Remove standing water from your yard. These areas serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Keep screens on windows and doors to keep them out of your home.
Use an insect repellant. DEET is highly recommended. Be sure to read the label and reapply as necessary.
Cover up. We know it’s hot but items like hats, long sleeve shirts, long pants, and shoes that cover your feet will help keep the mosquitoes from biting.
Wear light colors. Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors so keep it light and bright to keep them away.
Stay still. Movement produces a change in waves of light and acts as a signal to mosquitoes. Carbon dioxide is also an attractant, so the more you move, the harder you breathe and the more you attract mosquitoes.
Plants. Certain strong smelling plants help keep mosquitoes away. Citronella, marigolds, and lemongrass are some of the plants you can use outdoors, while rosemary and basil are said to be helpful inside.
Home remedies. There is no shortage of DIY remedies online. Some of these can be useful for short term effectiveness.
Professional pest management. A trained pest control technician can inspect your property to identify what is attracting the mosquito infestation. The technician can then treat your property in an earth friendly and effective manner. They can also provide you with a plan to keep mosquitoes away.
These are just a few tips on keeping mosquitoes away. Mosquitoes are known carriers of diseases like West Nile virus, encephalitis, and heartworms in dogs. Make sure that you are protecting yourself and your loved ones. For more information, visit our blog or call Northwest Exterminating at 888.466.7849.
You spend a lot of time on your lawn and plants in the warm months. You enjoy their beauty, their usefulness, and even their taste if you have vegetables in your garden. So you want to make sure that your plants stay healthy in the cold temperatures of winter. Rapidly changing temperatures, extreme temperatures, frost, and snow can damage your plants.
Here are some helpful tips to protect your plants from the cold:
Cover your plants with clear plastic. A plastic covering protects plants from snow and frost. Make sure that the plastic is a bit higher than the plant so the plastic doesn’t freeze to the plant. Using clear allows you to see through the plastic and monitor your plants.
Cover plants with blankets. An alternative to using clear plastic is using old blankets or sheets to cover your plants. However, when using this method it is important to keep blankets dry.
Use hot caps on vegetables. Hot caps are recommended to protect tender vegetables from frost. These can be purchased or you can make your own. Visit http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Garden-Hot-Caps-from-Used-Milk-Jugs
Move plants to shelter. If possible, move plants to a place that offers shelter and warmth from the elements. This can be inside or even under a covered structure.
Use mulch. Mulch acts as an insulator for plants during temperature swings.
For more information on lawn care, please visit our site at https://www.callnorthwest.com/lawn-care/
Hort oil can be beneficial to your trees and shrubs to control pests. Many traditional pest control solutions can be harmful to plants. Advantages of using oil are safety, effectiveness, and limited effects on insects that are beneficial to plants.
Hort oil is often used in the winter months to control mites, aphids, caterpillars, and scale insects that tend to make a home on plants during this time of year. Although most commonly used in the winter, hort oil can also be used in the summer time to control a host of other insects and mites. Hort oil can also protect plants from diseases like powdery mildew and some aphid-transmitted viruses.
You should be aware that there is a small chance that it could harm certain plants, especially those in need of water. Oils can stain surfaces of dark colored house plants. As with any pest control solution, be sure to read instructions carefully and follow all directions.
Mothers, there is a good chance that you may be getting flowers this Sunday! Flowers are a beautiful gift that bring light and happiness to a person’s day when they are the lucky recipient. But holidays like this Sunday’s Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day, brings lots of work for US Customs and Border Protection workers. For Mother’s Day, an estimated 40 million flowers will be examined for pests.
Plants are often imported from other countries and can carry pests or even diseases. According to msnbc, “On a typical day, the CBP seizes about 4,436 prohibited plant, meat and animal byproducts and finds 570 agricultural pests from abroad that could harm US agriculture.” (Source)
Now you can appreciate that beautiful bouquet that you get on Sunday even more knowing all of the hard work that goes into them. They have been thoroughly checked, put together, and purchased with LOVE!
Northwest Exterminating would like to wish all the moms a Happy Mother’s Day and say Thank You for all that you do!!
