South Florida Master Gardener Training Household Pests Dr. Bill Kern Ft. Lauderdale R.E.C. Entomology & Nematology Dept. University of Florida
Damage Food Pantry Pests Cockroaches Damage Stuff Cockroaches Some Ants Termites Carpet Beetles Clothes Moths Silverfish Crickets
COCKROACHES
Natural Foods Domestic Foods Preferred Leaf litter Wood Arthropods Fungi Algae Cheese Beer Sugar Meat Hair Wallpaper Artwork Old Paper Stamps Finger Nails Also require water but can survive for a long time without food or water
Ecological Groupings Domestic Only live inside structures. Peridomestic Live around structures and sometimes come in. Outdoors most native and some introduced species.
Comparison of cockroach sizes
Domestic cockroaches: never found outdoors German cockroaches Brown-banded cockroaches
The Asian Cockroach, Blattella asahinai
Domestic Cockroach Control Sanitation reduce harborage. Insect Growth Regulators (IGR s) Hydroprene (Gentrol) Pyriproxyfen (Nylar) Baits Bait stations Bait gels
Peridomestic Cockroaches Most are exotic. Most are large. Live outdoors and occasionally invade structures.
American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana
Newly molted: Albino cockroaches
Australian Cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae UF - IFAS
Brown Cockroach, Periplaneta brunnea UF - IFAS
Florida Woods Cockroach, Eurycotis floridana
Peridomestic Cockroach Control Exclusion seal openings. Baits use the large bait stations or gels. Treat Outdoor Refugia. Treeholes. Wood piles. Palms that retain boots.
Outdoor Cockroaches All native species, except Florida woods roach. Too dry indoors for these roaches to survive.
Surinam Cockroach, Pycnoscelus surinamensis Burrowing cockroach found in potted plants. UF - IFAS
Cuban Cockroach, Panchlora nivea
Giant Cockroach Blaberus giganteus
How are ants pests? Eat and contaminate food. Some can sting. Nuisance. Tend and defend aphids and soft scale.
Ant Body Parts
Wings Waist Antennae
Harmful Aspects of Ants: Role in human health: May be important as disease vectors but the potential not fully determined Bites and stings can be painful, dangerous, and even deadly
Crazy ant
Crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis.
Crazy Ants P. pubens
Carpenter ant
Florida carpenter ant, Camponotus abdominalis floridanus.
White-footed ants Node is hidden by gaster Light colored tarsae
Ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum.
Bigheaded ant, Pheidole megacephala. Dimorphic Workers major worker minor worker
Pharaoh ant
Pharaoh ant, Monomorium pharaonis
Stinging Ants
How do insects get their names? Sometimes by their behavior such as the Acrobat Ant Turn gaster up when disturbed
Red Imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Polymorphic with major workers and minor workers
Imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Polymorphic workers Queen
Little fire ant, Wasmania auropunctata
Little fire ant, Wasmania auropunctata
Twig ants, Acacia Ants, etc. Pseudomyrmex spp. Several species occur in Florida. This is the largest Florida species: Pseudomyrmex gracilis
Odontomachus brunneus Snap-jaw ant
Ant Control Exclusion seal openings. Baits - let them do the work. Do Not Spray Insecticides Indoors. Perimeter treatments 1 ft. up and 1 ft. out. Fire ants baits, drenches, injections.
Ant Control Bait
Ant Liquid and Gel Baits
Ant Liquid and Gel Baits
Granular Ant Baits
Ant Exterior Perimeter Sprays
Drywoods infest structures as alates Subterranean infest as mature colonies
Neotermes castaneus (Kalotermitidae) from Florida
Soldiers: based on mandibular dentation, and width of pronotum No cusps One cusp Multicusp mandible Narrow Pronotum Wide pronotum Rhinotermitidae Termitidae Kalotermitidae
DRYWOOD Labrum Pronotum Head capsule Mandible SUBTERRANEAN Fontanelle
C. brevis Amitermes floridensis Heterotermes sp. Neotermes jouteli
Florida P. simplex R. hageni A. floridensis N. jouteli I. snyderi C. brevis R. flavipes R. virginicus C. formosanus Kalotermitidae Rhinotermitidae Termitidae
Fig. F Coptotermes formosanus RHINOTERMITIDAE Heterotermes sp. Reticulitermes flavipes
Formosan subterranean termite Head is egg-shaped Fontanelle facing forward
Termitidae (higher subterranean termite) Rhinotermitidae
Alates Based on characters such as wing veination, wing color, wing texture, hairs on wings, and body color Wing veination Subterranean Drywood/Dampwood
R. hageni P. simplex R. flavipes R. virginicus C. formosanus Florida A. floridensis Rhinotermitidae Termitidae
Formosan termite alate
Dampwood vs. drywood termite
Dampwood termite wings
Reticulitermes tubing
Termite swarming
Subterranean Galleries
Treatment Methods Trenching
Treatment Methods Short Rodding
Treatment Methods Void Treatment
Treatment Methods - Baiting
Years: 0-2 Drywood Termite Colony Growth 2-4 4-6 8+
West Indian Drywood Termite
Cryptotermes brevis wing
King Soldier Queen Pseudergate
Cryptotermes brevis soldier Phragmotic head
R.H. Scheffrahn UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
R.H. Scheffrahn UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Whole-Structure Treatment: Fumigation & Heat
Fumigation
Compartmental Treatments: Heat & Cold N 2
Local Treatments: Wood Injection, Electrocution, Microwaves, Borate Sprays Borate PT-270 Electrocution Drill-&-Treat Microwaves
Drill-and-Treat Injecting termiticide: coverage NOT realistic:
Powderpost Beetles
Wood Destroying Beetles
Pantry Pests
Grouped by feeding habits: 1) Internal Feeders Larvae live entirely within whole grain kernels Rice Weevil, Granary Weevil, Angoumois Grain Moth 2) External Feeders Larvae chew on outside of grain Lesser Grain Borer, Drugstore Beetle, Flat Grain Beetle, Cadelle, Khapra Beetle, Cigarette Beetle
3) Scavengers Feed on broken grain Confused Flour Beetle, Red Flour Beetle, Sawtoothed Grain Beetle 4) Secondary Pests Feed on rotting, moldy materials Yellow Mealworm, Psocids, Some Mites
PESTS OF FABRICS Associated with wool and other animal hair and feather products in clothing, carpeting, furniture, and other household items. Will consume synthetics contaminated with nutritive material Broken into two groups: 1) Clothes moths and 2) Carpet beetles In both groups, only the larval stage is damaging Damage can also be caused by termites, crickets, cockroaches and silverfish
Black Carpet Beetle, Attagenus megatoma
Furniture Carpet Beetle, Anthrenus flavipes
Varied Carpet Beetle
Webbing Clothes Moth, Tineola bisselliella
Webbing Clothes Moth, Tineola bisselliella
Case-making Clothes Moth
Damage to Carpet
Paper Pests
Silverfish (Thysanura: Lepismatidae)
Booklouse Class: Insecta Order: Psocoptera Enlarged clypeus
Filth Flies
Humpbacked or Phorid Flies Phoridae
Vinegar fly or Pomace Fly Drosophila (Drosophilidae) Often called fruit flies or bar flies because larvae feed on yeast in fermenting fruit and spilt beer and wine at bars.
Moth fly Breeding media Drains Septic tanks Filter beds Wings with hairs Antennae long
Fungus gnat Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Family: Mycetophilidae
Plaster Bagworm
Springtail Order: Collembola
Earwig Order: Dermaptera Adults are 18 mm long. The body is reddish-brown. The legs, antennae, and wing covers are yellowish brown. A pair of so-called forceps, or pincers, is on the rear of the body.
Land planarian
Southern Black Widow Jet black above 2 reddish triangular marks on ventral abdomen that join to form an hourglass females 1/2 inch long
Red widow spider Black abdomen with red spots on top reddish cephalothorax and legs
Brown widow spider Brownish abdomen with red spots circled with white Broad orange hourglass on bottom of abdomen Cephalothorax is dark brown to black
Brown Widow Female with distinctive egg sac
Florida Bark Scorpion, Slender Brown Scorpion, Neotropical Scorpion Centruroides gracilis 1 inch
Hentz s Centruroides Centruroides hentzi 1 inch
IO moth (Saturniidae)
Flannel moth (Megalopygidae)
Puss moth (Megalopygidae)
Hag moth (Limacodidae)
Saddleback caterpillar (Limacodidae)