Summer Newsletter

It's summertime and pests aren't going on vacation this year

Roll out those hazy, crazy days of summer as the song goes. Along with those days comes the uninvited pests. Pests that can make your fun in the sun a terrible memory. Along with the warm, sunny days comes an army of pests which enjoy the summer just as we do.

This issue is dedicated to pesky pests (those pests that don't really cause significant damage to your home or business, but will cause serious damage to your daily activities.

Imagine a skunk walking across your patio during an evening party. The skunk is certainly an uninvited guest. Imagine a bat flying into the reception area of your business or house just as your are getting ready to turn out the lights for the night. Having a pool party? You really didn't invite those millipedes did you? Ready to settle down for an iced tea and a good book? Page one seems to jump out of the book as the silverfish scurry.

Summertime calls to pest control operators can be panic calls due to honeybees in a bedroom or flies in a porch area just hours before guests are to arrive.

All Seasons Pest Control is qualified to inspect your home or business to find early warning signs of the pesky pests. We will know how to keep you in charge of your working and living environment rather than letting the pests take over.

All Seasons Pest Control will give you tips on how to reduce or eliminate pest problems that crop up over the summer.

To learn more about the professional pest control services provided by All Seasons Pest Control, call us at 904-399--1329. And have a safe and fun summer.

Honey bees... our friends and foes

Honey bees are some of the most beneficial insects in our living environment. Honey bees pollinate flowers and allow us to have fruits and vegetables. A pleasant byproduct is the production of honey. But, honey bees can be our foes when they end up in our houses or businesses.

Honey bees are docile social insects meaning that they live in groups. Each hive has a population of up to 80,000 bees. The types of bees in a hive are the queen, the workers, which are actually infertile females, and drones which are males. The queen, which can live up to five years, can produce 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day. Young workers tend to the work of the hive, while the older workers forage for nectar and pollen. As the colony grows too large, a queen may leave with workers and start a new colony leaving a new queen behind to continue the colony. Honey bees peacefully go about their business pollinating plants and producing delicious honey.

Sometimes, honey bees will build hives in walls of the home or business or in bushes nearby leading to honey bees in our living or working spaces. Then, the mild honey bee becomes a pest. Honey bees can sting and some people react violently to bee stings.

Much has been written about Africanized honey bees or "killer bees." This strain of bee is much more aggressive than the mild mannered European honey bee. Africanized honey bees are in the very warm areas of the country are moving further north each year. Africanized honey bees will pursue an intruder for the length of a football field, while the honey bee will only pursue an intruder for about 10 yards.

By midsummer, honey bees reach very high populations. Occupants should not fog the inside of their houses or businesses if honey bees are found. If the bees are removed leaving the hive, robber bees may come in and reoccupy the hive thus perpetuating the bee problem. Instead, a pest control company should be called. They will alleviate the problem with maximum care and minimal risk to the occupants.

Millipedes and centipedes

Millipedes are sometimes called "thousand leggers" because they have so many pairs of legs. Insects always have three pairs of legs, or six legs total, so millipedes are not really insects. But they can be pests. Millipedes have a hard shell and have 30 to 90 pairs of legs. Millipedes have two pairs of legs on each body segment, which distinguishes them from centipedes in that centipedes have only one pair of legs per body segment.

There are over 1,000 specifies of millipedes in the US. The elongated body is rounded and they have no poison claws and will not bite. Millipedes are scavengers and usually feed on decaying organic matter. The flattened-body centipedes on the other hand, are predators with many species having pairs of poison claws and use the poison to paralyze their prey, usually small insects. There have been reports of centipedes biting humans, but centipedes are not aggressive and the bite, while a bit painful, is not dangerous.

Stories of the giant centipedes and millipedes are somewhat exaggerated in the US. Most common centipedes rarely grow beyond a few inches but can grow up to six inches long. A six-inch long centipede is certainly intimidating and will scare young children and adults alike. Millipedes can group up to about four inches long.

All Seasons Pest Control can provide advice on reducing centipede or millipede populations. Eliminating harborage and perhaps performing a treatment to prevent entry into your house will make your summer more pleasant.