ABOUT OCCASIONAL INVADERS
Occasional invaders are active year-round and spend most of their time outdoors. But, you'll find them in your home most frequently during the fall season because they are looking for a place to overwinter.
Sometimes these invaders will enter your home in large numbers. One way to persuade them not to look at your home is to eliminate moist harborage sites around the perimeter of your home. Clear away piles of leaves, mulch and overgrown vegetation and fill all gaps in your foundation.
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If you see evidence of these pests, call Axiom..
CRICKET
Their chirps are the sound of late summer and autumn. It's the male crickets who chirp in an attempt to persuade females that that they're healthy and worthy of becoming mates.
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The black crickets we normally see are called field crickets, but there are multitudes of cricket species. Some are even used for food, where they are dried and milled into a flour that packs about 1/2 the protein of beef.
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Crickets like to live outdoors but will move inside if they need food or their environment becomes intolerable.
A cricket infestation can be difficult to deal with, mostly because of the incessant chirping. If you need help, contact Axiom.
EARWIG
What looks like a pincher tail and very long antennae, the brwown to black earwig is something you won't forget if you've ever seen it before.
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Earwigs feed nocturnally on other insects, but they also have a vegetarian diet of fungi, moss and lichen. They also nosh on decaying organic materials inside and out, and really like to find greasy food items that may have been left out in the kitchen of your home.
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Because they like cellulose (think cardboard), you might earwigs in stacks of old papers, boxes and books in a cool basement or garage.
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Earwigs are a nuisance. If you see just one, you can sweep it away, but if you think you have an infestation, call your Axiom professional today.
FIREBRAT
These nocturnal critters like hot, moist areas that are dark and offer an abundant supply of starchy foods and molds.
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Like their cousins, Silverfish, they feed on wallpaper pasts, natural textiles, books and papers. They are fast moving and can travel throughout buildings.
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Because of their preference for hot temperatures, inside you'll find them in boiler rooms and bakeries, around ovens, hot water heaters and pipes.​
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Call now to get your firebrats under control.
SOWBUG or PILLBUG
These creatures are more similar to shrimp and crayfish than to other insects. In fact, they are the only crustaceans that have adapted to living their entire life on land.
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You'll find Sowbugs, or roly-poly bugs as they're also called, in moist outdoor environments, normally. They do, however, enter buildings in great numbers once in a while, creating a nuisance, but not a danger — as they do not infest food, clothing or wood. They also do not bite.
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They feast mainly on decaying organic matter, and sometimes favor eating young plants. They can roll into a tight ball when disturbed.
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Nocturnal by nature, they scavenge over sidewalks, patios and foundations, as well as crawl spaces and damp basements to find food.
SILVERFISH
Silverfish like damp, moderately warm places to live — think basements, laundry rooms and under sinks. They will travel between rooms either on the floor or along plumbing pipes.
Silverfish love to eat diets high in protein, sugar or starch — think cereals, moist wheat flour, and paper that has glue or paste on it (like envelopes or book bindings). They are hardy and can live without food for many months.
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What makes them a threat to humans is that they leave scales and droppings behind, contaminating foods.
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WIngless and silver in color, they have a flat body that appears to be fish-like. They are close cousins to firebrats, which are a dull gray in color.
WEEVIL
There are about 97,000 species of weevils known and they are blamed for crop damage.
Weevils can enter your home through packaged foods and they're usually invisible to the naked eye. Pay close attention to grains and starches like flour, past and cereals. They will contaminate infested food with their skin casings and droppings, possibly rendering food inedible.
Weevils also love fruit and feed on garden plants, making them an outdoor nuisance.
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