Most ants do not bring with them any kind of danger, however, fire ants are an exception. These ants can leave you with aggressive stings, one that can lead to severe irritation and inflammation on the surface of the skin. Fire ants can infiltrate indoor as well as outdoor spaces and are not just an issue in a particular region, but all around the world.

If you have encountered a space around your home that is now housing fire ants, it is time to take action. Fire ants colonies are extremely difficult to destroy, thus protect yourself before getting onto the task. Also, keep young children and pets away from the area, as sudden outbreak will lead to aggressive stings from fire ants.

• If you see that the fire ants are making an entry into your home through a hole, which is the most common case, begin by sealing the hole. Put on gloves and spray an organic insecticide at the entry point. Also, spray the same product along the trail of the ants. This will prevent fire ants from entering from now on. Do ensure that the product you use is safe to be used indoors, especially if you have kids and pets who can be easily affected by chemicals.
• In case the fire ants colony is situated in your garden or backyard, do not go too close and look around if the ants are also present in the bushes. If you walk through these bushes you may be under threat of being stung. Use a powdered insecticide that can be diluted with water and pour the mixture into the mound. This treatment for fire ants can kill the ants that are present in the soil, even underground. This activity will disrupt the habitat of these fire ants from the root.
• In case you want to go organic, you can use cinnamon spray and spray the same directly along the fire ant trail.
• Gasoline too can help in eradicating fire ants colonies. It has to be poured into a hole that runs into the ground. However, do note that frequent use of this method can cause harm to the ground and is extremely dangerous if inflamed by, mistake.

Do note that a sting is very painful and thus, avoiding contact is the best way is to maintain distance from these colonies. When working on fire ant treatment or to get rid of these colonies, wear shoes and socks. Also, do not try too hard and call in for pest control help if needed as you do not want to be attacked.

Having had a constant inflow of demand from the general public and large-scale companies and businesses, there has been a huge list of companies who have lined up in a queue, providing their services. The constant demand cycle of consumers has enabled a wide variety of services to be formulated as per the specific requirements a person troubled with pests might have.

Pests have always survived on the same platform as humans and continue to exist regardless of the steps taken by countless measures. These organisms, although tiny, exist in multiplied numbers. The population of these problem causing species can not be exterminated, but the pest control agencies do definitely do their best to limit their effect on daily life and restrict them from affecting business and lives.

Like any industry in the business world, the relation between service provider and consumer has crucial position when it comes to the industry’s survival and profitable continuity. For decades, since modern year science started evolving itself and since chemistry has given way to new age formulas that can keep pests at more than an arm’s distance, human race has wasted no minutes to tap on the opportunity to get rid of unwanted pests and create a business out of it.

Seeing the US market from an aerial view, there is no dearth of companies who provide anti pest services, but the ones who stand out from the crowd are the companies who have not just given examples for good service but have maintained it over the span of their existence. As per a consumer driven online source, the A-lister among pest control companies are listed as explained before:
Terminix, a stalwart with more than 85 years of experience behind their brand, is the go-to specialist when it comes to termite removal. The company boasts of being experts in new age pest control techniques such as insulation of infested areas to prevent encroachments.

Bulwark exterminators, a company that has made a foot hold on providing guarantees to its customers and attaching that with a promise, a surety of unlimited re-service, should their first treatment for the area fails. In any business, such a guarantee does hold immense weight towards customer satisfaction.

These are examples of firms and conglomerates who have made a visible and recognizable name for themselves by placing their expert services in the market and keeping up to what promises they put on advertisement campaigns.

For as long has humans have walked the earth, they have not been the only creatures to co-exist alongside sharing the same habitat. Humans are part of the same kingdom as many other organisms, some not even viable to the naked eye. History has given us a glimpse of codependent existence between both the worlds, but often the co-relation has failed, for there are certain tiny bugs that are harmful and unhealthy to exist beside human living. The modern-day vocabulary terms such minute organisms as pests, who derive their name from the fact that they cause harm to and around human colonies.

By the meaning of the words as given in the dictionary, a pest can be any insect or animal that aims at destroying food, crop, and even livestock by feeding on them and making them unfit to consume. The past has been a witness to epidemics that have been caused by such pests, which were responsible for erasing a huge portion of the area’s population. It is not all the time that crops or other edible items affected by the infestation are visible easily. When such an occurrence goes unnoticed and when the affected item is mistakenly consumed, it can cause wide spread destruction to the individual’s health.

Pest control bodies are formed to keep in control the growth and multiplication of such organisms, hence making the environment in which humans live safer. With the progression of science and technology, pest control organizations have been successful in expanding their horizons and any and all almost all kinds of pests that even have a remote possibility of harming human life can be taken care of, to omit any possible danger.

Looking at pest control largely, one can find a wide array of companies who take care of these tiny inconveniences. These are the companies that range from stalwarts who have been in the market for as long as the term pest control has been coined and there are newer generation conglomerates who are rather new comers in the pest control market. Taking names to help us attain better examples, there is a long list of companies that can be written down in black and white. From the 85-year-old Terminix, a front runner in the termite removal services to Ecolab pest control, who provides large scale, commercial eradication of pests and vermin, the pest control business has as many companies providing the service as they have a constant flow of eager consumers seeking their service.

As the fact is relevant to any kind of services provided in the market, reliability is of crucial essence, especially when it comes to evaluating the particular service provided.
The world of pest control has been in existence as long as humans have realized that controlling these tiny creatures is a possibility with the help of chemistry and science.

Pests by definition are tiny organisms which may or may not be visible to the naked eye, that grow in number in an exponential speed, and cause widespread damage to commodities like crops and create massive havoc around the living space shared by humans. Back in history, it was duly accepted that organisms like pests do exist and the harm they inflict on the local population used to be something one could not do anything about. Understanding the fact that when the growth of pests occurs, it happens in a magnitude that often cannot be comprehended ahead of time and hence it would be considered an impossible task to contain them or the harm they could inflict on human life.
The advent of chemistry in the early twentieth century gave way to a possibility where one can stop the growth of such organisms and exterminate them from growing and spreading. The application of such new-found technology demanded expert hands at work as the procedure to be followed in the process of extermination was for sure one that wasn’t the job of any commoner with no knowledge in the field. This growing demand for pest control gave way to enterprises opening up businesses to aid growth of the market. In the beginning, when certain areas of the world would be widely covered and devastated with diseases and epidemics caused by such pests, it couldn’t have been a better time for companies to tap the never-before touched market of pest control.

Transcending ourselves to the recent past, the continuous advent of chemistry and the evolving market of the pest control business has encouraged newer and better services to emerge in the market, which further helps a would customer know what to expect when hiring an expert for their homes or offices to make the area a safe haven for co-existence with friends, families, and colleagues.

With a trusted panel of services, aiming at specific types of pests, pest control has grown in directions both domestic and industrial in nature. In the wide market of customer service, it not only is enough for local pest control companies to provide the service but is also crucial to follow through the promise and guarantee of quality assured through advertisements and other marketing forms. In the recent years, the trend of after service checkups have been introduced wherein once the initial service is taken care of, specialists visit the site in intervals to check on the progress the treatment has in the longer term. This gives a sense of assurance to the customers that even after the initial treatment is done, regular checkups help them understand how and when to re-apply services when and if required.

When a not-so-concerned home maker is in their zone of taking care of daily household business and when they find an unwanted organism that should not have been around their home, where do they go? A pest infestation is never an easy-to-find occurrence until and unless effects of the organism is wide spread. The factors which contribute toward the growth and multiplication of the tiny beings is the least known fact, hence when one discovers such a problem at hand, it is most of the time a moment of panic and fear as the infestation can have any and all kind of effects on the inhabitants, all of which being negative.

It used to be the case of utter chaos and mayhem, as firms and companies who had the expertise to take care of such anomalies were small in number. As the books from the chemistry section of a library contributed valuable information towards the development of anti-pest concoctions and pest control and prevention powders and liquids, conglomerates tapped this territory that was by default known to be in constant demand and an assured upward profit.

This generous help from the world of chemistry came to the still nonexistent pest control industry in the beginning of the previous century. Since the era when industries began taking up on pest control as a business option, commoners got a much-wanted solace to easily get rid of pests in and around their homes.
Over the decades, trusted names in the industry have stamped their name in the market, hence giving more than needed options for an interested customer to choose from a wide array of services. Following are some of the best local names in the pest control business.

From the Bug Doctor being formed almost twenty-five years ago in Ocala, Florida, to Keith’s Pest Control from Keller, Texas, who has been in the business for close to ten years, examples of companies who provide avant garde services of any and all budget ranges from small to big scale tasks.

Functioning in the city of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Ace Exterminators have been in the business since as early as 1959, specializing in termite and pest removal and providing services on both domestic and industrial levels.

Considered as a social media favorite, formed in Port Saint Louise, Florida, Hitman Pest Control have paved its way through evolution in the market and have brought to light state-of-the-art procedures for pest control.

Giving gratitude to science, the modern world and the eagerness of business enthusiasts, there is no dearth of options when one has a pest issue around their homes and offices.

In July 2016, a woman became victim of cervical cancer thrice. It was reported that her dirty house was the main hurdle in her recuperation. Most people believe that germs breed only in coffee shops, public washrooms, and other outdoor places, which are the reasons behind them regularly falling sick. This article introduces the reader to a few side effects of breeding germs indoors.

Carpets A reservoir for germs
Environmental engineers refer carpets of an average home as the sponges for toxins because a sample of the dust extracted from them proved that they are reservoirs of toxic pesticides, cancer-causing hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). If you do not have time to clean your carpets regularly, resort to professional house cleaning services. Avail Stanley Steemer coupons to enjoy budget-friendly professional carpet cleaning services and to keep toxic substances away from your carpets.

Danger to children through air ducts
The immunity system of children is in a developing phase, so they cannot keep themselves immune against every allergic substance, which may be breeding in home carpets or air ducts, in addition to the pollution outside. These allergic elements are the sole causes of child asthma, athlete’s foot, and other allergies.

Vacuum cleaners add more
Homeowners might be unaware of the fact that vacuum cleaners deposit more dust than picking up dust. The fault in the manufacturing of vacuum cleaners leads to the low or faulty capacity of the cleaner to retain or suck dust particles. It is for this reason, environmental engineers and home hygiene scientists recommend using offers like Stanley Steemer coupons, to clean their houses with better and efficient technologies or at least using High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Vacuums.

Mold and other self-generating germs
Molds and other types of fungus generate themselves in the wet and dark corners of the room, especially on carpets and walls. When airborne, they are inhaled into the respiratory systems of the inhabitants of the houses, which cause respiratory diseases like asthma, shortness of breath, wheezing, allergies, sneezing, and unfortunately, much more. The fungi are hard to clean because they locate themselves in the darkest corners of the residence.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PCBs are found in home appliances or are carried into the house by outsiders or pets. They were banned by the US Congress in 1979 and by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001. They have been proven to cause skin diseases like rashes, miscarriages during childbirth, cancer, respiratory problems, and deaths.

What are the precautions that can be taken?
Avoid wall-to-wall carpets in damp areas and especially in rooms of individuals with respiratory disorders.
Clean carpets regularly with High Efficient Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuums.
Use less toxic substances for cleaning purposes. The cleaning gels and other fluids also contain toxic elements. Hence, environment-friendly products are advised.
Get professional help for detailed and safe cleaning of houses, such as those which can be commanded by Stanley Steemer coupons.

Regular illness is not only the result of being exposed to outdoor pollution and germs, but also the breeding of indoor germs. It is a common fact that prevention is better than cure. Hence, it is widely recommended to undertake necessary steps before a major side effect takes place.

It is important to understand the necessity of cleanliness above everything else. An unclean environment can lead you to have various kinds of consequences, the most common discomfort being allergy. Dust and dirt have a connection with diseases and allergies since time immemorial. A simple dust allergy can lead you to have further chained results if not taken care of immediately. If you are suffering from congestion, incessant sneezing, kin irritations, red eyes, itchiness, asthma, etc., it is high time for you to get started with extensive home cleaning procedures.

Before getting started, wear a mask to prevent yourself from the entry of allergens and dust particles. If you already have allergic reactions, don’t even try to touch your mop or vacuum cleaner without wearing a mask.

Rely on machines for a better quality of cleaning
Needless to mention that you would need to clean your house regularly and not once in a week. Besides, you would need machines for more efficient cleaning like vacuum cleaners, mopping machines, washing machines, etc. Make sure your vacuum cleaner has HEPA filter because with ordinary filters, a wide range of allergens escape from being entrapped. As a result, when you use the cleaner, you just suck them off the surface and shoot them somewhere else in the air. HEPA filter takes better care of such allergens and helps you have an allergen-free environment.

How to keep your home allergy-free
While cleaning your toilet and kitchen, be extra cautious about the growing of molds. Take time to scrub them off and clean the corners properly to get rid of unwanted molds causing allergies. Dishes should be cleaned with dish washing liquids or any other good disinfectant, which would kill the germs off.
For washing garments, use hot water instead of normal tap water as this would ensure germ-free clothes, and this is very important from the medical point of view, if you have allergic issues.

Try using a wet mop while mopping off the floors because this will trap the allergens. Also, use strong disinfectants to kill the germs causing nose and eye irritations. You may also use an air purifier to have a healthy atmosphere around you.

For patients suffering from allergies, it is better to bid your carpets and rugs goodbye. Carpets or rugs are the major sites for allergens to inhabit and it gets very hard for you to make sure that your carpet is dust-free because of the presence of millions of minute granules. For this reason, you may stick to floor tiles, marble, or a wooden floor. Cleaning these would be easier, hence you will have lesser risks of developing allergies.

Some people are allergic to room fresheners or any of such fragrances. If you are one of them, don’t use them. Instead, use fresh flowers and put them in a vase at the corner of your room. This will give you a natural freshness and won’t trigger your allergic reactions.

Wash your pillow covers in every 4 days and fluff them to remove the dust. Clean your couch should with a vacuum cleaner as it is another favorite site for the allergens to grow in.

Fleas are creepy creatures that love to survive in places where it is warm and humid. Hence, pets become their hosts. A female flea lays up to 600 eggs in her lifetime and in no time, the eggs become fleas to suck the blood on your pets. The eggs laid by the female flea can get dropped in your home on your carpet, living areas, or bedding. These eggs remain dormant for a year and then turn into adult fleas. That’s the reason that when you think you cleaned your house of fleas, you soon find some new fleas creeping out.

Fleas can cause severe anemia in pets that are young. You need to constantly keep cleaning your house to keep the infestation at bay. Some natural remedies for getting rid of fleas are as follows:

Dish washing liquid
Dish washing liquid works as a great flea treatment. First, give your pet a good bath with some dish washing soap. This should kill all the fleas on its body. Then to trap the fleas on your carpet and living area, fill a plate with water and add a good amount of dish washing liquid to it. Place a tea candle in the middle of the plate and light it. Leave it in the center of the room. The fleas get attracted to the light and jump into the water. The viscosity of the dish washing soap kills the pest. Do it continuously for 3 to 4 nights to get rid of all the fleas in the house. If you are using this trap at night, make sure you stay awake until the candles burn out. Remember to keep your children and pets away from the fire.

Herbal spray
Herbal spray is a great alternative to flea bomb. First, vacuum every corner of your home thoroughly and wash everything that cannot be vacuumed with hot water to kill the eggs and larva. Mix one gallon of vinegar with ½ gallon of water, 16 oz. of lemon juice, and 8 oz. witch hazel. Using a garden sprayer, spray this liquid all over the carpet, bedding, and window sills and in every corner of the home for 7 days.

Salt
Salt works like magic to eliminate the infestation of fleas. Use table salt to sprinkle all over the carpet evenly. Leave it on the carpet for up to 48 hours, then vacuum the fleas out of your house. Salt causes dehydration in fleas and kills them.

Boric acid
Boric acid also works like salt to kill fleas. It works as a desiccant and kills flea of severe dehydration. Sprinkle boric acid on the carpet and other areas of your home and leave it for 48 hours. Then vacuum thoroughly to remove the dried out bodies of the flea.

You can keep the fleas away from your home by using these remedies, once the flea season starts. It is hard to get rid of fleas once they infest your home. So, it is always better to prevent them from coming in to your home rather than trying hard to wipe them out.

Summer months are hard on pet owners because it is the time when dogs and cats are infested with fleas. Fleas are small, dark brown colored insects and are of the size of the head of a pin. They live in the temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and prefer humidity levels of 75 to 85 percent. Your pet gets fleas when it comes in contact with another pet that is infested with fleas. The strong legs of this insect helps it to jump from one animal to another and from the surrounding environment to the animals. Flea bite causes itching in most of the animals. Also, if the animal is allergic to flea, then the flea bite may cause inflammation, hair loss, and secondary skin infections.

How to look for fleas on your pets
Unlike other parasites that can be seen only through the microscope, fleas can be seen scurrying on the skin of the pet. They can be mostly spotted on the belly and the inner thigh areas of the pet.
Another way of confirming fleas on your pets is looking for flea dirt on the skin. The feces of the flea look something like a speck of pepper. It is nothing, but the blood digested by the pest. Take some out of the fur and place it on a wet paper towel. If the dirt turns into a stain of blood after some time, then you can confirm that there are fleas on your pet. To get rid of the fleas, you need to get a flea treatment done for your pet.

Eliminating fleas:
Getting rid of fleas can be done either naturally or chemically. If you choose to eliminate the fleas with chemical treatment, then you have a couple of options. Either you can hire a professional or you can do it yourself.
Hiring a professional will help you eradicate the fleas quickly. The professionals will use harsher chemicals to remove all the fleas from your pet’s skin in weeks. However, make sure nobody in your house is allergic to the chemical agents used in the treatment.
If you cannot afford to hire a professional, you can buy a flea eradication solution or powder from a local pet store. Make sure you understand how to use it before applying it on your pet.
Capstar is a tablet that needs to be administered orally. You can keep the tablet in a treat and give it to your pet. This tablet starts working in 30 minutes and within 4 hours, it kills 90 percent of the fleas.
You can also go for flea removal shampoos, if you think your dog can stand wet for 10 minutes. These shampoos are quite effective and kill flea in one treatment.
Before using any method, consult your vet to know which methods work best for your pet. However, to eliminate the pest problem completely, it is always better to go for professional help.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management), a.k.a. integrated pest control (IPC), refers to environmental-friendly economic management of pests. Like other pest control management approaches, IPM focuses on controlling the pests with the combination of natural and economic practices and principles. With the current, comprehensive information, IPM deals with the strategic methods to maintain and manage pest damage with limited toxic exposure and lesser impact on pests, the people, and the environment.

 The IPM methodology is widely used in agricultural as well as urban areas. This biological technique is emphasized by a long-term protection against the pests through the modification of cultural disciplines and the use of resistant diversity, with any pesticides being used only after monitoring and following the guidelines. Treatments are aimed to eliminate only the targeted organisms rather than killing off any more in the field. This process is applied by minimizing the risk to human health, pets, non-target organisms, and the environment.

With IPM one can never face any problem because of pests. For instance, crops won’t become unhealthy because of disease resistant being sprayed on them and neither will cracks appear in caulking due to insects entering building lines. The key strategy in IPM is to determine the fundamental issue, and treat it by protecting it from the pests as well as protecting them at the same time. The process has three benefits coming together at the same time “ monitoring, identifying and correcting. The monitoring process makes sure the environmental factors, whether the plant or the building can tolerate it or not. Identifying decides which pesticide to use according to the purpose and why the pests appear in the first place. Correcting is the process.

How IPM works

IPM programs combine management approaches with a greater effectiveness in a long-term method. Listed below are the three facets to IPM:

Biological control: This is mostly used for natural enemies, pathogens, parasites and competitors to protect from pests and control over further damages. Plant pathogens, nematodes, weeds, and Invertebrates have multiple natural enemies.

Cultural controls: This helps to break down pest establishment, dispersal, reproduction and survival. For example, when too much water is released, it causes the roots and weeds to get infected. Irrigation practices can control pest issues. IPM makes it a point to look after the environment circumstances with the right strategy for the pests and their ability to thrive.

Mechanical and physical controls: This destroy pests directly, blocks and keeps the environment free from the pests. For example, trapping the rodents. Physical controls include steam sterilization and weed management of the soil to keep the birds and insects at bay.

IPM pesticides are used only when it is needed and to make it even more effective, on a long-term basis, it is only certain chemical combinations that are used. They are applied with the objective of minimizes the risk of harming people, not targeting organisms, and not polluting the environment. IPM allows for quality work with numerous options without polluting the area.