Fall is almost over, which means that the weather outside is getting colder and colder by the day. Many people think they are safe from pests during the winter months, but, in reality, the winter months are when most pests begin to make their way indoors to find shelter, making your home the perfect environment. Here are some ways that you can prepare your home for winter to prevent pest infestation:

Home entry points

One of the best ways to prevent pests from entering your home is by ensuring that your home entry points are secure. Before winter, ensure that the insulation features for your doors and windows are installed correctly and in good condition so you can prevent pests from crawling through any crevices. If you find any damages to your doors or screens, repair them immediately to prevent pests from using that as an entry point. After you have made sure that your entry points are secure, you can install a door sweeper, which will sweep away any tiny insects that could crawl inside your home this winter.

Inside your home

To prevent pests from coming inside your home for the winter, you should avoid creating an environment that will attract them. Pests enjoy areas that have moisture, so check your home for areas that could have leaking pipes or any place that could harbor mold and bacteria. You should also ensure that your food is kept in airtight containers, so pests such as mice and rats cannot access the food inside your pantry. After you finish eating, clean your table, countertops, and floor to prevent leaving any crumbs behind. Taking your trash out daily will also prevent pests by taking away one of their primary food sources.

If you need pest control, call us today at (615) 848-0025 to schedule an appointment.

When pests enter your house, it can have a negative impact in more ways than one, so it is very important that you address the problem before it gets out of hand. Here are three ways that pests can affect you and your family:

Disease

Common household pests such as fleas, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and rats can carry diseases such as Lyme disease, strep, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, salmonella, malaria, dengue fever, and more. If your family is exposed to pests that carry diseases, it can affect their health and well-being and make them extremely sick. Some diseases carried by pests can even be fatal. To protect your family from these diseases, it is important to take the proper steps to prevent pests from entering your home before it is too late.

Allergies

Another issue that pests can cause is allergies. Pests can carry allergens into the home, or their feces, shedding skin, and dander could pollute your air and cause you and your family to have an allergic reaction. Certain pests, such as bugs and spiders could bite and sting your family, causing an allergic reaction to their venom. In more extreme cases, allergens carried in by pests can be lethal or cause hospitalization. It is important to take pest infestation seriously to keep your family healthy.

House Damage

Common pests, such as insects, can also cause structural damage to your home. If you have any wood structure that is not treated for insects, the repair can be costly. Other pests, such as mice and rats can chew on electrical wires, which could not only cause damages, but it could also lead to a house fire. Termites are attracted to humid environments and will cause major structural damage throughout your home. If they are left unchecked, they could even destroy your home completely. The damage can be prevented if you act on pest control before pests move into your home.

If you need pest control, call us today at (615) 848-0025 to schedule an appointment.

As a homeowner, you may not know that pests have invaded your house until it is too late. An infestation is unhealthy for you and your family, so you should take the necessary steps to prevent pest infestations.

Store Foods Properly 

If you are trying to prevent pests, it is essential that all of your food, including pet food, is kept in tightly sealed containers. Always wash the dishes after your meal; if you do not have the time to completely wash them, make it a priority to at least rinse them off. Keeping crumbs and food loose in the kitchen is a guaranteed to attract all kinds of pests.

Crawlspace Encapsulation

Common household pests such as mice, rats, termites, cockroaches, spiders, and more can be found in your home’s crawl space. Unencapsulated crawl spaces are dark and damp, making them the perfect home for pests. If your house has a pest infestation, it can risk your family’s health and well-being and contaminate your home. Crawlspace encapsulation will seal your crawlspace and prevent damp areas that attract pests.

Pest Control

Hiring a professional pest control company will prevent pest infestation throughout your home before the issue begins. You will often not realize that you have a pest issue until your home is already infested, so it is crucial to hire a professional to eliminate any possibility of pests invading your home. Pests are horrible for the health of you and your family. To keep your family safe, you should hire a professional pest control company to fight invasions before they begin.

If you need professional pest control services or crawl space encapsulation, call us today at (615) 848-0025 to schedule an appointment.

Crawl spaces are the primary place for fungus to breed and grow. It can grow when wood is exposed to moisture and if it goes untreated it can be dangerous to your health. When humidity levels are high, it can cause plenty of problems for homeowners.

Fungus can cause many problems for homeowners, but one of the most significant problems is that fungus can cause health issues. Once it has grown in your home, fungus can drift into the air, potentially causing various symptoms.

You could develop symptoms including:

• A stuffy nose
• Wheezing
• Red and itchy eyes or skin

Fungus leaking into your air can be especially dangerous for individuals with any sort of respiratory illnesses like asthma. It is estimated that 4.6 million reported asthma cases can be attributed to dampness and mold exposure in the home.

Fungus can also physically damage your home, causing wood to deteriorate and bend. This not only lowers the value of your home, but also makes it much less safe.

To reduce the risk of fungus in your house, try keeping an eye out for problem areas. If you know of an area in your house that constantly has a leak or a basement that floods, be sure to take action. Dry up leak spots and be sure to provide good ventilation to keep humidity levels down.

Increasing airflow throughout your home is always a good practice regardless if there has been a leak recently or not. Even doing simple things like taking a shower or cooking can create the right conditions for fungus. Be sure to properly ventilate these areas to reduce risk.

If you have fungus growing in your home, don’t panic. At JDC Pest Control we can help. For fungus removal we can offer a specialized treatment to eliminate and prevent fungus in your home.

Contact us today at 615-848-0025 to learn more or receive a quote.

Summer is in full swing — it’s the best season of the year, right? Well at least our kids will tell us it is. Summer comes with lots of fun activities like summer vacations, backyard barbecues, family reunions, all the other outside home activities… so what isn’t so great about summer? From a pest-control professionals perspective, it’s the surge in pests in and around your home and lawn. There is no denying that summertime keeps us pretty busy as the surge in insect populations rise around Middle Tennessee. Whether you’re enjoying a evening on the back deck with your family when a swarm of mosquitos leave you and your family with a dozen itchy bites, or a variety of pests take refuge from the heat in your crawlspace — the summer months keep us busy protecting our clients and their homes from unwanted pests.

Because we know this is a busy time of year and many of our neighbors are struggling with pests, check out 5 pest control tips to help you ward off as many unwanted pests as possible:

1.  Keep Your Yard Clean: Doing your best to keep your grass mowed regularly, removing waste or debris and keeping toys and other outdoor equipment in their proper places can dramatically decrease the potential for harmful pests.

2.  Get Rid of Standing Water: Mosquitos love standing and stagnant water. To help prevent standing water from happening, put up kiddy pools or water tables when not in use, keep an eye on landscaping, so that irrigation is not leaking and causing standing water, and check flower pots for stagnant water as well.

3.  Seal Your Home: Making sure your doors and windows are sealed properly is one of the best ways to keep pests out of the home. Whether it’s mosquitos, spiders, wasps or cicadas – looking for cracks and gaps and sealing those will help keep your home pest- free. A properly sealed door on your crawlspace is also important.

4.  Store Firewood Properly: Everyone loves a summer fire and roasting smores with family and friends. Many people have back yard fire pits and keep firewood at home. Make sure your firewood is stored a minimum of 5 feet away from your home. Termites and other pests love wood and storing firewood too close to your home can be a major problem. It’s also important to put your firewood up off of the ground and on racks.

5.  Call JDC Pest Control: Some pest problems really need a professional to eliminate them effectively. When you notice pests in or around your home the best thing to do is call us and let our pest control professionals eliminate your issue quickly, safely and effectively.

We hope you and your family enjoy an amazing pest-free summer – but know we are here to quickly resolve any issues that might arise. Give us a call at (615) 848-0025.

Have you heard? It’s the year of the cicada. This has a lot of people around Middle Tennessee worried about what the cicadas are going to mean for them, their home, summer activities, lawn, landscaping, etc… so let’s talk about the cicadas!

Middle Tennessee isn’t the only area affected by the cicadas, most of the Eastern U.S. will get to experience the mass emergence of these interesting insects this spring. Cicadas are hard to miss not only because of their size and the large population, but also the signature serenading from the adult males that you can’t ignore.

So what are these incredible creatures that emerge every 13 – 17 years? Cicadas are a plant-feeding insect and are most closely related to aphids. Incredibly enough, there are several types of cicadas. There are annual cicadas that develop in one year and periodical cicadas that take years to complete their life cycles. There are 3 species of periodical cicadas that will emerge this year, or Brood X as they’re calling it:

• Magicicada Septendecim
• Cassini
• Septendecula

So what’s the fuss about Brood X in 2021? We’ve all had a traumatic and dramatic last 18 months so hearing something as menacing as millions of giant, loud insects invading your lawns and summer plans sounds bad, but we’re here to tell you that everything is going to be okay. You can expect to see thousands of these cicadas per acre, but it’s important to know that cicadas do not harm people.  We also consider their damage to plants to be minimal, however; you may wish to protect small trees, and other landscaping with netting. Netting your more delicate plants can help preserve them during cicada season this year. Pesticides are mostly not advised because they are relatively ineffective in controlling cicadas.

Though Brood X sounds scary, rest assured this every 17-year event, though scientifically exciting, shouldn’t cause you too much inconvenience as a homeowner.

Spring is known for sunny weather and beautiful flowers, but the pest control industry considers it to be the start of pest season. Pests such as termites, mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches, ticks, and fleas are responsible for a majority or infestations during this time. As the weather begins to warm up and it rains more, these pests emerge from their hiding places – ready to mate and form new colonies.

Termites are attracted to wood, especially water damaged wood. Termite colonies are known to target weak areas of decks and other parts of your home. Inspect the exterior of your home for any wet, rotted, or discolored wood and repair immediately.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water and these eggs become adult mosquitoes within a week. Mosquitoes are well adapted to water and can even fly in the rain, unlike other insects. To reduce mosquitoes, get rid of any standing water in or around your house.

Ant tunnels are built underground and when it rains heavily, their nests get flooded. Ants look for higher ground during this time and they may take up residence in your home.

Cockroaches live in wet environments like drains, pipes, and sewers during winter. When these places are flooded with rain water, they may move into your home as well. To prevent ants and cockroaches from getting into and staying in your home, seal any cracks or crevices and keep your home free of crumbs or open food sources.

Ticks and fleas love humid weather and you are likely to find lots of them after a period of heavy rain. The best way to prevent these pests from getting into your home is by inspecting yourself and your pet after time outside.

If you suspect there might be an infestation in your home, do not panic. Get in touch with a professional pest control company right away. At JDC Pest Control, our pest technicians are highly trained and fully licensed. Our pest control services include inspections and treatments for a variety of pests, fungus treatments, and crawl space encapsulation. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work and are committed to providing excellent service to the middle Tennessee area. Contact us today at (615) 848-0025 for more information on our services.