Tyler sits in the Piney Woods of Northeast Texas, where loblolly and shortleaf pine grow on sandy loam and humidity stays high through 91 days a year above 90 degrees. That climate feeds a different set of pests than the rest of the state.
Tyler, the seat of Smith County, is Northeast Texas's most populous city, with 105,995 residents at the 2020 census across about 58 square miles. Peach orchards gave way to roses in the 1920s, and by the 1940s most of the nation's rose supply came from the Tyler area; the 14-acre municipal rose garden holds more than 38,000 bushes. Historic districts such as Charnwood, the Brick Streets and the Azalea district hold houses dating back to 1870 among mature trees.
Pines and old wood together shape the pest list. Formosan subterranean termites have turned up in Smith County, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's county records, adding to the native termites already in most established yards. Texas leafcutting ants thrive in deep, well-drained sand and strip pine seedlings across East Texas in winter. Smokybrown cockroaches, a humid-climate species, live in tree holes, mulch and gutters, and Smith County reported 22 human West Nile infections during the 2012 statewide outbreak. NET Health notes that the City of Tyler handles mosquito control.
