3 Things Every Knoxville Homeowner Should Know About Carpenter Ants

3 Things Every Knoxville Homeowner Should Know About Carpenter Ants

In our Knoxville service area, carpenter ants can be a significant threat. These ants can damage man-made structures as they create places to establish nests. If they chew their way into your Knoxville home, there are three important points you should consider.

1.Carpenter ants aren’t always easy to detect.

This is the big one. If you know a little about carpenter ants, you might think you’ll be able to detect them and stop them before they damage your home. This isn’t always the case. The ways carpenter ants reveal themselves can sometimes go unnoticed:

  • Worker ants. You might think that you’ll see big, black ants crawling around inside your home when these ants get in. Sadly, this is rarely the case. Carpenter ants can find a lot more to eat on the outside of your Knoxville home than they can on the inside. They don’t need to raid your cabinets to get a bite to eat. You may, however, see a random scout every once in a while. If you do, be aware that one scout ant may be the only warning sign you get.
  • Ants outside. You might think that you’re going to see lots of busy little ants around your Knoxville home when carpenter ants get in. Unfortunately, carpenter ants are mostly nocturnal. They’ll be busy while you’re sleeping.
  • Sawdust. If you know that carpenter ants don’t eat wood, you might think that you’ll see sawdust piles when these ants get into your home. Keep in mind that the nocturnal nature of carpenter ants causes them to get into dark places around and inside your home. These are usually areas that are hard to get into.
  • Winged ants. You may think you’ll see flying ants if you have an infestation. The problem with this warning sign is that swarms don’t last for more than 30 minutes and sometimes flying ants take to the air and move right into the next-door neighbor’s yard.

 2. Carpenter ant damage can cause a lot of problems.

Over time, carpenter ants can do a lot of damage. As they weaken timbers, it can put stress on the structure of your Knoxville home and lead to serious damage.

3. Carpenter ants are difficult to control.

Have you ever tried to eliminate ant colonies? It’s hard. And when you’re unsuccessful, it is difficult to know it. This is something you don’t want to do with carpenter ants. The last thing you need is to have these ants continuing to do damage to your home right under your nose.

For ant control in Knoxville, reach out to Russell’s Pest Control. We have the experience and knowledge to help you protect your property and keep ants out.

Discover The Many Benefits Of Year-Round Pest Control In Knoxville

Discover The Many Benefits Of Year-Round Pest Control In Knoxville

Have you ever brushed your teeth and stared at a big centipede in an upper corner of your bathroom and wondered where that bug was going to roam after you went to bed? Have you ever watched a big wasp flying around in your garage and wondered whether or not it was from a nest inside your walls? Have you ever had to go chasing after a nasty spider in the middle of watching a television show because it crawled across the wall behind your TV? Pests are disturbing. But their ability to make us feel uneasy and interrupt our lives is only the beginning of the troubles they can cause.

While centipedes are gross houseguests, they aren’t going to make you sick. That is not the case for cockroaches, rodents, flies and other pests that pick up harmful bacteria and spread it around. When you have year-round pest control, you get ongoing protection from bugs and animals that are drawn to rotting organic material.

While a random wasp flying around in your garage or outside in your landscaping is probably nothing to worry about, it can be downright dangerous when they create a nest in your yard. Social insects have a nest-protection instinct that can cause them to swarm and attack. Year-round pest control comes with routine pest inspections that work to catch stinging pests before they can do harm.

While most spiders that get into your home will just creep you out, we have two venomous spiders in Knoxville that can present a threat. They are the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider. Black widow spiders only get into homes occasionally, but recluse spiders can do quite well in your home and grow a significant population. With year-round pest control, you’ll get ongoing removal of spider webs around your home which will work to deter common household spiders and your pest control technician will alert you when signs of black widows or brown recluse spiders are present.

When mosquitoes come into your yard, year-round control can make them regret it. When termites try to feed on your home, your termite protection will immediately begin to eliminate the attacking colony. When ticks are brought into your yard and near your home, they won’t live long enough to get onto your pets or climb onto you while you’re working on your landscaping. Year-round pest control protects your health and property all year long.

If you’d like to learn more, we’d be happy to answer your questions. If you’re ready to take the next step and begin service, request a free, in-home pest evaluation and we’ll send a pest control professional right to your Knoxville home to help you get started.

Life is better without pests. Get your protection in place today.

How Can I Tell If I Have Been Bitten By A Tick?

How Can I Tell If I Have Been Bitten By A Tick?

In Tennessee, warm weather lasts longer than in some other states. Fall in Tennessee is the perfect season to be outdoors. But if you love picking apples or going on long fall hikes, you need to know about the dangers of black-legged ticks, also called deer ticks. These insects may be small, but they can cause a lot of trouble. You may have heard of Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. And there are several other serious diseases that can come from tick bites. Here are the answers to some common questions you might have about ticks.

When are you most likely to get a tick bite?

Ticks live in nature and travel by attaching themselves to animals such as wildlife or pets. You’re most likely to find a tick bite after spending a long time outdoors. Hiking in wooded areas, camping, or even just playing in fields with tall grass can all be ways of exposing yourself to ticks. Ticks can also bite you in your own home or in your yard. They might get to your yard on your pet or on wildlife such as deer or raccoons. They could even get into your home on squirrels or mice.

Where are tick bites usually found?

Ticks can’t fly. You won’t find them falling on your head as you walk and they won’t jump off branches at you. Instead, they crawl on your feet or legs and travel upward onto your body. This means that you may be able to avoid them by wearing long pants that are light colored so you’ll see a tick when it gets on your leg. If you don’t see it, it will look for a moist, warm area such as your armpits, your groin, the back of your head, or in your hair.  Ticks want to find a protected (which means hard-to-see) place to bite and then they attach themselves to you after they bite.

What does a tick bite feel like?

You might not notice a tick bite. The good news is that it’s very rare for the bite itself to cause any pain. The bad news is, this makes it harder to notice a tick bite than other insect bites. And the longer the tick remains attached to your skin, the more chance you have of contracting a tick-related disease. In some cases, a tick bite will itch, especially once the tick has been removed.

In order to remove a tick, grip the body with a good pair of tweezers as close to your skin as possible and pull directly out. It’s a bad idea to try to remove a tick with your fingers because they can break and get stuck inside your skin. If you’ve been bitten by a tick, it’s a good idea to see a doctor to make sure you didn’t pick up any serious diseases.

What does it mean if you have multiple tick bites?

If you have multiple tick bites, or if you constantly find new tick bites on your skin, you may have ticks in your home. As I mentioned earlier, ticks can come onto your property by riding in on wildlife or by arriving on your pets. They can’t live inside for long, but they’ll survive for a while if they can continue to get blood from you or your pets. If you keep finding tick bites, you should consider professional help.

Why call Russell’s Pest Control for tick management?

Russell’s Pest Control has experience in dealing with these difficult pets. We believe in a full treatment plan, which means that we’ll help you eliminate ticks long-term. To do this, we’ll identify factors that might be attracting ticks to your home. We’ll address a rodent problem or help you cut back on the number of wildlife coming onto your property. This will ensure that ticks don’t just vanish for a day, but that they have a hard time ever coming back to bother you.

Preventing Wasp And Hornet Stings In Knoxville During The Fall

Preventing Wasp And Hornet Stings In Knoxville During The Fall

Wasps and hornets can be a nuisance during the thick of summer. Throughout June and July, they’ve been swarming your barbecues and buzzing through your picnics. But they aren’t only active in the summer. By the end of summer, all young wasps and hornets are out of their nests foraging for food. This means you might have more stinging insects now than you did all summer. Let’s take a look at what this means.

Increased Aggression in Stinging Insects

You’re more likely to be stung by a wasp or hornet in the fall. This is mostly because there are more of them. All the eggs have hatched, and entire colonies are out looking for food before winter hits. For some species of stinging insect, it’s important to gather enough food to keep a colony alive throughout the winter. For other species, hibernation isn’t an option, and fall is just the last chance to enjoy sweet nectar.

Either way, these insects are more active in the fall than they were in the spring. If you let your guard down, you may find yourself with uncomfortable stings. Wasps and hornets tend to be aggressive only when they feel threatened. It’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for hornets and wasps, especially during the fall when there are more of them around.

Preventing Wasps and Hornets

There are some things you can do now to prevent an infestation next year. One way to prevent stinging insects is to clear your yard. Stinging insects build nests in holes in the ground, in trees, on overhangs, even on playgrounds. One way to prevent this is to fill holes and trim all plants in and around your yard. Another way to prevent stinging insects is to control the presence of other pests. If you have lots of bugs on your property, wasps and hornets will probably show up in search of food.

Tips to Avoid Getting Stung

Preventative measures can be helpful, but it’s important to learn how to protect yourself from stings when stinging insects do show up in your yard. You can avoid getting stung by avoiding bright-colored clothing. Flower patterns will attract confused wasps and hornets, as will bright patches. Perfumes, or even scented soap or shampoo, can attract stinging insects. Sweet smells are enticing to them and increase your chance of getting stung. You can also minimize your chances of being stung by covering as much skin as possible and wearing long pants and long sleeves when you know you’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors. Finally, wearing bug spray can help dissuade stinging insects from coming too close to you.

When to Call Russell’s Pest Control

It’s good to think in terms of prevention and avoiding stings. Wasps and hornets are important pollinators, and you will inevitably come across a few here and there on your Nashville property. However, if your yard is filled with wasps and hornets, or if you think there is a nest on your property, it is best to get professional help. Russell’s Pest Control has experience in identifying the species of stinging insect and the factors that might have attracted them to your home in the first place. We can create a custom treatment plan to clear your yard of these pests so that you can enjoy the beautiful weather of fall without wondering if you’re about to receive another painful sting.

Did You Know Bed Bugs Are Most Active In Fall?

Did You Know Bed Bugs Are Most Active In Fall?

By now, you’ve probably heard that bed bugs are a growing problem in the United States. Over the last two decades, they’ve returned to America in force. But, being a relatively new pest threat, there are still many things people don’t know about these bugs, such as the fact that they live almost exclusively with humans. Without this knowledge, your home is at greater risk of a bed bug infestation, especially this time of year. Let’s take a look at why bed bug infestations are common in fall and talk about what you can do to prevent an infestation.

While bed bugs are a year-round pest problem, infestations can ramp up in the fall. There are two big reasons for this. The first is that kids have spent the summer on vacation, which often involves taking trips, and taking trips usually goes hand-in-hand with staying overnight somewhere. This can allow bed bugs to get picked up and brought home. So by the time fall rolls around, a bed bug infestation can start to become noticeable. This is when we start getting calls.

The second reason infestations ramp up in fall has to do with what kids do in the fall. Going back to school means kids are in close contact with each other. They leave their clothing and bags near each other. Daycare kids lie down for nap time near each other. Kids have sleepovers. These are some of the many ways bed bugs can hitchhike from one home to another during the fall.

Whether you already have an infestation or you’re working to prevent one, it is important to recognize the warning signs of a bed bug infestation. Catching bed bugs early is super important. It can help you keep them from getting into your home and help you take care of them before they can torment you and your family.

Your greatest tools in the war on bed bugs is awareness of your surroundings and the power of a hot drier. Make sure you and your kids are always on the lookout for bed bugs and signs of bed bugs. Don’t let these bugs sneak up on you. If you see bed bug eggs or bed bugs in a bag, suitcase, pocketbook, clothing or some other object that can be put in the drier, put it in for 30 minutes on the hottest setting. This will kill bed bugs in all stages of development.

If you ever get a bed bug infestation in your home, seek professional assistance immediately. Trying to get rid of bed bugs is a nightmare.

For assistance with bed bugs in the Greater Knoxville area, trust the experts here at Russell’s Pest Control to resolve your problem. We have the credentials and experience to get the job done right… the first time.

Why Homeowners Insurance Will Not Protect Your Knoxville Home From Termites

Why Homeowners Insurance Will Not Protect Your Knoxville Home From Termites

Have you ever had to file a claim for home damages? It is usually a fairly simple process. You call your insurance company. Someone from the insurance company takes a look. The claim is filed, and you get paid. Simple, right? But it doesn’t always work like this. Sometimes, you find out that insurance companies don’t always payout. There are circumstances that can leave you holding the repair bill. Subterranean termite damage is often one of them.

Insurance companies view termite damage as preventable with routine maintenance. Why? Because termite damage is preventable with routine maintenance. The problem is that most homeowners don’t have the knowledge and tools to perform this routine maintenance. So it turns into a sort of catch-22.

Insurance companies perceive their role as protecting homeowners from sudden and unforeseeable diseases, like house fires and bursting water pipes. On a side note, if termites chew through your wires and cause a house fire, which can happen, you’re probably going to be covered. But insurance companies have very little pity when they think you’re responsible for the damage. If the damage is considered the result of neglect, you’re going to pay for it.

Imagine buying a home in a flood zone and not getting flood protection. Imagine buying a home on the tip of Florida without paying for hurricane insurance. It doesn’t make sense, does it. Well, living in Tennessee without subterranean termite insurance doesn’t make sense either. Those insects can be a serious threat to properties here.

How do you get termite insurance?

You invest in termite protection that comes with a termite-damage warranty.

If you live in the Knoxville area, we can help you with this. At Russell’s Pest Control, we deploy the Sentricon System with Always Active to protect man-made structures from the threat of these wood-destroying insects. This system targets termites, and only termites, and does not require trenching or drilling. It works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it is backed by a $1,000,000 termite-damage warranty. Best of all, it doesn’t just protect you from the financial impact of finding termite damage, it keeps termites from damaging your property. Let’s see your insurance policy do that!

If you have questions or you’d like to meet with one of our licensed professionals, request a free, no-obligation estimate. We’ll take a look and give you the information you need to protect your equity.