Summer is undoubtedly the best season of the year to invite friends and family over to your home for barbecues. Unfortunately, those fun cookouts in the backyard can turn into a disaster rather quickly if your yard is infested with mosquitoes. Their bites make everyone uncomfortable, and they can even be dangerous if they carry potentially deadly diseases like West Nile virus.
Bug spray can help keep them from feasting on your blood for a little while, but there’s no better way to keep yourself from becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet than preventing mosquitoes from coming into your yard in the first place. Here are a few things our exterminators in Bartlesville, OK recommend you try this summer if you’d like to live in a mosquito-free area:
- Get rid of water: Mosquitos lay their eggs in standing pools of water. The problem is that their eggs are so small that they hardly need any water to get the job done. In fact, a plastic bottle cap can hold enough water for them to deposit eggs. Take some time after a summer storm to walk around your yard and remove any standing water or puddles. This will help reduce breeding sites and prevent mosquitoes from hatching in your yard to begin with. If you have a birdbath in your yard, make sure you dump the water and wipe it out every couple of days. Eggs can stick to the basin and survive even in the absence of water.
- Biological control: Biocontrol is an eco-friendly way to manage a mosquito problem. These methods use mosquitoes’ natural enemies to eliminate them from your yard. If you have a pond in your yard, consider purchasing fish that feed on mosquito larvae. The most popular of these breeds is the aptly named mosquitofish. If you don’t have a pond, dragonflies can also be helpful in reducing the mosquito population. Immature dragonflies eat larvae in the waters, and adult dragonflies eat mosquitoes whole.
- Keep your grass short: If you haven’t done any of the things mentioned above, you’re probably going to have an adult mosquito issue. The best way to try to reduce the adults’ presence is by maintaining your lawn. The shorter you keep your grass, the fewer places adult mosquitoes will have to rest when they’re tired of flying around. If there aren’t any good places to take a breather from flying, the less attractive your yard will be to adult mosquitoes.
- Call exterminators: The above DIY tactics can do wonders to mitigate the presence of mosquitos in your yard. But sometimes, the only way to keep the population in check is by bringing in the professionals. Our team of exterminators in Bartlesville, OK uses a variety of human- and pet-friendly methods to get rid of mosquitoes and other pests quickly and efficiently.
Be sure to give Excellence Pest Control a call today to take care of your mosquito infestation once and for all. We look forward to helping you enjoy your summer and avoid a bunch of mosquito bites!
Anyone with a pet that’s been affected by fleas or who has ever had a flea infestation in their home knows how annoying they can be. Any type of infestation is unpleasant on its own, but it’s especially bad if the pests sting or bite—like fleas do. Nowhere is safe from fleas when you have an infestation in your home. Avoid having to deal with an infestation this spring by doing some of the following things, or by calling us for pest control in Bartlesville, OK:
- Trim your grass: Fleas obviously have to come from somewhere before they get into your home. They’re most commonly picked up by your animals when they’re outside in your yard. Fleas tend to live in tall grass and jump up onto your pet. You can help ensure that doesn’t happen by keeping your grass cut short this summer. Short grass obviously gets more direct sunlight than tall grass. Fleas can’t handle too much direct sunlight and will die if it gets too hot.
- Check your pets: As mentioned above, fleas usually get into your home by hitching a ride on your pet’s fur. Although fleas are extremely tiny, you’ll be able to spot them if you know what to look f The first sign that your pet could have a flea issue is if they’re scratching or biting their skin. If you notice abnormal scratching, look through your pet’s fur. You’ll spot dark brown fleas when they move away from your hands as you sift through your pet’s fur. Flea collars can do wonders to prevent fleas from getting onto your pets, and thus prevent infestations in your home.
- Shampoo your pets: If your pet has fleas, be sure to give them a good bath with flea shampoo, and comb their fur with a flea comb. It’s good practice to shampoo your pets on a regular basis, anyway. They’ll smell better, and the chance that they’ll get fleas is relatively low with a weekly bath. Timing is everything when it comes to fleas. The sooner you can get fleas off your pets, the less likely it is that you’ll have a full-blown infestation on your hands.
- Wash your bedding: Fleas love to get into warm and dark areas, and your bedding is the perfect nesting spot for them. Wash all of your sheets and blankets after you’ve shampooed your pet. The hot water from the washing machine and the hot air of the dryer are sure to take care of any that were on your sheets and ensure an infestation doesn’t take place.
- Give us a call: Let’s hope you were able to nip the fleas in the bud before an actual infestation took place—but if not, Excellence Pest Control is here to help. We’ll spray all areas of your home and lawn with powerful (but pet- and child-friendly) insecticide to ensure no fleas will be able to survive or get back inside. Our pest control in Bartlesville, OK is second to none when it comes to removing and preventing issues with all sorts of critters.
Call Excellence Pest Control today if your home happens to fall victim to a flea infestation this summer. We provide free estimates for all emergency extermination services!
Summer is near, and ants across the nation couldn’t be happier. They’re coming out of their winter slumber and are ready to get inside your home to seek shelter and feast on all of your delicious food. The key to preventing a full-blown infestation is to call exterminators in Bartlesville, OK before it’s too late. Give our professionals a call ASAP if you notice either of the following signs:
- You see ants inside: Even though ants are small, they can be easy to spot inside your home—especially if they’re crawling across your kitchen counter, or if they’re hanging out in your pantry. Ants don’t live alone; if you see one, there are bound to be more lurking around somewhere. It’s not a bad idea to give us a call for extermination as soon as you see more than one ant in your home.
- You see ants outside: Ants inside your home are obviously a problem. But it’s also an issue if you spot any ants outside of your home. Any ants living in a nest near your home aren’t going to be content staying outside for too long. Sooner or later, they’ll be trying to get inside by any means possible. Don’t just sweep away an ant nest if you spot one, as the ants will just rebuild it in a matter of days. Give an exterminator a call as soon as you notice a nest outside. Our professionals will spray insecticide to get rid of the problem once and for all.
It’s also good to keep in mind that it’s possible to reduce the likelihood of an infestation by taking some preventative steps. Here are some measures you can employ to prevent an ant problem in your home:
- Sealing any cracks: One of the easiest ways for ants to get in your home is by sneaking in through any cracks in your walls or foundation. Call a handyman to seal anything that you can’t. Hiring someone to perform work around your home can be much cheaper than paying for ant exterminators after the fact. Also, make sure you’re closing doors behind you when you enter or exit the house.
- Cleaning up after yourself: Ants mainly try to get into your home because they want easy access to food. One of the easiest ways for them to eat is by snacking on any crumbs that fall on the ground, or sipping any spilled beverages. Wiping everything up with a wet paper towel will do wonders to prevent infestations.
- Calling us ASAP: Full-blown infestations can happen rather quickly. Call us as soon as you notice any signs of ants. Our professionals will take care of the situation quickly and easily with our non-toxic insecticides. We guarantee the quality of our work. Rest assured that you’ll never have to worry about an infestation after you pick up the phone and give us a call!
Time is ticking if you have any ants in your home. The longer you wait to call exterminators in Bartlesville, OK, the worse your infestation will get. At Excellence Pest Control, we’ve dealt with infestations of all sizes, and there’s nothing we can’t handle. Give us a call today for a free extermination estimate!
With the warmer months comes termite season, and an infestation could be possible at your home. Termites love the wood structures of your home, and during this time of the year they become active and start to breed. To protect your home from the devastating destruction that termites can cause, you should consider investing in termite control in Bartlesville, OK to prevent them from taking hold of your house.
Avoid termite damage through prevention
As the weather begins to warm up, termites start to look for shelter and places where they can nest. They harvest on wood, making your trees and home particularly susceptible to their damage. As termites eat their way through your home’s building materials, they can make your home’s support structures weak, creating a devastating path of destruction in their wake.
It is estimated that termite damage costs Americans as much as $5 million a year, which is particularly frustrating when you realize that most termite cases could be prevented with termite control in Bartlesville, OK and elsewhere. Unfortunately, most insurance companies don’t cover the house damage caused by termites, leaving you at the mercy of these pests.
With termite control in Bartlesville, OK, you can keep them from ever coming into contact with your home, as your property will be protected from top to bottom. Termites love areas that have moisture and a readily available food source, and an inspection by a professional pest removal service can help you take the necessary precautions to avoid attracting termites.
Reduce costs associated with termite damage
By investing in termite control in Bartlesville, OK for your residential property, you will be going a long way toward eliminating the possibility of these insects taking control over your home. They breed during the warm weather months, and an infestation is easily possible if you don’t invest in termite control as a preventative measure. You may see them swarming, or you may not be aware of their presence at all. In either case, you need to take immediate action to avoid serious damage to your home.
Waiting until termites begin to destroy your home could be costly, as you could lose many of your personal belongings; termites will feast on items such as furniture, clothes and books. Don’t risk the chance of having a termite infestation this summer—get termite control in Bartlesville, OK now to avoid the hassle and inconvenience of having these pests inside your home.
Termites are often called the silent destroyers, as you often won’t know they are in your home until it is too late. They take over and wreak severe havoc by eating their way through everything in sight. You need to stop them in their tracks with regular termite control in Bartlesville, OK.
Don’t delay in having termite prevention carried out at your home to keep these pests from coming into contact with your favorite items and your home’s structural supports. Contact Excellence Pest Control to schedule a visit to your home and prevent these insects from taking over!