pest prevention Archives - IMEL PEST CONTROL
Watch out for these summer pests at your Edwardsville, IL home or business
Keep these summer pests from vacationing in your home
Whether you live or go to school in the Edwardsville, IL area, you know that summer means high temps, days at the pool and a litany of fun activities. However, it’s not all fun and games for Midwesterners as the season heats up. While this area can be great for float trips and all types of summer enjoyment, it’s also a time for many pests to play as well. However, how do you limit pests while maximizing the fun you have this year. Well, the first step is becoming familiar with the enemy. Here are the pests you should look out for as the weather heats up and what you can do to limit your exposure!
Mosquitoes
When it comes to summer pests, there are few more feared than the dreaded mosquito. Not only do mosquito bites cause itching, but they can also spread serious illnesses that will have you worrying about a whole other problem.
While your municipality likely treats for mosquitoes, you may still see them in numbers this season. To prevent mosquitoes, limit any standing water around your home, as this is a breeding ground for the insect. Additionally, store-bought bug sprays, fly paper or citronella candles may help protect you while enjoying time outside.
Stinging Insects
The summer brings an unending onslaught of stinging insects to worry about. Whether it’s carpenter bees that bore holes in your wood deck or wasps that build nests underneath ledges, limiting nesting areas will also limit untimely meetings right outside of your front door.
To limit stinging insects, you can pick up a few cans of wasp and hornet killer at many stores and inspect your home for nests. You may find nests in garages and sheds, in trees, underneath ledges, inside wood surfaces, etc. You can also call a professional to ensure your completely protected if the problem is severe.
Ants
Ants are extremely active in the summertime, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll be warding them offer all season long. Ants love to find their way inside your home looking for food and anything they can carry away to their nest.
However, it may be easier than you think you eliminate these pests. Take a walk around the perimeter of your home to spot any nests that are close to your foundation. Next, be sure to keep trash and food sealed at all times, so as not to attract any hungry ants into your home.
Flies
Flies are another unfortunate part of the summer months, and they come in all shapes and sizes. From the tiniest of fruit flies to the dreaded horsefly, you’ll want to be sure you keep doors and windows closed and a fly swatter handy.
Limiting flies can be trickier because it’s difficult to know where they’re coming from. However, the best thing you can do is keep your home clean. Fruit flies are attracted to decaying fruit while common houseflies feed on garbage and filth. Keep it clean to limit these guys.
Ticks
If you live near a wood area, you’ll no doubt have your run-ins with ticks this season. Ticks live in piles of dead leaves and other wood areas, waiting to hop onto their next victim. Many times this is in the form of a dog or pet or someone that’s hiking or working in the woods.
Ticks can cause serious illness, so it’s best to give yourself a thorough inspection anytime you’ve been in the woods are somewhere that ticks like to hide. Additionally, be sure to treat your dog with tick and flea control medicine to ensure unwanted visitors aren’t hitching a ride right into your home!
Termites
Last, but certainly not least is the termite. Also very active during the summer months, this is the time when termites are foraging for food and working to build up their colonies. This desire for progress leads them right to your home to snack on the studs in your walls.
With termites, you’ll want to limit anything close to the home that could serve as an access point such as piles of logs, brush or other detritus material. Additionally, it’s important to seek the help of a termite professional, as termite infestations can cost you thousands in structural repairs – prevention is certainly the better option here.
Pest prevention for your Columbia, IL home
Check out these pest prevention tips
As the calendar turns to March, many people are starting to realize their winter dreams of backyard barbecues and long, sunny afternoons. However, if pests had it their way, they’ll crash the party before you even start to enjoy the warmer temperatures, bringing with them their colonies, disease and other health hazards. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. We’re here to tell you that there are methods you can use to cut down on your insect problems this season. While there are many things that you can do, here are the top five pest prevention tips to keep your home free of insects this spring and summer!
Seal Doors, Windows & Openings
First, it’s smart to seal any openings that an insect may use to gain access to your home. Start with the obvious places, doors and windows, and move to lesser-thought-of areas like around plumbing, light sockets and other tiny spaces you can find throughout your home. From a tiny crack in the wall to the space underneath your door, it’s important to seal off any and all access points that you can find!
Keep Clean & Tidy
When pests make their way inside the home, they’re usually looking for two things – food and shelter. Don’t aid their search by leaving out old food containers, leftovers or even crumbs. Additionally, clean up all clutter, such as piles of clothing and unread mail, to ensure there are no places for these critters to hide and reproduce.
Fix Plumbing Leaks
Many insects are drawn to damp environments, which makes your pipes and space around any plumbing fixture a place that could be targeted by bugs. Insulate pipes with foam insulation to cover condensation and fix any leaks that could be attracting insects. You want to be relaxing by the water all summer, not providing a resort for pests to enjoy inside your home.
Yard Maintenance
There are many things that you can do inside the home for pest prevention. However, there are some things you can do outside the home, as well. Keeping a yard that’s clear of brush piles, log piles, and other detritus materials. Moreover, any organic material left near or up against the home (like a pile of logs) could harbor an entire colony and provide an easy access point for termites, rodents and more.
Call a Professional
While the other tips can be highly effective at preventing insects, they only real way to keep your home bug-free is to call the professionals for pest treatments that are catered to your specific needs. Professional pest control specialists can identify your risk areas, find current infestation and provide treatments for both. Contact Imel in the Columbia, IL area for more about how professional pest control can benefit you!
Pest Control Tips for Winter Weather in the Granite City, IL area
Keep pests from cozying up indoors with you!
It’s still February in Granite City, IL, which means you’re probably huddled up inside, enjoying the radiant warmth of your home’s heating system and keeping yourself out of blustery winter conditions. However, it’s not just you that’s enjoying your warm home. More often than not, pests are also using your home as a refuge from the wet and the cold during this season. While the idea of sharing your Winter retreat with a bunch of insects may be unbearable, there are things that you can do to limit the infestation of pests, rodents and other bugs this winter. Read below for realistic tips that you can use to keep your home pest-free!
Keep Food Sealed
There are two main reasons that pests come into your home during the Winter months: food and warmth. By keeping food in sealed storage containers, you’ll make it hard for pests to smell the food and to access to food if they find it. If they can’t find a source of food, there’s no reason for them to be there.
Seal Cracks & Holes
While you may not think about it, there are probably quite a few cracks and holes in the exterior of your home for pests and rodents to fit into. Whether it’s spaces around plumbing fixtures and pipes, small cracks that have appeared over time or even your chimney, it’s important to do an inspection, find and seal any openings on the structure of your home.
Organize Clutter
One of the easiest steps that you can take to keep your home pest-free is by organizing your clutter. Rodents, in particular, love cluttered messes of junk, debris, garbage, brush, etc. It gives them a place to hang out and stay safe while allowing them to access the warmth of the house. By clearing clutter, you’re giving potential pests fewer places to base their operations.
Proper Firewood Storage
Many families in the Granite City, IL area rely on the use of a fireplace to keep their home’s warm and their heating bills down. However, it’s important to ensure that you’re using the right storage techniques and practices. Like brush piles or piles of clutter, firewood provides a great environment for pests to hide in with easy access to your home. They can even hitch a fast ride inside when you bring some into place on the fire.
The best practice is to keep a pile of wood outside, covered from the weather and far enough away that pests won’t have access to your home. Also, bring wood inside as you need it to limit the unwanted guests that find their way inside.
Clean Gutters
While you’re rushing around to clean the clutter in your garage or around your home, you may be missing one important place that could harbor all sorts of pests and rodents. We’re talking about your gutters, of course. If your gutters are filled with leaves and other debris, this provides an optimal environment for pests during the winter, and it gives them easy roof access.
Do an Inspection
The best tip that we can give you is to do an inspection yourself. Use the tips that we have provided to evaluate your home and find places where your pest protection is lacking. The more you look, the more you’ll find potential points of entry and ways to keep pests out of your home!
Call a Professional
Worried that pests have too much access to your home? Especially for rural homes, even pest prevention tips may not help keep all the pests out. Don’t hesitate to call a local pest professional for the help you need to keep your home pest-free!
