Laurel is attractive to people from around the country due to its pleasant climate, proximity to the beach, and magnificent landscapes. However, people aren’t the only species who like what this small town offers. Throughout the year, bed bugs, cockroaches, rodents, spiders, and wasps are familiar visitors to residential and commercial properties across the city.
Most Laurel homeowners don’t think about pest control until they are confronted with an overwhelming infestation. Once the uninvited invaders enter the property, they’re likely to create a colony. Ants and wasps can invade the outdoor spaces, making it hard to move freely in the yard. Cockroaches can spread deadly diseases and chew on paper and fabrics, while rats and mice can gnaw on electrical wiring and create a fire hazard.
Termites and rodents can chew on indoor furniture and wooden elements, creating severe damage. Property damage attributed to termites in the U.S. averages five billion dollars each year. Uneven floors, warped walls, sagging ceilings, or bubbled wallpaper and paint are commonly attributed to termites and are the types of damage insurance companies don’t typically cover.
To avoid potential damage, it’s essential to look for early signs of pests in the home. These can include bite marks on the furniture or electrical wiring, pest sightings, nesting traces, urine and droppings around the house, and rustling sounds coming from the walls or furniture.
Laurel residents can prevent pest infestations or combat them effectively by scheduling pest control inspections at least three times per year. However, prevention still remains the best method of fighting pests in the area.
Laurel, Florida
Laurel is a beautiful town in Sarasota County, Florida, with a population of just over 10,000 residents. It’s among the best places to live in the state. The city shines with a suburban-rural mixed feel, which is why more people recognize it as an attractive place to buy real estate.
The town is known for its Laurel Turpentine and Lumber Industry. The naval store industry offered employment for workers who left the plantation system after the Civil War. Turpentine processing and lumber milling came to the area in 1910. More than 4,000 acres from an important estate were leased for constructing a turpentine operation named the “McKeithan Still,” after the project’s manager. The turpentining transformed into the lumber business in 1925. By 1930, timber was sawed and hauled out.
Laurel has a small selection of delicious restaurants, hostels, and hotels, making it ideal for a quiet, relaxing holiday destination. Golf lovers will appreciate the nearby Mission Valley Golf and Country Club. At the same time, those seeking natural landscapes and beauty can visit the Oscar Scherer State Park Campground and enjoy camping alongside incredible ocean views.
Common Pests in Homes in Laurel
The Sunshine State hosts an array of pests due to its hot climate, especially during the summer. Typical residential and commercial property intruders include ants, spiders, mosquitos, wasps, fleas, ticks, mice, and rats.
Ants often look for shelter on higher ground once the rain starts and often head indoors searching for food. Fire ants belong to the most commonly found ant types in Florida. These ants create dome-like nests up to three feet in height, and their colonies can reach over 250,000 worker ants. Common places for ants to nest include windows, driveways, and yards.
Stinging insects such as mosquitoes, wasps, and bees make it hard to enjoy Laurel’s open spaces. Their bites can spread serious diseases to humans and pets. Their highest population is in summer when the insects can create nests in a home-opening, near the foundation, or under overhangs. It’s essential to watch out for the nests to avoid getting stung.
Other insects that cause concern are fleas. Fleas can jump tremendous distances, often propelling their tiny bodies up to 200 times their length. It’s simple for them to move from one host to another and into the environment. Their bodies have evolved to endure harsh conditions, and the hard outer coating makes them hard to crush. Fleas typically hide in the floor cracks, furniture, or bedding.
Spiders are among the most feared pests in Laurel homes. They prefer dark, cool places that make it convenient to spin webs and hunt for food. Except for the brown recluse and black widow spiders, most Florida spiders are harmless. Bites from either of these spiders can cause muscle pain, paralysis, and even death.
COCKROACHES
Cockroaches reside in cool, dark places and can live up to one year. The bugs spend most of the time in garbage cans, sewers, and similar areas where they pick up on germs, parasites, and bacteria. Laurel residents find cockroaches both inside and outside of their homes. Water and dampness attract the roaches, and homeowners can often find them under the kitchen sink, bathroom, or basement.
Leaving garbage cans open invites cockroaches, so it’s best to cover them with tight-fitting lids.
This pest typically heads indoors looking for water and food. Droppings inside the home resemble ground pepper and pose a health concern for the property residents, including the pets. Cockroaches can also cause dysentery, roundworm, viruses, fungus, tapeworms, and allergies. These bugs impose a particular risk for people with asthma.
BED BUGS
Bed bugs reach peak activity during summer as they thrive in hot, humid weather. They can lay colonies in mattresses, beds, cracks, or crevices inside a home. Since the insects are skilled at hitching rides in luggage, clothing, and shoes, they travel far and wide during peak vacation seasons. Common signs of bed bug infestation can include:
Small, red bites found in clusters
Blood spots
Brown streaks on fabrics
Casings lying between the mattresses or the head- or foot-board.
These common Laurel pests require immediate attention. Their bite makes the skin itchy and can also cause welts. Bed bug infestations take time to make their presence known, and the fall is the busiest time for their extermination.
TERMITES
Termites top the list of Laurel’s most common and dangerous pests. There are two types of termites common to the area.
Drywood termites live in dry wood above the ground.
Subterranean termites typically seek water-damaged areas of wood.
Both types destroy wood, resulting in uneven floors, warped walls, sagging ceilings, or bubbled wallpaper and paint.
Ridding a building of termites calls for the most aggressive termite solutions available, often only available through professional companies. However, due to the nature in which termites invade and the amount of damage they can cause, prevention is essential. That’s why professional pest control and extermination services should perform regular termite and other pest checks.
Signs You Need Immediate Pest Control in Laurel, FL
PROPERTY DAMAGE.
There are many sure signs of property damage. It may be gnawed rugs, furniture, clothes, or walls. There may be thin tunnels that appear along the walls. In the best pest infestation scenario, Laurel homeowners only have to get rid of a chewed sweater. However, far greater damage can occur once rodents gnaw on the electrical wires, creating a potential fire hazard.
URINE AND DROPPINGS.
Traces of urine and droppings in the pantry, kitchen, or other rooms in the house means there may be rats or mice present. The infected urine and droppings of the rodents can carry deadly diseases. Therefore, it’s essential to have a pest control professional ensure the rodents or pests are eliminated and their waste safely removed.
RUSTLING OR SCRATCHING SOUNDS.
The most common reason for rustling and scratching sounds in a house is a pest invasion. Often, a rodent invasion reveals itself with scampering noises across the ceiling or the walls.
PEST SIGHTINGS.
Laurel homeowners who see a cockroach, mouse, termite, or a bed bug anywhere in the house should know that there is most likely more than one on the property. Once infestations grow, colony members are forced out of the nest, ultimately appearing around the property.
UNUSUAL RODENTS.
Rats and mice are the most common home invaders, but larger rodents such as squirrels can also find their way into a house. The frightened animal can cause severe damage to the property and injury to the homeowner. A pest control professional knows how to deal with all types of rodents.
The nuisance of pest infestation doesn’t have to last forever.
Kinder Safe Pest Solutions provides reliable pest control to residential and business customers.
Give us a call, and our professional team will get down to solving your pest issue quickly and effectively.