growth
- Whole-room heat treatments when practical
#2. Flies
Houseflies are everywhere in Texas. However, they have a certain affinity for Odessa, especially during the late summer months.
Since they feed on animal feces, flies transmit several diseases. They also present a severe annoyance within commercial food establishments.
For those reasons, it’s essential to eliminate flies this way:
- Replace any broken screens around your home
- Clean up after your pets every day
- Place tightly sealed garbage containers as far away from your home as possible
- Apply fly baits to trash storage areas and along fence lines to draw flies away from living areas
- Hang bag-type fly traps on trees and under porches to catch flies around the outer perimeter of the home
- Use UV fly traps both indoors and outside to catch any remaining flies
- Use a wettable powder spray around the outside perimeter, doors, and windows to repel flies and other insects away from your home
#1. Termites
The western drywood termite feeds on wood materials and also constructs galleries for its nests. It’s typically larger than most species in the U.S., and it can cause more damage with fewer workers.
You can sometimes tell if you have a termite infestation by noticing several flying around in your home. However, this behavior sometimes only signifies that a few reproductives have managed to make their way indoors.
Western drywood termite colonies take several years before they become permanent residents in your home. However, once established, they can cause a significant amount of structural damage in a short time.
This is the way top professionals treat drywood termites:
- For minor infestations, termiticide injections into wall voids may be sufficient
- For large infestations, tent fumigation using sulfuryl fluoride will ensure all termites within the structure are killed
- Extreme heat or cold treatments may be available to kill termites while limiting pesticide use, in some cases