ABC Blog
Choose a City

Are Ants Stealing Your Pet’s Dinner?

. Posted by in , • Bryan-College Station

Texas is home to a variety of pesky ant species that thrive in our year-round warm climate. Ask the professionals how to protect your home from ongoing invasions and chances are they’ll tell you to watch where your crumbs fall. While a lot of other variables – moisture levels, landscaping, and location – come into play when ants look for new spots to settle, food waste is a major source of infestations. Keeping food off the ground is generally great advice, but what if you share your home with a hungry pet? When a food bowl is a permanent fixture on your kitchen floor, following the tips below can make all the difference.

Get to Know Your Enemy

They may look similar, but different ant species behave in very different ways. For example, carpenter ants are nocturnal, while look-alike acrobat ants are active during the day. The more you know about the … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Restaurant Team Spirit: Your Staff and Pest Prevention

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth

Serving up smart pest control tips

Folks in Dallas enjoy dining out, and their love for delicious food and great service keeps you in business. As hard as you work to make your restaurant profitable, a pest infestation can ruin inventory, run off customers, and put a dent in your reputation. Prevention is your best defense, so get your staff involved in a team effort against expensive invaders.

Back-of-House Strategies

Fresh inventory gets checked in against daily and weekly orders, but kitchen staff should give everything a second inspection before moving it to storage or the walk-in. Anything that pushes food costs over 35% sets off alarms, so there’s no room in the budget for losses from pest contamination. Red-flag meal moths around flour sacks and cockroaches in produce boxes. Stress the importance of rotating inventory, regularly sweeping out storage, and mopping floors after every prep.

Front-of-House Strategies

Your waitstaff knows the restaurant’s layout from … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Why Are We Bugged by Bugs?

. Posted by in • San Antonio

The science behind our fear of insects

What’s your least favorite insect?

For many people, that question is hard to answer. That’s not because there are so few scary bugs out there. Rather, it’s because lots of people are afraid of—or just generally “creeped out” by—all bugs. Recently, we heard an illuminating podcast about the psychology behind our fear of bugs. While it might not be enough to dispel your fears, it could help you understand why insects, arachnids, and arthropods seem so creepy.

Anyone Can Be Afraid

In the podcast, a well-known academic named Jeffrey Lockwood discusses his own fears of insects. As a grasshopper expert, he fancied himself immune to the fears that afflict normal folks. As it turns out, however, he’s just as susceptible as the rest of us. When he was out on the open prairie near his home base at the University of Wyoming, he came across an area … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Best Tips for a Tick-Free Yard

. Posted by in , • San Antonio

Ticks thrive in damp, leafy areas with plenty of shade from the hot Texas sun. If that sounds like your yard, chances are that you’re about to – or already do – have a few new tenants, and they aren’t planning on paying the rent. Despite their tiny size, ticks can cause big problems, including the dreaded Lyme disease. While rates for new cases of Lyme disease are relatively low in Texas compared to other states, your health is too important to gamble on statistics. Here’s what you can do to transform your yard from a tick haven to a tick-free zone in any season:

 

Keep Your Grass Close to the Ground

Tall grass makes the ideal hiding spot for hungry ticks on the attack. The cover keeps them out of sunlight and out of sight while they wait to make direct contact with a passing animal – or you. To discourage … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension IPM Program

. Posted by in • San Antonio

Where do we find our inspiration? It begins here.

If you’ve used our pest control services before, you understand the thoroughness and attention to detail that define our approach. However, you might not be as familiar with the theory and technique behind our unique pest management protocols. Much of the work that we do is based on the insights and achievements of the folks at Texas A&M University’s IPM program.

What Is IPM?

IPM stands for “integrated pest management.” It’s an innovative approach to pest control that focuses on sustainable, long-term solutions to the underlying issues that allow pests to thrive. It’s not simply about killing as many pests as possible and hoping that they don’t return. It’s also not about using hazardous chemicals that make it difficult for any living things to survive in the affected areas. According to Texas A&M, IPM seeks to “eliminate pest problems by strengthening and stabilizing the … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Unexpected Bee Problems to Be on the Lookout for in Austin

. Posted by in , • Austin

Going Beyond the Sting

When was the last time you suffered a bee sting? For your sake, we hope that it has been a while. Although everyone learns to avoid direct contact with bees at a young age, it seems like these hardy pollinators just can’t keep their wings—and stingers—off of us. What’s more, you might be surprised to learn that bees cause lots of issues that have nothing to do with their ability to inflict pain.

Burrowing Carpenter Bees

If you’ve found some unexplained holes in the side of your house, you might be dealing with a carpenter bee infestation. Unlike honey bees, this species likes to burrow into wood and set up colonies in fully sheltered locations. The potential damage to your home may be further compounded by the presence of hungry woodpeckers that dig deep into your exterior walls in search of tasty larvae. The best course of action is … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Nature’s Smallest Carpenters

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth

Termites: tearing down, not building up

Termites are familiar to every homeowner in the Dallas area. Even if you haven’t personally experienced them in your home, it’s likely that you have a vague idea of the damage that they can cause. It’s important to note, however, that not all termites are the same. Our region is home to a number of endemic termite species, each of which have specific life cycles, patterns of behavior and consequences for local homeowners.

Types of Termite Species in Texas

There are a number of termites that are endemic to Texas, including:

•    Desert dampwood termites

•    Eastern subterranean termites

•    Formosan subterranean termites

•    Arid-land subterranean termites

•    Western drywood termites

Not all of these termites are present in the Metroplex region. Dallas-Fort Worth lies near the boundary between the subtropical forests of East Texas and the semi-arid steppes of the southern Great Plains and Llano Estacado regions. The climate here is too … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

ABC Named “Best Pest Control” in Austin Chronicle

. Posted by in • Austin

Service with a smile really does get you noticed

At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we’ve been taking care of our customers since our founding. Homeowners and business owners across the Austin area have been good to us, and we make sure to give back whenever possible. That’s why it’s so gratifying to hear that we’ve been named among the best pest control services in the city by the Austin Chronicle.

Why Are We the Best?

Talk about a loaded question. According to the Chronicle, the “60+ years ABC has been tending to Austin’s residential and commercial needs have given them a definitive advantage over the pests that plague us.” It’s true that our experience is a real asset. We currently employ several generations of pest control specialists, each of whom can learn something from the others.

The Chronicle goes on to say that “the new generation of bug busters [at ABC] continues the … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

Roach Family, Party of Four

. Posted by in • Dallas-Fort Worth

You’ve worked hard to make your eatery worthy of five-star status. Your servers are top-notch, and your decor delights the senses. Most importantly, your specialties win rave reviews. It could all end with a single scream of horror as a cockroach runs across a table and scurries into a diner’s plate. In an even more nightmarish situation, one of your little brown friends could end up in an entrée. Remember, Dallas isn’t one of those places where cockroach is considered a delicacy. No matter how great your food is, your restaurant’s reputation can go right down the garbage disposal when the whole city hears about your bug problem.

Smart Customers Know the Signs

Don’t assume that show-stopping performances by talented live roaches and spontaneous projectile vomiting are the only risks you face. Savvy, health-conscious consumers know how to recognize the signs of a roach infestation. If they find droppings that resemble black … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed

The Latest Texas Mosquito News and Your Family’s Safety

. Posted by in , • Dallas-Fort Worth

In July, an otherwise ordinary Texas mosquito proved to be the state’s first known carrier of Chikungunya, a tropical virus that hails from the Caribbean. While rarely fatal, Chikungunya is anything but mild, causing a host of unpleasant symptoms that range from fever to vomiting. What makes Chikungunya’s arrival here even more alarming is that this mysterious disease can’t be wiped out with medication. According to a local news report, for the unlucky few who get infected, bed rest for about a week is the only prescription.

Before you panic, keep in mind that you aren’t completely helpless against Chikungunya’s advance into the continental United States. Since the virus is transmitted through mosquito bites, better mosquito control at home is the key to staying healthy all year long.

Keep Your Property Dry

There’s nothing mosquitoes love more than standing water. Besides walking around your yard to look for puddles, remember to check your … Read Full Post »

Comments Closed