We believe that it might be safe to say that the world will universally believe that mosquitoes are a nuisance, in fact, hated. They are dangerous, disease-carrying pests that attack every summer. With the surge of storms that have been hitting the states and especially after Sandy in the Northeast, there may be chances that mosquitoes may have a comeback. It is important to treat the area around your home and to protect yourself from this parasite. On a lighter note, here are some cool, or maybe not-so-cool, facts about mosquitoes: 

• Mosquitoes are one of the most deadliest creatures on Earth: Did you know that mosquitoes have killed more people that all the wars in history? They are deadly insects that carry diseases like the West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, and dengue fever.
• Male mosquitoes are actually  softies: It is the female mosquito that will bite people and animals and feed on blood. The male mosquitoes, however, just feed on flower nectar and are fairly harmless. Moms may understand, but mosquitoes need the blood to reproduce. Since males don’t have that burden of producing offspring, they don’t really need your blood and so they’ll just go for the sweet stuff instead. 
• Mosquitoes are slow: They fly at speeds of about 1 to 1.5 mph which is pretty slow. In fact, even butterflies, locusts, and bees are much faster than mosquitoes.
• They need water: In order to breed, all mosquitoes need water and it only takes just a couple of inches. That’s why it’s important to regularly maintain bird baths, roof gutters, or anything else that can collect water. 
• Mosquitoes can actually detect carbon dioxide from as far as 75 feet away: When we breathe out, we exhale carbon dioxide. This is the key signal that mosquitoes use to tell them that a possible host is nearby. Extraordinarily, they are able to detect carbon dioxide from 75 feet away. Thanks to their keen sensitivity to carbon dioxide, if a female senses it, she will fly back and forth until she is able to locate the source. 

Those were just some facts about mosquitoes. However, the most important fact: regularly treating the outside of your home from mosquitoes will help you protect yourself from their bites. 

We have a lot of products that will kill both adults and even larvae of mosquitoes. Visit our store for more mosquito products or give us a call at 1-800-788-4142 and feel free to ask about the mosquito products that we carry! 

Bed Bug Symptoms and Signs of an Infestation

Bed bugs have become increasingly infamous as they begin to take over entire homes within just a few days. Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not small enough to go unnoticed by the naked eye. However, because of their fairly small adult size and the shape of their body, they are able to easily hide and be concealed in cracks and crevices around virtually any piece of furniture in the room and the infestation can go unnoticed for an extended period of time before it gets out of control. It is important to look for all the right signs of bed bugs so that you can move quickly to eradicate the infestation.

Potential Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation: KEEP READING

This the season to be jolly! It’s a time of bright lights, eggnog, Santa and his elves, and sharing of gifts and love. The last thing that is on your mind this season is probably pest control. However, be careful! There are pests that stay active even during the winter season. In fact, some of the pests that invade the house during this season may seem like that they are more active than normal because they start to invade the home to find a warm shelter and a food source to sustain them during the cold. Here are the Top 5 Winter Invasion Pests that could distract you from the joys of this season:

• Bed Bugs: Are you and your family planning on traveling this winter? One of the most infamous pests that are found during, and after travelling, are bed bugs. They are able to hide in the tightest of cracks and crevices because of their shape and are infamous for hitchhiking on your luggage back to your home. Since bed bugs reproduce very quickly, the infestation can get overwhelming fairly quickly.
• Cockroaches: Cockroaches are nasty little pests that could possibly come in with new appliances and groceries. Watch out for those store bought gifts like tool sets or appliances. Cockroaches of any species are potentially very harmful to your health because of all the pathogens they carry around. Some children and people may even be allergic to them and being around cockroaches more than just gross them out, but will actually cause adverse effects on the breathing. A couple of the smaller species of cockroaches, like German cockroaches, will nest indoors, but during the winter, even the outdoor and much larger species of cockroaches will try to get inside to look for some shelter and food.

KEEP READING

It’s almost Thanksgiving y’all! That means good food and for many families, following a tradition of setting up the Christmas tree! These days, a lot of families opt for setting up artificial trees. They’re definitely reusable and can be easily stored away. For others though, they prefer to go and pick out a real tree and bring it home every season. They’re lots of fun and it’s a great tradition to have, but as you can imagine, there is this fear of bringing in unwanted and potentially harmful bugs and insects inside of your house. The following is a list of the most commonly found insect pests that can be brought in with a real Christmas tree. (these are not listed in any particular order) KEEP READING

It is that time again where the temperatures begin to drop during the night. Yes, pest control becomes a little bit easier because the insects seem to have disappeared; however, you may begin to experience some very uncomfortable issues with large animals entering the building to try and escape the cold. Of the animals that could possibly invade a house, the raccoon can be one of the biggest nuisance pests.

Raccoon Behavior in Urban Settings

The urban raccoon can be a fascinating sighting, but is of great nuisance to the community. They have learned to adapt well outside of its normal habitat and unlike in the past, a raccoon can use virtually use any urban setting to create a new habitat. Although most will not sleep in an urban setting, many will sleep nearby in the woods or in a forest and will explore the urban community to forage for food. Since the raccoon is normally a nocturnal animal, most people will not even notice that they have invaded the neighborhood. A food source for the raccoon can be fruit and insects as well as left over food that was disposed of in the garbage. If you have left the trash out for the night, you will most likely find that the trash has been broken into and spread out as the raccoon ravaged all the food that was left over inside the bag.

KEEP READING