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6 Ways to Keep Pests from Traveling with You on Vacation

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
Keep Pests from Traveling with You on Vacation | ABC Blog

Summer vacation and family getaways go hand in hand. Camping by the lake, hiking in the hills and cooking in the grass are all quintessential summer activities. Enjoying the great outdoors is one thing, but no one wants to bring the outdoors home with them.

Typical vacation pests include ants, roaches, flies, mosquitoes and rodents — but perhaps the most feared is the bed bug. And in Texas, the chigger.

Common Vacation Pests

● Ants
● Roaches
● Bed Bugs
● Flies
● Mosquitoes
● Chiggers
● Rodents

Don’t let the fear of a fly keep you from enjoying the great outdoors! But, seriously, there are pests you just want to flat out avoid — bed bugs and chiggers, just to name a couple of the more difficult to get rid of.

Once you know where you are headed, you can look up if any specific pests might be a threat to you. For example, chiggers are normally found in moist, … Read Full Post »

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Carpenter Ant Awareness Week — 3 Signs and 4 Prevention Tips

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

It’s almost Carpenter Ant Awareness Week (every third week of June) and we’re here to share carpenter ant signs and prevention tips. Know what to look for and what you can do to deter carpenter ants from your home in the first place. If you’ve dealt with carpenter ants, you don’t want to again, and if you haven’t, you never want to. And you won’t — not if we can help it!

Anyone who has experienced a carpenter ant infestation is well aware of the havoc they can cause.

Carpenter ants are just as capable as termites of inflicting damage to your property. They like damp or decaying wood, removing small pieces to assemble their own nests. Although carpenter ants do not eat the wood like termites do, they can similarly infest your home and cause lasting damage.

To avoid structural damage to your home, early detection is key. Check out these 3 signs of carpenter … Read Full Post »

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How to Identify, Prevent and Treat Bed Bugs | Bed Bug Awareness Week

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
how to identify bed bugs

Bed bugs are an increasingly common problem in Texas. And summer just makes it worse. As we plan our vacations and get ready for adventure, there are some tiny travelers that want to hitch a ride. For Bed Bug Awareness Week (June 3-9, 2018), learn the tips and tricks for identifying, treating and preventing bed bugs.

Luckily, with some knowledge and quick action, you can identify and treat your bed bug problem and prevent an infestation.

Continue reading to learn about:

  1. Bed bugs, what they look like and how they thrive
  2. Bed bug prevention
  3. How to treat bed bugs if they do occur
  4. Working with a pest control professional

What Are Bed Bugs?

While not completely microscopic, bed bugs (cimex lectularius) are still extremely hard to spot. Bed bugs are very small, wingless insects with a flat, reddish body. Like mosquitoes, they feast on human blood. Because of this, one of their absolute favorite places is bed and … Read Full Post »

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When to Hire Professional Pest Control — Why Earlier is Better

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
When to Hire Professional Pest Control — Why Earlier is Better

When should you hire a pest control professional? If you are even considering it, the answer is probably now.

You may be thinking, “of course they would recommend professional pest control.” After all, we are a pest control company. While we admit the possibility of some bias, our experience consistently proves that the longer you wait to hire a professional, the worse your problem will get.

So before you start driving around town for store-bought insect killers, learn why and when you should call in the pros.

Why Should I Hire a Pest Control Professional?

Unwanted guests can enter building structures through extremely small cracks and gaps. Although it may not be possible to completely rid your home or business of all pests, there are many ways to seriously reduce the possibility of pest problems.

We highly recommend exclusion techniques (air sealing, for instance), proper sanitation and other preventative measures, but it’s also important to … Read Full Post »

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5 Natural Ways to Rodent-Proof Your Home

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
5 Natural Ways to Rodent-Proof Your Home

Finding a mouse or rat can be a shocking and revolting experience, but it’s a common one. Remember, a rat can enter a hole about the size of a quarter; a mouse only requires a dime-sized hole. If you can fit a pencil into the hole, it’s likely a mouse can fit through as well.

Mice, rats and other rodents cause billions in damage every single year. In addition to structural damage, they can also create health and fire hazards when they chew on wiring, contaminate food and die inside the home. Rodents are known to carry a myriad of diseases and even other pests, such as lice, ticks and fleas.

While we normally think of rodent infestations as a winter issue, rodents and other animals still need food and shelter in warmer weather. Unfortunately, rats and mice are year-round pests. All they need is a little incentive, such as food, warmth … Read Full Post »

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How to Prepare Your Yard for Spring and Summer

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
How to Prepare Your Yard for Spring and Summer

Winter weather can leave your landscape wanting. To help bring your landscape back to its fuller and lusher self, it’s important to do some spring lawn prep and maintenance.

Spring lawn care in essential for keeping your yard thriving and resilient through summer. If you want to a beautiful lawn and garden, follow these steps to keep your lawn and landscaping lush and green for the summer.

10 Ways to Get Lawn and Landscaping Ready for Summer

1. Rake It Up

The first step to preparing your yard for spring and summer is to do some raking and cleaning around the home. Use your yard waste container to collect all the leaves, twigs and other debris that has accumulated over winter. Vigorously rake your lawn to clear your landscaping of thatch—dried out, dead grass and organic debris.

The more material you have on the ground, the more difficult it will be for your lawn to … Read Full Post »

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Identify Home Moisture Issues to Prevent Pest Problems

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
Identify Home Moisture Issues to Prevent Pest Problems

Rainy springtime weather can have a big influence on the number and kind of pests that can enter a building. Warm and wet weather can cause pests to leave their outdoor shelters and head into manmade ones.

Many pests spend the majority of the winter months under rocks, logs, mulch and soil. By staying below the frost line, they are able to survive extremely cold temperatures. But when the warmer weather and April showers saturate the ground, most of these pests are forced out. That’s why ants and other pests often enter buildings following a heavy rain.

In addition to rainfall driving pests out of their natural homes, water also encourages termites, carpenter ants and other wood-boring insects, encourages mold growth, and serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.

How to Identify Moisture Issues Around the Home

Even if you don’t think there are any moisture problems around your property, it’s … Read Full Post »

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How Pest Control Can Help Facility Management

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth

Most facility management resources agree that there are five key areas where Facility Managers track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Pest control can help facility management in each of these key areas.

These Facility Management KPIs cover the areas of:

  • Financial
  • Operational
  • Value-Added
  • Strategic
  • Customer Satisfaction

There are many ways pest control can help with all five of these KPI areas in 2018! Here are some of the different methods:

How Pest Control Can Help Facility Management with Financial KPIs

Modern pest management is about examining pest trends and determining ways to provide better service for facilities while keeping costs down, protecting your brand, and protecting your resources .  Since for all companies time is money, what if we could reduce time at your facility?  What if we could adjust your service to a different frequency, reduce applications? All without affecting the goal of the program – controlling pests.

How Pest Control Can Help Operational KPIs

Would it be helpful to you if your … Read Full Post »

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How to Protect Yourself from Mosquito Bites

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
How to Protect Yourself from Mosquito Bites

Rising temperatures means more time spent outdoors at pools, sports, barbecues and cookouts. Unfortunately, mosquitoes can ruin all the fun.

Prevent the bite of summer by taking time this spring to prevent one of the most irritating and dangerous of pests—mosquitoes.

If you ask most people which insect they hate the most, they will mostly likely put the malicious mosquito in the #1 spot. Mosquitoes are especially troublesome in the state of Texas.

Mosquito-Borne Threats

Every year, there are dozens of reports of mosquito-borne diseases, including:

  • Encephalitis (human symptoms include high fever, convulsions, delirium and other central nervous system problems)
  • Malaria (human symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms, including chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea)
  • Zika (human symptoms include fever, rash, muscle and joint aches, red eyes
    Babies of infected mothers risk microcephaly and poor pregnancy outcomes)
  • West Nile Virus (human symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms; more severe cases can affect the nervous system and … Read Full Post »
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Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep Pests Away | National Pest Management Month

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler
Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep Pests Away | National Pest Management Month

Warmer weather brings everyone out, including plants and animals. They look forward to spring just as much as we do. That’s why April has been designated as National Pest Management Month by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).

People often think of spring cleaning as a way to declutter and improve indoor air quality, but regular cleanings and inspections are also important for keeping pests away. When tackling your spring cleaning to-do list, don’t forget about these common pest hot spots.

Indoor and Outdoor Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep Pests Away 

Whether it’s ants, termites, beetles, spiders, or rodents, use these pest-proofing tips to help keep the pests away. Let’s start with the outdoors.

Outdoor Spring Cleaning

Professional Pest Inspection

There are many ways to prevent pests from entering your home. Perhaps the best way is to contact a professional, and spring is the ideal time to do it.

In many cases, a barrier insecticide around the perimeter … Read Full Post »

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