10 Tips for a Pest-Free Backyard

Servicing a backyard in Peekskill NY - Garrie Pest Control

We’re all excited about the weather finally warming up here in Peekskill NY. However, it’s not just us that take advantage of lovely spring and summer conditions every year. All sorts of pests will be out and about in your backyard, finding ample food, hiding spots, and breeding grounds if you don’t put in the work to prevent them. If you’re looking to pest-proof your backyard, read on. We’ve put together some advice from our expert exterminators at Garrie Pest Control!

10 Tips to Pest-Proof Your Backyard:

All kinds of pests live in our region, so there are many different types of pest attractions to keep watch for and prevent. Here are our top 10 tips for keeping pests out of your backyard in Peekskill NY:

  1. Cut your grass: Mow your lawn once a week to maintain a short but healthy grass blade length. Letting your grass grow out of hand will lead to a labyrinth of pest hiding places and standing water.
  2. Trim plants: Keeping your bushes, shrubs, and trees nice and neat will prevent pest hiding places. This can also get rid of small shaded spots that pests like ticks and mosquitoes take advantage of to rest in during the heat of the day.
  3. Remove yard waste: Piles of yard waste in your backyard can serve as perfect shelters or breeding grounds for insects, arachnids, and rodents alike. Dispose of yard waste often to discourage this.
  4. Get rid of standing water: Standing water pools can serve as hydration sources for all kinds of pests, but they are most infamously used as mosquito breeding grounds. Pour out or tip over standing water when you find it in gutters, planter boxes, tarps, buckets, or elsewhere.
  5. Use garden netting: Your garden can attract pests as small as aphids and as large as raccoons. Using netting to protect your plants will allow them to grow without the threat of thievery or destruction.
  6. Dethatch your lawn: A layer of thatch too thick for your lawn will suffocate your grass and allow for many types of common lawn pests to take easy shelter.
  7. Water your grass properly: Both overwatering and underwatering your lawn can lead to pest problems for different reasons. Installing a sprinkler system or irrigation system is the best way to ensure that your lawn is receiving a regulated and evenly-distributed amount of water.
  8. Store firewood properly: Leftover firewood stacks from winter can lead to termite problems in the house. Store your firewood above ground and away from your house in a place where it can stay dry.
  9. Keep bins sealed and far away: Make sure your trash cans are sealed and kept away from your home to prevent foraging pests ranging from wasps to opossums.
  10. Hire an exterminator: A professional pest control technician can be the expert eye you need to figure out why pests are invading your backyard!

Pest Control for Your Backyard in Peekskill NY

If you’re looking to keep pests out of every corner of your backyard all spring and summer long, it’s time to get help from a local residential exterminator. Our team at Garrie Pest Control can assess your yard for vulnerabilities, find active pest breeding grounds, and safely remove all active pests while setting up lasting exclusion methods. For a free quote or to learn more, contact us today!

How to Prevent Flying Termites

Flying termites in Peekskill NY - Garrie Pest Control

We all look forward to springtime, insects included! This is the time of year when many insects, termites included, become more active after the winter months. Amongst the many pests that are bothersome for homeowners in our region, termites are likely the most dangerous. While these insects are active throughout the year, spring is when they tend to swarm and infest new areas. Due to this, it’s important to keep an eye out for flying termites during this time of year and take the necessary steps to prevent them from getting inside your house.

Garrie Pest Control understands how stressful it is to deal with a termite infestation. Our experts are here to help—read on to learn everything you need to know about termite swarms.

What Are Termite Swarmers?

One of the termite castes is the “swarmer” termite, also known as an “alate” and most often called a flying termite. These termites are reproductives that leave their nest in the springtime to mate and form new colonies. Seeing these flying termites near your home can indicate a potential infestation, which is why it’s important to know how to identify them. Swarmers are black to brown in color and reach a length of 3/8 inches, including the wings. Their wings are translucent in color or slightly milky or smoky. Their wings may overlap and are typically as long as or slightly longer than their bodies.

In spring, swarmers move into structures around basement windows, doorways, near porches, or any other place where wood will come into contact with soil. A termite infestation can eat away at the very structure of your home before you realize it. In order to prevent them from coming in the first place, it’s important to take preventative measures.

Top Tips to Prevent Flying Termites

It’s important to pay attention to any signs of flying termites, particularly in the spring. There are several things you can do to protect your property from wood-destroying insects:

  • Routinely clean your yard of any rotting wood, trees, etc. Ensure your porch or deck is maintained.
  • Keep all mulch away from the foundation of your home.
  • Store all firewood above ground and away from the perimeter of your property.
  • Repair issues with your plumbing to avoid any leaks or moisture that could attract termites.
  • Work with a professional termite control expert to implement treatments that repel termites.

Think You Have Termites in Your Home?

If you are seeing flying termites near your home or have a termite infestation, you’ll need professional help. It is best to protect your home from wood-destroying insects by getting annual pest control inspections. The experts at Garrie Pest Control are ready to help—contact us today to protect your property from swarming termites!

How to Prepare for Spring Bugs

A technician performing pest control services in Peekskill NY - Garrie Pest Control

The beginning of spring comes with a sense of relief for many. The rains will help your plants recover from the blistering cold and you can enjoy outdoor activities again. However, spring is also the time when bugs come out of hibernation to nest, mate, and reproduce. So what can you do as a homeowner in Peekskill NY to prevent them from doing all of this in your home? Read on for expert advice on the best ways to prepare for pests in the spring with Garrie Pest Control!

What Spring Bugs Should We Be Expecting?

If there’s any season where we should be worried about pest infestations, it’s spring. While we’re on our way out of the winter where rodents run rampant, all kinds of tiny critters will soon be taking advantage of newfound sun and moisture to proliferate and thrive. Here are some of the most common bugs that we see in spring in Peekskill NY:

As you can see, there is a wide range of pests that dominate the spring. This means that we have to keep an arsenal of pest prevention strategies in our back pockets for when the season rolls around again.

How to Prevent Spring Bugs Before They Arrive

There are a number of strategies that you can take before spring or implement into your cleaning routine to protect your home from pest infestation during the spring. Here are our recommended methods of preparing for spring bugs:

  1. Declutter: Organize your home and consolidate loose items to prevent unnecessary hiding places.
  2. Seal cracks and gaps: Openings in your walls, windows, foundation, siding, and more can allow pests in. Inspect your phone to find these spots and seal them with a silicone-based caulk, steel wool, or otherwise as the surface calls for.
  3. Check plumbing fixtures: Beyond cracks in plumbing fixtures that allow pests in, leaky pipes can create moisture problems that attract pests. Make sure your plumbing fixtures are in working order.
  4. Store food properly: Make sure that your refrigerator and pantry are clean and your food is stored in air-tight containers.

Professional Help Preventing Spring Pest Infestations

If you have experienced pest infestations in spring year after year around Peekskill NY or just want an extra eye on your home before spring sets in, reach out to your local pest control company for an inspection. The experts at Garrie Pest Control are closely familiar with pest seasonality and habits in our region and can set up a plan to protect your home from its unique vulnerabilities. For a free quote, contact us today!

Your Leaky Pipes May Be Attracting Pests

Cockroaches are attracted to plumbing fixtures in Peekskill NY - Garrie Pest Control

Having leaky pipes or plumbing issues in your home is bad enough without the added bonus of a pest infestation. Unfortunately, pests love excess moisture and will readily infest a home that is experiencing a plumbing problem. This is why it’s crucial to stay on top of plumbing repairs in your home. When you don’t, you run the risk of potentially leaving yourself vulnerable to pest infestations. The experts at Garrie Pest Control are here to help. Read on to learn everything you need to know about preventing pests and leaky pipes in your Peekskill NY home!

Moisture-Loving Pests

Pests are drawn toward areas that provide them with their main sources of survival: food and water! This is why pests are commonly found in bathrooms, crawl spaces, laundry rooms, and more. The most common pests that are going to be attracted to areas with excess moisture are as follows.

  1. Termites: If a broken pipe has caused water damage in the very structure of your home, you can be sure termites are to follow. Subterranean termites in particular are attracted to moist wood and soil. When there are unattended-to leaky pipes or plumbing issues, you could be leaving your home vulnerable to termites.
  2. Ants: These tiny pests will appear seemingly out of nowhere when excess moisture is abundant. Leaky faucets or spilled water from a pet’s bowl can bring ants out in the hundreds. In addition to your typical house ant, water can be a main attractant to the wood-destroying carpenter ant as well.
  3. Cockroaches. Roaches may be known for their resiliency, but they aren’t as strong as you’d think. Without water for a week, a roach will not survive. Cockroaches also love to linger inside of pipes and plumbing fixtures. An issue can quickly introduce roaches into other parts of the house.
  4. Rodents: Rats and mice alike are always looking for a water supply. Leaky pipes or broken faucets in your crawl space or laundry room can provide a haven for rodents. The last thing you want is rodents scurrying around when you have a plumbing issue, making it important to prevent them.

How to Prevent Pest Infestations From Leaky Pipes

Leaky pipes or plumbing issues can quickly bring a plethora of problems into your home. This is because almost all pests are attracted to water. In fact, some will die without a source of water within a few days. If you want to help prevent pests in your home, the best thing to do is keep an eye out for leaks and address any issues right away. Regularly inspect to ensure your faucets aren’t dripping, your drains aren’t clogging, and there are no leaks from your fridge, washing machine, or dishwasher.

Dealing With Pest Problems in Your Kitchen or Bathroom?

If you’re already noticing the signs of pests from a plumbing issue or leaky pipe, it’s important to contact your local exterminator for assistance. At Garrie Pest Control, we will work hard to get rid of any pest problems and provide you with tips to prevent future ones.

Types of Household Bugs in New York [2021 Update]

Bed bugs are a common household pest in New York - Garrie Pest Control

Nobody wants bugs in their homes. Bugs can contaminate food, bite people and pets, and generally creep you out, too. So what can you do about the many varieties of bugs that are native to the state of New York, particularly in the Hudson Valley area. The good news is most pests will stay outdoors. Occasionally, though, they can make their way indoors. To avoid the frustration and surprise of finding pests in your home, it’s important to know how to protect your home from the most common ones! The pest experts at Garrie Pest Control are here to share everything you need to know about the four most common pests in the great state of New York.

Pests in New York

1. Cockroaches

Infamously gross and hardy, cockroaches are tough to kill. You could squish every roach that you see, but what can you do about the elusive nests of cockroaches that may be living in your cabinets, walls, or attic?

The key to cockroach control is preventing cockroach invasions in the first place. Seal up cracks in doors, windows, and walls, keep your home clean, and try to avoid eating outside of the kitchen or dining room. Also, make sure you keep your food tightly sealed away in airtight containers. If cockroaches access your food supply, they can spread incredibly dangerous diseases.

2. Bed Bugs

Some of the most difficult bugs to kill, bed bugs spread like a disease, latching onto a single person and spreading across entire homes, neighborhoods, and even cities. Bed bugs hide in mattresses, closets, baseboards, and other areas where they can form tiny but highly populated nests. They’re infamous for biting humans at night, feeding on their blood.

Bed bugs are difficult to kill, often requiring the use of heat treatments that essentially cook them to death, including their eggs. You must kill bed bug eggs if you hope to eliminate the infestation. This is why most other methods that target adult bed bugs just don’t work. It’s best to enlist the help of a bed bug control expert.

3. Termites

These dangerous pests are infamous for being costly. The very word “termite” should send a shudder down every homeowner’s spine. They eat dead plant matter, which often consists of building materials in homes, like wooden frames, cabinets, flooring, and furniture. New York homes commonly deal with termites, making it important to put prevention in place all year long.

If you notice deep grooves or holes in wood, your home may have termites. Always contact a termite control professional as soon as possible to begin termite intervention. As some of the most costly and destructive bugs on earth, professional termite prevention should be at the top of your priority list as a homeowner!

4. Pantry Pests

Like roaches, pantry beetles are hungry for just about anything you’ll take home to them. Sadly, their home may happen to be your kitchen pantry, hence the name of this common New York beetle. Pantry beetles are incredibly destructive to human food sources, and can often infect flour mills and grocery stores. This sadly means that you may take a pantry beetle infestation home with you.

Try to keep all food stored in airtight containers, especially sugary and flour-based foods that pantry beetles love. If you notice these food-eating pests in your home, it’s smart to get advice from your local pantry pest control experts.

Pest Prevention for New Yorkers

At Garrie Pest Control, we know that no homeowner wants to have pests in their home. We are proud to work with homeowners in the Hudson Valley and Peekskill NY area to customize pest control plans that keep homes pest-free year-round. To learn more, contact us today to get started!