Does Cold Weather Kill Fleas? Your Questions Answered

You couldn’t help yourself. You saw the cutest dog and decided she needed to become part of your household.

Six months later it happened. You woke up scratching.

Oh no.

Immediately you checked out your pup. And it was just as you feared: fleas.

The next day you got flea shampoo, thinking that would be that.

But a few days later, you woke up scratching again.

The shampoo wasn’t enough. Maybe you hadn’t killed them all the first time. Or maybe your furry family member was re-infesting the house with fleas from outside.

When the weather began getting colder, you thought perhaps you’d just wait them out. After all, wasn’t the cold supposed to kill fleas?

Not exactly.

Homeowners tend to underestimate fleas because we’ve been taught that they’re no big deal. Most of us assume that we can just head to the store and buy something and it will solve our problems like snapping our fingers.

Sometimes, though, it doesn’t, … Read Full Post »

Squash Vine Borer: Protecting Your Plants From This Pest

September 14, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Corpus Christi

Squash is a very versatile vegetable. You can use it in salads and soups to up the nutrient profile. Some prefer it fried in copious amounts of butter for a delicious, yet simple side. Still others choose to turn it into a number of delicious and hearty casseroles.

Given all the ways you can use this plant, it’s no surprise that many homeowners add some summer squash to their garden. Say you decided to as well and followed all the best practices: planting after the last frost; choosing a well-drained, sunny area; using compost; adding a slow-release fertilizer; planting only a few seedlings per “hill”; keeping the hills three to four feet apart and watering early, so the leaves had plenty of time to dry.

Just as the plants started to grow, the wilting began. No matter what you did, you couldn’t seem to do anything to help the situation. Sadly, the … Read Full Post »

Jumping Spider: Texas Homeowners’ Questions Answered

August 20, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • San Antonio

Ever seen a jumping spider? Chances are, if you live in Texas you have—and seeing it move so quickly in its trademark jerky, hopping manner probably either made you lean closer in curiosity or gave you the shock of your life, if not both. There are a few things about a jumping spider Texas homeowners need to know: For starters, these little critters are no scarier than any other eight-legged arachnid. They’re just startling because they move so far, so quickly! Their appearance may seem a bit threatening, however. When crossing paths with one of these, any reasonable person might wonder, do jumping spiders bite? Let’s find out more about the jumping spider to learn where they live, whether they bite people and what to do when you find them living in your home.

Do Jumping Spiders Bite?

Before we discuss whether jumping spiders bite, let’s first learn how to identify these … Read Full Post »

How Long Can Ticks Live In A House?

August 16, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Corpus Christi

a screenshot from the youtube video featured in this blog

Finding a tick crawling through your pet’s fur or fastened to its skin is no fun—for you, the pet or the tick. Finding a tick crawling on your own skin, or even embedded mid-bite? Now, that’s particularly cringe-worthy, especially if you’ve found the tick indoors, inside your home. What if you have a tick infestation somewhere in your house or yard? How long can ticks live in a house?

According to Alan Brown, Board Certified Entomologist and Technical Manager at ABC Home & Commercial Services, how long a tick can live in a home depends on what species of tick you’re dealing with. Most tick species can’t survive for very long in a home because they require a certain amount of humidity. These tick species will die inside a home after a couple of days. However, the brown dog tick can survive inside a home for long periods of time and … Read Full Post »

Ironclad Beetle: A Friend Or Foe To Your Plants?

August 3, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Austin

You were doing yard work on a Saturday morning when you noticed a bug unlike any you had ever seen before. What was remarkable was the color. Unlike the typical black or brown coloration that allows insects to blend into their surroundings, this creature was a striking white with black splotches. Your immediate reaction was probably a mix of curiosity and fear. What is this strange bug? Do I need to be worried that it could bite? Does it pose any danger to my plants, pets or family?

Most likely, you’ve had an encounter with an ironclad beetle.

The good news is that you don’t have to worry about the impact this insect has on your yard or household. The strange part? Very little is known about this visually distinct insect.

In this post, we’ll explore everything scientists do know about this bug and other similar insects you may run across in your … Read Full Post »

Wood Boring Beetles: The Risks They Pose To Your Property

July 23, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • San Antonio

As a homeowner in the southern United States, you’re no stranger to finding bugs in your house. Spiders can be found building their webs in dark corners. Ants find their way in and need to be dealt with. In the warmer months, it seems like half a dozen flies find their way in every time you open the door.

When you noticed a sprinkling of something that looked like sawdust on the floor by the door to the garage and discovered a few tiny round holes in the wood frame, your mind went to the obvious place: termites. Or maybe it could be carpenter ants?

When you couldn’t find any of the other telltale signs of those unwanted guests, you assumed you must have been wrong. Maybe it wasn’t bugs after all.

While termites and carpenter ants are the wood pests that homeowners typically hear the most about, they’re not the only ones … Read Full Post »

What Eats Roaches? Evaluating Natural Control Methods

July 16, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Corpus Christi

Most homeowners see roaches from time to time, particularly during the warmer months of the year. Cockroaches have been on Earth over 300 million years, so they have proven to be incredibly resilient creatures. When they find their way inside your home, roaches can be particularly difficult to evict, which is one reason they are among the most hated common household pests.

Just when you feel like giving up on the battle against roaches, you may notice that Fluffy and Fido perk up when they spy a roach scurrying across the floor. The unsuspecting roach may get batted around by your cat or hunted down by your dog. This may lead you to wonder what eats roaches and whether a more “natural” roach control alternative is right under your nose.

In this post, we’ll examine all of the common questions homeowners have around what types of animals eat roaches to determine whether … Read Full Post »

Black Fly: Treating And Preventing Painful Bites

July 6, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Austin

Imagine this: You’re spending time outdoors in spring or summer when a small, grayish-black flying insect lands on your skin and bites you in order to feed on your blood. You smack at it, but it’s too quick—it zips away, leaving you with a red, itchy, painful welt. Not too hard to picture, is it? Most of us far more familiar with mosquitoes than we want to be, but how much do you know about the black fly?

While mosquitoes are a serious annoyance for those of us trying to enjoy some time outdoors through the warmer months of the year, mosquito bites pale in comparison to the nasty bite of the black fly. Unlike mosquitoes, which typically bite people most in the mornings and evenings, black flies bite all day long.

While not as prevalent in the southern states as they are in other regions of the U.S., black flies have … Read Full Post »

Centipedes In Texas: Dangerous Or Nothing To Worry About?

June 19, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • San Antonio

Does the very thought of centipedes and millipedes make you shudder? If so, you definitely aren’t alone. Fear of centipedes even has its own name: chilopodophobia (centipedes are arthropods belonging to the Chilopoda class, which gives this particular phobia its name).

Even if you’re a nature-lover to your core, there’s just something a little skin-crawly about all those many, many feet attached to that long, smooth, armor-like body. It’s hard not to recoil instinctively when you discover one of these critters under a rock or while digging in the dirt, but are centipedes in Texas really as creepy as many believe? What should you do if you come across one in your yard or, worse, inside your home? Let’s find out by learning more about these insects, along with Texas millipedes and other similar creatures.

What Risks Do Centipedes Pose?

The word “centipede” literally means “one hundred feet,” as it derives from … Read Full Post »

Digger Wasp: Beneficial Or Dangerous?

June 18, 2018. Posted by Holt Myers in Pest Control • Corpus Christi

Bugs and pests are typically considered a nuisance when they make their presence known inside or around your home. Unlike most other insects, though, the digger wasp is actually one to embrace, possibly even invite, into your backyard.

Not convinced? It’s the truth: The digger wasp feeds on other insects and pests that are harmful to the growth of a healthy lawn. And as such, this wasp can actually rid your lawn of other unwanted pests. These insects also help your lawn’s ability to soak water into the ground, aerate the soil and pollinate flowers in your backyard.

There are many subspecies of digger wasps. Despite the differences amongst species, these creatures have one thing in common: the females dig into dry dirt when it’s time to create a nest for their offspring. To make this job easier, all female digger wasps have rigid front legs, which they use to … Read Full Post »