It’s officially summer. You know what that means? It’s red alert for seasonal pests in Alabama. There are quite a few insects that can bug you during the warmer months. So many that Vulcan Termite and Pest Control, Inc. has thought it best to throw a flag on the play, starting first with ants.

 

There are quite a few of these workers, so we dedicate this entire article to these pests. Drum roll, please!

Starting With the Worst

Anyone who has inadvertently stepped on a colony of this most evil bug will agree that getting munched upon by one of these beasts can really ruin your day. That’s why we’re kicking-off things with the …

• Fire Ant.
  All we can say about this threatening little creature is stay away from them. Fire ants will mercilessly sting the living crap out of you. And they are a major health threat. You can DIY the elimination of these critters, but we think you should go pro to rid your outdoor living space from the wrath of a swarm of tiny troublemakers like the Fire Ant. The reason we recommend expert management is because one dose of the OTC insecticides just ain’t enough. These tiny vampires will just keep coming back without a regular dose of death.
• Crazy Ant.
  These guys are more than nuts. Don’t be fooled, though. They are sane enough to avoid ant baits. Another issue: The Crazy Ant has a tendency to not only live in colonies. They branch out into little, nearby bug suburbs — sub-colonies, if you will. This is another job for Vulcan Termite and Pest Control, Inc. Why? The pest is a nomad, always looking for a place to live as they migrate from your neighbor’s yard to yours.
• Carpenter Ant.
  Quit your job if you want to rid your property of the Carpenter Ant. You’re going to need to bone-up on a stack of information and get an internship at a pest control company. You’ll have to go high to find the parent nest and all of the branch colonies. Why? They mostly set-up their initial shop in a tree. Got a lot of trees on your slice of God’s green Earth? Get ready for a constant wave of reinfestation.
• Argentine Ant.
  Toughies. Really hard, if not impossible to control. To you that means (since you’ve already quit your job to DIY the elimination of Carpenter Ants), that you will also wage an endless war against the Argentine Ant. Call us. We’ll set-up a treatment plan. That way you can stay employed while we do the job.
• Pharaoh Ant.
  Ant baits will work with the Pharaohs. Just make sure you regularly refill their dish of poison.

Be Proactive

Of course you don’t want to feel the plague from the aforementioned ants. We’ve put together a slew of things you can do to make it tough for these fiends to nest on your homestead:

• Rain gutters need to be re-routed to splash water away from all structures. If puddles occur near the foundation, fill the H2O holes with dirt. Don’t let water accumulate.
• For those with a sprinkler system make sure the output doesn’t spritz directly on your bricks-and-mortar.
• Seal any leaks on your property. Plumbing, roofs, crawlspaces. All places pests can squeeze through.
• Stumps from felled trees and dead limbs need to be ground-out or cut-down. Likewise, make sure none of your plants, scrubs and trees touch your home or business.
• Responsibly dispose of junk like bricks, lumber and other crud that’s just sitting there.
• Any mulch should be kept away from nestling against your foundation. Try to keep it under 2-inches thick, too. Landscape mulch should be less than 2-inches thick and at least 12-inches away from foundations.

Next time around we’ll get into some more seasonal pests in Alabama. Join us, won’t you?

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/garden-pest-control/seasonal-pests-in-alabama-part-1

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