Natural Garden Pest Control: Advice from the Pros

May 1, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Pest Control • Orlando

Having a home garden takes hard work and dedication. You have to plan out which plants and vegetables you want to grow, make sure your soil is compatible, and then nurture your plants as they grow. The result can be gratifying, but this accomplishment can be dashed when you notice tiny pests feeding on your plants and destroying the garden you so carefully put together. How do you protect your plants without using chemicals? You have many options if you want to practice natural garden pest control.

Natural Garden Pest Control

Depending on the type of pest you’re dealing with, there are different ways to correct your problem. From mosquito repellent plants to homemade pesticides to adding beneficial bugs to get the job done, home gardeners have many tools at their disposal.

Mosquito Repellent Plants

If you live where the climate stays warm for most of the year, mosquito season can last virtually all … Read Full Post »

Birds That Eat Ticks: Do Turkeys Eat Ticks?

Ever been bitten by a tick? If so, you know how annoying they can be, at best. At worst, ticks can transmit serious diseases to humans. Ticks are small, parasitic pests that feed on the blood of a “host”—namely, another animal. Ticks aren’t too discriminating when it comes to their food; they’re all too happy to feast on humans, dogs and cats along with other, wilder animals. Fortunately, there are many different animals that are a tick’s natural predator, including some birds that eat ticks that might make a great addition to your home to assist with natural tick control.

Do turkeys eat ticks? That’s a question many homeowners ask. There are several types of poultry and wild birds that eat ticks, for example, along with ants, centipedes and certain other predatory insects. Keep reading to learn more about these parasitic creatures and how you can keep them away from … Read Full Post »

Sugar Ant Bites And More: How To Treat Ant Bites And Stings

April 17, 2017. Posted by Les Stobart in Pest Control • San Antonio

For such a tiny creature, ants have quite an impact on humans. These insects have lived on Earth for over 100 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs. As social animals, ants live in groups that can number in the millions. Although ants perform an important function in nature, bites from these pests can be annoying, painful and can even trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction in some individuals.

To help better understand how to treat an ant bite, it’s helpful to know about the different types of ants you might encounter and what attracts them to your home. Once you have treated your ant bite, you’ll also want to learn how to avoid an infestation so you won’t getting bitten in the future.

Sugar Ant Bites: Should I Be Worried?

One of the most common ant species you are likely to run across indoors is the sugar ant, which is actually a group of ant … Read Full Post »

Scorpions in Texas and What To Do If You Encounter One

April 12, 2017. Posted by Les Stobart in Pest Control • Austin

Scorpions truly look like something out of a movie, but they’re actually a member of the arachnid species. You’ll immediately recognize them – they have the claws of a lobster and the tail of a pug that curls up over their backs. Their bodies are covered in a hard shell and the end of their curved tails are tipped with a stinger. And sting they do, but only when surprised.

Scorpions in Texas

About 1,500 known species of this predatory arachnid live across the world. More than 90 types live in this country alone. Texas is home to over a dozen different types of scorpions, with the most common being the striped bark scorpion or Centruroides vittatus. It’s a medium-sized, pale-colored scorpion, about two to three inches long. What sets it apart from the other scorpions are the two dark stripes across its back with a dark triangle on its head.

There’s no escaping … Read Full Post »

What Is a Mosquito Hawk?

April 6, 2017. Posted by Les Stobart in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • San Antonio

Mosquito hawks, also known as crane flies, are often mistaken for huge, threatening mosquitoes—but they are not a type of mosquito at all. In fact, they aren’t even related to mosquitoes, despite the fact that they are rumored—incorrectly—to feed on mosquitoes and their larvae.

What Is A Mosquito Hawk?

What do these huge flying insects eat? Do mosquito hawks bite humans, the way mosquitoes do? And perhaps most importantly, how can you keep these insects out of your home and yard?

What Mosquito Hawks Aren’t

First, let’s clear up a couple of misconceptions about mosquito hawks. Crane flies are not the only insect species referred to by that name. Dragonflies are also sometimes called mosquito hawks since they actually do prey on mosquitoes (along with other small, flying insects) for food. Contrary to popular rumor, however, dragonflies aren’t an effective factor in mosquito control, as they don’t eat nearly enough of those bloodsucking pests … Read Full Post »

How to Get Rid of Mayflies

April 4, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Pest Control • Houston

If you’ve ever seen a gathering of flies around your home’s doorways or entryway, you’ve probably encountered a gathering of mayflies. But whether you correctly identified them, well, that’s another story. That’s because mayflies are often misidentified as dragonflies and damselflies. Although these creatures are relatively harmless, chances are you don’t want mayflies inside your home.

How To Get Rid of Mayflies

Warmer months often mean more flies and insects flying around and outside your home. When you start noticing flying insects, the next step is usually taking steps to keep these insects from getting inside your home. Let’s discuss how to correctly identify mayflies, what to do if you have an infestation, and ways to prevent them from infesting your home again.

Identification

Despite their name, the mayfly is unrelated to a housefly or other true flies. And though they might look the same at first glance, the two species are quite different. … Read Full Post »

How Long Do Flies Live?

March 28, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Pest Control • Orlando

What’s that buzzing around your outdoor picnic? It’s probably fly. That’s because the housefly (Musca domestica) is one of the most common insects people interact with daily. And with more than 16,000 species of flies in North America alone and an ability to produce an estimated 1,000,000 offspring in weeks, it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere anytime soon.

How Long Do Flies Live?

Let’s learn more about the lifespan and lifecycle of a common fly and how you can rid your home of them. We’ll also address common myths about flies and dive into the world of these pesky pests.

The Lifespan of a Fly

Contrary to popular belief, the common fly lives longer than a mere 24 hours. Entomologists say that mature house flies can live up to 25 days. And while the typical range is between 15 to 25 days, some reports indicate a lifespan of two full months.

A few … Read Full Post »

What Attracts Mosquitoes to Humans?

March 27, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Houston

For a small insect, mosquitoes can be quite aggravating. A common topic of conversation when mosquitoes are out, and biting is why certain people seem to be the target of mosquitoes and not others.

What Attracts Mosquitoes to Humans?

Let’s take a look at why mosquitoes like to bite us, what makes them choose some people over others, and what we can all do to protect ourselves from these pesky pests.

Why Do Mosquitoes Bite?

Did you know all of the mosquitoes who bite you are females? They seek out warm-blooded creatures for a meal. The mosquito’s proboscis, a part of its mouth, works like a hypodermic needle. She injects a little of her own saliva into our skin, which thins the blood and allows her to draw it out of the capillaries in our skin.

The mosquito doesn’t drink your blood for herself but uses the proteins and other substances in the blood to … Read Full Post »

How to Get Rid of Birds in the Attic

March 23, 2017. Posted by Les Stobart in Pest Control • Bryan-College Station

One of the pleasant sounds you can experience in nature is the chirping of birds. When these calls become too close for comfort, however, you may start to suspect something else is going on: you might have birds living in your attic.

How To Get Rid Of Birds In The Attic

Read on to learn how and why birds seek refuge in our homes, what signs we should look for that they are inside and how can you move them back to their proper habitat.

How do birds enter my home?

While it might seem odd to find a bird in your attic, it’s not uncommon, especially during the spring, as birds are migrating back from the south. During this time of year, our feathered friends are looking for a new place to call home and often attics, garages and chimneys offer the shelter and protection the birds are looking for.

Although these … Read Full Post »

Is Zika in Orlando?

March 10, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Orlando

As of early 2017, there were more than 5,100 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in the continental United States, including over 1,000 pregnant women infected. Miami, Florida, was the first U.S. location to document local, mosquito-borne transmissions of the virus, making Florida a focal point in the fight against this illness that can have devastating effects on pregnant women and babies born to infected mothers.

Is Zika in Orlando?

While Florida’s mosquito control efforts have been somewhat successful in stopping Zika’s spread—in December 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott even declared South Beach and all other areas of Florida to be Zika-free—the virus remains a threat in Miami-Dade County, along with other parts of the state. So what about central Florida? Is Zika in Orlando? Let’s take a look at the facts.

How Zika Spread to the United States

While the spread of Zika in the United States became public prominence in 2015, … Read Full Post »