Hillsborough County, Florida

Termite, Roach and Mosquito Help for Tampa Bungalows and Bayfront Homes

Tampa wraps around Hillsborough Bay and Old Tampa Bay, with the Hillsborough River running past downtown. Water on three sides, a long rainy season and houses that date back more than a century give termites, roaches and mosquitoes plenty to work with.

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Tampa counted 384,959 residents in the 2020 census and covers about 176 square miles, more than a third of it water. The Interbay Peninsula splits Hillsborough Bay from Old Tampa Bay, and the city's official elevation is only 10 feet. Ybor City went up in the 1880s around Vicente Martinez Ybor's cigar factories, Seminole Heights filled with Craftsman bungalows along the streetcar line, and Davis Islands was built in the 1920s from mud dredged off the bay bottom.

That mix matters when pests show up. Port Tampa Bay is Florida's largest port by tonnage, and University of Florida researchers tie the spread of invasive termites to boats and shipped goods. Before recommending anything, we look at the age of the house, the trees over the roof and the water nearby.

Pests in Tampa

Formosan and Asian subterranean termites

In March 2023 UF/IFAS termite scientists confirmed that the Asian subterranean termite, a tropical species once limited to southeast Florida, is established in South Tampa. Its relative, the Formosan subterranean termite, is recorded across the city on the university's termite map. Both pack their galleries with soil and a hard material called carton, and Asian colonies are often detected first in trees. Watch for mud tubes climbing a trunk or the foundation.

West Indian drywood termites

Drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they eat and need no contact with soil. UF/IFAS finds them most often in long-settled city neighborhoods full of aging lumber, a fair description of the century-old houses in Ybor City, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights. What gives a colony away is a little heap of dry, six-sided droppings beneath a pinhole in a windowsill, door frame or attic rafter.

American and Florida woods cockroaches

Two big roaches get called palmetto bugs here. The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) lives in sewers, drains and mulch and comes indoors by way of plumbing or overhanging branches. Its native cousin Eurycotis floridana, the Florida woods cockroach, has been recorded in Hillsborough County; it is slow, nearly wingless and lets off a rank spray when cornered. UF/IFAS says outdoor roaches survive poorly inside, so sealing gaps beats spraying alone.

Day-biting container mosquitoes

Aedes aegypti breeds in buckets, plant saucers, tires and bromeliads instead of marshes, and it bites during the day. The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County issued a mosquito-borne illness alert in 2026 after locally acquired dengue cases, and the county declared a local state of emergency that September. Hillsborough County Mosquito Management asks residents to empty and scrub anything that holds water at least twice a week.

Roof rats

Across Florida's suburbs the roof rat is the main pest rat, UF/IFAS reports, and its other names, ship rat, citrus rat and palm rat, suit a port city. Roof rats nest in attics, soffits and hollow walls, chew wiring and gnaw through plastic water lines. They are skilled climbers, so trim limbs until nothing overhangs the roof, pick up fallen fruit and close openings with hardware cloth or steel mesh.

The pest year in Tampa

Swarm season, March to June
UF/IFAS says Florida termites swarm mostly between March and June. Asian subterranean termites were collected flying in Tampa in early March 2023. Formosan termites fly just after sunset from April to late June, busiest in May, and drywood termites take wing over those same three months.
Rainy season, late May to early October
Afternoon thunderstorms are so regular that the Tampa Bay area is called the lightning capital of North America. Water left standing in yards breeds mosquitoes, American cockroaches leave soaked drains for dry kitchens, and fire ant colonies shift to higher ground, sometimes indoors.
Dry season, November to April
November is usually Tampa's driest month and winter highs sit in the low to mid 70s, so pests never fully shut down. Native eastern subterranean termites swarm on warm, sunny, windless afternoons from January into April, well ahead of the invasive species.

Old wood, low ground and trees over the roof in Tampa

In the older neighborhoods the house itself is the attraction. University of Florida termite guidance is plain: keep at least six inches of foundation visible between the soil or mulch and the siding, set plants two feet off the wall, aim sprinklers away from the house and keep soffit and attic vents screened, because drywood termites favor soffits and attics.

Near the bay and the Hillsborough River, moisture and tree cover matter more. Branches touching the roof give termites, carpenter ants and roof rats a bridge, and the same guidance warns against rain barrels or compost bins within two feet of the foundation. We note those conditions on the first visit, treat what is active with eco-friendly products and explain what to fix.

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Where we work around Tampa

Ybor City
Seminole Heights
Tampa Heights
Hyde Park
Davis Islands
Palma Ceia
West Tampa
Sulphur Springs
Ballast Point
Forest Hills
Harbour Island
New Tampa

Tampa pest questions

Are Formosan termites in Tampa?

Yes. Formosan subterranean termite samples from many Tampa neighborhoods appear on the distribution map kept by University of Florida researchers, and UF/IFAS confirmed in 2023 that the related Asian subterranean termite is established in South Tampa. Treatment differs by species, so identification comes first. The university's Fort Lauderdale research center identifies termite samples from anywhere in Florida at no charge.

What are the palmetto bugs in Tampa houses?

No insect is officially named palmetto bug; people use the label for several large roaches. Around Tampa that usually means the American cockroach or the native Florida woods cockroach, both large outdoor roaches that wander in from mulch, woodpiles, palms and drains. UF/IFAS notes that removing these outdoor roaches from the house is often all the control needed, while the small German cockroach that breeds in kitchens calls for a full treatment plan.

Is dengue a risk in Tampa?

It has been. In 2026 the state health department in Hillsborough County confirmed locally acquired dengue cases and kept the county under a mosquito-borne illness alert. The virus is carried by Aedes aegypti, which breeds in containers near homes and bites in daytime. Drain standing water, repair screens and use an EPA-registered repellent.

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