Protecting Your Home From Spiders This Holiday Weekend

The summer season is almost over, however, there are still a few more weeks of hot weather. This means that spiders will still be making themselves at home - in your house and on your dock. With a Lake of the Ozarks professional pest control company, you can make sure your property is spider free, so you can enjoy the final weeks of summer. A B Pest Control & Insulation is here for all your pest control needs, including spiders that find their way into your home, dock and even your boat.

Long-jawed Orb Weavers

These spiders are often found in Missouri near bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds and rivers. You can often spot them in water vegetation like cattails or on docks and boats. Long-jawed orb weavers' bodies are about an inch long, however, with their legs, they can easily be about three inches long. The coloring of a long-jawed orb weaver is creamy to brown. They have eight eyes with long fangs, hence their name. When frightened, the long-jawed orb weaver will stretch out its front and back legs, which is why they are often called the "stretch spider." These spiders often hang out in their web and are nonaggressive. However, if they are bothered they can bite you. They often eat flies and midges, which is why they like to hang out on the docks. However, to get rid of these guys you must have both your dock and your boat treated, as they can also make their webs on your boat. 

Photo Credit: FunLake.com

Be Safe This Labor Day Weekend!

Long-jawed orb weavers are known for hanging out around the dock. However, most people are unaware that they can also be in your boat. In addition to spraying your dock, it is also a good idea to spray your boat. These spiders are not aggressive, however, if they feel threatened they may bite. Make sure your family and friends are safe this Labor Day Weekend while out on the water and get your boat and dock sprayed by a Lake of the Ozarks professional pest control. 

Protect Your Home With A B Pest Control & Insulation

Although summer is coming to an end, spiders will be out and about for a few more months. Make sure your home is protected inside and out with A B Pest Control & Insulation. As a professional pest control at the Lake of the Ozarks, we specialize in keeping out unwanted guests, such as spiders and termites. If your home is infested, contact us today at 573-964-1100. 

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The Hidden Dangers of Stinging Insects

Stinging insects are a major problem during the summer months. Yellow jackets, hornets, wasps and bees can all ruin your time spent outdoors this summer. However, some of these insects pose more of a threat than others. It is important to know how to spot the differences between them in order to protect yourself and your home. Your Lake of the Ozarks pest control company is here to tell you how to identify and spot these stinging insects and what you can do to get rid of them:

Yellow Jackets

Yellow jackets are very aggressive and territorial insects. In the late spring and early summer, yellow jackets feed off other insects like caterpillars to provide protein to their developing larvae that reside in their colony. As the summer season progress, their population grows and their diet changes to contain more sugar. However, as natural resources for food become scarce, they turn to hunting, which is when you'll find them lurking around your home and yard. A few yellow jackets can be a nuisance, but a nest in your yard can be a real hazard. They often nest underground, so if you see a lot of flying insects emerging from the ground, you may have a nest in your yard. By the late summer, one colony can contain thousands of yellow jackets that will aggressively defend their nest. They are easily provoked and will attack and chase a person for large distances. Unlike a bee, yellow jackets can sting multiple times. 

Is it a yellow jacket, hornet, wasp or bee?

Hornets: Like yellow jackets, hornets are social insects (i.e. form colonies.) However, unlike yellow jackets, they nest above ground. They can be aggressive and sting, but they do not scavenge, so you are less likely to see them around your home. 

Honeybees: They nest in cavities, such as hollowed out tree trunks. They are not typically aggressive. Bees forage among flowers for nectar and pollen, so they typically sting if they are stepped on or swatted. If you do approach their nest, they will defend it, but only within the immediate area. A honeybee can only sting once, as its barbed stinger detaches killing the bee once it stings someone. 

Bumblebee: Bumblebees nest underground like yellow jackets. However, bumblebees are rather large, so they are easy to distinguish from other bees and yellow jackets. Their colony is small, typically containing under 100 bees. They will chase invaders farther than honeybees, but do not come out in large groups, as their colony is small. Like yellow jackets, bumblebees can sting multiple times. 

How To Spot Yellow Jacket Nests

A yellow jacket nest is typically underground. You may spot them during the day entering and exiting their nests. These insects are very aggressive and territorial and require a professional pest control company to get rid of safely. It is important to not swat at them, as they will gang up and attack if they are threatened. The best and safest way to get rid of these insects is to hire a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks. A trained technician will know how to properly treat the nest and protect your home from a further infestation. 

Protect Your Yard From Yellow Jackets With A B Pest Control & Insulation

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer knowing your yard is protected by a Lake of the Ozarks pest control company. A B Pest Control & Insulation can get rid of annoying pests like yellow jackets quickly, safely and effectively. If you have an infestation, make sure you call A B Pest Control & Insulation today at 573-964-1100!

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Avoid The Swarm

Termites are a problem for many people across the United States. According to the MU Extension, more than $4.5 billion dollars is spent annually to control termite infestations and to repair the damage they have caused. There are approximately 2,500 different types of termites around the world. However, there are 45 different species live in the United States, and only four are found in Missouri. The most common type of termite in Missouri are the Eastern Subterranean termite. This type of termite is gearing up for another swarm, so make sure your home is protected by hiring a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks.

What Are Termites?

Termites are small, wood eating insects. All termites are social insects, and raise their young as a group, similar to bees and wasps. Termite colonies eat nonstop and are known as the “silent destroyers” because of their ability to chew through wood structures, wallpaper and flooring undetected. Along with wood, the subterranean termite can also eat plastic and fabrics that are made from plant material. Their size ranges from 1/8” to 1” and they are long, narrow and oval. They are a creamy brown color and have six legs. Their colonies can have up to two million members; the colonies are divided into three groups known as workers, soldiers and reproductive. The queen termite is rather large and can lay up to 2,000 eggs in a single day.

Termite Swarms

“Swarmers” are male and female reproductive termites that have wings. Once a colony becomes established the swarmers leave their colony to establish a new nest. Subterranean termites are active all year long. However, swarms usually happen in the spring and fall. Swarms will occur during the day, most frequently on a warm day after a storm. Termite and ant swarms look very similar, but there are a few distinctive characteristics between the two. Ants will have bent antennae, while termites have straight antennae. Ants will also have a small waist and unequal size wings, while termites have a big waist and equal size wings.

Do You Have Termites?

A termite swarm in your home is an obvious sign of infestations. However, there are other subtle signs that you may have termites. Subterranean termites often use mud tunnels to get around. These tunnels are often found in basements, along pipes or baseboards, near cracks, behind siding or along the foundation of your home. Buckling paint or tiny holes in wood is another sign that termites may have made themselves at home. Finding broken wood is a sign that termites have found a food source. Damaged wood will sound hollow, so check the wood by tapping it. If it sounds hollow, you may have a termite issue. If the damage is bad enough, you may accidentally break through. Finally, piles of wings is a sign that the swarmers have found a new nest and are moving on to the next stage of development, which is colonizing. 

Protect Your Home with A B Pest Control & Insulation

Termites can do lots of damage that can be costly. The MU Extension estimates the average repair work for termite destruction ranges anywhere from $3,000 to $11,000. Avoid these costly repairs and make sure your home is protected by using a trusted pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks. A B Pest Control & Insulation offers a 10-year guarantee on termite control services. Annual termite inspections are recommended to help you protect your home by having a Lake of the Ozarks pest control company look for the warning signs of termites. If you are needing termite protection before the next swarm comes in, call A B Pest Control & Insulation at 573-964-1100 today.

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The Dangers of Crickets and Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers and crickets both can be spotted this time of the year. You may have noticed them jumping around your yard and garden. Their chirping noise may be music to some, but to others, it may be the sound of destruction. Crickets and grasshoppers can be a garden’s worst enemy. Your Lake of the Ozarks professional pest control company is here to help protect your home and garden from these destructive pests.

What’s the Difference Between Grasshoppers and Crickets?

Grasshoppers and crickets belong to the orthoptera family, which also includes katydids and locusts. Many people get crickets and grasshoppers confused. However, the easiest way to tell them apart is with their antennae. Crickets tend to have long antennae and grasshoppers have rather short antennae. Grasshoppers make their chirping sound by rubbing their hind legs against their wings, while crickets “sing” by rubbing their wings together. Grasshoppers and crickets do not have traditional ears. Grasshoppers detect sounds from an organ in their abdomen and crickets listen with their front legs. Crickets are crepuscular, which means they are most active during dusk. Grasshoppers, on the other hand, are out and about during the day. Grasshoppers mostly eat grass and plants, while crickets eat plants and other insects.

When Do They Emerge?

Crickets and grasshoppers have the same life cycle. They will lay their eggs in the late summer or early fall. The nymphs look like the adults, just small and wingless, and hatch in the spring or early summer. As they grow, they shed their skin and when they are adults, they have fully developed wings. They will continue feeding until cold weather kills them.

Grasshoppers in the Garden

Because grasshoppers are herbivores, meaning that they feed on grasses and plants, they can cause a lot of damage to yards and gardens. When there is a large infestation of grasshoppers, they can cause extensive plant damage. There have been cases of grasshopper infestation that have destroyed or consumed entire crop fields. Although they tend to favor small grains like rice and soybeans, when they are in large groups, they feed on any variety of plants.

Crickets in the Home

Crickets can be just as damaging as grasshoppers in the garden. Grasshoppers cannot survive in the home, so they will likely stay away. However, crickets can also be destructive in the home since they are able to survive inside. Crickets typically enter the home through open windows and doors. However, they can also enter by chewing on screen doors. Crickets can damage fabrics, paper, rubber and food. They seek out warmth, so they will tend to be in the kitchen or near the furnace or water heater. Once inside, they hide in cracks or behind baseboards.

Get Rid of Pests with A B Pest Control

Protect your home and garden with the help of a pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks.  Crickets and grasshoppers are tricky to get rid of, especially when found in your garden full of food. With A B Pest Control & Insulation, your home and garden are safe from destructive pests. If you have an infestation, call us at 573-964-1100 today. 

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Japanese Beetles in Missouri

You may have noticed a large number of small beetles feeding on your trees this summer. These metallic beetles are called Japanese beetles. A B Pest Control & Insulation has all the information you need on these beetles and how you can protect your landscape from their destructive ways.

What is a Japanese Beetle?

The Japanese beetle is a small beetle with bronze wings and a metallic green thorax. The abdomen looks to be black and white because of white tufts of hair. They belong to the scarab beetle family, which also includes June bugs. Like most scarab beetles, their larvae are white, C-shaped grubs that live underground. As larvae, they can grow to be about an inch long, although as adults they are only half an inch.

What Do They Eat?

The Japanese beetle often feeds in large groups of up to 25 beetles. They feed on a wide variety of plants and prefer to eat the top portion of plants that are in the sunlight. They like to eat the soft parts of the leaves, leaving a skeleton of veins behind. They also eat flowers and fruits as they are attracted to pleasant smelling foliage. They are a danger to farms and gardens as they can prevent pollination and the larvae eat roots of many different kinds of plants.

When Do They Emerge?

Japanese beetles spend the winter as partially grown grub in the soil below the frost line. In the spring, they feed on grass roots and pupate near the soil surface. Between May and July, adults emerge and feed for 30 – 45 days in groups working from the tops of the plants downwards. This year the Japanese beetles have been active for a longer period of time. After feeding and mating, females lay 1 – 5 eggs at a time before feeding and mating again. They will repeat the pattern until a total of 40 – 60 eggs are laid in grassy areas under the soil. Most are laid by mid-August. Japanese beetle adults are active for about six weeks in the summer. After 8 – 14 days, the eggs will hatch and the young grubs feed on grass roots until the cold winter drives them below the frost line.

How to Get Rid of Them

If you see Japanese beetles, chances are that they will work quickly to destroy the trees and foliage around your home. Remember your licensed pest control company will kill the Japanese beetles that are on the foliage, and the chemical that was used, leaves a residual that kills any further infestations. If you have an infestation, your neighbors probably also have a problem, that will cause the insects to visit your trees even after you have been treated. It is best to try to treat as much of the surrounding area that is affected to control this pest.

Healthy Lawns = No Grubs

Grub preventative is important to help control the larvae that are being put into the ground by the mating females to prevent a bigger outbreak next year and to aid in preventing root damage caused by the Japanese beetle larvae. Usually, grubs are treated in June, but this year it is imperative to get a second application on the lawns for these grubs. Remember to call a Lake of the Ozarks professional pest control company.

Get Rid of Your Summer Pest with A B Pest Control & Insulation

If you see Japanese beetles or any other summer pest, call A B Pest Control & Insulation. Calling an expert is the best way to effectively get rid of pests that invade your home and yard. A professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks knows the different types of insects that invade Lake homes and what type of pesticides to use to get rid of them. If you have an infestation, call us at 573-964-1100.

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