Source

1. Use a snake repellant.  It is said that home remedies like moth balls and lemon grass are great deters for snakes but have also been said to be unreliable.  There are other snake repellants available at your local hardware store.
2. Keep the clutter out of your yard.  Keeping grass cut and vegetation trimmed down reduces areas for snakes to hide.  Remove any wood piles, leaves, or other debris where snakes can hide.
3. Pest control.  Regularly scheduled pest control keeps insects and rodents out of your yard that snakes use to feed on.  By keeping these pests out of your yard…you have a better chance of keeping snakes out too.
4. Check for gaps and cracks in your home.  Snakes can enter homes through any open gaps or holes that may be present.  Use weather stripping under doors and seal all cracks and crevices.  This will assist in keeping out pests and keeping in the cool air.
5. Don’t forget about the shed.  Sheds can become cluttered and perfect places for snakes to hide.  De-clutter your work space.
6. Call a professional.  If you have a snake in your yard or home, call a professional team that specializes in removing snakes and other wildlife.  Don’t handle these on your own.

Northwest Exterminating has a highly trained wildlife team that specializes in the exclusion, removal, and control of wildlife including snakes.

Seeing as how pests are everywhere…it’s a pretty stable business to be in.  Pest Management Technicians, as well as, Termite Service Technicians both made the list.  To read the full list click HERE.

Interested in a career in pest or termite control that will allow you to enjoy the great outdoors?  Visit our Careers page to see our career opportunities.

Did we mention we were recently named #7 of the Top 100 Top Work Places for medium sized companies by The AJC?!?!

Take Back Your Yard!

HABITS

• Breed in stagnant water such as ponds, marshes, drainage ditches, etc.
• Can be found in almost every type of landscape on Earth except deserts and the Arctic.
• Bite most often at dusk and dawn.

THREATS

• Carry numerous diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and encephalitis.
• Cause red, itchy bumps when they bite.

OTHER PESTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

• Ants
• Bed Bugs
• Spiders

PREVENTION

• Eliminate areas of standing water around the home such as flower pots, bird baths, etc.  Mosquitoes only need about one half inch of water to breed.
• Avoid outdoor activities between dusk and dawn.
• Wear long pants and sleeves when outdoors whenever possible.
• Use an insect repellant that contains DEET.
• Call Northwest Exterminating for a professional inspection and treatment plan for breeding sites.

Enjoy your yard this Spring and Summer.  Call Northwest Exterminating for more information on our Green Mosquito Program!

Ladybug Life Cycle

The female ladybug will lay her eggs on the undersides of leaves where there is a lot of food (aphids).  The eggs will hatch three to five days later.

When you think about what a baby ladybug might look like, you probably think of a small cute version of the adult, right?  Well, lets just say that a baby ladybug (larva) lives up to the saying “A face only a mother could love”.  Baby ladybugs (ladybug larvae) are long and black with orange markings on its back, a little spikey looking and some say that they resemble alligators, but a whole lot smaller of course!  I don’t see that but you can let your imagination go…

Baby ladybug

For more information on ladybugs or ladybug larva, call the experts at www.callnorthwest.com.

Adam Vannest
Director of Pest Services
Northwest Exterminating

Tinkerbella nana

According to Science Daily, fairyflies are just one of 18 families of insects called chalcid wasps. Fairyflies are found all over the world except in Antarctica and feature the tiniest insect in the world called the Kikiki huna.

Kikiki huna

You probably have never noticed a fairly, not only because of their literally microscopic size, but also because of their life cycle .Most of the insects actually begin as parasitoids of the eggs of other, larger insects, usually found plants. This said a specific host of fairyflies remains on known. In order to find the new Tinkerbella nana, researchers had to sweep through rain forest litter.

If you would like to learn more, read the Science Daily article here.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130424103050.htm

A: Technically, according to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the termite letter is not required. However, it does depend on several other factors:

1.  Does the lender require it? (VA, FHA, etc. Some lenders do.)
2. Based on the F13, “Protect Yourself  When Buying A Home”, it is recommended that a termite inspection be performed. This is referred to in the F-20 or Purchase and Sale agreement.
3. Under the Due Diligence Period, in the F20, it is the buyers responsibility for any and all inspections.

As a Realtor or home seller, a termite letter gives you a marketing advantage!  The warranty for the initial termite inspection is transferable to the homebuyer with the first year free!

For more questions, contact our Realtor Relations Team.  This team is dedicated to the needs of Realtors.  If you are interested in obtaining a clearance letter CLICK HERE.

Ticks are most commonly found on our pets.  Ticks can carry Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and cause tick paralysis.

Fleas can cause itchy, red bumps that cause animals to scratch.  Fleas are also easily brought into the home where they can invade your living space and reproduce.  Fleas can cause anemia, skin issues, and even tapeworms for our pets.

Heartworms and West Nile Virus are some of the more serious issues that come along with mosquitoes.  A bite can manifest into a full heartworm in 6-7 months in a dog, and 8 months in a cat.

Keep your pets healthy by following some of these tips to controlling ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes:

• Regularly scheduled pest control service in and around your home will help keep pests away that can cause risks to your pets.  (Call Northwest Exterminating for our NorPest Green Pest Control service.  Our program is kid and pet friendly while keeping the bugs away.  Our Green Mosquito Program also keeps mosquitoes away while using Earth friendly solutions.)
• Check your dog and cat on a regular basis.  Check for excessive scratching, bumps, fleas, and ticks.
• Keep vegetation cut and trimmed.
• Bathe pets regularly.
• Remove standing water in yard where mosquitoes breed.
• Vacuum frequently.
• Ask your veterinarian about Flea and Tick prevention and heartworm prevention.

Contact Northwest Exterminating if you think you have a problem with fleas, ticks, or mosquitoes.  Keep your pets healthy!

Read below to get the full story:

Adam Vannest, director of pest services for the Atlanta area’s Northwest Exterminating, has faced plenty of hard-to-solve flea and tick problems. He recently shared tales of some memorable infestations — and his team’s solutions — with Pest Management Professional.

Q: What’s the largest flea and tick infestation you’ve faced, and how did you conquer the pests?
Vannest: One of the largest was in a rural subdivision that backed up into a large wooded area. The customer reported dealing with an intense flea problem and said she’d also noticed multiple ticks on the family dog. Seeing ticks on her children was this customer’s threshold point.

While inspecting the outside we noticed a lot of the areas around the home were overgrown. There were tall weeds and grass up against the house and woodpiles around the exterior. We started looking at the ticks’ harborage sites to figure out why they would be attracted to the location. It was a three-story house on a crawlspace, and once inside we noticed the crawlspace door was already open. There were also other entry points because it wasn’t sealed up very well. We definitely found fleas in the crawlspace. The main floor and upstairs also had fleas.

We explained to the customer that we wanted to eliminate harborage areas around the outside by cutting down weeds and trimming the grass around the foundation. We also educated the homeowner about the crawlspace and how many entry points were visible to stray animals and rodents. We had an exclusion team come out and seal up those areas so that we could treat it with a residual product and an insect growth regulator (IGR).

Next, we explained to the customer that to get our product were it needs to be we’d have to remove everything from the floor for cleaning and vacuuming. We also instructed them to take the dog to the vet for treatment. After that, we applied a broadcast treatment to the floor surfaces and throughout the house.
We had to treat the lawn for ticks as well.

Q:What’s your hardest-to-find flea and tick story. How did you solve the problem?
Vannest: It took place at a ranch house on a crawlspace. When we inspected we noticed that the family pets were pest free. This told us we were dealing with a population in the home that had been carried inside by other means.

Sometimes people forget all of the other things that can be responsible for bringing fleas into a home. Some of the hardest flea problems to solve are ones where a rodent population carries them inside.

We inspected the rest of the house and found pockets of flea activity but no defined area. However, when we got to the attic level we found a roof rat population bringing in fleas from outside, so we applied residual products and treatments there to eliminate the rodent problem. When we placed monitors to determine where flea hot spots existed we found a few more harborage sites that had been egg-laying areas. We targeted those areas and eliminated the problem.

Adam Vannest’s Dos & Don’ts
Do
■ Train technicians to always think outside the box. Every flea situation and every tick situation can be different.
■ Know your products and which ones are best for a particular infestation. Read labels and test the products.
■ Use monitoring to help find hot spots.
Don’t
■ Don’t assume the customer is doing the prep work.
■ Don’t assume every situation is going to be the same.
■ Don’t stop educating your technicians. Give them ongoing training.

You can visit Pest Management Professional magazine by going to www.mypmp.net

Note: We will link directly to the article as soon as it is available online!

So when should you be concerned about a spider bite?

Seek medical attention if:

• pain at the site of the spider bite lasts for longer than 24 hours
• spreading redness around the site
• puss draining from the bite site
• increase in pain
• numbness
• tingling
• discoloration around the site

In rare situations, spider bites can cause allergic reaction.  In this case, you should seek immediate medical attention.

If you are concerned about spiders in or around your home, call a professional exterminator to identify the problem and develop a customized plan to rid your home of spiders.

SOURCE

Aerating your lawn gives the soil a chance to breathe by removing debris and thatch and allowing it to better absorb oxygen, fertilizer, water, and other nutrients that it needs to thrive into a healthy, green lawn!

Below are pictures taken by our lawn care professionals of a lawn before and after being aerated by Northwest Lawn Care professionals.

Call or go online to schedule a FREE lawn analysis on your lawn.  You’ll be enjoying a green, healthy lawn in no time!