Roaches

The German roach is one of the most common roaches found in houses, restaurants, and hotels. One egg capsule can turn into a roach infestation in six months if not treated. Each egg capsule can contain between 25 and 45 eggs. Oriental roaches live in single-family dwellings surrounded by vegetation, trash cans, damp areas under homes, and are common in ivy and ground cover.

Spiders

Wolf spiders are sometimes seen indoors and because they are usually brown in color, they are often mistaken for brown recluse spiders. Adult wolf spiders measure about 1/2 an inch, are mottled grey to brown in color, and have hairy legs. The body of the brown recluse spider measures 1/4 to 3/4 inch in diameter. Brown recluses have a very distinguishable violin-shaped marking located on the top of their head with the neck of the violin pointing back toward the abdomen.
Click here to see a detailed spider identification chart.

Ants

Two common ants in Tennessee are the odorous house ant and the pavement ant. Inside buildings, household ants feed on sugar, syrup, honey, fruit juice, fat, and meat. Long trails of thousands of ants may lead from nests to food sources, causing considerable concern among building occupants. These ants do not pose a public health risk, but they can contaminate food and should be avoided.

Mosquitos

Mosquitoes are small, annoying and leave itchy bites all over your arms and legs. While this is a fair description of the mosquito, some interesting facts about the mosquito may surprise you. It's time for you to get acquainted with the buzzing pest that ruins your summertime actives.

  • A mosquito only weighs 1/25,000 of an ounce.
  • Mosquitos are responsive for more human deaths than any other living creature.
  • Mosquitos pose a threat to public health, spreading everything from West Nile virus, encephalitis, dengue fever, malaria and even heart-worms in pets.
  • Citronella candles and smoking coils repel mosquitoes, but you have to stay in the smoky plume to be protected.
  • West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes, and can cause serious, life-altering and even fatal disease.
  • There are 2,500 species of mosquitoes scattered throughout the world.
  • One female mosquito may lay 100 to 300 eggs at a time and may average 1,000 to 3,000 offspring
    during her lifespan.
  • Mosquitoes breed in standing water, so eliminating standing water on your property reduces your risk.
  • The aver lifespan of a female mosquito is 3 to 100 days and the male lives an average of 10 to 20 days.
  • Only female mosquitoes bite - they need the protein for their eggs.
  • Male mosquitoes survive by sucking on nectar and other plant juices.
  • The welt that appears after a mosquito bites is an allergic retain to the saliva that is injected into your skin to prevent your blood from clotting.
  • From 100 feet away (30 meters) mosquitoes can smell your scent, especially the carbon dioxide (CO2) you exhale.