Get Protected From Knoxville Stinging Insects!

Get Protected From Knoxville Stinging Insects!

Wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, and carpenter bees, are all species of stinging insects that can be found buzzing around during the spring, summer and fall months in Knoxville. Even though these types of stinging insects are very beneficial to the environment with pollination and insect control, our homes and families still need to be protected against their damages and dangers!

Carpenter bees, for example, can create nesting holes in the wood on the exterior of our homes in places like siding, decks, and porches. Female carpenter bees live alone in their nests, but many females may live in the same piece of wood. Over time, and with the help of woodpeckers who make the holes bigger looking for the larvae that the female carpenter bees leave inside the wood, the damages that these pests can create to the structures of your home can be quite extensive.

Stinging insects like wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets move from becoming environmentally helpful to dangerous when they decide to create their nest in the walls of your home, on your home near a window or doorway, or on your child’s play structure. Stinging insects will defend themselves and their nests by stinging whatever it is that they think is a threat. When their nests are too close to your home then the chances of you, your children, or pets getting stung greatly increases, especially if the nest is built in a high traffic area. While the sting is painful enough to warrant action, the venom from wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets is strong enough to cause some very severe allergic reactions in many people.

As a homeowner, there are several steps that you can take to help protect yourself and your property from stinging insects. Some helpful prevention tips from the professionals here at Russell’s Pest Control include:

  • Making sure that all the wood on the exterior of your house, like siding, porches, decks, patio and lawn furniture and swing sets is stained or painted because carpenter bees prefer to nest in wood that is untreated.
  • Chimneys should have a tight fitting cap on them.
  • Holes or small openings in your home’s exterior walls or foundation should be repaired.
  • Caulk spaces around exterior windows, doors and utility entrance points.
  • Gutters should be routinely cleaned so that debris doesn’t build up and collect rainwater that the stinging insects can use as a source of water.
  • Make sure that outdoor garbage cans have tight fitting lids on them.
  • Remove old tree stumps or fallen trees that stinging insects could possibly use as a nesting site from your property.
  • Reduce the amount of flowering, colorful landscape found outside the exterior of your home.

If stinging insects ever do decide to nest on your property and they start causing damages or become dangerous to you and your family it is best to contact a Knoxville stinging insect professional. Trying to take care of a stinging insect problem on your own can lead to stings and injury.

At Russell’s Pest Control we can safely remove a stinging insect nest from your property and offer continuous control services to prevent future issues through our Power Platinum program. The Power Platinum program provides year-round protection for your home and family against yellow jackets, wasps, hornets, and carpenter bees! For more information about protecting your home and family from stinging insects from the Knoxville stinging insect control experts here at Russell’s Pest Control, contact us today! Start your pest control program so that you can get back to enjoying your summer, your home and your property without a single thought of stinging insects!

Creepy Crawly Fall Pests

Creepy Crawly Fall Pests

The Halloween season is upon us and the stores are filled with candy, costumes, and, of course, creepy decorations. Hairy scary spiders, skeletons, ghosts, goblins, red beady eyed mice, and creepy crawly cockroaches are all common Halloween props that are used to scare the neighbors and trick or treaters. Halloween is a fun holiday, as long as those creepy crawly things are fake and not actually living in your home.

Russell’s Pest Control is here to remind you that actual creepy crawlers like mice, earwigs, spiders, and bed bugs can enter into your home and give you and your family a real scare! Below are some helpful tips about pests that are a bit more creepy and scary than most and how we can help.

Mice

While some people may find mice “cute” most people find them downright creepy especially if they are living in their home. Mice will eat and contaminate your food-including the stash of trick or treat candy you’ve been building; chew through and damage the structure of your home and personal items; transmit a variety of dangerous diseases; and leave trails of urine and feces throughout your home.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs hitchhike their way into people’s homes and feed on their blood as they sleep- really, how much creepier can you get? While they aren’t known to transmit any dangerous diseases, once inside a house they can breed quickly and take over an entire home in a relatively short period of time. Their mere presence can trigger a fear response and cause people to lose sleep until they are completely eliminated.

Earwigs

Earwigs are a nuisance pest. They are attracted to basement and bathroom areas that provide them with a high humidity environment. Most people are afraid of earwigs because of the myth that is associated with them. The myths states that earwigs burrow into people’s ears as they sleep in order to lay their eggs in the brains if their unsuspecting victims. Luckily for everyone, there is absolutely no truth to this myth – it’s just a good story to tell on Halloween!

Spiders

Spiders, poisonous or non-poisonous, are probably one of the most feared pests. They have 8 legs, can be large or tiny, are sometimes hairy, quick moving, and reclusive. Many people don’t even realize that they have spiders living in their home until they are startled by one as they are trying to find their shoes in the closet; or when they walk through one of their webs dangling from the ceiling in the guest room; or, worst of all, you just climb into the shower and get the water adjusted to the right temperature when a big black spider descends from the top corner of the shower stall heading directly for you. Ahhhh! Spiders are definitely the most feared!

Russell’s Pest Control can help to control all of these creepy crawly pests and other common slightly less creepy pests now and throughout the rest of the year. Don’t be scared living in your own home. Implement a year-round home pest control service and have the peace of mind that you, your family, and pets are the only ones living in your house!

For more information about how we can help through our home pest control or bed bug control services contact us today, and you, too, can experience the Russell difference!