Tag: prevent

0
Tightening

How to Prevent Termite Infestation in Your Home

Of all the possible pests that might invade the home, nothing is more insidious than the termite. It enters the house surreptitiously, wreaks havoc with the wood parts and destroys the integrity of the structure, all the while never showing itself. While you are confident of the sturdiness of the house, the termite has eaten it away and your confidence is hollow. Control of termites, though easily undertaken by calling in the professionals – if you’re in Kentucky and nearby states just call a Northern Kentucky pest control company and if in Ohio a few Cincinnati pest control service providers and you’re home free – it is still better to use prevention.
Prevention of termite infestation is premised on the two general concepts: denial of food, or containment. Termites eat wood -the cellulose in the wood, actually – so Pest Control Sales Jobs if they are barred from gaining access into the wood parts of the house, they cannot invade. To bar access by termites to the house wood, you can do the following:
a. Leave approximately two inches of clearance between the wood house wall and flower boxes or porches in contact with the ground or filled with soil. The two-inch space will be easy to inspect to see if it has been bridged by infesting termites.
b. Avoid wood touching the soil. Door facings, trellises, staircases and fences are the most common examples. Either put them on concrete blocks or cement footings. Where this is not possible, use treated wood. You can also put some automotive engine oil in a thick plastic bag, put in the lowest part of the wood post, close it up and sink the post into the soil. The idea is to build a termite-proof barrier between the wood post and the soil.
c. If you have basement, seal off all cracks that termites might use to invade your house. Do not rely too much on concrete foundations: a little crack and termites can squeeze through.
d. Locate plants a little way off the wood of the house to facilitate inspection of the house foundation line. Be on the sharp lookout for tell-tale signs of termite infestation like earth tunnels, hollow-sounding wood panels, and black earth above ground.
e. Rotting wood attract termites so burn off tree stumps, scrap wood How Often Should Pest Control Be Done and other wooden debris or relocate them away from your house.
As to containment, simply have the pest control professionals poison the soil below your house to build a barrier where termites cannot pass through to your home. Termites create their nests some ways below ground and only build passageways to invade houses and eat wood. A layer of poisoned soil effectively cuts off this avenue of infestation.
Termite proofing your house is not a very difficult task. It only entails regular frequent inspection to nip infestation in the bud. Since chemical or other methods of control can be costly, the best way to prevent termite infestation …

master
0
Termite Control

Home Pest Inspection Tips to Prevent Holiday Pest Infestations

Across the country, pest control problems can ruin the holidays. A home pest inspection can help you avoid this unsavory situation. During a home pest inspection, a residential pest control House Centipede Tn expert checks out your home, looking for situations that could encourage rodent and insect infestations. The tips listed below can also help you discourage pests this holiday season.
Keep it Clean
As every pest control guru knows, pantry pests are a common residential pest control problem all year long. Weevils, moths, ants, rodents and beetles are happy to feed on any carbohydrate-heavy food, including rice, cereal and flour. To avoid drawing pests to your pantry, keep a tidy kitchen. After eating, immediately clean up any crumbs or spills, and store extra food in airtight containers. Finally, keep your pantry dry; like us, pests need water to survive.
Firewood Pest Prevention
For pests, firewood represents both shelter and food. Avert firewood pest infestations by storing firewood off of the ground. Keep firewood more than twenty feet from your house. Proximity encourages infestations, as bugs tend to explore the area surrounding their homes, and firewood makes an excellent rodent and bug home. Pest inspection experts take a good look at firewood storage, since this area often creates the need for residential pest control.
Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Hitchhike
Bed bugs are showing up in posh hotels across the nation, so don’t feel bad about protecting your home from bed bugs that may have hitchhiked in with holiday guests. After all, bed bugs have spread across America by hitching rides with travelers. Your guests may unwittingly bring bed bugs into your home on their luggage.
Protect yourself against these tiny vampires by dressing guest beds in light-colored linens. This will make it much easier to see bed bug specimens, exoskeletons and feces. Additionally, you should store luggage away from How To Get Rid Of Bugs In Garden Soil bedrooms once your guests have unpacked. Following the visit, wash clean linens in very hot water. Lastly, a box spring and mattress encasement is an excellent method of practicing bed bug residential pest control.
Christmas Tree Pest Prevention
A Christmas tree is a cheery reminder that life survives even the dismal months of winter – a valuable message, especially in wet climates like the Northwest. Pest control precautions are needed, however, even with this most familiar symbol of the holiday season. Carefully check out self-cut or store-bought trees, looking for spider webs. If you find webs, remove them immediately. You should also keep an eye out for live insects lurking in your tree. These pests can breed quickly in your home’s heated environment. Apply these same home pest inspection methods when bringing fresh wreaths or garlands into your home.
Carefully Unpack Decorations
Moths, nesting mice, silverfish and carpet beetles love to set up shop in storage containers. Not only do storage boxes provide a protected home for pests, but they also contain pest food in the form of organic materials like …

master
0
Tightening

How to Prevent a Box Elder Bug Invasion

The box elder bug is a lesser-known pest that’s often mistaken for a beetle. Although box elder bugs are harmless and do not cause damage to your home, they can be a nuisance and are difficult to get rid of using regular pest control measures. Proactive pest prevention is the best way to keep your home free of these pests.
How to Spot the Box Elder Bug
Box elder bugs grow to half an inch in length during their adulthood. Typically, the box elder bug is black with three red stripes on its thorax and red veins throughout its wings. It can be distinguished from the beetle by the appearance of its young, or nymphs, which are bright red and smaller than their beetle counterparts.
They feed on soft plant matter, such as leaves, flowers and new twigs, and can commonly be found on box elder, maple and ash trees. During the fall, they migrate from their summer feeding habitat to the sides of homes and other structures that get a good deal of sunlight. They often return to the same place seasonally, with their population increasing each time. In fact, they can grow so numerous that the entire wall of your home or fence can become completely covered by them.
Through cracks and other tiny openings, they find their way inside Inside Pest Control the home and nest in the walls during the colder months.
Box Elders in the Home
Box elder bugs seek shelter in your home through cracks and crevices in walls, doors and under and around the foundation, usually on the southern and western exposures. They hibernate during the cold weather, remaining active inside the walls; however, heating systems can revive them and cause them to make their way into inhabited parts of the home.
They don’t feed on anything inside your home, and they don’t breed there, either. However, they can leave fecal stains on your upholstery and emit a foul odor when crushed.
Pest Control for Box Elder Bugs
Once these pests move into your home, regular pest control methods are generally ineffective at getting them out. The best way to control these pests is to keep their population down during summer and fall, and to utilize green pest control techniques to prevent them from entering your home.
Pest prevention methods for these bugs include:
— Remove nearby box elder and maple trees, and plant different types of trees along the west- and south-facing sides of your home. Without a food source or breeding ground nearby, they will have no reason to enter your home.
— Caulk around windows and doors, and repair any broken window or door screens to keep them from entering your home.
— Apply weather stripping to doors, and seal off any other crevices as much as possible. A green pest control company can help with this.
— Hire a pest control service to apply a residual insecticide to the exterior walls on which they congregate. This discourages them from …

master
0
Insect

Prevent The Scare Of House Spiders

Causing jumps, screams and scares to homes across the country is the dreaded sighting of a house spider. We have all had encounters with a creepy spider and whether Types Of Pest you are the one who screams for help or the one that comes running to the rescue, we can likely all agree they are not good company to have in our home.

Although very few spiders are capable of causing humans any harm, does not make these critters any better to be residing in your home. Only the black widow and the brown recluse are known to have the ability to cause severe reactions when they bite and this is only in some people. For the most part spiders are very docile and try to avoid any human interactions. Due to this fact, you will most likely find spiders in the following areas of your home:

back of the Best Time Of Year To Spray House For Bugs closet

old boxes or bins

stacks of newspaper

in the attic

in the basement

in crawl spaces

or anywhere else that is remote and away from constant human contact

Even if you do meet up with a spider while cleaning out the closet or your attic, do not fear. They are very unlikely to become aggressive unless they feel seriously threatened. And even so, most spiders are not capable of piercing through human skin when they bite.

Still not convinced that you want to see a spider ever again? Here are some ways to help prevent finding these critters spinning webs in your home:

trim back bushes and shrubs so they do not touch the side of the house

make sure all windows and doors have screens that fit tightly and do not have holes or tears

seal off cracks on the exterior of your home

de-clutter your storage spaces so spiders cannot hide out

contact your local pest control company to set up a routine pest control service

In order to keep a spider free home, try to follow the spider prevention tips above. Not only will your home be more organized in the end, but you will also have less pest problems. No matter what time of the year, the best way to prevent pests is to maintain a routine pest control service. The pest control pros can treat your home as necessary in order to get rid of any existing spiders and also prevent future ones from getting inside.…

master
0
Insect

How to Prevent a Home Pest Invasion

One of the cheapest ways to save on pest control costs is to prevent a home pest invasion. Unwanted critters often make your home theirs because they found conditions that are ideal for nesting and feeding. Eliminating these attractions with effective pest prevention techniques will let pests know they are not welcome.
Pest Prevention Pest Control Baltimore City Tips
Practice good housekeeping. Keeping your home clean is not important just for aesthetic purposes; it also helps prevent the invasion of pests.
— Practice green pest control by not leaving food out in the open.
— Place unsealed containers in your pantry, cupboards or on countertops into re-sealable plastic bags or plastic food storage containers that have lids.
— Store pet food in storage containers with lids and feed your pets indoors.
— Take the trash out on a regular basis. Make Essential Oil Houseplant Bug Spray sure your outside garbage cans have lids.
— Clean your air ducts on a regular basis and make sure they are properly sealed. Repair or replace duct work that is damaged.
— Repair or replace the vapor barrier in your crawl space.
— Make sure your attic and crawl space have good ventilation.
— Hire a pest control company to inspect your attic and crawl space every six months. They can recommend ways to prevent pest invasions or control colonies they find.
Keep moisture under control. Moisture in and around the home can cause health problems, mold damage and be an open invitation to unwanted critters that thrive in wet environments.
— Repair leaks in your roof, pool or hot tub, and mend broken pipes.
— Make sure there is no stagnant water around your home. Crawl spaces that do not drain well, clogged gutters and overwatering your yard can all lead to stagnant water.
— Refresh the water in birdbaths on a regular basis.
— Keep your attic and basement dry and well ventilated.
— Replace old weather stripping around your windows.
— Fix loose mortar around the basement and/or foundation of your home.
Secure the entries into your home. You lock your doors to deter predators, and securing any entries into your home will do the same with pests.
— Keep your windows closed. If you enjoy fresh air in your home, install a screen to help prevent the entry of insects, rodents, birds and bats.
— Make sure your crawl space has a barrier that prevents animals from taking shelter under your home. Pests such as prairie dogs and rats can quickly move into a crawl space and have a large family before you even notice you have squatters.
— Cover eaves and chimneys to prevent birds from building nests and bats from hanging out.
— Cover holes that are a quarter-inch in size or larger on the outside of your home. This size is perfect for small insects like ants or termites to crawl into your home.
Maintain your landscaping. Like your home, when your yard looks tidy, the chances …

master