Keeping Your Family Safe and the Pests Out

San Antonio has its fair amount of pests, and they will often be found inhabiting both yards and homes. If you find yourself with a pest problem, then don’t hesitate to call your local San Antonio pest control service. They can help you to deal with both indoor and outdoor pests.
Using a professional San Antonio lawn care service is the only way to ensure that the problem is handled safely, for the sake of your family and pets. While customers often wonder if pest control is safe for pets and children, you can rest assured that safety is our first concern. As long as the necessary precautions are taken, then you don’t need to worry about pest control negatively impacting you or your family.

Keeping your Children Safe

When it comes to pest control, a lot of people worry that it could be harmful towards their kids. It is often the case that the pests pose more of a risk to the health and safety of you and your family than the majority of treatments. If an infestation is left too long, the pests will grow in numbers and could begin to spread disease and illness around your home. They can also cause a lot of damage, which will cost a great deal of money to repair. If you just take the correct precautions, your kids will be fine, so don’t hesitate to call in an exterminator if your home has a pest infestation.
If you have hired a professional exterminator, they will know exactly what they are doing. They will be very careful and direct with where they are applying any treatments and will advise you of all the precautions you need to take before and after. Before you receive the pest control service, you may have to prepare a few things in your home before the exterminator arrives. You will often be asked to remove items from cupboards, shelves, pantries and from underneath sinks. You may also be asked to pull furniture and other objects away from the baseboards.
They will fully advise you on the steps you need to take once the work is complete. Most insecticides dry within 30 minutes after they have been applied, but it is advised that you, your kids, and your pets don’t enter the treated room for around 2-3 hours to ensure that there are no harmful chemicals left.

Keeping your Pets Safe

When pests invade your home, you will want to sort out the extermination as quickly as possible, which means people often forget to tell the exterminator that they have pets. If you are going to schedule an appointment, remember to mention to your exterminator that you have pets that need to be taken into consideration.
Most pest control treatments are safe, but it’s still best to talk to your exterminator about where your pets should be during the extermination and about any precautions you may need to take after they leave.

Containing your Pets:

Pets such as cats and dogs can become very curious when there is commotion going on within your home – a new person, new sounds, new smells. They will often sniff around or even lick things to accustom themselves with these new objects. This means they can come very close to potentially dangerous materials the exterminator will use during the pest control service.
To avoid this, put your four-legged friends into a cage, a kennel, or a pet carrier. If you don’t own one of these, you could also shut them away into a room that is not being serviced but make sure they can’t escape.

Birds, Fish, Rodents, and Reptiles:

If you are having a pest control treatment to exterminate bed bugs or fleas and you own birds, fish, rodents, or reptiles, they may require an extra little bit of preparation in advance of the service. Remove them from the room that is being treated, then use a blanket or towel to cover their tank or cage.
This will prevent any airborne mist, droplets, or overspray getting into their little home. If the tank or cage is too big or heavy to move, try and transfer them into a smaller one for the time being. The room that has been treated should not be entered for a certain amount of time, but your exterminator will inform you of how long. If you have left a larger tank or cage in the room, once the required time is over, it would be a good idea to give it a thorough clean out before placing your pets back in.

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Lawn Care Tips For The South

Having a beautiful lawn can add up 18% to your home’s overall value so you should make the most of whatever yard space you have. Many homeowners take pride in their garden, and so they should do, as it’s not easy to grow and maintain a healthy lawn. Using San Antonio lawn care services is a great way to keep your yard looking perfect if you don’t have the time to or if you are unable to do it yourself.

It can sometimes work out cheaper than doing it yourself as you don’t have to purchase any of the equipment or products, and you don’t have to apply them yourself with a risk of doing it wrong. Some pests, such as the June Bug, can be a nuisance when you want a luscious green lawn. If you are having a problem with pests in your yard, call a San Antonio pest control service.

Although it may be easier to get someone else to do your lawn care for you, a lot of people feel more proud of their yard when they do the work themselves. If you are a do it yourself type of person, here are some monthly tips for maintaining a lawn in the South.

January – If you get a nice dry winter day, it’s a good time to mow your dormant lawn. This allows you to remove any fallen foliage and inspect for winter weeds. January is also an excellent opportunity to plant new trees or shrubs.

February – This is a good time of year to prune your trees unless they are birches and maples. You may see an increase of winter weeds on your lawn, now is the time to pull them by hand or to apply a spot application of post-emergence herbicide. Always ensure that the product is suitable for your grass type and follow the directions on the label.

March – During March, your turf may begin to green up; this is a good time for you to consider applying lime to your lawn. Doing the soil test will allow you to figure out how much lime needs applying to your lawn. If you are unable to test your soil, the general guideline is between 15 – 20 pounds per 100 square feet of lawn. March is also the month that azaleas begin to bloom.

April – Winter should be fully gone by now, so it’s time to replace any mulch that you have around your plants. Removing the old mulch and replacing it with new mulch means you are removing disease spores and any insects that have overwintered in it. If you have a warm season turf, April is a good time to begin cutting it. Make sure that your blade height is correct; you want your lawn to look cut but not scalped. When the frost period has passed, you can safely begin to plant herbs again.

May – In May, you should start to fertilize your lawn on a regular basis. Depending on what type of turf you have, you will have to use a fertilizer that best suits it as some need very little and others like high nitrogen. Apply your fertilizer correctly by following any label directions as you can burn your lawn with fertilizer. Prune away any remaining winter damage on your plants, trees, etc. May is the best season to plant your summer annuals such as marigolds, petunias and more. When you are planting them from pots or trays, you want to make sure that the roots are not matted up otherwise they won’t be able to expand fully into their new soil.

June – As the temperature begins to rise, plants that are in containers or hanging baskets can dry out a lot quicker. You need to pay these some more attention and water them more frequently. You can place houseplants outside during June, but you need to water them regularly and keep them in a shaded area. You can also add some extra mulch to reduce any heat stress and water loss to your plants.

July – During July, there may be droughts due to the heat. You should raise the height of your lawn mower blade to around 1 – 1.5 inches. This helps to protect your lawn, and taller turf can reduce weeds and slow down evaporation. If you have bird baths in your yard, you should relocate them to a shaded area, maybe under a tree as this will stop the water from heating up too much and will give the birds some shelter.

August – During August, it’s a good time to plant fall vegetables. Broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, English peas, turnips, and collards are the best ones to plant. Your lawn may be quite dry, so before you mow it, it needs to have rained, or you need to have watered it. Mowing a dry lawn can damage and stress the turf.

September – Planting trees and shrubs in fall means they will have time to grow strong roots. Plants don’t need as much water as the temperatures begin to drop so be careful not to waterlog them.

October – During the winter months, you can over seed warm season turf. You can also dig up your summer annuals and prepare the soil so you can plant your cooler weather annuals. If you haven’t yet sowed the seeds of mustard, lettuce, collard or turnips, it isn’t too late to; you still have some time to plant them.

November – Clean up your garden to create some compost. You can do this by mixing green and dry materials with some soil and some fertilizer. If it doesn’t rain, sprinkle it with water, keep turning it and by the spring, you will have a nice pile of compost.

December – During December, your lawn may benefit from a lime application if your soil is acidic. You can apply it by hand or use a fertilizer spreader but always wear garden gloves to do either. Using the lime in December will help your lawn flourish in the spring.

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Summer Pest Control For Common Pests

Summer has hit San Antonio so let’s stop hiding away inside and start spending some luxury time outside in the sunshine. However, summer doesn’t just bring people outside, but it also brings out all the pests. Although the sun is shining and the days are long and warm, some of these pests want to hide away by making their nest in your home. There is a range of pests that come along with summer, including roaches, spiders, ants, rodents, mice, rats, scorpions and more.

If your home in beginning to get invaded by pests, then you need to think about safeguarding it before more can enter. It’s not just your home these pests like to infiltrate, though; it’s also your yard. San Antonio lawn care services can help to prevent and control pests in your garden. There are many DIY ways of keeping pests away from your home but in some cases, it’s best to call in a San Antonio pest control.

Common Pests

Some pests are more common than others, below is a list of some of the pests and tips on how you can prevent or control them. It’s important to look out for signs of pests as catching an invasion early on can stop them from spreading throughout your entire home.

Stink Bugs – These brown bugs may not look like they could do much harm, but they are in fact an invasive species of insect. The name stink bug has been given to them due to a strong smell they give off when they are agitated or when they have been crushed. These pesky little bugs are attracted by the odor of other stink bugs so if you have any in or around your home, eradicating them will prevent more from coming in.

To stop these bugs from getting into your home, you can find any gaps or openings that the bugs could use as access to your home then seal these off. The most common ways that they will enter your home is around windows, door trims, crack under baseboards, ceiling lights, and exhaust fans. Check these areas first, and then seal off any other areas that you feel appropriate. Any crack or gaps that you seal up will prevent some pests from gaining access to your home.

If you already have some stink bugs in your home, you can use the vacuum to remove any dead or alive ones. Leaving dead stink bugs around is like offering other pests a welcome feast. Spraying an insecticide outside of your home can help slightly to prevent them from entering your home, but it can also kill other insects, such as bees.

Bed Bugs – Bed bugs are one of the harder pests to get rid of. They’re a huge nuisance and can be found nationwide. They are miniscule in size so the naked eye may not even be able to see them. Bed bugs are so small and flat, they can hide in some of the smallest of cracks although you may not be able to see them, you will certainly know if you have them. They are attracted to the warmth of your body and also to carbon dioxide.

They bite any of your exposed skin and then drink your blood to survive. To find out if you have them, look for itchy bumps or skin rashes. They may also leave behind black spots of feces and discarded shells. If you have a large infestation you may be able to smell a musty scent as when disturbed; the adult bed bugs release this odor. Bed bugs are best left to a professional pest control service, as they’ll have more knowledge and experience in dealing with these pests.

Odorous House Ants – As one of the most common pests, they can have large colonies with around 2,000 – 10,000 individual ants. Going off those figures, it’s quite obvious that these ants can be a huge problem if they if they were to invade your home. When they are crushed, they release a very pungent odor, which is where they get their name from.

Due to this smell, you will want to exterminate them without having to expel their odor. Odorous house ants are highly resistant to pesticides so they must be controlled with baits and non-repellents. To help with reducing their numbers, make sure to vacuum daily and keep surfaces (especially in the kitchen) clean, so they are not attracted to them. Pest control is probably your best solution if you want the ants eradicated efficiently and quickly.

Carpenter Ants – This ant is not only one of the largest species, but it’s also the most destructive when in your home. They are often found in colonies up in trees, but they are also known to infiltrate homes located nearby. You need to try and reduce the access points for them as much as possible. You can either do it yourself or use San Antonio Lawn Care Services to cut back trees and shrubbery and remove stumps and roots.

To completely destroy Carpenter ants, their colony needs to be found and then disposed of. You can bait carpenter ants to find out where their colony is but if you use a pest control team, they will be able to perform this a lot faster for you due to having the experience.
Please give us a call with any questions and concerns. We are more then happy to help you

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