Bumper Crop Of Mosquitoes And Other Pests Expected

This year’s April showers left plenty of puddles in their wake. Perhaps puddle is an understatement. Rather, we had extensive flooding, which left a lot of standing water, and standing water is mosquitoes’ favorite breeding grounds. Besides being plentiful, entomologists expect an early hatch of these disease carrying insects. They carry everything from malaria to the zika virus.As mosquitoes suck human blood, they also transmit to their human hosts diseases they are carrying. You can actively help reduce the number of mosquitoes by getting rid of all standing, stagnant water. Clean and change the water in bird baths frequently. Keep swimming pools treated and circulating. Pump out puddles and stagnant ponds. When outdoors, especially in the evening, be sure everyone’s exposed skin is treated with mosquito repellent.Ticks also are expected to be bad this year. I urge you to take precautions now to protect you, your family, your pets and your home. Ticks carry serious diseases.Deer ticks carry lyme disease but they don’t live only on deer. The field mouse is one of its favorite hosts. Lyme disease doesn’t affect the animal hosts, but it does debilitate humans who may receive the disease organism when infected ticks bite them.Take precautions when outdoors. Protect yourself by wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts. Tuck pants into boots. Check children, pets and yourself frequently. Remove ticks as soon as possible using tweezers.Fleas can also be of concern, especially if you have pets. Fleas carry animal diseases like tapeworm. Pets can carry fleas into the house and these flightless insects can get into carpeting and furniture and then bite us.For the peace of mind of knowing that you’ve done everything possible to protect your family, call our Plant Health Care professionals. They’ll inspect your property for signs of these pests and take appropriate action if you have them. We can also take preventive measures like spraying the perimeter of your property for ticks and fleasAlso, be sure your pets are treated for these pests by a vet or with one of the home applied medications.Your landscape is a sanctuary for you to relax, enjoy the natural surroundings and the fresh air of outdoor living. Don’t let uninvited “guests” ruin your enjoyment and compromise your family’s health. Most of all, don’t let them turn your tranquil retreat into a stressful environment. Take the offensive and get rid of these pests and keep them away.