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Do Fleas Have Wings? Common Questions Answered

. Posted by in • Bryan-College Station
Do fleas have wings

If you’ve ever found itchy red welts on your ankles or other parts of your body, you might have wondered if you’d encountered a flea—or a whole pack of them. These tiny, annoying insects feed off animal blood, which means they bite humans as well as other animals. Thus, when they infest your pet or your home, they can become quite a nuisance. 

But how much do you really know about fleas? Do fleas have wings? How does a flea move? What other insects share similar characteristics? Read on to find answers to all your many flea questions, including how to identify them and—perhaps most importantly—how to get rid of them when you’re dealing with a flea infestation.

Do Fleas Have Wings?

While it might seem as if fleas can fly—they certainly do move quickly—they actually can’t. These members of the insect order of Siphonaptera don’t have wings. (Their order’s suffix, aptera, actually … Read Full Post »

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How To Get Rid of Armadillos

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
how to get rid of armadillos

It’s too big to be a rodent, but it’s not a raccoon or possum. What could it be digging up your yard or garden? If you are in the southeast part of the United States, one possibility—if you have ruled out your own dog—is the armadillo. Although these small mammals have a cult-like following in some parts of the country, armadillos can cause real damage by digging shallow holes all across your property in search of food, uprooting your ornamental plants and even waking you up in the middle of the night as they rub their shells against your home. As with most other types of pests, taking the time to learn more about the animal, what attracts them to your yard and what risks they pose helps better understand how to get rid of armadillos.

How to Get Rid of Armadillos

The armadillo made its way to the United States from … Read Full Post »

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What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

. Posted by in , • Corpus Christi
Aedes triseriatus

Summer. Mosquitoes. These two things go together like chips and salsa, although we can all agree that we’d prefer our warm weather without the mosquitoes. One of the most common mosquito species you are likely to encounter in the southern states of the U.S. when it’s hot outside is the Aedes triseriatus. 

What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

Your next question is most likely: how can I identify this type of mosquito? Where does it breed? What risks does it pose to me, my family and my pets? Perhaps most importantly, how can you protect against these biting pests? Let’s learn more about this pesky pest.

Aedes triseriatus Identification and Habitat

When you’re sitting in your backyard, enjoying time with friends and family or just listening to the quiet, you’re not likely to pay attention to which type of mosquito is biting you; you only know you’re getting bitten. So how do you … Read Full Post »

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How You Get Bed Bugs

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
how you get bed bugs

The last line from a children’s rhyme,“Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” can become all too real when bed bugs infest your home. Bed bugs are becoming more common as populations grow, travel increases and the bed bugs spread to new areas. Learn how you get bed bugs and what you can do to prevent them. 

How You Get Bed Bugs

You may have only heard of bed bugs from the children’s rhyme, or from recent new reports about bed bug infestations in cities across the country. It may not seem like a big problem, but several U.S. governmental agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), have declared bed bugs as a public health concern, even though bed bugs do not spread disease the way ticks and mosquitoes do.

So, what should you know about these pests? Where do they live? … Read Full Post »

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Everything You Need to Know About Texas Ticks

. Posted by in • Austin
texas ticks

There are many reasons we love living in Texas. The unfortunate reality, however, is that we share this great state with a small, but potentially dangerous pest: ticks. What types of ticks live in Texas? Where do they live? How can you prevent tick bites? Perhaps most importantly, how do you get rid of ticks? Read on to learn everything you need to know about Texas ticks.

Everything You Need to Know About Texas Ticks

The four most common types of ticks found in Texas, in order of frequency, are the:

  • Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineous)
  • American dog tick (Dermacentor veriabilis)
  • Lone star tick, also known as the northeastern water tick or turkey tick (Amblyomma americanum)
  • Deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)

All four types of ticks are hard-shelled, meaning they have a hard covering over their body. Interestingly, the shell covers more of the body in the male tick than the female.

Ticks go through four stages during their … Read Full Post »

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The Kissing Bug in Texas: Friend or Foe?

. Posted by in • Corpus Christi
Kissing bug Texas

You’re out one night sitting on your new back porch and enjoying the stars when you notice a strange-looking bug with a cone-shaped head. Curious, you trap it in a jar and show it to neighbors the next day. Their eyes immediately widen, and they tell you that you need to watch out–it’s a kissing bug.

Kissing Bug in Texas: Friend or Foe?

Slightly amused, you ask what that is, even making a joke that it sounds kind of cute. After hearing their answer, you no longer feel that way.

What is a Kissing Bug, Anyways?

If you don’t know what a kissing bug is, you should. Despite the friendly-sounding name, this small insect is a potential disease carrier, and it can pose a threat to you, your family and your pets.

Not convinced? Perhaps you’d be more inclined to agree with us if we used the bug’s other nickname–the assassin bug. Sounds a bit … Read Full Post »

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Orange Wasp, Mahogany Wasp: Red Wasp Nest Facts

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
red paper wasp

It’s a hot summer day and you walk outside your front door, greeted by a familiar buzzing sound; only, it’s not a bee. It’s another scary looking creature—a red paper wasp. You know it stings, and you know where there is one wasp, a nest isn’t too far away. But what brought it to your doorstep? How can you get rid of it? What if you notice an orange wasp, or a mahogany wasp—are they related? What about a red hornet? What does a red wasp nest look like? And most importantly, how can you keep these pests from coming back and making your home their own?

The first step in understanding how to deal with any type of unwanted pest is to learn more about it. Once you know how to identify red wasps and what attracts them, you’ll be better equipped to get rid of them—for good.

Do I Need … Read Full Post »

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Buying A New AC Unit? Five Things You Should Consider

. Posted by in • San Antonio
buying a new ac unit

During an age when the truth is just a few clicks away, many HVAC companies trade transparency for smoke and mirrors. Focused on the upsell, these heating and cooling contractors rarely take time to explain your options, consider your budget and make the recommendation that’s best for you. At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we take a different approach. Leading the industry by example, we educate customers about what they can expect from our products and services—then provide straightforward pricing without gimmicks and fine print. It’s this honest transparency that separates us from the pack, and it’s the reason so many of our customers stick with us for years. So, where do you begin when it’s time to replace your air conditioning system? It’s a confusing process, but we’ll walk you through it.

There are many different air conditioner types to consider when choosing a new unit for your home. Don’t … Read Full Post »

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Lawn Pests: Identification

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station
lawn pests identification

When you bought your new home, one of the first things that sold you on it was the large, gorgeously maintained yard. From being the greenest grass on the block to the colorful flowers and vibrant plants, it was like your own little oasis. Then something happened. Despite your best efforts, brown spots started appearing. Something was ravaging the leaves and flowers. You had been invaded. But by what? If you don’t know much about lawn pests, identification techniques or how much damage they can do, your beautiful lawn could be at risk.

You want to get rid of the pests and protect your lawn, but you’re not exactly sure what’s doing the damage. And you don’t want to get rid of helpful creatures along with the hurtful ones–not if you can avoid it.

Lawn Pests: Identification

So how do you identify which types of critters are harming your lawn? In this article, you’ll learn how … Read Full Post »

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How To Control Humidity In Your Home

. Posted by in • San Antonio
How To Control Humidity

When the air outside feels so much hotter than the weather report indicates, it’s usually because of the humidity. When it’s hot and humid outside, your body cannot cool down the way it naturally does. Normally, your body sweats to cool down, and you feel cooler as sweat evaporates. But sweat cannot evaporate quickly when there is too much moisture in the air.

When you go indoors and turn on your air conditioner, you feel cooler not only because the AC removes heat from the air and sends cool air through the vents, but also because your system is designed to remove moisture from the air. In fact, some of the first air conditioners were invented mainly with humidity control in mind. In this post, we’ll share some tips on how to get rid of moisture in your home and how to keep your home more comfortable.

What Is Humidity?

Humidity is what … Read Full Post »

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