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!

DEET Bug Spray Is Being Replaced By Natural Substances

There have been many examples in the past of how technology has driven the pest control industry and how the pest control industry has driven some great technological advances. Lots of research that was done early in the field of extermination was closely tied to American military efforts, particularly during the World Wars. American soldiers went to terrifying places in unfamiliar environments, but sometimes, one of the unexpected threats to them involved pest pressure.

If you have ever used a mosquito spray before a picnic, you have reaped the benefits of that war-time research. Most mosquito sprays contain DEET, a chemical that was developed during WWII when American troops encountered the health hazards associated with working in an environment that fostered mosquitoes carrying malaria. DEET helped to keep those soldiers (and thousands of people since then) safe, but now researchers are working toward replacing DEET with a naturally-occurring substance.

The problem with DEET is that it is only a short-term solution. As you may have realized, bug spray has to be re-applied frequently to be particularly effective. It often has a somewhat unpleasant smell, and the chemical combination in DEET products can damage some plastics and fabrics, making those sprays impractical in many situations.

Now, however, researchers are delving more deeply into the mechanics behind the effectiveness of DEET. They have discovered which portion of the mosquitoes’ antennae responds to the DEET, and they have studied other substances that can be used to trigger the nervous system response that makes the mosquitoes retreat. They have also cleverly narrowed their searches to natural substances that can be easily acquired. Four compounds have been selected for further testing, and all the early signs are very positive. Three of the four substances are actually already approved by the FDA for consumption as food products. They have been used for this because they all naturally give off a mild smell like grapes. The hope is that these compounds will eliminate the need for DEET while also correcting many of its defects.

In other good news, researchers have also found that the trigger point on the mosquitoes’ antennae that makes these compounds effective is quite common in many species of insects. It’s possible that this research could start off revolutionizing the bug spray industry and could, perhaps, transform the pest control industry as well. We’ll wait around for more information and keep you informed as new developments arise.

Mosquitoes Love East Tennessee’s Rainfall

As I’m sitting here writing this blog, I’m enjoying the fact that sunshine is streaming in through the window. The first full week of July featured cool weather and rain showers every day, and though June had its fair share of heat, it was also a noticeably wet month. In fact, the combined rainfall for the month of June and the first week of July was 15 inches! That’s huge, and you can bet that the pest populations love the abundance of water and the break from July’s usual blazing heat.

If any pests (besides termites) are happy about the water, it is the mosquitoes. I took a walk in my neighborhood last night and realized that the mosquitoes are preparing for a blood bath (really, it’s more like a blood feast for them, but still). Every low place that can hold a pond has one, and the drainage ditches are so full that whole sections of yards are rivers that will eventually become stagnant lakes. This is just like Christmas in July for the mosquitoes because their young have an entire life phase in the water. Normally, they have to be picky about where they lay their eggs to ensure that moisture will be available for the larvae. Now, the higher water levels offer them an abundance of new real estate, much of which is in or near yards and, consequently, near houses.

We have explained the mosquito life cycle in a previous post, but let me hit the high points again. Mosquitoes require blood to reproduce, and a female mosquito will only bite a human when she is preparing to lay eggs. This means that every bite you receive this summer directly results in the hatching of about 300 new mosquitoes. This is not good news. We have done another article about mosquito habitat control that you may want to check out as well. It is very important that you get out into your yard as soon as possible and remove as much standing water as you can. This could mean emptying the bird bath or turning over your children’s toys to eliminate the puddles.

Russell’s Pest Control can do an inspection on your property to help you find mosquito habitat issues and make some good adjustments. We can also set you up for a monthly mosquito service to run through the remainder of the warm season to get some control of the mosquitoes that are going to be popping up in your yard.

We hope that you enjoy the sunshine when it’s out and enjoy the fun that comes with the summer months. Just give us a call if there’s anything Russell’s can do to make these next few months even more enjoyable for you.