Are you dealing with a bug infestation in your Vermont home but can’t identify it? You’ve come to the right place for answers. Vermont has enough house insects to leave you concerned, and they’re not weather-restricted.
Vermont teems with indoor and outdoor pests, including rodents, critters, bees, and flies. However, the real menace inside the house is the cockroach.
Although these pests have their uses, they’re mainly destructive to the home. So, we’ll discuss everything about identifying them, knowing when there’s an infestation, getting your home to become pest-free and preventive measures against future infestations.
We’ll start with identifying the common bugs to find in Vermont. What are Normal Bugs to Find in a House in Vermont?
- Bedbugs
- Bees
- Black Flies
- Blacklegged Ticks
- Cockroaches
- Critters
- Hornets
- Houseflies
- Mosquitoes
- Wasps
- Termites
House Bugs You’ll Find in Vermont and How to Get Rid of Them
Spring/Summer in Vermont is the peak season for critters because they love the heat and humidity. You’ll find bed bugs inside, while insects like hornets, bees, mosquitoes, and termites live outdoors.
Rodents like mice and rats, cockroaches, and houseflies are pantry pests attracted to perishable and non-perishable food while Houseflies and fruit flies thrive in the kitchen and outdoor patios.
However, the most common Bugs in Vermont include Cockroaches, Black Flies, Blacklegged Ticks, Wasps, Bees, Bedbugs, and Hornets. Check out these breakdowns including short tips on getting rid of them.
1. Cockroaches
There are many types of cockroaches worldwide, but the most common ones in Vermont, according to Bird Watching HQ, include American, German, and Oriental Cockroaches.
You’ll typically find cockroaches at night because they mostly stay hidden in dark corners. But if you see them in the daylight and under lighting, here’s how to differentiate each type.
The American Cockroach is the biggest and fastest in the city, thriving in damp spaces. They eat fermented food, leather, hair, and dead animals.
German Cockroaches with tan bodies and yellow bellies hide in wall cracks and stoves, and refrigerator engines.
Finally, the Oriental cockroach, which is small and dark brown, lives in dirty trash cans and grasses.
- How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Clean out your trash and throw away bad food. Check your bathrooms, kitchens, and pantries for German cockroaches because they live on fatty food, sugar, meat, and starch but will also eat toothpaste and soap.
Finally, Oriental cockroaches eat starch, dead or decaying plants, animal matter, and human scraps that make them stink. They thrive in dirtiness, so it’s time to clean up if you find them in your house.
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2. Wasps
Vermont houses two types of Wasps, flying and grounded, which means residents are at risk from both species. You’ll find these bugs in the Spring/Summer season and can identify them by their elongated abdomens, thin, streamlined wings, and big heads.
The Yellowjackets with yellow and black stripes are ground nesters, while Paper Wasps are fliers.
- Getting Rid of Wasps
Spray soap and water mixture on live wasps but use wasp traps and spray nests to capture elusive ones. If it’s an infestation, please hire a professional.
3. Blacklegged Ticks
The blacklegged tick is the most dangerous species of tick found in Vermont. They’re tiny disease-carrying bugs that increase in the Summer and Fall. Their bites can give you Lyme Disease.
They need human hosts for their survival during the Winter, so watch out for them pre-Winter. You’ll find blacklegged ticks in tall grasses, bushes, and wooded areas.
- How to Get Rid of Blacklegged Ticks
They stay close to the ground, so cut your grass and trim your tree branches. You may need chemicals to kill the ticks at the source.
4. Bees & Hornets
The yellow, orange, and black American Bumblebee is Vermont’s most common and non-harmful bug. A similar design on the city’s emblem will show its importance as part of Vermont’s biodiversity.
But its harmlessness only lasts as long as you avoid the bee’s nest or hive. It doesn’t produce as much honey as the Honeybee, but it makes enough for personal consumption.
Other dangerous bees and hornets in Vermont include Bald-faced Hornet, Carpenter Bee, and Cicada Killer Wasp.
- Getting Rid of Bees and Hornets
Use a nest spray, or bee trap, or plant a natural repellent outside your home. Also, vinegar is a good homemade solution or chemical powder.
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5. Bed Bugs
Bedbugs are tiny bloodsucking pests that latch onto surfaces. You’ll find them on mattresses, wallpapers, couches, carpets, draperies, and bedding.
- Getting rid of Bedbugs
Wash your beddings, draperies, and rugs with warm water and sundry them. Check your mattress labels and furniture seams for tears to find their source.
You’ll need an exterminator for a large group of bedbugs.
6. Black Flies & Mosquitoes
Black flies don’t carry diseases but bite humans for blood to survive. You’ll typically find them in the summer when the weather is cloudy and humid.
Meanwhile, mosquitoes spread diseases, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus. The females bite humans for blood to feed their eggs, and they thrive in dirty water.
- Getting rid of Black Flies and Mosquitoes
Use bug spray and close all windows and doors to ensure the smell kills the pests. Leave the house temporarily while the odor is in action for your well-being.
Wear light clothing to repel the black flies, use screens in your windows and doors, and avoid stagnant water. Also, dry water puddles quickly so the mosquitoes and black flies don’t breed further.
Once you have a pest infestation, it’s time to call in the professionals. Hire an exterminator with an unmatched line of products and experience with pest control. The internet provides full info on top exterminators including their contacts.
How Do You Know If You Have a Bug Infestation?
Having interior and exterior bugs is expected because they contribute to the environment. But it becomes a problem when they threaten your health and welfare. You can tackle these pests only if you identify the situation. Of course, there are more than three signs of pest and bug infestation, but here’s a list of the most common ones.
1. Getting Bitten
When you get questionable bite marks there’s a problem. It’s one of the most signs of a bug infestation and often leads to allergic reactions. You’ll typically notice them after naps or overnight sleeps.
Bedbugs are the number one suspects for indoor bites because they live in mattresses, sofas, carpets, rugs, curtains, bedding, and other interior fabrics. They’re hard to detect because of their tiny size, but you can eliminate them.
2. Finding Droppings
Bed Bugs leave reddish stains when you smash them, lay yellow eggs, and poop tiny black droppings on your furniture. Meanwhile, cockroaches leave reddish-brown droppings along the walls and cabinets.
3. Noticing Bad Odors
Sometimes indoor bugs hide from sight, but you can smell their lousy odor around the house. Nuisance pests in this category include mice, rats, dead bugs, live bedbugs, cockroaches, and other rodents.
If you find a dead rodent after tracing a bad smell, there’s undoubtedly a tribe of live rodents living in your house. They often spread their nasty smell by tracking their droppings around the house.
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How to Prevent Bug Infestation?
It’s better to be safe than sorry, so prevent bug infestation by adopting hygienic and smart practices in your home.
Here are some tips to help you:
- Keep your Trash Clean: It seems contrary to say you should keep your trash clean but hear us out. Use a plastic bag in your trash can for easy disposal daily. Separate your food leftovers from papers, cans, and other recyclable materials. Empty the trash every night to keep rodents and cockroaches from having food to eat inside your house.
- Keep Your House Dry: Bugs love moist spaces, so always mop wet floors and dry your carpets.
- Trim your Exterior Bushes: Wasps and Ticks often hide in bushes, so keeping your shrubs short is best. Trim them periodically and ensure their branches don’t extend to your windows.
- Cover all Holes: Don’t allow rodents and bugs to create a living space in your home. Patch all torn furniture fabrics, plaster every crack in your walls, and replace chipped wood.
- Invest in Night Light: Get dim lighting for your pantries and exteriors so it’s never completely dark at night. That’ll discourage cockroaches from hiding and living in those corners while you sleep.
Conclusion
Now you know that having bugs in your house is normal until they create a home within your space and become a problem. If you detect an infestation, contact a professional to help you fumigate and eliminate the pests.
Even though there’s a solution, remember that it’s better to avoid the problem than spend money on getting rid of it.