Household Pests Can be Damaging to Your Home

Household pests have a knack of residing in homes to satisfy their needs of food, water and shelter. If you do not seek the services of a pest control company in time, pests can cause your home a significant amount of damage. Although you may not feel too concerned about a couple of rodents roaming around your house, it is essential to remember that these pests can mate and multiply rapidly. Many people end up losing a large amount of cash due to the lack of timely treatment of these problems.

Carpenter Ants

Although the creatures may look miniscule and insignificant, pests are fully capable of damaging your home devastatingly. Carpenter ants, in particular, are considered one of the most damaging types of pests for homes. These pests, generally known to decompose trees in forests, are often found in homes looking for food and water. Although they do not cause swift damage to your household equipment, these pests can easily cause serious damage to your house with time. Carpenter ants create tiny tunnels in soft wood and reside there effectively. Once they start laying eggs, your house can easily be threatened by an invasion of carpenter ants. It is essential to identify the damage caused by these ants in the early stages.

Rodents (Mice & Rats)

Rodents and mice are also known to damage homes overwhelmingly. By living off your stored food, these pests are capable of transmitting a number of diseases to your family. In addition, rodents leave waste products and hair on your food that causes severe contamination of the foodstuff. House mice and rodents also have a tendency to make their way through walls and build their nests inside. This causes a significant amount of damage to your walls and the insulation inside these walls.

Raccoons

Raccoons can also cause a significant amount of damage to homes. With the modern homes featuring innumerable wires and pipes that are hidden in the walls and floors of the house, there is a greater chance of suffering from damage caused by raccoons today. Raccoons can easily climb walls and tear through roofs to find a good residing place. As a result, they can cause serious damage to the pipes and wires that run through walls. Raccoons also find it satisfactory to live in chimneys and get access to food and water easily. Pest control services help you get rid of these pests successfully and ensure that you live your life in a healthy and secure way.

Termites

The number of termite cases has gone up dramatically over the past 70 years, being called an epidemic by some. Termites can feed on more than just wood – they can feed on paper, books, insulation, pool filtration systems, and clothes. While termites are usually more of a threat in the spring, they can appear throughout the year, especially after warmer temperatures and rainfall.

What are the costs?
The average cost of controlling termites is $2,000, and there is an average property depreciation of 10% as many home buyers will not purchase a house with a termite bond. The municipal governments in Canada have turned away from supporting termite control, so the damage continues and the cost rises. Not only will the termites destroy
your house, they will create shelter tubes throughout your walls that will need to be removed, costing thousands of dollars in repair.

Wasps

Wasps are notorious for building nests right above doorways, in sheds, under siding, attics or areas that allows for access from the outside to the interior components of a home. Wasps can also sting multiple times, making them especially dangerous for pets and children. There are several ways, however, to easily get rid of wasps and their nests.

Cockroaches

The main attractions for a cockroach are food, water and shelter. To them, almost anything is food - any foodstuff, paper, cloth, plants and even glue used for binding books. They can be found in every part of the home, but most prefer some kind of damp environment. Since most cockroaches are active at night, many people may be completely unaware of their presence in their home. Cockroaches are a public health concern because they have been known to carry Salmonella bacteria - the organisms responsible for food poisoning.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs usually bite at night, and will bite all over a human body, especially around the face, neck, upper torso, arms and hands. Individual responses to bed bug bites will vary. Some people do not react to bed bug bites. But for those who do, bite marks may appear within minutes or days, usually where skin is exposed during sleep. They can be small bumps or large itchy welts. Because the bites may resemble mosquito and other insect bites, a bump or welt alone does not mean there are bed bugs.
The most common rash is made up of localized red and itchy flat sores. Often bed bug bites appear as a group of three, which people sometimes call “breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Small raised red swelling bites are also common. In rare cases, some people may develop large raised, often itchy, red welts.

Bats

Bats may use your home as a nursery or hibernation site, or they can fly in by accident. The dark, moist, safety of your attic is their preferred location. Even though bats can help eliminate insects from your home, they are often unwanted. The squeaking sounds bats make can give them away as can their droppings, which in severe cases can be smelled throughout your home.

Squirrels

Squirrels in the attic can be a big and messy problem. Squirrels chew through wood, wires, insulation and more. Squirrels chewing through wires may cause house fires. Thankfully, homes that are up to code should have most, if not all, of their house wires encased in a metal tube that squirrels cannot chew through. Squirrels can chew holes through the eaves of your home which could cause water damage which may then cause mold or black mold to get into the home. Black mold is extremely dangerous and difficult to remove without a professional. Squirrels can chew through wood floors causing damage that may be very expensive to repair. Having a squirrel run around your attic for even one day can cause a lot of damage.