Questions tagged [pest-control]
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265
questions
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1answer
33 views
Should I add any additives when mixing Bifen IT
Following the suggestion here, I did a little searching and found two options for bug spray: an off the shelf product or DIY. In terms of per ounce active ingredients, the off the shelf solution is ...
2
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1answer
42 views
Small bugs coming inside from closed windows at night; spray solutions?
Every summer at night when we have curtains up and turn on the indoor lights, a large number of small insects (moths, small beetles, spiders, other slim thin-legged insects, etc.) will manage to find ...
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1answer
61 views
How can I prevent bugs from entering my apartment through air vents?
A massive cicada just crawled through one of the air vents in my apartment. I vacuumed it up and then taped Glad ClingWrap over the vent as shown below. The tape is painter's tape.
I covered the ...
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2answers
68 views
How do I make a spider farm in my kitchen to eat flies in the house? [closed]
I am planning on making an area set aside in the kitchen to breed and grow spiders to kill flies in the kitchen. This is completely theoretical right now, just something I am pondering, so I don't ...
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1answer
34 views
How to examine if there is termite damage in a ceiling or floor using a boroscope
Just treated for termites as they were coming up through the floorboards by the back door, and I wanted to check the existing wood since I've noticed some sagging floorboards.
I can cut into the ...
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0answers
14 views
Mixing repellant with non-repellant termiticide - does that actually work?
So I had an exterminator that wanted to mix Demon Max and Termidor, which seems like a repellent and non-repellent termiticide.
Is that counter-productive since the repellent will just chase termites ...
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0answers
29 views
Liquid or bait traps for termites in a brick rowhouse surrounded by concrete
Just found some termites in floorboards at my back door into the yard, along with a swarm at the threshold... and I am looking to do some Termite control. I have a brick rowhouse with concrete pavers ...
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2answers
73 views
Shouldn't a Kitchen be sealed off from cockroaches? Would a new Kitchen eliminate the problem?
I have cockroaches problem in Kitchen in my apartment and the only opening to drainage there is obviously the kitchen sink but it doesn't look like they are coming from there (they are found on ...
2
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2answers
109 views
Expanding foam in anchor bolt area?
I have a detached mother-in-law suite being finished. The exterior walls have three 2x6s stacked. I believe the bottom is the sill plate. The anchor bolts go through there. Then there is a second ...
1
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1answer
77 views
Killing Cockroaches Safely
I am renting an Airbnb in South America. To kill cockroaches, the owner put a fine layer of white powder (from internet searches, I believe this is either borax or diatomaceous earth) on the floor ...
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0answers
47 views
Is this a termite?
There's a bunch of these critters on my window sill. There doesn't appear to be damage from what I can tell, but I don't know if it's termites. They are super tiny so I had to zoom in with my phone ...
1
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1answer
47 views
Are these termite droppings (aka frass)?
Are these termite droppings. If so, can I do some sort of localized treatment?
This house was tented in the past 4 years. This is the only place I’ve seen any kind of pest.
3
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2answers
178 views
What is this animal in my loft?
I have some animals in my loft, I can hear them scratching around up there. A month ago it was once a day in the night-time, but now I can hear the noise a few times a day and a few times in the ...
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0answers
59 views
Replace vent cover or add mesh screening
Recently we've had some mouse activity so we're on a mission to find and seal up any possible entrances. Looking at this kitchen vent which is suspiciously located near where the activity is happening ...
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0answers
18 views
Mouse proofing ground-level siding
This is our second winter in our house and have been noticing mice ever since it started getting cold. I've been examining the exterior of the house trying to locate intrusion points which I've been ...
2
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2answers
92 views
Catching/Stopping the Mice from getting into house
I have a mouse hole and the mice that it brought. Traps outside caught two so far, but I still hear mouse activity in the room inside this wall.
I am trying to understand the next steps.
(A) wait X ...
2
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1answer
119 views
What type of insect is this in my pantry?
Found hundreds of these in the pantry. What is this?
More pictures here. They are really small.
3
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3answers
103 views
Eliminating moth flies (and larvea) of unknown origin found mostly in kitchen
I've been battling some relatively slow-moving flying pests and their larvae. Based on my Internet research I'm 90% certain that these are "moth flies".
They are found mostly on the ceiling ...
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0answers
62 views
How do I get rid of a Crazy Ant Infestation in my yard?
For the past two months, I've noticed stark increases in ants along my driveway. As of yesterday, it's gotten bad to the point where I can't travel outside my home without having a few crawl up my leg....
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0answers
43 views
How to tackle this carpenter ant ingress point?
Since moving into a new house about 6 weeks ago, we've occasionally seen small black ants indoors. We see about 5 a week on average. They don't seem to be doing anything specific indoors, i.e. they're ...
1
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1answer
77 views
What is this pest?
I am seeing this pest in my room and the bathroom:
The interesting point is that there are TWO types of these. The black ones (as shown above), and the white ones with an exactly similar shape, but ...
0
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2answers
504 views
I think there might be a wasp's nest in my garage or in its walls, how can I tell?
I think there might be a wasp's nest in my family's garage or in its walls. However, I don't know for sure. Here are the facts;
For the past three days in a row (and a few others over the past two ...
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1answer
67 views
Are these holes in my garage's wall indicative of flushing out carpenter ants?
I just bought a home and discovered a substantial amount of wood rot in the garage. I had to tear away a lot of drywall to see it, and when I did, I found obvious evidence of carpenter ants. However, ...
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2answers
377 views
How can I bug proof walls before they are sealed up?
How can I make a wall bug proof or resistant? I know about in wall pest control tubes but I am looking for other solutions.
I fixed a wall damaged by water. I replaced the wood and drywall and I ...
0
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1answer
103 views
What's the right way to mix and use boric acid spray for fleas?
My fleas were begging for it, so I let them have it.. sort of
After an hour of trying to figure out why my sprayer won't spray properly I have realized boric acid is not soluble in water. Or is it ?
...
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1answer
277 views
Adding rat-slab to existing crawl-space
Unfortunately I have a rather persistent rat problem in my crawlspace and I still haven't been able to resolve it.
I'm considering if it would be possible to pour a thin layer of concrete to stop ...
0
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1answer
90 views
Economical jail for not allowing centipedes [closed]
We are facing a problem with centipedes in our home.
I'm killing at least one centipede daily. I'm guessing that centipedes are coming through our bathroom Jalis.
Which (economical) Jali is ...
2
votes
2answers
149 views
What's the name of this wood-eating animal and how to purge it?
I have had issues with an insect, which looks like a beetle, in a rented house in a humid mediterranean climate. I noticed they had infested a wooden chair from hearing a faint rattling sound in the ...
0
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2answers
49 views
What is the most effective method for getting rid of carpet moths?
I vacuum regularly, I put out and replace pheromone sticky strips, I use an insect fogger wherever I see part of the carpet that has been eaten, I have a hand held battery powered vacuum that I use to ...
0
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1answer
73 views
Fly problem in my house
Not sure if this belongs here but it’s the closest I can find.
I discovered some flies in my food waste bin that our local authorities make us have and now I can’t stop seeing them, I find loads. I ...
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vote
3answers
104 views
What should I do about a small fly infestation in my kitchen?
So, a few weeks ago, I had a medical emergency that got me "locked up" in a hospital for a few weeks. Today, I came home, and they were dozens and dozens of little flies in my kitchen. The thing is, ...
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2answers
50 views
Countermeasure for Drain Flys
A Florida home was saturated with drain flys. What is the most effective countermeasure, besides keeping drains filled with water?
0
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1answer
114 views
Will cockroach poison traps harm geckos?
I live in a Hong Kong village house and here it's common to have Chinese geckos living in the house. They've been pretty unobtrusive so far and they do eat mosquitoes so I definitely wouldn't want to ...
0
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1answer
75 views
Fly in my house (Santa Clara County, California)
Not exactly a DIY question. But I have recently noticed a lot of flies in my house. They look like mostly horse flies (completely black in color).
I have used electric impulse swing racquet to kill ...
0
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3answers
109 views
Does Rosemary repel mosquitoes from home? [closed]
Setting out the mosquito repellent plants in your home is the best option to keep mosquitos away. Plants not only avoid mosquitoes away but also provide you fresh air to breathe.
0
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2answers
325 views
is this due to termites? any idea what's causing the wood to turn to sawdust?
Pics below.
I had this gouge on some wood paneling. The area inside the gouge seemed to be crumbling, and there was always a pool of sawdust below it. I covered it up with some caulk (brown caulk). ...
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1answer
124 views
How to keep lizards away from my patio?
I live in San Diego and weather here is pretty accommodating to reptiles like lizards. Now, I have a house which has a patio facing bushes and I think lizards are making their way in through these ...
2
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2answers
167 views
What are these small flies in my apartment?
I've been having a problem with flies in my apartment that I can't get rid of. They look like fruit flies from, and behave like them too. They are attracted to food and definitely are too small and ...
0
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0answers
145 views
Cockroaches coming from floor drain in bathroom, way to prevent it?
Basically I have Oriental cockroaches coming from the bathroom floor drain. Now the floor drain is not really in use, as in there hasn't been water going in there as there is only a sink that works in ...
0
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1answer
875 views
How to prevent cockroaches climbing onto something?
Not much info I could find on what surfaces do cockroaches are unable to climb - nor I have read much into their precise methods of how do they climb stuff, however on this website: https://www....
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0answers
37 views
How to exorcise squirrels?
We have (at least) one squirrel abiding under the roof of the garage, and we'd like to get rid of it (them) before it gets really cold.
I installed a sound-generating "anti-pest" device in there two ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What material should I use to seal door moldings, small holes between walls and floors to prevent roaches?
To clear it up, I am mostly using sealing/caulking interchangeably in this text.
Some days ago I started seeing cockroaches in one room that is also connected to another bathroom. I caught 4 over an ...
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8answers
262 views
How to get rid of fleas in house without animals nor carpets?
tl; dr
I started having problems with fleas last week. I don't have and never had pets and no one in my close circle has reported problems, so I am puzzled about the problem. Therefore, this post is ...
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2answers
3k views
Is it a hazard to use spray foam around baseboard heater pipe?
I probably should have asked this before doing it, but I will now anyways.
I have noticed mice coming in and out of the (fairly large) hole where the baseboard heater pipes are. I removed the casing ...
0
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2answers
1k views
How to fix gap between carpet and wall to prevent rodent?
Our condo is located in a forest/mountain area and we have suffered some rodent issues lately. We have two stories, and bedrooms are located downstairs. As I sleep at night, I often hear sound of ...
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3answers
624 views
Can you use aluminum foil around gap at floor of hot water tank then seal?
Fairly big gap at floor around pipes of hot water tank. For mice prevention I read some where you could fill gap with aluminum foil then seal. Is this correct. If so what kind of sealant should be ...
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1answer
237 views
Tiny White Insects Under Peeling Stucco
I'm having trouble identifying some insects I came across crawling around my foundation outdoors. This is in southwest Ontario.
On two sides of my house the foundation concrete is covered with a ...
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4answers
204 views
Ant proofing a wall
For some reason yellow meadow ants have developed a fascination with a certain interior wall in our house. The usual gels, powders and sprays are having little effect. They do slow down for a while ...
0
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1answer
59 views
Sealing gaps to prevent pest ingress
I have a shed next to a house we bought last year. The back of the shed serves as a windbreak and decorative back to a decking area but they didnt make a very good job of fixing the decorative lumber ...
2
votes
2answers
122 views
What are these black bugs and how do I get rid of them?
These bugs keep appearing from under my baseboard. The ones laying out are never moving but when I vacuumed them up, I sucked whatever would come out from under the baseboard which made some lives ...
