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Contact us for effective local pest control and prevention services for your home or business. We proudly serve residential and commercial customers throughout Salem, OR, and the surrounding areas.

The Telltale Signs of Carpenter Ants

If you think you are facing problems with carpenter ants, there are many signs you can be alert to confirm those suspicions.

Our team here at AAA Exterminators, Inc., has come up with a few common clues that can tell you if you’re looking at this type of ant or another pest.

As carpenter ants burrow and chew their way through wood, they leave behind piles of sawdust-like wood shavings around your door jambs and windows. What do they actually look like? They are not remarkable in their appearance, and they are somewhat easy to identify physically. They’re about a quarter-inch to a half-inch long and colored black, red, or some combination of the two colors.

That takes care of the seeing, well how about the listening? If you hear noises inside your walls, this could also indicate that you’ve got carpenter ants in Dallas, OR. If you go a step further and tap on the walls in your home and it sounds hollow, then it’s likely that these ants are the culprits.

Experienced and capable exterminators have the skills and safe pesticides to get rid of carpenter ants and prevent them from creating any damage to the wood elements of your home.

What to Do When You Have Pantry Pests

Food budgets keep climbing as prices continue to rise. That means when you spend your hard-earned dollars on groceries and supplies, you don’t feel like sharing with uninvited guests. This includes uninvited guests of the multi-legged variety.

When you find insect invaders, or some other unwelcome creatures helping themselves to the things you have in your pantry, you should contact a team of experienced exterminators for pest control in Salem, Oregon.

When you have pantry pests, your first step, after contacting an exterminator company like ours at AAA Pest Exterminators, Inc., is to sort through everything so you can salvage whatever hasn’t been contaminated or consumed by the pests.

Once you’ve separated the good from the not-so-good, take the time to set aside the untainted foodstuffs and products in pest-proof containers.

Professional exterminators will use a multi-pronged approach to attack the problem. They will identify where and how the pests are gaining entry into your pantry and help you take steps to seal it off and keep the pests on the outside.

Following that step, they will move along to applying safe and effective pesticides to eliminate the pests without leaving any harmful residue that can harm people or pets.

When to Hire a Pest Control Professional

Most of us are comfortable handling a bug or two. After all, who among us hasn’t chased down (and consequently flushed) an unwelcome spider or roach? When pests start to get a little too comfortable on your property, it may be time to consider contacting a professional.

A company that specializes in pest control services has the experience and equipment needed to remove insects and prevent them from returning in the future. In fact, pest control professionals generally have access to more powerful insect solutions than are commonly available in stores, making it easier to nip infestations in the bud.

Not sure whether your pest problem calls for a pro? Here are some signs you could use the extra manpower:

The insects post a health and safety risk. Some bugs are just ugly. Others pack a mean bite that can cause allergic reactions, spread infections, or even transmit diseases. Don’t put yourself, your family, or your employees at risk–leave the work to a professional.
You’re spending excessive time and money. Would you rather spend hundreds of dollars and hours of your own time to eliminate a persistent bug problem, or pay for one-time guaranteed pest control services from a professional?
The infestation is out of control. Again, one or two bugs are no big deal for most people. When your home or business is dealing with an infestation–that is to say, large numbers of bugs that just keep coming – it’s time to bring in the pros.

Protect Your Home from Wood-Destroying Bugs

Termites, carpenter ants, and wood beetles may be tiny, but they can cause trouble on a massive scale. A single colony can quickly chew through an entire home or business, costing the owners thousands and sometimes even millions of dollars in damage.

However, there’s plenty you can do to protect yourself and your property from the effects of wood-destroying bugs in Albany, OR. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Follow these tips to discourage hungry insects from taking a bite out of your building (and your property maintenance budget):

Stay on top of plumbing problems. Most insects are attracted to water sources that are conveniently close to their snacking grounds. Keep your property’s plumbing system in good condition to ensure bugs aren’t attracted by persistent leaks or flooding.
Remove fallen branches and stumps ASAP. Because these insects love munching on wood, it’s a smart idea to clear any wood debris from your property. Check your lawn for leftovers after storms to be sure there’s nothing tempting.
Schedule regular pest inspections. To get complete peace of mind, have a pest control professional come by for annual inspections. A pro can spot early signs of an infestation, or provide more personalized recommendations for prevention.

How to Prevent a Stink Bug Problem

You smell them before you see them: stink bugs, generally harmless but by far the smelliest members of the insect world. Though they don’t bite or sting, stink bugs are nevertheless unwelcome in most homes and businesses, and for obvious reasons.

Many people confuse stink bugs with boxelder bugs, another bad-smelling insect that retreats indoors during winter. No matter which takes up residence in your home or business, the results are the same: an infestation with foul odor.

If you already have an infestation, it’s time to call for professional stink bug pest control. If you don’t have stink bugs yet, but you’re worried you might in the future, take these steps to ensure your property doesn’t become an insect hotel this winter:

Minimize outdoor lighting. Most bugs are attracted to lights, but stink bugs and boxelders find them particularly tantalizing. Try switching to motion-activated outdoor lights if you absolutely must have external lights on at night.
Eliminate sources of water. Stink bugs prefer to hunker down in places with ready sources of water–i.e., leaky taps, flooded drains, and around sinks and toilets. Ensure you’re keeping up with your plumbing maintenance routine.
Make sure your property is airtight. Bugs can’t get into your building if there are no stink bug-sized doors. Assess the areas around windows, doors, and siding to ensure there are no gaps–and if there are, use caulk or sealant to block off points of entry.

The Not-So-Friendly Neighborhood Spider

When it comes to spiders, most of us don’t take time to stop and identify them before running for a shoe or rolled-up magazine. However, if you’ve noticed more than a few spiders lurking around your home or business, it may be worth your time to move in for a closer look. Knowing how to identify spiders can help you protect your family or workers if someone is bitten.

First things first: familiarize yourself with the three most common venomous spiders in the United States. Most people can identify the black widow by its distinctive red hourglass marking, but what about brown recluses? Brown spiders are fairly common, but you’ll know the recluse by the long brown violin shape on its back. Hobo spiders are also brown, but the marbling on their backs is a dead giveaway.

Next, when you kill a spider on your property (one of the above or otherwise), look around for webs nearby. If and when you find a web, check carefully for egg sacs. Don’t try to remove the sac yourself; instead, enlist the help of a spider pest control professional. This is the simplest way to prevent an infestation from occurring.

Finally, if you keep finding venomous spiders around your home or business, work with your pest control provider to eliminate points of entry. Spiders can get into your building through the tiniest of gaps. Seal them with caulk or take a screwdriver and tighten loose windows and doors.

How to Identify a Carpenter Ant

Some people may like to joke about carpenter ants running around with tiny hammers and saws, but if you have a problem with them in your home or business, it’s safe to say that you think it’s no laughing matter. They are very destructive pests which are hard to control and eliminate.

How do you know if the ants you see scurrying around your property are carpenter ants or some other species? There are a few tell-tale signs that will give you an answer, and we’ll tell you what to look for here.

Look for piles of wood shavings, like sawdust, around your door jambs and windows. If you hear noises inside your walls, this may indicate the presence of carpenter ants as well. If you tap on wood around your home and it has a hollow sound, then that’s another sign that these ants have been at work.

Their physical appearance is not remarkable but is somewhat easy to identify. They are mid-size with a length of between one-quarter to one-half of an inch. As far as coloring goes, expect to see them in either black or red or sometimes a combination of the two.

Carpenter ants in Woodburn, OR, are persistent and pervasive intruders that are best eliminated by professionals like ours at AAA Pest Exterminators, Inc., who have the experience, skills, and training to do the job effectively and quickly.

What Makes Termites Attack a Home

If you live in a concrete cottage, or a steel chalet, you wouldn’t have to worry about termites. But since most of us live in houses made of wood, these invasive and destructive pests are a prime concern. So, what makes a termite decide to attack your home?

Well, the very fact that it’s made of, or at least contains a lot of, wood makes it very attractive to these insects, such as the dampwood termite and subterranean termites. However, there’s more to it than that.

Moisture attracts pests of all sorts and termites in Dallas, OR, are no exception. As their name suggests, dampwood termites prefer damp conditions, but their counterparts, subterranean types, are also likely to seek out moisture as well.

These pests of opportunity are also attracted by easy access to buildings. That means they’ll take advantage of shrubs and bushes which are close to homes as an avenue inside. The same applies to firewood, which you may have stacked close to your house.

Not only are termites drawn to houses with overgrown shrubs along their walls and foundations, but they also make use of cracks and gaps in the structure to make their way inside.

Prevention is really the way to go, as it’s much easier to handle termites before they’ve infested your home than after an infestation has begun. Seek out an experienced team like ours at AAA Pest Exterminators, Inc., which is well equipped to handle both prevention and control.

Why Pests are Attracted to Leaky Pipes

A water leak may not be apparent to you, but it could be inviting pests of all sorts who can easily find it. Perhaps it’s a small and steady drip under the kitchen sink, one that’s hardly noticeable. It doesn’t have to be large to provide the moisture that many pests need to survive.

Insects and other sorts of unwelcome guests are attracted to leaky pipes for a very simple reason — they require water to live. Take away the water source, and it has a dramatic impact on the number of insects and other pests in the area. Suppose you do find a leak that’s providing a watering hole for a bunch of pests. What do you do?

The first thing you do is get rid of the leak. Find a way to handle it yourself or contact a plumber to take care of it, but ensure the leak is repaired. When it is, your home will be much more unwelcoming to pests. However, if pests have already begun to invade, call an exterminator, too.

Using professional pest control services, like the ones we provide at AAA Pest Exterminators, Inc., is a very effective way to find areas like this that are attracting unwelcome visitors. Years of experience allow efficient exterminators to know where to look to find the root of your insect problem and to determine the best way to deal with it.

Summer Pest Control Tips

During the summer, we’re all on the go a lot more than during the rest of the year. Unfortunately, this applies to insects, rodents, and other unwanted visitors as well. Don’t despair and cringe with visions of ants, spiders, and mice making themselves at home in your abode. We’re going to share a few handy tips on summer pest control in Salem, Oregon.

Ensure your home is free of openings and gaps through which pests can enter. Don’t only focus on large ones as small cracks are inviting to pests as well. For example, take a close look at places where wires and pipes enter your home and ensure those gaps are sealed.

Repair your screens to keep intruders away, especially flying ones like mosquitoes and wasps. Trim or remove shrubs and bushes from around your home. These provide shelter and act as a welcome highway for pests.

If you have a bird feeder on your property, be sure to regularly clean up any spilled seeds so that you’re not dealing with other critters that are looking for a free lunch. Similarly, keep control of pet food. Store it in containers that are durable and hard for pests to get into, like airtight plastic containers or resealable metal cans. Always make sure to clean up any mess that your pet makes around their dish so that insects and rodents aren’t attracted.

Following these simple tips should help ensure a pest-free summer. However, if you do happen to find yourself with an unwanted invader, don’t panic! Simply get in touch with a pest control professional, like the ones at AAA Pest Exterminators, Inc.