Can You Tell the Difference Between Winged Termites and Winged Ants?

Spring is termite and swarming time, and when customers find them inside their homes on a beautiful spring day, Panic Happens.

But is a termite or just a carpenter ant?

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How to Get Rid of Ants From Your Porter, TX Home

Ants are the worst house-guests: they show up without an invitation, get into everything, track bacteria everywhere, and just stick around to wear out their welcome. With all the extra time you've been spending in your Porter home with your family, an ant problem is enough to drive you crazy.

Ant Facts

There are around 1,000 species of ants in the United States, but there are maybe 10 to 15 species you will commonly find around Houston. Each species has its own preferences and behaviors. Some are harmless, and some can cause damage to your home (e.g., Carpenter ants). 

Some ants (like Fire ants) are exclusively outdoor ants, but other ants, like Acrobat ants, Rover ants, and Pharaoh ants, will come indoors looking for food, water, and shelter. If you are seeing ant trails coming in and out of your kitchen, there is probably an ant colony nearby that could have hundreds, even thousands of more ants.

Ant Prevention Tips

Here are some simple ant prevention tips that work for just about any species of indoor ant.

1. Keep Things Clean  

Your first step to keeping your home ant-free (and bug-free in general) is to keep things clean. Ants need food, water, and shelter to survive. Don't fret if you're a rockstar housekeeper and still see ants sometimes. Happens even in the cleanest of homes.

• Keep your sink empty of dirty dishes.
• Keep trash covered tightly and take it out regularly.
• Keep surfaces wiped clean of crumbs and spills.
• Keep floors swept, mopped, and dry.
• Repair plumbing leaks, indoors and out.

2. Seal Up Entry Points

• Seal cracks and crevices around windows and doors and around your home with caulk or spackle. 
• Stuff all cable, pipe, and wire entry points with steel wool.

3. Yard Work

Remember, all ant problems start outside.

• Keep your lawn mowed short.
• Keep trees and shrubbery trimmed short and at least six inches away from the side of your home.
• Keep firewood piles stacked at least 20 feet away from your house.
• Keep your lawn free of leaf clutter and trash.

Ants have a way of ruining the fun... outdoors and in your home. These insect nuisance pests are manageable, but there are times when they can get out of hand. Contact our Porter pest control experts today! We can help you and your family enjoy your home without having to worry about ants and other pests.

Why worry about perimeter pest management? Virtually all indoor bug problems begin somewhere outside your house, whether it's from your yard, a neighbor's yard, nearby woods, or from  some other location. 

You can help prevent insects and other intrusive pests from getting inside your Conroe home with effective perimeter pest control. You can create a barrier around your home that keeps pests away, whenever they try to cross it. 

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Wasps are aggressive stinging insects and most people don't want them around. When we refer to wasps, we are referring to stinging insects in general, including paper wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, and mud daubers. 

But how do keep them out of your backyard and away from your family and pets?

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Are you finding these crawling insects in your home?  millipedes seem to have taken over the Humble, Texas area.  With homeowners calling daily for service and treatment to eliminate their populations.

Keep Reading to find out more about millipedes and how to prevent and eliminate.

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Are termites common in Texas? Termites are an increasing problem in Texas, especially in areas like Houston that feature humidity and  moisture. Texas arguably has one of the highest concentration of termites in the country. It puts all of our homes at risk for a termite infestation.    

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