Termite - Pest Control | Springfield, MO - Branson

More Spiders Crawling Indoors as Temps Rise, Drought Worsens

Brian — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:12:22 +0000

Expert Pest Solutions owner, Brian Pickens, was featured as a pest control expert on a news segment about spiders on local TV Station, KOLR 10.

The extreme heat mixed with the recent drought has created the perfect environment for an increase of spiders to dwell in your home.

Spiders are more likely to move inside right now because they are looking for water and shade.

The best way to protect your house from spiders is to knock down all spider webs and focus on the outside of the house rather than the inside.

It is best to spray a barrier that is 5-10 feet around your house to stop spiders from getting inside.

[Expert Pest Solutions] suggests not spraying chemicals inside of your home by yourself because you could be creating more of a problem by inhaling the sprays than actually solving the problem with spiders.

View a video of the segment and read more on KOLR 10′s website.

What happened in pest control in Springfield, MO week of 03/14/11.

Brian — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:55:49 +0000

I enjoy being in the pest control industry for many reasons. Reflecting on this past week, I think of how much I enjoy the constantly changing challenges I get to work at solving for customers. Currently ants are becoming the current challenge. But around the next time I service my regular quarterly customers spiders will more than likely be the pest causing the most pressure on homes.

The most enjoyable pest infestation I solved this week I would have to say was an Indian meal moth infestation at a residence in the Highland Springs subdivision in Springfield, MO. I spoke with this customer about a month ago over the phone, at the time he wasn’t too concerned and was just wanted to ask some basic information. Another customer recommended him to call me. This time, when he called, he said he was ready for me to come out because he and his wife quickly looked through their pantry but are still seeing them. Why did I enjoy this particular situation most? Mainly because the problem needs to be solved by knowledge and a thorough inspection, no chemicals required. In other words it’s typically not something a “rookie” in the pest industry could solve. The ultimate culprit was a bag of walnuts used for cooking, they also were able to work their way into some cashews and some crackers. This house was very clean, and the homeowners question was a basic one; “How could this happen?” The answer is simple and has nothing to do with how clean you are. You can bring an adult or larva into your house many different ways. It could be in food or the packaging. Once inside if they find anything that they can reinfest the problem will continue to grow. There is a picture above of the bottom of the walnuts.

The weather this week was enjoyable as well, which made most people here in the Springfield, MO area pleasant to do deal with. And as always if you live in the Springfield, Ozark, or Nixa, MO; or a surrounding area and would like to ask any questions or schedule pest control service feel free to call (417) 294-4666 if you need any questions answered or to schedule service.

Brian Pickens
Expert Pest Solutions

Frequency of pest control service for most homes in the Springfield, MO area.

Brian — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:45:43 +0000

Typically residential pest control is done on a quarterly basis (every 3 months) in the Springfield, MO area. The reason why I recommend for most homes to be treated this way is because it gives the professional an opportunity in each season to prevent the different pest pressures that are in the months ahead. We are currently in our ant prevention phase because of the problems Springfield and the surrounding areas typically see with odorous house ants. This means we are treating the perimeter with a product that gives us the best results for control and prevention of odorous house ants as well as educating our customers on what to look for and make suggestions on what could help reduce the pest pressure. This does not mean we are not doing anything for other pests it seemly means we know that for most homes ants is the major issue during these months. However, we do treat each home a little a different and some a lot different, some homes we focus on brown recluse spiders year round.

Over the years I have found that by performing a regular scheduled pest control service I am able to control and prevent most pest problems and keep it cost effective for most customers. However, it is not uncommon to make a return visit between regular services if problems arise, which is no cost for our regular customers. In fact we try to remind every customer of that at the beginning of each quarter. We explain it not to our customers that your not paying for one treatment rather 3 months of pest control service. We do offer other frequencies and have customers we service monthly and weekly whose situations may be out of the norm or the customer’s request.

The 2 of the most important factors when choosing a pest control provider should be 1: the pest professional who is actually servicing your account 2: the customer service you receive when you do need to contact your pest control provider. If you live in the Springfield, Ozark, or Nixa, MO; or a surrounding area and would like to ask any questions or schedule pest control service feel free tocall (417) 294-4666 if you need any questions answered or to schedule service.

Brian Pickens

Why hire a professional for your pest control services in the Springfield, MO area?

Brian — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:33:15 +0000

There are many benefits of using a professional for your pest control needs. There is alot more to pest control than just “spraying” a pesticide on a bug. Effective pest management has more to do with what cannot be seen than what actually can be seen. In order to be effective you need to identify the pests, understand different habits/charecteristics, and understand the many different types of products that are available. Examples: Some products work great on hard non-porous surfaces but literally do nothing on concrete or other porous surfaces. Some products work great on one species of ant but can actually make a problem worse on another species of ant. These are just 2 basic examples. A lot of time and money is wasted by misapplication by homeowners as well as some untrained or inexperienced technicians that work for pest companies. I am going on my 10th year in this industry and have done my fair share of this, especially in the beginning.

By hiring an experienced professional to take care of your pest control needs you can also feel more comfortable knowing that the health of you and your family (I include pets when I say family) is protected, which probable will be its own blog entry at some point. If you have any additional questions or would like to hire Expert Pest Solutions to be your pest control provider and live in the Springfield, Ozark, Nixa, MO, or a surrounding area and would like to ask any questions or schedule pest control service feel free to call (417) 294-4666 if you need any questions answered or to schedule service.

Thanks,
Brian Pickens

The problems with ants here in Springfield, MO.

Brian — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:23:06 +0000

Spring is around the corner so that means it is time for us to begin gearing up to solve all the ant problems for people that call on us and our customers that use us as there regular exterminator for there pest control needs. The most common ant we have here is the odorous house ant, which is the small black ant people typically see on there counter tops and in there bathrooms. Easiest way to tell if that is what you have is to smash it and see if there is an odor (yes this is actually true!). Last year I read an article written by an entomologist that said he studied a colony by his office that in his estimate covered a city wide block and included millions of workers. They prefer to feed on plants that produce honeydew, aphids also excrete honeydew which can also attract these ants. The size of the colony makes them difficult to control by baiting alone a majority of the time. So what do we do differently to control them that homeowners and other exterminators don’t do? Well the answer to that question is different in each situation. Ant control is like most other forms of pest control, it is not always about one magical product but more about using the right product in the right situation and performing follow up services until the problem is resolved. Ants can be a real nuisance and if you use the wrong type of product in the wrong situation you can cause them to spread to other areas and make the problem worse.

Ants, spiders, and pest control in the 417 area.

Brian — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:18:07 +0000

We serve the Springfield, Missouri area with all your pest control needs from odorous house ants that are all over the city this time of year to the brown recluse spiders that are commonly found in our area. Our rates are competitive and the service you get will always be second to no one. We stay up to date on the industry changes and research for ants, spiders, and any other pests that are bothering you now or may bother you in the future. Our goal is to perform top notch pest control service and wowing you with customer service. We are proud members of the Nixa and Ozark chambers of commerce, and actively involved in a local BNI group. Call us at 417-294-4666 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 417-294-4666 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and add us on facebook by clicking the link on this page and clicking like on our facebook page.