Guide To Tick-Related Illness For Knoxville Residents

Guide To Tick-Related Illness For Knoxville Residents

You probably know by now that tick-borne illnesses are on the rise. According to the CDC, Lyme disease alone has doubled over the past twenty years. This can present a serious health threat to your dog, your cat, your children, and anyone else living in your home. Here is a quick guide to help you understand this threat.

Tick-Borne Diseases that Affect Dogs

Dogs are most affected by the diseases that ticks can carry. There are many reasons for this but one of the most noteworthy is that dogs aren’t as hypersensitive to changes in their environments, like cats are. When a tick gets on a cat, it is usually removed quickly, and quick removal can prevent the spread of illness.

Some of the many diseases that ticks can transmit to dogs are Lyme disease, canine ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, canine babesiosis, canine bartonellosis, canine anaplasmosis, and canine hepatozoonosis. All of these come with their own set of symptoms. If you have a dog, take the time to research each of these so you can recognize the warning signs.

Tick-Borne Diseases that Affect Cats

Cats are less likely to contract tick-borne diseases, but they’re not immune. And while they can still get sick from tick diseases, their resistance to illness could increase your exposure to serious illnesses such as cat scratch fever, an illness that can cause blindness if your cat licks you near your eyes.

The key diseases spread to cats are haemobartonellosis, tularemia, cytauxzoonosis, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis. Spend some time researching these and discuss with your veterinarian some strategies for protecting your cats, and yourself, from ticks.

Tick-Borne Diseases that Affect People

Humans can also be impacted by tick-borne disease. While Lyme Disease gets all the press, there are many diseases that are spread from tick to human. Here’s the short list: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Powassan virus, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Colorado tick fever, and Southern tick-associated rash illness.

Tick Prevention

  • Personal protection: Apply mosquito repellent on your legs. Avoid tall grass. Wear bright-colored clothing so you can see ticks crawling up. Check for ticks after being outside.
  • Pet protection: Make sure your pets have collars and other tick-prevention products.
  • Reduce moisture around your home: Ticks need moisture to live. The drier you can make your landscaping, the fewer ticks you’ll have.
  • Control wildlife: Animals bring ticks into your yard and into your home. Everything you do to prevent wildlife activity will have an impact on tick populations.
  • Treatments: Professional treatments from a licensed pest control provider can destroy ticks and mosquitoes in your yard.

For assistance with tick & mosquito control in the Knoxville area, call on Russell’s Pest Control. Our licensed and experienced service professionals are here to help.

How to Tell if Professional Mosquito Control is Right for You

How to Tell if Professional Mosquito Control is Right for You

If you can’t enjoy your backyard for more than a few minutes without getting bitten by mosquitoes, that might be a sign that it’s time to secure professional mosquito treatment. Mosquitoes are at their peak in activity as we enter the long, hot, final days of summer. For Tennessee homeowners, mosquitoes can become a big problem, as they can transmit disease and ruin summer fun. The good news is that professional mosquito treatment can be highly effective and let you get back to enjoying your summertime activities.

 

Peak Mosquito Season

Late summer is full-on mosquito season. There has been plenty of time for mosquitoes to lay eggs and for those to hatch and become adult mosquitoes, who are also laying their eggs. If they’ve found a nice bit of water in your yard, they may be relentless with their attack on your property and family. Late morning and early evening can be unbearable, as mosquitoes are typically active and biting during this time.

 

Problems Mosquitoes Bring to Tennessee

Mosquitos are vectors for various diseases from Zika Virus to West Nile Virus. There is no way to tell from looking at a mosquito or its bite whether a mosquito is infected or not. This makes all mosquitoes a problem. Even if mosquitoes weren’t disease carriers, their bites are irritating and unwanted. Some people only have a mild reaction, resulting in a small itchy bump on their skin that lasts a few hours. Others can develop large welts that last for days, causing itching that is so bad that scratching the bites can cause infection and scars.

 

Signs That it’s Time for Professional Treatment 

If you find yourself going back inside a few minutes after going outside because mosquitoes are attacking, it may be time to call a professional. If your children return from playing outdoors with bites all over, it’s time. If you can see mosquitoes swarming around your hedges, pool, or the perimeter of your property, call for treatment.

 

How Professional Mosquito Treatment Works    

At Russell’s Pest Control, we take a three-step approach to reducing mosquitoes on your Tennessee property. Initially, our technician will inspect your property and identify the locations where mosquitoes are likely to breed and hide. Next, treatments are applied to the targeted areas, including hiding spots and breeding sites. Finally, follow up treatments will continue monthly through mosquito season to ensure continuing protection. Contact us to schedule your consultation, or to begin treatment, so you can enjoy the remaining summer days mosquito free!  

Don’t Let Flies Invade Your Knoxville Home in the Summer

Don't Let Flies Invade Your Knoxville Home in the Summer

You don’t want flies invading your Knoxville home this summer, so it’s time to take precautions to keep them out. There are a variety of ways that flies can get into your home. Once they are inside, they are nothing but an annoying nuisance. You can take steps to prevent them as much as possible. However professional treatment can be worthwhile for fly-infested homes.

 

How Flies Get into Homes

We should be wondering how flies don’t get into homes rather than how they do get in. They are so small it’s a wonder our Knoxville homes aren’t constantly filled with flies.

 

Let’s look at some of the most common ways flies get in, from house flies to fruit flies:

  • Through the front door. Whether from kids running in and out or leaving the door open to let in the fresh air, it’s easy for flies to come right in.
  • Through the window. Whether you have the windows open this summer or you have tears or holes in your screen, flies will make their way in.
  • In your belongings. From groceries to house plants, anything you carry in from outside has the potential to harbor flies – especially fruit flies.

Why Flies are a Nuisance

Most people don’t enjoy the company of pests in their homes. Flies can be particularly annoying as they buzz around your head or divebomb your food. Due to their habits of hanging around trash, dirty drains, and feces, they can also carry contaminants. When they land on the surfaces within your home, they can transmit these disease-carrying contaminants to your family.

 

Preventing Flies

There are several things Knoxville homeowners can do this summer to prevent flies as much as possible:

 

  • Keep doors and windows closed unless you have sturdy screens in place.
  • Make sure that screens are in good repair with no holes or tears.
  • Take the trash out frequently and store food in airtight containers to reduce food sources.
  • Clean drains and garbage disposals frequently.
  • Check around your home to repair cracks and seal openings, wherever possible.

Professional Treatment for Flies

You may spend time searching for DIY methods of fly removal should you find yourself with a fly-infested home. Most of the time these methods are futile and are a waste of time while allowing your fly population to grow. One or two stray flies in your Knoxville home aren’t of much concern. However, if you are regularly dealing with flies or large populations of flies, including house flies, blow flies, or fruit flies, it’s time to contact a professional.

 

At Russell’s Pest Control we have 40 years’ experience ridding Knoxville-area homes of flies and other nuisance pests. Contact us for options in keeping your Tennessee home free from flies this summer.

Is My Knoxville Home At Risk For A Cockroach Infestation This Summer?

Is My Knoxville Home At Risk For A Cockroach Infestation This Summer?

Cockroaches are pests that are particular and predictable about the locations they prefer to inhabit. If your Knoxville home is desirable to cockroaches you may be at risk for an infestation this summer. You may be wondering what makes a home attractive to cockroaches and how you can avoid attracting them to yours. There are mistakes homeowners make that can put their homes at risk. Learn what you can do to avoid becoming a target for cockroaches this summer.

 

Why do cockroaches thrive around Tennessee in the summer?

Cockroaches are inherently tropical by nature and thrive in hot, moist conditions. The Knoxville, Tennessee area provides the perfect climate for cockroaches. Add in tourists, entertainment, crowds, food, excess trash, and close living quarters and you have a recipe for increased cockroach activity.

 

Factors that Lead to Infestations

Cockroaches live and breed in filthy conditions. Consider the most disgusting things you can think of and cockroaches will call them home. This includes garbage dumps, animal feces, trash bins, gutters, sewers, pipes, and drains.  Cockroaches also like to hide when disturbed, so cracks, crevices, and clutter are key.

 

Mistakes Homeowners Could be Making

Stockpiling excess trash and clutter in and around your home is one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make that plays a big part in attracting cockroaches. Dirty drains, backed up garbage disposals, and leaking or cracked pipes can attract cockroaches, as well. Food that is not stored properly or a home in disrepair may also act as an invitation to cockroaches.

 

Professional Treatment

Cockroaches are vectors for several diseases and pathogens.  When they invade your home, you run the risk of you or your family members becoming ill.  Even if you keep your home spotless and follow all of the tips for keeping cockroaches out, you may still find yourself with an infestation.

 

Don’t waste time using DIY treatments and harmful chemicals. You may make the problem worse by choosing the wrong products or missing some of the cockroaches and causing them to scatter and become more difficult to eliminate.

 

Contact Russell’s Pest Control at the first sign of cockroaches, or even before you have a cockroach problem, for preventative treatments. We have over 40 years of experience eliminating cockroaches and protecting Knoxville-area homes from infestations.  Keep your Tennessee home cockroach free this summer with the help of Russel’s Pest Control.

Tips to Keep Little Black Ants Out of Your Kitchen

Tips to Keep Little Black Ants Out of Your Kitchen

 

If you read anything about little black ants, you’ll usually come across the phrase that they are “just a nuisance” because they can’t damage the structure of your house like a carpenter ant can. But if you’ve walked into your kitchen and seen a line of little black ants marching across your countertop, it probably didn’t feel like “just a nuisance.”

Nope, ants in the kitchen are a big problem when it’s your kitchen. You want them out of there as soon as possible, and you don’t want to have anything to do with any food the ants have touched.

If you think ants are more active in the summer, you’re right. Ants are busy eating food and storing up fat. They enter your kitchen in search of food or water, and often they are richly rewarded for their efforts.

Keep Ants Out

Like any homeowner, you want to keep ants out of your kitchen, so what should you do?

One of the most effective things you can do inside your house is to be sure any source of food or water is unavailable to ants that do get in. This includes:

  • Keeping food stored in glass or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.
  • Keeping countertops, floors, and sinks clean of crumbs, dropped food, and spills.
  • Keeping faucets valves sealed and free of drips.

Before ants get in your house, they are attracted to your property by something in your yard, so you want to make your property as inhospitable to ants as possible. To keep ants away:

  • Keep your trash in sealed containers.
  • Remove any sources of food from your yard. (For example, take up the dog’s bowl after your pet has finished eating.)
  • Fix leaking spigots and any place that rain can puddle to eliminate water sources.
  • Seal up cracks and gaps where ants could enter through the foundation or exterior walls.
  • Make sure doors and windows are tight by repairing or replacing screens, door sweeps, and weather stripping.

While these steps will help, the best way to prevent ants from being a nuisance or worse is to partner with Russell’s Pest Control.  Our professional technicians can treat the perimeter of your property, creating a barrier to keep ants from entering.

Call us today to learn about our menu of pest control services and to set up an appointment. Don’t wait for ants to enter your kitchen, let Russell’s Pest Control keep them out.

Did You Know That Most Homeowners Insurance Policies Will Not Cover Termite Damage?

Did You Know That Most Homeowners Insurance Policies Will Not Cover Termite Damage?

Many homeowners have the impression that home insurance covers everything. But it doesn’t. In areas where there is regular flooding, you have to request flood insurance. If hurricanes are an issue, you may need to make sure you have coverage for hurricane damage. And if a threat is considered to be preventable through routine maintenance, many insurance companies will leave you holding the bill. Termites fall into this category. This kind of damage can be prevented through routine maintenance. The problem is that most homeowners aren’t equipped to perform this maintenance. Protecting a home from termite damage requires termite control knowledge, experience with this form of pest control, and access to the right products for the job. That is why homeowners turn to certified termite control professionals who offer a termite damage warranty. This type of warranty is like investing in termite insurance. Here are some things you should know.

4 Reasons to Add Termite Insurance in Tennessee

  • Termites in Tennessee are destructive. The termites we deal with are subterranean termites, the most destructive type of termite in the United States.
  • Termites are sneaky. If you don’t apply termite control correctly, you may not realize your efforts have failed until it is too late and you are left holding a significant repair bill that could wipe out a lot of your savings.
  • Termites are persistent. If you have a hole in your termite protection, it is likely that termite workers will find it. They never stop searching for food sources and they can travel as far as the length of a football field in search of food.
  • A termite warranty means security. Not only will your termite damage warranty pay for termite damage, it also comes with ongoing termite service from a professional who has the experience and training to make sure they don’t have to pay that money out.

At Russell’s Pest Control, we protect Greater Knoxville homes and business with the Sentricon® System with Always Active technology. Sentricon® is backed by a $1 million termite damage warranty and is scientifically proven to eliminate termite colonies. On top of this, the Sentricon® System makes the detection of destructive, sneaky, persistent termites a piece of cake. When termites try to attack your Knoxville area home, not only will your technician know it, you’ll know it. You can’t put a price on that. With liquid termiticide barriers, you never know if the money you spent on termite control was worth it. This causes some property owners to give up on paying for this essential protection.
 
Get your property protected. Get Sentricon®. Get real peace of mind. Russell’s Pest Control is a Certified Sentricon® Installer for the Greater Knoxville area. Contact us for a free consultation to get started.  

5 Things To Consider When Choosing A Pest Control Company

5 Things To Consider When Choosing A Pest Control Company

We live in a time where pests are presenting more and more threats to our health. Tick-borne diseases alone have more than doubled in the last decade. And the diseases spread by ticks, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents and other pests have become more than life-threatening, they can alter the course of a life. You can be moving right along through life raising a family, going to work, enjoying vacations, and with one bite, find yourself struggling every day with weakness, fatigue, depression and a long list of other medical issues. That is why it is vital to choose a pest control provider who can give you the best protection possible. But how do you do that? How do you read between the lines and find out which pest control company can really do the job?

Here are five things to look for in a pest control company:

  • The National Pest Management Association helps make the selection of a pest control company easy by awarding the QualityPro Seal of Excellence to companies that demonstrate a high grade in key areas such as business operations, consumer relations, employee training, environmental stewardship, and more. When you see the QualityPro stamp on a website, you can know that you’re dealing with a company that has achieved what only 3% of pest control companies in the United States have achieved. That is saying something.
  • Check to make sure the company you’re hiring has employees that are licensed and certified. Pest control is complicated. It requires ongoing training. The proof of this training is licensing and certifications.
  • See if the company you’re choosing has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. When complaints happen—and they do because pest control is complicated—you can see how well a company does at addressing these complaints by looking them up on the BBB.
  • While a nice uniform and a company vehicle is certainly not a guarantee of great pest control service, you should not trust your pest control needs to someone who does not at least demonstrate this level of professionalism.
  • At the end of the day, the best place to find out what a company offers is to check out their reviews on resources such as Google. It is extremely difficult to keep a high rating on review services because pest control is complicated.

If you live in the Greater Knoxville area, we want you to know that our team of licensed and certified professionals has earned the QuailtyPro seal of excellence and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. When you choose Russell’s Pest control, you’ll always have a professional show up at your door, and you’ll always get the highest level of pest control available. Just ask the over 600 customers who have left us 5-star reviews on Google. Let our team provide your family with the service you deserve. Contact us today to request a free pest control estimate. We’re here to help.

Tips for Avoiding Stored Product Pests this Summertime

Tips for Avoiding Stored Product Pests this Summertime

There are several pests that like to get into pantry foods. These are called stored product pests or cereal pests because they target products that are stored and many have a fondness for foods that have grains in them. Perhaps you’ve heard of some pantry pests. Does the Indian meal moth, the saw-toothed grain beetle, or the rice weevil ring a bell? There are several species of beetle and weevil that get into stored foods. When they do, they lay their eggs so that developing larvae have easy access to a food source when they hatch. Unfortunately, that can make your foods less than savory. Here are some of the best tips for avoiding stored product pests this summer, from the experts at Russell’s Pest Control.

Identification

The best way to stop this type of pest from getting into your home is to recognize signs of infestation. In the case of Indian meal moths, these tiny, rusty-brown colored moths only live for a short period of time because they aren’t able to eat. At this stage of development, those adults can give you a warning sign that larvae are in the foods these moths are found near. This is also the case with beetles and weevils. If you see insects, pay close attention.

Inspection

When you’re selecting foods from the grocery store, inspect the packaging. Do not purchase any products that have holes, gaps, or rips that pantry pests can use to get in.

Early Detection and Product Protection

The best way to detect pantry pests and prevent the spread of pantry pests from one product to the next is to put your foods in sealed plastic containers. When you do this, it will also give you the opportunity to inspect your foods. Look for the presence of webbing and, of course, tiny insects crawling around.

Good Practices

If you don’t use sealed plastic containers to protect your food, take steps to prevent food spoilage that can attract pests in from the outside of your home. Put new items to the back and old items to the front. Routinely check your due dates and throw out old items. Keep shelves clean and free of food debris.

Pantry Pest Control

When pantry pests appear, contact a licensed and certified pest professional. Throwing out the tainted product is not a guaranteed way to solve your problem, and if pantry pests are allowed to continue to feed on your foods and spread in your pantry, you could have a big problem on your hands.

For assistance with all pest problems in the Greater Knoxville area, contact Russell’s Pest Control. We have the licenses, certifications, and reputation for arresting pest problems.

Is My Knoxville Home At Risk for Spider Infestation This Summer?

Is My Knoxville Home At Risk for Spider Infestation This Summer?

We cover a lot of topics about Tennessee spiders in this blog (short for web log). As we update you on important pest information in this log, we cover topics such as the difference between nuisance spider and dangerous spiders, how spiders get inside and what to do if you see spiders in your Tennessee home. These are all great resources to help you understand the nature of this pest problem. Today, we’re going to look at it from another angle. Here are some conditions that can increase your chances of a spider infestation this summer and put your Knoxville home at risk.

Do you have lots of vegetation? If you do, you’re likely to have lots of spiders. Insects live in vegetation and spider eat insects. You can reduce spider populations by removing unwanted vegetation. Pluck your weeds. Keep your grass cut low. Trim your bushes and shrubs.

Do you have a moist foundation perimeter? Many spider species prefer to look for food in locations that are damp because the foods they eat prefer dampness. You can counteract this by keeping your landscaping as dry as possible. Clear obstructions from your gutters. Fix broken gutters. Put space between the plants in your landscaping to allow for better airflow. Trim tree branches to allow the sunlight into densely shaded locations.

Do you have lots of flying insects? Spiders catch flying insects in their webs. So don’t be surprised to see spiders if you have a high population of flying insects. A few ways insects are drawn to your home are white exterior lighting, open trash, and pet droppings in the yard. Consider replacing white lights with yellow lights or keep lights off at night. Draw your shades at night to keep the light inside. Keep trash in sealed receptacles. Cover or remove pet waste as often as possible.

Do you have entry points in your home? When spiders explore your exterior for foods, they can accidentally get in. A detailed inspection of your outside walls, particularly around windows, doors, and pipes, can reveal these possible entry points.

If you need assistance with an inspection or control of insects, bugs, and the spiders that eat them, we can help. Russell’s Pest Control serves the Greater Knoxville areas with industry-leading pest control. We can help you reduce a wide range of unwanted pests around your home and reduce the likelihood of a pest infestation inside your home.

Don’t Let Bed Bugs Ruin Your Summer

Don't Let Bed Bugs Ruin Your Summer

Do you know the warning signs of a bed bug infestation? If you do, you may be able to prevent a bed bug infestation and prevent these blood-eating pest from ruining your summer. Detection is key to prevention because bed bugs don’t come into your home from your yard; they hitchhike into your home. Here are some things you should know about bed bugs and how to detect them.

Keep these 5 Bed Bug Facts In Mind

  1. Bed bugs can be picked up in many places, not just hotels and motels. You can even get them from the home of a friend or relative.
    Bed bugs don’t live in dirty homes. They can be in any home. They’re not drawn to filth; they’re drawn to blood.
  2. Bed bugs don’t just spread at night. You can get them in the daytime. These insects have an aversion to the light but they will come out when they are in a dark environment.
  3. Bed bugs don’t just get carried into your home on your belongings, they can be in furniture and electronics.
  4. Bed bugs don’t just live in beds. They can live in furniture, under rugs, behind baseboards, inside outlets, in the cracks of crown molding, in wall voids, and more.

When looking for warning signs, pay close attention no matter where you are, no matter what time of day, and look in more than just beds for these signs.

  • Bed bugs leave shed insects skins as they develop through their 5 instars. These will be littered about in areas of infestation and you can find them sticking to fabrics.
  • Bed bug eggs are 1mm in length and pale in coloration. You may find individual eggs or you may see a bunch of eggs clinging together. Keep in mind that you can fit dozens of eggs on your thumbnail.
  • Bed bugs leave brown stains on fabrics. This isn’t urine. It is dried blood. So these stains can range from red to light tan in color.
  • Bed bugs excrete black feces. You may see small dots of black or you may see a patch of black staining due to many bed bugs in one location. If you see a black stain but no bed bugs, they may be on the inside of the item you are inspecting.
  • If bed bugs are infesting a location, you may see them. They range in size from 1 to 4.5 millimeters in length. They may be pale in color, tan, or rusty brown. In certain light, they may appear black. They are insects, so they have 6 legs and two antennae.

If you find bed bugs in your home and you live in our Greater Knoxville service area, we can help you eliminate those bugs. We offer comprehensive bed bugs services for all types of infestation. Reach out to us for immediate assistance.