Howard and Sons Pest and Wildlife Services LLC>

352-341-2189 Pest Control and Nuisance Wildlife Removal

Bed Bugs<

Bed bugs have been getting an increasing amount of press in the last couple of years, and for good reason. The general consensus is that many of the older products that the pest control industry used in the 1950's through the 1970's kept these and other pests in check and to a large degree eliminated these pests. The general consensus also holds that due to the ease of world wide travel, combined with the fact that bed bugs have shown to be resistant to modern pesticides has brought bed bugs back into the forefront. Pest Control industry professionals, government officials, as well as many university entomologists are very concerned that bed bugs will become a very serious problem.

A few basic facts about bed bugs:

• They prefer human blood, but they will feed on pets, even snakes and lizards.
  
• They do breed relatively quickly, but if they are caught early, the infestation can be managed easily.
  
• Bed bugs travel with people. They come home with you from infested hotel rooms, or with a new house guest, or from any other infested area you might visit or travel to. Examples might include hotels, theme parks, cruise ships, office buildings, airplanes, schools, etc.
  
• So far, bed bugs have not been shown to transmit diseases.
  
• Although bed bugs are primarily nocturnal, they can adjust their patterns to fit our sleep schedules to be active while you sleep.
  
• Bed bugs are visible to the naked eye. you can usually identify an infestation by checking the seams of your mattress and the bed frames for crawling bed bugs as well as their droppings.
  

Bottom line here is that bed bugs should be taken seriously. If you suspect you may have bed bugs it is generally not advised to try to treat them yourself. Give our trained professionals a call today. We'll eliminate the guesswork and provide a treatment program to suit your needs and your situation.

Rodents<

Chewing on Pipes and electrical wires, dark greasy markings on walls and eaves, new holes in screens or walls, funky animal/urine smells in or around your home.  There are just a few signs of a rodent infestation.

Rodent infestations are a big deal.  Rodents are known to carry diseases of all kinds.  The most famous example of this occurred in the mid fourteenth century when the Bubonic Plague known as the Black Death was spread by fleas who had contracted the disease from rats and then transferred the disease to humans.  Other examples of diseases spread by rodents include Rabies, Leptospirosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Salmonella.

More and more, pest control professionals are being called in to deal with rodent infestations in even new housing areas.  Rodents are gaining access to homes by chewing their way in or just taking advantage of a small construction flaw, or a small opening resulting from storms or a lack of maintenance.  Even the slightest holes can lead to an infestation.

Rodent infestations can be prevented very simply by keeping a good watch over your home.  Frequent inspections can catch small openings before they can lead to rodents or other nuisance wildlife setting up a camp in your attic.

With the safety of your family at stake, give us a call today to set up an inspection at no cost to you.  At the very least, we can give you an idea of what types of things the pro's look for when looking for wildlife invasions of all kinds.

Don't leave it to chance, put our trained professionals to work for you today.

German Roaches<

Previously, these pests were thought to have originated in Europe, later evidence suggested the Ethiopia area of Africa. More recent thinking and evidence suggests that despite the name, these pests originated in Asia. None of that really matters because they are probably the most widely know indoor pest in the modern world. When most people think about roaches, these are what they are thinking about.

German roaches travel with people. In our clothing, our luggage and even cars. They will set up camp just about anywhere human temperature control devices are in effect. They do need certain conditions in order to get out of hand, essentially they need filth. Poor housekeeping habits, leaving food out, etc. can make these pest go from a nuisance to a major problem very quickly. When their food source is abundant, and the environment is nice and warm they can have as many as six generations per year.

Restaurants have a lot of vulnerability to german roaches due to the abundance of food, the difficulty to stay clean, and the constant in and out of people and supplies. They can come in from their suppliers, their employees and even their customers. We can bring them into our homes in much the same fashion. They came come in from a house guest, clothing, appliances, etc., from the grocery store, or restaurant. They can even hitch a ride from a hotel or theme park with us. Keeping our homes clean can limit the problem but sooner or later a control measure will need to be employed.

Don't try to guess, call our professional team to take a look. We can design the right program for you to eliminate these pests quickly and safely.

Fleas<

Most often, fleas get noticed when our beloved pets bring them in from outside. The animals that live in our shared space, such as small rodents, foxes, raccoons, etc., carry fleas, and sooner or later those fleas find our pets. Fleas typically prefer animal hosts with hair but they will also feed on humans. About 300 different types of fleas live within the US, but they pretty much look alike to the naked eye, and pretty much behave the same way.  Fleas can spread diseases like cat scratch fever, murine typhus and most famously, the bubonic plague. These can either be transferred by the fleas themselves feeding on the infected host them feed on another host, or from scratching contaminated fecal matter into an open wound.

There are several ways to control fleas, an unfortunately most of these are temporary at best. Treatments to the home living area can eliminate fleas, but more will come eventually because of the environment. The same can be said for outdoor treatments. They can eliminate the vast majority of fleas, but eventually more will come. The most long term, reliable flea control comes from treating our pests. The pills and topical treatments from your local vet are the most effective, basically turning your family dag into a flea killing machine. At the same time, when the pest have been removed from a flea infested home or yard, the chemical treatments are quite effective.

Eliminate any guesswork, call our professional team today and we can steer you in the right direction!