Pest control in Texas City

Galveston County Mosquito Control handles residential spraying. Request a spray at 800-842-5622, by email to mosquito.control@co.galveston.tx.us, or on the county's web page. DSHS says mosquitoes stay active in much of Texas into November and December, and it reported 42 West Nile disease cases and 7 deaths statewide in 2022.

Standing water is the part you control. DSHS advises emptying toys, tires, buckets, clogged gutters and plant pots, and using EPA-registered repellent. If you still want yard treatments, HomeGuide's national figures put mosquito control at $80 to $150 per visit or $350 to $1,000 per season, highest in warm, humid regions.

Formosan termites were first found in Texas in 1956 near the Houston Ship Channel, and Texas A&M has now detected them in 31 counties, Galveston County among them. They swarm at night in late May and early June and are drawn to lights, so a cloud of winged insects at a porch light in early summer is a reason to book an inspection. HomeGuide puts termite treatment at $225 to $2,500 for chemical or bait methods nationally, and an inspection at $0 to $250.

If a Texas City home sale includes a termite report, it must be on TDA's prescribed form, done by a licensed applicator or technician in the termite category, and it covers visible, accessible areas only. For fire ants, Texas A&M AgriLife's preferred approach is the Two-Step Method (broadcast bait, then treat problem mounds), applied in spring or fall.

Structural pest control for hire needs a TDA license under the Structural Pest Control Act, Chapter 1951 of the Occupations Code. TDA publishes lists of active business and applicator licenses and a company search by ZIP code. A licensed business must carry at least $500,000 of bodily injury and property damage cover, with $1,000,000 aggregate, and that insurance must cover property in the company's care, custody or control.

For an indoor treatment at an owner-occupied home, the technician must make TDA's consumer information sheet available to you. Apartment complexes of five or more units must post notice at least 48 hours before each planned indoor treatment. HomeGuide puts a one-time general visit at $100 to $600 nationally and quarterly service at $80 to $150 a visit; the Texas pest control guide has the full price picture.

See the Texas City hub for county services, the Texas City real estate page if a sale is coming up, and pest control in Dickinson next door.