3 Ways To Prevent Ticks In Your Yard

Ticks are nasty little pests. Not only do they feed on your blood, but in the process of doing so, they can transmit diseases like Lyme disease into your system. A professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks can help you reduce the number of pests in your yard, but there are a few things you can do as well.

3 Tips for A Tick Free Yard

You don't have to be walking around the woods to be bitten by a tick. In fact, you can be in your own backyard and find one hanging out. Ticks like damp, shady, brushy, leafy areas, where they can wait for a person or animal to come by. Ticks do not jump, they will wait for a direct contract with a passing person or animal, then they will attach themselves. Luckily, there are three things you can do to reduce the number of ticks in your yard.

1. Keep Lawn Cut

Ticks love to hang out in tall grass and brush, especially around the edges of lawns. Make sure to get rid of their hiding spots by regularly mowing your lawn. The key to tick control in your yard is to make it less attractive to them. By keeping your yard trimmed and cut, ticks will be less likely to be hiding in the grass.

2. Create A Barrier

Ticks don't like to cross paths that are lined with wood chips or gravel. Similar to humans walking over rocks with bare feet, it's not pleasant to them. Create a barrier or buffer zone between your yard and wooded areas to help keep ticks from crossing onto your property.

3. Have A Tidy Yard

Reducing ticks in your yard means making your yard less attractive to ticks, and less attractive to animals that carry ticks, such as mice and deer. In addition to tall brush, ticks also like to hang out in piles of leaves, now that winter is turning into summer, make sure you pick up and debris laying around your lawn. Make your lawn less attractive to mice and other small rodents by keeping wood piles and bird feeders off the ground and away from your home.

Ticks & Your Animals

During the spring and summer months, it's important to check your furry pets for ticks after they have been outside. Ticks can attach themselves to dogs and cats to feed. The places where ticks attach can become red and irritated, but more importantly, ticks are capable of causing many diseases in your pet including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Lyme disease can cause arthritis and swelling of your animal's joints, which results in painful lameness. Rocky Mountain spotted fever can cause fever, lameness and other symptoms. Make sure your dogs and cats are protected by regularly administering them flea and tick control products. Your veterinarian can advise you about the best product for your animals.

A Pest Free Yard With A B Pest Control & Insulation

Don't let pests like ticks ruining your summer fun! A B Pest Control & Insulation can spray your home and yard to make sure there are no pests hiding out. Our pest control services at the Lake of the Ozarks can ensure that there will be no pests crashing your backyard BBQs. To get your home, yard and docks ready for the busy summer season, call us at 573-964-1100.

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Get Your Home Ready For Spring!

Now that we have set our clocks forward one hour, many homeowners have spring on their mind. This time of the year, we are cleaning out our homes and getting everything ready for the summer season. If you are spring cleaning this year, A B Pest Control & Insulation has a few things you should keep in mind to help keep your home pest free this year.

Inspect Your Home

With the change in season, it's important to do an inspection of your home. Look for any signs of an infestation, especially of stinging insects like wasps and bees. Don't forget to look in the attic and outbuildings like sheds, barns and garages. Be sure to carefully inspect places like rafters and vents, as theses are common areas for nests to be built. If you do spot a nest, call a professional Lake of the Ozarks pest control company, as these pests are too dangerous to remove yourself.

Seal Up Entry Points

While inspecting your home for nests, it's also a good idea to look for any entry points. Look for cracks along windows and doors and any holes in the window screens. Most pest infestations can be traced back to tiny fissures in windows or door frames. Ants are very diligent in looking for new ways to enter your home so you may have to examine your home several times a year. If you need help pinpointing points of entrance, contact a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Keep Food In Air Tight Containers

The kitchen is basically a big magnet for pests. Lower your risk of a pest infestation by keeping it clean and tidy and by making sure all food is kept in an air tight container. If food isn't properly sealed, pests will be more than happy to indulge in it. Wipe down counters, clean out your pantry and make sure you keep the floors clean to help keep pests at bay in your kitchen.

Remove Standing Water

Bugs enjoy hanging out around water. In addition, water is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. While inspecting your home this spring, ensure your home's drainage system is working properly. Clean out your gutters and remove the debris that has accumulated over the winter season. Ensure the drain spout is pointing away from your home's foundation and that the gutters are draining properly with no leakage.

Move Wood Away From Home & Trim Trees and Bushes

During the spring season, it is best to trim back trees and bushes and remove any dead branches. It's best to do this before the leaves have grown back so it's easier to spot what needs to be removed. Make sure pests don't have easy access to your home by making sure trees don't hang over your roof and that bushes are at least 5 feet from your house. Ants, spiders, termites and other pests like to hide out in firewood, so make sure it's stored as far away from your home as possible and is lifted off the ground by at least 18 inches.

Call A B Pest Control & Insulation

Ensure your home is pest free by calling A B Pest Control & Insulation at 573-964-1100. By having your home sprayed regularly by a pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks, you can stop pests in their path and lower your chances of having an infestation. Being proactive is the best way to make sure your home is pest free this season!

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, which is a day most Americans celebrate with green beer and corned beef and cabbage. However, this holiday has not always been about pinching people not wearing green and leprechauns. A B Pest Control & Insulation has taken a closer look at this traditional Irish holiday.

St. Patrick's Death

Saint Patrick, who lived in the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. While he was born in Roman Britain, at 16, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland, and was credited with bringing Christianity to the nation. St. Patrick is believed to have died on March 17, 461, and for thousands of years, it has been observed as a religious holiday in Ireland. In addition, the mythology surrounding his life became incredibly entwined in the Irish culture.

The First St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Around the ninth and tenth century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast is St. Patrick on March 17. However, the first parade in honor is St. Patrick's Day didn't occur in Ireland. Instead, it was held in the United States on March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City with Celtic music to help the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots.

Over the next 35 years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, which prompted the rise of the "Irish Aid" societies, such as the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group held its own annual parades, which featured bagpipes and drums. In 1848, several of the New York Irish Aids societies united their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is one of the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line up along the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the 5-hour procession. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah also celebrate St. Patrick's Day with huge parades involving anywhere between 10,000 - 20,00 participants each.

Celebrations Around the World

As Irish immigrants made their way throughout the United States, other cities developed their own traditions. In Chicago, the annual dying of the Chicago River green started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges. They soon realized that the green dye would be a unique way to celebrate the holiday. The first year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river, which was enough to keep it green for a week. However, today, only 40 pounds of dye are used to minimize environmental damage, and it only turns it green for several hours.

Although North America is known for large St. Patrick's Day Celebrations, the holiday is celebrated in many other locations that are far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day was traditionally a religious occasion, and up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. However, the government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day to drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world. Today, approximately 1 million people take part in Ireland's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin each year. The festival is a multi-day celebration that features parades, concerts, outdoor theater production and fireworks show.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A B Pest Control & Insulation wants to wish you a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day! Although the Bagnell Dam St. Patrick's Day parade was last weekend, there are still fun ways to celebrate during St. Patrick's Day weekend. The St. Patrick's Water Parade at Captain Ron's Bar & Grill is on March 18, as well as the St. Patrick's Day Short Bus Shuffle on the west side of the Lake. If you are participating in any fun St. Patrick's Day celebration, have fun, but remember to be safe and always have a designated driver.

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What To Do & What Not To Do When Your Home Has Fleas

It's that time of the year again when we begin to see pests of all kinds entering our homes. From flies to ants, the warmer the weather gets the more pests we begin seeing in our homes. Fleas are just one of the many pests that require immediate action if seen in your home. There are several ways fleas can enter, but once they do it's important you take the proper steps to get rid of them. A B Pest Control & Insulation has created a few do's and don'ts you should follow if fleas are spotted in your home.

Do Treat Environment First 

It's important to take the proper steps after finding fleas in your home, as they are very difficult to remove. If they aren't treated properly, they can continue to hatch and reproduce causing you to do another full round of treatment. If you suspect pet brought fleas into your home, call to set up a flea treatment with a trusted Lake of the Ozarks pest control company and your veterinarian to have the appointments at the same time. this way while your pet is being treated at the veterinarian, the environment can be properly treated with no one or any animals walking on the freshly treated areas. Treating the environments gets rid of existing eggs, larvae and grown fleas that might infest later on and by treating your pet, it helps prevent it from bringing in new fleas into your home.

Don't Ignore The Signs

Fleas are tiny little creatures, so if you can see them in your home, it usually means they've eaten and are now on the move to lay eggs, which is the beginning of a major infestation. While it's possible you can still treat the problem yourself, why take chances? It's best to call a professional Lake of the Ozarks pest control company and have peace of mind the problem will be solved correctly the first time.

Do Keep Pets Clean & Protected

Pets are the number one way fleas get into your home. If you have dogs, cats or any other type of animal with fur, be sure to keep them clean. In addition to keeping their fur clean, it's also a good idea to give their toys and bedding regular cleaning. If fleas have gotten into your home, don't forget to include any toys made with fabric material and their bedding, as the fleas may have infested those as well. It's important to keep all animals protected from fleas by using preventative medication. If you are using liquid treatment, be sure to get it on their skin and not their fur, as that is where the fleas will infest. You can also get a monthly pill treatment to prevent fleas and ticks from your vet if you do not wish to use the liquid treatment.

Did you know that animals like raccoons and other wild animals carry fleas? If these animals live under your home or like to hang out on porches, decks or other areas around your home, they can drop off fleas on outside rugs, which could be carried into your home.

Don't Use The Wrong Products

It's important to use products that are specifically tailored to treat fleas when trying to prevent, control and treat them. Fleas are resilient, and they can linger in areas for long periods of time before making their appearance - or reappearance.  This is why it's important to use the right products to prevent and treat fleas.Vacuuming is an effective way to get rid of fleas that have infested carpets. However, it's important to remember to dump the dirty bag in an outside trashcan to avoid bringing eggs, larvae or grown fleas that have survived the vacuuming back inside your home.

Do Call A Professional

While you can treat fleas yourself, it's best to have a professional pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks treat them for you. A B Pest Control & Insulation can effectively get rid of fleas from your property. If you do not get rid of all eggs, larvae and grown fleas, they may possibly come back, which would require another round of treatment. If you hire a trusted Lake of the Ozarks pest control company, they will make sure to get rid of fleas and prevent them from coming back.

Fleas can be a major issue during the spring and summer months. Luckily, A B Pest Control & Insulation is here to help you out if you spot any in your home. Make sure your home is protected from pests of any kind by calling your Lake of the Ozarks pest control company at 573-964-1100.

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