Taking a much-needed break at your home can help you regain your strength and vigor. Getting yourself seated in the most comfortable position feels so good after a long and tiring day at work. Nothing beats that experience getting your back nicely laid on your couch and just gets those much-needed deep breaths to help clear your head.
Sometimes, getting a bit of scratching on your back and your head can get a bit of comfort, but if the frequency intensifies, and it becomes incessantly getting harder every time you scratch, it no longer becomes comfortable but it becomes a bit of an annoying problem. Maybe you are having a bug problem and you know how pesky those things are.
A few bugs might be manageable, but a little too many can become a problem. There are several types of bugs that are quite annoying and can give you problems when left unattended. We can find bugs that look like termites in most homes and we recommend you deal with it in the soonest time possible. When you leave these bugs unchecked, you might face a hard truth that you are no longer facing a bug, but a colony.
Quick facts about termites
How do you know if a bug is a termite? You need to have it inspected, catch one, hold it nice and easy, and check for the following like does it have a pair of antennas? Is it flat and oval-shaped? Does it have an elongated body? Is it shiny, black, somewhat silvery, or brown? If you have all those items checked, you are holding a termite.
Termites might have wings, when you found a termite, chances are it will lead you to termites that are now a colony within your home with several termites serving a queen that lays eggs and would produce several generations of wood-munching termites ready to devour anything that is made of wood in your home.
We grouped termites into winged, soldier, and worker. Workers do not have wings and have shorter antennas and are white or translucent. Soldiers are brown and, like the workers, do not have wings. Soldiers have pincers on their heads. Winged termites are black or brown and are the most visible among the three. When you see a termite, chances are there are termites that are lurking and are just waiting to be discovered.
Natural way of getting rid of bugs at home
- A concoction of vinegar and water can help you get rid of pesky ants at home. On a spray bottle, mix a half of white vinegar and half water. You can spray it on ants since vinegar does not go well with ants’ sense of smell. You may also use by sprinkling a mixture of cayenne pepper, cornmeal or brewed coffee if the powerful scent of vinegar also repels you.
- A mixture of dish soap can also help you get rid of ants, fill a bottle of three quarters of water and add 10-20 drops of natural dish soap. Give it a vigorous shake and spray it on those problem areas.
- If you have a termite infestation, get a wet cardboard put them on areas that you suspect where termites are thriving when you see termites are digging in your wet cardboard, take it outside and burn it. Sunlight can also kill termites, when you suspect termites are under your furniture, get it a good sunlight exposure and the UV lights of the sun can help you take care of your termite problem.
- Sprinkling a few baking sodas can help you get rid of bedbugs naturally.
Bugs that look like termites but are not
Carpenter Ants
Most of the time, Carpenter ants are mistaken for termites. Both insects can co-exist in a colony. Their major difference is that Carpenter ants will bore or excavate on a wood structure and create a tunnel or a network. A termite feeds on wood and chews incessantly on it. Termites do not build a tunnel from wood per se. A tunnel results from their constant feeding of wood and cellulose resulted in having a tunnel.
Carpenter ants and termites do not have wings. Both share the same color and size, both also have the same pair of wings, but the carpenter ant’s wings are longer in front compared to their hind wings. A carpenter ant’s waist is more defined with an elbowed pair of antenna. Carpenter ants are most likely spotted indoors because they are always in search of food. A termite that is found indoors is a bad sign of infestation.
Powder post Beetle
Power post beetle got their name from their ability to bore on wood to the point of pulverizing it into powder. It is actually their larva that does that damage. Adult power post beetle does not result in that much damage. You’ll know that a powder beetle has joined in the fun when you notice spot pinholes in your wood structures.
Power post beetles live only for a year. While they don’t live that long, the larva stage of these insects is quite long and when they emerge into a full-grown adult, the damage that these beetles have caused is already serious. A powder post beetle can grow to 0.25 of an inch it is flat and elongated and is black or reddish-brown. The larva’s color is cream with a distinct brown head.
Powder-post beetles are mostly found in moist wood. They usually thrive in rafters, furniture, stored lumber, joists, and finished wood. They are active during the night and are sometimes mistaken for subterranean termites.
Flying Ant
This pesky insect is one major problem during winter. Winters are a season for breeding for flying ants. Flying ants fly during mating season. During the winter, their colony protects the flying ants. When these ants feel it is already the right humidity, the right temperature, right wind speed, and the right amount of sunlight, they will break from their colony and go on a mating spree.
You can identify flying ants by looking at their pair of wings. They have irregular-shaped wings while termites have the same-sized wings. Their antennas are bent just like any other type of ants. Flying ants have the thinnest body size compared to other types of ants.
Carpenter Bee
Most carpenter bees resemble a bumblebee. Known also as wood bees because they can bore on wood but they do not consume it but it to prepare a place for them to lay their eggs. They lay their eggs on wood but do not create a colony on wood. These bees do not infest, not considered as a structural pest, choose only unfinished and unpainted wood, but they leave wood stains.
Carpenter bees have black and yellow stripe and have shiny abdomens compared to bumblebees’ hairy abdomens. Their metallic reflections in hues of blue, yellow, purple, and green give their unique distinction compared to other types of bees. They are quite large and measures 0.5 of an inch to 1.5 inches. You can see them mostly buzzing over gardens, and in under decks, porch rails, or in your home’s eaves.
Acrobat Ants
When you see ants that can raise their abdomens over their heads and over their thorax, most likely what you have is an acrobat ant. When these ants feel they are under threat or disturbed, they do this move to scare away potential threats. You may not consider them as a threat, but when you do the mistake of disturbing them, they can give a nasty bite.
Acrobat ants are adaptive. They have a shiny brown and black appearance and can settle in high places. They measure at 3.2 millimeters their queen is at 10 millimeters. You can distinguish them because of their heart-shaped abdomen, segmented flat body, and six legs. They are also multi-colored apart from their brown or black color.
They are harmless but could infest your home. They thrive mostly in wires, pipes and can line up on your walls. Their routes are usually located a few hundred feet from their colony, so figuring out where their exact location is can be puzzling. Moist can attract acrobat ants when there is an infestation of acrobat ants. It means that your home has moist and wet structures and parts.
