How to Keep Pests Away From Your Labor Day Weekend Plans

Labor Day weekend can be the perfect time to gather with friends and family for some end-of-summer fun, but preventing annoying pests from invading your plans is always a big problem. The hot and humid weather at this time of year significantly impacts the pest population, particularly stinging insects, carpenter ants, mosquitoes, and ticks. You’ll see an increase in the number of these pests around, as well as an increase in their level of aggression. In addition, these pests can pose serious health risks.

Here are our top pest-expert tips to keep pests far away from your Labor Day weekend fun!

Stinging Insects

Bees, wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets become increasingly aggressive as summer ends. They’re on the hunt for food and water, making them more likely to crash your outdoor party.

Prevention Tips:

1. Minimize Attractants: Keep food, drinks, and trash covered and clean up spills quickly to avoid enticing these insects.
2. Secure Your Home: Repair any damaged screens on windows and doors to keep stinging insects out.
3. Handle Nests Safely: Regularly inspect your property for nests. If you spot one, call in a professional to handle removal safely.
4. JP McHale’s Stinging Insect Management: Our Stinging Insect Protection program targets the queen, then disrupts the colony and forces the workers to relocate, which ensures a safer environment for your gathering.

Carpenter Ants

These large ants are attracted to damp or decaying wood, which can become more common after late summer rain showers. Left unchecked, carpenter ants can cause serious damage to your home.

Prevention Tips:

1. Address Moisture Issues: Repair leaks and ensure proper drainage around your property to keep wood dry.
2. Seal Entry Points: Close any gaps or cracks in your home’s foundation, windows, and doors to block their entry.
3. Clear Wood Debris: Remove any wood piles, stumps, or logs near your home, and store firewood away from the house.
4. JP McHale’s Ant Elimination: Our expert team offers a comprehensive Carpenter Ant Management program that effectively eliminates these pests from your home.

Mosquitoes

Known for their itchy bites, mosquitoes can also transmit diseases. Their activity peaks at dusk and dawn, making them a common problem during late summer evenings.

Prevention Tips:

1. Eliminate Standing Water: Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. Regularly empty containers like bird baths and flower pot saucers.
2. Use Protective Barriers: Ensure that windows and doors are equipped with intact screens to keep mosquitoes out.
3. Dress Appropriately: When spending time outdoors, wear long sleeves and pants, especially during peak mosquito hours.
4. JP McHale’s Organic Mosquito Control: Our eco-friendly program offers four applications per year, reducing mosquito populations so that you can get the most enjoyment out of your outdoor fun, 

Ticks

Ticks remain a concern as summer transitions into fall. These arachnids are capable of transmitting serious diseases like Lyme disease. They thrive in wooded areas and tall grass, so it's important to stay vigilant.

Prevention Tips:

1. Cut Your Grass Frequently: Ticks do not thrive in short grass, so keep it short and dry to deter them.
2. Make Your Yard Less Hospitable: Reduce leaf litter and trim bushes, trees, and shrubs to allow more sunlight.
3. Create a tick barrier: Use wood chips or gravel to create a 3-foot barrier with wood chips around your yard to keep ticks out, and consider building a fence to keep out deer and other tick-carrying animals.
4. JP McHale’s LymeGuard+ Service: Our LymeGuard+ Tick and Mosquito Service includes the advanced LymeShield technology, which helps prevent the spread of Lyme disease by vaccinating mice on your property. LymeShield utilizes advanced technology in the form of one feeding station per half an acre of property, which holds 100 pellets that will vaccinate Lyme-carrying mice. With each station offering approximately 240 vaccine opportunities per year for mice, these stations create a protective barrier against ticks.

End of Summer Pest Pro Bonus Tip: Schedule Your Overwintering Service Now to Be Completed Before October

As you plan your Labor Day celebrations, it's important to know that now is actually the key time to start dealing with annoying Stink Bugs! We apply our Overwintering Treatments between mid-August and mid-October to protect your home from pests seeking shelter indoors. The goal is to be protected by the first frost. Applications are made to the harboring shrubs and plants in conjunction with treating window sills, under-siding eaves, and chimneys. This service effectively interrupts the breeding cycle of Overwintering pests and reduces their activity throughout the season.

For more information, call us at (332) 213-5002 or visit www.nopests.com.