Get Birds to Move into Your Yard And Eat Bugs

More than the obvious reasons for attracting birds to your yard is birds are great for pest control. Make your garden and yard welcoming to our feathered friends.

Backyard birds eat a combination of seeds, berries and insects. In the spring time, birds are working to fill mouths of their hatchlings, and a baby bird’s favorite meal…freshly caught bugs.

Since pests that live in your garden are at their peak in late spring and early summer, bird eating bugs are great for gardeners.  Instead of us dealing with all of the common garden pests, birds can save us lots of time by combing our gardens.   Birds will search for cabbage worms, whiteflies, aphids, earwigs, grasshoppers, cucumber beetles and grubs.

Here are a few tips on how to make your yard bird-friendly during the spring and summer months.

Taking Cover: If you are planning the design of your landscape and you would like to attract more birds, it’s important to provide areas where birds can take cover from the weather.  Birds will need to find a home in the spring and early summer so plant some small trees and shrubs that are appealing to birds for their nesting site.  Nesting birds will have hungry baby birds to feed and that means more mother birds combing your yard for food.

Provide Water: All birds are attracted to water for drinking and bathing.  Since birds like moving water and if you already have a birdbath, you could add a bubbler to it to attract more birds.  If you don’t have a birdbath, adding an outdoor fountain to your landscape would help attract more birds.  You would be providing the moving water that attracts birds, while adding an appealing feature to your garden.

Offer Food: People who feed birds, sometimes put their bird feeders away once warm weather arrives. Birds that spend most of their time eating insects enjoy to change it up once and a while.  Offering a bird feeder can provide an occasional snack for your feathered friends.  Keep one feeder filled with a nice quality seed blend that will appeal to chickadees, cardinals and sparrows.

Here is a list of birds and some if the insects they eat:

• Bluebirds: grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, larvae, moths
• Cardinals: beetles, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, stinkbugs, snails
• Chickadees: aphids, whitefly, scale, caterpillars, ants, earwigs
• Grosbeaks: larvae, caterpillars, beetles
• Nuthatches: tree and shrub insects such as borers, caterpillars, ants and earwigs
• Oriole: caterpillars, larvae, beetles, grasshoppers
• Sparrows: beetles, caterpillars, cutworms
• Swallows: moths, beetles, grasshoppers
• Titmice: aphids, leafhoppers, caterpillars, beetles
• Warblers: caterpillars, aphids, whitefly
• Woodpeckers: larvae, beetles, weevils, borers

Full Article Source.

The post How to Attract Birds for Pest Control appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Tips on Keeping Bees from Invading Your Property:

• Be sure window screens are fitted properly
• Fill any holes made in the ground by animals
• Remove trash and debris as soon as possible
• Fill holes that are larger than 1/8 inch in diameter in trees and/or walls
• Fill cracks in walls and foundation as well as around the roof of your home.

Full Article Source

The post Tips to Prevent Bees appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Prevention is one of the best ways to keep termites away from your home.  Here are a few tips to make your home less inviting to termites:

• Eliminate moisture problems around your home.
• Repair any leaking faucets and/or water pipes.
• Be sure air conditioning units are draining properly
• Maintain good drainage around the foundation
• Make sure there is no standing water around the foundation
• Clean gutters and down-spouts
• Avoid excess mulch or ground cover near the foundation
• Keep firewood and/or lumber away from foundation
• Get rid of stumps and debris near house
• Inspect decks and wooden fences regularly for damage
• Prevent the wood on your home from contacting the soil

A-1 Exterminators are termite control experts and can help you identify problem areas around your home that might be attractive to termite colonies, as well as any signs of possible termite activity. Prevention is key!

Full Article Source

The post Termite Control Tips For Your Home appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Pour equal amounts of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle, and shake to mix. Spray the solution in areas where ants are common. Use it on kitchen floors, around baseboards and along the doors to the outside. You can also use this solution outside and spray down patios, porches and picnic tables.

A-1 Exterminators can help with your ant control problems! Call A-1 at 800-525-4825 for all your pest control needs.

The post Homemade Ant Repellant appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Flying Bug Cracker

Raisin Ants on a Peanut Butter & Celery Log

Grape Caterpillars, Strawberry Cracker Flying Bugs, Pretzel & Celery Flying Bugs

Fruit & Cracker Flying Bug Combos

Apple Slice Winged Carrot Insect

Tomato & Olive Cracker Bugs

Pretzel-Winged Celery Bug Snacks

Pretzel-Winged Banana Bug with Apple Antennae

Apple Slice & Celery Peanut Butter Snails

Tomato & Raisin Ladybugs, Grape Caterpillars, Raisin & Pineapple Bugs

Strawberry, Blackberry & Blueberry Ladybugs

Strawberry, Grape & Chocolate Chip Ladybugs

Clothes Pin Butterfly Snacks

The post Healthy Snacks for Kids Who Love Bugs appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Spring usually brings out the spiders then the ticks and mosquitoes. If you get a bug bite, and it is hot and tender or is oozing you should see a doctor. There could be an infection that needs to be treated. Lyme disease is a concern for May and June.

If the bite is just irritating, it’s not necessary to see a doctor, using a cool compress can help relieve some of the swelling and hydrocortisone cream will help for a few days.

Be sure to apply bug spray if you will be out in the evening or near any wooded areas especially near water. For children under ten years old, you should look for something with a low DEET content. It is recommended that bug spray for children under ten have less than 5% of DEET. Children ten and older can use the same as adults.

There are a variety of methods of pest control for mosquitoes, ticks, and spiders. Let A-1 get rid of all your uninvited guests! Call A-1 at 800-525-4825 or visit check the residential and commercial pest control treatment options on the site.

The post Bug Bite Season is Here appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

You and your kids can also make these awesome light up firefly bugs for an easy kids’ summer craft! Using Easter eggs as the body, just add wings cut out from duck tape; eyes drawn on to sticker labels or on the egg itself; and pipe cleaner feet and antennae poked into the eggs. You can add a small LED light, or even a glow stick bracelet, inside to make them glow like a real firefly!

This adorable firefly bug craft is simple and quick. You can even hide them around the backyard as part of an awesome night-time Easter egg hunt!

*Images from Katie Steuernaglevia ApartmentTherapy. com.

The post Firefly Light-Up Bug Craft appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

The clanger cicada keeps bacteria away because of the small spikes that kill bacteria by ripping them apart on contact. Scientifically speaking, the spikes are a layer of nanopillars, which cover the span of the wing’s surface. The bacteria lands, sticks to the spikes, and sinks into the crevices between them; it tears if the strain is too much.

This cicadas’ wings is one of the first surfaces in nature that have such an incredible power. A power that could potentially be used to help kill bacteria on public surfaces by incorporating the nanopatterns from the insect’s wings into the design of the new surfaces.

Full Article on Yahoo. More information on PubMed.

The post Insects Wings Found to Have Natural Antibiotics appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

Both of these bugs will try to find their way indoors to hibernate.  They both send out an awful smell when frightened.  You will find them looking for ways inside near any door or window.

If you are seeing these pests or other insects invading your house, be sure to check all of the windows, and doors for any holes and repair them as quickly as possible.  Also be sure to remove air conditioning units which can leave gaps for them to enter the home.

Learn more pest control tips and how to keep bugs out of your house!

The post Stink Bugs: How to Keep Them Out of The House appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.

• Seal and caulk cracks around windows, doors, siding, chimneys, and other small openings to prevent stink bugs and other uninvited guests from getting into your home.
• Store firewood at least 20 feet away from your home and 5 inches off the ground to keep spiders, stink bugs, termites, and other insects out.
• Keep your lawn mowed and well groomed. Long grass is welcoming shelter for rodents and insects.
• Replacing outdoor lights with sodium light bulbs lowers the attraction of night flying insects and keeps spiders away
• If you have cockroaches, try sprinkling powdered boric acid around the walls, behind cupboards or wherever else they may come in.
• When traveling, always check the room for bedbugs before staying. Lift the mattress and check the seam edging and underside of the frame for bugs or brownish spots.
• Keep wooden fencing at least 2 ft away from your home’s foundation to help prevent termites from having access to the house.
• Check around baseboards and inside cabinets for cracks and crevices where mice and other pests could hide, and fill holes accordingly.
• You should always re-check luggage and clothing for bedbugs before bringing it back into your house after a trip or stay at a hotel.
• If you’re storing birdseed in your home or shed, keep it in a sealed metal container. Mice can gnaw through plastic and eat seeds.
•  False indigo, lavender, elderberry, basil, and mint are said to help repel flies.
• Common places where bugs get in the house are small cracks around pipes. These are just large enough for mice to squeeze through as well. Try blocking these holes with steel wool to prevent any uninvited guests.
• To avoid dust mites, vacuum mattresses and pillows regularly.
  If dust mites particularly irritate your allergies, you can get a zippered cover for your mattress.
• To avoid dust mites, vacuum mattresses and pillows regularly.
  If dust mites particularly irritate your allergies, you can get a zippered cover for your mattress.
• Make sure you know what a bedbug looks like and how to check for bedbugs when you go on vacation or stay at a hotel.

The post Bug and Pest Control Quick Tips appeared first on A-1 Exterminators.