Ghostly Pests: Learning from Haunting Pest Control Tales

Cockroach in Kitchen | Advantage Termite and Pest Control

Amidst all the ghosts and ghouls of October, nothing is quite as scary as finding an unwelcome pest infestation in your home! Even harmless pests can give homeowners quite the scare — and not the good kind you get from thriller films. 

In honor of Halloween, here are four haunting horror stories of pest nightmares and the lessons learned from them.

Disclaimer: Names in these stories have been changed for privacy, but they are all based on real pest infestation nightmares! Want to avoid your own pest horror story? Call us at first sight — we do it right!

1. Cockroach in the Coffeemaker

Here’s a not-so-fun fact: cockroaches can breed inside of your coffeemaker. While these resilient pests are known to haunt kitchens, they can hide in the most unexpected, sneaky places and go months before you realize they’re there. One homeowner experienced an unpleasant surprise when she went to make her morning coffee that turned from bad to worse.

When Harriet popped open her coffeemaker, she was surprised to find what looked like a tiny beetle crawling around inside. When this happened again the next two days, she was even more scared to realize these were baby cockroaches! After bagging up the coffeemaker and moving it outside for a few days, and then deep-cleaning her kitchen, she was shocked to discover multiple dead roaches in the bag with the coffeemaker! Rather than open up the machine and risk seeing even more, she decided it was time to buy a new one.

Takeaway: Pests Hide in Unlikely Places!

Coffee machines are breeding grounds for baby cockroaches, and you’d be surprised how many fully-grown roaches can hide inside your coffeemaker! If you see even a single cockroach crawling around your coffeemaker, there are always more lurking, so give the Advantage Termite and Pest Control team a call right away.

2. Horrifying Hornets

Aggressive wasps like yellow jackets and hornets are dangerous when aggravated, and it can be easy to upset them if you’re not careful!

Joshua was cutting some long grass in his parents’ backyard with a hedge trimmer when he suddenly noticed the buzzing sound of the machine seemed louder. He looked down and was horrified to see that his arms were covered in hornets! While cutting the grass, he had inadvertently activated an underground hornet’s nest. He had to run to the front of the house and jump into his car to escape the aggressive stingers!

Takeaway: Treat Your Yard!

Maintaining your landscaping is an important preventative measure for keeping all manner of yard pests at bay, including hornets and other wasps that are prone to building their nests underground! The vibrations of lawnmowers and hedge trimmers can easily activate a nest and send these vicious vipers flying.

To ensure you don’t have any unwelcome guests moving into your yard, give us a call if you see any yellow jackets or hornets and we will come treat for them!

3. Mouse Mayhem

The sight of a mouse is enough to scare any homeowner. But have you ever considered the pest damage rodents can cause if left to their own devices, or the kinds of storage items that may entice them to move in?

Roy knew he was dealing with a mouse problem in his garage and was trying to manage the situation with over-the-counter traps. He thought he had the situation under control. But his wife Cindy learned otherwise when she took her car in for an oil change. The dealership discovered mouse nests underneath the engine. The mouse damage was so severe that the dealership had to remove and replace some of the car’s insulation!

While Roy and Cindy managed to get their situation under control fairly quickly once they knew the mice were there, Sammy had a much more difficult time eliminating the mice from her garage. Despite how clean and organized her garage was, the mice would not evacuate! It wasn’t until she caught them eating out of a bag of grass seed that she figured out what was drawing them in. The moment the grass seed was gone, so were the mice!

Takeaway: Nowhere is Off-Limits for Pest Management

Pests can find a satisfactory living situation almost anywhere — inside of homes, out in your yard, in attics, basements, garages, and even inside vehicles! The best way to get rid of mice quickly is to call the professionals. At Advantage Termite & Pest Control, we provide custom service plans to help Kansas City homes and businesses manage all manner of pest situations.

4. Spooky Spiders

The brown recluse gets its name from its reclusive nature. While dangerous, these spiders prefer to be left alone and hide out in dark, quiet places. Despite this, a brown recluse infestation is still a possibility — and one new homeowner Amber would unfortunately experience! 

Amber and her son had just moved into their new townhome and were watching TV on their first night when they encountered a giant spider on the ceiling in the living room! It turned out to be a brown recluse spider. Because these spiders are solitary creatures, they hoped that would be the only one. Instead, they continued to find brown recluses in their garage and bathrooms for days after moving in! It turns out their townhome had been unoccupied for almost a year before they moved in, making it the perfect place for brown recluses to relax undisturbed.

Now, any time Amber and her son see a spider, they wonder if it’s a brown recluse, and Amber still checks her shoes every day!

Takeaway: Inactive Homes Breed Pests

If you have recently moved into an apartment or home, take some time to inspect for signs of different pests before you get too comfortable. Especially if the home has sat unoccupied for a few months or longer, some manner of pest may have gotten in and set up shop. Better yet, give us a call before you move in. We can help make sure your space is a pest-free home sweet home!

Don’t Be Frightened – We Can Help!

These tales may be terrifying, but they don’t have to be! With the help of Advantage Termite & Pest Control, you can enjoy pest-free living through ongoing pest management programs and always have a friend to call if an uninvited guest manages to sneak into your home or yard!

Contact us to schedule your appointment today and learn more about our programs. Call us at first sight – we do it right!

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Call 913.768.8989 to Get Your Free Estimate Today
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