Pest Library

There are two blood-feeding pests that regularly find their way into our Oklahoma City yards and, despite their tiny size, cause people and our pets some big problems; the flea and tick! Neither the flea nor tick have wings, and while both can travel short distances on their own, their most efficient way to travel is on the backs of one of their animal hosts. Both fleas and ticks are challenging to keep off our properties because every squirrel, mouse, or stray cat that travels across a yard potentially leaves behind fleas or ticks. Then, as you, your family, or your pet spend time in your yard, you come into contact with fleas and ticks and introduce them into your home.

Fleas and ticks are both blood-feeding pests and, during the feeding process, can transmit diseases to people that can make us quite ill. In addition to spreading disease, the bites create openings in our skin that let bacteria enter our bodies and cause secondary infections. Fleas bites typically result in a red itchy rash that is uncomfortable for both people and animals. Protecting your property against fleas and ticks is essential to your physical and mental health; nobody can relax in their yard or home overrun with biting pests.

Partner with Alpha Omega Pest Control to guard your Oklahoma City property against biting fleas and ticks. We have put together a list of our most helpful flea and tick prevention tips to assist you further.

• If you own pets, help to keep them safe from fleas and ticks and keep them out of your home by placing them on a year-round flea and tick preventative with the guidance of their veterinarian.
• Keep rodents out of your home by keeping caps on chimneys, caulking gaps around windows and doors, and repairing defects in exterior walls.
• Make your yard less attractive to wild animals by removing bird feeders, picking up uneaten pet food, and keeping lids on trash cans.
• Keep your grass cut short and maintain landscaping.
• Remove things like leaf and grass piles that provide a shady, damp spot for fleas and ticks to hide.
• Place a fence around your property to help to keep stray pets and larger wild animals from gaining easy access to your yard.

For more information about working together to keep ticks and fleas from taking over your yard or home, reach out today!

Most people would agree that mosquitoes are the most annoying insects to have in our yards. These tiny flies can bite through our skin so their females can consume a blood meal. While their bites are incredibly annoying, the real threat from mosquitoes is the diseases and parasites they spread. Because of their ability to spread disease-causing pathogens, mosquitoes are considered the deadliest insect on the planet.

Nobody wants their yard overrun by mosquitoes. However, before you can reduce their populations, you must first understand what attracts them to your yard. If mosquitoes are swarming your Oklahoma property, it is likely due to a couple of reasons.

The greatest attraction for mosquitoes to your property is standing water. Females mosquitoes lay their eggs on top of areas of standing water. Therefore the more standing water you have on your property, the more mosquitoes you will have to deal with.

The second reason you'll find yourself overwhelmed with mosquitoes on your property is overgrown vegetation. During the heat of the day, mosquitoes like to rest out of the sun's reach in areas of shade. Yards with tall grass or weeds, overgrown shrubs, many trees, and things like woodpiles or leaf piles will catch the eye of mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are difficult to control because there are so many areas of your yard where standing water can collect. Standing water provides females with a place to lay their eggs and a place for the newly hatched larvae to develop into new biting mosquitoes. Things found in most of our yards that allow standing water to collect include clogged gutters, buckets and other containers, woodpiles, and low-lying areas.

If you want help taking back your yard from mosquitoes, reach out to Alpha Omega Pest Control! We will implement the regular services necessary to control mosquito adults, larvae, and eggs. We have put together the following prevention tips to further assist you in making your property less attractive to these biting flies.

• Regularly empty and refill wading pools, birdbaths, and pet water dishes.
• Stop buckets and other containers from collecting standing water by storing them upside down when you aren't using them.
• Regularly clean your home's gutters.
• Plant things like lemongrass, citronella, and garlic in gardens. These plants are known to be unpleasant to mosquitoes.
• Regularly mow your lawn to keep the grass short.
• Cut back shrubs, bushes, and trees, to limit shady areas in your yard.

Rodents aren't animals that we want lurking around our homes. Sure, a cute rabbit, or pretty songbird, but mice and rats with beady eyes, long tails, and the ability to spread diseases and cause destruction, no thank you! In our area, we have three species of rodents that we need to remain vigilant of and guard our property against:

• Brown rats (sewer rats): As their name describes, their fur is brown with some black hair scattered throughout the coat. They have a heavy, dense body and typically stay at ground level. Their tail is shorter than their body and hairless.
• House mice: These small oval-shaped rodents have grayish or brown fur, triangular heads, pointed noses, large ears, and long skinny tails covered in a light layer of velvety fur.
• Field mice: These small rodents have beige, brown, or reddish-brown fur and lighter-colored or white feet. Their tail is short, about the same length as its body, and covered in fine hairs.

Rodents, depending on their species, prefer to live in different areas. The brown rat, for example, likes to burrow and is often found in riverbanks, under woodpiles, garbage piles, or building foundations. As their name describes, house mice regularly find their way into our homes and live in large populations in both urban and rural areas. The field mouse is a small mouse that loves the protection of tall grass found in fields and meadows; they are much more likely to be an issue on properties in rural areas. No matter what type of rodent has found its way to your property, one thing is certain; they shouldn't be allowed to stay. Rodents are prolific breeders, so quick action should be taken to eliminate them before they have the chance to take over and cause you and your family more significant problems.

If you need help ridding your property of rodents, turn to Alpha Omega Pest Control for help! We can implement the regular services necessary to get them out and keep them out. Furthermore, the following prevention tips will help you make your property less attractive to these unwanted critters.

• Never place trash bags on the ground; always put them in hard containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Remove excess yard clutter that provides rodents with hiding spots, such as woodpiles, brush piles, and construction debris.
• Pick up uneaten pet food each evening before bed, whether pets are fed inside or outside your house.
• Remove bird feeders from your property.
• Ensure chimneys, vents, and drains have appropriate covers over them.
• Place door sweeps on exterior doors.
• Repair cracks or other openings that develop in your foundation or roofline.

When stinging insects find their way to our properties, we want to eliminate them as quickly as possible. It's not that we don't appreciate how beneficial they are to the ecosystem, but because they put our families and pets in danger. Whether they crawl or fly, Stinging insects all have stingers that they use to hunt their prey. They use those same stingers to defend themselves from any person or animal they view as a threat. When stinging insects sting, they inject their venom, which is strong enough to elicit allergic reactions in many people.

We have many stinging insects in our region that find their way into our yards. Some of the most common are:

• Scorpions
• Yellow or red wasps
• Paper wasps
• Dirt daubers
• Cicada killers
• Hornets

Stinging insects choose to call our yards home because they offer them the things they want, like a safe place to build a nest and foraging sites. Wasps and scorpions feed on a variety of sweets and proteins. Things like flowerbeds, gardens, outdoor eating areas, trash cans, and recycling bins provide stinging insects access to food. If they decide to stay in your yard to nest, they can place their nests in various locations, including trees, under roof eaves, and in the ground.

The best way to maintain a yard free of stinging insects is to partner with Alpha Omega Pest Control. We can implement the regular services necessary to keep stinging insects at bay! Furthermore, the following prevention tips will help to make your yard less appealing to these pests.

• Remove nesting spots and harborage sites from your yard, such as woodpiles, rock piles, fallen trees, and overgrown landscaping.
• Cut back trees and shrubs from your home's exterior and roofline.
• Maintain garden areas.
• Fill in ground holes and fill in bare spots in your yard.
• Keep lids on trash cans and recycling bins to keep stinging insects and the insects they like to feed on out of them.
• Remove areas of standing water from your property caused by things like leaky pipes, clogged gutters, and dripping air conditioners.

When it comes to termites, we have a love/hate relationship with them. When termites are living outside away from our homes, they serve an important purpose. Their feeding habits help break down decaying wood and vegetation and put nutrients back into the soil that helps with new plant growth. The problem with termites and why we tend to hate them begins when they go where they don't belong; into our Oklahoma yards and houses. When termites find their way into our homes and feed on the structural wood, they are capable of causing widespread, expensive-to-repair damage. Homeowners that are proactive and partner with a pest control company before termites become a problem will save their homes and bank accounts from being damaged by these wood-eating pests.

There are many different species of termites living throughout the U.S, each with their own feeding habits and food preferences. In our area, the most common species is the subterranean termite. These termites have high moisture needs and nest under the ground. Termites need to stay out of direct sunlight and away from predators to survive. The best way for them to do this is by traveling through the soil or mud tubes they create. As they move around searching for food sources, they accidentally enter our home through cracks in the foundation or pieces of wood on a house that sits directly on the soil. Since moisture attracts subterranean termites, homes with leaky pipes, roofs, windows, doors, and poor ventilation are especially susceptible to damage from these pests.

Partner with us here at Alpha Omega Pest Control to guard your Oklahoma City home against damaging termites. We have put together a list of our most helpful termite prevention tips to assist you further.

• Subterranean termites prefer to feed on decaying or water-damaged wood. Any wood in your home that becomes damaged by water should be removed and replaced with sound wood.
• Leave a crushed stone barrier between any wood mulch and your foundation.
• Remove woodpiles, fallen trees, and tree stumps from your yard that provide termites with reliable food sources near your home.
• Take a close look at your foundation and caulk any cracks that you discover.
• Repair leaky pipes, tubs, sinks, windows, and doors that will allow water to damage your home's structural wood.