Pests We Treat in San Antonio and the Hill Country

Pest Trappers handles stinging insects, household pests, termites and nuisance wildlife for homes and businesses in San Antonio and the nearby Hill Country towns. Each guide below covers how to identify the pest, what to do first and when it makes sense to bring in a licensed technician.

Not sure what you're looking at? Call or text (210) 281-1064 or book online and describe it.

Which bee is on your property? #

Bees get their own group because the right answer depends on the kind. Some should simply be left alone, and honey bees in a wall need a different plan than a nest of wasps.

• European honey bees: how to tell a resting swarm from a colony living in a wall, and who may legally remove one in Texas.
• Africanized honey bees: why nobody can tell them apart by eye, how to react if bees chase you, and what to do about a defensive colony.
• Bumble bees: when a ground or debris nest can stay for the season and when it has to go.
• Carpenter bees: what the round holes and sawdust in your eaves mean, and how to protect bare wood.

Wasps and hornets #

These are the social wasps that build paper nests and defend them. Location matters more than species: a nest beside a door is a different job from one high in a pasture tree.

• Paper wasps: spotting the open comb under eaves and porch ceilings, and when a nest near a doorway should come down.
• Red wasps: the rusty-red paper wasp of Texas porches, why they wander indoors in winter, and what removal involves.
• Yellowjackets: why ground nests are easy to mow over, how big Texas colonies can get, and why fall is the touchy season.
• Baldfaced hornets: the black-and-white "hornet" that is really a yellowjacket, and why a high nest is often left alone.
• Mexican honey wasps: what the gray paper ball in a tree is, and why it usually doesn't need removing.
• European hornets: the sources we checked don't record this one in Texas; the guide shows what you are more likely seeing.
• Asian giant hornet (northern giant hornet): it has never been found in Texas, and TAIS says so plainly. This guide covers the big local wasps people mistake for it and where to send a photo if you're still unsure.

Solitary wasps #

Solitary wasps don't defend a shared nest, so most stings come from handling or stepping on one. These guides help you decide whether to live with them.

• Mud daubers: reading the mud tubes on your walls and telling them apart from termite tubes.
• Cicada killers: the huge yard wasp that digs holes in summer and looks far scarier than it is.
• Tarantula hawks: the blue-black wasp with orange wings, its painful sting and its calm habits.
• Velvet ants: the fuzzy "cow killer" that is a wingless wasp, and why bare feet are the main risk.

Other stingers and biters #

• Red imported fire ants: mounds, stings, the Texas quarantine on moving soil, and ants in AC units.
• Striped bark scorpions: why they move into attics and living areas in hot weather, and how to make a home less inviting.
• Giant redheaded centipedes: how big they get, what a bite feels like and how to keep them outside.
• Puss caterpillars (asps): the furry caterpillar with hidden venom spines, what to do after a sting, and why we treat structures, not trees.

Household pests #

• Cockroaches: German roaches indoors versus the big outdoor roaches, and what works on each.
• Carpenter ants: telling them from termites, what damage Texas species really do, and how the nest is found.
• Spiders: recognizing brown recluse and widow spiders, and why spraying alone rarely solves a spider problem.
• Fleas: why they keep coming back, the flea-borne typhus link in Bexar County, and treating pets, house and yard together.
• Ticks: the ticks Texans meet most, how to pull one off skin properly, and making a yard less tick-friendly.
• Mosquitoes: finding the standing water they breed in and what yard treatment can and can't do.
• Bed bugs: the signs to look for, what the bites tell you and what treatment involves.
• Rats and mice: droppings and other clues, sealing entry gaps and why trapping comes with exclusion.

Termites #

• Termites: native subterranean, Formosan and drywood termites around San Antonio, swarm seasons, damage signs and Texas inspection rules.

Wildlife #

• Raccoons, opossums and skunks: getting animals out of attics and from under houses, and the Texas rabies and trapping rules that limit what anyone may do with them.

How does Pest Trappers handle any of these? #

Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549) is licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture for general pest and termite work. Every job begins with an inspection. The technician confirms what the pest is, explains the options, follows the product label and gives you a price before any treatment starts.

There are a few things our license doesn't cover, and we'll say so up front. We don't spray trees, shrubs or lawns, and we don't do tent fumigation. If your problem needs one of those, we'll tell you what kind of company to look for. To see which towns we cover, visit service areas.