Do Your Children Feed The Bugs?

Kids can be messy. Not your kids of course. I’m talking about other people’s kids. You know the ones. They make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right on the counter and leave a gob of jelly for you to find later–usually because you put your forearm or hand on it. They leave a wake of half-eaten bread, candy and Pop Tarts on every surface in the house and surprise you with sticky morsels on the kitchen table, or unidentifiable crumbs in the cushions of the couch. It is one of the many joys of child rearing.

This propensity for uncleanness can often happen in a blink of an eye. I remember making hot dogs one day. I called my son in to get his. He was five years old and used to putting his own ketchup on his hotdog, so I paid him no mind. But something went wrong during the process and he managed to get a rather substantial amount of it on his hand. Before I could even form the words, “Don’t move,” he moved. With a speed that left my mind unable to fully comprehend what had happened he smeared the ketchup down the front of his shirt in one thick streak and looked up at me with surprise. Apparently, the ‘ol, “Wipe it off on the shirt trick didn’t quite work as well as he had planned.”

What I did not know back then as a young parent is that all those sticky spills, all those dobs of sugary foods, and all of those crumbs were the reason we had so many pests. It doesn’t take much to feed a bug, and my house was full of a veritable buffet of choice dishes.

If you have not painstakingly sealed your exterior walls, maintained your screens, and had your perimeter treated by a professional pest control company, bugs and rodents will visit your home. But what many people don’t think about is that these pests are looking for a food source. If you have open trash, food on the counters, dirty dishes stacked by the sink, and crumbs in your rug, pests will be motivated to stay. Without even realizing it, your kids are feeding those pests.

I’m not telling you to chase after your kids and wipe up every little spill, because that’s just crazy talk. I’ve raised two little piggies and it is hard work. I get it. But there is a solution. It lies in what I mentioned above. If you partner with a pest control company they will do all the hard work of sealing bugs and rodents out and you won’t have to work so hard at keeping everything clean. I’m not going to lie. You’ll still need to do a couple of things to make sure your home stays pest free, but there are easy things like making sure you don’t leave the door open as you bring groceries from the car to the house, and remembering to put fruit in the refrigerator instead of on the table where fruit flies can develop. Your pest technician will walk you through it.

Those kids are going to make some messes, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with the cockroaches, ants, flies, beetles, mice, rats, and everything else that wants to creep around your house and spread illness. Get your yard and exterior walls protected and get bug free for 2015.

Your Guide To Holiday Pest Control

Bugs are definitely worse in spring, but you can still have an infestation, especially around the holidays when you’re bringing things into your home that bugs love to hitchhike on. Here is a short guide to help you prevent an accidental infestation this season.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Before you start roasting those chestnuts over an open fire, here are a few things you’ll want to know. Let’s start with a common theme. Any time you bring something from the cold into your home, you have a chance of bringing in dormant egg sacks that are waiting for spring so they can hatch. BioOne Online Journal recently did a study of purchased firewood and stated that nearly half the bundles purchased revealed dozens of species of insects, even as long as eighteen months after purchase. They connected this spread of insects to untreated wood taking long trips over state lines. They suggest to buy local and burn quickly. And if you store wood at your home, store it away from your exterior walls and keep it five feet off the ground. This will keep those pests from infesting your home.

Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree how lovely are your branches!

Insects love to lay their egg sacks in Christmas trees as well. If you bring a cold Christmas tree into you home, especially if it has traveled a long distance to get to your home, it could have eggs waiting to hatch. Though not as much of a threat as porous firewood, trees can have a variety of insects. Shake your tree thoroughly before bringing it into your home, and inspect with a flashlight for fuzzy web-like sacs tucked into boughs. This will save you from having hundreds of spiders crawling your walls for Christmas.

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care…

Another way egg sacs get into your home is in decoration boxes stored in a shed, garage, or barn. This is also a way roaches, mice, and poisonous spiders enter the house. When storing decorations, try to use a sealed, hard plastic container. This will prevent unwanted intruders when the holidays come.

If you get an infestation, call a professional so it can be dealt with thoroughly and you can stay focused on what matters: being with family.

5 Tips For A Pest Free Holiday Season

In Georgia, we may not go walking in a winter wonderland, but we sure do love to deck those halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la. Though the weather outside isn’t frightful, it can sometimes be frightful inside. And nothing can ruin your holidays faster than bugs. Here are some tips to make your season bright.

Shake that tree!

There are a number of bugs that live on and nest in Christmas trees. If you don’t want a hundred spiders crawling up your walls this Christmas, consider inspecting your tree with a flashlight and shaking it real well before you bring it inside.

Don’t pick up hitchhikers!

There are dozens of species of insects that live in wood. Some stay dormant for nearly a month before rearing their ugly heads. These wood-eating insects will most likely be found in firewood that has crossed the border from one state to another. So buy local and burn your wood quickly to avoid unwanted insects hatching in or near your home.

Keep the food off the tree!

Rodents love those edible decorations. So if you don’t want a rat as an ornament, consider refraining from strings of popcorn and cranberry, or hanging baked goods. If you have hung food ornaments every year, ask yourself, “Do we have rodent problems more around Christmas than any other time of the year?”. Many people don’t make the connection, but it is true. Your food ornaments can lure rodents into your home or draw them down from their hiding place in the attic.

Don’t add bugs to your recipe!

“Bugs make a great baking ingredient!” said no chef, ever. The last thing you want to find when you grab the flour is a bunch of little black specks moving around in it. Always check your packages for tears, holes or chew marks before purchasing them. Pantry pests love to hitchhike home with you. Let’s keep them out this Christmas.

Don’t have a heart attack!

There is nothing worse than unpacking ornaments and finding cockroaches in the box. These nasty little buggers love cardboard boxes full of dusty tangled messes. If you store your boxes in the garage or shed, you could be bringing a roach infestation into your home. If you’re able to, store your holiday decorations in a hard plastic bin. Roaches can chew their way through cardboard. If you can’t afford hard plastic right now, refrain from storing food or sweets. Always check your boxes thoroughly before bringing them into the house. And check wreaths closely and shake them out.