All posts in “seal”

What are some ways to discourage insects trying to enter your home?

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What are some ways to discourage insects trying to enter your home?

 

One of the things that Pest Management Professionals try to utilize are IPM or Integrated Pest Management techniques. These basic ideas include using non-chemical methods to reduce the bug population around your home.

  • This can be as simple as removing firewood from close to your home to maybe next to a block wall and making sure its not directly on the ground.
  • Trimming trees to prevent ants and other crawling pests from just walking right on it.
  • Using yellow lighting or sodium vapor lights on structures or businesses will help to reduce flying insects.
  • Keeping stone or dirt away from the stucco of your home so you can clearly see the foundation.
  • Sealing up any cracks and crevices where bugs love to hide, this may include those block wall bump-outs.
  • Keep trash cans away from doors where people come and go often.
  • Check your property often and stay ahead of the insects.

brookstone If you store lots of firewood a device like this can keep it off the ground and you can always cover it with a tarp.

 

What do bugs really want?

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What do bugs really want?  stinkbugs

 

Plain and simple they want food, water and a home? That is exactly what we can and often times do provide them. Now the key to getting rid of them is by getting rid of one of those key essential things that they need to survive. The BIG problem is that we don’t often think about bugs when creating a home. We create little hiding areas, we water our plants and we leave our dog dishes out with food in them.

Our homes are the perfect environment for them, we have heat in the winter and cooler temps in the summer, we have lights on our houses which also may atttract them. See,  they really don’t understand and probably could care less but the light, heat etc  attracts them.

So here is the true test – you have to make your home uninviting to those guests you don’t want living at your home. Get yellow lights, seal your home and water sparingly and you may become the one house in your neighborhood where the bugs won’t make their homes.

lotsbugs

baby mice

So just how many babies can mice have?

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So just how many babies can mice have?

Mice are capable of producing six to eight babies in each litter, sometimes as many as ten.

The biggest problem with mice is that they have multiple litters each year. One male and female mouse can produce up to 40 babies in one year. Multiply that by the fact that each litter will start producing babies as well within the year and you can see how quickly a couple of mice can get out of control. In just that first year those original mice can product up to 139. In one year, a pair of little house mice could produce thousands and thousands of offspring. This could happen if every baby survived and carried on the family system of multiplication. So it is very important to seal your home.

So here is a quiz:

Mice are famous for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. The type of mouse we have here gives birth once a month, birthing 12 babies each time. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born.You picked up one of these cute baby mice at the pet shop and brought it home the day after it was born. In 10 months from now, how many mice will you have? Don’t peek, have a guess – see below

Answer

One, the mouse cannot have any babies by itself.

Contact us if you are having an issue with mice or rodents for a free quote.

Kudo’s to Phoenix Magazine

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Kudo’s to Phoenix Magazine

 

They recently ran a story on “Sticker Shock” December 2012 by Tom Marcinko in Phoenix Magazine on the new Scorpion anti-venom. We ran a home seal “Face the Facts” back in August 2011 on the new technology including the new anti-venom. So how about a few “Did you know that?”

  1. Scorpions typically eat insects, but their diet can be extremely variable—another key to their survival in where they live.If you can get rid of their harborage (where they hide, or where their food hides) it will help control them.
  2. The venom, a neuro-toxin, it is held in a gland at the tip of the tail and is injected through its stinger to kill prey by affecting the central nervous system. Sometimes they can sting us by accident, always wear gloves and never put your hands where you can’t see.
  3. Rain or the lack of rain, cold or the lack of cold can make the scorpions here in Arizona move and cause a few problems. I suggest homesealing your home.
  4. The time to know about scorpions is before you are stung, read the stories above and take care!

Stink bugs and other True Bugs

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Stink bugs and other True Bugs…

How many True Bugs can you guess? How about Assassin Bugs & Wheel Bug, Aphids, Bed Bugs, Boxelder Bugs, Leafhopper, Milkweed Bug, Squash Bug and of course Stink Bugs.

All true bugs have similar mouthparts, which is what characterizes the true bugs. True bugs suck. That’s right, the true bugs have specialized mouth parts used to suck juices.

The brown marmorated stink bug, or simply the stink bug, is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, and it is native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. They have invaded the East Coast and have made their way across the U.S. They get their name because release an unpleasant odor when you crush them or when they are protecting their homes. Stink bugs do not hurt humans, but they can cause a lot of damage to crops and plants.

Tips to prevent them from getting into your home from National Pest Management Association (NPMA):

  • Seal cracks around your house.
  • Replace damaged screen on doors and windows.
  • If you see a stink bug indoors vacuum them up and throw away the bag immediately.
  • If you see a stink bug in your garden, lightly spray the area with approved insecticides. Keep weeds around the garden in control and clean up the garden at the end of the growing season.
  • Hand pick stink bugs in early morning when they are slow moving.

Stink bugs were not even reported in the United States until the late 1990’s!

I suggest you wear your shoes!

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I suggest you wear your shoes!

 

It’s dark outside and you need to run to the garage, so you ask yourself “Should I put on my shoes?” – The answer is an unequivocal – YES. Bark Scorpions pack a sting that could send you to the hospital and this whopper – Desert Hairy Scorpion will sting you but generally is not as bad as the Bark Scorpion.

Spring is almost here!

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  Spring is almost here!

Spring is almost here, at least in Arizona and soon we will heading to those wonderful 120° temperatures. So the BIG question are you ready for Spring Cleaning? Here are a few tips on preparing for the summer heat ahead of us all.

  1. Check all out building for pests, like bees or termites.
  2. Check the eaves of your home for bees and cracks in which bugs hide.
  3. The Spring is a great time to caulk and seal your home against unwanted pests, it’s cooler and we all know we don’t want to do it in the Summer.
  4. Check for any nesting around the home, rodents and birds use nesting material and will often drag it in through opening in the walls and ceilings.
  5. Use a cobweb broom to knock down interior dust webs.
  6. Trim those trees from against the home.
  7. Never stack firewood or wood against the home.
  8. Clean your carpets.
  9. How about some plumbing spring cleaning – here are some tips from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

If you need any help feel free to call us at 602-249-7378 ProBest Pest Management

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