Summer Pest Control Forecast

Atlanta is known for bringing the heat throughout the summer months, so the last thing you want to deal with on top of the muggy, hot weather is annoying pests. As a homeowner you have enough to worry about between staying cool and entertaining your kids while they are on summer break. Your home will eventually become a hub for all things sticky and sweet from fresh fruit to dripping popsicle sticks to melting ice cream cones. Be mindful that all of these delicious summer treats draw the attention of unwelcome guests like ants, gnats, flies, millipedes and roaches. Here is some useful information about these summer pests to help you prevent and identify a pest infestation this season.

Ants: Have you ever seen a lone ant wandering across your counter top? Those lone ants are scouts sent to assess a territory for resources. If the scouts find a decent source of food or water, then the entire ant colony is only days away from setting up camp in your home. Fortunately, this means that ridding your home of ants is pretty straightforward; you just need to eliminate the sources in your home that attract ants. If you have ever tried to deal with ants yourself, you may notice that they just keep getting back inside of your home no matter what you do. This is because their colony sizes are upwards of 300,000 ants.

Flies/Gnats: Gnat is the popular name for many small, winged insects in the fly family. Contrary to what most people believe, these tiny flying insects are not “babies,” they are fully grown adults. The tiny flying insects that many people call “gnats” could really be fruit flies or fungus gnats. Depending on species, gnats can be biting or non-biting and will feed on plants, other insects or blood. To rid your home of gnats and flies, their food source must be located and corrected if feasible. Fruit should not be exposed to open air, and a great alternative is keeping fruit in the refrigerator to protect it from gnats and flies.

Millipedes: Millipedes range in size from a 1/10 of an inch to almost 11 inches! Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter. In ideal damp conditions millipedes can live up to seven years. They can reproduce up to 300 millipedes at a time which is why millipede infestations can become quite overwhelming. In North America millipedes are typically harmless, but some people and pets may have an allergic reaction to them. The main issue most people have to worry about is when a millipede expires it will excrete some extremely putrid fluids that can also stain household surfaces.

Roaches: With the rising summer heat cockroaches may be looking for shelter inside of your cool home that comes with the added bonus of being stocked with all of the resources they need to survive. The key to preventing roaches from infesting your home is to remove the home comforts that they are searching for. Cockroaches tend to prefer dark, moist places to hide and breed and can be found behind refrigerators, under stoves and sinks, and in your major appliances. Since cockroaches can flatten their bodies to fit into narrow areas, they may also be found hiding beneath rugs and mats, behind wallpaper and inside wall cracks.

The last thing you need in this Georgia heat is to be swatting away at unwelcome critters. If your home is infested with any of the above listed pests, contact the pest control professionals at Lookout Pest Control, formerly Any Pest Inc., today. We have been servicing the metro-Atlanta area for over three decades, specializing in pest control and wildlife control. Contact us for a free evaluation for any of your pest control needs.