Urban Pests vs. Rural Pests: Part 2

Urban Pests vs. Rural Pests: Part 2

Welcome to the second part of this mini-series on urban versus rural pests! We spent the previous blog discussing four common pests found in urban areas that seem to have a special liking for populated spaces, so make sure to check that out here if you have not read it already. Today’s blog is a similar format, but we’re switching out the urban pests for rural ones. As we stated before, pests can be found in all kinds of homes and business, so a pest on this list can also be found in urban areas, and vice versa. But, in general, these pests are more common in homes that are not in the middle of a populated town or city. Let’s dive into these country-loving pests and their preferences, then we’ll discuss some specific ways to prevent pests in all areas!

Rural Pests 

Conversely, rural areas make the task of finding the three necessities more challenging for pests. The houses are often spread out and have a bit of land in between them, and some have many acres dividing them from the neighbors. While it may be more difficult for pests to find human food and a house for shelter, they will have no trouble using the outdoor resources for their survival. Crops, wood, rocks, flowers, and gardens all have the essentials for a pest to live, and most of these are found out in “the country.” If a pest goes to the greenery for food but then expands their horizons to the nearby house, it can mean a gradual pest invasion that may go undetected for a while. That is what makes some of these pests so frustrating in their invasions of rural homes.

Termites

Termites are another majorly-dreaded pest, but for an entirely different reason than bed bugs or mosquitoes. Termites devour wood of all kinds, and the damage they leave behind can be catastrophic. The cost of repairs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousand of dollars, depending on the extent of the damage! This is because termites not only eat the wood, they also craft tunnels and mud tubes to protect their colony. These tunnels can go quite deep in the wood, especially if the wood is already damaged from water or age. Termites can enter through any gap near doors and windows, as they are small enough to fit through anything. The winged swarmers are the ones that scope out the next location for their nest, which is why you may see discarded wings on the floor if they have made a home in your walls.

Termites may have the self-restricted diet of wood, but there is no limit to the types of wood they enjoy within that. Wooden door frames and window frames are common targets of these pests. This can actually be a good thing, as it will be pretty obvious when termites are living within the small amount of wood. Another popular home of termites, and a reason why they are major rural pests, is any wood outside that isn’t moved often. This includes firewood, wooden fences, garden boxes, fence posts, tree stumps, and the exterior of cabin homes. Termites have strong mandibles to eat through all kinds of wood, so they are not picky about the specifics. Wood with moisture and cracks in the exterior of a house are often frequented by the swarmers, who work with the workers to leave pheromones for the rest of the colony to follow. This is why it’s crucial to seal all cracks and check for water damage in any wood, as it can mean the difference between inviting termites in and keeping them out.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are present everywhere in the summer, but they are especially abundant in more rural areas of land. This is because they reproduce and lay their eggs in standing water of any amount. They can also use moist soil, but mosquitoes prefer to have more water than that if possible. They spend the first three stages of life in the water before they grow their wings and fly away to pester us. Their favorites include ponds, lakes, plant drainage trays, filled vases, puddles, water-covered tarps, and swamps. Basically, anywhere with humid weather and warm waters are a paradise for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are more common in rural areas because there is more likely to be standing water of some kind there, along with plants and flowers for nectar. That’s right: only female mosquitoes bite us when they need protein to create eggs, so the males live off of nectar. This also means they are technically pollinators, but not enough to justify keeping a family of them around if you have an infestation.

Eliminating as much standing water as possible is key in preventing mosquitoes. Shaking off tarps and emptying outdoor trays and toys after a storm is a good routine to have, particularly in the summer. Some homeowners in rural areas also have a pond or small lake on the property, which is a fun feature besides the whole mosquito issue. If you have a pond, consider getting some fish that are known to eat mosquito larvae to fill it. It will be an enjoyable hobby to care for the fish, and they have the added bonus of being natural pest control. We recently posted a blog all about fish that enjoy mosquito larvae – you can read it here – if you need some ideas! Whatever pest control method you choose, it is definitely a worthy investment to keep your home free from mosquitoes and their itchy, possibly disease-carrying bites. 

Stink Bugs

Stink bugs are more common than you may think, especially for homes with a lot of greenery around the house. Brown marmorated stink bugs are frequenters of gardens and crops in the U.S., but they are not any kind of insect we want near our plants. This is because they eat every part of a plant, from the stem all the way to the bulb or bloom. They consume a wide variety of food crops as well, which is a farmer’s worst nightmare. Anything that the brown marmorated stink bug eats or rests on is considered contaminated. The odor that these bugs emit when threatened or squished is enough to defile the item they’re currently on, which is frustrating for anyone trying to grow their own produce. This herbivorous diet is also why they are so common in rural places, as there are more greenery and crops than stink bugs know what to do with.

As if it wasn’t enough to deal with brown marmorated stink bugs on plants, they will also invade homes during a certain time of year. A few of them will scout out a secure place to overwinter, since they do not die off before the cold sets in, then lead the rest of the group to the designated space to survive the winter. There are not many options for a solid shelter in rural areas, which leaves them to settle in the main shelter. This unfortunately often means a house; more specifically, the area behind walls in a home is a favorite due to the isolation and warmth. Besides the nightmarish idea of having bugs behind your walls, the odor that they emit when dead is not something we want in a home. It is often compared to cilantro, oddly enough. The good news is that they do not carry any kind of disease, so they are just a nuisance rather than a health threat. But the fact that they are still an unwanted pest that can damage our food and walls means we don’t want them around for any reason. 

Wolf Spiders

Spiders in general are very common in rural regions, as there are countless insects and greens for them to eat. They also like to live in isolated areas that are sheltered from the elements, which means they like to hide under objects and accidentally scare us when we stumble across them. But wolf spiders, horrifying as they are, are one of the most common rural spiders. They are a unique species that does not function like most spiders we know. For one, they do not like to make or live in spiderwebs. Wolf spiders live under objects that provide shade and shelter, like rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, and boxes that are left idle for a long time. This is also why they are such effective hunters; they don’t have a web to worry about protecting and are not confined to one spot. Their impressive size and unique eye pattern also make for an intimidating predator to small insects, as well as a nightmare for us.

But the other main difference between wolf spiders and most spider species is how they care for their young. Most spiders lay their eggs and weave an egg sac around them for protection until the spiders hatch and crawl out to freedom. Wolf spiders are a little different, and their process may seem sweet until you see it in action. The mother lays up to 100 eggs in a silk sac, like normal, but then carries this sac on her body until the eggs hatch. Then, and this is the creepy part, she continues to carry her many babies on her back until they are strong enough to move on their own. If you have ever had the misfortune of seeing a mother wolf spider with tons of tiny wriggling spiders on her back, especially if it’s at night and the eyes are all glowing, you know the spine-chilling feeling that this nightmare evokes. They may provide some natural pest control, but the wolf spiders in rural areas are not a creature we want anywhere nearby, if only for their creepy looks.

The Best Pest Solutions 

The best way to prevent pests in both urban and rural locales is simply to eliminate what they are searching for: food, water, and shelter. This doesn’t mean eliminating each of these necessities for yourself! It is simply about restricting access to what pests need the most, which will keep them from using your house as a vacation home.

To get rid of their food, simply store all food in airtight containers. This can include zip-top bags, reusable bags, plastic lidded containers, pop-top containers, and mason jars. Basically, a good rule of thumb is to keep all opened foods in a sealed container when not in use. This is the same for pet food, as the protein content is very appealing to all kinds of pests. Keep large pet food bags in a trash can with a snap-on lid, or use smaller lidded containers for small containers of food. If you choose to keep fruit on the counter, make sure to dispose of it when it is overripe. Fruit flies and other tiny pests like to lay their eggs here, which is something you definitely don’t want near your food.

For water elimination, this involves a couple of steps that could be more time-consuming if the home is in a rural area with more land. The first important step is to eliminate moisture inside the house. Check for leaks under and around pipes, sinks, showers, and appliances. Some pests seek out moisture to actually live in it, so this step also helps with the next one of eliminating shelter. If a leak cannot be fixed with DIY methods, or if there is extensive damage, be sure to have it repaired by a professional. It is better to spend money now for repairs than to wait and possibly experience a pest invasion because they were drawn to the water. The second step is to eliminate standing water outside (and also inside, but there is likely less there). Mosquitoes breed in any amount of still water, which no one wants around their home. Shake off tarps and empty out plant drainage trays and outdoor toys after a storm to eliminate this source.

Finally, the shelter elimination. This basically just means preventing pests from entering the house in the first place. Seal all cracks and holes with caulk, copper mesh, or steel wool, depending on the size of the holes. Inspect the house for any of these imperfections fairly often, especially in the changing of the seasons. Also, check the screens in doors and windows for any tears and holes. It’s great to open up the house on a temperate day, but it’s definitely not fun when a pest family marches in through the screen. Use extra screen material to patch small holes, or replace the whole netting if there are too many to patch. Finally, check all doorways for gaps that can be filled. The big garage door often has gaps on either side, but they should not be large enough for a ton of pests to fit through. Make sure that the weather proofing is still solid and effective, and consider placing glue boards in the corners to catch any pests as soon as they waltz through the openings.

Of course, any pest problem can be handled by professional pest control services. Our team is equipped to handle all kinds of infestations, including ants, bed bugs, roaches, wasps, carpenter bees, rats, mice, spiders, and mosquitoes! We can provide efficient services in different stages of pest control, whether it’s prevention or elimination. Contact us today to learn more about our EPA-approved treatments and how we can keep your home from becoming a pest’s dream house, rural or urban.

Citations

Brown marmorated stink bug. (n.d.). USU Utah Pests Extension. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://extension.usu.edu/pests/schoolipm/structural-pest-id-guide/stink-bug 

Jacobs, S., Auman-Bauer, K., & Garling, L. (2011, September 1). Common urban pests: Identification, prevention, and control. PennState Extension. Available at https://extension.psu.edu/common-urban-pests-identification-prevention-and-control (Accessed on August 29, 2022).

Wolf spiders. (n.d.). USU Utah Pests Extension. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://extension.usu.edu/pests/schoolipm/structural-pest-id-guide/wolf-spiders