PEST LIBRARY
What You Need To Know About Pests In Cleveland, OH & Surrounding Areas
Pests like insects, rodents, and spiders may be small in size, but the problems they cause in our home can be significant. The best way to keep these unwanted visitors out of your Cleveland-area home is to partner with a professional and implement regular pest control services. It is also beneficial to learn about our area's most common pests, including what they are looking for, where they live, and what changes you can make in and around your home to deter them.
Learn more about Ohio's most common pest invaders using the following pest control guide.
BED BUGS
Once they are in our homes, bed bugs make quick work of moving to areas that put them near you and your family so they can easily feed. Knowing what bed bugs look like and where they like to hide is key to identifying an infestation before it gets out of control.
Bed bugs are small reddish-brown pests with flat bodies; many liken them to apple seeds with legs and short antennae. Their size and shape allow them to hide in tiny spaces around your house. Some of their favorite hideouts include the seams of mattresses, behind couch cushions, in electrical outlets, behind pictures and other wall hangings, and in piles of clutter. If you suspect bed bugs have managed a way into your home, immediately reach out to Concrete Pest Solutions for help.
Bed Bug Prevention Tips
To keep bed bugs out of your home, carefully inspect the things you are bringing inside. Always wash and dry all clothing after taking a trip and clean out the suitcases you brought before storing them away. Think twice before purchasing used furniture, mattresses, or rugs for your home; if you buy used items, make sure to thoroughly clean them before bringing them inside. In addition, it is essential to do the following things to help reduce the chances of bed bugs taking over your Ohio home:
Keep your belongings up off the floor and away from other people's things when in public spaces.Regularly vacuum your home. Routinely wash bedding and inspect mattresses for bed bugsPlace bed bug-proof covers over mattresses and box springs in your home.
Cockroaches
Like ants and spiders, cockroaches are common household pests. Our homes provide them with everything they could ever want, like moisture, warmth, and access to food. If you see an oval-shaped cockroach skitter across a floor or counter in your Ohio home, it is likely an American cockroach, brown-banded cockroach, German cockroach, or Oriental cockroach. All four of the above species are part of the handful of cockroaches that have developed close relationships with people and regularly find their way into man-made structures.
There are two main ways that cockroaches can find a way into your Cleveland-area home; either using their own six legs or by hitchhiking in things like furniture, electronics, and boxes. Once inside, it is easy for them to find dark, quiet hiding spots that they emerge from in the evening to forage for food. German, Oriental, and American cockroaches hide in areas of your home that are warm and humid, such as kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, utility rooms, and basements. In contrast, brown-banded cockroaches prefer a dry, hot environment like attics, the tops of cabinets, and spaces behind trim or baseboards. No matter the species, how they got in, or where they are hiding, the fact remains they are dangerous in your home. Cockroaches spread diseases, parasites, viruses, contaminate food, and produce allergens that cause skin rashes and breathing difficulties.
Cockroach Prevention Tips
Cockroaches can become a problem in any of our homes, as they provide food, water, and shelter. To help keep cockroaches out, inspect your home's exterior and seal up any openings you find. It is also essential to always check items coming into your home for roaches. Maintain a clean kitchen and regularly vacuum, dust, and wipe down surfaces to reduce their access to food. To reduce moisture in your house, quickly repair leaky pipes and faucets and make sure your home is adequately ventilated. Reduce the cockroach's ability to hide by making certain drawers, cabinets, closets, and other storage areas are organized and free of excess clutter.
Rodents
Rodents are destructive, disease-spreading, unwanted pests that regularly find their way into our Ohio homes. The most common rodents that homeowners have to deal with are the house mouse, field mouse, Norway rat, and roof rat. All have the potential to enter our houses uninvited and, much to our dismay, make themselves at home. Rodents and their sharp front incisors cause major damage to the structures of our homes and our personal belongings. Rodent infestations often lead to fires, foul odors, contaminated food, and holes or gnaw marks in walls, cabinets, and furniture.
Mice and rats are considered commensal rodents, which means that they want to live with people and take advantage of the food, water, and shelter our yards and homes provide. Like people, mice and rats are omnivores. The biggest reason why our properties are so appealing to them is that they provide multiple food sources. Food odors from our gardens, kitchens, grills, trash cans, and pet food are just too much for rodents to pass up. In addition to food, our homes provide these critters with safe, temperature-controlled shelter. Harsh weather, temperature extremes, and dark, quiet nesting spots drive rodents into our Ohio home.
Rodent Prevention Tips
Make your outdoor space as unappealing to rodents as possible. The more frequently rodents are in your yard, the more likely they will end up in your home.
Keep the grass cut short and maintain your yard's landscaping to prevent overgrowth that can provide rodents with hiding spots.Remove things like fallen trees, woodpiles, and other debris from your yard.Maintain outdoor eating areas and keep them free of leftover food debris.If you feed pets outside, make sure to clean up uneaten pet food.Always keep lids on trash cans, recycling bins, and compost bins.Regularly harvest fruits and vegetables from gardens and fruit trees.Repair leaky outdoor faucets or hoses that can provide a water source.
Local to the Great Northern Ohio area, Concrete Pest Solutions is committed to our customers and helping them maintain properties not overrun by pesky and dangerous pests. Our professionals know the frustration that comes with a pest infestation and will work closely with you to ensure your Cleveland area's residential pest problems are eliminated. With our help, future pests will think twice before making themselves comfortable on your property! To learn about our high-quality pest control services in addition to our steam cleaning and disinfecting services in Cleveland, OH, and surrounding areas please reach out to Concrete Pest Solutions today!
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are small flies whose females use their elongated mouthpart to pierce the skin of people and warm-blooded animals to feed on their blood. Blood meals are a key component of female mosquitoes’ ability to complete their lifecycle. The concern with mosquitoes is that not only are they annoying, and their bites produce itchy welts, but they are capable of spreading serious pathogens and parasites that make people and animals very ill. If your property is near or offers mosquitoes things like densely wooded areas, ponds, drainage ditches, wading pools, or other areas of standing water, you will be dealing with swarms of biting mosquitoes. Like other pests, mosquitoes will take advantage of any opportunity to feed or breed.
Mosquitoes are most active in Cleveland and across the country in the summer when the temperatures are hot, and rainstorms produce the areas of standing water that females like to lay their eggs on. On a day-to-day basis, mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk and can make spending time outside miserable during those times of the day. In addition, mosquitoes like to rest in tall grass and other shaded areas during the middle of the day; if you disturb their resting spots while trying to enjoy your backyard, they will swarm and begin biting. The presence of mosquitoes puts a damper on people’s ability to enjoy their outdoor spaces!
The two biggest things you can do to reduce the number of mosquitoes feeding and breeding in your Cleveland-area yards are partnering with a professional and reducing breeding site. Partnering with a professional will ensure that regular mosquitoes treatments work to reduce their numbers. Eliminating as much standing water from your yards is also very beneficial- the fewer breeding sites there are, the fewer mosquitoes there will be!
Store containers that can collect water upside down when they are in use.Remove tree stumps, brush piles, and other yard debris that collect water.Regularly shake off the water that collects on the top of trashcan lids and tarps.Repair leaky spigots and clogged gutters.Fill in low-lying areas.If you own a pool or ornamental pond, make sure the water is constantly circulating and is properly treated.
Ants
Ants are pests that are regular visitors to our properties. Depending on the species, ants can be a nuisance, dangerous, or destructive. While ants may seem small and harmless, they are a force to reckon with when an entire ant colony works together. Ants are persistent pests that invade in large numbers searching for food, water, and appropriate nesting sites.
If ants are trailing across your indoor or outdoor spaces, they are likely carpenter ants, odorous house ants, field ants, pavement ants, or pharaoh ants. Carpenter ants prefer to build their nests in wood. When they nest in our homes, they can cause significant structural damage over time. Odorous house ants regularly make their way into our structures while foraging for food. They produce an unpleasant, rotten, coconut-like odor when squished. Field ants prefer to nest indoors but will trail in and out of homes each day while foraging for food to bring back to the nest. Pavement ants prefer to nest in the soil next to foundations, cracks in the pavement or sidewalks, or masonry walls. Pharaoh ants transmit bacteria and pathogens that make people very ill and, inside healthcare facilities, contaminate wounds and IV's bags in search of moisture. No matter the species, ants don't belong sharing our homes, and you should eliminate them as quickly as possible by partnering with a pest professional.
Ant Prevention Tips
Avoiding ants is difficult because they live all around us; however, there are some steps you can take to make your property less attractive to these pests. Place lids on trash cans and recycling bins. If you feed pets outside, make sure to pick up uneaten pet food. Remove potential nesting sites like woodpiles, leaf litter, and fallen trees. Reduce moisture in and around your home by keeping gutters clear, repairing leaky pipes and faucets, and using dehumidifiers to dry out humid areas of your home. Reduce crumbs and other access to food by regularly cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming your floors, and storing food in the fridge or hard-sided containers with airtight lids.
Fleas
Fleas are tiny blood-feeding insects that are wingless. They jump onto their animal hosts using their strong back legs and move quickly from place to place with the help of their hosts. Fleas feed on the blood from various animals, including cats, dogs, rodents, and assorted wildlife. While people aren't preferred hosts, they will bite us and feed on our blood if we are available. Fleas are a common pest problem that homeowners deal with regularly as they can invade our yards and move into our homes, where they create large, frustrating-to-deal-with infestations.
Fleas are a problem for both people and animals as their bites create itchy rashes on the skin. Excessive scratching at the bite sites can lead to secondary infections, scabbing, and scarring. These insects also spread parasitic tapeworms to people and animals.
Fleas spend most of their short lives on the backs of their animal hosts, feeding and breeding. Fleas will lay their egg on the backs of their hosts; those eggs quickly roll off and fall to the ground. Most flea infestations occur in areas where rodents, wild animals, and pets spend a lot of their time. Flea infestations often develop in the damp soil under leaf piles, shrubs, woodpiles, and decks. Fleas easily move into Ohio homes on people, pets, or rodents. Once inside, fleas not living on a host hang out in warm, dark, damp areas under the cushions of upholstered furniture, within bedding, and under rugs.
Flea Prevention Tips
Preventing problems with fleas is difficult; they are pests that are regularly introduced onto our properties by wild animals and pets. However, there are ways to make your yard less hospitable to them. Fleas that aren't on a host like to hide in shady areas. Reduce the amount of shade in your yard by keeping the grass cut short, cutting back shrubs, and removing things like leaf litter, woodpiles, and other yard debris. Help stop fleas from taking over your home by placing pets on a year-round flea control treatment (under the guidance of their veterinarian), regularly vacuuming floors and upholstered furniture, and sealing your home's exterior to keep flea-covered rodents out.