As spring in Northern Michigan draws closer and the days get longer, spiders get closer invading your home and covering your structure in webs. Spiders can do an extensive amount of damage to the surface of a home, no matter what type of siding, paint, or stain is used on the structure. As spiders begin to eat bugs caught in their webs, they urinate and defecate onto the structure, leaving an acidic substance that embeds into vinyl paints and stains. This results in more upkeep and maintenance on the homeowners part.
Hogarth’s Pest Control is your local expert in protecting your home from spider infestations before it gets too late. By routinely treating your home every spring, you not only protect your home for longer, but you also keep your home cleaner as a result. This eliminates the need to power wash and paint more frequently. Here are a few tips to keep spiders at bay, on top of your routine pest control:
1. Routinely knocking down any webs will put serious strain on the spider; by either humanely killing or forcing them to seek new harborage.
2. Keep a minimum distance of 6 inches between your structure and any sort of vegetation to maintain air flow.
3. Maintaining low humidity in your crawlspace or basement will make it difficult for spiders and their prey to live. Spiders are hunters, and without a proper source of food they will cease to exist in those areas.
Bed bugs have rapidly been on the rise in recent years. As bed bugs become more relevant in areas of Northern Michigan, especially Traverse City, Manistee, Benzie, Lake Leelanau, Cadillac, Charlevoix and Petoskey, it’s important to know what signs to look for if you think you may have an infestation of bed bugs in your home and what to do in order to prevent them. Hogarth’s Pest Control is a local, trusted expert on both prevention and eradication of your home or commercial property. Hogarth’s has been on the forefront of learning the newest techniques for bed bug treatments and prevention tactics. Our technicians recently attended the National Pest Management Association meeting and listened to a very educational talk by Dini Miller, Ph.D., from the Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg, VA. Here are our top takeaways and some great tips for prevention from Dr. Miller’s talk.
When traveling:
1. Always inspect the hotel rooms you are staying in, whether it be a 1-star or 5-star hotel. Bring a flashlight to check behind the headboard (if possible), along with the boxspring and mattress. If there are indeed bed bugs, you will notice small black stains (fecal matter), or bed bugs themselves. Bed bugs will always be within two feet of their host, and are round, reddish bugs about the size of an apple seed. If you see signs of bed bugs, be sure to gather your belongings and ask for another room. Be sure to inspect other rooms as well, even though the chances of other rooms being infested is usually low.
2. Never leave clothes and suitcases on hotel room floors or in dresser drawers. Bed bugs do not discriminate; as long as they have a food source and are not properly treated, bed bugs can travel from hotels to your home in your luggage and on your clothing. Bring garbage bags to secure clothes if needed.
3. Upon returning home, put clothes in the dryer on high heat. Bed bugs and their eggs will die at a temperature of 120 degrees. Freezing will not work because it’s unlikely the clothes will become cold enough to kill the bugs. If you have any indication bed bugs may have traveled home with you, vacuum out suitcase, treat with an over-the-counter bed bug treatment, and place suitcase in a plastic garbage bag and tie with a double knot.
When already infested with bed bugs:
1. DO NOT move beds and boxsprings away from their current location, ie. do not move to other rooms of the house or into a garage or basement! This can cause the bed bugs to spread to different areas of the home, making eradication that much more difficult. Throwing away beds and boxsprings will not get rid of the problem, either. We highly recommend keeping all furniture and having it properly treated by a professional to properly eradicate the problem.
2. Dry any clothing in the room on high heat. When finished, put clothes in a plastic garbage bag tied with a double knot.
3. Avoid using any over-the-counter bed bug treatments. We find that customers who’ve attempted to treat for bed bugs themselves only drive bed bugs deeper into the walls and under carpeting, making it that much harder to properly eradicate them. Vacuuming can be a good practice as long as the vacuum is cleaned and the bag is discarded after use.
4. Call Hogarth’s Pest Control to eradicate the bed bugs. Eradication cannot be done without professional treatment, and bed bugs will only continue to multiply the longer they are left untreated. Treatments must be performed a minimum of 3 times. It is crucial for the homeowner to follow all guidelines set forth by the technician in order to properly treat the issue at hand.
According to the National Pest Management Association’s 2011 Bed Bug’s in America Survey, 1 out of every 5 American’s has either had a bed bug infestation in their home or knows someone who has encountered bed bugs in their home or at a hotel. It’s no surprise that bed bug infestations have become a nation-wide epidemic! Most Americans have become aware that infestations are on the rise. There are reports of bed bugs by pest management professionals in all 50 states, with percentages being fairly equal among each of the country’s regions.
As bed bug awareness increases, more than 80% of American’s have reported being most concerned about encountering bed bugs in hotels. 95% of bed bug infestations reports are in apartments/condominiums, 93% in single-family homes, and 75% in hotels/motels. We find bed bugs in college dorms, nursing homes, offices, schools, day care centers, hospitals, and other various locations in seemingly high numbers.
Our New Tool
Hogarth’s Pest Control has a new tool for the tool box. That tool is a heat tent. We saw the need for it to assist us in the war on bed bugs. Moreover, it allows us to reduce our chemicals used in the process by placing infested pieces into the tent. The tent is then turned on and heated to 120 degrees, at which point kills all the bed bugs and their eggs. Heat is not the only tool we utilize, but it can help on reducing chemicals on bed bug treatment.
Hogarth’s Pest Control is seeing an increase in the bed bug infestations in Northern Michigan. We are currently servicing bed bug infestations in Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska and Wexford counties. If you Google bed bugs, you may be surprised at what you read about your own town! People stay hotels with infestations and post it on the internet in great detail! While an infestation does not equal filth or bad housekeeping, it can become a serious problem if not treated properly.
Call Hogarth’s Pest Control for all your bed bug needs in Northern Michigan. Hogarth’s is serving over 25 counties in the Northern Michigan area, including Beaver Island! If you have questions or concerns, please call us at Hogarth’s Pest Control for all your bed bug needs!
As spring in Northern Michigan draws closer and the days get longer, spiders get closer invading your home and covering your structure in webs. Spiders can do an extensive amount of damage to the surface of a home, no matter what type of siding, paint, or stain is used on the structure. As spiders begin to eat bugs caught in their webs, they urinate and defecate onto the structure, leaving an acidic substance that embeds into vinyl paints and stains. This results in more upkeep and maintenance on the homeowners part.
