Tory is our mosquito management program administrator. Tory enjoys finding pest nesting locations and is skilled at pest identification. He, his wife and two sons live in Dalton. He’s a graduate of Southeast High School and attended Georgia Northwestern Technical College. His free time finds Tory watching sports, playing the guitar, and spending time with his wife and two children. He is a certified technician in Tennessee and a registered technician in Georgia. He also holds additional certifications including: QualityPro, QualityPro Schools, GreenPro and is a graduate of Sentricon
Keep exterior trash cans tightly closed and remove all trash from inside on a daily basis. Sweep and vacuum crumbs on floors. Food particles attract pest entry, especially ants.
Spiders
Use yellow bulbs in outdoor lighting fixtures to discourage pests and move lighting away from structures if possible. Light attracts flying insects and flying insects attract spiders.
Termites
Move mulch at least 18” from the foundation. Mulch holds moisture and attracts and harbors pests and termites.
Bed Bugs
Once bed bugs were only mentioned in nursery rhymes. These nuisance pests were eliminated completed in the United States in the 1940s with chemical pesticides such as DDT, but they have reappeared. Today, signs of bed bug infestations had been reported in 28 U.S. states and in Great Britain. Every big city in the world has this pest problem. Homes, apartments, and even world-class hotels have reported them. Their reappearance is attributed to the increase in international travel and changes in the kinds of pesticides available to pest control professionals.
Fleas
Fleas hide indoors in carpets, rugs, floor tile joints, furniture, cracks between wood flooring, pet bedding, in pet resting spots, and under furniture cushions.
Cockroaches
Do not keep paper grocery sacks, boxes, or cartons inside your home. These may harbor cockroach eggs that later hatch inside your home.
Silverfish
Also check for plumbing leaks. Seal all gaps around plumbing pipes behind cabinetry and dryer vents with an appropriate caulk or filler. Fill gaps around electrical outlets too. Do not let water accumulate anywhere in your home. Replace grout around bathtubs and toilets. A complete seal will prevent water seepage and ensure silverfish and ants cannot enter.
Bees
Carpenter bees are large, about one inch long, and are yellow and black. They are heavy-bodied, and their wings are blue-black to black colored. They resemble bumblebees. They appear around homes and are a nuisance. Although it is rare to be stung by one, their sheer size is scary and people generally stay clear of them.
Wasps
Another familiar pest was spotted at the loading dock of the Chelsea sorting office of the Royal Mail Service where four employees had been stung by wasps. For our British company, this was actually a seven-day response call. When calls for service come into the office, they are tagged with a required response time from the client. This can be range from a minimum of four hours u
Ticks
Currently even in the United States, the West Nile Virus, new cases of Malaria and Dengue fever, and Lyme disease point to the need for effective use of pesticides to control mosquitoes, ticks, and other disease-transmitting insects.
Crickets
You are probably seeing camel crickets. They love moist environments. They are brown and about an inch long, are high jumpers and will rest upside down. Unlike the common house and field crickets, the camel cricket is silent. You may see them around air conditioning units, in wells or other moist areas like basements, garages, crawl spaces, and utility rooms. Your pest management professional will use glue boards to trap and detect these pests and baits or sprays to control these crickets. Ventilation, sanitation and exclusion practices are important to prevent their further entry.
Earwigs
Mosquitoes
Trim tall grass around the home and office and rake all leaves and debris as decaying plant matter and leaves encourage pest nesting sites. Empty planters of water and fill in low spots that hold rainwater. These attract mosquitoes.
Flies
Check mop buckets and cleaning rags. Mop buckets should be emptied after each use and wet mops and rags should be thoroughly cleaned (to remove any food residue) and stored to dry. Wet mops and rags are popular breeding grounds for fruit flies. Does your pest management professional take out the plastic liners inside your garbage cans and inspect underneath them? Plastic bags often split or tear and food can leak inside the can under the liner and serve as a harborage site and breeding ground for flies and other insects.
Centipedes
Millipedes
First check all entry points to your home. If you have an attached garage, check the garage door seal. Does it fit tightly against the floor and sides? If not, consider new compression seals for the bottom and weather stripping along the sides. This will stop a major entry point for millipedes, crickets, and mice. Remain inside the closed garage and have another person outside the door shine a flashlight around all sides of the door to check for cracks or daylight coming through. Remember mice can squeeze through a crack as small as ¼ inch wide.
Beetles
It is possible that these holes were made by a wood-infesting insect. There are a number of these insects, particularly beetles that can damage wood furniture. Eggs laid in wood by adult insects develop into a larval stage that can live in the wood for a long period of time, when the mature adult emerges an oval or round exit hole is found in the wood. We can inspect or identify the pest and recommend a control strategy to protect from further insect damage to your furniture. Options include treating the furniture or tenting the furniture and let the sun increase the temperature inside to kill the beetles. However, this heat treatment may harm painted or varnished surfaces of the furniture.
Scorpions
Rarely found inside homes, Granddaddy longlegs tend to congregate on the side of a house, in the basement, in the deep shade of woods near plant growth or under porches. They are sometimes a nuisance, but are not harmful to humans, animals, buildings, or crops. They feed on plant material, insects, earthworms, and slow moving or dead insects. The best way to control them inside is to toss them out; they do not bite. They are called harvestmen and while they are members of the class Arachnida, which also includes spiders, scorpions, and mites, they are not true spiders. Spiders have two body segments that are distinct and separated. On harvestmen the two body segments appear fused into a single large body segment (like mites and ticks). Also, spiders have venomous fangs, whereas the fangs of harvestmen have no venom glands. Young harvestmen hatch from eggs and look like tiny versions of the adults. Most live for about a year and females lay eggs by the hundreds in moist soil. Harvestmen are sometimes eaten by birds, large spiders, and predatory insects. Enviroguard's pest management professional can treat your home for insects that serve as a food source for these harvestmen and that will reduce their number. Also cutting and clearing dead plants an
Yellow Jackets
Flies may be entering through your main entrance. Check your dumpster. Flies inside a building are often traced to flies attracted to and breeding around outside dumpsters. Your dumpsters should be located 50 feet or more from outside doors (and 75 feet away if your business is a food facility). The dumpsters should be on a thick concrete pad that has foundation toes on the outside. Check your landscaping around the building as well and reduce vines and branches touching the building. Caution employees about eating and spilling food on the property. Our home inside and out seems to be overrun with insects. Our pest control company sprays several times a year but in the fall yellow jackets, lady bugs, fleas, fire ants and other bugs show up. What can be done?
Moths
As you put your summer clothes away and remove winter clothes from storage, be sure to thoroughly clean and vacuum your closet. If you noticed small holes in your wool coats or sweaters, you have a moth problem. Never allow clothing to lie in a neglected pile. Regular use of a strong suction vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool to remove lint, hair, and dust from floor cracks, baseboards, air ducts, carpets, and upholstered furniture is important. Also keep closets and dresser drawers clean. Regularly clean rugs where they fit close to the baseboards and vacuum under the quarter round. Launder and dry clean or steam clean clothes and other items before seasonal storage since egg-laying clothes moths are attracted to soiled articles. Ironing will also destroy all stages of clothes moths. Your pest management professional will treat all cracks and crevices in infested areas with a residual insecticide and provide additional information and assistance.
Pantry Pests
Cockroaches and mice love cardboard, remove all cardboard boxes to prevent insects from nesting. Use plastic storage containers instead. In the kitchen, store all open food containers in tightly sealed containers or in the refrigerator to prevent any pantry pests. Dispose of paper bags and boxes you bring home from the grocery store or market. Vacuum carpet and mop floors weekly or more frequently to remove other attractive food debris. Dust ceiling corners and wood molding frequently to knock down spider webs. Remove garbage daily to a sealed exterior container. Pet food should not be left out overnight. Mice, rats, and cockroaches are particularly attracted to pet food and prefer it to other pest control baits. My elderly mother lives alone and says she is being bitten by bugs at night. None of her visitors have been bitten and two pest control companies have been out and have found no insects or spiders. What could it be?
Stinging Insects
When houses in neighborhoods sit empty they potentially provide a safe haven for insects and small animal pests. Mosquitoes, ticks, stinging insects, rats, mice, snakes and squirrels, readily take refuge in vacant homes experiencing neglect. Squirrels and raccoons could easily take over attic space. Mosquitoes breed in standing water, abandoned swimming pools or bird baths. Yards with overgrown weeds attract rodents that carry ticks. Rat populations thrive in areas that are protected by tall weeds and structures that are not disturbed, the list goes on. Eventually these growing pest populations will spill over onto your property. I recommend that you contact the property owners. If that is not possible contact your local health department. Finally, contact your pest management professional and have a perimeter control program started on your property. Call us at
Mites
As cases of asthma continue to rise in the U.S., limiting exposure to cockroaches can alleviate allergens and mites and can contribute to a healthier indoor environment.
Springtails
Slugs
Many insects cannot hold water in their bodies and are attracted by the moist mulch around your home. Centipedes are in your mulch eating arthropods, insects, earthworms, and slugs, while millipedes are feasting on decaying vegetation. Ants too are attracted to the small bugs present in mulch. Ants like living near the foundation and enjoy the warmth of the concrete foundation and they enter your home through hairline cracks. Rats and mice nest under slabs or in wall voids. Rats come inside along external utility access points in foundation walls. Even the Indian meal moth may show up inside your home due to mice and roof rats in your attic. These rodents bring seeds and plant food inside and the extra seeds attract moths.
Snails
A short list of this group of occasional invaders includes several species of cockroaches, crickets, spiders, ants, box-elder, bugs, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, mites, scorpions, pill-bugs, daddy-longlegs, slugs, snails, sow-bugs, springtails, weevils, an
Psocids
If building materials were exposed to rain and moisture during construction, they often develop fungus and this attracts fungus-feeding pests including the foreign grain beetle and plaster beetles. These beetles feed on damp wood surfaces. Psocids are another fungus-eating pest that feeds on the back side of damp plaster and sheetrock walls and may enter your living space. In addition, some of the finish work could have been overlooked including caulking doors and windows and installing door sweeps and threshold plates. Check to see that caulking and door closures are in place. Vacuum and mop floors regularly to eliminate food particles that may attract pests. Pest control service is recommended to effectively control active problem pest populations. Do pests plan to visit my home soon?
Pill Bugs
A short list of this group of occasional invaders includes several species of cockroaches, crickets, spiders, ants, box-elder, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, mites, scorpions, pill-bugs, daddy-longlegs, praying mantis, slugs, snails, sow-bugs, springtails, weevils, and ground beetles. While these pests may be a nuisance and should be removed for that reason, they rarely do damage or harm.
Sow Bugs
Boxelder Bugs
These busy bugs are often seen near or on boxelder trees, and that’s the source of their name, but you may also find them on maple and ash trees as well as plums and apples on their respective trees. They eat tree seeds and new leaves, and you may notice leaf and foliage discoloration. They are either black or dark brown with red wing veins, and adults are about 1/2 inch long. You may see them congregating on a sunny wall of your home, particularly on the west or south-facing walls. These bugs can be a nuisance pest when they enter your homes, garage, or office buildings. Often, boxelder bugs venture inside to overwinter as the days turn colder. In early spring, they emerge from their winter hibernation and feed on the boxelder trees and other vegetation until fall. Their fecal material may stain curtains, drapes, or clothing when these boxelder bugs come inside. They also emit a strong, unpleasant odor if crushed or touched. Pest proofing and closing holes in doors and windows and sealing cracks with caulk are recommended to deter their entry, as are new door sweeps. Enviroguard will complete your pest-proofing and treat for these nuisance pests.
There are 92 species of bed bugs, also known as the wall louse, house bug, mahogany flat, red coat, or crimson rambler. The most common is the mahogany brown variety that is very small and measures only 1/5 to 1/8 inch across. The bed bug has a small, flattened oval shape and short, non-functional forewings. While some bed bugs use hosts including birds, bats, owls...
Moles
Enviroguard offers a comprehensive wildlife management program for unwelcome invaders including armadillos, bats, birds, ground hogs, moles, opossums, raccoons, rodents, squirrels, skunks, and snakes.
Raccoons
To control fleas, a three-step program is needed. First the pets are all treated. Second the home’s interior, particularly furniture, carpet, and pets' bedding is treated. Third, the outside perimeter, particularly the pet’s habitat must be treated. This treatment must continue until there is no remaining flea population. Outside, wild animals may serve as carriers for flea populations. You may have fleas even if you do not own a pet. In the U.S., coyotes, raccoons, rodents, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, and the neighbor's dog or cat may all carry fleas.
Snakes
The latest foundation vents have two screens that prevent entry by insects and other animals such as snakes, rats, opossums, mice, and skunks. With professional grade vents, not available from hardware superstores, you can achieve a customized look and fit for your home. The vents are available in several colors to coordinate with your home's exterior.
Wildlife
Opossums
Yes, it is. An opossum entered a customer's home. With no other obvious entry points in the home's foundation, and no open crawl space doors, windows or vents, the family's dog door was the only possible entry-point. Remember to close off the door securely when not in use or in the evenings when your pet has been out for the last time. Unfortunately, other pests can enter during the day as well.Small mammals including opossums, squirrels, rats and mice seek harbor, especially in the fall and winter, and could easily enter you home via the pet door. Consider a new pet entry door that has controlled access via a receiver your pets can wear on their collars. This can prevent entry by stray animals. What are the technicians actually doing under my house?
Enviroguard Pest Solutions focuses on exclusion processes that prevent nuisance birds from residing in your home or business. Enviroguard has a team of specialists who are experienced in solving pest bird control problems which will rid you and your property of pest bird infesations. All installations are custom designed for your building they are harmless to birds, non-lethal and nearly invisible.
Sparrows
Most people are unaware of and as a result, ignore the risk that pest birds pose to their health and well being. Nuisance species such as Pigeons, Doves, Sparrows and Starlings can transmit through their droppings a series of infectious illnesses including: histoplasmosis, candiasis, cryptococcosis, salmonelliosis. Contact with these infected birds, their dander or droppings can result in serious health problems and infections.
Starlings
Pigeons
Lee received a bachelor’s degree in Pest Control Management from the University of Memphis in 1983, combining courses in entomology, biology and business management. At the University of Memphis, Lee assisted in developing and implementing a campus-wide pest control program. The results of a comprehensive pigeon control program was the subject of his final thesis.
People from all over the world stop to take the rodent's picture. Some want T-shirts, or other mouse mementos. It has been featured in national magazines and on websites dedicated to roadside attractions, as well as in a Zippy the Pinhead newspaper comic.
Mice
Control sources of food for pests. Put away food promptly and do not leave open pet food available for rats and mice.
Rats
But it wasn't always a roof rat (or mouse). Rice's father, Stanley Lester Tubbs, who started the business in 1958, first saw it at the old Crosstown Theater on Cleveland. It was a prop for the 1971 movie "Willard," starring Bruce Davison and about a million rats (or large mice).
Squirrels
From the roof, inspect attic vents, ridge vents, pipes, and chimney caps to ensure holes are sealed and screens are intact. Squirrels and raccoons like to enter your home through the chimney or roof vents. If trees and shrubs hang over the house, you are making it easy for them to jump to your roof.Trim trees and remove vines.