Finding Freedom from Frustrating Fleas

Freedom from Frustrating Fleas

Find freedom from frustrating fleas with these few flea facts! When it comes to pests, fleas are beasts! Small, but mighty, those minuscule monsters can really create chaos in your home.

A Few Flea Facts

  • Like a butterfly or moth, fleas go through a complete life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult)
  • Only adult fleas bite
  • Some fleas can stay in the pupa stage for up to six months; other fleas can hatch in a few days if the conditions are right
  • The vibration caused by humans and animals walking or vacuuming can cause adult fleas to instantly hatch

Finding Freedom from Fleas

If you suspect that you have fleas, identify the source of the problem. This especially applies to pets. If your pet dog or cat has fleas, take steps to treat the fleas on them. Then, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Pay particular attention to vacuum the spots where your pet commonly hangs out. i.e. A sunny spot next to the window, under the dining room table, next to the laundry basket. Dispose of the vacuum bag properly to ensure that the fleas don’t infest your vacuum cleaner.

Call a professional pest management company. Hey, that’s us! We can help you identify the source of the flea problem and work with you to eliminate those pests from your home.

If you have a flea treatment done in your home, here are a few important things to remember:

  • Make arrangements to be gone for 2-4 hours so the flea treatment has enough time to dry. Both your family and your pets need to be gone during the treatment.
  • Clean your floor. Pick up everything, even under the bed and in your closets. This includes pet dishes. After everything is picked up, vacuum-like you have never vacuumed before.
  • It’s time to move the furniture…so that you can vacuum underneath it. Who knows what treasures you may find! Or what stash of coins may fall out.
  • Fold over the blankets on your bed and/or couch so they are well away from the floor.
  • Tie window curtains or drapes to make it easier for the technician to treat your floor
  • Save the fish! Cover your fish tanks and turn off the air supply to the tank during the treatment.

Once the flea treatment has dried and you are back in your home, continue on in your quest to be a professional vacuumer. Because of the vibrations of you and your vacuum, the remaining pupa will hatch into adults. You want the eggs to hatch so that the product in your newly-treated carpet kills them. Once you have become the vacuum master, find others (*coughyourkidsoryourfriendscough*) who you can train to follow you in your Jedi vacuum ways. If you’re feeling frisky, perhaps you can train them to do chores too.

Tips for Reducing Mosquitoes

Tips for Reducing Mosquitoes

Here are a few tips to help ward off the mosquitoes in your area.

To aid in the effort to keep your home bite-free, check for mosquito motels around your property. It doesn’t take long to scope out your property to look for potential mosquito hangouts.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

That short, yet succinct statement is true right now in Middle Tennessee. Especially in the area of cicadas vs. mosquitoes.

Since they only come around every 13 years, it seems like cicadas would be the biggest news in the bug world. However, due to a lot of rain and hot weather in April, those pesky pests called mosquitoes are making quite a big bite in the pest popularity contest. Literally!

To fight the bite, The Bug Man offers a mosquito management program during the summer months that is intended to help reduce the breeding and resting areas of mosquitoes around your property. Call (615.217.7284) or email (service@thebugman.us) our office for more information.

To aid in the effort to keep your home bite-free, check for mosquito motels around your property. It doesn’t take long to scope out your property to look for potential mosquito hangouts. Here are a few tips to help ward off the mosquitoes in your area.

  • Dispose of old tires, tin cans, buckets, drums, bottles, plastic sheeting, or any water-holding containers.
  • Clean debris from rain gutters to allow proper drainage.
  • Fill in or drain low places (puddles, ruts) in yard.
  • Keep drains, ditches, and culverts clean of weeds and trash so water can flow properly.
  • Cover trash containers to keep out rain water.
  • Check around outdoor faucets and air conditioner units and repair leaks or puddles.
  • Empty plastic wading pools at least once per week and store indoors when not in use.
  • Make sure your backyard pool is cared for while away from the home.
  • Fill in tree holes and stumps that hold water with sand or cement
  • Change the water in bird baths, plant pots, and drip trays at least once per week.
  • Keep the grass cut short and shrubbery well trimmed around the house where adult mosquitoes may rest.
  • Irrigate lawns and gardens carefully to prevent water from standing.
  • Eliminate seepage from cisterns, cesspools, and septic tanks.
  • Stock ornamental pools with top feeding predacious minnows.
  • Check window and door screens on the home.  Be sure they are in good condition to seal out mosquitoes.
  • Wear light colored clothing, plus long sleeve shirts and long pants for extra protection.
  • Use repellants on skin and clothing while outdoors.

Customer Service Testimonials

Customer Service Testimonials

Like most people, we love being told that we’re doing a good job. It’s encouraging and uplifting. Whenever a customer calls or writes in to tell us that they appreciate our services, it makes our day! Recently, Sean H. sent us an email to tell us how much he appreciated his technician. We’d like to share it with you.Like most people, we love being told that we’re doing a good job. It’s encouraging and uplifting. Whenever a customer calls or writes in to tell us that they appreciate our services, it makes our day!

Recently, Sean H. sent us an email to tell us how much he appreciated his technician. We’d like to share it with you.

Hello Dan, I hope you don’t mind that I got your email from your receptionist, I just want to let you know that I had a great experience with Stan, a new employee of yours. He was very knowledgeable and personable. I was comfortable having him in and around my house. He answered all my questions with genuine interest and effort and made suggestions based on my questions. I had never used The Bug Man before, but you can be sure that I will continue to do so and also recommend them to my friends and family. Please give Stan another thank you from me. 

Thanks for the encouragement, Sean! It’s a pleasure to serve you.

If you Googled The Bug Man, you’d most likely find our Places page. A recent review from Wisegal had this to say about us:

Decided to give this company a try. They went above my expectations for service and I trust their product, being I was concerned about my animals.

Another review–written by an anonymous source and taken from Superpages.com–reads as follows:

I have had a few different exterminators come to my home. I lost faith in them until I called The Bug Man and they sent a technician named Dan Lambert to my house, I was impressed immediately, he showed up actually a little early after calling and treated my house very well. He explained everything he was doing, saw him do things I had never seen an exterminator do. Very professional. This young man took care of an ant problem in one visit, that two other companies could not do in three years. I believe The Bug Man is the only true exterminator company in Rutherford County. 

We are grateful for feedback from our customers. If you ever come across a listing about The Bug Man on the internet, we welcome your comments and feedback.

The Bug Man Blogager Hunt Contest

The Bug Man Blogager contest

The time has come to unleash the contest we’ve talked about for eons!

We present to you… The Blogager Hunt! 

Chances are—at one point in your life—you’ve probably gone on a scavenger hunt or played a trivia game. But we bet you’ve never went on a Blogager Hunt.

What is a Blogager Hunt anyway? Well, friends, it’s a way for you to use your investigative skills to find the answers to trivia questions so you can win sweet prizes.

Here’s the deal:

We’ll ask you trivia questions. And you’ll use our blog and Facebook posts to find the answers. The answer to every question we’ll ask is either on our blog or Facebook. You just have to find it.

Easy, eh?

Contest Details:

During the month of May, we will post Blogager Hunt questions on our Facebook page.

Visit Murfreesboro’s Main Street JazzFest on May 6 and May 7

Main street

Dan Cassidy–owner of The Bug Man–has been on the Main Street Jazz Fest Committee every year since the beginning of The Bug Man. In honor of Dan’s very Tennessee-appropriate volunteerism, please make a trip out to Main Street Jazz Fest on May 6 and 7. Visit jazzfestmainstreet.com for more info. Dan Cassidy–the owner of The Bug Man–has been on the Main Street JazzFest Committee every year since the beginning of The Bug Man.

Let’s do a little math. He’s been on the committee since 2001. He’s volunteered at least 50 hours every year. It’s 2011 now. So that’s 10 years of 50 hours. Coming out to…over 500 hours of volunteering! Yeesh!

That’s a lot of volunteering, Dan-o!

In honor of Dan’s very Tennessee-appropriate volunteerism, please make a ‘note’ to make a trip out to Main Street JazzFest on May 6 and 7. Maybe you’ll see Dan sport the jazz hands he developed as a result of being on the committee for 10 years. 🙂

For a schedule of events (ranging from middle schoolers to college kids to high schoolers), visitjazzfestmainstreet.com.

A highlight of JazzFest is the U.S. Army Ground Forces Band the Jazz Guardians. They play Saturday night at 7 p.m.

The 13-Year Cicadas Set to Invade Middle Tennessee

The cicadas are coming!

The cicadas are coming!

The cicadas are coming! You may have heard rumors that the dreaded 13-year cicadas are emerging this year in Tennessee. It’s true. They are coming between April and June.

You may have heard rumors that the dreaded 13-year cicadas are emerging this year in Tennessee. It’s true. They are coming between April and June. It is predicted that they will appear when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Several have been spotted in the area already. In no time, there will be thousands of them!

What exactly are the 13-year cicadas? And why are they coming out this year? Don’t they come out every year? What makes this year special? What’s the difference between a 13-year and a 17-year cicada? What’s the difference between a cicada and a locust?

Cicadas are known for their beady little eyes. Contrary to popular myth, they are not blind. They can see just fine. However, fine eyesight does not prevent them from flying onto humans occasionally.

There are several different types of cicadas. You’re probably familiar with the annual cicadas that come out every summer, typically called dog-day cicadas. The rarer 13- and 17-year cicadas are growing underground all the time, feeding on nutrients in trees, but only come out after they’ve fully grown (after 13 or 17 years). The difference between a 13-year and a 17-year cicada is that one species simply takes four years longer to mature than the other.

When the 13-year cicadas appear and make a loud racket, it’s called an emergence. After maturing and growing into adulthood underground for 13 years–they are ready to emerge above ground and begin mating. The loud sound that you hear comes from the males. It’s their mating call. The females hear the mating call, find the males, mate and then lay their eggs in tree branches. Check out this informational page from The Tennessean for more details.

The reason the cicada emergence is so loud is because millions of cicada babies grew into adulthood underground together for 13 years. Then those millions appear above ground singing together in a shrieking chorus, ready to mate and create millions more babies. It’s an ongoing cycle.

The 13-year cicadas sing loudest during the hottest parts of day. They do sing at night, but not as frequently or as loudly. If you hear singing at night, it’s most likely a cricket, katydid or frog.

At The Bug Man, we don’t treat for cicadas because treating them with pesticides has proved ineffective. Other than producing a loud and annoying noise, cicadas are not harmful to humans. They don’t attack or sting. They don’t destroy the wood in houses.

However, if you have young trees growing in your yard, it’s recommended that you cover them with bird netting or cheese cloth, or to delay pruning until the cicadas have left because female cicadas cut and pierce the branches of young trees, making the trees weak.

Also, if you were planning on any outdoor painting project this summer, perhaps you should reschedule to another time because flying cicadas might ruin your paint job.

Although cicadas are often called locusts, they are not synonymous. Locusts are short-horned grasshoppers. Cicadas are an entirely different, plant-sucking creature.

The 13-year cicadas are a mysterious thing. Many people don’t understand this phenomenon and will respond in fear. If this blog was helpful and informative to you, please forward it along to your friends and family. Hopefully knowing more about cicadas will help you endure their courtship choruses.

The Bug Man Joins the Blue Raider Athletic Association

The Bug Man in Central TN

The Bug Man just became a member of the Blue Raider Athletic Association (BRAA). As a member, we help provide scholarships to MTSU student athletes. MTSU Raiders Ride!

The Bug Man just became a member of the Blue Raider Athletic Association (BRAA). As a member, we help provide scholarships to MTSU student athletes.

BRAA helps provide scholarships to 17 athletic programs, including:

Men’s: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Indoor & Outdoor Track, Cross Country

Women’s: Basketball, Volleyball, Softball, Tennis, Soccer, Indoor & Outdoor Track, Cross Country, Golf

Maybe we’ll see you while we’re watching the Blue Raiders score a goal unit basket to beat their opponents soundly in an upcoming skirmish!

“When you treat for bugs, will it hurt my pet”

Will bug treatment affect my pet

One of the things we get asked most frequently here at The Bug Man is, “When you treat for bugs, will it hurt my pet?” This is a common question deserving of a clear answer. In short, when pest control products are prepared and applied properly according to label specifications, they will not hurt you, your family, or your pet.One of the things we get asked most frequently here at The Bug Man is, “When you treat  for bugs, will it hurt my pet?”

This is a common question deserving of a clear answer.

In short, when pest control products are prepared and applied properly according to label specifications, they will not hurt you, your family, or your pet.

Join with us now in a sigh of relief and a smile of appreciation. And, please read on to learn more.

The Bug Man takes great care in following the safety and application instructions for the products that we use. We measure the amount of product necessary for each pest control service and apply it specifically to a targeted area. We do not spray your home or workplace frivolously. There are some instances where we must use a technique called fogging, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Also, on the service tickets for our customers, we note how much of each product we apply.

In some treatment situations, we will request that pets and people vacate the premises for a particular period of time.  This is generally only required for flea and bed bug treatments.  Most other times, Felix and Fido can stay cozy on the couch.

We are a Quality Pro company. What that means is that we adhere to certain guidelines:

* Employee background checks

* Drug-free workplace

* Our technicians wear uniforms

* Customer service

* Stewarding the environment through following directions on product labels, applying products properly and disposing of products safely

We love information and education at The Bug Man. If you have any questions about blogs, bugs or anything else, please, let us know. You can post questions and comments on our blog, Facebook or Twitter. Or you can call us at 615.217.7284.

Stink Bugs on the Rise in Middle Tennessee

Stink Bugs on the rise

When considering the odoriferous occasional invader that is the stink bug, they can be described much like Mr. Grinch:

“The three words that describe you are as follows, and I quote, ‘Stink, Stank, Stunk!’”

Tennessee, as well as 32 other states in America, are dealing with the rotten reality of stink bug infestations.

Tennessee, as well as 32 other states in America, are dealing with the rotten reality of stink bug infestations. Unfortunately, because they secrete a smelly liquid when threatened, even a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole won’t help.

Stink bugs have already been reported in the Middle Tennessee area. Some species of the bug attack crops and can cost farmers millions of dollars in damage. Other stink bugs only attack the noses of people who happen to step on or disturb them.

To prevent stink bugs from entering your home, make sure you seal around windows and doors with silicone-latex caulk. Also, patch any holes or replace any damaged screens on windows, porches or doors. Vacuuming an affected area may help, as long as the vacuum bag is disposed of properly and not left inside to release the nasty odor.

The National Pest Management Association warns homeowners this week that the bugs’ growing populations are likely to make infestations significantly worse this year. “This season’s stink bug population will be larger than in the past,” says Jim Fredericks, director of technical services for NPMA.

If you encounter stink-stank-stunk bugs in your home or work place, do not squash them. Call us at 615.217.7284 or email service@thebugman.us. We’re happy to help you defeat those mini Mr. Grinches!

The Buzz on Bees and Other Sting Things

The Buzz on Bees

“Killer” bees. Yellowjackets. Wasps. Nests. Allergies. Pain. Do you feel the fear? Honeybee, carpenter bee, bumble bee… How do I tell them apart?“Killer” bees. Yellowjackets. Wasps. Nests. Allergies. Pain. Do you feel the fear?

With warmer weather comes more bug activity, including bees and wasps. In this season, there are many different kinds of stinging insects flying around your home, car and work place. But you may not be able to tell those insects apart–especially if you swat at them fiercely or run away.

Through this blog, we’ll try to teach you a few memorable points about a few of the stinging insects active in your neighborhood. However, this explanation will not be exhaustive. If you’re seeing insect activity, please call us. We’ll come out and identify–as well as try to remove–the wasp nest or beehive from your property.

Carpenter Bee

Though carpenter bees don’t pose a public health threat. They do have the potential to damage wood through the building of their nests. Sounds a lot like termites, huh?

Painting and staining the wood on your house may help prevent carpenter bees because they prefer to nest in untreated wood. However, they will occasionally make themselves at home even in treated wood. If you discover carpenter bees, we will assist you in treating them, and recommend having the holes filled or repaired.

Bumble Bee (not to be confused with Honeybees)

These bees have quite a fuzzy appearance. However, don’t let their apparent softness fool you, because bumble bees can sting more than once. In defending their nest, bumble bees will chase any threatening thing (that means you) a considerable distance.

Dealing with bumble bees can prove tricky because they defend their homes so aggressively and can sting multiple times. Please don’t try to take care of a bumble bee nest on your own. For your own safety, let us help you.

Honeybee

These little buzzers only sting once. That’s good news if you ever come in contact (literally) with one. Unfortunately, a honeybee sting is one of the most painful stings. Like bumble bees, honeybees chase invaders of their nest for a relatively long distance.

Taking care of a honeybee nest is the same as taking care of a bumble bee nest. Consider the safety that comes from a professional pest management company and spare yourself the stinging.  If we find a honeybee nest, we recommend contacting a beekeeper to have them relocate the hive.

Though they can harm you, both the honeybee and bumble bee are beneficial because they help in the process of pollination.

“Killer” Bees

By the way, don’t worry, because “killer” bees aren’t active in Tennessee. However, if you visit Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada or Texas, you would find them there. The name “killer” bee is applied because they attack as a group, which causes more damage to humans. If someone is highly allergic to bee stings and gets attacked multiple times by this species of bee, the person may die of an allergic reaction, if left untreated.

Yellowjacket

Wrapping up today’s little list of sting things is the yellowjacket. Getting stung by a yellowjacket can cause an allergic reaction. Over 500,000 people are sent to the emergency room every year because of stinging pests like these.

Yellowjackets often hang out at BBQs and picnics near the sugary beverages and meaty meals, or by trash cans and recycling bins. Remember to properly dispose of your meats and sweets. Overall, proper trash disposal is very helpful in pest control.

If you suspect yellowjacket activity, call a pest professional.

Those are your bug basics for today. Thanks for reading!