American Pest Control

Termites are Swarming!

A photo taken by an American Pest Control Technician of a client's crawl space,covered with termite swarmers.

Swarmer Season is here!

This week the termite swarmers are definitely out in Northeast Georgia and our phones have been ringing off the hook. With the mild winter we experienced along with warm temperatures, termites are out earlier than usual this year. While termites can be a frightening discovery for a homeowner, with proper knowledge and pest management one can keep termites from destroying their property.

 

What are Termite Swarmers?

Termite swarmers, or flying termites are matured male and female termites that swarm to find a mate and start a new colony. Typically a swarm of flying termites is the first sign of infestation, but sometimes it's just termites that have flown from a neighboring colony.  Also, once flying termites mate and start a new colony it will take some time (years) before the new colony can cause substantial damage.

 

When do Swarmers Arrive?

Typically flying termites swarms appear between early May and June, depending on the rainy season that year.

 

What to do if a Termite Swarm is on your property?

While seeing termite swarms doesn't necessarily mean that you have a termite infestation it is a reminder to have your property inspected by a pest management professional. Flying termites can't travel very far, therefore signifying that there has to be an active colony nearby.  

 

What's the difference between a flying termite and a flying ant?

Many of the calls we have been receiving this week about termite swarmers actually have turned out to be flying ants. To tell the difference inspect the wing length and size, the body shape and the antenna shape of the pest.

USDA Forest Service Archive, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Flying Termites vs. Flying Ants

• Termite have longer and equal length wings, while ants are uneven and shorter.
• Termites have a straight abdomen, while the abdomen of an ant is thin.
• Termites have straight antennae, while ants have bent antennae.

 

How can I protect my property from Termites?

Establishing a termite protection plan with a pest control company can help ensure that your home is protected from this wood-eating pests. Most pest management companies offer termite protection in the form of a baiting system with devices installed in the ground around the structure or yearly barrier and crawl space sprays to target potential problem areas.  Also, yearly inspections of you home and crawl space are key to the prevention of termite infestations.

Here are some tips to protect your home from future termite infestation and damage:

• Remove dirt, mulch and debris from around the home, making sure it does not touch the structure.
• Store wood away from the home and off of the ground.
• Insulate the crawl space to prevent high humidity, which attracts termites.
• Fix leaks and pipes to prevent moisture on wood.

March Mosquito Madness!

   

Our phones have been ringing off the hook the past 3 weeks for calls about termites, silverfish, carpenter bees, ticks and more due to the mild winter we experience this year bringing an early spring and a multitude of insects. While we knew the warm winter would cause some changes in the traditional pest management calendar one pest we did not expect to see so soon was the mosquito.

Almost all of Georgia is already experiencing these biting pests, making this year one of the earliest sitings of the bug in recent history. Also because we experienced very little hard freezes this winter expect more mosquitoes to be seen throughout the rest of the warm seasons. Cold and freezing temperatures are required to kill off mosquito larvae, keeping populations somewhat low.

With mosquito season already upon us we suggest a few precautions to keep your family and pets safe from these biting pests.

• Dispose of items that can collect water from around your home. Mosquitoes need only a little water to breed, so be sure to check after rain to ensure any water is removed.
• Keep gutters clear of debris and trash.
• Fill in or drain places in your yard that can collect water, i.e. puddles, ruts, etc.
• Keep ditches and drains free of trash so they will drain properly.
• Keep grass and shrubbery well trimmed so adult mosquitoes will not hide in them.
• If you have an ornamental pond, stock it with fish that eat mosquito larvae.
• When outdoors wear an insect repellent that contains DEET, following instructions carefully. 
• Inspect windows and screens for cracks to keep mosquitoes out of the home.

While mosquitoes are already a problem in the Southeast by taking a proactive approach you can help to decrease their impact on your home. Also, establish a mosquito prevention service with a reputable pest  management company to ensure maximum mosquito protection.

Termite Chewing Technology

Termite Swarmer and Workers

(courtesy of  Dini M. Miller & theVirgina Cooperative Extension)

 

Termites have long been an adversary in the pest control industry through their ability to ruin homes with costly damages and destruction, but now researchers at Edith Cowan University have created new technology that could help prevent termite destruction by simply listening to them chew.

The new device reported in Science Network last week would plant tiny acoustic listening devices in wood around the home and send signals if and when termites begin to chew on the wood. These signals could be sent via SMS text or even email to pest control companies with a GPS location of the termite activity.

The device is being called a ‘wireless smart probe’ network for acoustic detection or WiSPR for short, can even detect termites in power poles or timber bridges.  Once placed in the ground the device can help detect current termite activity or be the first warning if termites do show up.

This technology would be a great break through in termite detection and would help to keep costly damages at minimum for homeowners. Plans to release the device in Australia within the next year are in the works.

To read more on this new device check out the full release from Science Network Western Australia.

Celebrating 40 Years!

Today is American Pest Control's 40th Anniversary and we are so excited to be celebrating this exciting occasion! 

Gene Higginbotham opened American Pest Control on November 15, 1971 after many years in the pest control industry with another company. He used his experience and wisdom to build a company that always puts the customer’s needs first, creating a family-owned business that has thrived for 40 years.

Now children, Laurie and Scott, continue the mission their father started 40 years ago, by providing honesty, integrity, and professionalism to all clients. Great customer service paired with up-to-date and effective technology has provided APC with the tools to become Northeast Georgia’s largest family-owned pest control company.

We are so excited to celebrate our 40th anniversary and hope to continue serving the Northeast Georgia and Western South Carolina area for many more years to come!

 American Pest Control, Inc. History

• 1977 American Pest Control Inc. becomes debt free
• 1983 Conversion from manual accounting to computers
• 1985 Chlordane termiticide removed from market
• 1988 Purchased Boland Bonded Exterminating of Athens, GA
• 1990 Purchased Roberts Exterminating of Toccoa, GA
• 1992 Implemented "Integrated Pest management System"
• 1994 Purchased Rockdale Pest Control of Conyers, GA
• 1997 Became one of the first authorized users of the Sentricon Colony Elimination System
• 1999 Quarterly Pest Management System implemented
• 1999 American pest Control establishes site on the World Wide Web
• 2000 Chlorpyrifos, (Dursban) removed from market
• 2001 American Pest Control Inc. celebrates 30th anniversary with company image change
• 2001 Introduction of Termidor
• 2003 Introduction of Noviflumuron and Sentricon with ESP
• 2003 American Pest Control Inc. converts from Routeman to Service Pro.
• 2006 American Pest Control Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary
• 2006 Gene Higginbotham awarded Lifetime achievement award.
• 2009 American Pest Control changes business model to Universal Technicians

American Pest Control is now on Twitter!

With technology in constant flux, its positive to hop on to the social trains which become available to keep customers close and informed.

Twitter I.d. for APC is:

American_Pest

Please sign up for a twitter account and get into the game! Fat and easy...

Seems Like Old Times by Martin Hood

I spent the weekend at the Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival.  Wind aside, the event turned out beautifully.  I said hello to some friends I haven’t seen in awhile, got to talk a lot of our current customers again, and hopefully made some new ones (friends and customers.)  As I found myself talking to some of them I would inevitably ask them what kind of job we were doing for them and how their service had been.  I was pleased to say that I didn’t get one negative response!  In fact, it was refreshing to hear all the positive responses and feed back on my technicians.  I was surprised at how much I remembered about some of my old customers from back when I was “teching.”  I could recall their homes, where certain SENTRICON stations were, even some of the cars.  Many of their kids are now grown and off to school.  Man, where has the time gone.

George Bernard Shaw once said that “youth is wasted on the young.”  I don’t know if that’s true or not but I know that things do, in fact, change!  Usually in direct opposition to your plans!  While I was at the festival I looked around me and suddenly I was back at the Marion County Fair in Indiana.  I can still remember my first Lemon shake-up.  More sugar than anything else, I think the only lemon used in that thing was one cut in half that was ceremoniously waived over the top of the sugar concoction in effort to give the aroma of lemon.  What kind of mother lets an 8 year old boy have that much sugar anyway?  I also remember the first time I had an Italian sausage (pronounced EYE-talian by my mom’s side of the family).  It was the best thing I ever tasted…I never did learn how to keep all that stuff from spilling out, and usually all over the front of my clothes.

When I got to the festival I just knew I had to have a lemon shake-up and an EYE-talian sausage.  Both were good don’t get me wrong, but it was somehow different.  Maybe the spices were dulled down due to people complaining of indigestion, and maybe the sugar-conscious mom’s finally caught up to the lemon shake-up folk and got their arms around the over use of sugar that had raged unchecked for years!  I don’t know.  Or maybe I was the one who had changed.  You know, someone once said you can never go home again, and that’s probably true, but if you can’t then The Conyers Cheery Blossom Festival was a pretty good substitute!  Good weather, Good People, and Good Food…just different.