Who’s Responsible For Pest Control? (Mooresville Exterminators)

Pests

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, ants, termites, mice, rats, bed bugs, poisonous spiders, moths, weevils, and silverfish are just a few of the common household pests we all encounter. You might see mosquitoes buzzing around, looking for its next blood meal; ants marching towards your lunch; mice scurrying around playing with fellow mice, or busy termites munching on your wood structure.

DIY control measures can only take you somewhere, and may not be the perfect solution in getting rid of these unwanted visitors. Thus, a pest control professional must be called in.

If you are living in an apartment, who is responsible for pest control then? Landlord? Tenant?

This is not necessarily a chicken and egg question, but a matter of looking back at how the pest problem started. While the primary responsibility will eventually fall on the landlord, there are some responsibilities that the tenant should carry, mainly about prevention.

DIY Pest Control

This may sound so old, but prevention will always be better than the cure. Each type of pests have their behaviors, diet, season, and habitat, so there is, therefore, no one-size-fits-all solution for all of them.

Let us take a look at each of these pests, their characteristics, behaviors, and diet. We will just limit this section to the more common and damaging ones. Here they are.

Mosquitoes

These small, blood-sucking insects are reputed to be the most dangerous creatures on earth. This is the type of insect you have to avoid at all costs. Mosquitoes transmit several deadly diseases, that is why the millions of deaths around the world annually are attributed to them. It has been said that mosquitoes have killed more human beings than all of the wars in history combined.

The diseases that they transmit include dengue fever, malaria, West Nile fever, encephalitis, and elephantiasis. Only the female mosquitoes suck blood since they are the only ones who have the necessary mouthparts to draw blood. Their mouths have two tubes; one is to inject an enzyme to prevent blood clotting, and the other is to draw blood. Females need the blood, not for their nourishment, but to help in producing offspring. Both males and females feed on nectar. Mosquitoes like to breed in standing water.

To prevent mosquitoes from biting you and your family, make sure to remove all items that can carry standing water for a long time. Items like old cans, old tires, water containers, old gutters, and abandoned birdbaths. When going outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Plus, use insect repellent on your skin, one with the active ingredient DEET for added protection.

Mosquitoes somehow find themselves in the bedroom. Before you sleep, turn on the electric fan. Mosquitoes are very lightweight and are clumsy fliers, so an electric fan can disrupt their flight pattern and keep them disoriented. 

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are notorious for being the filthiest creatures on earth. They like to live in extremely dirty areas like garbage bins and sewers. They eat anything, including fresh and rotten food, feces, garbage, decomposing bodies of dead animals, and even their kind. Due to their filthy habits, lots of bacteria and viruses are attached to them, especially on their legs. This makes them the ultimate disease vectors. They transmit some of the nastiest diseases, like cholera, salmonella, and typhoid fever.

You may have noticed that roaches are hard to kill. They can survive for one month without food and one week without water.  They can live for a week with their head cut off. They manage to breathe through the tiny holes in their body segments and die only because they have no way of drinking water. This just goes to show how hardy they are, that is why their species has been so successful. Roaches have also developed resistance to some of the pesticides that were once very effective in combating them.

To get rid of roaches, tenants should store their food inside sealed containers.  Place a lid on your trash cans, and regularly dispose of your garbage. Do not leave unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink overnight. These are things that your landlord has no control over.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are small insects, about the size of an apple seed, that feeds on the blood of humans and animals. They are nocturnal insects. To feed, they pierce the skin of humans for them to draw blood.

Bed bug bites are extremely itchy and unsightly. They cause extreme discomfort. No less than three U.S. government agencies have identified bed bugs as high health risks. These are the Center for Disease Control, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency. People with bed bug infestation problems report cases of stress, anxiety, insomnia, social isolation, and even depression.

Travel is the one biggest reason why bed bugs have spread in the United States. Once considered extinct here in the 1950s, bed bugs have re-emerged in the 1990s and are stronger than ever. Now, several homes in Mooresville have bed bug infestation problems.

Bed bugs hide in mattresses, bed frames, headboards, pillows, and blankets.  This is so that they are near their sources of food. However, if the infestation becomes heavy, they spread out to the rest of the house. They can often be found in cracks, crevices, electric receptacles, cabinets, ceilings, and furniture.

To avoid having bed bugs, make sure you check the hotel you will be staying in when you travel. Check the pillows, mattress, headboard, and bed frame. Use luggage made of a smooth, hard case that is light in color.  And when buying from a garage sale, make sure the stuff you will buy is bed bug-free.

Rodents

When we say rodents, the most common ones are mice and rats. These little creatures can cause damage to homes and businesses. If you find your books, boxes, clothes, walls, furniture, gas pipes, and electric cables with gnaw marks, then you have rodent problems.  Rodents have incisors that are constantly growing, so they would need something to chew on all the time to stop them from growing. Aside from these damages, they are also known to transmit diseases like salmonella, rat-bite fever, and leptospirosis.

To get rid of rodents, cover your trash cans with a lid. Regularly dispose of your garbage. Regularly sweep and mop the floor, and vacuum couches and carpets. Wipe off drink spills and food debris.  

Pre-existing Issues

However, if there are pre-existing issues with the apartment unit, the responsibility should be on the shoulders of the landlord.

If there are holes, cracks, and crevices on the walls or ceilings, this should be fixed by the owner. Pests like mice, rats, and cockroaches use these openings as entry points so the landlord should have had it fixed before a tenant moves in.

Termite issues are the responsibility of the owner since it is a property-related issue. The owner should be the one to call the pest control experts.

For pest control problems, consider hiring a pest control professional. For the beg bug control in Mooresville, NC and Lake Norman, call Lake Norman Pest Control.

Why Is Lake Norman Pest Control The Best Solution?

Lake Norman Pest Control is a family-owned company with excellent experience in exterminating pests like mosquitoes, termites, rats, mice, cockroaches, bed bugs, ants, moths, poisonous spiders, and many more. They have highly skilled and well-trained technicians who use only the latest and most advanced equipment in the business.

You can check Google or Facebook for customer reviews about Lake Norman Pest Control’s services. Lake Norman Pest Control has earned the trust of residents and businesses in North Carolina for more than 50 years.