Showing posts with label cockroaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cockroaches. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

A-Z with A B Pest Control & Insulation: Crawl Spaces & Cockroaches

At A B Pest Control & Insulation, we offer multiple services for your convenience. From pest control to lawn maintenance and turf management to insulation services, we can handle all of these tasks for you! This week, we'll be continuing our new series by discussing two different sectors of our business with A-Z with A B Pest Control & Insulation: Crawl Spaces and Cockroaches.


Protecting Your Crawl Space
Unfortunately, home efficiency and moisture issues in crawl spaces can easily go unnoticed, degrading home air quality, comfort, and energy efficiency. One of the most common problems with crawl spaces that do not have insulation is the high level of moisture. This could lead to mold growth. By having your crawlspace insulated, you can greatly reduce the moisture levels, which will prevent mold from growing and forming. Moisture that's trapped in the crawl space can also affect the temperature in the house. Insulation can help seal off the crawl space and keep your house at the temperature you desire. Proper insulation can also prevent pipes from freezing and bursting in colder weather.

Two Types Of Crawl Space Insulation

Vapor Barrier System
A crawl space vapor barrier system prevents ground moisture evaporation from entering the crawl space. It's designed to resist the flow of air. The vapor barrier system turns the crawl space into a semi-conditioned area by stopping the air movement and making the temperature close to the living spaces in your home above. When the temperature in the crawl space is similar to the temperature in the home's living areas, your floors will feel warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Foam Spray
Spray foam insulation can help seal things up for good and eliminate any worries you may have about your crawl space. Spray foam is highly dense, and a little bit goes a long ways. It's non-permeable so it can help seal up any air gaps to eliminate moisture and keep your space free of mold, mildew and rot. While the only guarantee of a rodent-free home is ongoing pest control service, spray foam makes it less likely you'll be invaded by rodents. Spray foam is hard and an unwelcoming substance for them, unlike fiberglass insulation.


Preventing Cockroaches
Roaches enter homes in search of shelter, food and water. And your kitchen offers all of that! This is one pest you DON'T want to see in your home for many reasons: they can multiply quickly, they're hard to get rid of, they can pose health threats, and they're just plain scary! Daily cleaning and proper food storage is the easiest way to prevent these nasty little bugs from infesting your home. But be sure to seal off any potential entryways, too! Regular pest treatments can help prevent them, as well.

What Cockroach Species are Common in Missouri?

American Cockroach
The American cockroach generally lives outdoors, but during winter will move indoors and seek refuge from the cold. Outdoors, they will winter in decaying trees and woodpiles to survive the season.
German Cockroach
German cockroaches are a severe pest problem in the United States and are found everywhere through the country in large numbers. They easily infiltrate human structures and make their homes there. Once inside, they are hard to eradicate. As long as the German cockroach can find food and a humid environment, it will survive the winter.

Oriental Cockroach
Oriental cockroaches are an indoor species, but will often venture outdoors in search of food. They must have water to survive and will usually take refuge from the winter inside basements, crawlspaces, and floor drains. Oriental cockroaches can tolerate lower temperatures than most other species of cockroaches and will often winter in rock walls and sites that offer protection and warmth. They use the winter months to reproduce.


Give A B Pest Control & Insulation a Call!
At A B Pest Control & Insulation, we pride ourselves on our exemplary service, because we stand behind all our work. We offer flexible service schedules to meet your pest control, insulation and budget needs. And of course, we couldn't do what we do without the awesome customers that trust us for their pest and insulation needs! So, we just want to give a quick shout out to our loyal customers who've kept us going all these years!

If you have unwanted pests around your house or would like a free estimate on your insulation needs, give your Lake of the Ozarks pest control company a call! From pest control to lawn maintenance and insulation services - A to Z, we cover it all!

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

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www.abpest.net

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Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Pantry Pests: Who's Feasting on Your Food?

If you've been noticing an alarming number of uninvited guests in and around your kitchen, it doesn't mean your home is dirty. Certain pests just simply find their way indoors and in your kitchen because it's where their food source is! These bugs may cause some alarm to you as they are usually found within cabinets or pantry food items but don’t worry, most of them won’t cause any harm to you, your family or your home. Here are a few pantry pests you may find feasting on your food.


Rice or Grain Weevils
Weevils are small, reddish-brown beetles with an elongated snout and are often found in kitchen cupboards and pantries. Unlike many other types of grain pests, they do not feed on processed food products such as flour, corn meal, pasta, etc. Instead, weevils go for whole grains, beans or seeds. Keep these items stored in air-tight containers to avoid a weevil infestation.

Grain or Flour Beetles
There are a variety of beetles that can make their way into your home and pantry but the most common pantry beetles are saw-tooth grained beetles and flour beetles and grain weevils. Saw-tooth grain beetles prefer flour, pasta, and cereal whereas the flour beetles like to eat flour, cereals and meal. To prevent these little pests from getting into your foods, keep all of their favorites stored in an air-tight container and don't leave any bags left open.

Ants
Ants scout for food. Once a source is found, they go back to the colony to bring along help to carry the groceries. If an ant makes its way into your home and finds a pantry with open food boxes or crumbs, you better believe they've found gold. The best way to prevent ants from shopping in your kitchen is to keep things clean. Clean up spills as soon as they occur. Sweep often. Seal any cracks that could be potential entryways for these pesky little opportunists. And of course, a regular pest treatment will help to deter them as well.

Cockroaches
Roaches enter homes in search of shelter, food and water. And your kitchen offers all of that! This is one pest you DON'T want to see in your home for many reasons: they can multiply quickly, they're hard to get rid of, they can pose health threats, and they're just plain scary! Daily cleaning and proper food storage is the easiest way to prevent these nasty little bugs from infesting your home. But be sure to seal off any potential entryways, too! Regular pest treatments can help prevent them, as well.

Let A B Pest Control & Insulation Eradicate Your Pest Problem!
If you've got pantry pests running away with your food, give us a call! We'll be happy to come out and see what needs to be done to get rid of your pest problem as quickly and effectively as possible. Remember, the best way to keep pests away is preventive treatments. We can get you on the schedule for routine pest control treatments so you don't have to worry about pests taking over your kitchen in the future. Want to learn more about routine pest control? Give us a call today!

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company



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www.abpest.net

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Thursday, September 27, 2018

Garage Sale Season: Is It Really Worth the Risk?

As the weather begins to cool off, you, along with many others around the Lake, are probably looking forward to the many garage or yard sales that will be popping up all over the area. This is prime time for finding treasures that someone else is letting go of, and for super cheap! If you are a fan of garage or yard sales, thrift stores, or even upscale antique shops, you should know that there’s a possibility that you could end up bringing home an unexpected surprise along with your bargains. Yes, we mean pest infestations of many kinds; from bed bugs to roaches to mice. 


Bed Bugs' Best Friend
Beware of upholstered sofas, armchairs, mattresses and box springs, and even clothing; even if they look clean and fresh. If they are home to bed bugs, they are very difficult to treat. Only full penetration of deep heat, prolonged cold, or expert application of pesticide will eliminate bed bugs. You should also watch out for pre-owned pillows, comforters, sheets and other bedding. However, if you do purchase these items, enclose them tightly in sealed plastic bags until you can take them to the laundry. Make sure you launder everything in hot water and dry on the highest setting available. 

Cockroaches and Electronics
Did you know that electronics and electrical appliances offer pests such as cockroaches just the right atmosphere to enhance their survival? The worst part is that this also gives them a chance to move to other homes, especially if you're getting these electronics from a yard sale. Treating electronics and appliances for cockroaches can be very tricky, as some electronics cannot be subjected to such conditions that treatment requires. Plus, if you've brought the item into your home unaware that it was home to these pests, you've probably got a bigger problem than just the electronic now. 

Nesting Their Way Into Your Home
Mice. They're notorious for nesting in furnishings. They just chew their way into the bottom part of a sofa or chair, build their nest and have a litter of babies. While it may seem to the seller like they've scared off the mice living in a piece of furnishings, they may not realize that there's a nest of adolescents hiding out inside. Before you know it, you've purchased a seemingly good piece of furniture and brought it into your home, only to find out shortly after that you also brought home a litter of destructive little rodents as well. 

When you shop at garage sales or thrift stores it’s important to check any items thoroughly. The last thing you want to do is accidentally bring home pests that can infest your home. A B Pest Control and Insulation knows first hand how resilient these pests are. If you think you might have an infestation, contact your pest control company in Lake of the Ozarks today.

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company


Visit Our Website:
www.abpest.net

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