[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Most people use a service, we see fewer insects here than up north.

Beware of fireants, they like grassy areas and quickly swarm in mass if you step on their mounds. Their stings are painful.

Fire ant bites: Treatment, symptoms, what they look like

Yep, the fire ants got me good at our postal station/rec center recently. My first ever experience with them. Their nest was down below the grass blades, so until they started biting/stinging me I didn’t even notice it was there. We see many visible mounds along the fence that borders a big preserve/marsh here, so TV isn’t really doing much to eliminate them.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by MikeN

Yes, you definitely need a plan to manage insects. While new homes as we have are treated for termites the spiders, ants and other creepy crawlers seem to love the straw placed around the landscaping. Sometimes I spray daily to try to control spiders and sweep away cobwebs. Haven’t had a lot of luck with companies that do insect control. Plan is to remove the straw in the fall with mulch or stone

The pine needles mulch looks bad after awhile too. It gets matted down and turns gray. We will replace ours in the fall.

We have Superior pest control and have had to call them at least 3x in seven months to come back for bug treatments outside on our porch, and in garage. Mostly small spiders except for one large wolf spider, but also some small moths, wasps, tiny millipedes, and some kind of flying insects that looked like fire ants with wings. Inside our home we’ve only seen a tiny spider on occasion, though yesterday I found a fire ant crawling around my bathroom sink. That alarmed me enough that I called them to come do another perimeter treatment, which they scheduled for a week from now. I’m definitely not impressed with Superior enough to renew the annual contract when it’s up next January.

[daveczo]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox

There are very few insects that are actually out to get you.

Mosquitoes are one and, while The Villages does spray occasionally, you should empty any standing water around the house.

Unless you plan to sunbathe naked in the garden slathered in honey, you will probably have very little interaction with insects. You just need to tackle the entry points into the house. For us, that means spraying every month around each external door (front door, sliding door to the lanai and door to the garage) to deter cockroaches and ants from coming in.

Leave the garden untouched - don't waste your money on having alarmist pest control companies spraying poisons into the air you breathe.

I often lay around outside naked covered with honey. No skeeters to speak of. Several neighbors hover around.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by daveczo

I often lay around outside naked covered with honey. No skeeters to speak of. Several neighbors hover around.

Yes, even Massey refuse to get rid of THOSE pests

[Gpsma]

One if tge best insect control is a cat….nothing survives her.

[dtennent]

If you are one to take your dog for a walk before going to bed or if you just like to walk in the cool off the evening, it is helpful to sign up with Sumter County to get alerts when they schedule spraying in your neighborhood. That way you aren't running home when you hear the spraying truck coming your way.

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[Deedle]

We use Superior and are very happy with them for our interior pest control and lawn pest control. Mitch and the team do a great job.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by SusanZR*

Hello. We are new to the Villages and wanted to know if the Villages itself has their own insect control measures. In other words, do they take care of treating all the common areas/rec centers/etc? Do residents have their own home insect control companies, or are the comminities so well sprayed (for lack of a better term) that individual houses really don't need it unless they develop a problem? Thanks.

Well, here they are again . . . Welcome to The Villages where neighbors, friends, and pest control companies will (or try) to put the fear of God in you that cockroaches will carry you off to never-never land!

I originally moved to Florida in 1983 and have NEVER had a pest control contract with anyone. I never needed one and still don't have a need for treatment. When I have had a bug situation that I can count on less than one hand in all these years, I personally treated the problem myself. Yes, you will have an occasional roach or ants but this is Florida and they were here before us. The climate here agrees with bugs but you will never have a rampant problem unless something in your house or something you do, lends itself to that happening.

I am not a believer in indiscriminate spraying and The Villages is a horrible example of that being done. All these chemicals that are used month after month are poisoning the groundwater, land, and houses, and these chemicals do NOT dissipate! They are here forever!

PLEASE -- do not let your friends and neighbors tell you that you MUST spray as a preventative. Do NOT let a pest control company give you a deal. Play the wait-and-see game. Finding an occasional bug is not the end of the earth. An infestation warrants something being done but I will guarantee you that will not happen unless there is a damn good reason! And if it should happen, treat the issue yourself which is easy to do and a lot less expensive than calling someone in.

[TomSpasm]

The Villages does a great job of controlling the insects in the public areas. There are neighborhoods that have more problems than others due to proximity to preserves and such. Don't pay a year in advance for any service, bug related or otherwise.

[SusanZR*]

Thank you!
Can you please share the name of the specific product(s) you use around the doors/garage to deter roaches in particular and other pests in general?

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by SusanZR*

Can you please share the name of the specific product(s) you use around the doors/garage to deter roaches in particular and other pests in general?

We use a can of Raid Ant & Roach spray, about once a quarter. You don't need to spray much and, if you're doors are a good fit, just along the bottom will suffice.

[Bonanza]

Boric Acid is effective (kills) roaches, silverfish, water bugs, ants, and fleas.
For ants inside your home, Terro works wonders (available at Walmart).

They are two terrific products for the do-it-yourself homeowner and neither product harms the environment!

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by SusanZR*

Hello. We are new to the Villages and wanted to know if the Villages itself has their own insect control measures. In other words, do they take care of treating all the common areas/rec centers/etc? Do residents have their own home insect control companies, or are the communities so well sprayed (for lack of a better term) that individual houses really don't need it unless they develop a problem? Thanks.

Most important...take your time, don't let commercial people scare you ! It can be a selling tactic unless you have some unusual problem. We simply sprayed door entrances, garage perimeter, lanai perimeter, etc. about every other month, and use a borax powder in really inaccessible areas behind the furnace, under stove-oven, only occasionally. It is a VERY effective and less harmful alternative to dangerous chemicals. Have never had any insect activity. About 6 months ago, we switched to the new, supposedly even more people friendly, Zevo. It was an experiment, with summer just approaching, to see if we could switch to this even safer option. So far, we have not seen any upswing in insect activity since the switch, so plan so continue with this new option unless it proves to be less effective. Again, just be careful and go slowly to determine what you need in relation to insect control. You could end up signing contracts and paying hundreds of dollars for something you don't even need.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I had Massey for pest control for 5 years and never saw any insects in my house. I started to do my own treatment 2 years ago and still have not seen any insects, except some tiny ants on my countertop. A few drops of Terro got rid of them in a few days. When I get a wasp nest under my eaves, I zap it with one of those long range spray cans, and that takes care of it.

Agree with everything you've written (except we never did sign up for a pest control "service". Family born and raised in Florida, so tried their advice, used premixed for years around lanai and door entrances, never have had roaches in garage where we use borax powder in the air squeeze bottle. The comment about $100 to spray a WASP nest under eves ! ? Like you, we've had wasps make small nests about twice in 14-15 years. A less than $5 can of wasp spray from the local hardware store took care of that in ONE spray which could be done from 12 FEET away. Nest just "dropped" off, wasps dead, about a 4 min. process. $100 for that would sure be a good living...LOL !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by msilagy

My 1st house I saw maybe 1-2 palmetto bugs over a 21 month period (no treatment). My 2nd house was a courtyard villa and had many palmetto bugs in the garage and several got in the house after I moved in. I treated the garage with an insect spray and my home also which seemed to help. One night one crawled up the wall next to my bed. That was it! I read about how to control them and the article suggested "boric acid" which is a white powder specifically for that. I went to Walmart and the worker there told me it is the #1 seller in that aisle! I believed it. I sprinkled it behind all my furniture and in closets and garage, problem solved. After my 6 month trip north I would come back to maybe 1 dead bug, maybe not. My third home which is a bigger court yard villa I have seen only 1 since 2018. I treat myself successfully. You can do it!

Totally agree ! It's amazing how easy and it is to take care of insect "problems". I believe many people are frightened into spending large amounts of $$ and for such a simple, few minuted process. Boric acid power is great and poses little health hazard when used properly. We've found the new Zevo very effective, so have given up the brand spray we have used for years; still watching to see if there is any difference.