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Pests in the House Right Now in Tampa Bay

Roaches pouring out of the kitchen, a rat over the bedroom, bed bugs on the mattress, a termite swarm at the window, wasps at the door, in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and the rest of the bay. Call now.

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This page is for the call you make while it is happening: roaches coming out from behind the stove, something running across the ceiling at ten at night, bed bugs on a mattress seam, hundreds of winged insects at a window on a warm evening, a wasp nest over the door the kids use. Call and say what you are looking at, and ask what to do until the visit.

The page also covers what to do before the company arrives and what to leave alone. Most of what gets sprayed in the first hour makes the visit harder.

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Until the company arrives

  • Photograph what you saw, where, and when. A picture of the insect helps the technician more than a description. In Tampa Bay "big roach" covers several species, and each has its own treatment.
  • Do not spray. Repellent sprays scatter German roaches into the walls and split the colony, push bed bugs into the next room, and leave a residue that keeps baits from working. Ant sprays make a colony bud into several.
  • Swarming termites at a window: close the room, vacuum the insects, keep a few in a bag for identification, and note the window. The wings on the sill are the evidence the inspector wants to see.
  • A rat in the ceiling: do not put poison in the attic. A rat that dies in a wall stays there for weeks in September heat. The order that works is trap, then seal, then trim the trees.
  • Wasps or bees at the eaves: keep people and pets away from the flight path. Honeybees are relocated by a beekeeper, not sprayed.
  • Bed bugs: do not move the mattress to another room and do not start throwing furniture out. Bag the bedding, keep it in the room, and wait for the inspection.

What the first visit looks like

A licensed company inspects before it treats. For roaches that means the kitchen, the voids behind the appliances and under the sink, and the bathroom plumbing; for rats it means the attic and the roofline; for bed bugs it means the mattress seams, the headboard and the furniture around the bed. The technician carries a state identification card, and the company holds a business license from the Florida Department of Agriculture.

A same-day visit can start the treatment the same day: gel baits for German roaches, traps on the runways for rats, a knockdown of a wasp nest. The follow-up visits, the sealing and the warranty are set after the inspection, in writing.

Who handles what

Insects and rodents inside a structure are pest control work under Chapter 482 of the Florida Statutes. Raccoons, opossums, squirrels and snakes are wildlife, handled under Florida Fish and Wildlife rules by a company that does that work; a pest control license does not cover it. Honeybee colonies go to a registered beekeeper. Say what you have and the right company takes the call.

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