Summer is such an active time for pests. Unfortunately, it’s also the time of year we’re most active too! To help protect you and your family from annoying insects, we offer these helpful tips for yard pest control that focus on some of the most common summer pests: mosquitoes, ants, ticks, and stink bugs.

You won’t be able to completely rid the outdoors of these nuisances, but you can lessen their numbers so that you can stay outside longer and enjoy the summer.

How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes

Mosquito control should be one of your first pest control goals this summer. There doesn’t seem to be a ruder insect when it comes to getting in your face. Their buzzing around your ears only adds insult to injury.

Mosquitoes not only cause irritable bites that itch like crazy, but they can also carry life-threatening diseases, like West Nile virus.  The first step in controlling mosquitoes is to eliminate sources of standing water around your home and lawn. Mosquitoes seek standing water to lay their eggs and you’d be surprised at how easily you might have created this favorite ecosystem. An unattended bucket, undrained rain gutters, wading pools, and even the wrinkles in your vinyl grill cover can provide adequate standing water for them to breed.

Take a thorough look at the items outside your home and eliminate any of these water sources. Take a thorough look inside your home to examine all your screens, too, and make sure none of them have any small holes that would allow mosquitoes to enter.

Wearing a natural repellent offered by Dominion such as Nature-Cide® Insect Repellent can help protect your family by discouraging the blood suckers from landing on skin and clothing. Learn more about our Green Pest Control!

Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and at dusk and this is when pest control should be applied. Our professional mosquito pest control can offer protection around the perimeter of your home and property to create a season-long barrier in your backyard. If you live in Lancaster or York, get in touch with our customer service team to schedule lawn pest control before your outdoor picnics are in full swing.

How to Get Rid of Ants

Speaking of picnics…

Ants and picnics seem to go hand in hand. Ants can proliferate in summer months and when you’re out picnicking, you are on their turf.

But if your yard or home is infested with ants, effective ant control may depend on the type. Try to identify what kind you have. Our professional pest control technicians can help, sometimes just by how you describe the ants’ appearance and/or behavior.

Common ‘House’ Ants

If there are a lot of ants near the perimeter of your home, you can bet they are infesting the inside of your home as well. Ants will especially move into your home when temperatures rise. Ants will look for sources of moisture anywhere they can find it.  You’ll mostly see common house ants and carpenter ants. Pet food and water that is kept in dishes directly on the floor can attract house ants.

There are over-the-counter solutions to control ants in your home, however, you will need to be diligent in your application. Again, we only recommend the use of Nature-Cide®, all-natural insect repellent. If you are unable to locate the nest of the ants or you keep seeing, you should contact a professional exterminator.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants will consider the wood in your home as the best place to set up their own homes and to create tunnels for nesting. They don’t actually eat wood; they just chomp through it like tunnel boring machines. Regardless, they can be destructive. These tunnels and nests can be quite large and threaten the structure of your home.

Outside, carpenter ants will search for stumps, woodpiles, and any decaying wood to set up home. If you have logs for your stove piled up close to your home, you’ll be inviting them inside. If you suspect you have carpenter ants near your house or inside your home, contact a professional pest control technician.

Fire Ants

The fire ant is a type of ant more commonly found in the Southern United States but since a lot of people head south for vacations this time of year, we figured we should at least share a warning. Their bite can cause swelling, hive-like bumps at the point of contact, and pain. Fire ant stings have been known to cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. They are typically found in southern states from Florida to Texas but have also appeared in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Check with the manager of your vacation property prior to your arrival to determine if there are any fire ant populations that may cause concern.

How to Get Rid of Ticks

Usually, tick issues occur because your pet is the one bringing them into the home, but ticks will find you a perfect host too.  Ticks won’t cause harm to your home, but tick-borne diseases can be debilitating. Lyme disease, Colorado tick fever, and Rocky Mounted Spotted fever are some well-known tick-borne diseases, but there are other less-known infections caused by ticks.

You can avoid tick infestations by ruining their habitat. Clear your property of any brush or long grass, which is where they like to live. Flea and tick shampoos will help keep them off your pets, but these treatments don’t last a long time.  When heading outdoors to wooded areas or when gardening, wear long sleeves and long pants and apply an over-the-counter tick repellent labeled safe for human use.

Our experienced pest control experts can assess your property and apply effective green pest control treatments to attack tick populations.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs

You probably already notice stink bugs around your home. Warmer weather has coaxed them out of the shelter they used while overwintering. Often, this shelter is the siding of your home, your home’s attic, and any cracks or crevices.

The most effective way to control stink bugs is to use a power spray that adheres to the side of your home. Stink bugs eat the chemical, and they die outside your home. This keeps the inside of your home stink-bug free.  We can also treat the interior (attic, cracks, crevices, and specifically targeted areas) to prevent the bugs from emerging from overwintering.

Check out this video about stink bugs that reveals some frequently asked questions, with answers:

Learn more about how you can control stink bugs in this previous post: https://www.dominionpestcontrol.com/stink-bug-control/

Dominion Offers Green Pest Control

We are an authorized distributor of Nature-Cide®, an all-natural pest control product that can be used for many types of summer pest control. This pest and insect control product is applied to the perimeter of your property to repel mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, spiders, and more. It is a DEET-free product. Call 717-393-7879 for more information.