House Centipedes in Mississippi: Friendly or Hostile?

Centipedes Friend or Foe | Southern Pest Control

Centipedes Friend or Foe | Southern Pest ControlAs homeowners in Mississippi, we’re no strangers to sharing our space with various creatures. One such resident that often makes its presence known is the house centipede. These creepy crawlies can be unsettling to encounter, but before you reach for the nearest shoe, it’s important to understand the role they play in our homes and what their presence might signify.  

Meet The House Centipede 

House centipedes, scientifically known as Scutigera coleoptrata, are arthropods with long, flattened bodies and numerous legs. While their appearance can be unsettling, these creatures are harmless to humans, do not harm infrastructure, and are actually natural pest controllers. They are carnivorous predators that feed on other insects like spiders, cockroaches, and ants. In this way, they help maintain a balanced ecosystem within your home. Seeing a lot of centipedes in your home is a strong indication of an underlying pest problem and may warrant a call to the professionals. 

Dealing with House Centipedes 

House centipedes prefer damp, dark environments, and are often found in bathrooms and damp closets. While they may be harmless, if centipedes are abundant, it could indicate that their primary food sources – such as insects and spiders – are plentiful as well. Here’s how to keep them out of your home:  

  • Reduce Moisture: Address any sources of excess moisture in your home, such as leaky pipes or damp basements. House centipedes thrive in humid environments, so using dehumidifiers and fans is the best way to control their numbers. 
  • Seal Entry Points: Seal cracks and gaps in your home’s foundation and walls to prevent centipedes from entering. 
  • Catch and Release: If you encounter a centipede, catch it gently using a glass and a piece of paper, then release it outside. 
  • Pesticide: House centipedes are nature’s pest control, so if you’re seeing them in large numbers in your home there’s a high chance you have a different pest infestation that they’re feeding on. With their many legs, pesticides are not very effective against house centipedes as they just glide over coated surfaces. While some over-the-counter pesticides will help reduce pest populations in your home, professional-grade products are much more effective. 

Year-Round Protection You Can Trust 

At Southern Pest Control, we know a thing or two about keeping pests out of your home. Dedicated to serving our community here in Mississippi, we have over 45 years of experience using innovative solutions and the latest technology. Whether you simply don’t want house centipedes or suspect you may have an underlying issue at play, don’t hesitate to call us today!

Pest Control -Insects in Cold Weather?

Insects during the Winter in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

insects in cold weather

Insects in Cold Weather – All insects have some ability to withstand cold weather. One of the most common strategies is to bury themselves underground, beneath leaf litter, or to burrow under tree bark for protection and hibernate for the season. These protective maneuvers work well most winters, allowing insect populations to remain relatively stable.

Warmer than average winters over the last few decades, however, has allowed the populations of some types of creepy crawlies to explode. When winter temperatures never reach a truly deep freeze, bugs make it through to spring unscathed and ready to multiply.

For instance, Lyme-disease-carrying deer ticks — which are not actually insects, but eight-legged arachnids, like spiders — are now seen in larger quantities and have spread farther to the north than they once roamed.

When temperatures drop well below 0° F, though, many individual insects die. The colder the temperature becomes, the fewer survive.

Fleas, however, are a year-round nuisance, but they can die off outside when outside temperatures dip below freezing. In fact, once the temperatures fall to 37 degrees F, it’s cold enough to kill mature fleas as well as eggs, larvae and pupae.  But those temps need to be sustained for 10 days or longer outside.

Inside the home, however, where it’s nice and toasty warm, fleas survive all winter long no matter what the temperature is outdoors. Often the pupae can go dormant in cool areas like basements or crevices in the home, then re-infest once the temperatures warm up again. You may need to treat pets year-round.
Temperature has a strong influence on termite activity–both on a daily and seasonal basis. Termites exposed to freezing temperatures without shelter are usually killed within a short period of time.

Well whether Winter or Summer, we at Southern Pest Control are here to help protect your home and offices from unwanted pests year-round. We have been in the pest control business for over 37 years with trained professionals ready to identify your pest problem and insure that your home is protected. Please call us if we can help. Also visit our website, www.southernpestcontrol.biz  to meet our team and learn more about us.

Fall Insects and Pests are a Problem

American Cockroach in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

fall insects

Yes, it is still very hot in the Gulf Coast Region, but don’t forget fall is just around the corner. We at Southern Pest Control want to make you aware of Fall insects and pest concerns so that you can be prepared.

Many insects spend the winter as an egg or larva or pupa, but a certain group of insects overwinter as adults. They must find a location to sleep the winter away that stays comfortably between 40.50 degrees Fahrenheit. If this can happen, they are alive in the spring to go back to dancing on the leaves and flowers and to scamper around and reproduce. That magic location for overwintering is often the wall void of a home, which is the space between the outside and inside walls. Once they are in, the only decision to make is on which side of the insulation to hibernate.

When any insects are indoors, they do not eat or cause damage. The damage occurs when the human that finds them crushes, smashes or creams them into the upholstery or lamp shades. These are stains that do not come out in most cases.

The key to not having unwanted guests is to do some late summer home inspection right about now. You are looking for cracks and crevices that an insect could slip through. That crack does not have to be any wider than the thickness of a credit card. If time is limited, start with the two sides of the house that are the warmest: the south and west sides where many insects hang out. Caulk cracks around windows and doors. Check around anything that is cut into the exterior of the house like a dryer vent, gas line or light fixtures that do not have a bead of caulk surrounding them. Check or repair door sweeps. Vinyl and aluminum siding offer many places for insects to slip under and this is not easy to fix.

We at Southern Pest Control hope this information was helpful. We are here to help you with any fall insect or pest problems that may arise. We have been serving the Gulf Coast Region for over 37 years with trained pest control experts. Please visit our website at ww.southernpestcontrol.biz to meet our team and learn more about us.

Annoying Insects

How to prevent mosquito bites on the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

Do insects annoy you? Insect magnets attract annoying insects the second they walk outdoors. At least that is the way it appears.
You can take comfort in knowing that one of the ways you can fight back against mosquitoes, gnats, flies, no-see-ums and other pesky bugs doesn’t have to involve covering yourself with a sticky spray or engaging in chemical warfare. To help you enjoy going outdoors, try strategically placing insect-repelling plants in your garden or on your patio.
Essential oils in these plants act as nature’s bug repellent. Insects tend to avoid them. You can even use some of these plants to make your own natural bug repellent.
Below we’ve described six easy-to-find herbs readily available at most nurseries that are said to repel mosquitoes and other annoying insects. The smell from fragrant herbs is the result of the distribution of tiny globules that contain oils. High temperatures, for example, can cause the globules to become volatile, evaporating the essential oils and turning them into vapors. The many globules on the underside of rosemary leaves are one of the best examples of this.
There is, however, not sufficient research to insure that you will be 100% insect free. There is no way to know how many plants and how close together they need to be planted to insure you will be insect free, but at least by planting some of these you may reduce the annoyance of some insects. Here are a list of the top herbs.

Basil

insects

Lavender

insects

Lemongrass

insects

Lemon Thyme

insects

Mint

insects

Rosemary

insects

We at Southern Pest Control hope you enjoyed this information. Please remember that we are here for all your pest and unwanted animal problems. We have been serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast area for over 35 years with a well-trained team of pest control experts. Please call us at 800 527-9832 if we can help. Also, please visit our website at http://www.southernpestcontrol.biz to meet our team of experts and learn about all the services we offer.

Gnats – Get rid of them around your face

Gnat on clothing in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

gnats

Gnats are small pesky flies that are found all over the nation both indoors and outdoors. They are attracted to odors, lights and moisture, and they make a high-pitched buzzing sound. There is a much larger population of gnats in warmer climates, and although they are a big annoyance, they only reach an average size of 1/8 inch. These insects are more annoying than dangerous; however, they can carry disease and illness. Changing your daily hygienic routines can stop the gnats from swarming your head.

it’s important to note that annoying gnats generally have a lifespan of about four months and if you happen to have a pregnant mama gnat in your house, she can give birth to as many as 300 more babies. So, if you’re the lucky winner of an indoor gnat infestation, you should try and get rid of them.

Gnats generally go where the fungus (and subsequent moisture) is. That’s why they’re attracted to the overripe bananas on your counter and the soft potatoes in your pantry. So, if you do see them hanging around those items, chuck the produce and eliminate the reason the gnats are congregating in the first place.

We at Southern Pest Control want to share the following tips with you on how to help keep gnats from swarming around your head and face

 

  • Wash your hair with a scent free shampoo
  • Avoid using scented skin care products on your face
  • Don’t spray any cologne, perfume or body spray anywhere around your neck
  • Wash clothing in scent free detergents
  • Use an insect repellant on the clothing you wear and on your skin and in your hair. Many lotions contain insect repellant that will keep gnats away. Use a nontoxic spray in and under your hair and around your neck. Use insect repellants only as directed for safety.

We hope this information and tips were helpful. Please contact us if you have any pest control issues that you are struggling with. Our trained professionals will gladly come to provide you with a Free Estimate on how we can help. We have been in the pest control business for over 38 years here in the Gulf Coast area.

Strangest Insects 3

Goliath Beetle in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

strangest insects

 

Strangest Insects -Here is the final of our 3-part series on the Strangest Insects in the World. Today we will focus on the last 4 of these amazing creatures.

We at Southern Pest Control hoped that you enjoyed these series of articles on the Strangest Insects in the World.

Here are the last 4 of the strangest insects in the World.

Driver Ants

Driver-Ants

If you have watched movies where unsuspecting travelers are swarmed by aggressive ants and gruesomely killed, then you have seen stories inspired by driver ants. Attack just one, and the entire colony of up to 20 million ants will take it really personally. They can kill and devour small animals and larger invalid animals (including humans). Their bite is powerful and their jaws will remain locked even if you tear an ant apart and kill it. To this end, natives use them for emergency sutures for wounds.

Assassin Bugs

Assassin-Bugs

This broad category of insects has an unusual and rather alien attack method. Their mouth tubes allow them to stab their prey and inject them full of a liquefying toxin. This numbs the prey and turns their innards into fluid. The liquid dinner can then be sucked back up through the mouth tube.

 

Hummingbird Moth

Hummingbird-Moth

Even if you steer clear of insects, there is a good chance you’ll find the hummingbird moth adorable. This moth has evolved to resemble a hummingbird with a fat body and a convincing “tail” protruding at the back. Their wings can beat incredibly fast, which adds to the impression that they are in fact a bird. The moths are diurnal, which means they are active during the day, another reason they are regularly mistaken as hummingbirds. On a similar note, check out the snake caterpillar for another insect that bares a shocking resemblance to another organism.

 

Bees

bees

Bees? The strangest insects in the world? We see bees all the time, which has somewhat inoculated us to their oddness, but let’s face it—bees are really odd, and we do not understand how they function at all. They are able to coordinate with each other even across distances, and appear to psychically communicate. Nobody knows exactly how beehives work, but each hive behaves more like a single individual than a colony of individuals. Bees clearly have a very different way of life than anything we can imagine as human beings.

Remember if you have any unwanted pests or animals around your home or offices please call us at 800 527-9832. We have been helping folks like yourself in the Gulf Coast area for over 35 years. Please visit our website at www.southernpestcontrol.biz to meet or team and learn more about us and our services.

Strangest Insects 2

Hummingbird Moth in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

strangest insects

 

We at Southern Pest Control hoped you enjoyed the article we had on 3 of the Strangest Insects in the World. Today we will continue with 3 additional of these interesting creatures.

There are more than 900,000 species of insects known, and likely there are millions more (scientists can only estimate). Insects account for about 80% of the species living on planet Earth. In a very real sense, this planet belongs to them.

Here are 3  more of the strangest insects in the World.

Goliath Beetle

 Goliath-Beetle

Yes, insects can get even bigger. This beetle can grow up to four inches in length, and weighs even more than the locust described above. They are native to Africa and are sometimes kept as pets. They love protein, and can be fed dog or cat food or even baby food. Keeping a Goliath Beetle may hold some of the same appeal as keeping a tarantula, without the need to feed it mice.

 

Hercules Beetle

Hercules-Beetle

This beetle may not be the largest on the planet, but it is the strongest. Not only is it the strongest insect on the planet, but it is also the strongest animal, period. It can carry up to 850 times its own weight on its back.

 

Twisted Wing Parasite

Twisted-Wing-Parasite

This little fly is quite a menace in the insect world. As a larva, it waits around for a bee or wasp to come along. Then it jumps on board and burrows into the host insect. Once there, it morphs into a male or female second-stage larva. The male will burst out and go look for a mate. The female will remain inside the host, and only poke out her genitals. Once she is impregnated and lays her eggs, the cycle begins again.

 

We at Southern Pest Control again hope that you found this to be interesting. Remember if you have any unwanted pests or animals around your home or offices please call us at 800 527-9832. We have been helping folks like yourself in the Gulf Coast area for over 35 years. Please visit our website at www.southernpestcontrol.biz to meet or team and learn more about us and our services.

Strangest Insects

Strange looking Insect in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

 

Brazilian-Treehopper

Strange Insects -If you want to encounter a life-form on Earth which will challenge your views of what it means to thrive in the universe, look no further than the insect class of the animal kingdom. There is a reason that many of the aliens featured in our science fiction literature and films resemble insects. We find them very unusual, because their lives, appearances, and habits are so far removed from our own.

And yet, there are more than 900,000 species of insects known, and likely there are millions more (scientists can only estimate). Insects account for about 80% of the species living on planet Earth. In a very real sense, this planet belongs to them.

Here are 3 of the strangest insects in the World, we at Southern Pest Control hope you find this interesting.

 

Brazilian Treehopper

Brazilian-Treehopper

What’s going on with this critter? Scientists do not honestly even know. It has a number of peculiar appendages on its back which turn out to be hollow chitin balls. Their purpose? Completely unknown at this point. It is one odd looking insect, and we still have no idea why it looks the way it does.

 

Flower Mantis

Flower-Mantis

Reach to pick one of these colorful little flowers and you will probably shriek with surprise when you realize that what you really have in your hand is a creepy crawly known as the Flower Mantis. This mantis can come in many different colors and shapes. Some species have what looks like two huge eyes sticking up on top—just more coloration (like you would find on a moth’s wings). You might still find it as a as a flower, if you aren’t a xenophobe—and even more delicate. Orchid mantises are widely considered quite beautiful.

 

Little Barrier Island Giant Weta

Little-Barrier-Island-Giant-Weta

If you are squeamish and not a fan of locusts and the like, you will probably want to steer clear of the Little Barrier Island of New Zealand. Here you can find one of the biggest insects in the world, measuring 3 and a half inches in length and weighing 2.5 ounces. Yes, that is about the size of your hand.

We at Southern Pest Control hope that you found this to be interesting. Remember if you have any unwanted pests or animals please call us at 800 527-9832. We have been helping folks like you in the Gulf Coast area for over 35 years. Please visit our website at www.southernpestcontrol.biz to meet or team and learn more about us and our services.

Bugs Insects in Winter

Ice on Tree in the Mississippi gulf coast; Southern Pest Control

winter bugs insects

 

In the winter, we humans survive the icy and cold months with coats, heaters, and warm food. Insects, however, have a few more creative strategies up their sleeves. Whether it’s special proteins that act like the antifreeze in your car, body fluids spiked with alcohol instead of water or gearing up for long-distance travel to warmer climes, it seems that these hardy bugs have developed their own answers to the biological problems winter poses.

To survive the wintertime shortage of food and warmth, mammals like bears and chipmunks tend to hibernate. While hibernation is often thought of as a deep sleep, it’s actually a biologically distinct state of dormancy: Hibernating animals stock up on food and reduce their metabolisms through processes that aren’t still fully understood. NASA researchers are even looking into techniques that could induce hibernation in humans, to help astronauts make it through years-long space journeys.

Insects have their own version of this powerful tool: diapause. Similar to hibernation, insects preparing to enter diapause will usually try to seek some kind of shelter from the cold.  That often means burrowing underground (consider the fact that, in winter, hundreds of insects might be lying dormant just inches beneath your feet), but can also mean finding shelter in trees trunks or under rocks.

Insects can be a problem for you and your home any season of the year. We at Southern Pest Control offer year round protection for your home and office. Our trained professionals know how to effectively rid you of unwanted pest regardless of the season. Please call us anytime you have a pest problem or need any type of animal removal. We offer excellent service at affordable rates. You will enjoy your interaction with our technicians, they always make you, the customer, there only priority.

Please call us at 80527-9832 to schedule an appointment. Also please visit our website at www.southernpestcontrol.biz to learn about us and meet our team.