Pest Control Advice - Nevada - Winter

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  All Year

 Argentine Ant

The Argentine ant can be nearly impossible to control, especially during midsummer in areas such as Southern California. At best, regular treatments keep as few ants as possible from entering the home or business. General tips for limiting ant infestations include:

• Eliminating piles of lumber, bricks or other debris that could serve as a nesting site for ants.
• Keeping landscape mulch less than 2 inches thick and at least 12 inches away from foundations.
• Ensuring the sprinkler system does not spray directly onto the foundation.
• Sealing as many cracks in the building's exterior as possible.
• Keeping tree and shrub branches trimmed to prevent touching the home.
• Considering re-landscaping to avoid using plants that are prone to aphids and similar insects. At the very least, treat such plants for aphids regularly. A tree/shrub company, such as TruGreen ChemLawn, can be helpful with this task.

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 American Cockroach

The key to control is to find and treat these sources directly. In many cases, the services of a professional company, such as Terminix, are required to achieve long-term relief. In southern states where this cockroach lives outdoors, successful control involves treating the attic, crawl space, and exterior cracks in the home and finding and treating likely cockroach harborages over the entire property.

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 Oriental Cockroach

• Eliminating or minimizing potential harborages outside is the best way to limit infestations of these cockroaches.
• Sealing cracks in the building's exterior helps prevent these pests from entering.
• Installing screening in all vents is important.

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 House Mouse

The best way to avoid invasions of mice is to (1) provide as little harborage as possible that might attract rodents, and (2) seal as many holes and cracks in the outside of the home through which mice might enter. Follow these recommendations to help prevent rodents from seeking the shelter provided by your home:

• Keep firewood stored as far from the home as possible and store it off the ground. During the winter, store only enough wood next to the house to burn every couple of days.
• If possible, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, etc. If these are near the foundation of the home they serve as harborages to attract rodents. Once there, it is any easy step for rodents to enter the building itself.
• Do not allow piles of leaves to accumulate next to the home's foundation. This also serves as attractive harborage for rodents - mice in particular.
• Seal any hole or crack larger than 1/4 of an inch. A good rule of thumb is that if a pencil can fit into it, a mouse could too. Large holes or cracks should be stuffed with steel wool or wire mesh before sealing with caulk or foam, otherwise rodents could chew through to enter.
• Install good, thick weather-stripping on the bottom of all doors to prevent rodents from entering. The garage door may prove difficult to seal completely, so the door from the garage to the house must be sealed tightly.
• The installation of one or two wind-up mousetraps in the garage can catch many mice as they enter. These traps can catch up to 15 mice with one setting. Ask your Terminix service professional for more information.
• Remember, your Terminix service includes coverage of commensal rats and mice, and much of the service provided during the colder months is to inspect for signs of rodents and to maintain preventive control measures.

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 Black Widow Spider

• Bites can be avoided by wearing heavy gloves when moving items stored for long periods outside, in garages, in basements or in warehouses.
• Shoes should be stored inside shoeboxes or shaken vigorously prior to wearing.
• When webs are visible, inspect carefully before putting your hand down under an object.
• Control is best left to a professional company such as Terminix. If numerous spiders are encountered, they can be removed using a shop vacuum, but care must be taken when opening the vacuum to kill the spiders.

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 Scorpion

To reduce scorpions around a home, eliminate as many piles of items or debris on the ground and keep dense vegetation to a minimum. All scorpions glow green under black light, so a portable black light can be used outside at night to find where scorpions are harboring. When a home is chronically invaded by these arthropods, it is best to seek the services of a professional such as Terminix to achieve long-term relief.

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