A-Z with A B Pest Control & Insulation: Hairy Critters & Heat Flow

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 series by discussing two different sectors of our business with A-Z with A B Pest Control & Insulation: Hairy Critters & Heat Flow.

Hairy Critters

This time of year brings more than just cold temperatures. For homeowners, it can also bring unwanted guests into your home. While most common household pests are hibernating this time of year, there are still a group of hairy pests that are seeking shelter and warmth in the comfort of your home. So, who's hanging out in your attic? 

Common attic dwellers in the winter months include raccoons, squirrels, rodents, and bats. While the thought of one of these little guys hanging out in your attic may not seem like such a big deal, they can wreak havoc on your home's insulation and cause all kinds of damage to your property. Plus, these hairy critters can also carry pathogens that cause disease and can be harmful to humans and our pets. 

If you do happen to come across any of these hairy critters in your attic or home, contact A B Pest Control & Insulation. We'll come out and safely remove these creatures and relocate them where they can thrive and continue to benefit our ecosystem!

Heat Flow

Ever wonder why your home has those persistently hot or cold rooms that seem impossible to cool down or heat up? It all boils down to thermodynamics. 

The first law of thermodynamics states:

• Energy moves from place to place
• Energy changes from one form to another
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed

The second law of thermodynamics states:

• Heat moves from warmer to cooler
• Air moves from higher pressure to lower pressure
• Moisture moves from wetter to drier

Heat moves around your home by conduction, convection and radiation. On a cold day, convection causes warm air in your living space to rise. That air moves by conduction through the ceiling to the attic floor. If the house is leaky, the heat will also move into the attic space by convection. The heat from the attic floor radiates to the roof. The heat conducts through the roof assembly and out.

Insulation wraps the house in a layer of material that slows the rate of heat loss to the outdoors. In large empty spaces such as wall cavities, heat can be lost across the air space by convection and radiation. Insulation divides the air space into many small pockets of still air, inhibiting heat transfer by convection. At the same time, the insulation material reduces radiation across the space. Controlling airflow protects building materials from moisture damage, improves comfort and makes for a cleaner, healthier, safer and quieter home. 

The easiest and most efficient way to ensure that your home has the proper insulation levels is to call a professional. A B Pest Control and Insulation can evaluate your home and make the proper recommendations for the best insulation to meet your needs. With proper insulation, your home can easily stay warm when it's cold outside. 

If you have unwanted pests around your house or would like to have us take a look at your current insulation situation, 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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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

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7 Ruinous Rodents that can Wreck Your Lawn and Home

Rodents and other pesky animals 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 animal is wreaking havoc in your yard can be a bit difficult. This week, A B Pest Control & Insulation is providing information on 7 ruinous rodents that could be wrecking your beautiful landscaping and invading your home.

1. Mice
The house mouse is the most common rodent that homeowners deal with. They can breed rapidly and adapt quickly to changing conditions. Their ability to rapidly reproduce can mean an infestation has taken place in your home before you even realize you've got a problem. House mice prefer to nest in dark, secluded areas and often build nests out of paper products, cotton, packing materials, wall insulation and fabrics. A mouse infestation in your home can have a profound effect on your health. Mouse feces can spread bacteria and trigger allergic reactions. They can also carry fleas, mites, ticks and lice, as well as parasitic borne diseases.

2. Skunks
Although skunk activity rarely causes serious economic loss, their digging and burrowing activity and their habit of taking refuge under porches and buildings can cause some serious headaches for a homeowner. Skunks are notorious for the foul odor of their spray and their digging habits. Skunks will leave holes in your lawn when digging for insects, and they can damage your foundation if one chooses to construct a burrow underneath your home.

3. Opossums
While some will argue that opossums are beneficial to have around because they can eat their weight in ticks and other pesky bugs, others would argue that the problems they cause isn't worth the hassle. Although they rarely cause significant damage, they can become a nuisance near homes where they may get into garbage, bird feeders, or pet food. They also occasionally kill poultry. Though opossums aren't aggressive in nature, they are opportunistic and resourceful creatures that eat what they can find and take shelter where they see fit - even if it's inside your home.

4. Raccoons
Although Raccoons are nocturnal creatures and you may rarely encounter them in person, you know when they've made their presence. Raccoons often raid garbage cans in search of food, and sometimes kill poultry, destroy bird nests, and damage gardens or crops. Their curious nature and habit of taking refuge in chimneys and attics, as well as their constant search of food, can lead to conflicts with property owners.

5. Moles
Moles are usually classified as a pest species due to their tunneling habit. Moles dig two types of tunnels: temporary feeding tunnels just below ground surface, and deeper, permanent tunnels below the frost line. The temporary feeding tunnels can cause unsightly damage to lawns, golf courses, and cemeteries. A single mole can turn a nice manicured lawn into a mess of tunnels and dirt piles. Simply put: they wreck your yard.

6. Armadillos
Technically armadillos aren't considered rodents, but they can still be a huge nuisance and shouldn't be handled by someone who doesn't know how to properly handle them as armadillos have the ability to carry the bacterium that causes leprosy in humans. While they primarily feed on earth worms, spiders, and other insects, they do a whole lot of digging and rooting to get to their source of food. Plus, they burrow to bear their young, which can negatively affect the integrity of your home's foundation.

7. Groundhogs
While they look cute and cuddly, groundhogs are a nuisance that can cause extensive damage. The groundhog’s feeding and burrowing habits can result in damaged property and crops. Burrows and mounds can be hazardous to farm equipment or horses and riders, and burrows can undermine concrete building foundations, porches, and driveways. Although groundhogs rarely come in contact with humans and therefore pose no major public health hazards, they are capable of carrying fleas, ticks and rabies.

These are just a handful of the many rodents that can wreak havoc on a homeowner's property. From carrying diseases and parasites into your lawn and home to doing actual physical damage to your property, these pests can become a serious nuisance if left to their own devices. If you suspect a rodent infestation, contact a licensed rodent pest control professional to treat and get rid of those pesky pests before they damage your home and lawn. Call your favorite pest control company at the Lake of the Ozarks today!

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

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