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.

Don’t Underestimate The Carpenter Bee

Don't Underestimate The Carpenter Bee

When we hear the term carpenter, we instantly think of those skilled individuals that can help make our homes more desirable, add equity, or fix things in our homes that our DIY loving husbands break. All of this is very true unless we are talking about carpenter bees as they are quite the opposite.

Carpenter bees make individual nests near one another by tunneling into the wood, using the hollow area to lay eggs. They tend to find good nesting places in unpainted outbuildings, or deck boards that are not treated. Every spring they return to their same nests, burrowing ever deeper or wider to accommodate their needs. Their nesting galleries can be very intricate and cause severe damage to the wood they are infesting. With that, woodpeckers love to feed on carpenter bee larvae and can further damage the wood of a house, outbuilding, or boards of a deck trying to reach them.

Carpenter bees are not aggressive, and may not be that dangerous to humans, but they can end up causing a lot of damage to a home. It is important that homeowners understand that DIY options are be both dangerous and ineffective, so it is very important for homeowners in the Knoxville, TN area to call on the experts at Russell’s Pest Control.

Russell’s Pest control offers year-round pest control treatments that are designed to completely eliminate carpenter bee infestations. Our Power Platinum plan is perfect for the homeowner looking the year-round peace of mind that comes with knowing that your property will remain free of pests. Homeowners can take preventative steps to help in this effort, carpenter bees are more likely to attack unfinished wood, so making sure that your home, outbuildings, and decks are either painted or stained is key avoiding these pests. Inspect these areas for holes where carpenter bees have already started nesting and keep an eye open for new activity. Pests are more easily controlled if caught early, and treating the area early can save you from costly damages. And, even though carpenter bees are not aggressive, they will defend themselves and their nests if disturbed. That’s why it is so important to call on a professional pest control company to help you get rid of an active infestation.

Included in our year-round Power Platinum program is:

  • Protection that covers 30+ common pests

  • Protection from termites, mosquitoes, ticks, carpenter bees, and fire ants

  • Russell’s Pest Free Guarantee – if pests return, so do we!

For more information and to set up an initial inspection, give the experts at Russell’s Pest Control a call today.

Pest Prevention Tips To Consider While Spring Cleaning

Pest Prevention Tips To Consider While Spring Cleaning

There are so many reasons that we look forward to spring! We can spend more time outdoors, fire up the grill, and play games with the kids in our backyard. But, there is one big reason to not look forward to spring, which would be spring pests and the problems that they cause. With spring will come mosquitoes, ticks, boxelder bugs, odorous house ants and many others.

Mosquitoes flock to yards that provide areas of standing water in order to breed and lay their eggs. This includes man-made ponds, bird baths, and fountains, but also includes miscellaneous items that get left outdoors that collect water like buckets, toys, wheelbarrows, and containers. They also need to feed on hosts in order to survive. Mosquitoes can harbor and transmit a multitude of diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus, chikungunya, and the Zika virus. These diseases can be extremely harmful if left untreated.

Ticks are harmful parasites that embed in the host’s skin to feed. They live in tall grasses and wooded areas and will latch on to an animal or human as they pass by. Ticks need blood to survive. A tick bite can cause Lyme disease, which can affect the nervous system, joints, skin, and heart.

Boxelder bugs attack maple, ash, apple, and plum trees to feed. If they get inside a home, they invade in very large numbers and can be a huge annoyance for the people living there. They are not dangerous but their feces can stain items made mostly of fabric.

Odorous house ants primarily nest outside underneath wood or in exposed soil. During long periods of rain, these ants move to higher ground or indoors for shelter. They are not dangerous, but they can be a nuisance in large numbers and contaminate food.

Use these cleaning tips to avoid spring pests this year:

  • Seal off all entry points

  • Fix or replace broken or missing screens and vents

  • Keep food in sealed airtight containers

  • Eliminate standing water in your yard

  • Keep wood and debris away from your home

  • Use a dehumidifier in damp rooms

After using these spring cleaning tips, you may find your home is still penetrable by pests. If so, you are going to need the help of a professional pest control company like Russell’s Pest Control. Our Power programs are designed with our customers in mind, and are designed to keep harmful, damaging, and nuisance pests from becoming problematic in your Knoxville home.

Homeowners Guide To Ant Prevention

Homeowners Guide To Ant Prevention

Knoxville is a fabulous place to live, combining the beauty of nature with the energy of a thriving community. Still, no matter how great a place, your enjoyment of Knoxville can be hampered by the continuous intrusion of small, creepy-crawly pests through your house. Ants are often the most annoying pests to have around simply because many ants are not overly shy about showing up where you can see them, and because ants don’t like to travel solo, meaning you’re likely to end up seeing a lot of them. There are many different kinds of ants around Knoxville, and sadly some of the most annoyingly obvious ants are usually the least harmful, while the species you don’t see as much of could cause real harm to your home. Let’s take a look at the most common ants in the Knoxville area, and then talk about how to address them.

  • Acrobat ants are named for their flexibility, but beyond that, you’ll find they behave much like any other ant. The acrobat ant grows up to 1/8th inch in length, but can be smaller, and ranges in color. Their most distinctive feature other than their flexibility is their heart-shaped abdomen, which is usually darker than the rest of their body. Acrobat ants will usually nest outdoors but may build satellite nests inside walls or insulation if a ready food source is easily accessible.
  • Fire ants don’t need much of an introduction. Anyone who’s gotten too near to a nest has likely met them firsthand and understands why the fire ant is so named. These reddish-brown ants, which can be anywhere from 1/10th to 1/4 inch long, are extremely aggressive, swarming to defend their nests and delivering painful stinging bites. Fire ants are considered somewhat dangerous to people, as some people have reactions to their bites, but even more so fire ants are a danger to pets, who could be fatally swarmed. Fire ant nests have also been known to damage machinery, as they can be fairly indiscriminate where they expand their homes.
  • Little black ants are perhaps closest to what comes into people’s minds when thinking about ants in general. They look exactly as their name suggests, with dark coloring and a body about 1/16th inch in length. Little black ants will often create scent trails to sources of food, quickly forming a continuous flow of industrious pests looking to take advantage of whatever spilled or ill-protected food they come across. Little black ants have also been known to build nests inside when convenient, which means dealing with an ever-growing population right where you’re trying to live.
  • Odorous house ants have similar habits to the little black ant but are much more recognizable. Their black or brown coloring and 1/16th to 1/8th inch body may not stand out, but you know what you’re dealing with when you crush an odorous house ant. The scent they give off has been described as rotten coconut. Odorous house ants like to build near sources of water, but will move their nests during heavy rains or flooding. This often leads them indoors, where they can set up shop inside of walls and take advantage of your kitchen and pantry at their leisure.
  • Carpenter ants are the largest ants you’re likely to encounter around Knoxville, perhaps the least likely ant you’ll come across, and by far the most hazardous ant for you to have around. Showing a range of colors, the size of the carpenter ant stands out at about 1/2 inch, but their size is not what you should worry about. Carpenter ants depend on moisture, and their prime means of staying close to moisture is to build their nests inside of water-damaged wood. In nature, this usually translates to fallen and rotting logs, but with the carpenter ant’s attraction to the many food sources that humans store, finding some water-damaged wood around or inside of your home is an ideal setup. If carpenter ants find your home a likely place to build a nest, they can cause incredible damage over time as they hollow out structural wood to create their galleries, often leaving you with massive repair bills.

Even with all this variety of ants, prevention comes mostly down to the same common sense methods. If you are looking to make your property less attractive to and unsustainable for ants, try:

  • Removing debris, old woodpiles, brush, and fallen trees
  • Sealing cracks in foundations
  • Keeping mulch and vegetation away from your home’s foundation
  • Maintaining entry barriers like screens, vent covers, and door sweeps
  • Ensuring that gutters are functioning properly and that pipes are not leaking or condensing badly

For carpenter ants especially you’ll want to keep moisture away from the inside of your home through whatever means necessary, and with all ants, the major draw to your home will be sugar and protein. Keeping food in sealed plastic or glass containers, cleaning food prep and eating areas daily, and storing trash securely are all essential to keeping ants from becoming interested in your home.

Of course, sometimes your best efforts are for nothing. Ants are persistent and pervasive, getting into everything they can. Fire ants especially spread as aggressively as they attack, and all your best prevention tricks could be ignored. Speaking pragmatically, once they’ve arrived, you don’t want to be trying to deal with ants yourself. Over the counter solutions may kill some ants, but can often be as much of a hassle as the ants themselves, and are sometimes more hazardous. For guaranteed elimination and prevention of ants on your Knoxville property, look instead to a year-round pest prevention plan from Russell’s Pest Control. We have the knowledge and experience to know where to look for ants, where and how to treat in order to effectively eliminate them, and how to set your home up to deter them in the future. Our year-round programs provide continued coverage and service for your property, meaning that once they’re gone, pests will have to get through us to return. Let Russell’s Pest Control do the work, so you can enjoy the benefits of a life without ants or other pests intruding upon your property.

How Do Cockroaches Get Into Knoxville Homes

How Do Cockroaches Get Into Knoxville Homes

Cockroaches are commonly considered the nastiest insect that can invade your home. Knowing the risks they pose, and their lifestyle, there is nobody on this earth that would ever want a wild cockroach, let alone many of them, scurrying around their kitchen or pantry. The biggest reason for this is how filthy and disease-ridden they are. Roaches will forage for food in garbage cans, feces, and worst of all, the sewer. They pick up bacteria on their bodies, that can contaminate surfaces and food sources that can cause diseases like salmonella that can cause diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. The shed exoskeleton and dried feces can also cause asthma in some people. You’ll want to keep them far away from your home and family at all costs.

These germ riddled insects enter homes across the country through tiny spaces in walls, foundations, pipes, and drains looking for warmth, moisture, and food. Sometimes they get brought in on packages, bags, furniture, or appliances. Regardless of how they got there, you will need to get rid of them right away! You can take some steps to help stop them from coming inside in the first place, but you’re much better off with the help of a professional pest control company.

Cockroach Prevention Tips

  • Keep your kitchen clean

  • Take out trash regularly

  • Keep outside trash stored away from your house and with tight-fitting lids

  • Close off all entry points by sealing cracks and gaps in your home

  • Block off space around utility pipes, cables, and drains

  • Eliminate ventilation and moisture problems

  • Carefully examine packages, boxes, and furniture before bringing them inside

These tips are helpful, but the only sure way to get rid of cockroaches completely once they’ve infested your property is to enlist the services of an experienced pest control company in your area. Those DIY extermination tips that can be found all over the internet seldom work. They are time consuming, messy, and can be dangerous themselves. In Knoxville, Tennessee, you can count on Russell’s Pest Control, your trusted home pest control professionals, for successful cockroach solutions. Our home pest control programs offer relief from cockroaches. We know how important your family is to you, so contact us today for more information on how we can help you protect them from cockroaches in your home. We can tell you about our year-round residential Power programs that cover those unsightly roaches and other pests that plague your Knoxville, TN, home.

Top Rodents In Knoxville

Top Rodents In Knoxville

This is the time of year when many folks are thinking about resolutions and starting fresh. If you have had to deal with rodents in your home or business in 2017, perhaps you are ready for a fresh start at being rodent-free. Any time rodents get into man-made structures, problems are a certainty. Chew holes, droppings, and food and surfaces being tainted with bacteria are just a few things that rodents are famous for.

  • House Mouse – This mouse has dull greyish-brown fur with a tail that is the same length as its body and is thicker and more scaly than other species. Its presence can be detected by a distinctive strong, “stale” odor. The voice of this mouse is a familiar high-pitched squeak. When these mice get into homes and multiply, they chew holes through wood and other things, which can cause heat or cool air to escape. They also chew on wires, which may spark a fire. When they get into food storage and food preparation areas, they can spread harmful bacteria, which can spread disease. And, they also carry secondary pests such as mites, ticks, and fleas.

  • Norway Rat – A Norway rat can grow to be 8 inches in length and it has a body which is covered in shaggy fur that is brown or gray in color. Its ears and tail are covered in scales. Its tail is shorter than its head. And its body and its droppings are capsule-shaped. One of the problems these rats bring is that they spread diseases such as murine typhus, babesiosis and RMSF (via the ticks they carry), and even leptospirosis.

  • Roof Rat – A roof rat has thick fur and ranges in color from brown to black with grey to white fur on its underbelly. This rat can grow to be around 16 inches long with a tail and body each being of equal length. These rats like to be up high and will typically chew their way in through rooflines, but can make holes anywhere. When they get into man-made structures, they pose the same issues as other rodents.

Rodent Prevention

If you would rather not be dealing with mice and rats inside your home, there are several steps you can take to prevent them from entering. Remove trash from your property and keep garbage in tightly sealed containers. Keep your yard neatly trimmed and free of overgrown weeds and clutter. Seal up any entry points in the exterior of your home. And keep bushes and other vegetation trimmed back from your walls and foundation.

How Russell’s Can Help

If you are already seeing or hearing, the signs of rodent presence in your home, the best course of action is to partner with a professional pest control company. Russell’s has been providing folks with rodent solutions since 1971. Contact one of our friendly associates for a free estimate today.

Tips To Keep Ants Out Of Your Knoxville Home This Spring

Tips To Keep Ants Out Of Your Knoxville Home This Spring

Springtime in Tennessee is a beautiful time of year. Everyone is able to get out and about, and everyone is ready for a new season of fun in the sun. Your yard has been cleaned up, and all your spring cleaning is done for another year. Now it is time to play, right? Unfortunately, no! Homeowners across Knoxville are noticing a common occurrence in their kitchens this spring – the ants have come out of hiding, and they may be headed straight for your pantry.

Springtime for ants, as with many other pests, is the time when they emerge from their nests after a long winter. Food to feed the thousands of their nest mates waiting for them is their first order of business, and second is to find a new nesting spot for their overcrowded kin to move into. Ant colonies can number in the thousands! When the number grows to an unmanageable level, the queen will produce swarmers, which are winged ants, who then go out to establish a brand new colony. After they find their new home, the swarmers lose the wings and will breed to populate their new home.

It is not unusual for swarming ants to be attracted to homes that may be nearby. The average human habitat can provide a large colony of ants with everything that they need to help their new family grow. Food is always readily accessible, whether it is sugar from the bowl on the table or that loaf of bread left on the counter; and shelter is not a problem either with plenty of room in the walls of your home to fit even the largest colony.

Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to help keep ants out. While you are out working on projects around your house, pay close attention to the foundation, doorways, and window areas. Are there cracks in the foundation? Screens or weather stripping around doors and windows ripped? Those are all key entry points for ants. Make sure that you take the time to seal the cracks in your foundation all the way around your home, repair screens, and add weather stripping where it is needed. Also, make it a habit to keep the grass and shrubbery trimmed away from your home to discourage ants from wandering too close. Inside, it is essential that anything that can attract ants, namely staples in the pantry, fruits, and bread that is stored in bags and boxes, be sealed tightly in plastic containers. Make sure that any spills are immediately cleaned up. Keep dishes done every day and make sure that crumbs and grease on floors, the refrigerator, counters, and stove are all cleaned regularly.

It is still possible that ants might find their way in. If that is the case, it isn’t likely that relying on over-the-counter traps and sprays will have any effect on an ant colony that has moved in. Because of the sheer size of the nest and its inaccessible location, DIY products probably will not completely eradicate the entire colony. You might get rid of some, but there can be thousands more deep within the colony to replace those ones each and every day. Working with a professional pest control company can not only help get rid of any infestation that might already be present, but it will also ensure that your home is protected throughout each season. Give Russell’s Pest Control a call today and find out why we should be your partner in keeping ants and other pests out all year long.

Little Pests, Big Problems

Little Pests

Who knew that a tiny little pest that grows to be only 1/16th of an inch in length could cause such a stir? The panic over these pests is not related to size, but rather it is related to their sheer numbers. What is this tiny little pest that can draw such concern? It is the springtail. Although small, it is estimated that springtails become so numerous once they invade an area that they can reach as many as 100,000 individual pests per square meter.

It can be quite disconcerting to see hundreds of thousands of tiny purple/grey bugs moving and jumping around. At first glance, a colony of springtails seems to move as a unit appearing as if it were a long purple stream of water as they move across the ground. On closer inspection, you can clearly see that this purple stream is thousands of tiny little bugs moving and jumping like fleas.

Your first thought is concern about thousands of little flea-like bites, but do not worry, springtails do not bite, and they do not transmit diseases. In fact, they are actually quite beneficial out in nature where they help to break down decaying matter. But they are not harmless as they can damage house plants and crops.

The real problems with springtails begin when they decide to invade your home as they move in search of food. Not only is it unacceptable for you to have to live with hundreds of thousands of bugs inside your home, but an invasion of springtails can actually indicate a much larger issue. These tiny pests are drawn to moisture. Their appearance in your home can signal a moisture issue inside your walls or under your floors which is a strong indication that springtails are not the only pest you are hosting.

If you find that springtails have chosen your home, do not panic. Give the pest experts here at Russell’s Pest Control a call. We offer safe, affordable options to eliminate springtails from your home. You may choose a one-time service that safely deals with springtails, or you may choose the peace of mind that comes with year-round protection from more than 30 common pests, including springtails, when you implement one of our comprehensive Power residential pest protection plans.

Not only are our Power protection plans affordable and safe, but they are also effective at protecting your home from the year-round threat of pests. Plus our Power, Power Gold, and Power Platinum residential pest protection plans are backed by the Russell’s Pest Free Guarantee. To learn more about these industry-leading pest prevention plans or to discover the benefit of a one-time treatment for springtails, simply contact us today.

Why Do I Have A Boxelder Bug Problem?

Why Do I Have A Boxelder Bug Problem?

Boxelder bugs love trees! They feed, live, and breed on all trees that bear seeds like the boxelder, maple, ash, and fruit trees like apple and plum. In fall, they infest homes in large numbers to seek a warm environment for shelter to overwinter. They flock to sunny sides of homes, storage sheds, or garages and enter through cracks and crevices on exterior walls, gaps around window and door frames, or through vents. While enjoying the warmth of your home or storage areas, they will leave marks and stains with their feces that may be noticeable. In the spring, homeowners will experience a flurry of boxelder bug activity as they start trying to move back outdoors.

Before you chop down all of the seed bearing trees that are in your yard, you should know that this may not solve all of your boxelder bug problems because they will just move to another area or to your neighbor’s yard, and they still may flock to your home in the fall. Not to mention cutting all of those good trees would be a terrible shame.

Boxelder bugs are black with a red outlined thorax, sides, and wings. Their wings lay flat and allow them to fly and relocate if necessary. Their mouth has sucking-piercing parts that they can use for feeding on trees. An adult boxelder bug can be as long as 1 inch, but they are not dangerous, and they do not transmit illnesses. They can infest a home in large numbers creating a nuisance to homeowners, thus making it necessary to eradicate them. Your best bet is to contact your local pest control service so that they can identify your infestation and correctly target these pests.

In order to help prevent an infestation, you will need to seal up all cracks, holes, and gaps coming into your home or storage areas. You need to replace damaged screens, window frames, and door frames. Also, install door sweeps under all exterior doors. If boxelder bugs are present, you can sweep or vacuum them away to help reduce their numbers, but for total eradication, you will need a professional to take control of all aspects of the infestation.

In order to control a boxelder infestation, you can rely on Russell’s Pest Control in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area. Give us a call, and ask about our ongoing year-round home pest control programs. Our courteous, professional staff will help you with all of your pest control needs.

How To Prepare For… The Invasion Of The Ladybugs!

How To Prepare For… The Invasion Of The Ladybugs!

When you hear the words, “The invasion of…” what do you expect to follow? Maybe you think of “The invasion of aliens,” or “The invasion of Normandy,” or perhaps that old movie from the 50’s called, “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” These all sound pretty intense. But do you ever think about ladybugs invading? The invasion of the ladybugs! It just doesn’t have the same scare factor that those other things. But do you want these bugs inside your home, especially considering that when they do come in, they bring a whole lot of their friends?

The bad news is that in not too many weeks, the temperatures will begin to drop, and insects will begin to seek the warmth of our homes. The good news is that it is not too late to start preparing for “The invasion of the ladybugs.” Consider taking the following steps to keep ladybugs, and other invading insects, out of your home.

  • If you already have ladybugs crawling around inside your home, get a vacuum or dustbuster, and suck them up. Then go to work on making your property less attractive to them and sealing any places where more could get inside.
  • Keep your trash in tightly sealed containers. Ladybugs love exposed trash. In fact, all bugs love exposed trash. So do rodents and wildlife.
  • Never leave food outside, not even your pet’s food. This will definitely draw bugs onto in.
  • Keep clutter to a minimum. Remove as much as possible and, if you need to keep some items, consider storing them away from your home. Bugs love places to hide and tend to congregate in clutter.
  • Store woodpiles or construction materials away from your home as well.
  • Keep outside lights off at night or replace outside bulbs with yellow, insect-resistant bulbs. Ladybugs and other flying insects are drawn in by light.
  • Draw your shades at night. This will also reduce the chances of luring insects close to your home.
  • Examine the outside walls of your home, and use a caulking gun to seal any cracks there. Make sure to seal around the places where pipes, wires, or air conditioning units enter your home.
  • Inspect all of your window and door screens and make sure they are present and in good repair.
  • Install, or check, all door sweeps and make sure they are making a good connection all the way across.
  • Place window grade screens over all chimneys and vents to the outside.
  • Have your exterior walls, or perimeter, treated by a pest control professional from Russell’s Pest Control.

If you have done all you can, but you are still getting ladybugs in your home, or you don’t want to do all the hard work of keeping them out, consider pest services from Russel’s Pest Control. With more than 40 years of experience getting rid of, and sealing out household pests, we are happy to help. Don’t let yourself be the victim of a ladybug invasion this fall! Reach out to Russel’s Pest Control today.