You usually hear raccoons on roofs or in attics at night. They weigh 10 to 30 pounds. Gestation is 63 days and usually 3 to 5 in the litter, one litter per year usually. Juveniles are born February through May and are weaned in 2 to 4 months, earliest is April but can be in August. Juveniles are hidden away from adult males since they have proven to be aggressive and dangerous to the young. Juveniles will be mother's shadow from birth to usually January, then
after all life's lessons are taught, mother will recover in semi hibernation
for a month sometimes losing 1/3 of her weight by not eating or going to a
food baited trap. Juveniles are off on their own. Then breeding starts over
again. Raccoons can cause considerable damage to an attic HVAC and mat down
insulation reducing its R-value to heat and cool your home.
Our basic maintenance service includes ants, roaches, silverfish, pillbugs, scorpions, wasps, spiders (all basic crawling pests).
Spiders are beneficial in the outdoors but when they use our homes as their
home that becomes a problem that we can help with. Some spiders spin webs to
catch their prey; others run down their prey. We can control Black Widows,
Brown Recluses, American House Spiders, Jumping Spiders, Wolf Spiders, Long
Bodied Cellar Spiders & Daddy Long Leg Spiders. We can broom down webs in
garages, entryway and under large furniture. We also control spiders by
minimizing their food source by baiting the outdoors around your home to
control small bugs.
Squirrels are seen or heard during the day and return to the nest at night. If
you hear sounds at night it's usually rats. They weigh 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.
Gestation is 45 days, usually three juveniles in each litter (2 litters/year)
and usually born in February through April and July through September. Weaning
is 10 to 12 weeks; juveniles explore outside the nest after weaning. Lifespan
is 4 to 7 years but half of the population dies out each year. Trimming trees
10 feet back from the roof if possible will help keep squirrels out of attics.
If they have made their nest in the soffit or attic to get out of the cold,
then a one way door/cage covering their entry point works better than live
traps in the attic. They can leave the attic but can't return. Squirrels can
gnaw on soffits/roof gaps to gain entrance to an attic or through attic vents;
therefore making a mess in a attic or gnawing on wires.
In our service area we find three types of rats/mice that include Norway Rats,
Roof Rats and House Mice.
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Norway Rats are brownish in color, weight 10-17 oz and are up to 18″
long with tail. They mature in 2-3 months with a gestation period of 23 days.
A litter will include 6-12 young and they have 4-7 litters a year. Norway rats
feed on dog food, birdseed, and just about anything. Their life span is about
18 months and they nest in burrows of 100-150′ from food and water.
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Roof Rats are dark gray in color, weight around 8 oz and are up to
13-17″ long. They mature in 2-3 months with a gestation period of 22 days. A
litter will include 6-8 young and they have 4-6 litters a year. Roof rats feed
on fruits, vegetables and seeds. Life span is about 18 months and nest in
trees/roof tops and in burrows of 100-150′ from food and water.
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House Mice are black/gray in color and weight 3/4 oz and are up to 6-7″
long with tail. They mature in 1 month with a gestation period of 19 days. A
litter will include 5-6 young and mice have 8 litters a year. House mice feed
on grains and cereals. Life span is about 15-18 months.
In this area of Texas we see honeybees, cicada killers, hornets, red wasps,
mud daubers, yellow jackets and paper wasps. Not all of these sting so
identification and knowledge of their biology is helpful. We can control red &
paper wasps by treating and knocking down the nest and we can scrap mud dauber
nests off of houses. We can treat 1 & 2 story structures. Honeybees are
usually seen on newly flowering trees, plants, or flowers. They play a vital
role in pollination and they shouldn't be sprayed. They aren't aggressive when
they are collecting nectar and if left alone they won't bother people. If the
whole colony (30,000-60,000 members) nests in a structure, call a
professional. We understand that some people are allergic to stings but cicada
killers are only after cicadas and mud daubers are busy building their mud
nurseries for their young and rarely bother people. Yellow jackets, paper
wasps and red wasps will sting if you get too close when they are protecting
their nest and are more easily controlled with regular maintenance service to
identify and knock down the nest early when they are small.
Even though we can do everything to treat and control most pest issues,
homeowner preparation is vital to having a successful treatment. Below are
specific steps homeowners should take before and after a flea treatment.
BEFORE THE TREATMENT
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Vacuum all rugs, carpets and furniture (especially between and under
cushions). Seal and dispose of the vacuum bag or disinfect the vacuum
canister.
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Clear and clean all floors, even closets. Mop all tile and vinyl floors and
sweep all concrete floors.
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Remove all decorative items, pillows, pet food, water dishes, children's toys
or anything that you wouldn't want sprayed. Be sure to check for items under
beds and furniture.
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Remove all pets. A bath visit at the groomer allows the spray time to dry and
pets come back flea free. Fish bowls and aquariums may remain if properly
covered and the air pump is shut off during treatment. Ask us for specific
instructions.
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Wash or dispose of all pet bedding. If you are able to wash the bed please
make sure you wash it separately from other linens.
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Mow your lawn and make sure everything on the ground outside has been removed.
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Make sure you let us know where you pets sleep, rest and eat.
AFTER THE TREATMENT
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Follow our specific instructions after we have treated your home. To give the
insecticide time to work, we ask you resume normal vacuuming 24 hours after
your home has been treated.
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Continue vacuuming 2-3 times per week with intervals of 3 weeks for a total of
6-9 times. The vacuum's mechanical pressure will improve the effectiveness of
the insecticide by stimulating unhatched fleas to emerge from their protective
pupae cases.
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It is normal to see some adult fleas for up to 3 weeks after treatment. Flea
pupae are protected from insecticides by their cocoons. They will continue
emerging as adults over a period of 1-3 weeks. Once exposed to the insecticide
residual though, they will be eliminated.
A FLEA-FREE INDOORS
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Carpets, rugs, floor tile joints, furniture, cracks between wood flooring, pet
bedding, pet resting spots, and even under furniture cushions; are all places
within your home where fleas can take harborage.
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While adult fleas are most obvious, pre-adult fleas can account for as much as
99% of an infestations. It is essential that fleas are stopped in all four
life cycle stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
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At Triple L Pest Control LLC we have the products and expertise needed to
create a flea-free indoor environment.
Source: ZOËCON technical white papers
Ants
There are many common household ants we see in our area. Red imported fire ants, Carpenter ants, Acrobat ants, Rover ants, Odorous house ants, Leaf cutting ants, Crazy ants. We have several very effective sprays, baits, & powders we use to manage them to minimize their damage to your home. Ask about our whole yard Fire ant treatments to avoid their painful sting.
Roaches
The main types of roaches we see are the larger American roaches and Smokey Brown roaches. These roaches will slip under a door following smells of our food or water. Raking up leaf litter around your home will lessen harborage areas for these and replacing worn door sweeps will help keep them out. German roaches are the smaller ones we see in kitchens and baths. We have baits that we place in their hidden nests where they only have to make contact with their antennae to be effective. No emptying out of cabinets or pantries is necessary.
