The Top 5 Most Common Austin Household Pests and How to Get Rid of Them

Signs: Trails along baseboards, fine powdered soil at nest openings, mounds in the lawn

Ants are small, but they are the pest Austin homeowners call about most. They come in looking for food and water and nest in warm, dry soil, under paving and patio stones, and in the lawn. Indoors, odorous house ants and rover ants trail along baseboards and counters toward anything sweet or greasy. Outdoors, the red imported fire ant is the one to respect: its sting burns, and a small white pustule forms at the site within a day or so. Most stings are a painful nuisance, but a small share of people have a serious allergic reaction and should seek medical care if swelling spreads, breathing is affected, or they feel faint. Carpenter ants, which hollow out damp wood, are the one species that can damage the structure.

Signs: Droppings like coffee grounds, egg casings, a musky smell, roaches at night

Cockroaches find warmth in kitchens and wall voids and feed on anything they can reach. In Austin the German cockroach is the indoor species that builds up fastest; the American cockroach, which many people call a palmetto bug, comes in from drains and the yard. Both pick up bacteria in the places they walk and carry it onto counters and open food, and their droppings and shed skins are a well-documented asthma and allergy trigger, especially for children. They are nocturnal, so by the time you see them in daylight the population is already large.

Signs: Droppings, gnawed packaging, scratching in walls or the attic at night

Rodents are active year-round in Austin and move indoors as the weather cools. Mice nest in quiet, warm places like wall voids and the backs of cabinets; roof rats prefer attics and the tops of walls. Both gnaw constantly, chewing through food packaging, furniture, insulation, and wiring. They contaminate far more food than they eat with droppings and urine, and house mice can carry Salmonella onto surfaces. Gnawed wiring is a fire risk on its own. Austin's rodent problem is mostly roof rats, which is why rat removal in Austin starts in the attic rather than the kitchen.

Signs: Itchy bites in lines or clusters, rusty spots on sheets, shed skins along mattress seams

Bed bugs are silent night feeders that live on human blood, mostly while their hosts are asleep. They hide in mattress seams, box springs, headboards, and the cracks of nearby furniture, and they spread by riding in luggage, used furniture, and clothing. They are hard to get rid of and multiply quickly if left alone. Regular vacuuming, washing bedding in hot water, and inspecting second-hand furniture before it comes inside are the prevention steps that matter most. Once they are established, do-it-yourself products rarely reach the whole population.

Signs: Mud tubes on the foundation, swarmers or shed wings in spring, hollow-sounding wood

Termites are the most destructive pest on this list. Austin's termites are subterranean species that live in the soil and travel up into the house through mud tubes, eating the wood from the inside. An infestation can do substantial damage before anything shows on the surface, so early detection is what keeps a treatment small. Homeowners insurance almost always excludes termite damage, which is why an annual inspection is worth the hour it takes.