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Pest Control OKC

Pest Control OKC: Common Fall pests

The leaves are turning, it’s getting colder, and the pests are moving in! Pest Control OKC is here to identify some common ones and what you can do when you see them.

 

 

1.) Cockroaches: Roaches need humans and their warm homes to survive the colder months. The best way to deal with a roach infestation is to prevent it by making sure your house is sealed and that there are no places for the roaches to hide. Once roaches are in, it can be almost impossible to get rid of them without a pest control professional. If you do spot roaches in your home give The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, a call.

 

 

2.) Ants: When most insects become less active in colder months, Ants keep right on going thanks to the hives they build deep underground. But just because they’re deep underground doesn’t mean you shouldn’t worry, these tiny engineers often position their nests in ways that allow them to build tunnels into your home. And don’t think an infestation will pass over with time, Ants colonies can live for years with a healthy queen and ready access to food.

 

 

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3.) Spiders: These creepy crawlers will attempt to invade your home for 2 reasons: The first reason is like the others on this list, some spiders will move in to try and avoid the cold and search for food. The other reason however can provide some future problems. The second reason spiders will move in is to lay egg sacs. These spiders will typically die after a short period, leaving their eggs to incubate in your warm home and hatch when the weather gets nicer. A nasty surprise for summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you find any of these uninvited fall guests, give The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, a call at 405-973-5522 and take back your home for Fall!

 

When your ant comes to visit.

Have you every had a problem with ants in your house? Here’s an article about ant treatment and how to minimize their presence in your home.

When your ant comes to visit

Ants are fine when they are out in the woods crawling through the grass, but when they get on the counter top by the thousands, then we have a problem! Ant problems begin when they invade a building looking for food and water. They are attracted to many things, but especially to sweets, meats, fats, and oils. When they find what they’re looking for, they go get their buddies. They can also build their nests in walls, foundations, and cracks and crevices in your home. Here’s how you can get rid of them.

  • Preventative Measures – Make sure all food crumbs, left overs, dishes in the sink, etc., has been cleaned up. Over flowing trash cans should be emptied, and counters wiped down. Doing this will limit their options in your home. Although, good housekeeping doesn’t always prevent you from getting ants, it’s a great place to start.
  • Call in Reinforcements –  Ant treatment is very common, and calling in a professional exterminator will help keep the ants at bay. The exterminator will create a perimeter around your home, like a line of defense, warding off future trespassing by our small friends.

Weather it is ants, or any other bug, you don’t want them invading your home. If you are looking for treatment options,  contact The Bug Guy, the best pest control solutions in OKC!

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Pest Control OKC: What happens to pests in the winter

Pest Control OKC: What happens to pests in winter?

We all know the warmer months are the domain of pests. They seem to pop out of nowhere and invade our homes and BBQ. But why do we typically only have to deal with pests in the summer and spring? What happens to all the pests in Winter? Do they all die off or does something else happen? Pest Control OKC has some answers.

Ants: They may not be in your home during the winter, but that doesn’t mean ants aren’t nearby. Ants will engage in the Insect version of hibernation, called Overwintering. They will spend the fall gorging themselves as much as they can to put on fat. When the temperature drops and food becomes scarce, ant activity will decrease until eventually they seal their colony and hunker down for the coldest parts of the year. When the temperature rises they will reanimate and emerge, ready to invade the nearest Barbecue.

Termites: Different Termites do different things during the winter. Depending on the species and the climate, some termites use one method while others use another. Subterranean Termites will dig down deeper than they already are, below the freezing line of the soil to stay warm and wait out the colder months. Drywood termites on the other hand, will seek out dry wood to shelter in for the winter. After summer comes and the temperature reaches about 70 degrees the colony will send out swarmers to mate and find new locations to infest. If climate controlled conditions or climates that are warm year round, termites will never go inactive staying up year round. This makes homes particularly inviting to termites who can avoid the risk of freezing to death in the winter.

If you need pest control, call The Bug Guy, pest control okc, today.

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Pest Control OKC: More Plants to help keep pests away

Pest Control OKC: Some more plants to keep pests out of your garden

Last week, pest control OKC talked about some plants you can add to your home or garden to help keep away pests while adding some color and nature to your home. But those are just a few of the examples of what you can add to your garden. There’s still quite a few more options to help keep your home pest free!

Mint: Mint is best grown in separate pots. It looks nice and smells great but it also grows aggressively. Planting mint in your garden could mean you end up with a really nice smelling weed ravaging your garden. Mint leaves mostly repel mosquitoes but can work on other insects. And, much like basil, mint is a great plant for the kitchen. Use it to flavor iced tea and added to many recipes. The mulch of a mint plant is also great for vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and turnips.

Rosemary: Rosemary is a much less invasive option to repel mosquitoes and a slew of other insects. It can be grown in pots but it does just fine in gardens or landscaped beds. The plant itself or it’s clippings both repel insects and it can even be boiled and turned into a repellent, making it one of the most flexible plants you can pick. And of course, Rosemary oil is great for cooking!

Alliums: Not one specific plant, but the family of plants known as Alliums are all effective natural insecticides. Repelling everything from slugs to aphids to cabbage worms. Putting an Allium near plants like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, and carrots can ward off many of they’re natural pests. Alliums also include small herbs like chives, leeks and shallots!

If your home has some uninvited guests, call The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, today at 405-973-5522!

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Pest Control OKC: Prepping your house for Fall Pt. 2

The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, is back with more Fall Pest-Proofing

4.) Inspect Attic and Crawlspaces: Pests love low-traffic areas where they can infest your home in peace. Whenever days start to get shorter, grab a flashlight and some protective clothing and do a quick inspection of these areas. Look for signs like piles of shredded material, ant lines, Roach droppings, and shedding to indicate the presence of pests. Should you find any evidence in these low-traffic areas, schedule an inspection and treatment with The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, to get these pest out of your home.

5.) Insulate gaps in your home: Even tiny gaps within the insulation of your home can let any number of pests into your home. Inspect your home and look for gaps in areas where pipes and electrical enter the house. As well as well as in the attic and garage. You can caulk many of these small gaps closed to deny entry into your home. You can also use expanding foam insulation to fill gaps.

6.) Maintain weather stripping and window seals: This is referring to the bristly or felt areas around these structures. Replace any worn away stripping to help keep pests out. Even small holes can lead to big problems when it comes to pests.

7.) Fix Condensation Issues: Ceiling leaks, leaking pipes, Attic condensation problems will attract pests. In addition to attracting pests, these condensation problems can also lead to mold and freezing problems. Fix these issues while you can before they cause a host of other problems.

If your having trouble inspecting some of these areas, call The Bug Guy, Pest Control OKC, and schedule an inspection for pests. The Bug Guy is a professional pest control service and can root out even the most well-hidden pests. Give us a call today at 405-973-5522 and schedule an inspection today!

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Pest Control OKC Team Discusses 3 Fall Bug Problems

Pest Control OKC: Bugs That Are Bugging This Fall

As you start to enjoy the change of the season, gearing up for Halloween festivities, and partaking in fall events, it is our pest control OKC team’s hope that your home remains pest-free. If you’re one of the unfortunate homeowners noticing that some bugs are still bugging you this fall, then we certainly want to help you out!

If you haven’t noticed anything yet, but you don’t know what to look for here’s a list our pest control OKC team is providing to you of 3 fall bug problems to keep an eye out for around your home.

1.) Stink Bugs: As fall rolls in these foul smelling bugs will group up on the side of the house where the sun shines most. This congregation can last for weeks at and then when the temperatures become even colder they’ll begin making their way into the home to hibernate. The smell of a stink bug that has let off its odor has been described as a pungent smelling coriander.

2.) Wasps: Since wasps work in the summer to build their nests, they can still be rather active when fall arrives. This is especially true if they were successful in building the largest nest that they possibly could have built during the warmer months. Their fall activity would be mostly due to their desire to feed as food sources start to become more scarce. Stings occur most when humans cross paths with a wasp by mistake.

3.) Ants: Many species of ants will seek out shelter in homes to avoid colder temperatures of the outdoors. They will also be entering homes to look for food and water. Carpenter ants tend to be problem as they will physically move their colonies into the walls of homes and cause structural damage.

It’s sad that a time of merriment can also be such a time of annoyance due to insect problems, but that’s why our professional OKC pest control team is available to help!

Should you need help with any bug problems in or around your house, please feel free to give our OKC pest control experts a call. The Bug Guy can be reached at 405-973-5522.

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Pest Control OKC: Formica Ants And Oklahoma

Pest Control OKC: These Ants Don’t Sting, They Spray

The Bug Guy, your local source for pest control OKC, is here to tell you about a certain kind of ant. Formica ants are one of the many species of ants that can be found in Oklahoma. These ants are often called Wood Ants, because they like to make their nests in wooded areas. These ants are also known for invading the colonies of smaller ant species and capturing workers, turning them into slaves for their colonies.

Formica ants primarily feed off of the Honeydew produced by Aphids and other small insects. They even defend Aphids, a common garden pest, from predators and lead them to the best parts of plants to feed. These ants aren’t poisonous, but if provoked they can bite with their mandible and spray Formic Acid. This kind of acid can cause coughing fits, watery eyes, and skin irritation.

Still not convinced Formica ants are a nuisance? They are pests in 2 ways:

  • They can infest a home and cause a list of problem including being attacked by the colony and being sprayed with Formic Acid.
  • They farm and defend the Aphid, a common garden pest that can destroy garden plants and lawns. They also like to hunt caterpillars and other insects that can help pollinate your garden.

With any ant infestation, it can be hard to get rid of them, because it can be difficult to track down the colony. This is especially true for Formica ants as they like to hide the entrance to their colonies under rocks or in wood.

It’s best to call The Bug Guy, your local pest control OKC team, to come out and make sure the colony is dealt with. Years of experience allows our pest control OKC experts the ability to find and remove these colonies quickly and safely.

If you have ants infesting your home, give The Bug Guy a call and take back your home and garden from these acid spraying pests! Call now at: 405-973-5522

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The Bug Guy In Full OKC Pest Control Action

April Showers Brings… Many Bugs and The Need For OKC Pest Control!

Have you ever wondered why those pesky bugs are more active during warm spring and summer months? Ants, flies, wasps, spiders… all those creepy bugs have something in common; they need time to reproduce! The reason you’ll start to see more pests in warmer months is because they’ve had more time to lay enough eggs and potentially produce thousands of babies. This season is when The Bug Guy is in full OKC pest control action!

Not many would argue when we say that Oklahoma’s weather patterns have been just plain crazy this year. From the wet, damp rainy days all the way to the extremely and unusually warm spring days; we’ve had it all! It isn’t surprising that these fluctuating temperatures have created the perfect storm for incubating a staggering amount of reproduction for various insect species.

Did you know it only takes one burst of wet weather, for example, to create a breeding ground for flies? The astonishing part is that flies have the capability of laying up to 900 eggs! The offspring can then hang around for nearly a month afterwards. Annoying, right? If you’ve seen an increase in flies around your home in the last few weeks, it could be a result of rainy days all the way back in April.

On the other hand, many bugs start to make their way out of their resting places when temperatures become more stable and when weeds, flowers, and grass are alive to help the insects have places to hide and feast. This is why after the rainy month of April, comes the many bugs of May and the much needed use of OKC pest control.

As the busiest bug season is about to be in full swing, it might be wise to schedule your OKC pest control appointment as soon as you can. Our OKC pest control team will be serving the OKC metro area and we’d love to add your home to our list of stops to help keep your yard protected.

You can reach out to The Bug Guy at 405-973-5522 to get started with your OKC pest control services this spring and summer!

Record setting high temperatures!

Oklahoma City is experiencing record-setting high temperatures this week. With warm weather here it is the perfect ingredient for insects to start appearing. We have already started taking calls on spiders, ants, and termites. It is important to keep up a regular schedule of pest control treatments to prevent insect infestations, especially during this warm week. Spiders and ants will be increasing their activity in order to survive. Termites are active all year long. Do not let an infestation occur. Call The Bug Guy for a free bid for treatment. We would be happy to inspect your home at no charge and make any recommendations that may be needed!

The ants are marching in!

Yes, the ants are marching in. The winter conditions will push ants inside. They do not like the cold and too much moisture in the way or rain, sleet or snow. Ants need dry warm areas to build colonies. Ants will forage for food and enough moisture to sustain their colonies. Once ants have established this the colony will grow to cause sometimes heavy infestations inside your home. To help prevent ant infestation it is imperative to eliminate places around the exterior of your home that ants can thrive in. Such as piles of leaves, rock piles, wood piles or thick landscaping areas. The Bug Guy also recommends having your house treated around the exterior to help prevent ant infestations for occurring. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns.