Fall Pests: Ant Infestations in Orange County
In most cold regions of the country, ants go into a dormant, hibernation-like state during the chilly fall months. But in Orange County, our temperate and balmy climate is a bit of a double-edged sword. It’s usually warm enough for ants to stay active all year long—yet just chilly enough that they may be encouraged to move indoors to stay protected from the elements. Here at Preferred Pest Control, we see an uptick in ant infestations each fall. And as Orange County’s pest control professionals, we’re offering some quick tips on what you can do to keep these unwanted pests out of your home this fall — plus info on how to deal ...
Do You Still Need Pest Control During Fall?
It’s been quite warm in Orange County, CA! Especially in the northern cities like Fullerton, Corona, and Orange. But when chilly fall weather comes rolling in, what could be better than staying inside and getting cozy? Orange County residents aren’t the only ones who think that way. Cold temperatures and limited food availability drive rodents, insects, and other common household pests to seek shelter indoors. As pest control professionals, we frequently see an uptick in infestations during the colder months. That’s why we’ve put together a few easy tips you can follow to keep pests out of your home during fall. Secure your garbage bins—both inside and outside New food ...
How to Keep Beetles Out of Your Home
It doesn’t take much to make a beetle happy – warmth, shelter from the elements, and just a bit of food. That’s why human homes are so appealing to them. As pest control specialists, we know this all too well. Here are a few of our top tips for keeping beetles out of your house or apartment: Keep Your Living Space Clean Like most household pests, beetles have a remarkable sense of smell. This makes it quite easy for them to detect even trace amounts of food or garbage – and to a beetle, there’s generally no difference between the two. Beetles will enter your home if they detect food, ...
How to Avoid the Inevitable Gnats & Flies in Orange County
With one of the worst droughts in Orange County thankfully behind us, west coast residents and homeowners are now faced with a new annoyance – pesky fungus gnats and crane flies looming in and around their homes. Both are a nuisance but it’s fungus gnat larvae that cause real damage to plant roots. But that’s not all that Southern California homeowners need to be aware of. In recent years, a study confirmed California is the permanent new home to roughly 9 types of crop-destroying fruit flies. The Mediterranean fruit fly, a well-known annoyance to Orange County residents, is one of them. But residents don’t have to endure the persistent buzzing. ...
Ant Prevention: Don’t Let Ants Take Over Your Home
“Help! I have an ant invasion!” I hear that a lot in the summer time. But the fact is, the ants invaded your property long before you were aware of them. Even though you generally don’t become aware of ants until you start seeing the long trails of ants on your sidewalk, or worse yet, when they are parading across your kitchen wall and into your cabinets, they have probably been on your property all winter long. As it gets colder, ants go deep underground where the temperature is warmer, leaving you to believe that there are no ants on your property. To makes things worse, in the months of April ...
Simple Steps To Make Your Home Less Inviting To Rodents
When given the choice between two hotels you know nothing about, chances are you will choose the hotel that looks most inviting from the outside. Rats and mice are the same way. If they see a home that has plenty of areas to nest and food readily available, they will take it as an invitation to make themselves at home on your property. But if you keep in mind these simple rules, your home will look less attractive to rodents. If you keep wood outside, don’t stack it on the ground. Try to stack it at least 18 inches above the ground and 12 inches away from any wall or ...
Don’t Make Your Home A Free Buffet For Rodents
If you are like most people, the thought of a rat or mouse in your house is enough to make you pull out your phone and call a pest control company. But you may not have to do this if you make your home uninviting to rodents. Many people know that it is important to deny rodents access to food but they forget that water is also important. Although rats need to drink about one to two ounces of water a day, mice can survive solely from the water contained in the food they eat. Even though this is true of mice, they will readily drink water if it is ...
Bed Bug Prevention
First it must be understood that there is nothing you can do to guaranty that you will not get bed bugs. Bed bugs are probably the most successful hitch-hikers known to man, and they can find their way almost anywhere given enough time. That being said, there are things you can do to minimize getting these unwanted visitors. Bed bugs are not caused by poor sanitation but cleanliness can deny them harborage areas (hiding spaces) as well as enable you to realize quicker if bed bugs have invaded your home. Clean your home regularly. Vacuum your floors and furniture paying special attention to the seams (especially on your mattress and ...
Arachnophobia (Fear Of Spiders)
I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out what to write about when a very brave spider lowered itself from the ceiling and landed on my desk just inches from my keyboard. I quickly scooped it into a cup and deposited it outside wishing it luck. Now obviously I am not afraid of spiders, but it started me thinking about a customer who called yesterday. She had such a bad case of arachnophobia that she couldn’t even say the word ‘spider’ and could barely handle me mentioning spiders when I was talking to her about how we would treat the problem. I had to resort to saying ‘creepy ...
Tips To Avoid Mosquito Bites
As you all know, the week-ends have been pretty hot in Orange County these last couple weeks, so what better way to cool off than jump on the motorcycle with T-Ball and take a ride to Julian for some of their famous apple pie. Let me tell you, if you haven’t tried it, you need to take a run down there. And as a bonus, it is a pretty amazing ride! But back to the point of my story; I promise there is one! There we were, enjoying the curvy road that seemed like it was made for motorcycles in mind, when out of the blue, a little bug landed ...