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How Flies Can Invade a Clean House

Flies infesting Central TN home - The Bug Man

Although flies are typically seen as a pest problem during the summer, they can also be a nuisance at other times of the year. Bottom line: nobody enjoys dealing with flies indoors. Their presence can be frustrating and make you wonder how they got indoors in the first place. To avoid having to deal with flies in your Tennessee property, the key is to know what’s drawing them indoors.

The experts at The Bug Man are here to help—read on to learn all you need to know about keeping flies from invading your home.

Why Do Flies Come Inside?

We’re all used to seeing flies outdoors, but it can be a real pain to find them invading your own home. Flies get inside for a number of reasons, usually in pursuit of trash, rotting food, or moisture. A common house fly is attracted to decaying organic matter like feces and rotting meat. Drain flies, on the other hand, are attracted to moisture and will lay their eggs inside of drains. Additional conditions that might attract flies in your home include uncovered trash cans, pet feces, animal carcasses in your walls, rotting fruit, spilled sugary drinks, and more. Once flies get indoors, they can reproduce quickly, making it important to learn how to prevent them.

How to Keep Flies Outside

Flies are more common in the summer, but they can be drawn inside your property in the winter as well. This makes it important to learn how to keep flies out all year round. By preventing these pests in the first place, you will not have to deal with them later. Take the following steps to prevent flies in your home:

In the fall as the temperature begins to change, it is imperative to seal off your home to keep flies out. Do this by caulking cracks on the property. Sealing windows and doors is especially important, as some species such as cluster flies tend to enter homes under baseboards and window frames.
In order to prevent nuisance flies like gnats and fruit flies, it’s best to eliminate their food and shelter sources. You should always throw away rotting food from your pantry or fridge. Take your garbage outside regularly and use tight-fitting lids on your cans. Lastly, focus on sealing cracks and crevices around windows and doors near your kitchen.

Need Help Getting Rid of Flies?

If you have a fly infestation on your property, you should hire a local fly control expert. At The Bug Man, we work hard to eliminate the conditions that lead to fly infestations in your home.

To learn more, contact us today!

flies

Do Bees Die in the Winter

Everyone associates the buzzing of bees with spring or summer. Bees and all other types of stinging insects are at their peak during these times of the year, often during the fall. So what happens during the winter? It’s hard to imagine that any insect can survive Central Tennessee’s cold temperatures. The truth is that certain types of bees can survive the winter months depending on how low the temperature drops. Here’s what you need to know about winter bees from the experts at The Bug Man.

Winter Bee Activity

Some species of bees seem to disappear in the late summer or early fall after their activity peaks. If the temperature drops below 50°F, bees are less likely to be as active as they are in the summer. The three most common bees in our region each react differently to winter temperatures:

Honey bees: For honey bees to survive the winter, they must have a robust population with a secure hive and a large store of honey. Male honey bees die off, leaving the female bees to crowd tightly together in their hive with the queen in the middle. The female worker bees will vibrate and shiver around the queen bee, keeping alive until warmer days return.
Bumblebees: All bumblebees in a colony except the queen will die if temperatures become too cold. The queen bees will hibernate, or overwinter, by digging small holes in the dirt.
Carpenter bees: These wood-destroying bees can remain dormant through the winter in their nests. During the winter months, young carpenter bees that hatched in the summer will hibernate in their nests. During the summer, older bees will die after larvae are laid.

Preventing Bees in Central Tennessee

During the winter, you don’t have to worry about a full-blown infestation, but it’s a great time to start getting ready for the coming months. Follow these steps before bees become active in the spring:

To prevent pests from entering your home, seal cracks and crevices around the exterior of the property.
Plant your gardens far away from your property, or stick to grasses and non-flowering shrubs.
Mow your lawn regularly and avoid letting areas become overgrown.
Install tight-fitting screens on your windows and doors.
Fill in holes in the yard left by animals to get rid of nesting sites for bees and other wasps.
Invest in tight-fitting lids for outdoor trash and recycling cans.

Need Help With Bee Control?

Any time of year, you should contact your local bee control experts if you have bee problems. You can count on us to identify areas around your property that could harbor nests or overwintering stinging insects. As spring and summer approach, we can also help you prepare for pests.

Contact us today to get started!

When Indian Meal Moths Attack

Indian meal moths are one of the most common pantry pests in the region and one of the more unfortunate pests to discover. There’s nothing worse than getting ready to bake some delicious deserts only to find out that Indian meal moths or their larvae are crawling around in your ingredients. They hide in items that we pick up from the grocery store and pop out at just the right time to leave us discouraged and disgusted. So, what can you do when Indian meal moths claim your pantry in Murfreesboro TN? Read on for advice from The Bug Man’s technicians!

Do I Have Indian Meal Moths?

There are many kinds of moths around Central TN, but Indian meal moths are a particular moth species known and named for infesting dry goods, like cornmeal. These are a few ways you can identify the moths in your home as Indian meal moths:

Indian meal moths will often be found in your kitchen, and even more often in your pantry, which is dark and full of food for them to eat and hide in.
They have distinct reddish-brown markings arranged in layered patterns across their wings.
You will usually find them around or inside boxes that you’ve picked up from the grocery store that were already damged. Look for rips and tears on food items in your pantry.
Their larvae look like tiny, cream-colored worms with dark heads.

Tips for Preventing Indianmeal Moths

Unfortunately, it can be hard to prevent an infestation of Indian meal moths before it gets out of hand. If you can stop an infestation before it even starts, you’ll save a lot of time, effort, and money. Here are some tips for keeping Indian meal moths out of your home:

Look for damage before purchasing boxed or canned food items.
Avoid leaving unsealed food out.
Store your food in airtight containers and stow it away after eating.
Keep your pantry closed as often as you can.
Fix any broken screens on your windows and doors.
Seal off any gaps or cracks in your exterior walls and foundation.

Expert Pantry Pest Control

If you’ve tried everything and are still finding Indian meal moths in your dry food products, it’s time to bring in the help of a professional pest control company. The Bug Man’s technicians are trained to identify all types of pantry pests living around Murfreesboro TN and remove them from both spots that you’ve found and spots where you wouldn’t think to look. For a free quote or to learn more about our Indian meal moth removal services, contact us today!

Indian Meal Moths pantry pests

Can Ticks Survive through the Winter

A tick on a dog in Murfreesboro TN - The Bug Man

Many of us see winter as the season where pests try to get inside our homes. While this may be true, it doesn’t exempt us from dealing with pests outdoors, too! Some of the sneakiest offenders in the winter in Central TN are ticks. While many other kinds of bugs scramble for indoor protection or die off in the harsh cold, ticks make do with what they have and are able to survive at relatively impressive rates. If you’re looking to learn more about ticks’ survivability in the winter and the ways we can avoid them, read on for expert advice from The Bug Man!

When Are Ticks In Season in Central TN?

People usually associate ticks with the summer. Walking your dogs through tall grass is often advised against during the warmer months for the number of ticks that could be lurking around, waiting for a host to pass by. There is definitely truth to this—ticks thrive in warm and humid climates, preferring to live in places averaging upwards of 85% humidity.

So, if heat and humidity are the keys to their survival, do ticks die in the winter? Although the conditions are unpreferable, ticks are fully capable of surviving during the colder seasons. Here’s how they do it:

If they can find a suitable host, they will latch onto them for as long as they can, feeding off of them and hiding in their fur when resting.
If they cannot find a host, they will look for piles of leaf litter to provide a temporary shelter
Some ticks will burrow underground for a more stable layer of protection and insulation

How to Steer Clear of Winter Ticks

You’re much less likely to run into ticks when the temperatures drop below 45 degrees and the ground is covered in water, ice, or snow. However, winter tick problems can still arise if you don’t keep your guard up against them. Here are a few ways you can defend your family against ticks in Central TN:

Check your pets when they come back inside. If a tick latches onto your dog, they will stay there until discovered. Conduct a tick check after letting your dogs outside or taking them on a walk.
Don’t let yard waste build up. Since ticks hide in leaf piles and other organic matter during the winter, you want to make sure your yard is cleared of any potential hiding places.
Hire your local tick exterminators. Tick barrier treatments can make your yard uninhabitable for all of the many tick species living in our region.

Tick Control this Winter

Perhaps the greatest danger associated with ticks is the transmission of Lyme disease, which is carried by some deer ticks living in Central TN. To protect your family from dangerous ticks this winter, talk to your local pest control company. The Bug Man’s tick control team has been protecting the Murfreesboro area from parasitic pests for 20 years and can develop a custom plan for your property, commercial or residential. For a free quote, reach out today!

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How Do I Get Rid of Bed Bugs

What bed bugs look like in Central TN - The Bug Man

No one wants to wake up with bed bug bites—the immediate realization that you have been bitten is only worsened by the understanding that they’re probably all over your bed. One of the unfortunate misconceptions surrounding bed bugs, though, is that they only want to live in your bed. When bed bugs find their way into your home, they can infest all kinds of furniture and find many other suitable hiding places. If you don’t take care of them quickly and exhaustively, they can stay in your house for months on end. To learn the best ways to get rid of bed bugs in Central TN, read on for informed advice from The Bug Man’s bed bug experts!

Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation

There are multiple signs to look for if you’re worried about a bed bug infestation in your home. Here are the top three:

Bite marks: People usually only discover their bed bug infestation after they’ve been bitten. Bed bug bites will appear in zig-zag patterns of small, red bumps along skin that you leave exposed at night.
Filth: Wherever bed bugs go, they leave behind reddish-brown blood smears, spots of excrement, and tiny, white eggshells of newly-hatched bed bugs.
Living bed bugs: Bed bugs are hard to spot; they are very small and good at hiding. Look around your mattress, box spring, furniture, and baseboards for the best chances of catching them.

Get Rid of Bed Bugs Quickly

The most reliable way to get rid of bed bugs is to overheat them. If there are active bed bugs living in your bedding, transport it carefully to the washer and dryer for high-heat cycles. This will eliminate all living bed bugs within, as well as their eggs. Afterward, check around any gaps that you feel you might have missed active bed bugs in—this extends to molding, baseboards, door jambs, and power outlets. You can also scrub and vacuum furniture and carpeting that you can’t wash in a washing machine.

Bed Bug Pest Control in Central TN

Sometimes, bed bug infestations reach critical levels at which point DIY bed bug control no longer works. If your bed bug problem has spiraled out of control, reach out to your local pest control company. The Bug Man’s technicians are trained in multiple types of professional bed bug control, from focused spot treatments to property-wide heat treatments. We will send out our bed bug experts to inspect your home and assess your infestation to find the best way to get rid of bed bugs quickly, and for good. For a free quote, contact our team today!

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Protect Your Firewood from Home Invading Pests

A subterranean termite found in Central TN - The Bug Man

As we head into winter, many of us look forward to getting cozy in front of a warm fireplace. Unfortunately, if you want to stay prepared to keep warm in the winter, you also have to stay prepared against inevitable pest problems that will develop without proper precautions. We have helped many people around Central TN get rid of pest problems in their house, in the process discovering that their firewood is the source of the problem. The Bug Man is here to teach you how to avoid pest problems caused by poor firewood management—read on to learn!

What Pests Infest Firewood?

Having insects in your firewood isn’t always a big deal. Boxelder bugs, earwigs, moths, some spiders, and more pests will do no more than become an annoyance when they decide to look for shelter in our woodpiles. However, there are a few insects that we have to be on the lookout for, those being:

These insects pose varying degrees of danger to your home. Of course, bees and wasps always come with the threat of stings, and even anaphylaxis in some. However, the first three pests listed can all cause damage to wooden structures, with termites being able to cause thousands of dollars in damage.

How to Keep Pests Out of Your Woodpile

In order to avoid a termite infestation or an outbreak of many other kinds of pests, there are a few precautions you must take. Here are The Bug Man’s best pieces of advice for woodpile pest prevention:

Store firewood away from your house: The further away from your home you stash your firewood, the lesser the chance of a pest infestation. Many people lean their woodpiles against the outside of their home, only to find out that that has caused a pest infestation.
Keep firewood covered and off of the ground: Since insects like termites and carpenter ants live in the soil, keeping your woodpile on the ground leaves destructive pests easy access to your home. Drape a tarp over your pile and keep it elevated however possible.
Choose older wood first and burn it quickly: Older wood is more likely to be hosting pests, but if you take your wood straight to the fire, you shouldn’t have insects making their way out.

Need Pest Control Help this Winter?

If you suspect that your woodpile is causing pests to invade your home, talk to your local pest control program about your issues. The Bug Man’s team is trained to carry out exhaustive property inspections, leaving no stone (or log) unturned in the pursuit of pests. Don’t let pests take over your home this winter—contact us for a free quote today!

beetles carpenter ants carpenter bees termites wasps

When Mice and Rats Come Knocking

When winter rolls around, sometimes all we want to do is sit by a cozy fire and relax. It turns out that many wild animals in Central TN feel the same. All sorts of pests try to find their way into our homes, but some of the most worrisome of these are rodents. Rats and mice are the worst offenders of breaking into our homes and building nests, causing damage (and even fire hazards), spreading filth, and possibly contaminating our homes with disease. To learn what to do to prevent a rodent infestation this year, read on for advice from The Bug Man’s technicians!

Mice and Rats in the Wall Want 3 Things

Rodents, like all other wild animals, have to take precautions to prepare themselves for a long, cold winter. They need to maintain themselves through finding a consistent hideout that creates ample resource accessibility. These are the three things that rodents need to get through the winter:

Warmth: Our insulated homes provide a warm place for rats and mice to hide when temperatures drop below sustainable levels.
Shelter: Rodents, especially mice, have lots of natural predators roaming around Central TN. They build nests inside our homes to have a safe place to hide out.
Food: Although they can go for a while without food, rats and mice will never pass up a carb-heavy snack or some leftovers from our trash.

How to Keep Rats and Mice Outside

Some of us are familiar with the sound of rodents scurrying around in our walls, but many of us have trouble even locating their nests, let alone getting rid of them entirely. The best way to prevent a rodent infestation is to set preventative measures in place to keep them out of your home in the first place. Here are our top tips:

Seal off any potential access points. Rats only need about ½” of space to crawl through; mice, just ¼”! Seal any cracks in your foundation, walls, and roofing, and install screens on doors, windows, vents, and chimneys.
Prevent food access. This can be done by cleaning dishes promptly, quickly wiping up spills, using sealable trash bags, and taking your garbage out as often as possible.
Maintain your yard. Keep mulch away from the foundation of your home, clean up any yard waste piles, and keep your grass cut short to prevent outdoor hiding places.

Professional Rodent Exclusion with The Bug Man

If you’re already dealing with rodent issues or are looking to take a militant stand against rats and mice this winter, reach out to your local pest control company. We train our technicians to keep rodents out through a multi-step process of holistic inspections, multiple options for extermination and removal, including baits, traps, and relocation, and preventative maintenance to keep rodents out all year long. Contact our rodent removal team today for a free quote!

mice Rats

Keep Pests Out Over the Holidays

A cockroach indoors in Central TN - The Bug Man

A pest infestation is one of the last things you want to deal with during the holiday season. The family is gathering, meals are being prepared, gifts are being exchanged, and all of a sudden you have cockroaches scurrying along your baseboards or a mouse running out from under the tree. Many common practices of the holiday season make it easy for all sorts of pests to spread between homes and multiply easily. Looking to learn how to keep pests away in Central TN this holiday season? Read on for advice from The Bug Man’s technicians!

Why Do Pests Spread During the Holiday Season?

Pests are given new opportunities to spread during the holidays that we wouldn’t normally think about. These are the main ways that holiday season pest infestations start:

With everyone shopping online, pests have all sorts of opportunities to find temporary shelter in packaging and permanent homes where they end up.
Holiday plants like garlands, wreaths, and trees can all host tons of tiny pests inside them when they’re put out on display.
Decorations that are left in storage for the vast majority of the year can accumulate large pest populations. When brought out for the holidays, pests living in storage can spread across your home.

3 Ways to Prevent Holiday Season Pests On Your Own

Among all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s important not to let your guard down against pests. Here are our technicians’ top three tips to help you keep pests outbreaks from amassing in your home during the holidays:

Inspect your firewood for pests before bringing it inside. Keeping your firewood outside and off of the ground is a great way to avoid pest problems indoors.
Before putting up a tree, wreath, garlands, or other greenery, shake them out outside to see if there are any pests living within them.
Check the boxes you store your decorations in for evidence of pest problems. This could be scratches, bite marks, droppings, and more.

Holiday Season Pest Protection in Central TN

There’s no time to be stressed out about a pest infestation during the holidays. There is shopping to do, plans to make, and so much more on your plate. Leave the worrying to your local pest control company! When you work with The Bug Man’s technicians, you can expect a full property inspection, necessary extermination work, preventative maintenance, and complete, detailed reports of their work and findings. For a free quote on holiday season pest control, reach out to our team today!

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Exposing the Brown Recluse

A brown recluse in Central TN - The Bug Man

Brown recluse spiders have an air of mystery about them that starts with their name and extends to their habits, characteristics, and reputation. You may have never seen one in Central TN, or even seen one and thought nothing of it, but an unfortunate few of us have been bitten by brown recluses. This is certainly an experience that you won’t forget!

To learn more about brown recluse spiders, their bites, and what you can do if you find one in your home, read on for advice from The Bug Man’s team!

What Do Brown Recluse Spiders Look Like?

It can be easy to mistake any brown house spider in your home for a brown recluse if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Here are some features that will help you tell apart brown recluse spiders from other spider species in Central TN:

They have monochromatic bodies ranging from light to dark brown
They are around ½” in length with long legs and a particularly bulbous abdomen
They have a unique, violin-shaped marking on their back

When brown recluse spiders work their way inside, they will look for crawl spaces, storage areas, or other dark, cluttered, and unoccupied places to take shelter.

Are Brown Recluse Spiders Dangerous?

Black widows and brown recluses are often grouped together as deadly spiders that won’t hesitate to bite. In truth, the brown recluse is a timid creature that will only bite when under serious duress. The venom of the brown recluse is less powerful than that of the black widow, but when a brown recluse bites, it does not hold back. The amount of venom that they inject can cause open, ulcerating sores in humans, and the scars they leave can last for years.

If you are experiencing lots of pain or an open sore after a brown recluse bite, consult a medical professional immediately.

Spiders in Eastern & Central Virginia

If you believe that you’ve found a brown recluse in your home in Central TN, leave it alone. It’s best to have a professional spider control expert remove any venomous spiders for you. The Bug Man’s technicians are trained to safely and quickly control spider populations and teach customers the best ways to prevent spider infestations going forward. To learn more about our services and receive a free quote, contact our team today!

brown recluses

Fall Means Mice and Rats Chewing Wires

Some rats found in Central TN - The Bug Man

When we think of pest problems here in Central TN, the most destructive one that comes to mind is a termite infestation. However, during the fall and winter when termites aren’t often swarming, arguably the most important destructive pests to worry about are rodents. Rats and mice are notorious for chewing through all sorts of things in our homes, including our electrical wiring.

If you’ve noticed torn or tarnished cables in your home, you are probably dealing with a rodent infestation of some sort. Read on to learn more about rodent problems and what you can do to stop them with The Bug Man!

Why Do Mice and Rats Chew Wires?

Rodents are known to be sneaky pests. They can live in your home for months without you ever discovering them. During the fall, rats and mice look to find places in our homes to hide out from the impending winter. If you hear scurrying noises in your walls, attic, or crawl spaces, check around for signs of bite marks on your home’s structural pieces or torn electrical wires.

Every rodent species has a pair of upper and lower teeth that never stop growing, called incisors. These teeth have to be constantly ground together or shaved away by chewing on whatever they can find. When rats and mice nest in our homes, they solve this problem by chewing up our wooden structures and electrical wiring. Noticing torn-up cable insulation is usually a sign of a rodent infestation.

Why Are Rats Dangerous?

When rats or mice get to the wiring in your car or house, they chew through the layer of protective coating that keeps the copper or aluminum safely encased. When it becomes exposed, it can cause sparks that pose a serious risk of fires, especially when surrounded by a house’s wooden structures.

It’s crucial to take precautions against rodents in the fall to ensure that you don’t have any unwanted guests in the winter. You can take these steps to keep your property protected:

Seal any gaps or holes in your foundation, roof, or walls
Store your food promptly after eating and seal your trash cans tightly
Set your baits or traps outside to keep rodents from entering your home in the first place
Call your local pest control company for an inspection

How to Remove Rodents in Central TN

One of the main problems with rodents is that they could be in your walls right now without you even noticing. If you’re worried that you might have rats in the house or mice in your attic, call up The Bug Man for an inspection. Our rodent specialists are trained to discover pest activity in even the most hidden and secluded corners of your home. To find out more about our services and receive a free estimate, contact our team today!

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