Catch Up with The Latest Pest Control Tips & Tricks!

Getting cockroaches under control can take a long time. For starters, cockroaches are nocturnal—they like the dark, so you might not see them during the day unless they're in large numbers. If you see a cockroach, you may need a serious inspection by a professional right away. Cockroaches hang out behind and under kitchen cupboards, behind fridges, ovens etc and reproduce quickly. Even if you have the cleanest house or business, it only takes a few to turn into an infestation. Cockroaches have long antennae and do not bite humans or animals, but they carry diseases and can make some people sick, especially those who are predisposed to disease because of their presence. As some types of cockroaches become resistant to insecticides, new products are being introduced quickly. Johnsons Pest Control technicians regularly discuss new products with suppliers and are knowledgeable about cockroach control. Depending on the type of cockroach, some treatments work better than others, so it's very important to know what type you have. Some gels may work, or a good spray with a residual product may work better. A cockroach vacuum is one of the best tools for a major cockroach infestation. Vacuuming up dead (and live) cockroaches as soon as you see them will reduce the population as they eat their carcasses. Be sure to vacuum and remove the food source as soon as possible!

Mouse Control must start with identifying their entrance to your home or business. It is impossible to find small cracks while there is snow on the ground but there are some obvious things you can do, like change your dryer vent to one that is mouse proof. Other things you can check is for caulking that has been chewed around wires or pipes going into your home and re-caulk those areas. It is very important to get caulking that is rodent proof since mice can chew through most of the cheaper caulking. Plug holes with stainless steel. Steal wool rusts and rots so make sure it's 'stainless steel'. Once the areas have been caulked, place a lot of snap traps in the areas that you have seen the mice or their droppings. Put them on dryer sheets for easy cleanup. Hint: Dryer sheets don't keep mice from entering your home or business. Check your traps often and if you still have significant mouse problems, give us a call and we will connect you with a professional to discuss other options. 701-282-5771 (Fargo-Moorhead and surrounding areas) 402-347-1488 (Norfolk, NE and surrounding areas)

We have been trying out new smart mouse traps and new technology is making it very easy to detect a mouse in a trap instantly. One of our accounts is using a smart system that will notify our technician when and where a trap has captured a mouse. One of our technicians received a text at 2:28AM to tell him a mouse had entered one of the traps that has been set up in his account and he was amazed!! While he didn't go over to the account to empty the trap instantly, he was able to act on it and contact the account right away the following morning to see if it was a false alarm or if these smart traps actually work. They actually work! We are exploring these for future use at other food locations that have strict oversight so stay tuned!!

Cluster Flies and Lady Asian Beetles will start making their way into our homes and businesses this fall and will be a nuisance throughout the winter and spring. We can do a preventative residual treatment to keep them from coming into your home or business and we need to do this the end of August or September, before they become actively seeking refuge in your home or business. We had many lake homes with the issue this spring so contact us as soon as possible to get on our list of treatments to complete. Call 701-282-5771.

Some new pics taken today. This is a bed bug infestation. After treating the infestation we encouraged the owners of this rental property to report this to the county health department.

Cockroaches everywhere! There were hundreds of them moving around in every room, including every room in the basement. It took our professional exterminator a few visits to get them under control, but the owner was extremely happy with the results.

Ants have been very busy this spring, infesting people's homes and businesses. It is very important to have one of our experienced technicians identify the ant, since different species have different methods to get them under control. Using the wrong method can cause an increase in the infestation so being certain on the ant species is extremely important before identifying the solution. A solution can and will often take more than one visit from our technician. If you have an ant infestation in your home, call as soon as possible to get it under control before they cause damage to your home or business. Trivia for today; Sugar ants are only found in Australia. They are very small like the Pharaoh ant or the Thief ant.