john, Author at Exclusive Pest Control

5 Common Bugs in the Fall

Posted on September 15, 2021August 19, 2021 by john

Cooler weather is on the horizon in South Carolina, finally. You will notice an increase in certain types of insects both indoors and outdoors. Therefore, South Carolina pest control companies, like Exclusive Pest will have their hands full with numerous appointments to keep homes free of the common bugs in the fall.

Stink Bugs

There are different types of stink bugs in the United States but the most common stink bug is the marmorated. This brownish color of the marmorated is similar to a tree trunk and its shape resembles a tiny shield. The adults can fly and their length and width are about ¾ inches. These common bugs in the fall are overall harmless but have a nasty liquid in their abdomen that smells horrible and stains fabrics.

Boxelder Bugs

Another one of the common bugs in the fall, boxelder bugs. They are more of an annoyance because they flee inside when the weather begins getting cooler. They push themselves into cracks and other openings in homes. They often congregate around windows on the southern and western sides of a house where it is warm. These critters don’t cause damage to property, but they do sometimes stain surfaces and can be a hassle to deal with in large quantities.

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles

The ladybugs you find in your home are known as multicolored Asian lady beetle. Lady beetles are frequently found in the fall in residential areas in South Carolina. There have been reports of thousands of these beetles congregating on outside walls, windows, doors, porches, and decks, on the sunny south or west side of buildings. These beetles can get inside and are a huge inconvenience. The shape of these beetles is oval, ¼ inch long, 3/16 inch wide, yellow to orange to red, and may have black spots on their bodies.

Rodents

The fall months provide colder weather outside for rodents so they are ready to invade your residents for nesting. They usually invade attics, garages, and foundations of our homes and commercial buildings. People who live near wildfire areas have experienced an early influx of these pests because of flames in woods and fields.

There are two common types of rodent invaders: mice and rats. The roof rat is smaller in size, averages 5 to 10 ounces in weight, gray to white in color, with long ears and a black tail as long as its body. The Norway rat is larger, weighing 7 to 18 ounces, grayish in color, and with shorter ears and tail than the roof rat.

Keep Common Bugs in the Fall Out

None of us want to share our homes with the common bugs in the fall, it is important to protect your home and your family. Be sure to keep your windows screened throughout the summer months and check your screens frequently for any holes or gaps where insects could enter. Look for cracks under doors and around windows with weather stripping. If you find cracks be sure to seal them quickly. Keep food sealed and put away, trash sealed, and pick up around your home to avoid areas for bugs to find shelter and food in your space. Additionally, keep your bushes cut and away from your home, to prevent insects from breeding in the vegetation.

Contact Us

Are some of the common bugs in the fall invading your home? Call us today to treat your home with chemical insecticides and discover the source of the insets entry. We have a team of professionals who can make your home bug-free. Call (843) 461-5169 or contact us to schedule an appointment.

How to Remove Fleas from Your Home and Yard

Posted on August 15, 2021July 23, 2021 by john

Fleas are some of the most annoying and popular year-round pests in South Carolina. Fleas enjoy hitching a ride on our 4 legged furry friends or human loved ones, so they can make their way inside our homes. In this blog, we will teach you what to look for and how to remove fleas from your home or yard.

Signs of Fleas

The first step in learning how to remove fleas is to know what symptoms will start occurring once a flea has invaded a pet or human in your home. If you or a pet begins itching this is a major sign of flea infestation. You can spot these little creatures sometimes as well. Fleas are on average 2.5 millimeters long, which makes them visible to the naked eye. Another sign of fleas is if your skin or a pet’s skin becomes irritated, red, or has scabs.

Fleas Appearance

Fleas are extremely small and hard to spot but their most distinctive feature is their capability to jump significantly far distances in comparison to their size. Their color is usually black or dark brown and may be seen on your pet’s fur or on a person’s skin.

Fleas won’t remain on humans, which makes it hard to locate hiding places. Only 5% of the population of fleas will be found on your pet at any given time. Fleas find dark places to call their home. They are often found in baseboards, carpets, and pet bed crevices.

Treatment of Fleas

Knowing the treatment of fleas is important to understand how to remove fleas from your home and yards. Flea treatment for pets should be applied as directed to begin re-infestation. It is best to speak with your veterinarian about the best way to treat your pet. You will want to remove as many hiding places as you can. To kill any fleas, larvae, and eggs, wash your pet’s bedding and toys in hot water. The use of a spray bomb, or powder treatment, and vacuum your house often, throwing away the bag each time to get rid of larvae and eggs from your safe haven.

A flea comb is great to use because it can capture the fleas. You can use this on your pet by working the flea comb through their hair, starting close to the skin. Dispose of the fleas in a bowl of soapy water to ensure they don’t survive.

It is important to not forget about treating your lawn because fleas make their way inside your home by connecting to your pet. You can treat your lawn by applying specific sprays which will feed and strengthen your grass, but also kill the fleas. You can also mow high (but not too high). When cutting your lawn, cut it to the ideal height for a specific type of grass. Extremely tall grass provides fleas a place to hide, while grass that’s too short (less than 2 inches) will not attract spiders or ants, which both prey on fleas.

Contact

Now you know how to remove fleas from your living spaces and yards, but there can be challenges along the way. Exclusive Pest Control knows the exact persistence and care of how to remove fleas and successfully complete the job. It is a process that will take time over a couple of weeks to destroy the fleas at every life cycle and the end of the infestation once and for all. Contact Exclusive Pest Control today to schedule a consultation and to learn more about how to remove fleas. You will be one step closer to being flea-free once you call the professionals at Exclusive Pest Control.

How Often Should you Treat your House for Bugs?

Posted on July 15, 2021June 23, 2021 by john

Owning a house comes with many responsibilities. It seems like there is a never-ending list of things to do and get done around the house. One important item on the list is calling an exterminator. When it comes to keeping your house bug free you can have full trust in Exclusive Pest Control. In this blog, you will learn the answer to how often should you treat your house for bugs.

In South Carolina bugs are around all year and it seems as if you can’t get away from them especially in the Spring. As the seasons change, bugs still have the same goal: finding a safe place to live, eat, and mate. Homes provide great places for bugs to come in and take cover, so you need to treat your house for bugs to keep them away.

Quarterly Treatments

The first answer to your question of, how often should treat your house for bugs is quarterly. Having an exterminator come out to your house quarterly will suffice if you are staying on a consistent plan with your exterminator. Our quarterly plans will make sure your house is safe from pests no matter the type of property you live in or the location you are around.

During each treatment, one of our expert technicians will monitor hot-spot areas for changes in pest activity. We create environmentally-friendly pest control barriers even if the pests aren’t directly visible. This includes sprayed applications and/or rodent traps that are safe to be around pets that will protect your home against common pests all year long.

Monthly Treatments

Another answer to your question of how often should you treat your house for bugs is, monthly. Having a specialist come out to your home monthly allows you to protect your health. Pests are dirty. We all know this but did you know they can cause serious illnesses? Including some that can cost your life or leave you with lingering consequences. When you neglect pest control it can lead to permanent damage to your property. For example, squirrels can damage supporting beams in the attic.

What Does a Specific Treatment Look Like?

Now that you know how often should you treat your house for bugs we are going to look at what specific treatments look like. One of our services treats bed bugs. When treating bed bugs we use our bed bug heat treatment method, which is the most effective treatment to kill all bed bugs and eggs in just one day with little to no chemicals used. Our specialized technicians have been trained at Convectex to treat these critters using professional heating equipment. This way of treating an area is performed discreetly, using specialized electric heat equipment to exterminate bed bugs at all stages of their life cycle in less than 24 hours.

There are several ways bed bugs can be detected in a home or a facility. First, our team will go through a visual inspection of the home. We will examine rooms that are more likely to be affected by a visual inspection. Bed bugs usually leave behind rusty stains on sheets and mattresses. Another way we can detect them is through our K-9s. We have bed bug dogs that are able to enter a home or facility and detect any traces of a specific type of smell that bed bugs release.

Once the bed bugs’ presence has been confirmed our team will work efficiently and begin treatment. We can heat one room or an entire structure, this is dependent on the overall levels of infestation. The heat treatment will easily penetrate mattresses, box springs, furniture, carpets, walls, and ceilings, which will eliminate them. The heat treatment we use is safe and will not damage the structure, furniture, or personal items.

Contact

Now you know the answer to, how often should you treat your house for bugs? If you have any other specific questions feel free to reach out to get more answers. Exclusive Pest Control has a team of people who are determined to keep your house free of pests through both our quarterly and monthly inspection options. Ready to be pest-free? Contact us today through our phone number 843.461.5169 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.