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5 Common Household Spiders

. Posted by • Dallas-Fort Worth

You may have just seen spiders and their webs on every street corner last week for Halloween. But if you find one in your house, it can be intimidating. Should you try to identify whether or not it’s poisonous? Or should you squash it now and ask questions later?

Spiders can be helpful for eliminating other pests like mosquitoes, flies, and gnats. Here is our guide to identifying five common household spiders to help you determine which ones are truly dangerous to your health.

1. American House Spider

Appearance: The American House Spider earned its name for a reason. These are some of the most common spiders North Americans will spot in our homes. These spiders are yellowish brown or dirty white with spotted abdomens. They have long skinny legs and round abdomens measuring 4mm-9mm long.

Habits: American House Spiders live in close proximity to humans, so you are likely to find them in … Read Full Post »

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Fall Fun Events in DFW

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth

The summer heat is starting to slowly ease, and soon the leaves will be changing colors. The scent of pumpkin spice fills the air in coffee shops. It’s fall in DFW!

We love to celebrate each season, and we want to help our customers do the same. This year, we have compiled a list of fall fun events in DFW to help you spot the perfect pumpkin or get into the spooky spirit just in time for Halloween. Here’s a fall fun round up for all of our Dallas/Fort Worth customers from your friends at ABC Home & Commercial Services.

Autumn at the Arboretum

September 22 – November 21

One of the most popular and beautiful fall attractions in the Dallas area is Autumn at the Arboretum. Wander through displays of more than 90,000 pumpkins and enjoy the fall foliage in 15 different gardens. This year’s fall theme is “Adventures in Neverland” and features … Read Full Post »

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Silverfish Infestations: What A Homeowner Should Know

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

Have you noticed a small wingless, silver-colored bug in your home with a flat, oval-shaped body, long antennae and six legs? If so, you may have the beginning of a silverfish infestation.

Silverfish are medically harmless to humans and mostly a nuisance for homeowners. These creatures can stain clothing, contaminate food and damage paper goods. Silverfish are more common in humid environments, so you are more likely to find them in bathrooms, attics and crawl spaces. Silverfish are very quick, so if discovered, these creatures often dart away, making them difficult to catch or identify.

Silverfish problems can be difficult for homeowners to control on their own. Usually, the quickest and easiest way to get rid of a silverfish problem is by calling in a pest control professional. We’ll now go into more detail about these pests so you have the information you need to make an informed decision about how to … Read Full Post »

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Spotting Lyme Disease from Ticks

. Posted by • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

In recent years, the population of ticks has increased on a worldwide scale. This means that you are more likely than ever to find an unwanted passenger attached to your skin after spending time outdoors. Aside from being gross, ticks feeding on your blood can also be dangerous. These parasites are carriers of numerous types of disease, and the most common culprit is Lyme disease.

If you spent time outside or noticed tick bites on your skin recently, it is important to be on the look out for any signs or symptoms of disease. The earlier Lyme disease is caught, the better. Here are some tips for spotting Lyme disease from ticks from our team at ABC Home & Commercial Services.

What do ticks look like?

The first step to determining whether or not you might have contracted a disease from a tick is affirming that a tick definitely did bite you. There … Read Full Post »

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Summer Mosquito Control

. Posted by • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

 

With warmer weather comes exposed skin, and mosquitoes just can’t seem to resist the feast. Nobody likes the itch red bumps mosquitoes leave behind, but did you know those bites can also be extremely dangerous?

Mosquitoes are carriers of deadly parasites that claim thousands of lives each year. At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we want to help our customers better understand mosquitoes and learn how to protect themselves. Here are some facts about mosquitoes and tips for summer mosquito control.

Mosquito Facts

• There are about 200 different species of mosquitoes in the United States.
• Mosquitoes can transmit all of the following diseases: Malaria, Dengue Fever, Zika Virus, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, Chikungunya Virus.
• In addition to viruses that affect humans, mosquitoes can carry diseases that are extremely harmful to dogs and horses.
• Different mosquito species like different types of standing water for their larvae.
• Sites where mosquitoes lay their … Read Full Post »

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Fire Ant Prevention

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

Summer in south is known for many things, and unfortunately one of them is pesky fire ants. These creepy crawlers create nests all over your yard and venture into your home for food. If you encounter them, you might end up with some nasty stings.

If left untreated, fire ants can run rampant in your yard and even start nesting in or underneath your home. At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we are fully equipped to handle even the nastiest fire ant infestations. But we want to help you prevent fire ants from overwhelming your yard before we have to resort to professional treatment.

Here are some things to know about fire ant prevention: how to spot them, and how to kill them.

Facts About Fire Ants

Fire ants range in size from 1.6 mm to 5 mm. They are a dull red color, which can look reddish brown or reddish black depending on … Read Full Post »

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5 Common Summer Pests

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

If you haven’t guessed from the sight of sunburned shoulders and the sounds of kids enjoying temporary freedom from school, summer is officially in full swing. And while that means splashing in the pool, grilling in the back yard, and celebrating with fireworks, it also often means it is time for common summer pests to pay a visit to your home.

Being vigilant with preventative pest control and observing any potentially harmful insect populations in and around your home can be essential to reducing the likelihood of full-blown infestation. Are you wondering which creepy crawlies you should be looking for during this summer season?

At ABC Pest Control, we are proud to offer numerous solutions for getting rid of pesky insects year-round. Here is a list of five common summer pests we warn our customers to watch for during the hottest months of the year.

1. Fire Ants

After ants are finished hibernating through … Read Full Post »

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Sprinkler and Irrigation Conservation Guide | Smart Irrigation Month

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

There are many ways to save water, but during the summer, the most effective water conservation improvements come from your sprinkler and irrigation system.

With just a little bit of knowledge, you can save water while keeping your landscaping healthy during hot, dry conditions.

Smart Irrigation Month Tips

  1. Know how much water your lawn needs

The amount of water your lawn needs depends on a lot of different factors including climate, soil type and grass type.

The trick is to water deeply but infrequently. You get deep roots with deep watering. As a general rule of thumb, do not water more than 1-inch deep each time.

  • Measure your sprinkler output by placing some tuna cans (or a similarly sized, flat-bottomed container) around your lawn.
  • ¾ to 1 inch of water is a good amount each time you irrigate.
  • You can get the average output by measuring the depth of water in each can and then dividing by the … Read Full Post »
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Keep Pests Off Pets During the Dog Days of Summer

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
Keep Pests Off Pets During the Dog Days of Summer

You protect your home from pests, but what about your pet? Things only get worse during the dog days of summer.

Pests that love pets include fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and even bed bugs. These pests aren’t just annoying, they could be extremely dangerous. According to CDC data, “illnesses from mosquito, tick, and flea bites have tripled in the U.S.”—mostly due to warming temperatures. Many pests, especially biting insects, thrive in the heat. The diseases they may carry—Zika, West Nile, Lyme, and chikungunya—are also sensitive to temperature changes.

Some key findings of the CDC report include:

  • A total of 642,602 cases of disease caused by the bite of an infected mosquito, tick, or flea were reported in the U.S. and its territories from 2004 through 2016.
  • The number of reported tickborne diseases more than doubled in 13 years and accounted for more than 60 percent of all reported mosquito-borne, tickborne, and fleaborne disease cases.

With so … Read Full Post »

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6 Ways to Keep Your Garden and Yard Pest-Free Without Chemicals

. Posted by in , , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
6 Ways to Maintain a Pest-Free Garden and Yard Without Chemicals - How to Garden Without Pests or Pesticides

Today, we’re talking about how to keep your garden pest-free without the use of pesticides or insecticides. It’s a common question for people who want to maintain an organic yard or garden.

While it may not be easy, it is possible. So, don’t give up! Let’s turn that black thumb into a green thumb.

What is Organic Gardening?

Reconnecting with nature and all its beauty is a great way to heighten your awareness to the world around you, both big and small. Unfortunately, gardening is more complicated than it seems, as any true gardener knows.

First off, the soil is alive with a small-scale world mostly unknown to us. One scoop of soil can be home to hundreds of thousands of fungi, thousands of protozoans, and a huge assortment of microscopic creatures known as cryptozoa.

In the 1980s, Jostein Goksøyr and Vigdis Torsvik (Norwegian scientists), gathered a gram of soil from a nearby beech forest … Read Full Post »

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