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pest control okc

Pest Control OKC: Keeping a summer home pest free

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Pest Control OKC: How to protect a summer home from infestation

You work hard, you save up, and your finally able to afford a summer home somewhere nice. But then you get there to enjoy a vacation you find it overrun with pests! What can you do to make sure that isn’t a reality? Pest Control OKC has a few tips.

  • Clean all cabinets and counter tops thoroughly before you depart. Clean all appliances to remove food residue and crumbs. Dust off shelves and store food such as cereal, flour and dog food in releasable containers.
  • Sweep and vacuum floors in the kitchen, under furniture, and around dining areas.
  • Check any pipes around the house for leaks, cracks and gaps and seal them before you leave to keep water from attracting pests and forming mold.
  • Inspect boxes, grocery bags and other packaging thoroughly. Insects may hitch a ride into your summer home from potted plants and infest your home after you leave.
  • Keep basements, attics, and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry. A good way to tell if you need more ventilation is the presence of mold and mildew.
  • Seal cracks, crevices, and other gaps in doors and windows before you leave. Doors and windows should be kept closed at all times unless well screened.
  • Keep garbage areas clean. Garbage should be taken out regularly and removed completely before you leave for the season. Garbage provides 2 things. Clutter and food sources. Insects like to be able to hide, from you and other predators. So cluttered places like a full garbage bin are attractive. And of course, if they can find a supply of food while hiding in their cozy garbage patch even better. Don’t give them the chance!

If you need pest control, call the bug guy, pest control okc, today.

pest control okc

Pest Control OKC: What’s eating your lawn?

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Pest Control OKC: How to tell what’s eating your lawn

Not all pests are created equal, some pests live underground while other in nests in the trees. Some invade your home while others just carve miles of tunnels into the lawn your worked so hard to make beautiful. Here are a few pests that you can keep an eye out for according to Pest Control OKC.

European Crane Flies: These nuisances resemble large mosquitoes and frequently appear in late summer and fall. They don’t bite or sting, but they will probably startle you if you mistake them for the world’s largest mosquito. They’re larvae state, called leatherjackets, resemble small, brown worms. Leatherjackets will feed on the roots of grass while they mature. This causes brown spots to appear in your lawn as the grass dies. Feeding will be heaviest during the summer as the larvae mature. You can check for infestation by cutting a 6 to 12-inch square foot of sod, digging down 4 inches, and peeling back the sod to look for leatherjackets. A healthy lawn will suffer damage from about 25 leatherjackets per square inch. Birds can be another handy indicator, look for birds scouring the ground for the tasty larvae.

Southern Chinch Bugs: Immature chinch bugs are reddish-orange with a white band across the back. Once they’re adults, they turn black in color. Adults also have shiny, white wings that fold neatly over their backs. Damage from these pests will start in sunny areas. Grass will brown and die. Once an area is dead you will see the browning spread across your lawn quickly, often within a day or so. Infestations might be spotty and may only affect portions of the lawn. Left untreated however, you can easily lose your entire lawn. Damage will typically occur in spring and fall. To look for these pests, take a coffee container and cut out both ends. Place it 3 inches into the ground and fill it with water. Chinch bugs will rise to the top of the water if present. Test near the edge of an affected area.

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

Webworms- Pest Control OKC

Pest Control OKC Team Shares About Fall Webworms

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Pest Control OKC: When Webworms Take Over

For many people, webworms are something they have seen plenty of times before. Fall webworms typically would spin their nests from April to September in Oklahoma, but the crazy weather could be a reason people would still see evidence of web worms in October. Today, our pest control OKC team shares a bit more about fall webworms.

It the past horticulture experts have stated that due to milder winters and very wet springs the webworm population has been able to grow. These conditions are much like what Oklahoma’s own weather patterns have been like in the last year. Thus, it is no shock to our pest control OKC team and should be no surprise to you that the eye sore of these sticky nests are appearing.

What our pest control OKC team can tell you for certain is that the nests for webworms is actually a barrier of protection for them. The nests keep the worms from being eaten by wasps, birds, or other predators. The worms attach to trees for food, but the damage to the trees isn’t a big problem. The mess they make is more of a concern to most homeowners.

When the fall webworms hatch, in a butterfly-like fashion these webworms will become moths. For the fall this may not be an issue, but come next May the female, adult moths can lay 400 to 500 eggs! Within only 7 days of eggs being laid, larvae begin to spin their web and the process starts all over.

If you would like to know more about insecticide for treating the areas where webworms reside, please feel free to contact our pest control OKC team. We will be able to guide you to the perfect solution.

For all of your fall pest control needs, The Bug Guy can be reached at 405-973-5522.

Ticks- OKC Pest Control

OKC Pest Control Reviews A Story About Ticks And Lyme Disease

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OKC Pest Control Sharing A True Tale About A Tick Bite

Normally, when you think about the presence of ticks in your yard it’s already well into the summer, but as you already know our temperatures in Oklahoma have been warmer than normal this spring. This is why our OKC Pest Control team thought it would be important to inform our readers about ticks making their way out sooner than they usually do.

A lot of people don’t ever think that a tick bite will really do anything to them, but the warning of Lyme disease couldn’t be more real. Last summer there was a story shared online by several sources about an Oklahoma woman named Alyssa Layman who is now battling Lyme disease due to a tick bite. One interview of the story was published by News Channel 4, but our OKC pest control team wanted to share it here as a reminder that caution is needed with warmer days ahead.

The Alyssa Layman Story:

Alyssa Layman’s life was changed one June summer day in 2012 when she decided to go fishing in Arkansas. She was bitten by a tick (most likely to be spread via the blacklegged tick, or deer tick)* and she didn’t think anything more about it at that time. By the month of September she was in enough pain that she had to go to the emergency room. She stated she “had mood swings, started running a fever, had extreme pain.”

The interview with News Channel 4 was published in June of 2016 and it was explained how Layman, 4 years after her bite, still has to rely on her family members to help her do almost everything. She receives help from her mother to wash her hair, do the dishes, and help her cook, because she simply cannot do these things on her own. Her sister takes her to her doctor appointments and Layman also receives help from a service dog.

Layman hoped that by sharing her story about her battle with Lyme disease due to a tick bite that others would take caution. She also stated that “if you get a rash of any kind around a bug bite, definitely go in, get tested.”

Our Comments:

At the end of the original article, there was a comment about how Lyme disease is usually not a problem in Oklahoma, but officials say it is becoming more prevalent. Other resources suspect that a lot of people traveling to other parts of the country may be bringing back infected ticks to Oklahoma.

We wouldn’t want anyone to take any chances! Our OKC pest control team would be happy to help eliminate ticks from your yard to keep you, your family members, and even your pets safe.

To get in touch with our OKC pest control company, give The Bug Guy a call at 405-973-5522.

*Resource: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/