Synergy Jackson Pest Control: Answering Your Questions April 2, 2021

What are the gnats flying around my drains?

Gnats flying around drains in your home are usually either fungus gnats or fruit flies.  Both fungus gnats and fruit flies need organic matter to live and breed.  Fungus gnats will breed in moist soil such as with indoor potted plants and moist organic matter in drains.  Fruit flies will breed in rotting or decaying organic matter like fruit or in organic matter in drains.

To get rid of fungus gnats or fruit flies, the critical first step is identifying what organic matter is attracting them in the first place.  Once the area is identified, corrective sanitation measures need to be taken.  Without organic matter, gnats and fruit flies will eventually go away as there are no longer favorable breeding conditions for them.

To more quickly get rid of fungus gnats and fruit flies, insecticides and IGR’s can be used in addition to sanitation measures.

What are black flies or buffalo gnats?

Black flies are also called buffalo gnats or turkey gnats.  The bite of a black fly can be quite painful to humans.  Additionally, they will fly into the nose or mouth creating an even more annoying situation.  Black flies prefer livestock but will bite humans.

To get rid of black flies or buffalo gnats, liquid insecticides applied in a mistblower to the affected area is effective, much like mosquito treatments.

What do Earwigs look like and how do you get rid of Earwigs?

Earwigs are strange looking insects with large pinchers; however, they earwigs do not use their pinchers aggressively towards humans.  Earwigs are mostly nocturnal though larger infestations of earwigs may be visible during the day.

Earwigs prefer moist conditions.  To get rid of earwigs, a best first step is to identify areas of moisture both inside and outside of the home and make corrective measures.   After that, applications of liquid, dust, and granular insecticides can help control earwigs around the home.

How long does a fruit fly live and how do you get rid of fruit flies?

Fruit flies can live up to a month but the bigger issue is fruit fly breeding.  Fruit flies are prolific breeders.  Failure to get control of a fruit fly problem in your home can quickly get out of control.  To get rid of fruit flies quickly aggressive measures are needed.

Step 1: Fruit flies breed in organic matter and need organic matter to live.  Removing the organic matter, like garbage or rotting fruit, or getting control of organic matter in drains is the most critical step to getting rid of fruit flies.

Step 2: After removing the organic matter, dealing with adult fruit flies can be accomplished but a number of methods.  Fruit fly traps are readily available and can be effective.  Also, liquid insecticides that also include insect growth regulators can help kill adult fruit flies quickly.

What scent will keep mice and rats away?  What is the best mice repellent?

Trying to repel mice and rats away from food and favorable conditions in your home can be extremely difficult.  There are a number of repellent options to try; however, many are not proven to work.  The best way to get rid of mice quickly in the home is to remove the source attracting them in the first place and then use traps to get rid of existing mice.

Natural scents and essential oils such as peppermint oil and mothballs are methods that have been used to try and repel mice.  Most are not proven to work but may be worth a try.  Electronic mice repellents are sold in most big box stores and online but none have been shown to be consistently effective in repelling mice and rats.  To get rid of mice permanently, a pest professional specializing in rodent extermination may be necessary.

How do you kill bed bugs, especially baby bed bugs?

Spotting blood stains or small baby bugs that may be baby bed bugs can be alarming to a homeowner.  If there is a chance what you are seeing is bed bugs, quick action is needed.  Bed bugs are resilient and prolific breeders; meaning a small bed bug problem can quickly get out of control.

After confirming the bugs are bed bugs there are a number of steps to take:

1.Sanitation-Washing all clothing and bedding in hot water and vacuuming carpets and furniture.

2.Preparation-Preparing for a bed bug treatment is essential.  This includes removing all clutter from the room, taking pictures off of the wall, dis-assembling all furniture and bed frames.

3.Bed bug treatments involve the use of heat, liquid insecticides, insect growth regulators, dust insecticides and/or bio pesticides such as Aprehend

Bed bug treatments can take several weeks to work and may need to be repeated to completely get rid of the bed bug infestation.

How do I get rid of spiders and prevent cob webs on outside of my house?

Spiders around the outside of your home are very beneficial by helping to control unwanted insect pests. Unfortunately the types of spiders that build cob webs can create a terrible mess.  Cob webs can quickly take over the outside of the home along with spider droppings staining outdoor furniture and siding.

If spiders and their webs are causing a mess around your home, there are a number of things to try to get rid of spiders:

1.Reduce or eliminate exterior lighting.  Exterior lighting at night attracts insects, which then attracts spiders.

2.Manually remove spider webs with a cobweb brush to prevent new spiders from usually existing webs.

3.Consider using cobweb eliminator sprays that make it difficult for spiders to re-attach their webs to your home.

4.Insecticides will kill unwanted insects along with spiders.  Insecticide dusts are usually more effective than insecticide sprays at killing spiders since the dusts can attach to the spiders bodies.