Urban Pests
Insect Pest Control
Insects can become a serious problem. They are not only annoying but
can also affect hygiene and health. That’s why we provide professionals to
offer effective and safe solutions.
blattidae
Cockroaches
Coprophagous (eat their own feces) and necrophagous (eat their own carcasses)
They cause food and structural damage, typhoid fever, diarrhea, and asthma.
BLATELLA GERMÁNICA
German cockroach
It measures between 13-16 mm, brown in color with 2 stripes on the pronotum. They can lay 5 egg cases with 40 eggs each, laying one batch every 20 days. They require a lot of water and like starches, though they are omnivores. They are found in narrow places, porous surfaces, cracks, and mark their areas with aggregation pheromones. They prefer warm and humid places, such as the motors of appliances or sink areas.
BLATTA ORIENTALIS
Black cockroach
It can measure 20 to 25 mm, dark shiny color, with atrophied wings. They can lay 8 egg cases with 16-18 eggs. They feed on decomposing organic matter and need water. They can live a long time without eating. It is slow and struggles to climb. They are resistant to low temperatures, found in external, dark, and humid areas. They can be found in trash bins, gardens, or sewer/drain areas.
PERIPLANETA AMERICANA
American cockroach
They can reach up to 50 mm, brown-reddish in color with a yellowish ring around the pronotum. They are capable of short flights, gliding. They can lay 10 egg cases with 16 eggs each. They require plenty of water and are resistant to a lack of food, drinking beer, and are omnivores. They are nocturnal, coexist with the German cockroach, and displace the black cockroach. They are found in dark, warm, and humid places, such as sewers or boiler rooms.
cimex LECTULARIUS
Bed bug
About 4.5 mm in size, reddish-brown, oval-shaped and flattened, without wings. Nymphs are translucent and darken when they molt. They can survive up to 1 year without feeding, but usually last 6-9 months. Each female lays 5 eggs per day. They are active after sunset until about an hour before dawn and must feed once in each nymph stage. They are attracted to heat and the CO2 we exhale. They feed every 5-10 days and inject an anticoagulant and anesthetic substance to prevent the host from detecting their presence. Very common in hotels, furniture, used clothing, and their favorite places are mattress edges, box springs, nearby furniture, carpets, baseboards, interior walls, outlets, holes in wood, behind pictures, etc.
FORMICIDAE
Ants
They can damage crops and invade buildings.
lasius niger
Common ant
With a length of 3-5 mm, dark brown or black, without a stinger. The queen has a lifespan of 12 years, and the workers live 2 months. At the end of summer, they usually perform a nuptial flight (winged ants). They are omnivores and feed on honeydew produced by aphids on plants. They are usually found in the ground under rocks or tiles in gardens, in building insulation layers, or decaying wood. They contaminate food.
LINEPITHEMA HUMILE
Argentine ant
They are small, 2-3 mm, caramel-colored, they bite but do not sting. The queen lives up to 5 years, and workers live 4 to 12 months. They perform a nuptial flight within the nest and usually invade areas far from it. There can be several queens in the same nest. They are omnivores and feed on aphid honeydew from plants, as well as waste or residual dirt. They are very aggressive and invasive, creating supercolonies. They are found in temperate and humid environments. Nests are in outdoor, shallow spaces in gardens, house perimeters, walls, pipes, invading when they need water or food. They contaminate food and carry many microorganisms.
MONOMORIUM PHARAONIS
Pharaoh ant
Yellowish-red in color with a dark tip on the abdomen and stinger, measuring 1.5-3 mm. The queen can live up to 10 months, and workers live 10 weeks. The nuptial flight occurs inside the nest. There can be several queens in the same nest. Nests can split. They are omnivores, though they prefer sweets, honey, cakes, meats, fats, larvae, dead insects, and carrion. They are found in broad-leafed grasses in search of food. They prefer warm environments, nesting in inaccessible areas, stores, food cabinets, bars, but they are not common outdoors. They contaminate food and spread bacteria, potentially transmitting infectious diseases, viruses, and fungi.
CTENOCEPHALIDES FELIS
Cat flea
Found in areas where dogs and cats coexist with people. Adults measure up to 3.5 mm. It is important to check the beds and resting areas of their hosts.
muscidae
Flies
muscidae
Common fly
They are omnivores, but the larvae feed on decomposing matter. In one batch, they can lay 150 eggs, up to 2,000 in their lifetime, hibernating the pupae during winter. They are strongly associated with humans. They often shelter in animal feces, garbage, contaminated soil, etc. They contaminate food and can cause dysentery, diarrhea, and typhoid fever.
DROSOPHILIDAE
Vinegar fly
Black abdomen with red compound eyes. They feed on foods with high acetic content. Measuring 3-4 mm. They generally reproduce in decomposing organic matter of animal and plant origin. They cannot feed on solids, transforming them into liquids through the regurgitation of enzymes. They feed on liquids, blood, and feces. Adults live 15-25 days.
CALLIPHORIDAE
Metallic fly
Metallic colors, large and striking. They are typically found in trash bins and excrement. The larvae feed on corpses.
SARCOPHAGIDAE
Meat maggots
Similar to the common fly, but with a black and gray checkered pattern on the abdomen. Their larvae develop in carrion and manure, in the living tissues of humans and other animals.
KALOTERMES FLAVICOLLIS
Wood termites
Workers and soldiers can measure up to 15 mm and have a lifespan of one year, while queens can live for several years. The nuptial flight can last for several months. A colony can last over 10 years. They build galleries in hard and soft woods. They can survive droughts.
RETICULITERMES SPP
Subterranean termites
Measuring 4-6 mm, they are easily confused with worms. With their nuptial flight in the fall, a colony can last up to 25 years. They feed on water and cellulose and are necrophagous in case of protein scarcity. They can pass through concrete, their nests can reach up to 1 m deep, and they build galleries. They damage infrastructures.
CULICIDAE
Mosquitoes
AEDES ALBOPICTUS
Tiger mosquito
It can measure up to 8 mm, with a central stripe on the thorax extending to the head. Black abdomen with white spots and black and white striped legs. Its ideal temperature is 25º C. They lay eggs in clean water and are active from May to November. The eggs survive winter. Females feed on blood to obtain proteins for their eggs. They are most active at dawn and dusk and tend to bite on the legs, moving within a 500 m radius from their breeding site. They transmit viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, etc.
ANOPHELES SPP
Anopheles mosquito
Dark brown or black, it can measure 6 mm. An adult can live up to 2 weeks. Females bite when they are fertilized. They are more active at dawn and dusk. They can fly up to 3 km in search of a host. They are commonly found in swampy areas, marshes, rice fields, drains, tree holes, etc. They transmit diseases such as malaria.
culex pipiens
Common mosquito
They measure up to 8 mm, and an adult lives on average for one week. They lay eggs in dirty, shaded water. Females bite when fertilized. They are nocturnal, and females can travel kilometers to feed on mammals. They typically rest in hot areas near shallow waters or in dark places inside houses and surroundings. They can transmit Japanese encephalitis, West Nile fever, etc.
POLISTES GALLICUS
Common wasp
Up to 20 mm in length. Their colonies can reach 5,000 members. If the temperatures do not drop, the nests can remain. They are scavengers and predators, but also feed on flower nectar and honey from bees or sugary foods. At the end of summer, they are more aggressive because they need to find food to survive the winter. They usually nest in tree cavities and constructions, sometimes underground. Their nests are brown.
Vespula germanica
German wasp
They can measure up to 20 mm. They can create up to 14 nests connected by a plant fiber, with up to 8,000 workers. They are scavengers and predators, although they also feed on flower nectar and honey from bees or sugary foods. They are opportunistic predators and scavengers. At the end of summer, they are more aggressive because they need to find food to survive the winter. They nest in tree cavities and constructions, sometimes underground. Their nests are brown.
