Pests A–Z
East Texas has more pest species than any homeowner should have to memorize — the Piney Woods climate favors termites, roaches, ants, mosquitoes, rodents and everything in between. This column is your visual + behavioral field guide, one pest at a time.
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How ant infestations start (and how to stop them for good)
A scout ant finds food or moisture, lays a pheromone trail back to the colony, and within 48 hours the trail becomes a highway. Kill the queen — not the trail — and the colony collapses.
Read the guide Pests A–ZTypes of East Texas ants and their behavior
Fire ants (mound builders), carpenter ants (wood damage), ghost ants (kitchens), pharaoh ants (bathrooms) and odorous house ants — each species needs a different bait chemistry.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHow ants enter your house — and what attracts them
Ants enter through gaps you can't see — weep holes, HVAC line penetrations, foundation cracks under 1/16 inch. What attracts them: sugar spills, pet food, leaky plumbing under sinks.
Read the guide Pests A–ZWhy ant infestations get worse if you don't treat them
Ant colonies grow exponentially — one queen produces 800+ eggs a day. A visible trail today is a 5,000-worker colony in six weeks. Waiting doubles the treatment cost.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHow bed bugs spread and where they hide
Bed bugs hitchhike on luggage, used furniture and clothing. Once indoors they hide in mattress seams, headboards, outlet plates and baseboards — never on the mattress surface where you can see them.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHow to know if you have bed bugs
The five confirmations: apple-seed-sized rusty-brown bugs in seams, black flecks (fecal spotting) on sheets, small rust-colored blood dots, tiny translucent shed skins, and bites in a line of three on exposed skin.
Read the guide Pests A–ZBed bug prevention and treatment explained
Prevention: inspect luggage after travel, encase mattresses, don't buy used bedroom furniture. Treatment: heat + chemical + monitoring across 3 visits over 6 weeks — DIY almost always fails.
Read the guide Pests A–ZSigns you have a cockroach problem in your home
Daytime sightings (roaches are nocturnal — daytime means a big population), coffee-ground droppings, a musty sweet smell, egg cases in cabinet corners, and greasy smear marks along baseboards.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHealth risks of a cockroach infestation
Cockroach droppings, shed skins and saliva are proven asthma triggers — CDC lists them as a top-tier indoor allergen for children. They also mechanically spread Salmonella, E. coli and Staph.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHow cockroaches enter and infest your home
Grocery bags, cardboard boxes, used appliances and shared plumbing walls (in apartments) are the top four entry routes. Roaches don't need much — they'll squeeze through a 1/16-inch gap.
Read the guide Pests A–ZSigns you have a drain fly problem
Small fuzzy moth-like flies hovering around bathroom sinks, floor drains and washing-machine hookups — plus a slimy black film inside the P-trap — mean drain fly larvae are breeding in your plumbing.
Read the guide Pests A–ZHow drain flies breed in your plumbing (and why bleach doesn't kill them)
Drain fly larvae live in the slimy biofilm inside your P-trap — a gelatinous, self-sealing layer that repels chemical drain openers. Physical removal with a drain brush + enzyme cleaner is the only durable fix.
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