Pest control in Corpus Christi

Texas requires any business or person doing structural pest control for hire to be licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture under the Structural Pest Control Act. TDA licenses by category, so match the category to the job: general pest control for roaches, ants and rodents; termite control for wood-destroying insects; lawn and ornamental for yard and tree pests.

TDA publishes current license lists for businesses, applicators, technicians and apprentices, and a search for companies by zip code or address. A licensed business must carry at least $500,000 of bodily injury and property damage cover with a $1,000,000 aggregate, and the policy can't exclude damage to property in the company's care, custody or control. Ask for the certificate.

Corpus Christi apartments and rentals

At complexes of five or more units, residents in or next to the treatment area must get at least 48 hours' notice of each planned indoor treatment, by a posted sign or a notice at each unit. The sign must be at least 8.5 by 11 inches and list the National Pesticide Information Center at 1-800-858-7378. At an owner-occupied home, the technician must make TDA's consumer information sheet available; TDA prints it in English and Spanish.

Formosan termites have been found in 31 Texas counties, according to Texas A&M, with more added each year. They swarm at night in late May and early June and fly to lights, so that's the window to watch porch lights and window sills.

For mosquitoes, DSHS advises EPA-registered repellent and emptying standing water from toys, tires, buckets, clogged gutters and plant pots. If you hire a yard treatment, walk the lot for standing water too, since DSHS names it as where mosquitoes lay their eggs.

For fire ants, Texas A&M AgriLife prefers its Two-Step Method: broadcast bait, then treat problem mounds. It says spring and fall are the best times to bait, because in hot, dry summers the ants go deeper and mounds are harder to see.

Scorpions around Corpus Christi homes

The striped bark scorpion is the only one of Texas's 18 species found statewide, and it hides under boards, rocks and debris. Corpus Christi's brown or green cart takes yard waste every week, so keep brush piles off the slab between pickups. AgriLife says Texas scorpion stings usually cause only moderate reactions, but watch anyone stung for an allergic response.

HomeGuide's 2025 and 2026 figures are national: $100 to $600 for a one-time visit, $80 to $150 per quarterly visit and $40 to $75 per monthly treatment. Mosquito control runs $80 to $150 per visit or $350 to $1,000 a season, highest in warm, humid places with long seasons. Termite treatment runs $225 to $2,500 for liquid or bait methods and $2,000 to $8,000 for tenting; an inspection costs $0 to $250.

Our Texas pest control guide has the full cost table and hiring checklist.

A termite inspection for a real estate sale must be written on TDA's own form, with no changes, by a licensed applicator or technician in the termite category. It covers visible, accessible areas only, and can recommend treatment only for visible active infestation or untreated past damage. If you're buying, line it up with your Corpus Christi real estate agent.

Our Corpus Christi hub covers other local services, and pest control in McAllen deals with Hidalgo County, which is on the Formosan list.