Asian Lady Beetles… why are they here

Why are the Asian Lady Beetles (Ladybugs) still here in Central TN

Why are the Asian Lady Beetles (Ladybugs) still here, they ask…

Here at The Bug Man office we have received many calls over the past few weeks asking why the ladybugs are still in the houses.  What can be done about them?  And when will they leave?  Well, these are great questions.  I will shed some light on the topic of the Asian Lady Beetles and why they are still pestering everyone.

But first, my wife Vicky and I spent yesterday up at Land Between the Lakes.  It was a beautiful spring day, a nice breeze across the water and the sun was shining.  Of course, being  “The Bug Man”,  I had to look for some of the little wildlife out among us.  While awaiting the ferry to cross Kentucky Lake, I spotted a few of the Asian Lady Beetles sunning out on a log.   This made a great photo opportunity.

With spring here in Middle Tennessee and the warming weather, the lady beetles are wanting to go outside just as much as we are.  It is just not quite warm enough yet.  Remember back to the fall, when the lady beetles swarmed the houses and tried to squeeze into every nook and cranny they could find?  In the fall, just after the first hard freeze, the lady beetles know it is time to find a warm place to burrow down, known as overwintering, for the winter.  They do this as adults as part of their natural life cycle.  Normally, they would find a large pile of brush or rock crevices to nest in.  But, we have built beautiful homes with attics, wall voids, and crawl spaces with thick insulation for them to stay nice and warm for the winter.  They seek out these areas to survive the cold.  Once the temperatures begin to warm, the lady beetles wake up and move around.  Being that the inside temperatures are higher than the outside, many of them prefer to stay indoors, and that is why they continue to pester you.

What to do with the Asian Lady Beetles in your Home

Once the Asian Lady Beetles are inside your home, you have two choices: 1.  Vacuum them up and empty the bag or canister.  They do emit a foul smell, so it is wise to empty them out of the vacuum.  2.  Capture and release them.  This could be time consuming if you have a large infestation, but remember, the Asian Lady Beetle is a beneficial insect and every one that is released will have an opportunity to help protect our gardens from other pests.  We do not recommend spraying inside for lady beetles, as the end result is the same.  You will still need to sweep or vacuum them up and empty the bags.

What can you do in the future to help prevent a lady beetle invasion?

The two most important steps to take to prevent a future Asian Lady Beetle invasion are as follows: 1.  Seal all the cracks and crevices around the exterior of your home that will allow the lady beetles entry into the attic, crawl space, and wall voids.  Caulk around the doors and windows and replace seals as needed.  2. Have a residual pest control application applied to the exterior of your home in the fall that is labeled for the beetles.  These two recommendations will reduce the numbers of lady beetles that overwinter in your home and become a nuisance pest.

Knocking Out Boxelder Bugs

boxelder bugs taking over TN

Winter is knocking on our door, and with the swing of climate shift comes a wave of boxelder bugs. In the last several days, we’ve received numerous calls from our customers about these bothersome bugs.

Whether congregating outside the house en masse or making a little boxelder village inside, these red and black bugs are unwelcome.

 

Boxelder bugs are often found near boxelder trees. As you can imagine–if you have a boxelder tree in your yard–you may find yourself with an infestation of boxelder bugs around this time of year.

However, boxelder bugs also feed on maple trees, and the apples, prunes, and pears that fall off of trees.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that adult boxelder beetles gather on the south sides of trees, rocks, and other buildings to sun themselves. Fall may be in season, but the boxelders are still longing for some soaking sun time.

The boxelder bugs will fly up to two miles to find a place to hide out for the winter. Which, unfortunately for many homeowners, is inside the walls. After settling in, they often make an appearance in bathtubs, sinks, and floors near their cold weather chill spot. This social event for the boxelder bugs often occurs on the south and west side of the house when it’s sunny outside.

It kind of seems like the boxelder bugs are little weather forecasters, notifying onlookers that the sun is shining. Unless you’d like to receive your weather report from black and red bugs in your bathroom, perhaps you should call The Bug Man at 615-217-7284

Purple Triangle in the Tree: Emerald Ash Borer Traps in Murfreesboro, TN

Emerald Ash Borer
Have you seen the purple triangle in the tree?

It’s hard to miss. The purple triangle in the tree sticks out among green vegetation.

Is it a kite? Is some kid crying because their toy is trapped in a tree?

No, this trapped object is actually a trap for emerald ash borers. These destructive pests infest ash trees and kill them within three years.

The emerald ash borer entered America by way of Michigan 15-20 years ago. And now they’ve made their way down to Tennessee. They’ve traveled so far because of the transportation of firewood from one state to another, or even from one side of a state to the other side of a state.

One of the best ways to prevent the spreading of these awful insects is by not transporting firewood.

If you’re going to go camping in the Ocoee River Basin in East Tennessee, then buy your firewood there. Don’t bring Murfreesboro firewood to Cleveland, TN.

Keeping firewood local will make more people happy campers, and help keep ash borers more contained.

For more information on the emerald ash borer in Tennessee, you can visit this website: http://www.tn.gov/agriculture/regulatory/eab.shtml. It includes helpful tips, including quarantine information.

Here’s a video about the life cycle of emerald ash borers:

This brings an entirely new market to shopping locally: Shop local for firewood. 🙂

 

Tips for Mosquito Control This Summer

Tips for Mosquito Control This Summer

The Bug Man offers tips to help reduce the mosquito populations around your home.

There are a lot of different ways to approach mosquito control. You could dance if you want to. You could leave your friends behind.

A graduate student from the University of Florida Entomology program prefers the dance method. We found a video that features a ‘skeeter slap dance.’ Check it out below:

Not only is that video amusing, but it also offers a closer look at mosquitoes. Most of us slap them away too quickly to actually see what they look like.  Below we list steps you can take to help reduce the mosquito populations around your home.  While you may not achieve complete mosquito control, this will help.

Steps to help mosquito reduction and control.

  • As you saw in that video, the student was wearing long pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt. When you’re out and about with mosquitoes out, it helps if you wear clothing that covers up your arms and legs.
  • Emptying out areas of standing water is also really helpful for mosquito control. This includes kiddie pools, unused bird baths, tins in the yard, and even inside old tires.
  • Change the water in birdbaths, plant pots, and drip trays at least once a week.
  • Clean the debris out of your rain gutters to allow proper drainage.
  • Use a mosquito repellent with deet when you’re outside.
  • Check around outdoor faucets and air conditioning units and repair leaks or puddles.
  • Cover trash containers to keep out rain water.
The Bug Man also offers a seasonal mosquito reduction program. Please call our office at 615.217.7284 for more information on how we can reduce the mosquito population in your yard.

Free Termite Inspection Helps Homeowners Protect Their Homes

Termite Inspection Helps Homeowners Protect Their Homes

The best things in life are free. Protecting your home from termites is one of the best things you can do! And, in the case of our termite inspections, it’s also free!

We receive numerous calls from people in the Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Christiana, Rockvale, and Lebanon area about termites. A lot of the people who call are surprised that we offer a free termite inspection. They ask us why we would freely provide that service.

Our technician prepares to inspect for termites.

Our answer to that oft-asked question is this: We want to help you protect your home and we want to give you the education and resources you need to protect your home.

If you have any questions about our termite options, please call us at 615-217-7284, follow us on Facebook, or tweet us on Twitter.

Murfreesboro Main Street JazzFest is May 4 and 5

Main street

April showers brings May flowers and Murfeesboro’s own Main Street Jazz Festival on May 4 and 5.

Admission is free to this popular event in downtown Murfreesboro. Watch local bands as well as some of the best live jazz music out there, including the 129th U.S. Army Jazz Band Ensemble. The YouTube clip we posted features the U.S. Army Band.

Other notable ensembles are: Music City Swing, MTSU Jazz Ensemble, The Kelli Cox Collaborative, MYJO, Everyday Magic, Connie Florance, and Denny Jiosa.

Our owner–Dan Cassidy–has been volunteering for the Jazz Festival for over 11 years.

If you’re in the area, it would be worth your while to make a trek out to see Jazz Fest. Maybe you’ll drive by our new building on 606 S. Church Street along the way!

Lots of New, New, New in Our Company News

The Bug Man in Central TN

We really are growing a lot here at The Bug Man! In early February, we moved into our new office at 606 S. Church Street. At the end of March, we added two new trucks to our ‘bugged’ out fleet of bug-busting, technician-toting work trucks. And here we are, already in April, and we even have a few new employees.

Here are a few pictures and a YouTube video documenting our recent changes. As you can see, the video was taken before our building was repainted. You can always find updates on our Facebook and Twitter, and even on our Pinterest. Please join us there. We’d love to talk to you!

Our new, freshly painted building
Our new ‘bugged’ out trucks

Experimenting with Ants

Experimenting with Ants

Reasons why DIY Pest Control May Not Work

Experimenting with ants is interesting! If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a 22-minute-long video is worth about eleven million words. 🙂 To spread the wealth, we split the video up into two separate segments.

One of our technicians put together an impromptu experiment to show what happens to ants when different pesticides are used. He experimented with water, a repellent, a non-repellent, granular bait, and gel bait.

If you’ve ever gone to the store to buy your own spray and wondered why that spray didn’t work, this video will answer that for you. If you’ve tried a bunch of different things and the ants are still there, this will show you why.

Without further adieu, we give you Ant Experiment, Part 1:

And Ant Experiment, Part 2:

Feedback in the comments is always appreciated. Or, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter at @TheBugManTN.

Ants on a Potted Plant in Murfreesboro, TN

Ants on a Potted Plant

It’s the first day of spring! And with our warm weather comes lots of ants. Lots and lots and lots and lots of ants. And then more ants.

‘Ant’yways, one of our Quarterly Pest Control customers recently called us to see what we could do to get rid of an ant invasion at her home. Dan Cassidy, owner of The Bug Man, captured a video of the pesky ants.

If you continue to find ants indoors, there is a good chance that they may be nesting inside the house.  Many times the ant nest is relocated indoors with a potted plant.  They will nest inside the soil and when you move the plant inside, the nest of ants will move with the plant.  Always check between the potted plant before bringing them inside.  This will help deter this problem.

Ants will also be attracted to potted plants on patios, sunrooms, porches, and even indoors.  The ants like the frequent watering the plant requires, many of the plants also have aphids that the ants are attracted to.

A Dream Come True: We’re Hosting Our Blog on Our Website

Hosting Our Blog on Our Website

We’re now hosting our blog on our website. Go to The Bug Man for future blog updates. Hello, readers!

We’ve got an exciting announcement! After years of waiting and sighing and hoping that our website platform would provide a viable blog platform, our dream has come true!

During a recent trip on the information superhighway via Google, we discovered that there’s a downloadable WordPress plugin for our website.

We downloaded the plugin and now The Bug Man blog is up and running on thebugman.us. From now on we’ll be hosting our blog on our website. Please visit us there for future blog posts.

Thanks for reading!