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Do I need a pest control company?

First, are you having trouble with pests in or around your home?

If the answer is NO, then you don’t currently need a pest control company.

However, if the answer is YES, then you may or may not need a pest control company. 

Note: this information is not regarding termites; termites are a separate issue that typically need a yearly inspection by a certified pest control company.

If you are having pest problems, the first step

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Should I spray around the outside of my house to keep insects from coming in?

spraying perimeter of a homeBarrier spraying is NOT the most effective method of preventing insects from entering a home. Insects have a part in the ecosystem, so measures should be taken to exclude the pests from the home, not kill all insects, as some can be beneficial.

Having a home that is tightly sealed, following good sanitation measures, and checking packages entering the home is the most effective way to prevent insect entry.

Here are some tips to prevent insect entry:

  1. Make sure all
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How do you kill American cockroaches?

The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus), is the largest of the common cockroaches, measuring on average 4 cm in length.

Tips for eliminating American cockroaches:

  1. Clean debris around the exterior of the house. 
  2. Seal (caulk) any possible entry points into the house. Entry points include sewer pipes and uncaulked gaps around any opening into the ground or exterior.
  3. Remove organic material such as rotting leaves and mulch, and limit the moist areas in and around the house.

In combination

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How do you kill brown recluse spiders?

Brown recluse spiders can be difficult to control. For this reason, heavy infestations in the home are best handled by a pest management professional.

In the case of lighter infestations, you can reduce brown recluse spider numbers yourself with a dozen or more sticky traps and some simple sanitation measures.

Here are some good tips:

  1. Sticky traps should be placed along the edges of walls where spiders are more likely to travel. Several traps should be used in rooms where
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I have small, dark ants in my house. How do I get rid of them?

Ants and a magnifying glass.

The first step in any pest management plan is to identify the pest. With ants this can be quite difficult because of their small size. A microscope with greater than 30x magnification is often needed to identify them. Most people won’t have access to a microscope, so you can take the specimen to your local county Extension office for identification.

Identifying the ant is important because ants have different food preferences and different behaviors that will directly affect how well

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