Palm Beach County, Florida

Jupiter Pest Service Around the Inlet and the Loxahatchee River

Jupiter sits where the Loxahatchee River meets the Atlantic, under a lighthouse that has marked the inlet since 1860. Tidal water, swamp and scrub give the town its character, and they supply most of its biting insects too.

Quick Quote Schedule Service

Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, with 61,047 people in the 2020 census. The Jupiter Inlet is the southern end of the Indian River Lagoon, and the Loxahatchee, one of only two National Wild and Scenic Rivers in Florida, rises in Riverbend Park and reaches the ocean here. South of the inlet, about 3.4 miles of beach face open water.

Abacoa, started in 1997 in the southwest corner, is a New Urbanist community that includes Roger Dean Stadium. Jupiter Farms, an unincorporated area west of Florida's Turnpike, spreads agricultural and residential lots over roughly 15 square miles. Preserves such as the 271-acre Jupiter Ridge Natural Area keep scrub, marsh and tidal swamp within sight of back yards. So our first question is simply where in Jupiter you live.

Pests in Jupiter

Salt marsh mosquitoes

The black salt marsh mosquito, Aedes taeniorhynchus, does not lay eggs on water. UF explains that females leave them on damp ground above the waterline, where they wait until rain or a high tide floods the spot. Then a whole brood hatches together, and adults leave the marsh in large numbers and fly long distances. They bite hard, mostly after dark, and can transmit dog heartworm. Palm Beach County's aerial spray missions have included Jupiter; at home, long sleeves, repellent and tight screens do the rest.

No-see-ums

What bites at the dock around sunset is usually a biting midge, genus Culicoides. UF lists several coastal species whose larvae develop in salt marsh, swamp and mangrove habitat, and says they can reach incredible densities. Adults average about a millimeter and a half, small enough to walk through porch screen. They feed at dusk, at night and in the early morning. DEET repellents are the main protection UF names, and screening rated for midges keeps a lanai usable.

Green iguanas

FWC's list of counties with established green iguana populations includes Palm Beach, and the animals like exactly what Jupiter offers: water, seawalls and flowering shrubs. They swim well in salt or fresh water, and males can top five feet. Females dig nesting tunnels in riverbanks and other sandy ground, and burrowing can undermine a seawall or a walkway. Droppings on docks, boats and pool decks can carry Salmonella. Iguanas ignore citrus, and UF's list of resistant plants names oleander and croton.

Red imported fire ants

Fire ants are established in every part of Florida, and the larger lots out toward Jupiter Farms are no exception. Mounds are seldom more than 18 inches across and often sit against a sidewalk, a driveway edge or a patio slab; colonies also move into electrical boxes. After a drenching rain they relocate to higher ground, sometimes indoors. Within a day each sting site forms a white pustule, and proteins in the venom can set off allergic reactions.

Formosan and drywood termites

Formosan subterranean termites have been on UF's termite map for Jupiter since 2005, and West Indian drywood termites appear there too. Waterfront owners have two extra things to know. Formosan swarmers are drawn to lights, which UF says can pull them to a lit structure or a boat, and drywood termites colonize boats and furniture as readily as houses. Check dock lights, boat cabins and window frames after evening flights in April, May and June.

The pest year in Jupiter

Wet season, May to October
Summer is hot and wet, with brief thundershowers most days. Each soaking of the high marsh can release a new brood of salt marsh mosquitoes, and saturated soil sends fire ants looking for dry ground. After any storm, check the patio slab, the electrical box and the base of the house for fresh mounds.
Termite flights, April to June
Formosan swarms start in early April, end in late June and are busiest in May, always just after sundown. Drywood flights overlap them. Swarmers gather at porch and dock lights, so a morning walk around the fixtures tells you a lot. Keep a few specimens; identification comes before treatment.
Dry season, November to April
Winter is mild and dry, and frost is extremely rare. Iguanas are not cold hardy, so a sharp cold front leaves them sluggish. Biting midges carry on: UF notes that in cold weather and in coastal areas many species feed in full daylight.

Docks, seawalls and acreage: how Jupiter properties differ

On the river, the inlet and the Intracoastal, we look at the waterline first. Seawalls, docks and the ground behind them are where iguanas burrow, and boats deserve the same termite check as the house: UF has documented Asian subterranean termite colonies arriving in Florida aboard private vessels. Lights near the water draw swarmers, so fixtures and sills get a close look.

Inland the ground takes over. On larger lots we walk the fence lines and turf for fire ant mounds, then the wood piles and leaf litter where the Florida woods cockroach (Eurycotis floridana) lives. In planned neighborhoods such as Abacoa we look hardest at the slab edge, the shrubs against the walls and anything holding water. Wherever you live, you hear what we found before anything is applied, and the products are eco-friendly.

Quick Quote (512) 561-7451

Where we work around Jupiter

Abacoa
Jupiter Farms
Jupiter Inlet Colony
Tequesta
Juno Beach
Palm Beach Country Estates
Palm Beach Gardens

Jupiter pest questions

Why are mosquitoes so bad in Jupiter after it rains?

Because the salt marsh mosquito's eggs are already in place. They sit on damp soil above the waterline until rain or a high tide floods them, then hatch together, so large numbers of adults appear at once. Container mosquitoes add to the total: the county says a bottle cap of water is enough for them.

Are there iguanas in Jupiter, Florida?

Yes. Palm Beach County is on FWC's list of places where green iguanas have established populations, and so is Martin County, just north of town. They favor canal banks, seawalls and yards with flowering plants. FWC encourages owners to remove them from private property and notes that captured iguanas may not be relocated and released.

What bites on the Jupiter waterfront at sunset?

Most likely no-see-ums. These biting midges develop as larvae in coastal marshes and mangrove swamps. The adults are one to two millimeters long and active at dusk, overnight and at dawn. Ordinary screens do not stop them, so use a DEET repellent and consider finer midge screening.

Get your Jupiter porch back!

For a free estimate, call (512) 561-7451 and tell us whether you are on the water, in town or out in the Farms.

Schedule a FREE Estimate (512) 561-7451