Occasional Invader

Posted : admin On 3/24/2022

Occasional invaders are pests that find their way into your home once in a while. They are typically looking for food, warmth, or simply passing through. Popular hang outs for occasional invaders are under sinks, cupboards, crawl spaces, basements, showers, and tubs. Occasional invaders tend to live in similar outdoor environments close to our homes. The damp soil around the foundation of our homes and in garden areas is where many of these pests reside. The ground under mulch, trash cans, compost bins, rocks, shrubs, or landscape ties are often home to these pests.

What Are Occasional Invaders?

As a homeowner, you’re likely going to encounter an occasional invader. These pests will enter your home every so often to look for food or warmth. In other cases, they’re passing through on their adventure to reach the other side of your property. Occasional invaders will typically be found in your crawlspace, basement, bathtub, shower, or cupboard. Most occasional invaders are not dangerous and will not spread diseases. Plus, most will not cause damage to your home. Some of the pests that fit into the occasional invader category can be found below.

Silverfish

What Causes Occasional Invaders?

It is difficult to know why the occasional invader has entered your home. The pest might’ve entered through a crack when attempting to find food in your home. Alternatively, the occasional invader might be searching for water or shelter.

Do Occasional Invaders Pose Risks?

Numerous pests fit into the category of occasional invaders. If you’re worried about occasional invaders making you sick or damaging your property, you shouldn’t be. These pests are usually not dangerous or destructive. Even if they sneak into your home, they shouldn’t reproduce. However, they will be a nuisance. You cannot delay getting rid of these pests.

How Do I Deal With Occasional Invaders?

Ultimately, the best way to deal with occasional invaders is to stop them from entering your home. Once they’ve found a way into your home, they’ll prove to be a nuisance. The best way to eliminate them is by using a vacuum cleaner. Vacuum them up using your appliance. Once you’ve done that, you should empty the vacuum’s contents in a plastic bag and seal it. Then, you can throw the bag in the garbage. Depending on the severity of the problem, you may agree that it is too much to handle. Don’t worry because we’re here to help. Contact our local office so we can begin helping you immediately.

How Soon Can You Start?

Contact our office to schedule an appointment immediately. After that, it will take us 24 to 48 hours to respond.

Are Your Treatments Safe?

Our team of exterminators will do everything in our power to protect you and your loved ones. We use safe EPA-registered products to protect your loved ones and pets. All of these products have been checked and approved by the EPA. They’ll be administered by our high-qualified exterminators so you can rest assured knowing you’ll be protected at all times.

How Do I Prevent Occasional Invaders From Entering My Home?

Are you worried about occasional invaders entering your home? If so, you should take steps to reduce the likelihood that this is going to happen. Be sure to follow the advice below to limit the risks.

Keep all kitchen shelves, cupboards, and counter clean.
Store all of your food products in resealable, airtight containers.
Your garbage areas should be kept clean.
Seal any cracks and gaps near your windows and doors.
Deal with water leaks to reduce moisture.
Make sure your home is well ventilated and dry. If you have mold and mildew, you’re likely dealing with a humidity problem.
Check all packages and potted plants before bringing them into your home.

If you have any other pest control issues please check out other services.

Occasional invaders typically are more of a nuisance than a threat to food safety to commercial facilities but don’t think they can’t cause a headache or two.

Even though instances are rare, occasional invaders can contaminate food products if they gain access to food storage areas and land on unprocessed seeds, grains or flour.

Third-party auditors and inspectors also do not differentiate between a boxelder bug and German cockroach – if a pest is found inside a food processing or distribution it can lead to points being deducted or even a failed audit.

The extreme weather the Western U.S. has experienced this winter – heavy snow and rain – is delaying the arrival of many occasional invaders but appearances can be deceiving.

Most occasional invaders are overwintering pests meaning they can already be inside your facility – likely nesting in drop ceilings, according to Ashley Roden, training specialist with Sprague.

“When clients see cluster flies emerge inside an office or break room on one of the first warm spring days they assume they are coming in from the outside but in fact they are seeing them as they try to leave the building,” says Roden.

If your facility has drop ceilings they should be inspected at least once a year for the presence of occasional invaders and other unwanted pests.

What occasional invaders are poised to be a nuisance this spring? Roden says the brown marmorated stink bug, Asian lady beetle and boxelder bug are likely to be found this spring trying in and around commercial facilities.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

They can be significant nuisance pests, especially in areas where agriculture production is prevalent, and are a threat to crops including fruit, grapes and tree nuts. An invasive species to most of the regions Sprague services, stink bugs will collect on the sunny side of structures in large numbers and their presence will disturb employees and visitors alike.

Asian Lady Beetle

Another invasive pest, the Asian Lady Beetle is attracted to multi-color structures and has been found often near healthcare facilities and pharmaceutical plants. They will gather on the outside of a building and attempt to gain access, and larger populations will emit an unpleasant odor. Some research indicates they leave a pheromone behind that could explain why they revisit structures annually and their small size makes identifying access points difficult.

Boxelder Bug

Found across Sprague’s operating area – except the Puget Sound and western Oregon – these pests are native to the Western U.S. and will overwinter inside structures. Clients will likely see them as they attempt to go back outdoors in the spring and hiding on the sides of buildings.

Prevention is the Key to Success

To keep occasional invaders on the outside looking in this spring (and all year around) facility and property managers need to focus their efforts on exclusion practices.

Facilities located near agriculture production areas or bodies of water (i.e. streams, rivers, retention ponds, etc.) are more susceptible to occasional invaders since pests, like stink and boxelder bugs, are major threats to agriculture crops.