Benefits Of Quarterly Pest Control

Benefits Of Quarterly Pest Control

This article is not meant to sell you on a pest service or treatment plan. It simply outlines why many homeowners decide to get quarterly pest control. The goal it to help you make an informed decision and decide what is best for your family and your home.

Pests encroach. If you’ve owned your home for any length of time you know that pests are ever encroaching upon your property and almost continually assaulting your exterior walls. Homeowners that get a yearly visit from a pest control technician realize quickly that it isn’t enough. Some pests can grow their populations significantly in a year.

Illness is unseen. When pests like cockroaches, rodents, flies, ants, ticks, fleas and mosquitoes come carrying disease and harmful bacteria families often miss the connection. When flu-like symptoms strike they assume it IS the flu. But when homeowners are shown that quarterly visits from a pest technician can reduce sickness in their homes, they make the commitment.

Pest damage is hard to repair. Finding wood damage caused by termites, carpenter ants, and other wood-destroying organisms is horrifying. They burrow deep into support beams and weaken the structure of a home. This can bend the studs in load-bearing walls and cause irreparable warping. These pests should never be allowed into a home. Quarterly visits and the monitoring of bait stations stop wood damage before it can happen.

Extermination is more costly than protection. For many homeowners, the choice to wait on investing in a year-round pest treatment isn’t because they love bugs. It is a financial decision. But when they have to spend money on hiring an exterminator, they quickly realize that quarterly visits would have cost them less.

That’s it. No sales pitch. No link for you to buy now. Just the facts. If you’ve been holding off on getting quarterly visits from a pest control company, we understand. Life is filled with hundreds of little costs, and the number of people holding their hand out to receive your hard-earned money can seem endless. But when it comes to pest control, it isn’t just a matter of improving your comfort and your standard of living, it is a decision that can actually save you more money in the long run. Hopefully, these insights will help you prevent some of the pitfalls mentioned above. But in the end, what matters most is that you have the information to make an informed decision.

Mosquito Troubles In Knoxville, TN

Mosquito Troubles In Knoxville

You’re probably not going to see this on a brochure: “Nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, against the banks of the Tennessee River, Knoxville serves as the perfect blend of southern hospitality and mosquitoes.” But it is true. Mosquitoes love Knoxville. Not for its festivals, nightlife or art culture. They love people. More accurately, they love the blood that is inside people. If you have blood, they’re going to love you. But not all people are as attractive to mosquitoes. See if you can determine which category you fall into.

Mosquitoes prefer:

  • People that expel more carbon dioxide. Mosquitoes use carbon dioxide emissions to zero in on their food source. If you just finished jogging or you are carrying a baby in your belly, your extra exertion will attract mosquitoes.

  • People with higher levels of acids on their skin, like uric acid. If you love soda, mosquitoes will love you for it.

  • People who wear darker colors. Mosquitoes fly low and use silhouettes to find their targets. If you wear lighter colored clothing, you can ward off bites.

Mosquitoes do not prefer:

  • Anyone wearing a repellent with DEET in it. Repeated studies show that DEET is effective at keeping mosquitoes away. A formula with between 10% to 30% DEET can protect a wearer for about five hours, according to a study led by Mark Fradin, Ph.D., a researcher with Chapel Hill Dermatology. Though DEET has a consistent safety record, you can always spray it on a long sleeved shirt if you prefer to not have it on your skin.

  • People wearing clothing infused with the chemical insecticide permethrin. This method has been used by the United States military for years. One soldier said, “I wore them in the jungles of South Africa; I would recommend them to anyone going out into the woods.”

Do you want to prevent mosquitoes from landing on you, but prefer to not get involved with chemicals? Greg Baumann, senior scientist with the National Pest Management Association says you can make your Knoxville yard resistant to mosquitoes with Integrated Pest Management. It involves eliminating breeding sites that invite mosquitoes to reproduce on your property. Unclog leaves from gutters, remove items from your yard where water can collect, and fill in areas of standing water. You may also want to consider enlisting the help of a professional. They can eradicate adult mosquitoes on your property and destroy eggs before they hatch. In the battle against mosquitoes, the best defense is a good offense.

For professional mosquito control in Knoxville, Russell’s Pest Control is here to help! Contact us today!

Why Fleas Are So Hard To Control

Why Fleas Are So Hard To Control

Finding fleas in your home can be a real headache. These tiny, dark reddish brown insects are hard to spot and even harder to keep up with. Once you have found a flea in your home or flea bites on you or your family, it seems like in no time you have a full infestation. Fleas typically live for 100 days. Within that time, female fleas lay up to 500 eggs. They travel around on rodents and other mammals. This why it is common to find fleas on your dog or cats. However, if you do not have pets, it does not mean you are exempt from getting fleas in your home. Pests can also be found on clothing, blankets and accessories. This is how they travel from host to host. These tiny pests are hard to see which makes them hard to fully eliminate.

Fleas are not only annoying, they are also bad for you and your family’s health. These tiny pests are known for being the most common transmitter of the bubonic plague. Not that you have to worry about that anymore. They typically just leave a small, itchy red mark on your skin. However, they are also known for spreading bacterial diseases from rats to humans. They can cause skin allergies for pets and air borne allergies for humans. They can transfer tapeworm to your pets. Having proper pet flea care, even if you have never seen a flea on your pet, is essential to your pet’s health and your safety.

Flea prevention starts by educating yourself on flea behavior. Such as, how they multiply, how they travel, as well as unique characteristics of theirs, like how they can jump nearly 150 times their own height. They are extremely hard to fully eliminate on your own, without a professional pest control plan. Here are some tips to getting started on flea prevention in your home:

  • Vacuum Often: Vacuuming often can help keep these parasites from breeding and multiplying quickly.

  • Mow Your Lawn: Keeping your landscaping in order will help to deter rodents from inhabiting your property. These rodents can bring fleas to your property and eventually into your home.

  • Pet Care: Taking proper care of your pets will help prevent them from getting fleas and from bringing them into your home. Groom pets regularly, take them to the vet and find proper flea medication to deter fleas from living on your pets.

If you find that you have a full flea infestation, it is best to call a professional pest exterminator as soon as possible to start eliminating fleas.

Cockroaches And Winter Weather

Cockroaches And Winter Weather

Roaches are one of the most common pests in Tennessee. If you’ve ever had a cockroach infestation, you know how big of a headache it can be. For every one you get rid of, it seems as though five more spring up in its place.

Winter can be a particularly troublesome time for cockroaches. As the weather gets colder, they seek shelter in the warm confines of our houses and apartments, which offer cozy places to live, access to water and lots of easy-to-find food. All of these amenities are much more difficult to find outside during the cold-weather months.

Unfortunately for us, these unwelcome guests aren’t very content to abandon this sweet setup they’ve established in our homes. However, you can take steps to try to keep these bothersome pests from shacking up in your abode. Here are three measures you can employ to keep these nasty bugs out in the cold.

  • Don’t leave any standing water around (such as in the sink or on countertops) and fix any leaky pipes if you have any.

  • Eliminate food sources by tidying up after cooking and eating. Don’t leave dishes sitting in the sink, and store food in airtight containers.

  • Seal any cracks in walls, both inside and out, to block off any potential entrances to your home.

Even if you do all this, you can still get roaches. Once you have them, they are difficult to get rid of. If you have cockroaches, contact Russell’s Pest Control. We’ve been ridding Tennessee of cockroach infestations for more than 40 years.

Winter Chill Forces Rodents And Other Small Pests Indoors

Winter Chill Forces Rodents And Other Small Pests Indoors

With cold weather and snow blanketing much of the country, homeowners aren’t the only ones seeking shelter indoors. Rodents are also looking for a warm place like our homes to escape the winter chill. Unfortunately, these small pests can cause more than just a headache for homeowners if they gain entrance inside.

Rodents can contaminate food sources and serve as vectors of many diseases, such as salmonella and the potentially fatal Hantavirus. Moreover, mice and rats can cause serious structural damage by chewing through insulation, wallboards, wood and electrical wiring.

It’s much easier to prevent an infestation than to get rid of pests after they’ve found a cozy retreat inside the home. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) recommends the following tips to keep homes rodent-free this winter:

  • Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home, including areas where utilities and pipes enter, using caulk, steel wool or a combination of both.

  • Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around the basement foundation and windows.

  • Screen vents and openings to chimneys.

  • Store food in airtight containers and dispose of garbage regularly.

  • Inspect items such as boxes, grocery bags and other packages brought into the home.

If you find rodent feces or hear sounds of scurrying in the walls, contact Russell’s Pest Control, and we’ll perform a free home inspection.

Insect Pests And Winter Weather

A good portion of the United States, including East Tennessee, went through a bout of unseasonably cold weather, with thermometers barely hovering above zero. But what does that have to do with pests?

You may have observed people speculating in conversation or on Facebook about what the cold temperatures will mean for insects in the spring and fall. A popular opinion has been that this weather means we will see fewer insect pests in the spring and summer. Is this true? The answer is “it depends.”

Some insects, such as stink bugs, lady bugs and certain types of ants, tend to invade homes during the fall. These pests look for warm places in preparation for winter, so they are less likely to be affected by any climate fluctuations since they’re already inside.

Pests like beetles, box elder bees, wasps, hornets, crickets, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and others, are more likely to be sensitive to temperature changes. That’s because these insects burrow during the winter and lay their eggs in the ground. Extreme cold can kill off these eggs, which means fewer bugs in the spring and summer. However, the extent to which the polar vortex affected next season’s insect population is impossible to determine, as it depends on how deep the larvae are in the ground.

To sum it all up, there is little doubt that the unseasonably cold weather will have an effect on the number of insects we’ll face in the spring and summer. However, it’s impossible to tell how pronounced that effect will be.

Bugs Cause A Stink As Colder Weather Arrives

As we enter the thick of winter, stink bugs are likely to make an appearance in homes. Homeowners can take proactive measures to help keep these smelly pests at bay this winter.

“Fortunately, stink bugs do not pose a safety or property risk to homeowners,” says Mark Nadolski, owner/general manager of Russell’s Pest Control. However, they tend to invade homes in high numbers and can become a nuisance once inside.”

Experts at the National Pest Management Association, a nonprofit organization committed to the protection of public health, food and property from household pests, offer a few simple tips to ward off stink bugs before an infestation develops.

  • Seal cracks around windows, doors, electrical outlets, ceiling fans and light switches to prevent stink bugs from entering the home.

  • Stink bugs are attracted to lights, so it’s recommended to keep outdoor lighting to a minimum.

  • Repair damaged window screens and install door sweeps on exterior doors.

  • Properly ventilate basements, attics, garages and crawl spaces to eliminate harborage points. Consider using a dehumidifier in these areas.

  • Install screens over the chimney and attic vents.

  • Keep branches and shrubbery well-trimmed, and make sure to store firewood at least 20 feet away from the house.

Tips For Pest Prevention During The Holidays

As families get into the holiday spirit, digging out decorations and unpacking strands of twinkling lights, it is important to be aware of unwanted guests. Pests can make their way into your home via boxes of ornaments, fresh-cut Christmas trees, wreathes and even firewood.

Ants and spiders can easily hide in the branches of trees and crevices of firewood, while mice can chew through cardboard boxes of decorations that have been stored away since last season. Unfortunately, these pests can pose serious health threats, from food contamination to the spread of disease, should they find a way inside.

Russell’s Pest Control advises homeowners to carefully inspect these items for pests before bringing them inside the home. Here are some tips The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) recommends during the holidays:

  • Inspect live, fresh-cut, evergreen trees, wreathes and garlands for spiders, insect nests or eggs before purchasing. Shake greenery outdoors to remove any pests before bringing them inside.

  • Unpack decorations outdoors so pests aren’t released into the home. Repack decorations in durable, sealed containers that pests can’t chew through.

  • Store firewood at least 20 feet from the home on a raised structure, such as concrete blocks or poles.

  • If you suspect a pest infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest professional to inspect, identify and treat the problem.

A Good Perspective On Spiders

Recently, we linked to an article on our facebook page by an entomologist blogger who discussed the use of scare tactics in journalism, particularly in relation to extremely unpopular pests like spiders. Now granted, we’re not afraid to employ the spook factor on occasion to make people’s jaws drop because there really are some pests in the world that no one wants to meet during daily life. However, we want people to have a proper perspective on pests. Right now, spiders are a hot topic in Knoxville and surrounding areas because it’s been an extremely webby year, so let’s talk about them for a bit.

The article linked above said that, on average, people should assume that they’re within six feet of a spider at any given point. This is not good news. There are some people who just don’t mind the presence of spiders (I live with one of those people, and it’s completely baffling to me). However, most people don’t want to think about being less than half a room away from a spider while they sleep. Let us be reasonable, though. Most of those spiders are really tiny, and you probably wouldn’t even notice them if you passed them in broad daylight. There are a lot of arachnids in our country that are so small that they couldn’t bite you even if they wanted to. Their jaws are just too tiny to get through our thick skin, and all of those spiders are more than eager to get out of your way as quickly as possible if you cross paths. Of the ones that could bite you, the vast majority of them are 100% motivated not to do so (since it’s almost assuredly going to spell certain death for them). Of the ones that could bite you and might do it, most will hurt noticeably less than a bee sting and will leave behind a mark that will be gone within 48 hours. The pool of truly troublesome spiders in the U.S. is just not very large.

However, we’re in the pest control industry. We’re in this business because we understand that people can recognize that most spiders are not going to hurt them while still maintaining the conviction that sharing space with them is unacceptable. We get that. This is a service industry; we’re here to help people and relieve some pain or stress in their lives.

So, here’s the perspective that we like to convey to people. In most cases, pest control is about controlling pests, not eliminating them everywhere forever. You would be very upset if we blasted every spider off your property because your house would quickly be overrun by all manner of scuttling and flying pests. Spiders really do have a crucial part in the circle of life around your house. We want to keep the spiders out of your house so they don’t bother you while still allowing them to help with the pest control on the rest of your property.

We absolutely do treatments for spiders, and we would be glad to talk to you about that if you need one. We’ll also knock down their webs around your doors and windows when we come to do a pest control treatment; this makes good sense because a spider who is not living right next to an entrance to your home is a lot less likely invite herself in to stay for a while. We don’t want to you meet wolf spiders while doing your laundry, so we’ll pay particular attention to areas that are most likely to foster hunting grounds for large spiders like that. But, try to remember that spiders can be a little bit cool (from a distance) and that they’re absolutely crucial in the scheme of the world.

The Brown Bandit: Brown Banded Roaches

Despite a few false starts, we really are heading into colder weather. This means that pest pressure is decreasing and, in a short while, we can expect fewer encounters with our six-legged neighbors. Well, fewer encounters with most of them anyway. Why don’t we talk today about another species of roach since those are the sorts of pests we can expect to encounter all year long here in Knoxville and all of East Tennessee.

Previously, we’ve talked about German cockroaches, which have incredible breading power and can make a mess of a home pretty quickly. Today, we’ll have a look at brown banded cockroaches. Like so many other pests, brown banded roaches aren’t native to this area. They’re probably from Africa, but they’ve been in the U.S. for well over 100 years and have spread across the whole country. Believe me, any creature that can survive in Maine is not going to be dismayed by an East Tennessee winter!

Brown banded roaches can range in color from a yellowy brown to quite a dark brown. They are distinguished by the brown bands on their backs that are visible even through their wings. Yes, like all roaches they do have wings, but, unlike German roaches, brown banded roaches can use their wings. Although flying isn’t their preferred method of transportation, it’s still a viable option for them.

Most of the time, when you see roaches in a home, they are almost certainly centered in a room that has water access because roaches tend to be moisture-dependent creatures. This could mean that they have a nest in a bathroom or (even more likely) the kitchen, though they may also have set up shop in a less obvious room with a moisture problem like a water leak. Brown banded roaches, however, are not nearly so water dependent as their fertile cousins. In fact, you are just as likely to find them in a perfectly dry room of the house. If you have an inexplicable roach problem in your living room or a bedroom, there’s a good chance brown banded roaches could be the culprit.

A prime source for a brown banded roach infestation is actually corrugated cardboard. They love to lay eggs in the creases of the cardboard. If you have an unexpected roach problem when nothing else around your house has changed, consider whether you’ve received any packages recently and whether the box was disposed of quickly. There’s a chance the roaches rode in with your mail.

In general, roaches are a pain in the thorax to get rid of, and brown banded roaches can be even more frustrating since potential nesting sites for them could be spread all across the house. Step one in eliminating them will be to locate that nest if you can. You should be on the hunt for egg capsules, which are small, flesh-covered parcels that will be stuck to undisturbed areas in closets, drawers or cabinets. When you find where they’re laying eggs, you’re closer to solving the problem. Of course, baits are generally a good idea with roaches since they are such avid eaters. If you contact Russell’s Pest Control, we can also do crack and crevice treatments to get at the roaches where they’re nesting instead of waiting for them to cross over a treatment product. Just let us know if you need us!