Pests will always be a part of every household owner’s life. No matter how hard we try, these pesky insects or animals still manage to, shall we embarrassingly say, outsmart us all. Imagine someone crashing into our own house, eating our food, destroying our furniture, appliances, and clothes, drinking our water, and making himself comfortable; all without paying a single penny.
That sounds despicable, and that is how pests are. Pests are insects or animals that negatively affect the human way of life. Not only are they a nuisance, but they are also high health risks as a lot of these pests can either spread diseases, like mosquitoes, roaches, mice, and rats, or have a huge psychological effect on homeowners, like bed bugs and poisonous spiders. Of course, they can also do damage to property. And to the people of Richmond VA, this is as much of a problem as any other.
About Richmond, VA
Richmond, VA is an old city in America. It has a rich history and has played a huge part in the building of America as we know it. The city was home to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
Richmond is known for its well-educated locals. It has a diverse population where everyone gets equal opportunities. Its job market is very strong. Higher education is easily obtained by everyone. The University of Virginia is one of America’s best universities. Richmond, VA is so attractive to everyone, so much so that it has attracted pests too. This is why a local pest control company has remained busy even during these trying times. Pests are always looking for food, water, and shelter. In the process, they are negatively affecting human lives. These pests destroy property, cause diseases, and be an annoyance all at the same time.
Go-Forth Home Services, the leading pest control company in the Carolinas, is now in Richmond, Virginia!
About Pests
Pests destructive insects or animals that attack food, crops, livestock, and households. They adversely affect human activities, and can even cause several deadly diseases.
Some creatures do not get much love from humans because they bite or sting. Some examples are wasps, snakes, bees, fleas, ticks, bed bugs, and poisonous spiders. Other types invade human dwellings and are unwelcomed, like flies, roaches, weevils, and lizards. Others scuttle about at night like rats, mice, and roaches. Most of these pests cause damage to property and transmit deadly diseases.
The term pest is a loose concept. An insect or animal can be a pest in one area, but beneficial to another. One example is the cockroach. Everyone abhors cockroaches whenever they invade human dwellings. Out in the forests, however, roaches are beneficial insects. Ants are the same, they are beneficial insects out in the woods too.
As for animals, one example is the elephants. People admire and love elephants, but to farmers, they are pests because they attack their crops. In India, rats are worshipped in some places but are health risk pets in most other areas. A small group of pigeons is fine, but to have hundreds of them in one area makes them real pests to people.
Types Of Pests That Haunt People Of Richmond
These are some of the most common pests that haunt the locals of Richmond.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are considered the most dangerous creatures on the planet. These fragile-looking, tiny insects have killed more people than all the wars in history combined, and still, continue to kill millions every year around the world.
Mosquitoes do not like they are that dangerous, but they are transmitters of some of the deadliest diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, and encephalitis. When a female mosquito bites a human and sucks blood, it gets to transmit these diseases. Only females bite because they have the necessary mouthparts to do so. Their mouths have two tubes: one for secreting an enzyme that prevents blood clotting, and one for sucking blood. They bite because they need the proteins to fertilize their eggs, but for their own nourishment, they feed on nectar.
Females love to breed in standing water. This is why houses with items that can hold water for a long time are vulnerable to mosquito attacks.
Bed Bugs
“Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” These are the words our parents used to say to us before we sleep. Such are the effects of bed bugs. Bed bugs are tiny, nocturnal insects suck blood for nourishment. They are the same size as an apple seed. Their bites are itchy and unsightly. People with bed bug problems have reported cases of stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression, and they are considered as high health risks by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Center for Disease Control, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bed bugs are hard to spot because aside from their small size, they come out of their hiding at night, though they can still be seen through the naked eye. They reproduce quickly, and once they do it would be very difficult to contain them.
Signs of bed bugs include bed bug feces that are red in color, a sweet, musty scent, and bloodstains on your bed covers from crushed bed bugs. Places they hide include headboards, bed frames, mattresses, inside drawers, in cracks and crevices of walls and ceilings, carpets, furniture, and clothes.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches by fart the filthiest creatures on earth, so imagine them crawling on your food. Roaches have earned that distinction because of their filthy habits; they live in the dirtiest of places like sewers, cesspools, and garbage bins. They are not finicky eaters and they can eat anything, which includes feces, rotten foods, decomposing animals, and garbage. Because they love being dirty, they pick up plenty of bacteria and viruses. This makes them transmitters of some of the nastiest diseases like salmonella, cholera, and typhoid fever.
Roaches can survive without food for one month and one week without water. They can live for one week with their heads cut off, dying only because they cannot drink water. They have also developed resistance to some pesticides.
Termites
Also known as the “silent destroyers”, termites cause billions of dollars in damages to homes around the world, plus millions of dollars more for repairs. They do this silently, making them efficient destroyers. The presence of termites drastically brings down the value of homes. People confuse termites with ants because of their appearance. Ants have a narrowing at the waist, while termites have straight bodies.
Termites eat the wood structure of homes. This effectively destroys the entire structure. To know if you have termites, try tapping on exposed wood. A hollow sound means you have termites eating what is behind it. If you listen close enough, you may also hear clicking sounds behind the walls. Seeing flying termites are also signs that you have termite infestation problems
Ants
There are more than 10,000 species of ants all over the world, save for Antarctica. Their size ranges from .08 to 1 inch. Ants are omnivores. Most of the ants are out in the forests and are beneficial to the ecosystem, but when they get near human dwellings, they become pests.
Ants are notable for their social behavior. Each ant works to ensure that their colony survives. In their colony, they have the queen, males, and the female worker ants.
Ants are always looking for food, water, and shelter. These necessities are what bring them indoors. They send out patrollers to look for food. That stray ant you see a lot of times right in front of you actually has a purpose and isn’t just wandering. Once the patroller finds food, it sends out pheromones that would signal to the other ants that food has been found and that they should come. This makes them not just a nuisance, but are health risks as well. They might be carrying several bacteria and viruses because they crawl all over the place, thus contaminating our food. They also bite without provocation.
If you have any of these common pests in your house, then it is time to ask for help. If you are in Richmond, VA, then you can call the best pest control experts in Richmond, Go-Forth Home Services.
Why Go With Go-Forth Home Services
Pests can really ruin your life. Not only are they icky, but they are a menace to society. They destroy property, steal your food, and transmit diseases. None of these qualities tell us that it is okay to tolerate them, that is why getting rid of them is the only thing to do.
This is where Go-Forth Home Services steps in. Go-Forth Home Services has highly skilled and well-trained technicians using only the latest and the most advanced equipment in the business. Go-Forth Home Services will work with you to control any kind of pests you may have.
For more information, call us now.