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:

  1. 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.
  2. Before putting up a tree, wreath, garlands, or other greenery, shake them out outside to see if there are any pests living within them.
  3. 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!

What Just Bit Me? How to Identify Common Bug Bites

What mosquitoes look like in Central TN - The Bug Man

Having bug bites is never a good feeling, especially when you never catch the critter that did it to you. Lots of anxiety can stem from not knowing what kind of biting pest is living in your home. It is also easy to wake up from a night of sleep with bug bites and misidentify them, leading to a longer process of pest removal. If you are trying to find out which kind of pest in Central TN is biting you, keep reading for top insight from The Bug Man.

Pests that Bite to Draw Blood

Some pests that draw blood might not look as frightening as other bugs, but are able to pass on dangerous diseases through their bites. This makes it crucial to be able to identify the bug bites on your skin. Some pests that draw blood in Central TN are:

  1. Mosquitoes: After a mosquito bites you, a raised, white welt will form right away. The bite will then spread out into a larger, red, itchy lump. Most mosquitoes in our area do not carry diseases, but in tropical and some subtropical regions, mosquitoes can carry malaria and Zika virus, along with many other serious diseases.
  2. Ticks: Tick bites can look nearly indistinguishable from a mosquito bite, or like much smaller, darker prick marks. If you notice a tick bite shortly after they find you, you will still see it digging into your skin. Ticks can spread Lyme disease, so if you find a tick on your skin, remove it right away to decrease your chances of contracting it.
  3. Fleas: While they prefer to pester our pets, fleas bite humans, too. You might not even be able to notice a tick bite upon impact, but it will be itchy afterward. Ticks do not spread diseases to humans, but their bites can become infected if excessively scratched.
  4. Bed bugs: Bed bug bites appear overnight. If you wake up with zigzag patterns of tiny red bumps on exposed skin, you are in the middle of a bed bug infestation. Although their bites don’t pass on diseases, they can sometimes transfer diseases to humans that they carry on their bodies through their travels.

Other Bug Bites in Central TN

There are plenty of other pests that bite in our area, but the four mentioned earlier are the most likely offenders. Some bugs in Central TN either seldom bite or their bites yield negligible results. Cockroaches, centipedes, and ants fall into this category. These insects rarely bite, and the effects of their bites don’t often extend beyond an annoyance.

Some spiders in the region can dish out painful bites, but again, they are rarely provoked enough to bite. These spiders include wolf spiders, brown recluses, and black widows. The black widow has the most dangerous bite of the three—if you sustain a black widow bite, seek medical attention right away.

How to Stay Safe from Bug Bites

If you are looking to stay safe from bug bites this summer, ask your local pest control company about what they can do to help. Our pest experts at The Bug Man can perform a holistic inspection of your property to locate any biting pests and promptly remove them. We will also follow up as needed with pest prevention advice and return treatments to ensure that any infestations never return. Contact us today for a free quote!

Unwanted Pests: Putting an End to Roach Encroachment

Putting an End to Roach Encroachment

Roaches are a tough pest to beat. They are not a do-it-yourself kind of bug. Call The Bug Man and we’ll come to the rescue!

en·croach

1. to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads: A dictatorship of the majority is encroaching
on the rights of the individual.
2. to trespass upon the property, domain, or rights of another, especially
stealthily or by gradual advances.

Roaches do encroach! Perhaps the word encroach is a dictionary tribute to the cockroach. The world may never know. However, what we do know about roaches, we can share with you.

Here are some factual snippets, with a few notes of humorous commentary weaved in just to make it fun:

Once there is a cockroach infestation, it can be very hard to get rid of them. Cockroaches multiply very quickly, and they also adapt quickly, too. If only we could train them to be in the military. We could call it the Roach Regiment. They would be immune to nuclear war and we would always win. Unless, of course, the Roach Regiment was battling The Bug Man. Then the roaches would lose.

Seriously though, it is important to contact a pest control agency (a.k.a. The Bug Man) quickly if you see them in your home or business. Those monsters don’t mess around. You want to get to them quickly before they take over.

There are over 4,000 different varieties of cockroaches, but only about 30 of them can comfortably live with humans. This number can be further reduced to include only four varieties; the main species that cause problems in homes and businesses in America.

The four main species are the American, German, Asian, and Oriental cockroaches. These vary in size from about 1/2″ (German), up to 2″ (American). In America, the species that is most common in homes would most likely be the German variety. When you call The Bug Man, we will tell them auf wiedersehen and get them to sayanara out of your home or business stat!

Once cockroaches infest a home, they are rarely seen because they are nocturnal and can live up to a month with little or no food. They can also survive by eating book bindings, furniture, glue, soap, dead insects, shoe linings, and more. There’s a new student excuse: “My cockroach ate my homework. It also ate the bed I sleep on. I’m barefoot because they ate my shoes, and I didn’t finish my science project because they ate my glue. Can I get an A for effort?”

The presence of cockroaches can lead to a definite impression of uncleanness–especially if your guests see them. Contrary to popular belief, a cockroach infestation is not necessarily an indication of poor hygiene. However, an untidy environment will make it all the more difficult to get rid of them. The presence of cockroaches can also lead to health problems, including asthma in children. If you spot a cockroach at home or work, there are likely more of them concealed nearby. Contact a pest professional to avoid letting an infestation get out of hand…or foot…or ear…just call The Bug Man. 😉