3 Invasive Pest Species That Can Infest Your Property

Many of the pests that torment American homeowners are native to the United States, but others have been accidentally brought here from other countries. Non-native pests are a problem because they don't have many predators in this country, and when a pest doesn't have many predators, its population can grow exponentially. There is very little standing between an invasive pest species and your property, so it could just be a matter of time before you encounter one of these three invasive pests in your home or backyard.

Red imported fire ants

Red imported fire ants are native to South America and were brought to the United States on boat shipments at some point before the end of the Second World War. They have spread quickly in their new home and are now common throughout much of the southern United States. They are now found in 14 states, and an additional ten states offer suitable habitat for the fire ants, should they choose to expand their range.

If they're living in your backyard, you will notice flat, irregularly shaped mounds that are as large as 4 feet across. The reddish-brown ants inside the mound will bite you if you get too close, and when that happens, the painful bite will make you feel like your skin is on fire.

Killer bees

Killer bees were created by scientists in Brazil back in 1950. The scientists wanted to create a type of bee that would produce more honey than other types, so they bred European honey bees with South African honey bees. The bees escaped, started colonies in the wild, and then spread quickly throughout the Americas. They're now found throughout much of the southern United States.

Killer bees have enjoyed a lot of media coverage since they arrived in America. You probably already know that these bees attack in huge numbers and can kill their victims. This makes it dangerous for you to try to get rid of bees on your property by yourself since there's no way to tell the difference between regular bees and killer bees until they start attacking you. Now that these dangerous invasive pests are around, it's safer just to let the professionals from sites like http://www.beeremovalnow.com handle your bee problems for you.

Formosan subterranean termites

Formosan subterranean termites are native to southern China, but during the 1960s, they were accidentally transported to the United States. They've done quite well in the United States and are now found in all of the states that have mild winters. They're now the most destructive type of termites in the United States. This is because they live in colonies that number in the hundreds of thousands. That's a lot of hungry mouths to feed!

They live in vast underground colonies and dig through the soil searching for wood, their preferred food. Sometimes, this wood is a fallen tree, but other times, it's the wooden frame of your house. They can chew through other substances, even metal, to get to the tasty wood that makes up the structure of your home.

Since they eat the back side of wood first, you may not realize that you have a problem until you see visible wood damage, or worse, your home collapses. A termite inspection is the best way to know if you have these pests living inside your home or beneath your property.

Invasive pest species are a big problem in the United States, and since their ranges are expanding all the time, you could soon find fire ants, killer bees, or Formosan subterranean termites living inside your home or in your backyard. When this happens, hire a pest control company to get rid of them for you.