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We have a brush pile, we don’t trim dead palm fronds or under saw palmettos, or use pesticides in the yard. We have butterflies, bees, dragonflies, other pollinators, insects, snakes and rats around the property. It’s a thriving ecosystem, not a sterile, unnatural environment.
We do our own home pest control and use the least amount needed for occasional ants or roaches in the house. Lizards get in usually when a cat brings one in from the lanai and we return them outside if they survived the cats. All opening on the roof are screened and we make sure grout or caulk are intact without holes around the baseboards.
None of the insects, reptiles or snakes bother me, but I understand the fear for many people. I don’t like some of the insects and wildlife, but I know they are necessary to have others I do like. Exterminating everything in order to eliminate one problem is not the answer. Killing one species usually allows the next one in the chain to overpopulate and requiring more poisons to correct the resultant problems. It then becomes a cycle without end.
I agree that caution with insecticides is better than speed. As I said before, it took a few years for my palmetto bugs to stop coming in. The spray around the perimeter of the house will only kill them when they ingest it, so it is safer for beneficial insects. Palmetto bugs groom themselves by licking their feet. For awhile, they would still get inside, but then they would die. After awhile the population dwindled, and now we only get a dead one every year or so.
Funny, but the bugs don’t bother me, as long as they stay outside. Maybe OP just needs to give herself time to get used to them.
I have tried 2 different companies for pest control. A few weeks after treatment i start seeing more ants, spiders and an occasional roach again. I also start seeing occasional little lizards start coming inside . One bedroom particularly. The windows are sealed and not opened. In 5 months I have had 4 treatments 2 were repeat calls for more bugs
Obviously the inside lizrds are after bugs inside. The glue boards show inside bug activity.
Yesterday i had it.
My sister visited for several days and a lizard was climbing across the pillow. She said she wanted to go home and took an earlier flight. She understood lizards and bugs are part of Fla but not on beds where we sleep. I don't blame her I agree. I didn't tell her I have found them on inside furniture off and on in between treatments.
How can I get these pest companies to help better. They don't go in the attic to check activity. They don't want to spray inside. What they do outside looks minimal. The employees they send don't seem to put much effort into the job. They do know how to take my payment for the lousy treatments they do. Their excellent holding their hand out for the money. I've tried doing it myself with home defender spray no real luck. Just what can I do about this. I'm very frustrated and irritated my sister wasn't able to have a nice stay. Or all the money I'm spending on control something that isn't working at all. No one should have to live like this
Look at the bright side. The lizards should keep the fly population in check.
Prevention:
1. Single most important step: Trim back trees and shrubs so that the branches and foliage do not touch your home and allow more sunlight to reach your lawn.
2. Trim up bushes and shrubs so that you can see beneath them. This will eliminate hiding areas for small animals, snakes, and insects.
3. Rake back mulch, pine straw, and other landscape bedding at least 6 inches from your home or structure to create a barrier that pests are likely to avoid.
4. Do not overwater your lawn or garden. In areas that retain too much moisture, you may need to aerate your lawn to encourage draining.
5. Clean out gutters and downspouts frequently. Insects and other pests are known to harbor in these areas.
6. Mow your lawn as needed to keep growth low. Pests love to hide and harbor in tall grasses.
7. Remove grass clippings, leaf piles, and stacked wood from your property to eliminate hiding places for pests.
8. Store outdoor trash cans and dumpsters as far away from your structure as possible and be sure they have tight-fitting lids.
9. Thoroughly wash out trash cans and dumpsters with an ammonia-based solution as needed to keep odors and bacteria down.
10. Vacuum frequently and keep the inside of your home free of crumbs. Keep food in sealed storage containers.
If you don't provide clean access to the entirety of the outside perimeter of your house, you will always be fighting a losing battle. So the above steps must be taken before tackling pest control.
Once clean access is established monthly spraying will solve all your problems. You can now use a monthly service. Make sure that they give you a guarantee and will immediately show up, the first time you see a bug. I do my own pest control but many in the community use Regal Termite/Pest/Weed Control, I haven't found anyone who is not happy with their service. They offer a guarantee. They will solve your pest control problem, they will spray inside, outside, lay traps and explain what about your situation is causing your problems, so you can do the repairs necessary for prevention. I ?believe? they are located in Ocala or close to it. They are probably more expensive than your fly-by-night outfits.
I found all this out because I have my termite bond with Regal. When they came to do the termite prevention and we were walking around the perimeter, they pointed out where my potential pest issues were and what I needed to do. They were very generous with sharing their knowledge, even though I wasn't going to be hiring them for pest control as I do it myself.
Because I spent the time to insure there is clean access, my pest control spraying takes 15min/mth. I learned how to spray the perimeter through the 1000s of youtube videos. I use the battery-operated Scotts sprayer which is heavy for an old lady, so I attach it to my trimmer harness. Works great! Sprayers especially battery-operated ones have poor reviews. This is because people don't take the time to clean out the sprayer after application. Cleaning the sprayer takes as long as the actual application spraying as you now have to spray clean water through the system to clear it out. I sit in my patio chair and clear the sprayer by running the clean water through it while spraying my backyard trees. The sprayer has a reach of 30ft! I think this is why I have so few mosquitos. And my sprayer gets cleaned!
I use 1oz of TalStar per 1gal of water. Works out to $2/mth. But I do it myself because it gets me off the couch, once a month.
The previous owners of my home had fly-by-night pest control outfit. My home had a bug problem! Taking the above steps solved my problem. Just because we live in Central Florida, does NOT mean we need to live with bugs.
~MerryDay living bug-free
#1 and #2 are by far the most important. Once we removed the thick hedges that were right up against our house with soppy water accumulations at the base, along with the bromeliads we had such a reduction in the mosquitos and other pests. Also trees and bushes that touch the roofs of homes provide a very easy entry into the attic and the problems caused by critters in the attic can be deadly (chewed wires.)
The OP should look into Critter Control companies rather than exterminators who mostly deal with insects although some with take care of other small critters like rats and bats.
Who exactly finds how these things get in the house. I thought that was the job of the pest control. Is there some other company that does this. I ask because Florida Pest control doesn't even go in the attic or check for where they come in. THey walk around outside and spray now and then. THey take some sort of a mop and brush the house for spiders and that is it. It's no wonder I have these problems. It's not very well done. THey will not deal with lizards and told me so. I guess I'm suppose to live like this and its considered normal here. Otherwise why am I suffereing with this problem and its not corrected by professionals that are paid a fee for their service.
Sounds like a 'you get what you pay for' kind of deal. Aren't you asking up front what services you are getting for your money? I'm sure there are companies that can and will do exactly what you are looking for, for the right price.
And I agree that many people along the gulf coast don't necessarily consider the little lizards pests in the same way other bugs are, so you may have to look a little harder for a company that will deal with eradicating them.
Sounds like a 'you get what you pay for' kind of deal. Aren't you asking up front what services you are getting for your money? I'm sure there are companies that can and will do exactly what you are looking for, for the right price. And I agree that many people along the gulf coast don't necessarily consider the little lizards pests in the same way other bugs are, so you may have to look a little harder for a company that will deal with eradicating them.
This is a good point. I don't like bugs or other critters (rats, bats) but the small lizards don't bother me in the least.
What type of home? Brick on concrete slab? Raised off the ground with wood flooring? If brick or stucco walk around inspecting the condition of the walls and concrete. If the foundation shifted then you could have a cracked concrete foundation and or wall. If the concrete foundation is cracked then the bugs could come in from there. Has there been any sinkholes in the area? Is the yard saturated? Any rodents in and around the home?
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