Termites

Termites create over 1 billion dollars of damage a year. They not only feed on the wood structure of your home, but also books, magazines, furniture, mulch and any other product that contains cellulose. The workers have a white torpedo-shaped body. The swarmers have a black torpedo-shaped body and have wings that are double the length of their body. Swarmers are an indication that termites are present, but not necessarily an indication that damage has occurred.

Pest Management Services, Inc. treats termites using two methods:

Conventional liquid treatment - PMSI uses the top termidicide on the market, Termidor. It is injected in the soil every 8-12 inches around the perimeter of the home. It has a residual effect of 7 years.

Advance Termite Baiting System - Bait stations are placed every 10-12 inches around the perimeter of the home for total colony elimination. It is monitored every 90 days.

Additional Facts: Subterranean termites are the most widespread group of termites. They cause most of the structural damage in the United States. Termites are small and soft, but their hard jaws allow them to cut into the smallest and toughest pieces of wood and turn them into digestive energy for themselves and their colony. The termite population is mostly made of workers, which are responsible for caring eggs, making tunnels and looking for food. Worker termites look like small white worms or maggots. Soldiers have two large jaws used for slicing predators. The queen lays eggs until there is enough offspring to take care of the colony. She can live up to ten years.

Ants

These are among the largest of ants and are vicious biters. Workers vary greatly in size from 1/4" to 3/4" in length. Usually they are black, but may have some brown coloration. They are long-legged and move swiftly. The natural food of the ants consists of honeydew from aphids, other insects and plant juices, but they will readily forage for water and food scraps within the house. Under natural conditions, carpenter ants nest in live and dead trees and in rotting logs and stumps. However, they will also construct their nests in houses, telephone poles and other man-made structures.

Bees & Yellow Jackets

There are eighteen species of yellowjackets in North America. The colonies begin with a large fertilized queen. Sometimes called the stinging wasp, the yellowjacket is black and yellow. Primarily yellow bands cover a dark abdomen. They make their nests in buiding wall voids, attics, hollow trees and other enclosed spaces as well as the ground. They are scavengers and work over garbage cans and dumpsters. They especially enjoy picnics and football games.

The stinger often sticks and when the insect is slapped off, the stinger may remain. Problems with yellowjackets occur mainly when humans step on or jar a colony entrance, a colony has infested a wall void and has either chewed through the wall into the house or the entrance hole is located in a place that threatens occupants as they enter or leave the building.

Silverfish

Silverfish are small, soft insects without wings. Their bodies are long, slender and flattened; broad at the front and tapering to the rear. Antennae are long and slender. The abdomen has three filaments extending from it They are nocturnal and can run very swiftly. These insects prefer vegetable matter with a high carbohydrate and protein content but will feed on almost anything, including flour, paper, gum, cotton, linen, rayon, silk, sugar, molds and breakfast cereals. Silverfish usually live outdoors under rocks, bark, in the nests of birds and mammals and in ant and termite nests. However, many are found in houses trapped in a bathtub or sink.

Rodents

Rodents are described as any mammal characterized by a pair of broad, sharp-edged, chisel-like incisor teeth that are firmly inserted in both jaws and are used in gnawing vegetation. Rodents have no canine teeth, and are also characterized by well-developed ears. Some rodents produce many litters of young each year.They are economically injurious, destroying crops and stored foods. Rodents such as the house mouse and the Norway rat sometimes carry disease. The house mouse is a small, slender rodent that has a slightly pointed nose; small, black protruding eyes; large scantily haired ears and a nearly hairless tail with obvious scale rings.

They live in and around homes, farms, commercial establishments as well as fields and agricultural lands. They eat many types of food, but prefer seeds and grains. Foods high in fat, protein or sugar may be preferred even when grain and seed also are present. Such items include bacon, chocolate, butter and nutmeats. A single mouse eats only about 3 grams of food per day. Mice may breed year round and a female may have 5 to 10 litters per year.

Birds

Bird problems are not an uncommon occurrence. PMSI gets several calls every month concerning birds in the vents or nesting around the house. Whether it’s a pigeon, sparrow, starling, robin, or that famously annoying woodpecker, PMSI is able to safely eliminate the bird from your location.

Unlike most species of insects, you will see birds year round, although they are more abundant come spring time. They feed on bugs and fish in the wild and vary in size depending on the species. These animals are warm blooded vertebrates, which means they have a backbone. The bird is the fastest animal on earth, able to reach speeds well over 100 miles per hour. There are about 9,700 known species of birds, and all birds hatch from egg