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.  

Bob Belmont, Massey’s Training & Technical Director and a Board Certified Entomologist, recently walked the grounds of the Central Florida Zoo with Sandi Linn, the Zoo’s Director of Education, scoping out the best spot to place a special insect trap. In partnership with the Zoo, Massey will soon begin an insect biodiversity study that will hopefully lead to a complete biodiversity study of the entire zoo grounds.

Massey’s eco-friendly insect trap (similar to the one on the right that Bob has behind his own moth lab in Sanford, Fla.) will randomly attract night-flying insects to a walk-in screened cage. The special trap allows for the collection of a few bugs and the release of other insects during the day. Massey will be teaching interested Zoo employees how to run the trap, collect the samples, and then preserve and label the specimens to be of scientific value. Various other trapping methods will also be utilized throughout the year.

The Zoo will learn a great deal from this study about their local insect fauna and will begin to better understand insects, their food plants and adult flight periods. The published data will also likely spur similar studies and attract local and out-of-state scientists to the location.

Thanks Bob! We look forward to hearing more about this study as it progresses.

Many pest service providers only service the interior and immediate exterior of their commercial properties.

To have a truly integrated pest program, a service should focus on identifying conditions, avenues and sources of pest activity. Many times these sources  can often be found away from the structure along property lines, plant bed areas, parking lot islands, trash collection areas and other property features. Inspecting these areas and putting into place corrective and preventive actions is critical to keep pests from getting in and coming back.

When selecting a pest service provider, be certain to look for one who takes these steps to assure the program is truly preventing pests and not reacting to them after they enter the structure.

To find out more about Massey’s PrevenTech Commercial Pest Prevention Program or to get a Free Pest Inspection, call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Think Fire Ants are only an Outside Nuisance? Think Again!

Fire Ants on your grass, sidewalks, parking lots or anywhere on your property pose a real threat to your business. That’s because these are areas where patrons and their children traverse, making them ready targets for fire ants and their stinging bites.

Keep Fire Ants off Your Property

Even worse, fire ants that set up homes in these places can easily enter your establishment through tiny cracks and gaps in your foundation or under door plates. From here they gain access behind baseboards and walls, eventually locating food items inside.

Stings from fire ants usually develop into a tight pustule that itches and burns. Sometimes, the sting site can become infected. And, persons allergic to bee and wasp stings are especially susceptible because they can experience anaphylactic shock from these tiny creatures.

With 2.5 million tons of living fire ants in the Southeast – your property and your customers can easily become a target.

What to do if you suspect you may have fire ants on your property?

• Do not disturb any Fire Ant nests. Any disturbance may encourage the colony to move somewhere else and this can make eradication more difficult.

• Make sure that materials infested with fire ants are not wheeled across your landscape, spreading an infestation.

• Seal cracks and crevices where ants may come inside.

• Employ a professional pest service that can eliminate ants and their nests and prevent future colonies from forming.

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

If you just moved down from “Up North” you might not be familiar with fire ants. But just about everyone else “down here” is. First, be careful where you stand. What appears to be a nice, fluffy mound of dirt can, in fact, be a nest of fire ants.

Prevent Fire Ants on your Property.

Secondly, what’s with the name? They’re named “Fire Ants” because the pain from hundreds of cumulative stings feels like your skin is being set on fire. Ouch! The stings from fire ants are quite annoying, each one usually developing into a tight pustule that itches and burns. Unlike a bee that loses its stinger, each fire ant worker can sting again and again until it is brushed away. Sometimes, the sting site can get infected, so treat each wound carefully with appropriate medications. Persons allergic to bee and wasp stings should carry doctor-prescribed medication in advance of being stung to prevent anaphylactic shock.

Winged female fire ants can fly into a yard and land anywhere on the ground to begin another nest. Within a month or two, colonies rapidly build to up to a quarter million ants or more per mound. That’s because each mound can harbor multiple queens that are all prolific egg layers. A well-known fire ant researcher estimates that there may be approximately 2.5 million tons of living fire ants in the Southeast! Areas of the yard where kids and pets roam should be regularly scouted and treated for fire ants.

Fire ants will often try and enter your home through tiny cracks and gaps in the foundation or under door plates to gain access behind baseboards and walls, eventually locating food items inside the home.

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

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).

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).