Preparing for a South Texas Winter
Don’t let cooler temperatures and shorter days fool you, winter in Spring Branch, Texas can be all four seasons in one day. Texas being so large and located in southern latitudes, experiences weather patterns spanning the full spectrum, with swimsuits in South Padre to snowsuits in Amarillo.
With this, comes a great number of unwanted and dangerous pests that seem to adapt very well to their surroundings. Black Widows, Brown Recluse and other spiders, cockroaches, ants, fleas, bedbugs, termites, and many other insect pests may seem to slow down, but they aren’t dead yet. In fact in the Spring Branch, Bulverde Area, the warm confines of our homes and businesses provide them the means to not only survive but thrive.
Along with colder temperatures, and out of sight-out of mind mentality, comes thoughts that pest control is not needed during the winter months, wrong! As a cost-saving measure,it may be tempting to cut your pest control service during this season, winter is no time to take a break from pest control. In fact, we have seen that customers that do so, have greater problems in the spring when temperatures rise.
Professionally applied pest control materials to building foundations and exteriors, is very important during this season, to help keep crawling insects from gaining access and setting up nests inside. Winter ants can be a problematic nightmare trying to eradicate them after they have set up shop inside your wall cavities. It’s so much simpler to prevent this from happening by keeping them out in the first place.
Pest control in the winter wet season can be one of the most challenging, frustrating jobs. Customer’s misconceptions about the effectiveness of pesticides during wet times are not warranted. In fact, products used by today’s PCO’s (Pest Control Operators), can be quite effective if applied properly with surprising results. Stickers, exponents and other additives are used to supplement the products and increase their efficiency. Many of the granular products are intended to be watered in, so application in wet times is an advantage.
Rodents (both rats and mice) along with larger animals, such as squirrels, opossums, raccoons, feral cats, ring tailed cats, even skunks have been known to make cozy little bungalows in attics and crawlspaces.
To prevent problems before they occur, it is a good idea to inspect outside your home or place of business for clutter and harborage areas, and be on the lookout for any openings larger than a nickel. If you find any, they should be stuffed with a stainless steel or brass wool product, making sure you don’t use ordinary steel wool, for it will quickly rust and leave stains on your home and need to be replaced.
Caulk any cracks, wire and pipe openings to prevent easy access for scorpions, centipedes, roaches, etc. For larger openings you can use ¼” galvanized hardware cloth fastened with either screws or staples. Screws are a more permanent fix and usually will last the life of the repair and are less likely to be pulled loose by a determined raccoon.
Next month, temperatures will be rising and termite and ant swarming seasons will be upon us. Pest Control operators are always looking for termites and damages they cause. Termites are an ever present threat to your home, depending on area and building techniques. The typical home should be inspected at least once a year! If you are on a regular service program, termites should not have enough time to cause significant damage before they are discovered. Also regular service customers usually enjoy significant discounts for extra services required.
Now is the best time for you to call and setup your regular service for pest control. Whether it’s for an existing problem or for prevention of future ones, usually pest control companies have valuable incentives at this time of year to begin your service. We offer one-time services along with regular re-occurring service interval plans. We at Hitman Pest Control are customers also, and know how uneasy and uncomfortable signing a service contract with a company can make you feel. We keep your patronage by providing you the quality of service and results that you require.