Frequent Inspections

Be sure to schedule frequent pest inspections performed by trusted and professional, local pest control experts familiar with the types of pests your property is up against. You may think your home or business is pest-free, but pests can hide in building foundations, roofs, insulation, carpet, cabinets, cracks, window seals, etc. where you’re not always likely to see them. Don’t wait until these pests come to light and you have a major infestation on your hands. Be prepared with proactive pest control strategies to keep pests and bugs out before they ever have the chance to enter.

Our experts at H2 have the experience and knowledge to check the places where various pests like to hide. They can perform regular indoor and outdoor spraying and other pest control methods (rodent poison, wasp traps, mosquito netting) in these areas to thoroughly protect you and your property from uninvited critters.

Keep An Eye Out

Be educated and aware of the signs of various pests. Droppings, chewed belongings, dirt piles, eroded wood, and even skin irritation can be signs of a pest issue. Mice tend to chew things like cardboard and drywall. Skunks and similar animals are seen in these types of newly constructed areas and often burrow beneath houses or in bushes near water sources like creeks. Eroded wood can signal a termite problem, while dirt piles in and outside of the home are a good indication of an ant problem. Skin irritation can be a sign of bed bugs, lice, or fleas often brought into the house by pets.

Be vigilant in keeping an eye out for these kinds of warning signs of pest problems. Remember, it’s easier (and cheaper) to proactively keep out pests than it is to treat them once an infestation has taken hold.

Preventative Measures

It’s easier for pests to infiltrate a dirty home. It’s also easier for you to overlook pests in a dirty home full of clutter and mess. Naturally, pests will be drawn to a home with easily accessible food. Excessive clutter in yards, garages, and homes, also invites pests that find it easier to hide and build homes in such clutter. Pests like rodents, spiders, and ants are more likely to visit your home or business if food is not properly stored and packaged.

Keep a clean home or business to avoid helping nasty pests find their way in. Frequently vacuum carpet and sweep/mop hard floors, taking extra care to get in the corners and under things like cabinets and chairs. Regularly clean and sanitize countertops, dust window seals, and check to ensure that cabinets, pantries, closets, and bathrooms are absent of mold, food crumbs, smelly garbage that may attract pests, dirt, and pet hair.

Avoid excessive clutter such as boxes, outdoor equipment, unsealed food storage, etc. where critters like mice and spiders are more likely to attain residence without your knowing. Keep boxes and storage sealed, against walls, and in cold areas like garages or cold storage as much as possible to avoid warm-blooded pests and bugs.

H2 Will Come to You!

Contact H2 Pest Control in Northern Utah today for experienced local advice, pest control, and extermination services. We’re the friendly and professional experts you can count on to keep your business, home, and family protected from unwanted pests year-round in 2020!

Red Spiders in Utah

If it’s tiny red spiders you’re seeing, they’re most likely clover mites, a close relative of spiders. Clover mites aren’t much larger than the head of a pin and are harmless except for the bright red stain they leave behind when squashed.

However, the terrifying-looking fella with the red body that you saw is very likely the red woodlouse spider, a quite common Utah red spider. The bright red color makes them easy to spot as does their large size compared to other spider species.

The red woodlouse spider is named after its color and prey of choice. This type of spider doesn’t build a web to catch its food, rather it is a nocturnal hunter. The male woodlouse spider measures around 1/3″ in size, while the female measures around 1/2″. Both are easily recognizable by the glossy, deep red hue of their upper bodies. While she doesn’t spin a web, the female woodlouse spider will construct a cocoon to lay her eggs in. She will lay approximately 70 eggs at a time, making early detection and removal of woodlouse spiders crucial to preventing an infestation.

Are Red Woodlouse Spiders Poisonous?

In general, avoiding woodlouse spiders is a good idea. While they are not poisonous, they can deliver a painful bite thanks to their large chelicerae, or jaws. The most common result of a red woodlouse spider bite is an itching sensation around the site of the bite which goes away after an hour or two. You may know this spider from nature documentaries: they are one of the spiders that bite their prey and basically drink their liquified insides. Pretty gross, right?

Not all Utah spiders are dangerous to humans, but what about red spiders? Learn more about the common red woodlouse spider that might have made its way into your home.

How Can I Get Rid of Red Spiders?

Red woodlouse spiders are most often found in basements as they prefer damp, high humidity areas when they set up camp inside a house. You can keep these invaders out of your home by checking for gaps and cracks around the exterior of the house and sealing them up with caulk or some other type of patching material. Make sure there are no damp areas near your house such as wood or leaf piles, mulch, etc.

If you discover that you have an infestation of red spiders in your home, the best course of action is to call an exterminator like those at H2 Pest Control. We can effectively get rid of them for you using a combination of spider control treatments including spider traps and repellent.

Whether they are dangerous or not, no one wants to have a spider infestation in their home or around their family. H2 Pest Control is at your service for Utah pest control in locations such as Lehi and Eagle Mountain, UT. Spider control is not a problem for us. Call or contact us for an appointment with one of our professional exterminators. Keep your family safe and keep your home free of the red woodlouse spider and other creepy-crawly invaders.

While some think that rats and mice are cuddly, cute pets, the dangers of having rodents in your home cannot be understated! Now that the weather is becoming colder, these little critters will look for weaknesses in the exterior of your home and quickly set up camp near a reliable food source. From here, an infestation can quickly spiral out of control, causing all sorts of unforeseen issues and hidden dangers to you, your home, and your family.

Mice have habits such as gnawing on electrical wires, raiding pantries and kitchen cabinets, burrowing into attic insulation, and even shredding paper and cardboard items. With these pervasive problems causing issues that become larger over time, it is important to recognize these dangers to alert local pest control services for rodent control and elimination.

How mice can be a danger to you and your property:

1. Mice can bring disease

Mice have habits that make them the perfect hosts for disease and pathogens that can be extremely damaging to humans. Most of this disease is spread through food contamination and the excrement that they leave as they travel through your walls. Possible diseases that could be contracted are:

• Weil’s disease
• Leptospirosis
• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
• Murine Typhus
• Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
• Rabies, Salmonella
• Trichinellosis
• Rickettsialpox
• Tularemia

This list alone should be alarming enough to call in pest control services that specialize in mice removal. Read on to see more of the potential dangers that you can encounter as a result of having mice in your home.

2. Mice can trigger dangerous allergies

Rodents play a major role in triggering dangerous allergies. According to recent studies, the presence of mouse urine triggered an allergic response in at least 35% of homes. Exposures to mouse allergens are a main cause of the development of asthma in both children and adults. These health risks are very real, and you as a homeowner should never attempt to clean up feces yourself; call in an exterminator to administer rodent control.

3. Mice can cause damage to insulation

Mice, like us, are looking for a warm place to nest in the winter. They will burrow into the attic and wall insulation, compromising the heating and cooling ability of your home. Mouse urine and feces can further break down the insulation, rendering it ineffective and causing your heating and cooling bills to spike. If you hear the pitter-patter of little feet in your walls, call in a pest control expert to accurately diagnose and treat your issue.

4. Mice can cause damage to wiring

Lots of home fires can be attributed to faulty or compromised wiring. If your infestation has mice running through your walls, you most likely will eventually have a breakdown of wiring within your walls as well. Wires can overload, short circuit, and cause a fire. Do not attempt to deal with wall invaders yourself; call in an expert to diagnose and repair faulty wiring, keeping you and your family safe from harm.

5. Mice can cause damage to you if they are underfoot

Many a careless fall has resulted from the misplaced foot of an unsuspecting homeowner that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing is quite so stressful as stepping on these little creatures and having an accident as a result of trying to avoid them. Don’t let this happen to you; before you see telltale signs of an infestation, do what you can to prevent them from overrunning your home.