Fleas are a nasty critter that not only attacks your pets but will bite adults and children if given the chance. Late summer and fall are prime time for flea infestations to invade your home. The dry weather late in the season are big factors in the increased population of fleas in your yard. These fleas are looking for a host desperately to draw blood so they can reproduce. Fleas are draw by body heat and carbon dioxide both of which pets and humans create. Late in the fall when temperatures drop at night fleas become extremely active in their search for a victim.
There are several methods that can be used to control fleas. The first place a person want to focus their household pest control is on their yard, especially if you have pets. Keeping your yard mowed and properly thatched and help control flea populations by destroying their habitat. Fleas can be controlled by using lawn care products like Ortho Insect dusts and other Ortho pest control products. While there are other brands I've always had the best luck with controlling pest using the Ortho products. Once you have your yard fully treated either with a flea spray of flea granular product you can then turn your attention to your pet.
Usually the first indication that you have a flea problem come when you notice the pet scratching an excessive amount, often leaving bare patches of skin. Fleas can also be spotted by the droppings they leave behind in your pets hair. These droppings are actually dried blood from a flea bite. A proper flea bath or dip is a good way to start controlling fleas on your pet. This will kill the adult fleas and some times the eggs they leave behind. Additionally you should treat your dog with flea powder a flea collar. There is a flea treatment for you pets now that you put on their neck behind their ears that is very effective. This flea control product can be bought over the counter or from your vet.
If you house become infested with fleas you may have to call an exterminator or result to nasty bug or flea bombs. Many times these flea bomb will require a second application in about two weeks after any left over eggs have hatched. Make sure when treating your home for fleas to pay attention to your pets sleeping areas. Fortunately, I haven't had a flea problem lately as I keep the yard and pets treated year round to avoid the headache of a flea infestation. If in doubt about a flea control product always contact your local exterminator or household pest control office.
Flea Pest Control For The Home
Household Pest Control | Plants To Keep Ants Away
In my on going battle to kill the ants invading my house, storage shed and property I began looking into natural means to help keep them away. Besides the normal routes of using ortho pest killers, ant bait systems, and the good old smack em with a shoe option, I decided to try some plants. I had done some research on the Internet and found that there are several types of plants to keep household pests like mice, ants, fleas, and ticks not only out of the yard but out of the house.
A couple examples of these types of plants are mints. Spearmint, Peppermint, Lemon Balm and many other common herbs are known to produce enough fragrance that they mask the scent trails left by ants. There are far too many plants that can aid in eliminating or deterring household pests from coming into the home too mention on this site but I have tried the ones listed above.
Some ideal places to plant these natural household pest controlling plants would be around the foundation of your home, landscaping around the storage shed, near entrances or windows to the home and anywhere else you have noticed ants or other household pests trying to enter your house. Since I have just planted these pest controlling plants, I can't say for sure that they work but they are far less expensive than using chemical products like Ortho ant control. I'm sure if they do work I'm sure I will not see the instant gratification I saw when spraying the pests with bug killers but I'm willing to give it a shot.
In addition to surrounding your property with these household pest controlling plants, I have heard you can even pick a few leaves and leave them in cupboards, closets, drawers and other areas pests might frequent. If you know of other natural ways of controlling household pests feel free to leave a comment and tell us about them.
Household Pest Control | Sugar Ants
I've had it with the sugar ants this year. You know the one them little tiny black ants that magically appear out of nowhere. This is one household pest I've been fighting for years. Every now and them they come migrating into my house like they are going to attempt to take over the world. I actually was able to find the source of these nasty household pest yesterday and have taken corrective action in eliminating this household pest from my home.
Here's how I killed all those pesky sugar ants. After I located the ants nest and was amazed at the sheer number of the little annoying pests, I headed to Walmart's household pest control department. I armed myself with a brand new ortho 3 gallon sprayer, a jug of ortho ant and roach killer, a second bottle of ortho indoor household pest control product and was off to do battle.
I immediately went to the source of these nasty little sugar ants that had taken up refuge in my storage shed and began spraying them with bug killer. The amount of the pest killer I was spraying must have seemed like Niagara falls to those annoying sugar ants. The began fleeing for their lives, scrambling to grab their ant larva and eggs, and dying by the thousands. Once I had rid my shed of the nest of sugar ants I followed their trail up to the house and began applying the same ortho pest contol spray to the foundation of the house, window and door frames and near by areas they may wander. I was quite pleased as I saw these little buggers scrambling for their lives.
Not only did I rid the yard and shed of these household pests but I also applied the same household pest control techniques to the interior of the house. I cleared the baseboard of all surrounding furniture and hit every crack and crevice with my trusty indoor ortho spray. I was pleasantly surprised to find far fewer in the house than I had expected and now that I have killed the nest of sugar ants hope It stays that way. I plan on repeating the process of spraying the foundation and interior locations again in a few days just as a follow up. In addition, I'll keep my eyes peeled as I mow the lawn looking for any new ant nest that might appear. For now at least I can avoid the cost of hiring a professional exterminator to control these household pests.
