A nationwide telephone survey of homeowners shows Florida is the worst state for bug problems, with Louisiana, Texas, California and Georgia close behind. The survey, conducted in June, shows a whopping 90 percent of homeowners said they have experienced an insect infestation of one kind or another. The most common invaders? Ants, termites and cockroaches.

While Florida placed No. 1 overall as the worst state for bugs, it also ranked third-worst for bed bugs, behind New York and California. The least amount of bug problems were reported in Washington, D.C. The next most favorable reports came from South Dakota, Connecticut, Idaho and New Hampshire.

The Zebra Longwing butterfly, Florida's official state "bug"

The top 10 buggiest states are:

1. Florida

2. Louisiana

3. Texas

4. California

5. Georgia

6. New York

7. Mississippi

8. Alabama

9. Missouri

10. South Carolina

Read more: Florida worst state for bugs

My coworkers and I were swapping stories yesterday about kids and bugs and I was reminded of how fascinating these little creatures can be – not only to adults, but especially to children. Unlocking the door to a miniature universe of wonder can be as simple as just poking around under a rock or in the grass.

You and your little explorer can try these fun ideas, courtesy of Scholastic:

1. Plant a butterfly garden. In a sunny spot out of the wind, plant blooming varieties like geraniums and hydrangeas, plus plants that provide food for larvae such as Mexican milkweed. Find out what else the butterflies in your area need at butterflywebsite.com.
2. Listen! Catch a non-stinging insect that makes noise in a paper cup. Crickets and flies are good candidates. Cover the cup with waxed paper and hold it on with a rubber band. Now place your ear against the paper and listen.
3. Do the worker-bee waggle! Honeybees “dance” to communicate the location and distance of a nectar stash to the other bees. Talk with your kids about this fascinating communication, and then make up your own version.
4. Take an umbrella out on a sunny day. Place it open upside down under a leafy, low-hanging branch. Shake the branch like you mean it — then identify what lands in your umbrella with an insect book or online.

Tools for the Trade
These items will make your child feel like a real scientist:

• Butterfly net
• Tweezers (only for dead specimens)
• Observation jar (punch holes in the lid of a clean jar)
• Magnifying glass
• Notebook for recording thoughts and sketches
• Bug and spider identification book like Simon & Schuster Children’s Guide to Insects and Spiders (Simon & Schuster, $23; ages 9 to 12) or Don’t Squash That Bug: The Curious Kid’s Guide to Insects (Lobster Press, ages 4 to 8, $15)
• Click here to visit Massey’s bug database 

Massey provides pest prevention services for residential and commercial properties, but not all insects are harmful! Have fun exploring!

Fall is settling in and that can take on many meanings. Usually it’s cooler weather and crisper air (although Naples and South Florida probably won’t see temperatures below 80 this season).

But, in my opinion, the best part of Fall, no matter where you live is Halloween! Being a person in his mid 30′s, I get to take a step back in time and be a kid again. That’s because Halloween gives anyone an excuse to dress up and attend all the fun events designed to spook and scare us.

Funny part is, though, living here this time of year, getting a scare is as easy as a night trip down the hall in your home when you turn on the light and find a roach, spider or other creepy insect hanging out waiting for you. And, no, I don’t mean the plastic Halloween versions.

Personally, I’m used to this occurence, but when my friends and family come down from up North, it’s pretty clear they would prefer getting scared by a person in costume!

Take my uncle, for example, decked out in his usual day-glo track suit. He’s generally enough of a sight to elicit a good fright all on his own up North, but down here he’s known to come screaming like a banshee out of the bathroom at the slightest hint of a silverfish.

So for all the great things that Halloween and Fall bring – remember to watch out for those unexpected scares.

Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween!

Back to school shopping, well beware of…ants? That’s right, ants are a small but very annoying potential issue one of our customers just reported. When she parked under a seemingly perfect spot – shady, under a nice oak tree – and went into the mall for an afternoon of back-to-school-tax-free shopping, she brought home more than just bargains. She found herself with an unending stream of ants in her car. We see this more often than you’d think: parking in a spot like this, you can easily intercept a trail of ants that crawl up your tires and into your car.

Once these ants – small, clear colored ants called “Ghost Ants” – enter your car, they make a nest in those little crevices around your car that can accumulate leaves (you know the ones, near the windshield wipers, around the seal of your trunk or hood, in the door hinges, etc).

Once they’ve settled in they are hard to get rid of! Our customer had been battling tiny ghost ants in her car for over a month. She tried many solutions: over-the-counter ant sprays, liquid ant bait, and wet wipes because she was constantly using them to kill ants by hand. She vacuumed, used anti bacterial spray and even went so far as to have her mechanic spray RAID underneath the vehicle – all to no avail.

Simply put, the colony hadn’t been eliminated. Most pest prevention solutions solve cosmetic problems – they treat what you can see quickly. But, they aren’t capable of colony elimination. The most effective way to get rid of the infestation is to use a professional grade ant bait. As ghost ants roam around a car, they collect the bait and take it back to the queen at the nest, wiping out the whole colony.

It takes about a week and while the car is being treated, we advised our customer to avoid parking in areas with trees and leaf litter during the week (ant bait actually attracts ants, so if you were to park on top of another trail, you can actually attract more ants to the bait!). Sure enough, about five days later, we got the phone call: the car was ant-free!

Although we typically treat homes and businesses, ants can get pretty much anywhere. If you have questions about ghost ants, don’t hesitate to call us.

Tips to prevent pests

Pest entry into homes increases during rainy months, especially when heavy rains flood a colony of pests outside causing them to seek shelter indoors. Some of the main avenues that ants, roaches and small insects take to get into your home are through small cracks, holes and tiny gaps around doors and windows. If left unsealed, pests can enter through these gaps at any time and attempt to locate a breeding place inside your home.

As a homeowner you can seal gaps through use of caulk or small patches of screen, steel wool or copper.  You should also look for large gaps in the eaves or around the siding and tiny gaps around weather stripping. Massey’s Pest Prevention Program is based upon sound integrated pest management principles of identifying the conditions, avenues and sources of pest infestations in order to successfully deal with any pest problem in or around your home.

In addition to keeping pests out, sealing your home can also reduce your energy bill considerably. The hot and humid, or cold air, can no longer get inside your home, making indoor temperatures more easily regulated.

To find out more about our Pest Prevention Program, get a Free Pest Inspection or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Now that Spring has sprung and warmer weather is on it’s way, its good to prepare for an increase in pest activity around your home. Here are some tips to keep the pests on the outside of your home:

• Look for leaf litter that may have built up in the garage during the winter. Spiders love to hide in this kind of debris. Take an afternoon or weekend to clean up leaves behind stored items in your garage, back patio or shed.
• Ants are going to begin to build their colonies outside, make sure to prune all vegetation at least 6 to 12 inches away from your home to prevent them from getting inside.
  

  Tips to prevent pests this Spring

• Check seals around all of your doors. As doors age, grommets can be damaged or may shrink. Regular inspection, resealing and repair will go a long way toward preventing pest entry into your home. Seal all obvious gaps around your home.
• Clean up any food, crumbs or mold from around your dishwasher and compactor, under your sinks and around your home. This will prevent residues from attracting crawling pests or small flies.
• Inspect your air conditioner and replace the filter. Make sure your system is regularly maintained and is prepared to handle the increasing temperatures.
• If you feed pets outside, bring the food inside until next winter to prevent attracting roaches and ants. If you must feed them outside, bring everything in at the end of the day, clean up the area and place fresh food out the next morning.

If you have any questions, schedule a Free Inspection, or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Did you know that vegetation touching your home is one of the most common avenues that ants and other crawling pests can take to transfer from the outside to the inside of your home?

Our climate in the Southeast is conducive to rapid plant growth. Gardens surrounding our homes send up growth more rapidly than around homes up North. We suggest pruning everything away from the home at least 6-12 inches on a regular basis.

Larger tree limbs or nearby palm fronds that touch your home can allow rodents or small animals to transfer onto the roof or eaves. From there, these animals can find access or gnaw through small gaps to create a convenient highway to an attic nest.

White-footed ants are one of the most invasive indoor ants in south Florida and love to get into your home this way. All it takes is one leaf or frond that touches for these pesky little ants to turn your home into their home.

You’ll be surprised how you can substantially reduce the impact on indoor invading pests by simply keeping vegetation from touching your home.

Massey’s Pest Prevention Program is based upon sound integrated pest management principles of identifying the conditions, avenues and sources of pest infestations in order to successfully deal with any pest problem in or around your home. When we find active pests transferring to the home from a small branch or leaf we will prune the vegetation away from the home to prevent pests from getting inside.

To find out more about our Pest Prevention Program, get a Free Pest Inspection or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).