Category Archives: Pest Control

Summer Pest Control Tips

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Nothing puts a halt to summer fun like swarming mosquitos around a swimming pool or a line of ants marching across an outdoor picnic. Keep the critters at bay with the following pest control tips:

For the Home

  • One of the first lines of defense for your home is checking for entryways. Repair holes in window screens, caulk gaps around windows and doors and make sure your thresholds are flush with the door slab to keep pests from sneaking in underneath.
  • Coffee grounds make an excellent deterrent since most insects can’t stand the scent. Sprinkle it around the perimeter of your home to keep pests from finding their way inside.
  • Keep your kitchen clean and tidy to avoid attracting ants, cockroaches, and other indoor nuisances. Take the garbage out regularly, wipe down the countertops, sweep the floor, and always keep food out of sight.
  • Carefully inspect hotel rooms and vacation rentals to avoid a bedbug infestation. Pull back the bedsheets and mattress cover and check for excrement and/or small bloodstains, which can signal bedbugs. Treat immediately to avoid bringing these pests back to your home.
  • If there are toys that belong outside, then keep them outside and vice versa with inside toys.

For the Yard

  • Mosquitos are attracted to standing water, so inspect your yard often for culprits, like leaks around the A/C unit and drain pipes. Get rid of stagnant water in flowerpots, buckets, and all toys and furniture kept outside.
  • A well-maintained yard will keep it from becoming a breeding ground for pests like snakes and mice. Trim trees and bushes beside the house, do away with weeds and overgrowth and clear any debris since this is where snakes tend to hide while looking for rodents.
  • Don’t toss the meat into your outside trash bin until the day before or day of garbage pickup. The combination of summer heat and rotting meat will bring many unwanted pests into your yard.
  • Store firewood away from your home to keep termites from entering. The minimum distance is five feet, but you’ll decrease your chance of termite infestation even more if you store it farther away and preferably in a metal rack off the ground.

Even though there are numerous pest repellents available on the market today, there are certain situations that require a professional. Do your homework, and if the task seems too overwhelming or complex, don’t be afraid to hire a pest control service. Lola’s Landscape has decades of experience in pest control, lawn care, landscape design, and more to have your yard in it’s the best condition in time for summer! Give us a call for your consultation today at 774-248-4584

Pest Proofing Your Home This Spring

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Every year, people struggle to keep invaders out of their homes. We’re talking about unwanted pests that infest households everywhere. Before calling in an exterminator, do some quick and easy prevention methods without spending some big bucks on some exterminator.

Roof

Checking the roof of your home may consume a huge amount of your time but take the time to carefully check every inch of it. Quickly address any potential entrances for pests such as loose shingles or some parts of your roof may be pulling away from the mainframe. In addition to this, examine all vents and the entire roof for gaps that could be easy access to pests.

Attic

Attics are usually the favorite place for mice, squirrels, or raccoons to invade. If you do find them in there, make sure you set up a trap then seal off the entrances.

Bedroom

The bedroom is one of the most used areas in your household. Make sure you regularly wash everything such as the bedding, curtains, and mattress covers. Be on the lookout for bugs on your mattress, headboard, or bedframe when replacing your sheets.

Porch

Pests can thrive from dead or damaged leaves stuck in your porch. If you have pots, check them and make sure you water them to flush out the insects out before bringing them inside. Also, make sure to scrub the entire pot before bringing it inside as spiders sometimes lay eggs on the bottom of pots. Best way to make sure your porch or lawn is clean is by hiring professionals!

Windows

Windows can also be easy access for pests to get inside your home. Make sure that you check all the screens for damages and immediately fix any openings to keep out all the pests such as mosquitos, stinkbugs, etc.

Walls

It is important to check the walls of your home as it may not only be access to pests but also a sign of a much larger problem, such as a damaged foundation. If you see any damages or any visible mud tunnels, have a professional fix it immediately.

Floors

Make it a point to check your floor every time you clean and vacuum your home. Vacuum every floor surface and inspect the underside of furniture for pests that can easily make their way to and from your carpet.

How to Prevent Tick Bites from Happening

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family walking through the forest

The great outdoors is a beautiful place, but it also has a lot of ugly pests, insects and other organisms that can make your outdoor experience miserable. Ticks are one example of the sort of outdoor menace that can do a whole lot of damage given the opportunity to bite you. These small bloodsucking parasitic arthropods can cause vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, tularemia, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. If you live in a region where ticks are a problem, here are some ways to prevent bites from happening.

What to Do Before Heading Outdoors

  • Be aware of where ticks abound. Some of the places where ticks live include areas where there’s grass, bush and wood. They can even be found on animals as well. If you are doing outdoor activities like gardening or picnicking, you are possibly putting yourself in a position to come in contact with ticks.
  • If it is tick season, before heading out, treat your clothes, footwear and camping gear with permethrin-containing products. A product with at least 0.5 permethrin is ideal and can offer protection even after a few wash cycles.
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents that contain ingredients like DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone could come in handy to keep ticks at bay.

What to Do When Outdoors

  • Limit skin exposure when outdoors by inserting your pant hems into your socks.
  • When trekking or hiking, remain on well-worn paths away from tall grass, leaf litter, and bushy areas, and walk in the center of paths.

What to Do When it’s Time to Get Indoors

  • Perform a tick check of your clothing since they can be transferred into the house on your clothes. Remove any tick found and then toss the clothes in your dryer and set it on high heat to tumble for a period of 10 minutes to kill any remaining ticks.
  • Wash dirty clothes in hot water, which will kill the ticks.
  • Don’t forget the check your gear as well, along with your pets since ticks can attach themselves to them.
  • It’s best to do a full-body tick check and shower in the first two hours of getting indoors, in order to prevent being bit, which could increase your risk of developing a tick-borne disease.

A tick bite is not something that you want to happen to you step outside. However, it can happen when doing some kind of outdoor activity in areas where there are tall grass and bush. Preventing tick bites requires you to be self-aware and vigilant. The last thing you want is to develop a tick-borne disease.

If you are looking for a company in Franklin, MA, that offers pest control solutions and lawn care, contact Lola’s Landscape now or head on over to our website to view all our services.

Pests You Should Worry About This Season

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family walking through the lawn

Spring season welcomes everyone, unfortunately, this includes pests. Warmer days call everyone to go out but as we do so, we must keep our homes protected from pest invasions. Read more below on what kind of pests you should worry about this season.

  1. Mosquitoes

Gone are the days of snow and cold air, but with the warmer weather with us, mosquitos also celebrate. Spring marks the start of mosquito season so you better make sure that you are protected! Buy mosquito repellants, whether natural or chemicals or creams for your body.

  1. Termites

Arguably, one of the most destructive kinds of pests out there, termites can do a lot of damage in a home’s infrastructure if left unprotected. As they are usually hidden in the ground, wooden furniture, or stacks of old paper, it is best to err on the side of caution and put preventative pest solutions in your home.

  1. Ticks

Warmer weather is an invitation to pests, especially ticks, to come out in the open. You may be inclined to go on an adventure out in the woods because of the perfect weather but be sure to check yourself before going home as ticks might be on your clothing or belongings.

As we get deeper into Spring season, make sure that your home is protected to any kind of pest invasion. Lola’s Landscaping offers lawn care solutions including pest control in and out of your house. Let us help you get your home protected this season, call us now or head on over to our website to learn more!

Pest Control Myths and Facts

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myth or reality sign

If you’re someone dealing with unwanted visitors in your home (predictably the kind with antennas, fur, and/or many legs) you might be tempted to do some quick searching on the matter.

You hear it often: don’t believe everything you read on the internet and, its good advice. With so much false information floating around, it’s easy to be misled into believing some of the following pest control myths.

Soap is An Effective Mouse Repellent

First, let’s get something clear-mice are highly intelligent rodents. Some people even believe they could have the same thinking capacities as dogs! If you see a mouse in your home, it’s time to call in a professional; mice do not live alone.

Many people believe that strong smelling soap is a natural deterrent for mice. Could this technique really work on an intelligent and crafty animal like this?

Turns out you won’t have to spare that last bar of Irish Spring after all as this is just another one of those internet urban legends.

The most effective way to keep mice away is to make sure they have no access to your food. It’s also important to block and seal points of entry-this includes any spaces around the wall panels and cracks in the walls or flooring.

The Exterminator Will Only Spray Harsh Chemicals

For people with children and animals in the home, it’s more than reasonable to be wary of chemicals. Exterminators understand and share these concerns-it’s why they do their best to get the job done with the least amount of toxic substances.

There are many options exterminators can choose from to stop pests from coming into your home. To ensure safety and health concerns, they will choose the best option based on your unique situation. This may include setting traps, blocking pest entryways, or targeting very specific areas for treatment.

You Can Get Rid of Pests Yourself

Everyone has that one person in their family-the one that insists on doing everything themselves in order to save money (and to score some bragging rights). However, pest control is an important area of work to leave to the professionals. Missing an important step or piece to the puzzle could mean serious damage to your house or health.

Pest control experts have important knowledge on the animals and insects invading your home. Not only can they spot the differences in types of animals and insects, but they know their behaviors and habitats.

Hopefully, these busted myths will help you in dealing with any pest control issues you may have. The most valuable advice is to always refer to a pest control specialist. If you have further questions or uncertainties: give your local pest control business a call.