Like the rest of tropical Florida, Venice is home to thousands of insects, pests, and rodents. As the city doesn’t experience the freezing winter of the northern states that force bugs into hiding, homeowners deal with them throughout the year. Investing in routine pest control minimizes the risk of pest infestations, and ongoing checkups keep the invaders away, ensuring the safety of the property and the health of everyone in the house. Damaged walls and ceilings, uneven floors, wood holes, and other issues caused by pests become a daily concern for a pest-inflicted property.
Plants suffer significant losses as well. The pests that feed on the plant tissue eat the stems and leaves, leaving holes and rugged edges everywhere. Most importantly, the pests and rodents can transmit diseases, bacteria, viruses and harbor other pests that can severely impact the health of Venice residents.
For this reason, it’s vital to recognize signs that pests are in your Venice properties, including traces of urine or droppings, rustling or scratching sounds in the house, holes in the wood or bubbled wallpaper, and pest sightings. Once spotted, Venice residents should act on these signs immediately.
It’s essential to schedule regular pest control inspections for residential and commercial properties to ensure everyone is safe from future infestations. Prevention is key in keeping uninvited guests away from homes.
Venice, Florida
The city of Venice has a rich heritage. It was home to people who inhabited the region some 12,000 years ago. Yet, despite the 16th-century Spanish occupation, the southwestern coast of the Sunshine State remains a wilderness.
In the early 1900s, a wealthy Chicago widow purchased 140,000 acres of land, half of which belonged to the Venice area. The widow built one of the biggest cattle ranches in the state and made a stunning marble-pillar home with beautiful gardens.
The city was initially called “Horse and Chaise” due to a carriage-like tree formation marking the spot for fishermen. It was given its present name in 1888 by Frank Higel, a settler considered the “Father of Venice.” Frank has a special bond with the Italian canal city, Venice, where he spent his childhood.
The Sunshine State city was incorporated in 1927, and residents constructed many homes in the Italian architecture style. A significant economic boost came in 1932 once the Kentucky Military Institute moved into the city’s buildings. In only seven years (from 1950 to 1957), the number of residents skyrocketed from 663 to 10,000.
Venice is a carefully planned city with plenty of flowers, palms, live oaks, pines, and silver trumpet trees. Today, the Gulf Coast city is known for its world-class beaches and exceptional natural beauty.
Common Pests in Homes in Venice
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 Venice’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 Venice 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. Venice 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 Venice 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 Venice’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 Venice, 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, Venice 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.
Venice 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.