When Do Fleas Become A Problem In Tennessee?

When Do Fleas Become A Problem In Tennessee?

If you have ever experienced a flea infestation, you know it is not a fun experience and that they are not easy to get rid of. When fleas invade an area, they multiply rapidly, leaving you with annoying flea bites that turn red and become quite itchy.

Typically, people with pets are more prone to have issues with fleas since the pets themselves pick them up. While outdoors they pick up fleas brought onto your property by other animals and then bring them into your house in their fur when they come back inside. Even if you don’t have any pets at all, you can inadvertently pick fleas up in your own backyard, at a friend or neighbor’s house, or at your local park. They travel on shoes, clothing, bags, or other personal items and, before you know it, your entire house will be invaded.

Fleas are mostly found where people and pets spend much of their time. You may most frequently find them jumping around in sofas, beds, and carpets. They have just one thing on their mind – food! Fleas feast on human and animal blood in order to survive and reproduce.

Problems Fleas Cause

Fleas are active all year long, but they become more of a problem in the southeast during our warmer months. Throughout the entire spring, summer, and fall seasons the flea population will flourish, especially since people and pets spend a lot more time outdoors during these times of the year. Fleas become more dangerous during this time, due to their large numbers. They can transmit tapeworm to pets and humans, and may also spread murine typhus and the plague. Mostly, fleas cause itchy red bites that can be annoying or even lead to secondary infections such as staph or impetigo.

Fleas are hard to get rid of on your own using DIY methods or over-the-counter products. Most of the time those methods don’t kill all of the eggs and live fleas, leaving you with an ongoing problem. Female fleas can lay upwards of 500 eggs at a time, and fleas can live for about 100 days. Flea infestations can become a huge problem in no time at all if not taken care of properly and in a timely fashion.

Getting Rid of Fleas

Flea removal and prevention is best handled by professionals. In Tennessee, you can trust Russell’s Pest Control to take care of your flea problems efficiently and effectively. We offer quality service to everyone in our service area, to control fleas and other pests that plague their homes and yards throughout the year.

Give us a call at Russell’s Pest Control to learn more about our state-of-the-art pest control technology and to get rid of fleas for good.

April Is National Pest Management Month

April Is National Pest Management Month

It’s that time of year again; the time when bugs and wildlife around, or inside, your home are going to start waking up. The warm temperatures get all those creatures moving. And, when bugs and animals get moving, they can become pests. National Pest Management Month is the perfect opportunity for each of us to share important pest control facts with each other.

Homeowners

If you own a home, you should know that termites cost U.S. property owners over $5 billion annually and that this damage can be prevented with the Sentricon® System with Always Active™. When you have ongoing termite protection, you decide how much you’re going to allow termites to cost you.

Every homeowner should know that moisture issues around a home is not only bad for the home, it also inspires pest infestations. Fixing gutters, leaky spigots, and trimming vegetation to allow sunlight to dry wet areas, can make a big difference in keeping pests out of a home.   

It is important that you not only stay informed but that you inform others. Bed bug infestations are a perfect example of this. When you share bed bug facts with those who live with you, you will help to prevent them from bringing bed bugs home with them. If your school-age kids know what bed bugs look like and what signs they leave behind, it could keep them from bringing these bugs home from a sleepover. If your college-age kids know important bed bug prevention tips, they are less likely to carry bugs home for the holidays. When you tell your friends and family that bed bug infestations have been found in movie theaters, libraries, senior living centers, taxi cabs, and many other places–that aren’t hotels and motels–you could save them, and you, from a bed bug infestation.

Business owners

National Pest Management Month is the perfect time of the year for business owners to remember that an Integrated Pest Management plan implemented by a trusted professional helps to manage financial and reputation challenges created by pests. It also helps a business stay in compliance with all governmental regulatory standards.

If you own a home or business in Tennessee, find out if you’re in our service area. Russell’s Pest Control provides industry-leading commercial and residential pest services in Knoxville and the surrounding area. April is the perfect time of year to get ahead of those pests.

Why Professional Treatment Is Worth It For Mosquitoes In Tennessee

Why Professional Treatment Is Worth It For Mosquitoes In Tennessee

You make yourself a sweet tea, grab your current paperback, and head to your backyard patio to enjoy an hour in the warm sun. But before you get settled, you feel a tickle on your leg and have to swat a mosquito away. You read a sentence and feel another tickle on your arm. Swat. You take a sip of tea and hear a buzzing in your ear. Swat. Before you know it, you’ve been chased back into your house by a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. If this scenario sounds all too familiar, you’ll want to know why professional treatment is worth it for mosquitoes in Tennessee.

When Mosquitoes Become Active

Mosquitoes are cold-blooded creatures, so they can’t handle cold temperatures. Some die off and some hibernate through the colder winter months, but either way, when spring arrives and the weather heats up, they become active again.

Spring is also the time of year when mosquito eggs that were laid in the fall can begin to hatch. All they need is a warm temperature and a covering of water, which is easily provided by a spring rainfall.

Why You Don’t Want Mosquitoes Bugging You

Everyone can agree that mosquitoes are annoying. They buzz in your ears and drive you crazy with their bites that leave behind itchy welts. But there’s more to worry about than a few bug bites.

Mosquitoes are dangerous. In fact, mosquitoes are the deadliest animal in the world. Thankfully, they’re not the deadliest animal in the United States, but they still cause deaths and plenty of illnesses each year in the US. Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of diseases such as West Nile Virus, Zika Virus, Dengue Fever, and Malaria. Although most mosquito bites turn out to be a simple annoyance, you never know if it is an infected mosquito that is leaving the bite.

Why Professional Treatment is Worth It for Mosquitoes in Tennessee

There’s really no way to completely eliminate mosquitoes from your Tennessee yard. You can try all the DIY methods you can think of; reducing standing water, using citronella, planting mosquito-repelling plants, setting up a screened-in porch, etc., and while their numbers may be slightly reduced, you’ll still have plenty of mosquitoes to deal with.

With mosquito control from Russell’s Pest Control, we take care of the areas you can’t. Our pest control technicians are trained to understand the habits of mosquitoes. We know where they breed and we know where they hide. When you hire us, we do a detailed inspection of your property to find these areas. We then treat them so that mosquitoes can no longer use them.

We offer one-time treatments, which work great if you’re hosting an outdoor event, but we recommend our seasonal treatment which will keep your yard nearly mosquito-free all spring and summer.

Professional mosquito treatment will keep your Tennessee yard a safe and enjoyable place. Give Russell’s a call to take the first step to a pleasant, mosquito-free season.

Why Spring Means The Return Of Stinging Insects To Eastern Tennessee

Why Spring Means The Return Of Stinging Insects To Eastern Tennessee
Spring offers a return of many things to Eastern Tennessee. Flowers, leaves, and warm temperatures are just a few of the things we look forward to at this time of year. Of course, spring also brings a few things we don’t look forward to. Here’s why spring means the return of stinging insects to Eastern Tennessee.

Why Spring Means the Return of Stinging Insects to Eastern Tennessee

When the weather turns cold in late fall and early winter, stinging insects die off. Only the queens survive, hunkering down in their nests to hibernate through winter until the weather warms up again.
Now that spring has returned and the temperatures have increased, the queens can become active again. They’ll come out of hibernation, leave their old nests behind, and begin to look for a new place to build a home and lay their eggs.

Dangers of Stinging Insects

There are many types of stinging insects that plague Eastern Tennessee. Wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and cicada killers are all common stinging insects in this part of the world.
While many stinging insects will keep to themselves the majority of the time, the problem comes when they sense any kind of danger. Most stinging insects are territorial and will become extremely aggressive when protecting their nests.
It’s important to note that many stinging insects can sting more than once. Many people think all stinging insects lose their stinger after one sting, but that’s not always the case. For instance, wasps can sting multiple times, making them even more dangerous to any person who comes in contact with them.
Of course, the major danger of stinging insects is getting stung, but they become a big problem when they build their nest near the entrance to your home or in a heavily trafficked area of your yard. They’ll also become a problem whenever you try to enjoy an outdoor meal, as they’ll be attracted to your food.

Why Get Professional Treatment for Stinging Insects

When you try to take care of stinging insects on your own, chances are high that you’ll end up with painful stings. If you use a spray, you may end up killing more than you bargained for. A spray can kill the stinging insects you’re aiming for, but it can also kill the beneficial honeybees and bumblebees that are so crucial to our ecosystem.
That’s why it’s best to get professional treatment for stinging insects around your Eastern Tennessee home. Russell’s Pest Control can find the source of the problem and take care of it in a safe and eco-friendly way. We also offer year-round pest control that will take care of over 30 common pest problems.
Keep your yard free of stinging insects this spring and summer with help from Russell’s. Give us a call to learn more about our services today.