Blog
- Written by Brent Borgeson
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Is it possible to treat your yard for chiggers? Yes, we treat yards for chiggers! Oh happy day!
What are chiggers?
Chiggers are the larval form of the Trombiculidae mite. They are tiny, with a length of only about 1/150th of an inch. You can maybe see them with a magnifying glass. The larval form has six legs. The adult mite has eight legs, and it is harmless - it doesn't bite humans.
What do chiggers do that makes them terrible creatures?
Contrary to popular belief, chiggers do not burrow into the skin. However, they do inject a digestive enzyme into the skin and then feed on the decomposed tissue caused by the enzyme. Yes, it sounds disgusting. Chiggers cause incredible itchy spots and sometimes blisters on the skin.
Above: Illustration of chigger bite
Treating Your Yard for Chiggers
March is the prime time for us to treat your yard for chiggers. The treatment is the same for chiggers as it is for fleas. The lawn should be mowed and watered before treatment for the best result. We use Nygard IGR liquid to spray the yard. Fourteen days after the first treatment, we followup with a second treatment. Usually, only two treatments are needed. However, if your neighbors have a chigger infestation and aren't treating their yard, the little chiggers could "hop the fence" so to speak, into yours.
Contact us to be put on our schedule to treat your yard for chiggers in the coming spring.
- Written by Brent Borgeson
- Hits: 569
We offer copper mesh exclusion service and here's why it is important.
As temperatures are dropping in fall and early winter, bugs are looking for warm, secluded areas to spend the winter. Spiders, in particular, are looking for a quiet and hospitable place to lay their eggs. A place where the eggs will survive the winter and the tiny spiders can safely hatch in the spring. Your home's attic is the perfect location.
The way bugs make it into the attic is often through the weep holes. As seen in the picture above, weep holes are the slits between the bricks that allow water to escape the home's veneer. One method of keeping them out is to place the copper mesh in the weep holes on the home's exterior. The mesh is a physical barrier to keep bugs out.
Contact us for our copper exclusion service to help keep bugs out of your home.
- Written by Brent Borgeson
- Hits: 624
As we enter late fall, many bugs, including wasps and scorpions, are trying to get into the attic of your home for protection from the coming winter. Once in the attic, they have several ways to access your living spaces. Any space large enough that you can slide a credit card into, the scorpions can slide in through that spot.
Scorpions think that light means food. So from the dark attic, they will detect the light in the tiny crevices around things like can lights, ceiling fans, and anything else hanging from your ceiling. Wasps get in the same way because they are also attracted to light.
Power dusting in the attic is critical to kill the bugs. Let us check your attic for rodents while we are there. They chew through the electrical lines, which costs an arm and a leg to repair.
Are you seeing wasps, scorpions, and other bugs in your home? Contact us today.
- Written by Brent Borgeson
- Hits: 628
If you see areas of brown and dying grass in your lawn, that is called brown patch or large patch. Brown patch is caused by a fungus that affects all types of lawn grass, including St. Augustine.
Mild temperatures and cool nights with a bit of humidity, like we have had this fall in Texas, are prime conditions for the brown patch fungus to thrive.
We treat brown patch in the fall to kill the fungus. Killing the fungus now will allow the lawn grass to come back strong and healthy in the spring.
Brown patch fungal treatment is a service that we can add to your regular maintenance program if your yard is prone to it or if seasonal changes make it happen. Contact us today.
- Written by Brent Borgeson
- Hits: 664
We receive quite a few calls from folks who have recently moved to Texas and are in dire need of pest control for their home and yard. The creatures that usually cause newcomers the most concern are the things that bite and sting. It's mainly a matter of them acclimating to the new environment and learning how to control the pests.
Let's start with the things that fly. Flying insects like wasps can ruin a person's day. Wasps tend to be territorial about their nest, and they will sting if they feel threatened. They like to build their nests under a home's eves and also inside bushes. Unfortunately, that can put them near doorways and in landscaping close to the house. We offer wasp removal services.
Oh, and mosquitos! Can't forget the mosquitos that are unpleasant in every possible way: the sound they make, their bite, and the constant itch that follows. We have a great product and program for keeping mosquitos under control.
Then there are the crawlers - wolf spiders, in particular, cause quite a reaction. Wolf spiders are generally harmless (non-venomous) and great predators to help keep insects in check. However, they are big and scary looking, and of course, they don't belong in the house. So there is an extra bit of energy in the caller's voice when they contact us to remove wolf spiders. We also treat homes, out-buildings, and yards for spiders that are of great concern, such as brown-recluse spiders and black widow spiders.
Additionally, there are all the usual suspects of crawlers that we encounter in the pest control world: fleas, roaches, fire ants, ticks, and chiggers.
The key to keeping all these pests in check is persistence, and that's where our regular maintenance programs come in. Contact us today to learn how our pest control services will benefit you.
