The holidays are upon us and many of us are packing up and traveling to spend time with family and friends or hosting the festivities at your own home.
But as our travel plans get closer, we continue to see more and more in the news about bed bugs. So how can you prevent bed bugs from ruining your holiday plans?

Here are a few commonly asked questions about bed bugs that may help as you’re checking into a hotel or having guests stay over.

What do bed bugs look like?
Bed bugs are tiny, oval, brown and wingless insects approximately
1/4” to 3/8” long (5-9 mm).

Is there really a huge outbreak?
Bed bugs have made a comeback in the United States over the last
few years. The largest outbreaks have been reported in large
cities with high rates of tourism.

Where are bed bugs typically found?
Bed bugs are most frequently found in hotels. They travel by
hitching rides with unsuspecting guests by crawling into clothing
and luggage. All hotels are susceptible to bed bugs – from motels to
five star hotels.

What can I do to protect myself?
When checking into a hotel room or after visiting guests have left your
home, you can perform a simple bed bug inspection of the room.
1) Pull pillows & sheets down about 1/3 of the way from the top of the
bed and look for reddish-brown or black spots on the sheets near the
bed’s headboard. You may not see the actual bugs themselves but they
do leave a trail of spots.
2) Look for spots on mattresses, pillows, headboards and walls behind
headboards.
3) Check the inside of dresser drawers for insects & black spots.
Contact Guest Services immediately if you’ve found any signs
of bed bugs during your inspection.

If I suspect I was in a room with bed bugs, what should I do
when I return home?
1) Isolate the items in your travel bags from other items in your home –
the garage is a great place.
2) Put clothing and other heat tolerant items into your dryer for a minimum of 20 minutes – the heat will eliminate bed bugs.
3) After thoroughly heating the items, wash as normal.
4) Check all luggage before storing it away. Vacuum out luggage and
clean the exterior surface.

What if I have guests staying in my home?
When welcoming family and friends into your home who have been
staying in hotels or on a cruise ship, be aware that bed bugs may have
hitched a ride with them. After your guests leave, carefully inspect guest
rooms for any signs of bed bugs. Wash all bed linens as soon as possible.

Here in the Southeast we can usually depend on plenty of afternoon thunderstorms to bring ample precipitation to our yards. But along with the natural benefits of rain, come a few problems as well. Summer rains leave standing water that can create a mosquito breeding ground.

There are 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida and they vary in biting preferences, breeding habits and location around the state. The Florida Medical Entomology Lab (FMEL) has produced a database of these species and their distribution, habits and importance.

There are a few simple precautions you can take to help avoid mosquitoes:

• Make sure windows and doors are closed and screens are well-sealed.

• Avoid working or playing outdoors at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

• When outdoors, be sure to wear loose fitting light-colored clothes, and apply an insect repellent containing DEET.

• Use mosquito netting to protect children under 2 months of age.

• Discard old cans, tires, bottles, broken appliances and other items that can accumulate stagnant water.

• Remove stagnant water at least once per week from bird baths, kiddie pools, outdoor toys or potted plants.

• Make sure gutters drain properly so that they do not hold stagnant water and that gutter drains are not clogged.

• Cover boats and stored vehicles with tarps to prevent water accumulation.

Now that the warm weather is back, unfortunately so are fleas and ticks.  Even worse, they’re seeking out your pets as a host.

Here are a few tips you can follow to prevent fleas from becoming a problem for your furry companion:

• Always check your pet’s bedding daily for evidence of fleas.  The eggs are slightly smaller than a pin head, oval and cream colored and are usually found in cracks, crevices and bound with strands of carpet.
• If pets are to be outside at all, be sure you have a veterinary-prescribed flea treatment that is applied regularly according to the label.  Adult fleas usually stay clinging within the fur of the pet but will die if a flea protection has been regularly applied to the pet.

If fleas are discovered, here are a few additional tips to follow:

• If fleas are found on the pet, comb out or remove and kill the fleas.  Vacuum all areas of the floor, especially under sofas and chairs and under sofa and chair pads.  Throw the vacuum bag out and replace with a new bag.
• If fleas are found, inspect your yard for fleas by dragging an old towel or rag across areas where pets usually walk.  If fleas are present they will jump onto the towel.  If this occurs, the yard will need immediate treatment.
• If live fleas are found indoors, a flea treatment should be performed immediately.

Fleas can get out of hand fast so it’s important to stay vigilant and constantly inspect for the above signs of infestation.

Recently an article was written in The Orlando Sentinel about killer bees invading the Southeast. As if we didn’t have enough pests that we have to worry about here, now we have to be fearful of coming in contact with a hive of killer bees!

The reason why the Africanized honey bee is known as a “killer bee” is because these hives are much more aggressive than the well known European honey bee that has been around for as long as I can remember. When an Africanized honey bee hive is disturbed, these bees come out and attack in numbers. So it’s not the sting that is necessarily dangerous (unless you’re allergic of course – then any sting is dangerous) but it’s the fact that there are hundreds of these angry bees that want to sting at the same time!

Here are a few tips of what you can do if you are under attack or see someone else in trouble:

1. Run away in a straight line, protecting your
   face as bees will target the head.
2. Avoid other people and animals or they will
   be attacked as well.
3. Do not try to hide underwater; the swarm
   will wait for you to come up for air.
4. Remove the stinger by scraping with a credit
   card or a blunt knife and wash with soap and
   water & apply ice.
5. Seek medical attention immediately even if
   you have never had an allergic reaction.

And, if someone else is being attacked, take refuge
and call 911. Inform the operator of the
situation and advise them that sirens and flashing
lights will threaten the colony further.

I’ve received several requests from frequent travelers who are curious as to what they can do to prevent bringing bed bugs home from their trips. So I sat down with our resident bed bug expert, Tom Jarzynka, who provided me with a few a helpful tips that I wanted to share with you.

1)    As bed bug behavior is fairly predictable, it is important to do a quick inspection of your hotel room as soon as you check in. Pull the pillows and sheets down about one-third of the way from the top of the bed. Look for reddish-brown or black spots on the sheets near the bed’s headboard. Similar spots may be found on mattresses, pillows, headboards and the walls behind headboards.

2)    Check the inside of dresser drawers for insects and black spots. Bed bugs often hide in the cracks between the wood that forms the drawers and dresser cabinet.

3)    The closet and luggage racks are often the first place travelers place their belongings. If bed bugs are brought into a new room, these could be the first places they appear.

4)    Once you have returned home, isolate the items in your suitcase and travel bags from other items in the home. This can be done using garbage bags. Put clothing and other heat-tolerant items into your dryer for a minimum of 20 minutes. Heat will kill all life stages of bed bugs– eggs, nymphs and adults. After thoroughly heating these items, launder as normal. It is important to note that washing the items first has not shown to be as effective as heating them initially.

5)    There are a number of consumer products available that tout their ability to kill bed bugs on contact. These can be utilized while traveling as well as after you get home. The active ingredient in these products is often alcohol or plant oil that does indeed kill on contact. They will not prevent bed bugs, but applying one of these products to the hard surfaces of suitcases, computer bags, or other items may kill bed bugs that have hitched a ride back home with you. Most importantly, in order to be effective, the product must actually touch the bed bug.

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.  

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?

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).

Knowing How Fleas Get In and Stay In – Can Help You Get Them Out and Keep Them Out.

Fleas have always followed pets into homes annoying both Fido and his owner. What’s more annoying is they always seem to resurface when they’re least expected!

Prevent Fleas in Your Home

Fortunately this is not because we’re messy or don’t bathe our pets regularly. Rather, it’s a result of the flea life cycle. You see:

• Fleas lay tiny eggs about ½ the size of a pinhead.

• Eggs hatch into wiggling, hairy little larva.

• Larvae turn into miniature cocoons with pupa inside.

• Cocoons are spun right into the carpet material so that they cannot be vacuumed.

• Pupa wait until there is plenty of motion indoors to hatch.

Knowing all of this can help you control fleas inside your home. Follow these tips to evict fleas from your abode.

• Use flea products on pets without interruption so populations cannot get started.

• Vacuum any flea eggs thoroughly before larvae hatch & cocoons are spun in carpet.

• Treat for fleas and then wait. (It takes about 2 weeks for the last generation of cocoons to emerge into adult fleas because these cocoons cannot be killed or removed).

• Continue to remove fleas from pets daily until all fleas are gone.

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