Dec 29, 2023 | Pest Control
Ladybugs, with their vibrant colors and delicate appearance, are often seen as harmless garden visitors. However, when these charming insects decide to make your home their own, they can quickly turn from garden allies to household pests. In Georgia, ladybug infestations are not uncommon, and understanding how to identify, prevent, and eliminate these invaders is crucial for maintaining a pest-free home.
Understanding Ladybugs:
Ladybugs, scientifically known as Coccinellidae, are beneficial insects in gardens, feeding on aphids and other harmful pests. However, some species of ladybugs, such as the Asian Lady Beetle, can become unwelcome guests when they invade your living space in large numbers.
Identification:
Ladybugs are typically small, round beetles with bright red or orange shells adorned with black spots. The Asian Lady Beetle, often mistaken for native ladybugs, can vary in color from yellow to orange and may have no spots or multiple spots. Proper identification is essential for effective pest control.
How Ladybugs Invade Your Home:
Ladybugs seek shelter indoors during colder months, making your cozy home an attractive refuge. They enter through gaps, cracks, and openings around windows, doors, and other entry points. Once inside, they can congregate in large numbers, creating a nuisance for homeowners.
Prevention Tips:
- Seal Entry Points: Inspect your home for any gaps, cracks, or openings and seal them to prevent ladybugs from entering.
- Install Screens: Ensure that windows and doors have tight-fitting screens to keep ladybugs out while allowing fresh air to circulate.
- Clean Outdoor Spaces: Ladybugs are attracted to aphids, so regularly clean your garden and remove aphid-infested plants to deter these pests.
Elimination Strategies:
- Gentle Removal: If you spot ladybugs indoors, use a vacuum cleaner to gently remove them. Empty the vacuum bag or canister promptly.
- Natural Repellents: Use natural repellents like citrus-scented cleaners or cloves to deter ladybugs from certain areas.
- Professional Pest Control: For persistent infestations, consult a professional pest control company in Georgia. Experts can assess the situation and provide tailored solutions to eliminate ladybugs from your home.
If you find yourself facing a ladybug invasion or any other household pest issue, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert pest control team. We offer free quotes and personalized solutions to keep your home pest-free.
Ladybug infestations may seem harmless at first, but they can quickly become a nuisance if left unaddressed. By understanding their behavior, implementing preventive measures, and seeking professional help when needed, you can ensure a ladybug-free home in Georgia. Take the first step towards a pest-free living space by requesting a free pest control quote today.
Dec 28, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean
pests can’t invade your home! Unfortunately, there are several overwintering pests looking to your home to provide them with food, shelter, and water. Let’s breakdown the most common winter pests to lookout for at your Florida property.
Roaches
Cockroaches are common household pests seeking a warm environment to provide them with food and water. These pests can pose a serious health risk to humans as they transmit diseases and trigger allergies and asthma. Roaches will utilize any small hole, gap, or cervices to enter your home. They are also known to hitch a ride inside grocery bags, boxes, and used appliances.
Rodents
Rodents, including rats and mice, are year-round pests but they can become a major problem as the winter season approaches. Rodents will seek out warmth, food, shelter, and water inside our homes, squeezing through small holes and gaps to get inside. Mice and rats can cause damage to our homes and be a health risk to humans as they are known to chew through insulation, wiring, wood, and contaminate surfaces through their droppings.
Silverfish
These pests will look to your basements and bathrooms to seek a damp, cold place to live in. While silverfish are harmless to humans, they can invade in numbers, and cause them to be a major nuisance to remove them. These pests will often gain access to your home by hitching a ride through the items you’ve taken out of storage in your garage or attic. Silverfish will also feed on your books, glue, wallpaper, and boxes.
Preventing Winter Pests in Florida
It might seem impossible to deter wildlife creatures from your home during the winter but by placing certain preventative measures throughout your property, you can avoid their infestation! Check out these winter pest control tips when you want to keep these pests away:
- Inspect the exterior of your home for any cracks, gaps, and holes, seal them as soon as possible.
- Avoid leaving your pet food and water out overnight.
- Fix any leaky faucets or pipes found as soon as possible.
- Take your garbage out on a regular basis and utilize a trashcan with a tightly secure lid.
- Declutter your home by removing old newspapers, mail, and cardboard laying around your home.
- If you’re using mulch in your landscaping, place it at least 1 foot from your foundation.
- Consider reaching out to your local pest control company to get a customized plan to prevent pests from invading your home.
Dec 27, 2023 | Bed Bug
Understanding what bed bugs are and how they can find their way into your home is the first step in preventing their unwelcome presence. Let’s go over how to properly identify bed bugs and the many ways they can make their way into your home.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small, parasitic insects that primarily feed on the blood of humans and animals. The reddish-brown, oval-shaped creatures are about the size and apple seed when fully grown. Bed bugs are expert hiders, which makes identifying bed bugs challenging until an infestation is underway.
How Do Bed Bugs Enter Your Home?
- Traveling: Bed bugs can easily latch on to clothing, luggage, or personal items, and travel with you from place to place. Infested hotel rooms, motels, public transportation, or even the homes of friends and family can be potential sources of bed bug exposure.
- Secondhand Items: Bringing in used furniture or clothing that has been infested with bed bugs is another common entry point. Items like used clothing, mattresses, sofas, or upholstered chairs can provide the perfect hiding spots for bed bugs.
- Visitors: Unfortunately, your visitors could be unknowingly carrying these pests with them, especially if they have been dealing with an infestation themselves.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs
Preventing a bed bug infestation begins with awareness. Here are some steps you can take:
- Inspect secondhand items thoroughly before bringing them into your home
- When traveling, inspect hotel rooms for signs of bed bugs and keep luggage off the floor and away from walls
- Regularly wash and dry your bedding, curtains, and clothing at high temperatures to eliminate potential bed bugs
- Use mattress and box spring encasements to reduce hiding spots for bed bugs
- Learn the signs of a bed bug infestation
Understanding how to identify bed bugs and how they can enter your home is the first step to keeping these pests away. If you suspect you have bed bugs, reach out to your local pest control company for an inspection and plan of action!
Dec 26, 2023 | Florida Pest Control
Purchasing and owning a home brings a sense of pride and responsibility for many Florida homeowners. A home is not only an investment but it’s the place where you can raise your family, so it’s crucial to keep it protected. Having a routine pest control service can bring several benefits to your property and family. Here are 5 reasons to consider it.
5 Benefits to Routine Pest Control Services
- Stops Pest Infestations Early: Professional pest control technicians can identify potential pest problems before they become a full-blown infestation! Once identified, your pest professional will place preventative measures to help keep pests from returning. Likewise, they can give you advice on how to seal entry points, repair problematic areas, and reduce pest attractants around your home.
- Benefits Your Health: Pests, like roaches, can trigger allergies and asthma, while mice are known to contaminate food and surfaces through your home. Routine pest control will help correct these unhealthy conditions.
- Promoted Healthy Environment: Your pest professional will identify moisture issues, leaks, cracks in the foundation, openings around doors or windows, and crawlspace issues. All these issues can lead to water damage utility bills, stress on your HVAC systems, and structural damage. A routine pest service will help identify these issues early so you can repair them sooner.
- Decrease Pest Costs: Catching pest issues early will save you money in the long run. It can be costly to treat a pest infestation, especially if they’ve created considerable damage to your home needing expensive repairs. With a routine pest service, catching the damage early will save you thousands of dollars in the future.
- Scheduled Visits: Ongoing, scheduled visits are included in a routine pest service, saving you time to call around to find help at the last minute for a pest issue. These visits will also guarantee you priority if an unexpected infestation occurs between your regularly scheduled visits.
If you’re interested in recurring pest control services, contact your local South Florida pest control company for more information and a free inspection.
Dec 22, 2023 | Pest Control
