Bed bugs spread easily on clothing and luggage. People pick up the parasites in hotels in most cases. They also spread through workplaces, gyms, schools, dressing rooms, and even furniture stores. Bed bugs breed fast and are good at hiding. They are often seen between the seams in mattresses, and their distinctly flat tiny bodies make it easy for them to stay hidden. This also makes them hard to exterminate when coupled with their ability to survive over a month without blood. A common sign of bed bugs is red itchy skin bumps that are in a straight row.
High humidity in the area attracts cockroaches. In homes, they are often sighted in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. While some are small and tan, others are longer than an inch and are black or dark brown in color. Cockroaches are in search of food and will eat anything from residue in a sink to food crumbs in cupboards. They also get into food containers that are not properly sealed.
These pests often crawl under baseboards and breed behind walls. They breed quickly and can appear during any month of the year. Sticky traps are not effective forms of roach control and should be avoided.
The South is full of trees, warmth, and moisture, and this helps termites thrive. Most termites prefer to chew damp wood and attack diseased parts of trees or piles of firewood. However, some find their way indoors to chew dry wood or paper. Termites often target structural beams in homes, which quickly leads to thousands of dollars in damages. Their colonies multiply rapidly. One of the surest signs of a termite infestation is above-ground mud tunnels along the foundation of a building.
Professionals can look at the pattern of the tunnels to determine how far the infestation has spread. Shed wings, visible swarms, and bubbled wood are also signs of termites. Many people let termite infestations worsen by mistakenly assuming that termites are winged ants. Termites have uniform wings and body shapes while ants have distinct body segments and uneven wings.