Win the War Against Weeds this Spring

For a beautiful lawn this season and to win the war on weeds, now is the time to apply a fertilizer and pre-emergent lawn care treatment. Feeding your lawn will keep it healthy while keeping the weeds away. Timing is everything to prevent seeds from germinating. Prevention happens in the spring. Before your lawn gets engulfed in unsightly weeds, you should contact a lawn service at the Lake of the Ozarks. A B Pest Control and Insulation offers a turf management program tailored just for your lawn.

Why You Should Fertilize Your Lawn
If you want a healthy lawn, it takes more than mowing and watering it. Fertilizer provides the proper nutrients for your lawn to grow lush and green. Optimal results occur when the fertilizer is applied accurately and evenly across your lawn. Inconsistent coverage can make your lawn grow uneven. Too much fertilization can cause havoc too. Thatch buildup can harbor large populations of insects, causing an increase in pest problems in your yard. Fertilization is generally most successful if applied using a slow release product that contains nitrogen, which is responsible for green growth and optimized health. It also reduces the risk of disease and fungus. It is best to address individual lawn care at Lake of the Ozarks, by factoring in location and the type of grass you have.

The Benefits of a Pre-Emergent Lawn Care Treatment
You have probably spent countless hours pulling weeds or spraying weed killers from your local home improvement store. This can be frustrating, but there is a way to improve the appearance of your lawn with less hassle. A pre-emergent lawn care product should be applied in spring which will help throughout the majority of the growing season. Various weeds germinate at different times, so repeated applications of the right chemical can eliminate most of the weeds in your lawn. Below are some of the benefits:

• It stops the weeds from growing
• A minimal amount of labor is involved 
• Dealing with remaining weeds is easier
• Each successive season, the need to spray a post-emergent weed killer is lessened

Let A B Pest Control and Insulation Treat Your Lawn
A B Pest Control and Insulation can offer an evaluation to customize the best fertilizer to fit your lawn's needs. Once weeds appear in your lawn, it could indicate more serious problems in your yard. Weeds do not produce unhealthy lawns, unhealthy lawns produce weeds. We will develop a turf management program tailored just for your lawn. This is the first step in an effective, environmentally sound weed-free yard. A B Pest Control and Insulation also offers pest control services at the Lake of the Ozarks, to prevent pests from invading your plant beds and gardens. Let us help you keep your outdoor space beautiful and pest-free!

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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A-Z with A B Pest Control & Insulation: Dung Beetles and (Insulation) Density

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: Dung Beetles and (Insulation) Density.

Dung Beetles
Sure, the thought of anything (bug or not) feasting on feces, is a pretty disturbing thought. But, dung beetles do more than make short work of cowpats littering pastures. They improve soil structure, help control flies and other livestock pests, and recycle nutrients that otherwise would be lost. Without dung beetles, parasitic worm loads in livestock would increase as a result of an over abundance of excrement lying around. Dung contains parasite eggs, and can these re-infect livestock if they eat contaminated grass—causing considerable morbidity, and extra veterinary bills for farmers.

Ultimately, dung beetles are nature's pest control, and a helping hand for farmers. By cleaning pastures of manure, dung beetles reduce pests and flies while hastening the return of nutrients to the soil—which improves pastures. Their work saves the US cattle industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Insulation Density
Maintaining comfortable temperatures in buildings can use uses a lot of energy consumption, especially if the insulation in the building isn't of good quality. When well insulated, a building will provide more uniform temperatures throughout the space when outside temperatures are extremely cold or hot.

One of the parameters to pay attention to when choosing insulation, is the density. Denser insulation products have more fibers per square inch and, therefore, give you greater insulating power through higher R-values. Installing more insulation in your home increases the R-value and the resistance to heat flow. In general, increased insulation thickness will proportionally increase the R-value.

While density is an important factor, insulation performance is influenced by several factors, the most prominent of which include:

• Thermal conductivity ("k" or "λ" value)
• Surface emissivity ("ε" value)
• Insulation thickness
• Density
• Specific heat capacity
• Thermal bridging

It is important to note that the factors influencing performance may vary over time as material ages or environmental conditions change.

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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How to Make the Most of Easter

Easter is this Sunday, April 12th, and we're excited to celebrate such a wonderful holiday! What are your plans for this glorious day? If you're struggling to come up with some fun ideas, we've got you covered. A B Pest Control & Insulation has several fantastic ideas and ways you can celebrate Easter and make the most of this joyous holiday. Check it out: 

Stream Easter Sunday Services Online

Since this holiday is all about celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, what better way to celebrate than participating in Easter Sunday mass through a variety of streaming services?! A popular streaming service is Catholic TV which offers a variety of masses, and posts a daily schedule so you can choose which mass works best for your schedule. Other websites, like Streaming Churches Online and Christian World Media, offer the same kinds of services at a smaller level, and all three are free of charge. Also, check with your local church. Many are jumping on board with streaming services on Facebook and YouTube! 

Have a Virtual Family Gathering

Many of us enjoy spending this holiday with family, complete with a delicious meal and Easter games. There's nothing stopping us from keeping that family gathering tradition going! Jump online and do a Zoom meeting, get on Google Hangouts, or make a Facebook video call. This is the perfect solution for letting families celebrate from a distance throughout the day to allow them to participate in many fun events virtually! 

Order Carry-Out for Easter Lunch or Dinner

Having a delicious meal is always part of holiday gatherings. Why not save yourself some time and order curbside carryout for this year's Easter dinner? Call in your Easter dinner order ahead of time and pick it up the day before. It’s a good way to support local businesses and saves you a lot of work. Plus, there are several local restaurants who are planning Easter dinner specials that you'll definitely want to take advantage of. It's a win-win for both you and the local restaurants!

Bring on the Easter Games

There are so many fun activities you can do with your family to really bring out the fun on Easter day! Here are a few of our favorite Easter games that are fun (and funny) for all involved or watching from the sidelines: 

1. Spring Showers

Players divide into teams. One member of each team puts shower cap on their heads and shaving cream/whipped cream over a shower cap. The other team member(s) needs to throw as many Cheetos on on shower caps as possible. Each Cheetos is 1 point. Team with most points (Cheetos on head) wins the game.

2. Easter Egg Toss

This is one the kids and adults can all enjoy. Like a water balloon toss, have each pair throw a plastic egg filled with jellybeans back and forth. If you're especially bold, you could try playing this game with real eggs — just make sure everyone's changed out of their Easter best.

3. Easter Eggs-ercises

For those overactive kids who just can't stop moving, a little game of Easter eggs-ercizes will have them ready for a nap in no time. Just fill your plastic eggs with a little note with an exercise on each, and send the kiddos on an Easter egg hunt! Anytime someone finds an egg, they must perform the exercise on the note!

Happy Easter From A B Pest Control & Insulation

Everyone at A B Pest Control & Insulation wants to wish you a happy Easter! We hope you are able to spend time with family this weekend and enjoy the holiday as it's meant to be celebrated. Make sure your Easter and spring are pest free. Give your pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks a call today!

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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Get Your Dock Ready for Summer

Spring is here and that means bug season has just begun. Soon, we'll be trying to get out and enjoy all the Lake has to offer. But your dock's been sitting unoccupied all winter long... and it's going to quickly become a prime location for spiders and other pests if you don't take action soon. A B Pest Control and Insulation can help with all your pest needs to get you ready for the coming summer season, including for your dock.

Spiders are the number one pest problem when it comes to docks. The lake area is in the midst of its rainy season, which brings out a variety of different spiders. A variety of spiders are adapted for life on and around water. Many of these are commonly called fishing spiders or water spiders. Several have the ability to run across the water’s surface. Some build webs, while others do not. Most commonly, we run into two different types on our docks: the Spotted Fishing spider and the Longjawed Orbweavers.

The Spotted Fishing Spider
The spotted fishing spider lives in aquatic habitats and can run across the surface of water. This long-legged, dark-colored running spider is also distinctive in that the oval abdomen is smaller than the broad head. A whitish-yellow stripe surrounds the dark carapace and sometimes also the abdomen. On top of the dark brown abdomen, pairs of minute white spots create a connect-the-dot pattern or run down the middle of the back. The legs are robust and brown, dotted with white hairs. This spider runs quickly.

Fishing spiders live around ponds, slow-moving streams, swampy areas, and other damp places. They are able to run across the surface of water much like water striders and will dive for prey, including small tadpoles or aquatic insects. A spider in this group can encase its body in an air bubble in order to submerge itself, often for several minutes.

Longjawed Orbweavers
Longjawed orbweavers are often called “stretch spiders” because they often rest with their two front pairs of legs stretched straight out in front of them, and the last pair outstretched behind. Combined with their slender bodies and drab, variably marked coloration, they can hide easily while clinging to a blade of grass. They spin circular webs that are usually positioned fairly horizontally within a few feet of the water’s surface.

Longjawed orbweavers typically live in vegetation along a water’s edge — in shoreline shrubs whose branches overhang ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, usually in shady places. They often live along the sides of docks and piers, too. They spin circular (orb) webs that are usually positioned fairly horizontally within just a few feet of the water’s surface, making them perfect nets for catching aquatic insects that have just emerged in their winged adult forms: mayflies, midges, stoneflies, and so on. When not in their web, many longjawed orbweavers hide under branches, railings, or other sheltered locations nearby. If they are startled, they typically drop immediately down. If they fall into the water, they can run across the surface like fishing spiders and water striders do.

Contact A B Pest Control & Insulation for Your Dock Treatment Needs
Spotted fishing & Orb spiders are nonaggressive and will try to hide if they feel threatened. The best way to avoid these dock dwelling spiders and prevent an infestation is to have a professional Lake of the Ozarks pest control company come spray your home and dock.

Looking for Natural Pest Control Options?
Essential oils can help get rid of these unwanted pests while providing a safe pest control option for aquatic life. Want to learn more about our essential oils treatment? Call 573-964-1100 today to request a free quote.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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See How A B Pest Control & Insulation can Help with Your Spring Maintenance To-Do List

With spring officially here, and time on our hands to focus on things around the house, many people are starting to get their homes ready for a busy summer season. If you're needing a little help around the house, you may be surprised at how your local pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks can assist. At A B Pest Control & Insulation, we offer more than just pest control services at the Lake of the Ozarks. Check out all the things A B Pest Control & Insulation can do for you this season.

Keep Your Home Pest Free

A B Pest Control & Insulation also offers a wide range of pest control services at the Lake of the Ozarks. From general pest to rodent control and everything in between, we can make sure your home is pest free and ready for the summer season. A B Pest Control & Insulation can spray the inside of your home, your lawn, and even your dock and boat. Don't let pests put a damper on your summer fun and call a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Keep Your Home Free of Critters

A B Pest Control & Insulation offers animal trapping services at the Lake of the Ozarks. From moles and gophers to raccoons and rodents and everything in between, A B Pest Control & Insulation can help you safely remove any critters that are hiding around your home. During the spring, animals are coming out of their winter hibernation and are more active. If you notice unwanted critters hanging out in your yard, just call A B Pest Control & Insulation and our technicians can help to remove them and help you prevent them from coming back.

Keep You Cool This Summer

Did you know that in addition to pest control, we're also a full-service insulation company at the Lake of the Ozarks? Our insulation team has many years of experience so you can trust that we'll get the job done right at a fair price. Proper insulation in your home ensures that your home stays nice and cool when it's hot outside and nice and toasty warm when it's cold outside. A B Pest Control & Insulation can evaluate your home or business and make the proper recommendations for the best insulation to meet your needs. Spring is a great time to evaluate your home's insulation needs so you know it'll be nice and cool before the hot summer season.

Keep Your Lawn Looking Its Best

Good turf management is the first step in an effective environmentally sound weed control program. Weeds don't produce unhealthy lawns; unhealthy lawns produce weeds. When you hire A B Pest Control & Insulation for our lawn services at the Lake of the Ozarks, we work to make your lawn healthier. Weeds are typically a symptom of a more serious problem in your yard and we develop a turf management program tailored just for your lawn. When the dandelions and other weeds have engulfed your lawn and you've decided to fight back, it's time to call A B Pest Control & Insulation.

A B Pest Control & Insulation Can Help This Spring

When you're looking for some help around your home this spring, look no further than 
A B Pest Control & Insulation. From pest and animal control to lawn and insulation services, we offer a wide range of services that can help make your home ready for the summer season! To learn more about our services or to make an appointment visit our website or give us a call!

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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www.abpest.net

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What Wood Destroying Pests Are Lurking Around Your Home?

Wood destroying pests running amuck throughout your lawn can disrupt gardens and turf, and it can affect your lawn's appearance as well as your home's foundation negatively. With a wide array of possible culprits, pinpointing which wood-borer is wreaking havoc on your yard and home can be a bit difficult. This week, A B Pest Control & Insulation is providing information on 5 common wood destroying pests that could be wrecking your beautiful landscaping and invading your home.

Termites

Subterranean termites invade homes from the soil around and beneath the structure. Infestations occur when subterranean termite workers locate structural wood in contact with soil or when termites build shelter tubes from the soil across foundation walls and into structural wood. Subterranean termites may also gain access through cracks in the slab or seams where plumbing and electrical lines penetrate the concrete.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants get their name from their habit of building nests in wood. Unlike termites, they do not feed upon wood but merely use it as a place to nest. They will build their nests in human structures and may cause significant structural damage.

Bark Beetles

While these pests typically aren't a concern for indoor structures, they do pose a threat to your lawn and garden. Bark beetles get their name from tunneling in the wood of woody trees and shrubs just below the bark. Exit holes in the bark where adult beetles have emerged often accompanied with sawdust generally indicate the presence of bark beetles. Because the temperatures are historically higher, bark beetles are surviving winters. In short, more beetles are surviving and going after stressed trees!

Powderpost Beetles

Powderpost Beetles love dried wood. That’s while you’ll find them in dead tree branches and other decaying wood. They can transfer their habitats to other nearby wood, which makes your antique dresser stored beside old wood piles or in a garage with old wood joists a prime spot of real estate for these sneaky bugs. Powderpost beetles also can find their way into lumber that is being cured — and then they emerge from the product that has been made using the lumber.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are often seen hovering near decks, eaves and gables of homes. Although carpenter bees attack many species of dried, seasoned wood, they seem to prefer softwoods such as pine, fir, redwood and cedar. They may damage porch and shed ceilings, railings, overhead trim, wooden porch furniture, dead tree limbs, fence posts, wooden shingles, wooden siding, windowsills and wooden doors. They prefer unpainted or well-weathered wood to painted or hardwood timbers.

Call a Pest Control Professional

Battling wood destroying pests can be an uphill battle. The best way to win is by using a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks. If wood borers are not properly treated, their colonies could continue to grow, and that can cause serious property damage. Make sure these pests don't come into your home and call a professional.

A B Pest Control & Insulation can help you protect your home from all pests that affect Central Missouri from ants and spiders to termites and wasps and everything in between. Make sure pests don't ruin your home and lawn and contact a professional Lake of the Ozarks pest control company today. You can schedule an appointment with A B Pest Control & Insulation at 573-964-1100.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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Get Shamrocked at these Lake Area St. Pat’s Events!

UPDATE: Due to public health concerns, the Lake Ozark St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been canceled.

Next Tuesday is St. Patrick's Day. But at the Lake of the Ozarks, we tend to use a whole weekend to celebrate! If you're planning to spend this St. Pat's weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks, you need to know what's going on and where the best places to be are. A B Pest Control & Insulation has all the information for the St. Patrick’s Day events that are taking place around the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend!

Lucky Days at Camdenton Crossroads

Mar 13, 2020 - Mar 14, 2020

Various Locations

Camdenton MO 65020

In celebration of St Patrick's Day, businesses of the Camdenton Crossroads will be offering promotions and some giveaways. Look for the painted shamrocks on the windows of participating businesses. And be sure to look for Lucky the Leprechaun's friends hiding in each business. Find all of them, turn in the form at any participating business and be entered to win the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Forms will be available for pick up at the businesses.

Lake Ozark St. Patrick's Day Parade

Mar 14, 2020

Bagnell Dam Strip

1 Bagnell Dam Blvd

Lake Ozark MO 65049

Hours of Operation: 1:00 pm

Join in the fun of an old fashioned parade with floats, marching bands and candy and goodies for the young and young at heart. Many of the local restaurants along the strip will be offering specials and corned beef and cabbage feasts.

St. Patrick's Parade on the Water

Mar 14, 2020

Captain Ron's Bar & Grill

82 Aloha Lane

Sunrise Beach MO 65049

Hours of Operation: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Event begins with an optional breakfast at Captain Ron's beginning at 8:00 a.m. Celebration Cruises yachts loaded with party goers will depart at 10:00 for a fun day on the lake. Decorated boats can join the parade as it cruises to 4 different restaurants on the main channel. Call the Lake West Chamber at 573-374-5500 to purchase tickets or for more information visit our website.

St. Pat's Pub Crawl

Mar 14, 2020

Captain Ron's

82 Aloha Ln

Sunrise Beach MO 65079

Hours of Operation: 5:00 pm

Participants can purchase wrist bands to ride designated buses to over 15 local westside bars and restaurants for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Food & Drink specials and live entertainment at leach participating location. Visit the website listed above for more information.

St. Patrick's Day Party with DJ Watts

Mar 14, 2020

H.Toads at Camden on the Lake

2325 Bittersweet Rd 

Lake Ozark, Missouri 65049

Hours: 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

St. Pat’s is celebrated at the lake on 3/14/19 this year and H.Toads has THE party lined up! Party it up at the Toad for St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 14th. DJ Watts spins 7pm-11pm. Irish food & drink specials, contests and more!

St. Patty's Day Party with Soul Root

Mar 14, 2020

Fat Polly's Pub

3080 Bagnell Dam Boulevard

Lake Ozark MO 65049

Hours of Operation: 1 pm

They'll be open for the St. Patty's Parade. Join them at Fat Polly’s Pub after the parade and then stay for live music with one of the Lake's favorite bands, Soulroot Band! Soulroot Band focuses on the music that makes you get up and shake your (rear), or at the very least causes you to sing along like you are on stage with the spotlight shining down on you!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
A B Pest Control & Insulation wants to wish you a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day weekend! If you are participating in any fun St. Patrick's Day celebrations, have fun, but remember to be safe and always have a designated driver. If your home isn't lucky and the pests are starting to invade, give your pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks a call!

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
PEST CONTROL COMPANY

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www.abpest.net

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