User Posts: Nicholas Martin
When you see a cockroach crawling in your home does it suggest there is a cockroach invasion? No, when you spot a roach in your kitchen, it doesn’t necessarily ...
Nicholas Martin 
Humans and animals cohabit the environment so that they benefit one another. For example, humans plant flowers that provide nectar for bees while they, in ...
Amongst farmers, pests rank high in terms of the challenges they have to deal with. They are expensive to eliminate and can cause huge losses if not dealt ...
Regardless of where you live, you must have encountered ants. These are species that are found in all regions except the places that are too cold like ...
American cockroaches, also known as water bugs, top the list of roaches that can infest your home. Being an entomologist with over 25 years of experience in ...
It is an irritating sight to switch on your lights and see tiny roaches scamper across the floor, kitchen tops, and furniture to safety. Cockroach babies are a ...
Have you observed all gnat control techniques, but your problem does not seem to go away? Perhaps, it is in the summer when insects are flying around, and it ...
Fruit flies are known to cause discomfort as they fly around. People identify them by the compact bodies. They usually congregate in places with a sweet aroma. ...
Having a swarm of gnats hovering over your head can be the worst feeling you can possibly have. Even before you know how to get rid of gnats, you should learn ...
Dealing with crawling ants in your home can be nerve-racking. Now imagine living with those creepy pests with wings flying around your kitchen or some few ...
My name is Nicholas Martin, I am a consultant for private pest control agencies, and from my gained experience for the past 25 years, I am sure I will guide ...
Are you tired of dealing with pesky vermin causing distress in your home? Rats, for instance, can wreak havoc by chewing on your furniture and clothes. Not ...
Are you tired of seeing ants all over the place? Do you want to get rid of them instantly? Have you tried lots of ant elimination methods without any success? ...
Have you had enough with the rats? If yes, then it’s time to get an effective bait or station for trapping these mischievous creatures. It should be easy for ...
Pests form an essential part of the ecosystem, but at times, they pose a significant threat to many people’s way of living. Fire ants are effective outside ...
It is arguably true that much hasn’t been said about these wearisome insects. Their presence in any surroundings causes a substantial amount of worry and ...
Ants in a car can be a severe and annoying problem that some car owners might encounter. It's a widespread issue, and it has to be solved fast and effectively. ...
I am Nicholas Martin, an entomologist with over 25 years of experience, studying and working on pest control measures. Rodent infestation is a common problem ...
Carpenter ants don’t cause as much damage as termites and other pests, but they can be quite problematic. They usually leave ashes of wood lying on the floor ...
Are you struggling with carpenter ants in your house? I know how challenging it can be to deal with these insects. There are over seven hundred ant species in ...
Browsing All Comments By: Nicholas Martin
Unfortunately, yes. The colony has secondary reproductives that will take its place.
Yes, painted wood definitely doesn’t attract carpenter bees (not bumblebees) as much bare or even stained wood.
Hi Chris. I haven’t tested neither foot nor baby powder against carpenter bees. If I were you, I’d test your theory for some time (think 2 weeks) to see if it really works. Who knows, maybe you discovered a new bee insecticide 😀 But for real, I’d spray the screen from outside with an insecticide to repel the bees.
Yes, you can also use bait stations so chickens can’t reach the poison. Chickens shouldn’t eat rats in any scenario since rats do carry several diseases.
Well, we probably regularly consume products that do have some insect waste products (you just have to live with this) so if you accidentally consumed something with roach feces on it and you realise you can’t deal with it, I’d induce vomiting to get it back. Make sure to contact a doctor if you have any unusual symptoms.
If ants keep coming back to your house, then there’s something that attracts them (moist, food leftovers, etc). If you see flying ants then there’s probably a queen around that wants to start a new colony or expand an existing one. Inspect what may attract ants to your home, use baits, and find where ants come from to locate the colony. Also, make sure you are not confusing these flying ants with termites.
Yeah, having neighbors with roach issues can easily result in getting your apartment infested if you provide roaches with attractive living conditions (food leftovers in the first place). I’d recommend Advion Gel Bait (you can’t go wrong with this one), just make sure your cats can’t reach it.
Yes, the wax and honey produced in a beehive can cause some structural damage to the walls. Though, I’d be more concerned about them attracting more bees and other pests to your roof.
Yes, it will keep working as long as there’s active ingredient inside
Hi David! What size are these flies (I assume more like gnats)? Are there any trash cans or flowers nearby besides your dogs?
Thanks for your story Sue! Yeah, Terro is kind of deadly bourbon for ants 🙂
It’s not hard if you use correct methods. Though, keeping your kitchen clean surely is a must.
Check out my recent article on how to get rid of german roaches.
Thank you for your addition to this article. I have reviews on pet-friendly ways to get rid of pests too! I will think of expanding this article with your take!
Take care, Martin.
Yeah, you can use it too.
Thanks, PeaceGirl!
Thank you for your story, Crystal :)!
It’s nice to read that somebody can have fun with centipedes 😀
Dawn, I’m so sorry that you have to deal with all of it.
Pests are something that comes with big houses, I guess. If this gives you so much stress, maybe you should consult your local pest control services.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience. I hope I was able to help you with my blog.
Take care!
Martin
You’re welcome
Hi, Hakeem, thank you for your question.
Insects in bed are no good. Not sure from your comment which ones you have, so it’d be better for you to consult your local pest control services. Take care.
Best comment ever 🙂
Hi, Linda. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I’d advise you to call the closest Pest Control company to your house and let them examine your house. It’s not easy to give good advice remotely, because in some cases you can get rid of pests just by sealing cracks or crevices in the house with foam sealant, and other ones demand to work with special equipment. Hire an Exterminator, there are a lot of good offers on this market nowadays.
Any bug that doesn’t have piercing mouthpart can be killed with Borax. Dust mites are exactly these bugs which do not have piercing mouthparts, that is why Borax is lethal to them. You can use 20 Mule Team Borax to eliminate dust mites efficiently. This mean has a higher concentration of Borax than other products and reduces dust mites population many times more.
You can’t see dust mites with a naked eye that is why it is rather difficult to identify them. There are a few methods to identify dust mites. The first is purchasing a microscope and exploring the surfaces and the skin with its help. The 10X magnification and higher helps detect these creatures on any surface.
The second method is to collect the dust sample from a warm and dump area of your house. If you think dust mites inhabit your skin, you can obtain a sample from it with the help of a tape. With both of these samples, you should use a microscope or bring it to a laboratory for examination.
The third method is to test yourself for a dust mite allergy. If you are infested, the test will show it. This is how you can find out, whether you deal with dust mites regularly.
Some of the symptoms such as nasal congestion, frequent sneezing, nasal discharge, eye redness and irritation, conjunctivitis, lacrimation, dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, skin redness and irritation, rashes, hives, bronchial asthma, and so on are usually caused by dust mites.
Hello, dear reader of PestControlHacks. The answer is yes, which means that house centipedes help getting rid of various pests including ants.
Hello, M.J. If you have tried many methods of killing centipedes, but they still return, maybe you do something wrong? As you know, centipedes appear in the places with high humidity, so the process of getting rid of centipedes starts with checking whether you have such places at your home.
Try to follow simple recommendations, first. Check all pipes in your house, clean ventilation shafts, repair cracks, vent rooms with high humidity, install moisture absorbers, heated floors and a towel rail in your bathroom, and so on. You can also install mosquito nets to stop centipedes from entering your house. After this stage, you can proceed to use chemicals. There are lots of different means to choose from: sprays, aerosols, and dusts. Check the following titles in the web: LambdaStar UltraCap, Cyper WSP, Invader HPX aerosol, D-Fense Dust. They all proved themselves to be efficient in fighting centipedes. Hope, you will solve the issue soon.
Hello, Sarah. If you have free 15 minutes, you could read an article in my blog where you will find out that killing centipedes is not necessary at all. Whether you still prefer to kill centipedes, you can really use a spray. There are loads of sufficient means to get rid of house centipedes, and sprays are among them. You can pick one from well-known brands as Raid, Ortho, Tempo, Wondercide, and so on. It can also be a foam spray like Pur Black NF Foam or any other corresponding insecticide put in a hand pump sprayer.
Dear Mary, I think you took this story too personally. This is the only known incident of death from giant centipede bite. However, good for you that you live far from places of Scolopendra Gigantea habitat.
Scolopendra Gigantea, or simply saying, a giant centipede lives about ten years. The species can be found in tropical and subtropical rainforest or tropical dry forest. So avoid these climate zones, and you will never meet these long-livers.
Hello, Louis! It’s so pleasant to find out that 8-years old boys and girls are interested in nature and entomology especially. It’s a nice question to start a discussion about the respiratory specialties of arthropods.
Both millipedes and centipedes breathe through little holes on the sides of their bodies. These holes called spiracles open in an internal pouch leading to a tracheal system. Through this system, the exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide happens. Spiracles are the only external respiratory organs of centipedes and millipedes, but you won’t see them with the naked eye. They can be detected with a magnifying glass solely, so ask your biology teacher to show you the enlarged pictures of myriapods to see how do spiracles look like.
Biologists also suggest that millipedes were the first animals to breathe air. This idea came from the fossil evidence. Their respiratory system is genuinely incredible, so there’s so much interesting to discover further, dear Louis.
Hey, Mark! Glad you’ve written to us to find out the correct answer. The first thing I need to say, don’t worry if you were a centipede killer before, because killing insects doesn’t mean that you urged the wreath of the gods, as your granny may think. But in the case of centipedes, this wise old woman is right: these insects are harmless and useful.
House centipedes eat ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, and moths that can eat clothes. That is why centipede itself can save your house from pests. It doesn’t cause any harm to a human or his belongings. Centipedes appear in places of high humidity that is why they can inform you about pipe leaks in a bathroom or kitchen. In the article “HOW TO GET RID OF HOUSE CENTIPEDES AND DO YOU REALLY NEED TO DO IT?”, I’ve tried to tell as much about centipedes as household owners need. Saying briefly, listen to your grandma’s advice and do not kill centipedes.