Occasional Invaders

Cricket           Centipede

Cricket                                            Centipede

Praying Mantis       Cricket       Cricket

Praying Mantis

What is an "occasional invader"? My pest management professional mentioned it on his last visit. 

Occasional invaders are insects that spend the majority of their life outdoors often do close proximity to a house living in mulch, plants, trees or tree stumps, but, on occasion invade a dwelling.  These invaders may come inside as they are foraging for food and water.  Also because an insect’s metabolism slows down considerably during the winter, they may also be seeking shelter to escape extreme temperatures.  They do not complete their lifecycle indoors. 

A short list of this group of occasional invaders includes several species of cockroaches, crickets, spiders, ants, box-elder, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, mites, scorpions, pill-bugs, daddy-longlegs, praying mantis, slugs, snails, sow-bugs, springtails, weevils, and ground beetles.  While these pests may be a nuisance and should be removed for that reason, they rarely do damage or harm.

Your Enviroguard pest management professional may use a combination of external chemical treatments and internal non-chemical traps to control these pests.  In addition, moving mulch further from your home’s foundation and trimming plants near your foundation may be recommended along with sealing possible entry points. Call 709-965-9078 to schedule an inspection.