FAQ

Termites are small insects known for their strong jaws and tunneling activities. Most termites grow to about half of an inch in length and have a tan to light brown coloration. Termites live in colonies with social structures or castes, and their roles consist of workers, soldiers, or reproductives in every colony.

Termites invading your property are a major problem due to the destruction they cause and the fact that most infestations start out unnoticed. Routine termite inspections help to detect these pests so you can remove them before serious problems occur.

While termites don't spread diseases to humans or contaminate food storage areas, they are still dangerous pests to host around your property. Termite infestations easily infiltrate your property's wooden structures, and these pests will tunnel away at wooden areas to expand their colonies. Over time, a termite infestation leads to serious, costly damage to your property and even the risk of structural collapse.

It's important to invest in professional termite control to remove termites before major damages occur.

The best way to get rid of termites is to contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control at the first signs of these pests. We take termite control seriously, and our team will provide you with a free inspection to narrow down where your major termite problem areas are. Once we gather this information, we'll provide you with termite treatments that are sure to eradicate these pests at the source.

Our termite treatment plans also come with a one-year guarantee, so you can rest assured we will take care of any termites if they resurface after your initial treatment.

Contact us today for your free pest control inspection.

The following termite prevention tips can help ensure these pests don't come back to your property once we treat them.

• Reduce soil-to-wood contact around the foundation of your property to stop termites from easily invading interior areas.
• Seal up all cracks around the foundation, windows, and doors of your property.
• Keep outdoor areas clear of debris like piles of branches, overgrown grass, and tree stumps.
• Store woodpiles in elevated areas to stop termites from hiding in them.
• Address moisture issues and leaks on your property that may be causing excess pools of water, damaging wood, or contributing to the damp conditions that most termites love.
• Keep an eye out for signs of termites, such as frass, damaged wood, and sinking floors or ceilings.

Contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control the moment you suspect you have a termite problem on your property for expert termite removal.

We typically describe stinging insects as solitary or social. Solitary species of stinging insects have females that create individual nests, and they are usually relatively docile and aren't quick to sting. Stinging insects that are social live together in large groups inside a single nest. They are generally faster to sting and often attack as a group.

Stinging insect identification is best made by a professional. Various species of stinging insects can make their way to our properties. Most are fast-moving, and it's never a good idea to get up and personal to determine the exact species on your property. 

Though it is important to try to live in harmony with stinging insects because of their eco-importance, protecting ourselves and our families from their dangers is also important. Stinging insects are beneficial out in nature but unwanted pests in our yards.

Stinging insects are a danger to adults, children, and pets. A stinging insect uses the stinger at the end of its abdomen to inject venom into people and animals. When stinging insects nest in your yard, their presence can make you feel on edge. Stinging insects can easily ruin everyday things like cooking outside, taking out the trash, and gardening.

Stinging insect venom is potent enough to trigger allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets can sting multiple times, and with each sting, you will experience more pain, and they will inject more venom into your body.

During the summer and early fall seasons, you will find stinging insects swarming outdoor spaces and ruining outdoor activities like swimming parties and barbecues.

Our yards offer stinging insects plenty of places to forage food for themselves and to bring back to their nests. Gardens, flower beds, trash cans, compost areas, flowering trees, and outdoor eating and cooking areas are where people have the most contact with these pests.

Stinging insects nest in various places depending on their species, all choosing a nesting site that offers them shelter from harsh weather and predators. Some of the most common areas we discover stinging insect nests include the following:

• Tree hollows and tree branches

• Inside dense shrubs or other landscaping plants

• Ground holes

• Rock piles or brush piles

• Under roof eaves or decks

• In the corners of windows or doors

• Inside garages, sheds, or attics

If you have found a stinging insect nest on your property or know one is present that you can't locate, quickly get in touch with a pest control professional for assistance.

Keeping outdoor pests like stinging insects away from your Knoxville property is frustrating. Use the following five prevention tips to make your property less interesting to them.

1. Trim tree branches and other foliage away from the outside of your home.

2. Remove potential nesting sites like fallen trees, brush piles, and tree stumps from your property.

3. Wasps and other stinging insects love to forage from trash cans. Keep lids on as recycling and trash bins.

4. Avoid planting flowers near your home's entrances.

5. Eliminate areas of standing water in your yard that offer a water source. 

For quality home pest control to keep stinging insects at bay, Southeast Termite & Pest Control is here to help!

Most of the spiders you'll find in your Tennessee home are absolutely harmless. While they are venomous, their venom cannot cause systemic symptoms. Common house spiders in Tennessee that you don't have to worry about include:

• Wolf spiders
• House spiders 
• Orb weavers 
• Garden spiders

Unless you are allergic, the worst thing you are likely to experience with a bite from one of these spiders is redness, swelling, and pain at the site of the bite.

On the other hand, if one of our two dangerous spiders bites you, you could be in trouble. The brown recluse spider has a hemotoxic venom that can cause necrosis around the bite site. Meanwhile, the black widow spider has a neurotoxic venom that may cause systemic symptoms like nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms, confusion, and trouble breathing. Most healthy adults do not have to worry about dying from a black widow bite, but it is a different story with small children.

Unfortunately, there are few ways to kill spiders readily available to the public. You'll need expert pest control to deal with your spider problem. Here at Southeast Termite & Pest Control, we're intimately familiar with all of the spider species endemic to the Knoxville area, both harmless and dangerous.

Our spider experts cannot only determine the species infesting your home but also help you determine what primary infestation is attracting the secondary spider infestation. Once we make these determinations, we can help you get rid of both. So don't wait until the female spiders in your house lay eggs with hundreds or even thousands of little spiderlings; call us today to kick the bugs out of your abode.

Mice and rats are rodents in Tennessee that most people know and have a general idea of how to recognize. Mice and rats are stars of books, movies, and amusement parks. However, the biggest reason people can easily identify mice and rats is that they are regular intruders in our homes and businesses.

Mice are small rodents with oval bodies and small triangular heads. A light layer of velvety fur covers the ears and tails of mice. Adult rats are larger in size than adult mice. They have large blunt heads, and their ears and thick, scaly tails are hairless.

Both mice and rats are nocturnal and, therefore, most active at night. Another thing mice, rats, and all other rodents have in common is their continuously growing front incisors. Their sharp front incisors assist them in eating, gathering nesting materials, and making entrances and exit holes in our homes.

The rodents that enter our homes are wild animals; they are unpredictable and don’t belong living with people.

Rodents are dangerous because of their ability to spread bacteria and disease-causing pathogens through their saliva and excrement. In our homes, they contaminate food, cause harm to personal belongings like furniture and clothing, and damage structural elements like wires, pipes, and vents.

Other dangers associated with a rodent infestation are electrical shorts, fires, foul odors, and allergies.

Mice tend to be more curious, while rats are more cautious, but neither will hesitate to take advantage of the food, water, and shelter our homes offer. The good news is that while mice and rats can invade our Knoxville homes, they usually won’t do so simultaneously. You will have one or the other inside your house.

Rodents are successful in almost any habitat, including city centers, suburbs, and rural areas. They are pests we must be proactive against to keep them out of our homes.

Field mice are small rodents that primarily invade outdoor spaces like wooded areas, fields, meadows, parks, and yards. They are mostly a problem for people living in suburban and rural areas. While these mice can use our homes as a place of shelter, they are less likely to do so than the house mouse.

House mice are common invaders of human structures. They live outside all around us and move indoors in search of food, water, and shelter. They are agile species and can easily move inside through tiny openings they discover in a home’s exterior.

Roof rats are thin, agile rats. They are excellent climbers and prefer to live off the ground in trees, shrubbery, woodpiles, and vines. When they enter a home or other building, they usually enter through chimneys, vents, or defects along the roofline.

Norway rats are large, heavy rats and are not known for their agility, unlike roof rats. Norway rats live outside under woodpiles, rock piles, trash piles, and foundations. These rats enter our homes at ground level and usually call basements or crawl spaces home.

Rodents are pests we regularly work with homeowners to remove from their properties. Mice and rats can make themselves quite comfortable in our homes, and getting them to leave is difficult. If you want to get rid of the rodents that are nesting and foraging for food in your home, it is best to consult with a professional.

Here at Southeast Termite & Pest Control, we perform quality, year-round pest control services in Knoxville. By offering thorough inspections, effective treatments, and ongoing services, you will no longer have to share your home with rodents, now or in the future! For pest control near you, call today.

Avoid sharing your home with rodents, partner with us, implement regular rodent pest control services, and take advantage of the following four prevention tips.

1. Eliminate harborage spots inside and outside your home by removing clutter and yard debris. 
2. Pick up uneaten pet food, keep tight-fitting lids on trash cans, and keep outdoor eating areas clean to stop food and food odors from attracting rodents. 
3. Keep caps on chimneys and mesh covers over vents and drains entering your home. 
4. Repair any large or small defects leading into your home. Things like missing roof shingles, cracks in the foundation, and gaps around windows and doors are common entry points for rodents.

For effective rodent control, call Southeast Termite & Pest Control.

Mosquitoes are easily recognized pests characterized by a thin waist, wings, six long legs, and elongated mouthparts that they use to feed on plant nectar and the blood of mammals. Only female mosquitoes are known to bite humans or animals to feed, as they require blood to develop their eggs properly.

And while many individuals may think that there are only one mosquito species, there are several types of mosquitoes buzzing around the United States today. Aedes and Culex mosquitoes are the most commonly encountered by humans and appear similar. The only difference between these species is the time of day when they are most active.

Though mosquitoes may be small, they are fairly dangerous to encounter. Mosquitoes spread illnesses as they bite humans, and the diseases carried by mosquitoes include serious ones like the Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, and yellow fever. The more mosquitoes you have invading your property, the higher your chances are of picking up an illness from these insects.

Mosquito bites may also trigger allergic reactions ranging from mild itchiness and swelling to anaphylaxis. If you experience difficulty breathing or swallowing after a mosquito bite or experience symptoms such as fever, nausea, and chills, seek immediate medical attention.

If you want to get rid of mosquitoes, the best thing you can do is contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control for professional pest control assistance. Mosquitoes are prolific and difficult to get rid of, and DIY tactics are often less effective against these pests.

Contact our team today for a free estimate and assistance defeating mosquitoes.

The best way to keep mosquitoes away is by putting the prevention tactics below into place and making your property less hospitable to them.

• Clear areas of overgrown grass and piles of debris, as mosquitoes love to hide in these areas.

• Remove all puddles of standing water to stop mosquitoes from breeding around your property.

• Address moisture issues like leaks, drainage problems, and clogged gutters that lead to damp or humid conditions around all areas of your property, as these attract mosquitoes.

• Utilize larvicide or filters in water features like birdbaths to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in these spaces.

• Make sure you have sturdy window and door screens in place in addition to weatherstripping to ensure mosquitoes stay outside.

• Consider planting citronella or lemongrass around your property to ward off curious mosquitoes.

Contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control today for more mosquito prevention and removal advice or for Pest Control in Knoxville.

If you want to get rid of fall invaders the easy way, your best option is to contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control at the first signs of these pests. Our team can help you identify the types of fall invaders you are dealing with and develop a treatment plan that effectively removes all traces of this pest from your property.

Contact us today to learn more about fall invader removal or request a free estimate on pest control.

You can prevent fall invaders in the future by following the expert tips below that make your property less hospitable to these pests.

• Clear outdoor areas of debris piles, long grass, and overgrown foliage that might encourage fall invaders to hide around your property.
• Seal up cracks around your property’s foundation, windows, and doors to stop fall invaders from easily infiltrating interior spaces.
• Make sure your property has sturdy window and door screens, weatherstripping, and door sweeps installed to keep out fall invaders.
• Address moisture issues and leaks around your property to stop excess pools of water from attracting these insects and encouraging infestations.
• Ensure leftover food is stored properly, and always clean up food and drink spills that might attract fall invaders looking for an easy meal.

Contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control and request a free inspection at the first signs of fall invaders for identification assistance or help removing infestations from your property.

We identify cockroaches by their flat, oval bodies and long antennae. When you look at a cockroach from above, the head is hidden. Most cockroaches have fully developed wings, but very few regularly fly; instead, they run from place to place using their six spine-covered legs.

Cockroaches are one of the top most unwanted pests for people to discover in their homes. These scavenging insects are helpful when living outside, away from people, but in our homes, they are dangerous pests. These omnivores feed on and eliminate organic waste.

Thankfully, most of the thousands of species of cockroaches living worldwide live in habitats well away from people. Only a small handful of cockroach species have adapted to living near or with people who have given these insects a bad name.

Cockroaches should never be allowed to live near people for any period of time. These insects naturally live in unsanitary areas that put them near the decaying organic materials they eat.

In our homes, cockroaches will transfer bacteria that cause infections like salmonellosis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and disease-causing pathogens to food and surfaces throughout our homes. As if that weren't enough, cockroach saliva, their excrement, and shed exoskeletons emit allergens into the air that, in some, will trigger allergies and asthma attacks.

Cockroach infestations can occur in any structure where food is stored or prepared, making our Knoxville homes common hot spots for cockroaches.

While many people associate cockroach infestations with dirty or cluttered homes, the truth is that cockroaches can find their way into any house. Our homes provide cockroaches with food, warmth, moisture, and safe places to hide and lay their eggs.

These insects can become a problem after moving inside on their own through small spaces they discover in the exterior of your house. They also get into our homes by hitchhiking inside appliances, furniture, deliveries, and grocery bags. No matter how they enter, once inside, they won't hesitate to make themselves at home.

There are many places you could discover cockroaches inside your home, but the most common is the kitchen. Our kitchens provide them with ample access to food; even the cleanest kitchen will have hidden crumbs that cockroaches will locate and use as a food source. During the day, cockroaches hide in dark, small spaces. Some of their most common hideouts are:

• Spaces behind cabinets or appliances.
• Inside drawers.
• Spaces behind loose backsplashes or wallpaper.
• Areas behind baseboards and wood trim.
• Inside cardboard boxes.
• Under rugs and large appliances.

In addition to kitchens, cockroaches like to hang out in bathrooms, utility rooms, basements, and attics. Cockroaches regularly congregate outside our homes in wooded areas, woodpiles, gardens, trash cans, and drains.

Because cockroaches are nocturnal, we often don't know of their presence when they first enter homes. As the cockroaches feed and breed and the infestation grows, it becomes more difficult for them to go unnoticed. If an infestation is left untreated, the cockroaches will eventually emerge during the day because of the increased competition for food sources. If you ever spot a cockroach scurrying across your home during the day, immediately reach out for help!

To help you stop your home from being taken over by cockroaches, we want to provide you with five effective prevention tips.

1. Declutter your home to take away harborage spots.

2. Limit the food they have access to in your home. Never store perishables on counters or tables; place them in the refrigerator.

3. Remove excess moisture from your home using dehumidifiers and ensure bathrooms, kitchens, and crawl spaces are well-ventilated.

4. Use silicone caulk to seal cracks in your foundation and exterior walls.

5. Keep cockroaches from hitchhiking into your home by inspecting secondhand items, deliveries, and anything that has been outside before bringing the items inside.

Please call now for more helpful information about keeping cockroaches out of your home or to learn about home pest control in Knoxville. 

Carpenter bees are relatives of honey bees and bumble bees. Unlike these bee species, carpenter bees are solitary. They don't live in colonies. They don't have a queen. They breed and nest on their own, and each carpenter bee has to dig its own hole to lay its eggs.

Carpenter bees bore holes into wood to lay their eggs. They can dig holes ranging from a foot to over tenfeet in depth! As you can imagine, getting several carpenter bee nests going in the same piece of wood can cause problems.

When you see a giant carpenter bee buzzing toward your head, you probably feel a lot of fear. However, this fear is misplaced. Carpenter bees can sting, but they rarely do. Usually, the only thing that can induce a carpenter bee to sting is physically accosting it. Furthermore, even if you are stung by a carpenter bee, unless you are allergic, the only thing you really have to worry about is a little pain and swelling at the site of the sting.

Carpenter bees are much more dangerous to your property than they are to you. If you get a serious carpenter bee infestation, this can do all kinds of damage – even structural damage – to the wood the bees infest.

Most of the time, youwind up with a carpenter bee problem because you are inadvertently attracting them. The biggest carpenter bee attractant is wood that is easy to bore into. Carpenter bees especially love decks, wooden siding and ceilings, and wood columns. If these areas are unpainted or unvarnished, they are extremely vulnerable to a carpenter bee infestation.

You may also be attracting carpenter bees if you have a lot of sweet, juicy flowers around your home. Most people think carpenter bees eat wood because of their wood-carving abilities, but they actually eat nectar and pollen just like every other kind of bee.

Carpenter bees love to be in areas where they can bore deep nests and fill them with eggs. They love to infest wood that can offer deep shelter. Look for them in decks, wood columns, wooden ceilings, and wood siding.

The one thing that all of these places will have in common is they will be untreated wood. Carpenter bees have a very hard time boring into painted or varnished wood, so they will look for softer wood that does not have any barrier for their mandibles to cut through. Treating wood is very important in controlling carpenter bees.

It isn't always easy to get rid of carpenter bees in Knoxville. If you only have one or two bees nesting on your property, you can easily seal their holes with a little wood filler to encourage them to leave and nest elsewhere. However, this solution is not tenable if you have hundreds of carpenter bees infesting your property.

In this case, you'll need to call the experts here at Southeast Termite & Pest Control. Our carpenter bee solutions are much more sophisticated than a little wood filler, and we can handle any size infestation you have. If you need someone to safely and effectively remove your carpenter bee infestation, don't hesitate to call us or visit our contact page to schedule a free inspection on pest control.

Fortunately, preventative carpenter bee control is much easier than carpenter bee prevention. Just follow a few simple and easy tips:

• Varnish or paint all exterior wood on your property. 

• Get rid of high-nectar, sweet-smelling flowers. 

• Remove other sugary attractants like hummingbird feeders. 

• Spread almond oil or citrus oil solutions on wood surfaces to repel bees.

If these solutions don't work, don't hesitate to contact us here at Southeast Termite & Pest Control for all your Knoxville pest control needs.

Most bed bug infestations become an issue due to unsuspecting individuals traveling through infested areas and picking up bed bugs in their clothing, bags, or luggage. As you travel to these infested locations and return home, bed bugs move along with you, eventually crawling out to infest areas in your house they deem safe.

Bed bug infestations are also caused by bringing secondhand items into your home or business without first checking them for signs of bed bugs.

Prevent bed bug problems in the future by following our expert tips to limit your chances of picking up these parasitic pests.

• Always elevate your bags and luggage when traveling or staying in hotels and motels; this helps keep bed bugs from crawling on these personal belongings unnoticed.

• Consider vacuum-sealing your clothing when traveling to stop bed bugs from easily hiding in fabrics.

• Check hotels or other places you travel to for signs of bed bugs, such as reddish staining, unpleasant or musty odors, and live or dead bed bugs.

• Ensure secondhand furniture or appliances your purchase are free of bed bugs by checking for signs of this pest using gloved hands and a flashlight to investigate crevices.

If you need more advice on preventing bed bugs or require assistance defeating an infestation of these pests, contact Southeast Termite & Pest Control for home pest control today.

Ants are small insects that crawl throughout our houses and can become an ongoing pest problem for Knoxville homeowners. They are an easy pest problem for most people to identify because ants are active during the day and travel in the open across our sidewalks, decks, floors, and counters.

Each type of ant varies slightly in appearance, but in general, ants have three distinct body segments, a defined "waist," a hard exoskeleton, six legs, and short antennae. Most ants are black, brown, yellow, red, or a combination of those colors.

Ants are social insects and live together in large groups. Each colony divides its members into different groups, and each group is tasked with different jobs to ensure the success of their colony. Ants are so successful because of how well they communicate with each other and work together as a large group.

In our region, carpenter ants are one of the largest species to find their way to our properties, and fire ants are one of the smallest. But what sets these two species apart from other ants is that they are both dangerous.

Carpenter ants aren't dangerous to people but are to our properties. When carpenter ants decide to nest in our homes, they will make themselves at home in its structural wood. If not removed, over time, they cause costly damage to the structure of your house.

Fire ants are dangerous to people; they aggressively defend themselves and their nests by delivering painful stings. When fire ants nest in your yard, they can significantly affect your ability to enjoy outdoor spaces safely.

Fortunately, most species of ants are more of a nuisance than a danger. However, they should still never be allowed to live in our homes. Ants can spread bacteria and quickly contaminate stored foods.

There are several reasons why ants so easily become a problem inside our houses:

• Their small size makes it easy for them to exploit openings in our home's exterior.
• Ants have excellent communication skills and lay down pheromone trails to alert their other colony members to their newly found food sources.
• Things inside our homes, like leaky pipes, open trash containers, crumbs, and other food debris, draw ants to our houses and offer them food and water.

Once ants discover your home provides them with their basic needs, they will keep returning.

Knoxville homeowners regularly find ants inside their homes in areas that offer warmth, moisture, and easy access to food. Ants are often active inside our kitchens, bathrooms, dining areas, pantries, and cabinets.

Outside ants usually nest within pieces of wood, in the ground, or inside the cracks of rocks, foundations, and pavement. When they move into our homes to nest, wall voids, large pieces of electrical equipment, attics, and spaces behind wood trim, baseboards, and large furniture or appliances provide them with nesting sites.

While it may be tempting to try to get rid of an ant infestation on your own, DIY ant control won't get to the root of the problem or offer a long-term solution. The fastest and most effective way to stop ants in their tracts and stop them from returning is to reach out for help from a professional.

Here at Southeast Termite & Pest Control, we are a local company that understands the unique needs of customers living in our region. Our specialists will work closely with you to determine the type of ants on your property and how best to eliminate the infestation. Don't share your property with ants one day longer than necessary; call us today to learn more about pest control in Knoxville!

Utilize the following five ant prevention tips to make your Knoxville property less attractive to ants.

1. Check sprinklers and other irrigation systems to ensure they aren't overwatering your yard; moisture attracts ants.

2. Repair cracks and crevices in your foundation, loose mortar, and torn screens to eliminate entry points. 

3. Maintain garden areas, keep landscaping plants pruned away from your home, and keep the grass in your yard cut short. 

4. Limit their access to food outside your home by keeping lids on trash cans, harvesting gardens, removing hummingbird feeders, and keeping outdoor eating areas free of spills and debris.

5. Make the inside of your home less attractive by repairing leaky pipes, maintaining a clean kitchen, and regular vacuuming.

For more helpful ways to keep these curious insects out of your home, reach out today for home pest control!

If you notice any of the following signs, it could be an indication that you have a termite problem:

• Discolored or drooping drywall 
• Mud tubes on the outside of your home 
• Swarms of flying insects near windows or lights 
• Unusual musty odors

For more information about recognizing signs of a possible infestation, please contact us at Southeast Termite & Pest Control. We're always happy to answer your questions about termite protection in Knoxville.