User Posts: Nicholas Martin

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 ...

Discover the fascinating world of cockroaches, home to thousands of unique species. Among them, the German cockroach reigns supreme as the most prevalent. But, ...

My name is Nicholas Martin, and I am an entomologist. My vast experience in pest control allows me to provide helpful advice on how to get rid of spiders in ...

I'm Nicholas Martin, and I have conflicting feelings about insects. Although I love them, I also hate them. A Brave Little Tailor is my favorite fairytale, but ...

Greetings, guys, and welcome back to my pest control blog. As we all know pesky insects are a real problem, especially in the summertime. They can bite you ...

Even the smallest representative of the arthropods causes disgust and a desire to get rid of it. There are a lot of different insects who can colonize our ...

Greetings, guys, my name is Nicholas and welcome to my pest control blog. Today I want to talk about mice, their habits, and what is more important, about the ...

Ants are forest keepers, but they’re definitely not friends for humans at their residences. Therefore, if you still think that their presence in your house or ...

Ants are definitely worth our attention. These insects are intelligent, they communicate using pheromones, and the population of their colonies is divided into ...

If you’re intending to prevent ants from attacking your home, get rid of anything that would tempt them to pay a visit in the first place. Seal and put away ...

When foraging for food and water, cockroaches contaminate food, surfaces, utensils as they go. They can be vectors of disease, being in contact with numerous ...

The most unpleasant neighbors for a human being are definitely cockroaches. I bet many of you have already spent time on fruitless attempts to get rid of these ...

Fresh Cab rodent repellent reviews say different things about its efficiency, the duration of the effect it has on rodents, its way of repelling mice being ...

Have you ever seen a house centipede? Maybe you’ve found a hideous insect with long legs on the wall of your house and were horrified? Then your initial ...

The word “ant” makes us think about a hard worker, carrying supplies to its anthill. Even when you see such a small insect in your sugar bowl in the kitchen, ...

Have you ever noticed that it is hard to breathe at home? Do you often sneeze or have a stuffy nose? Dry cough is irritating your throat? But it does not seem ...

Do you think that a small flea found on your beloved pet will do no harm? Or you fancy that fleas live on stray animals only? This tiny creature can ruin ...

Once the weather starts to warm up in spring and the first snow begins to thaw, there appear the flies — one of the most annoying insects of all. And the ...

What do you know about the termites? Perhaps you’ve heard that in Africa these insects build termite mounds, resembling entire cities. Have you ever thought ...

Browsing All Comments By: Nicholas Martin
  1. Unfortunately, yes. The colony has secondary reproductives that will take its place.

  2. Yes, painted wood definitely doesn’t attract carpenter bees (not bumblebees) as much bare or even stained wood.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Yes, it will keep working as long as there’s active ingredient inside

  10. Hi David! What size are these flies (I assume more like gnats)? Are there any trash cans or flowers nearby besides your dogs?

  11. Thanks for your story Sue! Yeah, Terro is kind of deadly bourbon for ants 🙂

  12. It’s not hard if you use correct methods. Though, keeping your kitchen clean surely is a must.

  13. Check out my recent article on how to get rid of german roaches.

  14. 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.

  15. Yeah, you can use it too.

    Thanks, PeaceGirl!

  16. Thank you for your story, Crystal :)!
    It’s nice to read that somebody can have fun with centipedes 😀

  17. 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

  18. You’re welcome

  19. 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.

  20. Best comment ever 🙂

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

  23. 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.

  24. Hello, dear reader of PestControlHacks. The answer is yes, which means that house centipedes help getting rid of various pests including ants.

  25. 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.

  26. 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.

  27. 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.

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

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