Why DIY Pest Control Treatments Don’t Work
Have you ever had a pest infestation on your property?
Maybe it was mice, white ants or termites eating away at the foundations of your house. Or maybe it was a bug like cockroaches or spiders.
When dealing with a pesticide infestation, you may be tempted to tackle the issue yourself.
However, while doing it yourself may seem like a good idea, any mishap could cost you thousands of dollars in repairs and damages.
Research suggests that homeowners are more likely to spend more on maintenance costs due to self-serving pest control treatments.
The simple reason is that DIY pest control treatments don’t work!
They’re generally ineffective at killing the pests and their eggs and can even be dangerous depending on the chemicals you use. Incorrect handling of pests can also lead to infectious bites. Recent studies have shown that insect bites and stings are the most common cause of emergency room visits in the United States, with over 100,000 people being admitted for it every year.
To find out more about why DIYs misfire, keep reading:
1. Pests Can Survive Difficult Conditions
For starters, pests are crafty. A mouse can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime. Bed bugs can live for more than a year without food. And cockroaches can survive underwater for 45 minutes! These pests know how to hide and survive in the roughest conditions. There’s no way that you can eliminate them with a one-time treatment.
2. You Don’t Know The Source Of The Problem
DIY treatments might not even be effective at all, depending on the type of pests you’re dealing with.For example, if you’re trying to get rid of bed bugs, but you don’t know where their nest is located, spraying bug spray all over your linen will not affect them.
Bed bugs live in mattresses and furniture, so you need professional treatment if you want to get rid of them. The same issue may come up with cockroaches or mice since they like to hide in small spaces and hard-to-reach areas. If you want to get rid of these pests, hire an exterminator who knows how to track them down to their source and treat them appropriately.
3. You Don’t Have The Right Products
DIY products typically contain pesticides that aren’t strong enough to kill all of the pests infesting your home. While these treatments might kill some pests, they won’t eradicate them completely, which means they’ll continue to multiply and come back bigger than ever before.
Hiring a pest control company is the only way to get rid of pests is to eliminate the infestation, so they don’t return.
Professional exterminators have access to more potent products than those sold in stores. If you want to keep your family safe from toxic chemicals, consider hiring an eco-friendly pest control company that uses non-toxic products and techniques like Xterminator Pest Control.
Our professional exterminators are trained to properly identify pests, and then choose the safest and most effective one-time pest control treatment method to get rid of them.
We also provide termite inspection and bedbug removal services in Columbus, Ohio.
Reach out to us today and schedule an appointment or visit our website for more information about our residential exterminator services.
Termites: How Do They Attack Your Home
Would you be surprised if we told you that termites cause more than a billion dollars in damage every year in the US and can even lead to major structural damage?
Most people are completely oblivious to the numerous types of termites, the long-term effects of their presence in the home, and how they grow and reproduce.
Termites, are also popularly known as silent destroyers, are the quintessential problem that you don’t notice until it’s too late.
Hidden in the dirt under your home, they can eat through the wood in a very short time, damaging your home’s foundation.
If you care for your valuable property, investing in termite protection is a great option.
But before that, it’s best to learn about how termites attack.
What Happens When Termite Attack?
Termites are always looking for food and water. Your home provides both things, making it a prime target for termites.
Termites are naturally blind and don’t have a great sense of taste or smell, so they have to crawl around by feeling until they find something that tastes like food.
There are two main types of termites: Subterranean and Drywood.
- Subterranean termitesobtain moisture from the soil and build tunnels through which they travel to reach above-ground sources of food (structures).
- Drywood termiteslive in undecayed wood with low moisture content. Their nests may be found above ground or in infested wood.
These tiny insects usually enter structures through cracks in foundations or where pipes and wires go into a building. Since they like to stay hidden and out of sight, they’ll often hide in dark, damp places like under a pile of rotting wood or inside a wall cavity.
Once inside, they start looking for wood, cardboard, or paper—anything made of cellulose—which they can chew up and digest. If they find it, they set up camp and start eating it non-stop until it’s too late.
The three main stages of a termite attack are:
1. Incubation
The incubation stage is the time it takes for the eggs to hatch into larvae. This period can be as short as one month or last for several years, depending on the species of termite involved.
2. Colonization
After hatching, the larvae feed and develop into workers, soldiers, or reproductive (kings and queens). Colonies often have millions of members in them, depending on their age and size.
3. Destruction
During this stage, worker termites will have become fully established in your house. They find wood and begin eating it immediately, causing serious structural damage as they expand their nest within your walls or foundation.
What Is The Best Termite Treatment?
Getting immediate professional termite treatment is the best way to eliminate termite colonies by targeting worker termites that forage in the soil for food sources or wood that touches or is in contact with the ground. If a nest is found close to your home, it may be necessary for us to treat it by trenching near it and applying bait to eliminate it.
At Xterminator Pest Control, we use liquid treatments that are long-lasting, effective, and environmentally friendly. We also offer termite inspection and termite prevention services in Columbus, Ohio.
Reach out to us today to schedule an appointment or visit our website for more information about our residential exterminator services.
What Garden Pests Should You Be Careful About?
You worked hard on your yard and lawn, and may even have a small fruits and vegetables garden. The excitement and the joy of watching plants and trees grow may be one of the best things in your life. However, damage around your garden can ruin it all.
Have you noticed flimsy stems, tiny holes in the leaves, and rotting fruits? Without a proper pesticide, you can’t have a healthy growing garden. In addition, every plant attracts different pests, so you need the correct pesticide for the bugs. Let’s take a look at some of the features of pests that might be in your garden.
Japanese beetle
As beautiful as they may seem, they damage the leaves and stems of your plants. The adult beetle is metallic blue with bronze wings. At the larvae stage, they are white with brown heads. These destructive pests are found on flowers, vegetables, and small fruits plants. They can especially damage the roots of the vegetable plants.
Caterpillar and worms
Caterpillars are the larval stage of a butterfly—they’re soft and have six legs on each side. Caterpillars feast on the leaves and stems of different plants. They can be found on various fruits and vegetable plants.
As a result, your leafy vegetables may be left with tiny little holes, making them unappealing to look at. The worms also have a soft exterior but damage the fruits instead of the leaves. The fruits rot when the worms enter them, making them unedible.
Flea beetle
These beetles look like tiny black holes in the plants. Their name is given to them due to their sudden flea-like jumps from one place to another. They usually settle on vegetable plants. They chew their way into vegetables and create holes on leaves as well. In their larval stage, they feast on the roots of a plant.
Aphids
These bugs are the most common on found in a garden, are pear-shaped and can be white, red, yellow, and black. These pests are found in clusters in one area. They have two antennaes emerging from their abdomens. These bugs are almost always found on vegetable and fruits plants.
They’re a menace as they cause viral diseases, suck the plant sap, and destroy the leaves and stems. You can find many of them one spot at a time, making killing them more manageable.
Cabbage maggots
As the name indicates, pests are found on cabbage vegetables. They create a tunnel in the roots and destroy the plant from within. These destructive pests can conquer a giant cabbage patch in days once infested.
If you want to get rid of these common garden pests, you should hire our exterminators in Columbus, Ohio from Xterminator. We take care of all the garden pests to provide you with peace of mind. We also offer termite treatment and beg bug treatment in Columbus, OH. Our professionals have years of experience working on residential, commercial buildings, and gardens. So, contact us today for a pest-free garden!
Pest Cleaning For The Winter Season
As humans adapt to weather changes, so do animals and insects. Unfortunately, we cannot associate pests with summer months only, as the low temperature can draw pests in as they look for food, warmth and shelter.
When trying to prevent infestations, you have to think of all the possible places pests may want to get comfortable in. The ideal locations for most pests are dark, humid, and warm. Any room or space that is hidden from the human eye is where the bugs and insects would breed and lay eggs. Here are some locations you need to do a deep clean and declutter for a pest-free home.
Clean out the basement
One of the best places for pests to survive and breed is the basement. The air is humid, and it’s dark. There isn’t any disturbance or commotion; therefore, pests find it ideal to reproduce. So before the winter, do a deep clean of your basement. You would be shocked to discover different pests living in the foundation of your home.
Declutter your attic
Mice love clutter, and they want to find a warm place to seek shelter. So they tend to stick in the attic for the winter months. Clean out the attic in the autumn so that you can avoid any rodents storing food up in your attic.
Dust and repair door screens
If you want to keep the flying pests away efficiently, you need to clean out the door screens. This will guarantee that no pests enter your home through the screen door. Mosquitoes like to breed in the changing weather. They’re also responsible for diseases such as malaria and dengue; therefore, you must keep these pests away by covering your doors.
Clean behind the fridge
It may not seem like it, but the area behind your fridge is almost always dirty. Food particles somehow find their way to the back, and as a result, cockroaches may want to pay a visit to your kitchen. Once cockroaches enter your home, they will reproduce daily.
They can hide in the tiniest spaces and cause many diseases. If you want to get rid of these pests, clean out the back of your fridge and cabinets before the winter.
If you want to hire pest control company Columbus oh before or during the winter months, get the best exterminators in Columbus OH, from Xterminator. We provide efficient and extraordinary termite services and rodent control in Columbus. In addition, we have exterminating teams for commercial and residential buildings and make your life easier by eliminating all sorts of pests. So, contact us today!
Why Are Bed Bugs Invading My Home?
You lifted your bed spread to change the covers and notice tiny black spots at the edge of the mattress. Look like a splatter of black ink or mold? No, those are bed bugs. These parasites feed on your blood and love to hunt when you are defenseless in your sleep.
You may wonder whether filth is the reason why they keep coming back.
That’s a misconception. Bed bugs do not enter filthy homes, and they are not attracted by food or dirt. Instead, they need human and animal blood to survive and reproduce. Therefore, if they come in contact with a human, there are high chances they wont leave. Here are some reasons you may have bed bugs.
You stay at a hotel or motel often
Believe it or not, hotels and motels are the most bed bug-infested places ever. At first look, the beds and couches may seem fine, but you will get bites all over your body once you use them. Unfortunately, these bed bugs do not leave you at that, and they will follow you to your home with you.
The bed bugs can travel easily from your clothing into your home, they tend to lay eggs in the stitching of your clothes, and once they are in a safe and dark environment, the offspring will hatch.
Come in contact with someone with bed bugs
If your kid goes to stay over at their friend’s house and come home with bug bites all over their body, they may have come into contact with bed bugs. These nasty bed bugs can endure any environment; therefore, they can quickly infest your home.
Your pets are bringing them in the house
You might not even know this, but bed bugs feed on humans and animal blood. These bugs can stay on your pet’s fur for a long time before they move on to your furniture. Therefore, to keep these beds bugs invading your home all the time, ensure your pets get bathed and groomed by a professional.
You have used furniture with bugs
If you get used furniture from a garage sale or a thrift store, you need to check it for termites and bed bugs. You see, the bed bugs do not just infest your mattress, but also the nooks and crannies of your headboard.
The bed bugs can also enter your home with the help of an old couch you got from your friend. The bugs never leave your home unless you get a professional exterminator.
Get the perfect pest control services in Columbus, OH from Xterminator. In addition, we do efficient bed bug treatment. Our professional exterminators in Pickerington OH, work on commercial and residential buildings. To get the best pest control services, contact us today!
How to Keep Your Workplace – Infographic
Xterminator Pest Control Offers high-quality pest infestation commercial services.
Continue reading
Common Pest Control Misconceptions that Need to Go Right Away!
There are many misconceptions about pest control. Many homeowners still believe that their plants and trees attract pests, rodents, and other insects. That isn’t true; it’s just a myth. While some plants like wisteria may attract aphids, the leaves of most plants don’t contain anything to make pests want to visit or stay in your garden.
All the Things You Need to Know About Natural Pesticides and Their Domestic Usage
In the last few years, natural pesticides have been gaining more popularity in the market. Many homeowners are now interested in using natural pesticides because of their positive effects on the environment and health. Natural pesticides are a product from a variety of plant or animal sources. The most commonly used nonchemical pesticide is peppermint oil which can eliminate many pests such as fleas, ants, bedbugs, and cockroaches. Several herbs also can be used to make homemade insect repellents.
Why You Should Never Carry Out A DIY Pest Control | Infographic
You can request a quote and schedule a no-obligation appointment with us online! Call 1-800-948-7378 to hire our pest control services, or e-mail us at info@xterminator.com for more information. Continue reading
Effective Ways to Get Rid of Cockroaches from Your Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most common places for roaches in your home. Why? Because it provides the ideal surroundings for cockroaches. These insects live comfortably in your bathroom, kitchen, and other living spaces in their quest for food. Unfortunately, they spread fast and bring diseases wherever they go. If you’re exhausted from seeing these annoying critters in your home, then let’s find out how you can get rid of cockroaches!