Month: May 2019

If you’re seeing tiny, springing insects in your yard, it is likely that you’re seeing springtails. It is rare to find fleas springing around in the yard. A flea will wait in a cocooned state for a host to pass by, and then break free from its cocoon to jump on the host. It is selective in when it will do this because it wants to survive. It would need to see warm, exposed skin on your body. It isn’t going to try to leap on your clothing. So it would be strange to see several fleas springing around in your yard. You would have to stumble upon a location where several fleas left their cocoons for a host and the host got away. Springtails, on the other hand, are commonly seen outside. They congregate together in damp areas and begin springing into the air when they are disturbed. They don’t have to worry about successfully leaving a cocoon to jump on a host. They feed on organic matter. Understanding the behavior patterns of fleas and springtails helps to make identification easy but there are circumstances that can throw you a curveball. You may have to capture one of those insects and examine it to see if it is a flea or a springtail.

How do you capture a springing insect?

If there are enough of them, you can just lay a piece of tape down on them and snatch a few up. You may also leave a sticky trap in the area and catch some. If neither of these work, you might have to attract them to a trap to catch them. Insects are drawn to warmth. If you set up a light with a shallow bowl of soapy water underneath, you’re likely to catch some of those pests. They’ll jump toward the light bulb and fall into the soapy water.

Identification

Once you have a specimen, you’ll need to inspect it. One of the easiest ways to differentiate a flea from a springtail is to look for antennae. Springtails have obvious antennae. The antennae on fleas are difficult to see. You may also examine the coloration. Fleas are reddish-brown. Springtails are multi-colored.
These two characteristics should help you figure out what insect you’re dealing with in your yard, but if you need a second opinion, we’re happy to help. We can come and take a look or you can send a specimen to us and we’ll have an in-house entomologist take a look at it. Our service team members are very familiar with the pests that plague our customers in Hendersonville and throughout Middle Tennessee.

When Springtails or Fleas Get In

Both of these insects get into our homes mostly during the warm months of the year, May and June being their most active months. Springtails get in through gaps and cracks in exterior walls when they are lured near homes by damp conditions and are commonly found around window sills and potted plants. Seal your exterior walls and dry your foundation perimeter to reduce these insects. Fleas get into homes by hitchhiking on animals. While rodents can bring fleas into any home, homeowners with pets are more susceptible to flea infestations because pets don’t just bring fleas in, they bring them up close and personal. Flea control products for your pets are the frontline defense against flea infestations.

If you ever have trouble with fleas or springtails, remember that All-American Pest Control is available to assist you with industry-leading pest control. Reach out to us for immediate assistance.

Do you have brown recluse spiders in your home? If you do, you may not know it. These spiders can come and go from your home without ever giving you a warning sign. All they need is an entry point—and an entry point used by a brown recluse is often in a secluded location such as underneath your deck, patio, porch or stairs, where you can’t see it.
 
Why do they find entry points in these areas? (They don’t chew their way into your home.) No, they don’t, but pests such as carpenter ants, termites, mice, and rats do, and brown recluse spiders like these dark, damp, secluded locations as well. When pests chew on your home, they create holes that give access to pests that don’t create holes in your home, like brown recluse spiders. Pests work together to expose you to both harm and structural damage.
 
Since pests work together, targeting and eliminating brown recluse in your home isn’t a solution by itself (assuming you realize you even have a problem). More brown recluse can replace the ones you eliminated, and this can happen at any time. A real solution is to invest in year-round residential pest control service. With a residential pest control plan that targets brown recluse spiders, you get ongoing protection that works to prevent entry points from being created by wood-damaging pests, eliminates the food source that attracts brown recluse spiders to your home, and gives you ongoing monitoring for the presence of brown recluse. If these spiders are detected, they are dealt with quickly.
 
There are only two dangerous spiders to be concerned about in Tennessee. The threat of both can be properly managed with a residential pest control plan. While brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders are not the creatures of nightmares that many believe they are, they still shouldn’t be allowed to live in your Donelson home. Learn the truth about brown recluse and black widows and familiarize yourself with the dangers they can pose.
 
For industry-leading pest control service in Donelson, reach out to All-American Pest Control. We offer coverage for over 47 different pests, with special service plans that include the monitoring of brown recluse spider activity and targeted pest control for the removal of brown recluse spiders. There is no better way to manage the threat of dangerous spiders in Donelson and Middle Tennessee. Contact us today. Our friendly, highly-trained, and knowledgeable service team is standing by to help.

One of the first questions that must be considered when discussing termite control and protection is just how harmful are termites in Tennessee? After all, if you don’t believe termites are a threat to your College Grove home, why would you consider controlling them? To answer this question we must look at two factors: which type of termite is the most destructive, and are those termites present in Tennessee? Of all the termites that destroy properties in the United States, subterranean termites are head and shoulders above the rest. Damage done by subterranean termites is in the billions of dollars annually. All other termite damage combined is only in the hundreds of millions. Can you guess what type of termites we deal with in College Grove? Yup. Subterranean termites.

Why are subterranean termites so destructive?

One of the big reasons this type of termite is such a destructive powerhouse is that it is really sneaky. Subterranean termites come up from the ground and feed on the inside of wood. That is why they are considered the silent destroyers of the pest world. You could have these termites feeding on your home right now and not even know it.

How do you stop subterranean termites?

We believe the best way to detect subterranean termites and prevent damage is with the Sentricon® System with Always Active™. Here are 5 reasons every College Grove home should be guarded by Sentricon® with Always Active™:

• Unlike liquid treatments, Sentricon® with Always Active™ does not require trenching or drilling and it has no smell.
• Sentricon® with Always Active™ is always active and works immediately to use termites against the colony that sent them.
• When subterranean termites try to attack your home, your service professional will be able to easily tell during the examination of your bait stations. This will give you the assurance you need to keep investing in this essential protection for your home.
• Sentricon® with Always Active™ is an award-winning termite control product that has over 70 published research articles proving that it is consistently effective at eliminating termite colonies.
• Sentricon® with Always Active™ targets termites and only termites. You don’t get any greener than that!

Every Tennessee home should have termite protection. Get your protection in place today by reaching out to us. All-American Pest Control is a Certified Sentricon® with Always Active™ installer. Our service team will help you get the right protection in place to guard your equity from these sneaky, wood-destroying insects.

Every spring, something important happens: Ants in Lebanon take to the air. Well–they don’t all grow wings and take to the air. Just some of them. These ants are often referred to as alates because “alate” means to have wings or wing-like appendages. If you see alates landing on your home this spring, you should know that those ants are unique among the ants in their colony. Their job is to leave the colony, mate, and establish new colonies. If they create a new colony in your yard or in your home, it could cause some problems, especially if they are alates from a carpenter ant colony. Here are a few things you should know.

What You Need To Know About Swarming Carpenter Ants

There are two insects that bear the carpenter name. They are carpenter ants and carpenter bees. Neither one of these insects has any interest in fixing anything on your home, or building anything useful. They have the carpenter name because they produce sawdust when they chew their way into the wood of a home. This chewing can cause damage over time and lead to significant damage.

When a carpenter ant swarm appears, it is essential to understand what it means and, more importantly, what it doesn’t mean. Dozens, or hundreds, of alates crawling around on the outside of a home is not usually a sign of an impending infestation. It is more often a sign of a current and mature nest on the property. If you see them on the inside of your home, it is an even clearer sign of a current infestation.

Spring is when swarms of alates are likely to be seen. If you own a home in Tennessee, you should be familiar with what alates look like, which spring ant prevention tips can protect your home, and how to recognize the difference between carpenter ant damage and termite damage. It is also important that you be aware of the professional options that are available to guard against these and other destructive pests.

In Lebanon and throughout Middle Tennessee, All-American Pest Control provides industry-leading residential and commercial pest control. Our service team is one of the best in the business. We can help you track down destructive insects and keep those wood-damaging pests from destroying your equity. Plus, with All-American, you’ll always get high-quality service—on time, with a smile. Reach out to us today for immediate assistance.

You may have noticed the word “yard” in the title of this article. Did you find that curious? Some people do. It is common to think of fleas as an indoor pest. But, before fleas get inside your home, they’re likely to be found around the outside of your home in moist, shaded areas that have vegetation. For this reason, it is important to take steps to control fleas in your yard.

DIY Spring Flea Control in Your Yard

Did you take measures to get ready for flea season? Did you inspect your yard for moisture issues and address them. Did you find potential food sources for wildlife and remove or protect them? Did you put up fencing to reduce wildlife traffic? These are all great steps to take if you want to keep fleas from getting into your home. It is important to make your yard uninteresting to fleas and the wild animals that carry fleas into your yard. The fewer fleas you have on your property, the fewer fleas you’ll have getting on you or your pets.

Flea Treatments

This is another misunderstood concept. People often think of flea treatments as something you get when you have a flea infestation in your home, but flea treatments can be applied in your yard too. In fact, flea treatments in your yard are the most effective way to prevent flea infestations from taking root in your home. They really work. Just ask our many customers who come back year after year for seasonal flea and tick service.

How and where are treatments applied?

During the flea and tick season, we apply a mist around the homes we service. This mist eliminates fleas and ticks in the places they hide. We also apply a granular material that has a residual effect. If fleas are brought into your yard between visits, this granular product makes them wish they hadn’t. These routine treatments are applied to landscaping and your lawn to give your entire yard protection from fleas. If you have other questions about how treatments work, take a peek at our Flea and Tick Q&A page.

Residential Pest Control Service with Flea and Tick Control

When it comes to preventing flea infestations, there is no better solution available. Yard treatments stop fleas and ticks “before” they get into your home. And, if they ever get past your defenses, Perimeter Plus, from All-American Pest Control, provides interior service at no additional charge. Reach out to us to get service for your Thompson’s Station Yard today.