Think again. Bed bugs are no laughing matter… even though they played a role in NBC’s hit show “30 Rock” in November when Alec Baldwin’s character Jack had a bed bug infestation of his own. He was humorously ostracized at work, forced to take the subway instead of the company car and heckled by his coworkers for having “a bad case of the chew-daddies.”

While watching the Nightly News on NBC last night, another story ran on these little creatures. (Click here to view.) Turns out that the population of bed bugs has risen 500% in recent years and that one out of four hotel rooms has had an infestation.

From the National Pest Management Association’s site pestworld.org, below are some FAQ’s on bed bugs:

Why are bed bugs so hard to treat?
Bed bugs should not be equated with filth or sanitation problems – in hotels or in homes. Bed bugs are very elusive, transient and nocturnal pests. They can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Bed bugs can be controlled with vigilance, constant inspection and treatment by a professional.

Why are bed bugs an issue for hotels, visitors and homeowners?
Bed bugs leave itchy, bloody welts on human skin. Once inside a hotel or home, bed bugs spread rapidly from room to room – through pipes, in vacuum cleaners, on clothing and luggage. In a hotel, bed bugs can even spread to neighboring rooms.

Are bed bugs just in beds?
Bed bugs are not just in beds. They can be in chair cushions, sofas, behind electrical outlets, cracks and crevices around baseboards, or even behind picture frames. In other words, they can live pretty much anywhere.

What can you do to protect yourself from bed bug infestations?
When staying at a hotel, inspect the mattress, bedding, headboard and nightstands thoroughly. And when returning from a trip, check your luggage and clothing.

Happy first day of summer! It is odd saying that, considering how hot the temperatures have been recently…

With the onset of summer comes plenty of opportunities for celebrations with family and friends. Don’t let pesky flies invade your summer events! Here are a few tips to keep flies at bay while you are entertaining at home:

• Cut down on the amount of light that surrounds your home in the evenings, as flies are attracted to most white and ultraviolet lights. (Closing your blinds helps with this, too.)
• Use amber bug light bulbs outside of the home instead of white or clear bulbs. The amber bulbs attract 100 times fewer flies than other bulbs.
• Products labeled for use on flies can be used on hedges and barrier plants between the lake and the home where hundreds of flies rest before they head toward the home.
• Since flies are attracted to UV light, place UV light zapper traps at the far end of the property near the lake to draw the flies away from the yard back out to the lake. Do not place the traps near the home or the flies will be drawn up through the yard to the home.
• During outdoor parties, rent large fans to direct flies away from the event.  

This weekend (April 9^th thru 11^th) is the perfect time to spring into gear and get a free, no-obligation inspection for Pest Prevention, Termite Protection, GreenUP Landscape Services (including renovation for freeze-damaged landscapes) and Irrigation Maintenance and save big!

There is no obligation to have one of our trained inspectors come to your home and provide you with a free home and lawn inspection. And to make the deal even sweeter, we are offering some AMAZING SAVINGS- this weekend only!

If you are interested in purchasing one of our great services – now is the time! Spring is here and these savings only happen once a year.

To schedule your free inspection for this weekend, click here or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739) today!

Please share this exciting news with your co-workers, family, friends and neighbors that may be interested. Existing customers can take advantage of our Pass It On referral program and earn a Publix gift card for yourself AND every new Massey customer that you refer!

The holiday season is quickly approaching and I can’t wait to purchase gifts and decorate my house for the holidays! Plus, with guests coming over, I was thinking it gives me time to tidy up and maybe even buy a few new things for my own home for decoration.

Then, the other day I heard an unbelievable story about a termite infestation inside a home that made me really think about what I am buying and bringing inside.  A woman bought some new baskets and decorative items to brighten up her home before her holiday guests began arriving. The items were made of wood and unbeknownst to the owner, they were infested with termites.  She started noticing small piles of dust around the wood floors of her home within a few months of the purchase but couldn’t figure out what it was.

After about one year of a growing problem, she finally contacted us and we discovered a complete termite infestation in her home – all caused from this one little purchase!

Now, I’m not saying I won’t decorate my home or buy anything new, but I’ll definitely be inspecting anything made of wood for traces of termite damage. And I’d recommend to anyone that they do the same. If you see start seeing tiny piles of powder around your house or small holes in your drywall, don’t wait to call!

Now who’s ready for some shopping?

When most people see a spider, they cringe. Is it a good spider or a bad spider? Will it hurt me? Is it harmless? Just the way spiders walk with their eight legs looks creepier than their six legged relatives, the insects.

It doesn’t help that spiders are constantly being shown as creepy and gross through Halloween props. TV shows and movies have made spiders synonymous with screaming even though most spiders are completely harmless. That’s right, completely harmless.

Stop Spiders on Your Property

What the movies and Halloween props don’t tell you is that the majority of spiders are actually beneficial. They feast on small insects such as flies, mosquitoes and tiny moths. Truth is, most spiders can’t even bite through human skin.

In the southeast, the only venomous spiders are the widow spiders and the recluse spiders. In Florida and east Georgia, brown recluse spiders are for the most part, non existent. The brown recluse thrives from Atlanta to the east half of Texas, up to southern Iowa.

In most cases, the spider you encounter around your home will be a southern house spider, a wolf spider, a jumping spider or an orb weaver. All of these are completely harmless. However, just in case, take care if you try to grab or provoke them. When you spot a spider in your home, it’s a good idea to find someone brave enough to nudge it into a cup or jar and release it outside.

Massey Services Pest Prevention program includes sweeping around the outside of the home to keep spiders from building webs.  This is harmless to the spider, yet a good way to keep them out of your home.

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).

Tips on Preventing White Footed Ants

In recent years, small black ants with white ends on their legs have become a pest throughout most of southern Florida. As they move north through Central Florida, homeowners are encountering pesky white-footed ant infestations for the first time. What’s really confusing about these little ants is that it takes a magnifying glass to see their “white feet”, to the naked eye, they just look like solid black ants.

These ants love to take over, which often means eliminating all the other ant colonies in your yard. While that may sound like a good thing, once their population is allowed to grow outside, they will seek refuge inside, which means inside your home. If inside populations are not found in time, they can swarm inside your home for upwards of a month!

White-footed ants favorite plant continues to be the white bird of paradise, although they can infest mulch at the base of trees as well as telephone poles, traveler’s palms and in the fold of many species of palm trees. In order to keep these pests on the outside prune all vegetation away from your home.

If you think you have an ant problem, or want to learn more about Massey’s Pest Prevention, schedule a Free Inspection, or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Cockroaches

originated from equatorial regions and have since spread world wide. When they have a choice, they prefer warmer climates, like the inside of your home. They will find small gaps around your doors and windows to get inside. All they need is a gap that your credit card can fit through to get in! If light can be seen around or under a door, then insects can gain access inside 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.

To find out more about our Pest Prevention Program, get a Free Pest 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).