Winter in Utah is cold and long. It may seem like it would be inhospitable to bugs, arachnids, and other outdoor pests.

So why is pest control important in winter? Unfortunately, pests are hardier than you might think.

There are many pests that pop up in colder months. And as activity decreases outdoors, it shifts the burden of pest control to indoor spaces.

Pests in the Wintertime

As the weather outside becomes harsher, pests seek shelter in warm, dry, and protected environments. Chances are good that your home checks all of those boxes.

That means that winter is an important time to keep an eye out for household pests. These include cockroaches, rodents, and earwigs.

Smaller pests like cockroaches or earwigs might find their way into your home through small openings near windows, screens, and doors. They could also be transported inside if you use firewood in your home.

Mice and rats, on the other hand, are able to chew through wood, wire, and even PVC piping to access warm areas in your home or food sources. Be on the lookout for rodent droppings and for bite marks on food containers. These are telltale signs that you have a rodent problem.

Preventative Pest Control

One of the best ways to keep pests out of your home is to stop them before they have a chance to get in. When it comes to winter pests, you should do everything you can to keep them outside.

Inspect firewood before you bring it inside. Keep your kitchen and pantry clean and regularly check food containers for bite or scratch marks. Even just wiping down your counters on a regular basis can help make your home less attractive to pests!

Create a regular cleaning schedule for quieter corners of your home like closets, spare rooms, and storage spaces.

Finally, protect your home by securing windows, doors, and any other openings. Don’t give unwelcome pests the chance to come inside in the first place!

Keep Your Home Safe

If preventative measures haven’t been enough to keep pests at bay, pest treatment can help you reclaim control of your home. Treatment measures for indoor pests consist of spraying, and you should be sure to choose a company that uses treatment solutions that are safe for your family and your pets.

Why is pest control important in winter? Pests that are inside the home pose more of a direct health risk than outdoor pests. They can carry dangerous diseases – in the case of rodents, hanta virus is a real concern.

Year-round Pest Control

At H2 Pest Control, we know that pests can be a year-round problem. Why is pest control important in the winter? Because you deserve to feel safe in your home, no matter the season.

If you’re struggling with winter pests, give us a call today. We can help you assess your problem and create a treatment plan that will work for you. We’re here to help you regain control of your home!

Did you know that most common household pests are still active in the winter? You may be expecting a break from pests in the colder months, but longtime residents of Utah know that our pests are hardier than that.

If you’re preparing for the winter, you should know which pests to keep an eye out for. Stay vigilant and you’ll be ready to fight off an infestation in your home before it gets out of hand.

What Pests Are Active In Winter?

First, the good news: there are definitely certain pests that are less active in colder months. These include bugs like mosquitoes and wasps as well as heat-loving pests like scorpions.

Unfortunately, other varieties of pests are just as active in cold weather. Below are some common winter pests that you might have to deal with in colder months.

Indoor Pests

As the weather outside grows colder, the warm temperatures inside your home become more appealing to pests. That’s why winter is an important time to keep an eye out for indoor pests like ants, spiders, earwigs, and silverfish.

Once these pests make a home inside your house, they will reproduce and expand their population. It’s important to catch them early to prevent this kind of problem from getting out of control.

The best sign that you have a problem with small pests like ants, earwigs, or silverfish is actually seeing one or more of the pests in question. When it comes to spiders, webs and egg sacks are useful clues that suggest an infestation.

Rodents

Rodents like voles and gophers typically infest your yard, and they are less of a concern during the winter. But mice and rats are more than happy to move into your home and enjoy the warmth and food supply that you (unwittingly) provide.

Keep food tightly packaged and clean your home regularly to deter hungry rodents. If they aren’t finding a supply of food and water in your home, they’re likely to move elsewhere. More stubborn rodent infestations might require professional intervention.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches can technically fall under the category of “indoor pests,” but we think these notorious creepy crawlies deserve to be highlighted all on their own. Because they are well-known for being hardy and difficult to kill, they add an element of difficulty to your winter pest control attempts.

Cockroaches can travel into your home via openings in screens, windows, and doors, or they can be accidentally moved inside on firewood, patio furniture, or other outdoor items that you store indoors for the winter.

These pests are nocturnal, so you should perform any cockroach investigations at night or around dusk or dawn.

Get Winter Pest Control Help Today

What pests are active in winter? Now that you can answer that question, you can be on the lookout for unwelcome visitors in your home.

If you find pests in your house or on your property, don’t hesitate to give H2 Pest Control a call. We’ll help you treat your pest problem quickly and thoroughly so that you can rest easy in your home. From family-safe treatment solutions to high-quality customer service, we offer everything you want in a pest control company!

Utah is home to a wide variety of spiders, from hobo spiders to wolf spiders to the dangerous black widow. No matter what variety of arachnid you’re dealing with, you should be able to identify this pest in all three stages of the spider life cycle.

Eggs, spiderlings, and adults can all be a problem for your home. Understanding the life cycle of a spider can help you formulate an effective pest treatment plan.

Eggs

Spiders begin their lives as eggs. Female spiders can lay up to a thousand eggs at once, and many species lay eggs year-round. After laying eggs, the female creates a sac out of silk to protect them.

Egg sacs vary in size and appearance, but many look like circular or ovular “pillows” of silk. They are usually white or off-white in color, but they can also be brown or yellow.

Look for sacs in dark, undisturbed areas of your home – think closets, basement corners, attics, and other quiet spots. You should also keep an eye on humid areas like the bathroom, as spiders like humidity.

Spiderlings

Spiders usually hatch from their eggs after a few weeks. In some cases, however, eggs are able to overwinter and could last through colder months and hatch in the spring.

Spiders emerge from their egg sac in the form of spiderlings. These young arachnids resemble adult spiders in many ways, but they lack the fully-formed exoskeleton of adult spiders. Spiderlings molt several times before fully developing.

Immediately after leaving the egg sac, spiderlings go off on their own in search of prey. They travel on foot or by “ballooning,” a process during which they use strands of silk to catch a ride on air currents.

Spiderlings are capable of traveling to every corner of your house after hatching, so you should try to eliminate egg sacs before they hatch whenever possible.

Adults

Adulthood is the final stage in the life cycle of a spider. Spiders reach adulthood after they have molted five to ten times and have a fully developed exoskeleton. While most spiders don’t live beyond one year, some can live for up to two years – including the wolf spider, which is found in Utah.

Adult spiders are able to mate and reproduce, which makes it important to eliminate them in order to stop the spider life cycle. If you only target egg sacs (or adults, or spiderlings), your pest control efforts might not be effective. Spiders at every stage of life pose a threat to your home and your peace of mind.

Stop the Spider Life Cycle Today

To treat spiders in your home, you need to eliminate the pest at every stage of its life cycle. H2 Pest Control can help you fully address your spider problem with targeted solutions for eggs, spiderlings, and adult spiders. Our experts have a thorough understanding of the spider life cycle, and we use that knowledge to formulate effective pest control plans.

The life cycle of a spider is relatively fast. If you have a spider problem, you should act immediately to address it. Call us today to set up a service appointment!

Did you know that there are more than 3,000 species of spider in North America? Luckily, very few of these spiders are harmful to humans. That means that most of your spider run-ins won’t be dangerous, even if they’re a little scary.

Unfortunately, there are some venomous spiders that live in the United States. Three of the most deadly spiders in the country can be found in Utah.

Black Widow

Many people have heard of the Black Widow – it’s one of the most infamous spiders in North America. It is also the most deadly spider in the U.S.

The red hourglass shape on its black abdomen makes the Black Widow easy to recognize. Its bites are extremely toxic and contain a neurotoxin that can be fatal, especially for small children or elderly people.

Symptoms of a Black Widow bite include nausea, muscle pain, difficulty breathing, and excessive sweating.

Black Widows prefer dry areas to humid ones and can often be found near windows, vents, garages, and other places with many available insects.

Hobo Spider

Hobo spiders are particularly common in arid climates, which makes them a threat to Utah residents. They are most commonly found low to the ground, where they hunt for prey by creating a “trip web.” This web trips insects, giving the Hobo spider a chance to attack them.

Hobo spiders sometimes bite without any warning or provocation, which may be related to their hunting technique. Their venomous bite is painful and can sometimes cause tissue death in the bitten area.

Because of their aggression, it’s best to consult pest control specialists if you think you have a hobo spider in your house.

Brown Recluse

Brown recluse spiders have a reputation as one of the most venomous spiders in the United States. It’s true that this spider has a painful and dangerous bite, and the side effects of a run-in with a brown recluse can be nasty. Brown recluse bites can lead to fever, abdominal cramping, muscle pain, nausea, and chills, among other issues.

As with the Hobo spider, brown recluse bites can also cause tissue death. This tissue death is often more severe than that caused by Hobo spiders. In rare cases, a brown recluse bite can be fatal.

Luckily for Utah residents, these spiders are most common in the South and Central United States.

Protect Yourself from the Most Deadly Spiders in Utah

There are plenty of measures you can take to protect yourself from spiders. Basic spider control includes removing spiderwebs, cleaning out cluttered areas of your house, and checking doors and windows for cracks or unsealed openings. These measures can keep spiders out of your home and reduce your chance of encountering a harmful creepy crawly.

If you’ve already observed venomous spiders like the black widow or brown recluse in your home, it’s a good idea to call in professionals. Don’t put your health and safety at risk!

Call H2 Pest Control today to schedule a service appointment, and you’ll be on your way to a safer home.

Box Elder Bug vs Elm Seed Bug: Which Pest is the Best?

You may be familiar with the sight of boxelder bugs clustered in large groups on the sides of trees, buildings and sometimes your home. Did you know, though, that since around 2014, residents of Utah and Salt Lake County in particular have had a new bug on the scene? Introducing: the Elm Seed Bug

What’s the difference between a box elder bug and an elm seed bug?

At first glance, these two little pests might look a lot alike and they do belong to the same “true bug” or Hemiptera order. There are differences, though, that you might be able to spot:

• The elm seed bug has a rust-colored rectangle on its back with a black triangle (called a scutellum) inside it. Boxelder bugs have orange or red outlines on their bodies.
• The underside of an elm seed bug’s abdomen is red.
• Boxelder bugs are larger, growing up to half an inch whereas elm seed bugs will only reach about a third of an inch in length.
• Elm seed bug nymphs start appearing earlier in the year, around late May. You generally won’t see boxelder bugs until later in the summer.
• Like their names suggest, boxelder bugs are found mainly on box elder trees but also on maple and ash trees. Elm seed bugs are found on elm, oak and linden trees.

What are the similarities between elm seed bugs and box elder bugs?

Both types of bug also have plenty in common:

• They are related to stink bugs so they will let off a bad smell if crushed.
• Both bugs will cluster on trees and buildings and will try to enter buildings for warm places to spend the winter.
• Neither bug is dangerous to humans.

How do I prevent these bugs from infesting my home?

You can use the same approach to get rid of both the boxelder bug and the elm seed bug. If they’ve already found their way in, you may not even realize until they start reappearing again when the weather begins to warm up. To prevent the bugs from infesting your home, you can try these tips:

• Use a sealant or caulk to seal up any gaps around thresholds or windows on the exterior of your property.
• To stop the small elm seed bug from entering under your door, add a door sweep or tightfitting threshold.
• Ensure all door and window screens are in good shape.
• Vacuum up bugs if they have entered your home. A good tip is to put something like a nylon stocking over the vacuum hose and secure it with an elastic band. The bugs can then be tied up in the bag and disposed of with them actually going into your vacuum cleaner.
• Think about getting rid of elm or boxelder trees that are on your property if you have large numbers of bugs on them.
• Schedule a pest control company to apply barrier treatments around your home.

As average temperatures increase, you’re likely to see these bugs around for longer periods of time but if you use some of the tips above, hopefully you’ll be able to keep them outside where they belong.

Find out about some common pests in your vegetable patch and how to keep them away!

The last thing a gardener wants after carefully tending to their vegetable patch is for garden pests to move in and ruin all their hard work. Here are a few common-sense tips to help stay one step ahead and prevent the pests from making your vegetables their next meal:

• Keep Taking Care of Your Plants
  A healthy plant is one that can survive a few exploratory nibbles so don’t forget to regularly feed and water your vegetable patch.
• Add a Physical Barrier
  To stop cutworms from eating your plants’ roots, simple measures such as putting a cylindrical barrier around your smaller plants and seedlings will make a big difference. Things like toilet paper tubes can be sunk about an inch down around the plant to block the caterpillars from feasting on the roots. Use row cover over your broccoli, spinach, cucumber and potatoes to keep the frost away and to prevent the garden bugs and beetles from damaging your plants. Netting or mesh over fruit bushes will also protect your berries from the birds.
• Use a Trap Crop as A Decoy
  Consider growing other plants to attract the pests and insects that might otherwise feast on your veggies. Dill, marigold and nasturtiums, for example, may take the attention of the worms and aphids that also like to eat your tomatoes. These sacrificial crops are used to draw the pests away from your main crop so don’t plant anything you actually want to harvest!
• Increase Diversity in your Plants
  Pests are always going to be around so give your vegetables and fruits a fighting chance by also including plants in your garden that attract the pests’ natural predators. Herbs and flowers are a good way to attract insects and arachnids such as ladybugs and spiders to your vegetable garden where they can help you get rid of those pests.

How to Get Rid of Garden Pests

There are things you can do before resorting to pesticides to get rid of the pests infesting your vegetable garden.

Be Vigilant
Keep an eye on your plants and act as soon as you suspect a pest invasion. This will prevent the pests from overrunning your vegetable garden and damaging or killing your crops. You may have to remove a plant that’s badly damaged as this will save the ones nearby.

Get Hands On
If you can see snails, slugs, beetles and caterpillars in your veg patch, the easiest way to get rid of them is to remove them by hand. A mild soapy water mix can remove smaller bugs and their eggs from plant leaves and stems and also deter them from feeding on them in the first place. You may have to spend some time on your hands and knees de-pesting your plants but it’s worth it when you can finally pick your bounty!

Read Up on Common Pests
Find out or identify which pests are most likely to be infesting your garden and you’ll be able to deal with them more effectively.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common pests you might find taking a bite out of your lettuce leaves:

The Most Common Vegetable Garden Pests

Aphids
They pose no threat to humans but aphids can be found on plants all over the yard. These little insects are sap-suckers and feed on plants which can end up causing damage. They also excrete honeydew as they feed which can attract other insects, leave a sticky mess on anything around the garden and also encourages the growth of sooty mold.

Japanese Beetles
While these iridescent beetles are undoubtedly nice to look at, you might have other thoughts when one’s dive bombing you in the garden or eating all your plant leaves. Not only do the adult Japanese beetles chomp through leaves, fruits, vegetables and flowers, their grubs can eat through plant and grass roots, making them a double threat in the vegetable patch.

Cutworms
Found on many flower and vegetable plants, cutworms come out at night and can eat through a plant at the stalk. You may not notice that the stalk has been damaged if the top of the plant still looks healthy so try inspecting your vegetable garden after sundown to catch the pests in the act.

Mosquitoes are one of the worst pests around. They swarm, they bite, they can spread disease and they are difficult to get rid of. They can lay eggs in inconspicuous places and even if the live population dies off in colder weather, it won’t necessarily affect the next generation waiting to hatch when it warms up again. So how do you approach the problem if you have a mosquito infestation in your yard? Two of the most common methods of controlling the mosquito population are mosquito fogging and mosquito misting. If you think these sound very similar, you are right, so let’s take a look at what the differences actually are.

What is Mosquito Fogging?

Mosquito fogging uses a machine to pump out a “fog” of mosquito control substances over your yard, concentrating on areas where mosquitoes are likely to congregate and breed, such as bushes, grass and areas of stagnant water. The droplets are tiny and, while blanketing the area, they might not target the affected areas as accurately as misting. Fogging treatment is effective at eliminating mosquitoes for a short period of time.

What is Mosquito Misting?

Mosquito misting uses a similar technique to mosquito fogging but a different substance is used which is more effective at eliminating the mosquito eggs. While fogging will be effective against any live populations of mosquitoes, misting will also target the eggs before they have hatched. The droplets in the mist are larger than those used in fogging, so will hit their targets more effectively. Misting systems can also be set up in your yard to regularly spray mosquito control treatments, in a similar way to water sprinklers. These can be set to go off whenever the mosquitoes are out in full force, however, it will only affect the bugs within reach of the nozzles.

Which Mosquito Control Service Should I Use?

Good question. There are pros and cons to both misting and fogging but the general rule is that mosquito fogging is great for short-term mosquito elimination: think outdoor event or party. Mosquito misting is more effective as a long-term mosquito prevention and elimination service so it really depends on the time-frame and reason why you might need the mosquito control service.

If you need any advice, just call the professionals at H2 Pest Control. We can assess your individual situation and help with any mosquito control issues you may have!

Utah is home to many species of spider, including the venomous Black Widow. Yards and properties across Utah can become the home for spiders large and small and sometimes you need professional help to keep them under control. Just the thought of a spider being nearby is enough to terrify some of us, so what should you do if the worst happens and you are actually bitten by a spider?

Don’t Panic About Getting Bitten by a Spider

Thankfully, this is not a problem that should occupy a lot of your thoughts for two reasons:

• Spider bites are a very rare occurrence. A spider may bite you if you accidentally stumble into its habitat or it feels very threatened but they will not attack a human just for the sake of it.
• Even if a spider does bite you, the amount of venom it carries is not generally harmful to humans who are many thousands of times larger than the prey of a spider. Even a bite from a Black Widow will not necessarily cause much of an issue, however, nobody knows how their body will react until it happens so here are some signs and symptoms of spider bites.

How to Recognize a Spider Bite

It’s difficult to tell the difference between a spider bite and any other insect bite as it will normally appear a bit red and itchy. If this is the extent of the symptoms, just put some antibiotic or anti-itch cream on it and don’t give it any further thought. In some cases, though, more extreme symptoms can occur. These include:

• Swelling at the bite location
• Muscle cramps or pain
• Fever or chills
• Vomiting or feeling nauseous
• Headache
• Muscle spasms
• Difficulty breathing

If you have any of these symptoms, it’s important to contact a doctor right away. Spider venom can be treated by healthcare professionals so it might be helpful to take the spider or a picture of the spider with you if you can. The sooner you get treated, the quicker your recovery.

Venomous Spiders in Utah

Most spiders are venomous but only a couple are actually dangerous to humans:

• Black Widows are commonly found in Utah yards so if you want to avoid a bite from this potentially dangerous spider, wear gloves when out gardening and give gloves and boots a shake before putting them on. If you are bitten by a Black Widow, any reaction will happen quite fast so make sure you seek medical help if your symptoms worsen.
• The jury’s out on whether the Brown Recluse can be found in Utah or not, as it’s commonly confused with other types of spider, such as the Hobo spider. If you are bitten by a Brown Recluse, however, you may not realize it immediately. Over time, the bite might turn into a blister and in rare cases, tissue death, or necrosis, can occur. Hobo spiders can also bite humans but recent studies have shown that their venom is not actually toxic to us.

If you’re unsure if you have a spider bite or not, the best thing to do is to keep an eye on it, and if you start experiencing symptoms like those described above, get in touch with your doctor. H2 Pest Control can remove and treat your home and yard for any type of spider so give us a call if you need spider control services anywhere in Utah County or Salt Lake County. You can also check out our comprehensive guide to all things spidery in Utah!

Myth 1: Spiders Bug You While You Sleep

You may have heard the statistic that you eat on average 5 spiders a year when you’re asleep, or that spiders crawl on your face in the night or that they drink tears from your eyes or drool from your mouth. While this all sounds horribly creepy, there is just no basis for any of these stories. Maybe occasionally someone has a spider land on them in the night but it’s not a regular occurrence and wherever you look you’ll find different numbers because it’s really just an urban legend. Sleep tight and don’t worry about it!

Myth 2: Spiders Can Come Up Through Your Drain

It’s somewhat of a nightmarish thought that anywhere in Utah, large, hairy spiders or a thousand tiny ones can come crawling up your pipes and through your drains into your sink, baths, showers or basins. Luckily, you consider this myth completely busted. Spiders in Utah do not come up through the drain, rather, if you spot one in the bath or your basin, they have come down from the wall or ceiling, looking for water and can’t climb out again. If you wash them away they might be able to climb back but spiders cannot access your drains through exterior pipework.

Myth 3: All Spiders in Utah Spin Webs

Spiders are synonymous with webs but do all species actually use them? It turns out that in reality, only about 50% of spider species spin and use webs for trapping prey. There are other species in Utah that hunt their prey down, such as the Wolf spider, which can live happily in burrows, meadows or your lawn. Wolf spiders live up to their name by chasing down and pouncing on their prey before eating it.

Myth 4: Female Black Widows Kill Their Mates

Utah is home to the Black Widow, a notoriously venomous spider with a bad reputation. But is it justified? Everyone knows that after mating, female Black Widows rip off the male Black Widow’s head, right? Well, not really. While this behavior has been observed, it was only under laboratory conditions where the male was in an enclosed space with the female. In the wild, it seems that there is often plenty of space and time for the male to beat a hasty retreat. While the murderous behavior does occur, scientists now think it only happens in a mere 2% of Black Widow encounters. If you see any Black Widows in or around your Utah property, though, get in touch with H2 Pest Control as Black Widow bites can be potentially dangerous to humans.

Myth 5: Spiders are Insects

Did you know that spiders are not insects? The spiders you find in Utah range from the Jumping Spider to Orb Weavers to Wolf spiders to Black Widows but they are classed as arachnids, a separate group to insects, that also includes creatures such as scorpions and ticks. As well as having eight legs to an insect’s six, insects have antennae while arachnids don’t and insects are made up of three body segments while arachnids are only classed as having two.

Now that you’re a spider expert, take a look through our comprehensive guide to find out more about the types of spiders found in Utah, and the best way to keep them off your property.

How to attract rats

If, for some reason, you’re desperate to have some rats running around in your attic or walls, here are some good tips to attract them to your property:

• Leave food outside.

Keep that grill nice and grimy, leave trash bags outside, don’t clean up after your pets and leave any fallen fruit or berries on the ground. An easy food source is just what the rats are looking for.

• Cultivate piles of junk

Any stack of garden waste in your yard or general trash left outside can attract rats who are after things to build nests with or looking for a sheltered spot to hide.

• Don’t block up holes or trim overhanging branches.

If you really want to roll out the red carpet for your rodent friends, make sure you leave any cracks, holes or gaps in your exterior walls exactly as they are. Also, overhanging branches from nearby trees can make a handy bridge for rats to get across to your roof so be sure to leave those alone if you want to make it easy for the rats to pay you a visit.

Why rats in your home is not a good thing

All joking aside, having wild rodents in your home, and rats in particular, is not something to be desired. Rats can make a real mess of your home in places you can’t even see, chewing through wood, wiring, insulation and pipes. People and pets living in the property can also be exposed to rat urine and feces and rats can carry and spread a wide variety of diseases from salmonella to hantavirus.

If you see a rat or hear rodents in your walls, give a reliable and professional rat control company like H2 Pest Control a call. We are a family-owned business located in and servicing all of Utah County and Salt Lake County.

You might feel ashamed to have rats in your house but rest assured that H2 Pest Control’s technicians have seen it all and won’t judge you on what they find inside. Rats can make their way into practically any home and our main priority is to get you living a pest-free life. Take a look at our comprehensive rodent removal service for more information on how we can improve your quality of life.