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).

As soon as you start bringing boxes and decorations down from your attic you should be aware of some common “occasional” pests that can develop in or near these belongings. Warm attic temperatures here in the Southeast provide the perfect conditions for pests to harbor.

Here are some of the most common pests found in attics:

• Silverfish which grow to about an inch in length and are silver in color. They have long antennae and antennal-like hairs on the opposite end as well. Silverfish like to eat the glue in cardboard boxes, the binding in books and glues on envelopes, stamps and papers. Silverfish can easily hide in the folds of a box and escape into the room once you bring down the boxes.
• Cigarette beetles live inside boxes that contain potpourri and holiday ornaments made of painted cookies covered with sugar or sparkle. These beetles are small, about 2 mm, oval in shape and the color of semi-sweet chocolate.
• Case making clothes moths have been encountered more frequently in the Southeast These clothes moths will fly into an open container or oriental carpet being stored in attics and garages to deposit eggs. The eggs develop into small caterpillars that eat any cloth material, then develop into adult months.

If you experience any of these pests, call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739) for an immediate response or sign up for a Free Pest Inspection.

We hope you have a happy holiday season!

Contrary to the old superstition that Earwigs enter people’s ears while sleeping, they are completely harmless to humans and beneficial to nature because they feed on other pest insects. Earwigs are small, dark brown, short-winged insects easily identified by the set of small pincher-like extensions at the end of their bodies.

Earwigs are commonly noticed in and around homes around periods of drought. They require a high level of moisture to survive and during drought periods will seek moisture inside the home to live. Their normal habitat is around mulched areas/plant beds, under debris piles or steppingstones, in and under potted plants and in cracks and crevices.

Here are a few tips to ensure Earwigs and other pests aren’tentering your home:

• Identify and seal points of entry, even areas just small enough for a credit card to pass are big enough for earwigs to enter
• Inspect weather stripping for gaps
• Thin back mulch beds, to reduce high levels of moisture
• Ensure mulch is pulled back six inches from the foundation walls
• During periods of heavy rain – adjust your irrigation system so that excess moisture isn’t accumulating

If you see Earwigs or other pests in your home, contact Massey Services for a Free Inspection.

Contrary to the old superstition that Earwigs enter people’s ears while sleeping, they are completely harmless to humans and beneficial to nature because they feed on other pest insects. Earwigs are small, dark brown, short-winged insects easily identified by the set of small pincher-like extensions at the end of their bodies.

Earwigs are commonly noticed in and around homes around periods of drought. They require a high level of moisture to survive and during drought periods will seek moisture inside the home to live. Their normal habitat is around mulched areas/plant beds, under debris piles or steppingstones, in and under potted plants and in cracks and crevices.

Here are a few tips to ensure Earwigs and other pests aren’tentering your home:

• Identify and seal points of entry, even areas just small enough for a credit card to pass are big enough for earwigs to enter
• Inspect weather stripping for gaps
• Thin back mulch beds, to reduce high levels of moisture
• Ensure mulch is pulled back six inches from the foundation walls
• During periods of heavy rain – adjust your irrigation system so that excess moisture isn’t accumulating

If you see Earwigs or other pests in your home, contact Massey Services for a Free Inspection.

Spiders can become an annoyance when they create webs in various corners and crevices of the home. Eventually, abandoned webs collect dust and debris, which create cobwebs. In reality, spiders are considered beneficial because they feed on insect pests and other spiders. If you see small pod-like structures in the webs, they are likely spider eggs. When spider eggs hatch, the tiny spiders easily enter homes through screens or around loose fitting doors and windows. Keeping your window screens secure and patched (if necessary) will keep larger spiders out of homes. If the insects they eat are not plentiful, spiders are less likely to infest a home.

When you see spider webs developing, contact Massey Services. We’ll provide a thorough, free inspection and a plan to spiders, plus other pests, out of your home.