moving to Jacksonville (Palmetto: condo, townhome, buy)

[katya_rich]

we will be moving in June from San Diego to Jacksonville. I am aware of the humidity and the bugs though just wondering is spraying the house on regular base every 6 months and having an artificial grass in the yard would minimize the bugs to deal with ?

[fsu813]

spraying annually or quarterly will do the trick. never heard of anyone getting artificial grass in FL before...

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by katya_rich

we will be moving in June from San Diego to Jacksonville. I am aware of the humidity and the bugs though just wondering is spraying the house on regular base every 6 months and having an artificial grass in the yard would minimize the bugs to deal with ?

No need to spray the house regularly if you keep things clean (i.e vacuum/sweep and dispose of food scraps properly as well as overall kitchen cleanliness). If you're worried buy some of the "traps" which aren't toxic and you'll just need to replace them every few months.

Roaches also like moisture so make sure pipes under sinks are sealed properly. Also damp places outside the house like the eaves under the gutters. Make sure the home inspector checks for wood rot there.

Roaches aren't attracted to grass....rather thick, wet and overgrown vegetation. Keep the bushes around the house trimmed back away from the exterior wall.

For mosquitoes, make sure all of your window screens are without holes and gaps around the edges. Replace any that have issues. They're pretty inexpensive and standard sizes can be found at the big box hardware stores.

[dspenc8888]

You should either spray quarterly or have pest control service. It's definitely best to stay on top of it and I don't think you can do artificial grass. You can use rocks or something other than wood in your flower beds to help. I also suggest having the outside perimeter of the home sprayed quarterly. I don't know, I guess I don't like bugs too much and don't like to take the chance of letting them get a foothold, yuck.

[divanicki75]

I'm looking at moving there the 2nd half of the year from SC, do y'all have "Palmetto Bugs" like crazy like we do here due to humidity? Because that really has nothing to do with cleanliness- they like the moisture... any other crazy bugs etc, that we should be aware of?

[parks71]

I was born and raised in San Diego. If you dont like bugs, your in for a big suprise. They are big and they are everywhere. Most of them are harmless though. My wife hates bugs and I get a kick out of hearing her scream when she sees one. Lots of lizards, bugs, rain, and humidity, thats florida. Almost forgot, lots of snakes too!

[Yorukosan]

Really? How bout in apts? Does it matter if there older?

[Magnolia Bloom]

katya-

Don't want to jinx myself, but we see very few insects inside of our house. And I have two messy kids and two pets- doors frequently left open, we are not clean freaks.

If you live in an attached dwelling (apt., condo or townhome), your neighbors probably have a lot to do with it. I once lived in an apt here and even 13 tubes of caulking didn't keep the bugs out. But in five years in my townhome, maybe four roaches. I couldn't even tell you if we have bug spray or not and I have never had to get a pest control service.