Creepy Crawly Fall Pests

Creepy Crawly Fall Pests

The Halloween season is upon us and the stores are filled with candy, costumes, and, of course, creepy decorations. Hairy scary spiders, skeletons, ghosts, goblins, red beady eyed mice, and creepy crawly cockroaches are all common Halloween props that are used to scare the neighbors and trick or treaters. Halloween is a fun holiday, as long as those creepy crawly things are fake and not actually living in your home.

Russell’s Pest Control is here to remind you that actual creepy crawlers like mice, earwigs, spiders, and bed bugs can enter into your home and give you and your family a real scare! Below are some helpful tips about pests that are a bit more creepy and scary than most and how we can help.

Mice

While some people may find mice “cute” most people find them downright creepy especially if they are living in their home. Mice will eat and contaminate your food-including the stash of trick or treat candy you’ve been building; chew through and damage the structure of your home and personal items; transmit a variety of dangerous diseases; and leave trails of urine and feces throughout your home.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs hitchhike their way into people’s homes and feed on their blood as they sleep- really, how much creepier can you get? While they aren’t known to transmit any dangerous diseases, once inside a house they can breed quickly and take over an entire home in a relatively short period of time. Their mere presence can trigger a fear response and cause people to lose sleep until they are completely eliminated.

Earwigs

Earwigs are a nuisance pest. They are attracted to basement and bathroom areas that provide them with a high humidity environment. Most people are afraid of earwigs because of the myth that is associated with them. The myths states that earwigs burrow into people’s ears as they sleep in order to lay their eggs in the brains if their unsuspecting victims. Luckily for everyone, there is absolutely no truth to this myth – it’s just a good story to tell on Halloween!

Spiders

Spiders, poisonous or non-poisonous, are probably one of the most feared pests. They have 8 legs, can be large or tiny, are sometimes hairy, quick moving, and reclusive. Many people don’t even realize that they have spiders living in their home until they are startled by one as they are trying to find their shoes in the closet; or when they walk through one of their webs dangling from the ceiling in the guest room; or, worst of all, you just climb into the shower and get the water adjusted to the right temperature when a big black spider descends from the top corner of the shower stall heading directly for you. Ahhhh! Spiders are definitely the most feared!

Russell’s Pest Control can help to control all of these creepy crawly pests and other common slightly less creepy pests now and throughout the rest of the year. Don’t be scared living in your own home. Implement a year-round home pest control service and have the peace of mind that you, your family, and pets are the only ones living in your house!

For more information about how we can help through our home pest control or bed bug control services contact us today, and you, too, can experience the Russell difference!

3 Ways Stink Bugs Get In

3 Ways Stink Bugs Get In

This is the time of year when you’re going to start seeing these shield-shaped bugs crawling all over your exterior walls and clinging to your door screens. It happens every year when temperatures drop. Stink bugs, which normally live in crop fields, start looking for a warmer place to be. They begin by congregating on the sun-warmed sides of residential homes, but as temperatures drop further, they start looking for ways to get in. And, boy aren’t they good at finding them! Next thing you know they’re climbing on your television, crawling through your curtains, and buzzing around all your lights. If you’ve spent any time at all fixing screens or caulking holes in your exterior walls, you may be wondering: How are these stink bugs getting in? Here are three ways stink bugs will get into your home, even after you’ve sealed everything up.

Doors: Sadly, you may be letting stink bugs in through your doors. After you put all that time into sealing your exterior walls, you might be accidentally letting them in when you enter or exit your home. This is especially true if you have a sliding door that opens out into the back yard or onto a balcony. These doors get a lot of use and have the potential to give a stink bug entry every time they are used. If you have children, you’re in even more trouble.

What is the solution? If you don’t have kids, simply pay more attention when you enter or exit. If you have no control over who comes in or goes out, the only way to protect against this is to make sure you don’t have any stink bugs out there waiting to come in. A treatment from a pest control company will do the trick.

Any holes: You may have used a caulking gun to fill all those rotted areas, but homes can have a ton of entry points. These bugs can get in through vents, exhausts, gaps around air conditioning units, gaps around fixtures and pipes, rotted holes under siding, and hard-to-see holes under decks.

What is the solution? Do a more thorough inspection of your exterior walls, install screening over any openings that could give bugs an entrance into your home, and use that caulking gun to seal around anything that has a gap.

Chimney: This is an entry point that many homeowners miss. Stink bugs don’t generally go higher than the first story of a home, but they can. If they get in your chimney, they can fly down and wait on the damper till you open it up.

What is the solution? Some homeowners invest in a damper that sits on the top of their chimney, so that bugs can’t climb down and wait to come in.

If you’re fighting stink bugs in Tennessee, give us a call. At Russell’s Pest Control, we have the most advanced pest solutions available, and our team is recognized by the national authority on pest management as a QualityPro pest control company. We have the solutions that will keep stink bugs out of your home.

Russell’s Pest Control Supports Komen Knoxville Race For The Cure

Russell’s Pest Control Supports Komen Knoxville Race For The Cure

Russell’s Pest Control is a proud supporter of the Komen Knoxville Race for the Cure. Here at Russell’s Pest Control we are dedicated to our community and are excited to help with such a worthy cause as Breast Cancer research and support. Did you know that 100% of the proceeds from this race are actually allotted to the cause of breast cancer research and to the support of those fighting the breast cancer battle? In fact, 75% of the funds raised remain in our community to fund programs designed to offer free breast cancer screenings and patient assistance. The other 25% goes to help fund the Susan G. Komen® Grants Program. According to the Susan G. Komen Knoxville website, the “Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series is the world’s largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer ever created.”

The following schedule from the Susan G. Komen Knoxville website is for the 2015 race being held on Saturday October 24, 2015 in World’s Fair Park. Help get the word out and come out to show your support for the fight against breast cancer.

Race Day Info

6:30a-7:45am Race Day Registration Under the viaduct by the elevator

6:30am – Survivor Breakfast, sponsored by Bojangle’s, begins

6:45a – 7:15am – Race Day Team Photos at Amphitheatre

7:20am – Survivor Recognition Program at Expo Stage

7:30am – “Parade of Pink” – all survivors will gather at the Expo Stage and parade to the Amphitheatre

7:45am – Survivor Photo in Amphitheatre

8:15am – Timed Runners (blue bibs) report to the Start Line

8:30am – 5K Run/Walk Starts on Clinch Ave. Bridge

9:00am – Wendy’s Family Fun Run/Walk begins at the intersection of Clinch Ave and World’s Fair Park next to the Candy Factory

9:30am – Race Day Team Photos re-open in the Amphitheatre

10:00am – Runner Awards Ceremony

10:30am – Co-Survivor Ceremony

10:40am – Team Awards Ceremony

To register for this amazing event or to simply donate funds to the cause just go to our Russell’s Pest Control homepage and click on this Susan G. Komen Race link. Partner with Russell’s not only to stomp out pests, but also to stomp out breast cancer.

When Should You Get A Termite Inspection?

When Should You Get A Termite Inspection?

When you’re standing on the side of the highway and your car is in a ditch, it is too late to get car insurance. If the doctor comes out with clipboard in hand and tells you you’re going to need a series of operations to correct some complicated abnormality in your body, it is too late to get medical insurance. You’re probably thinking you see where this article is going, but give it a chance. You will be surprised where we end up.

This case can be made for any unexpected disaster from hurricanes to floods and house fires to burglary. When you’re standing in the wreckage of an unexpected event, it is easy to see what you should have done to protect yourself. But there is a difference between termite protection and a termite inspection. We firmly believe that every home and business should have some form of termite protection; we are, after all, a pest control company. But not everyone needs a termite inspection. Here are the cases when a termite inspection is needed.

Selling A Home

If you’re planning on selling your home, you should make sure to get a termite inspection. Termites have been known to evade detection by certified home inspectors. These silent invaders live inside the wood of a home and often leave few signs of their presence. Make sure you have a pest professional do a certified termite inspection to prevent being left holding the bill. Like in the examples above, if the real estate agent for your buyer hands you a paper that shows that they found termites in your house, it is too late; but if you find the termites first, you can have the problem fixed and put the costs into the asking price of your home.

Buying A Home

If you’re planning on buying a home, the last thing you want to do is inherit someone else’s problem. When the papers are signed and you move in, it is too late. Don’t get stuck holding the bill. Make sure you get a certified termite inspection done on that new home before you finish the deal.

When You Suspect Termites

If you’re noticing that the fence in your backyard, the back deck, the patio, or any other wood item on your property has been chewed by termites, it is time to get a termite inspection. This damage will look like someone took a wood carving tool to these wood items.

If you notice a swarm of insects or shed wings around your home, it is time to get a termite inspection. Outside swarms are a warning of a potential infestation and inside swarmers are a sign that you have unknowingly harbored termites for years. In either case, it is important to get a professional involved.

Don’t wait till you are sitting in the middle of a disaster. Protect yourself with a certified termite inspection by calling us today. Here at Russell’s Pest Control we have the training and expertise to inspect and eliminate your termite issues quickly and discreetly.