People often group fleas and ticks together because they share several similarities, including their sole source of nutrition being blood from their warm-blooded hosts. These parasites invade and take over our Houston properties by hitchhiking. They move to and from different places on the backs of their hosts. Both hang out in shady and moist areas when not on a host. Additionally, both fleas and ticks pose significant health risks. Through their bites, they spread pathogens and parasites that make people and our pets ill.

However, fleas and ticks are, in fact, two very different species. Fleas are insects, while ticks are arachnids. Fleas spend most of their adult lives on a single host, while ticks feed on multiple hosts throughout their life. Another significant difference is that ticks are primarily a problem in outdoor spaces, while fleas can thrive and take over our indoor spaces. Eliminating and controlling fleas and ticks is best done with the help of a professional that can provide the treatments necessary to disrupt their life cycles and eliminate the infestation.

Fleas and ticks are year-round threats to our Houston properties. Take advantage of our helpful prevention tips to avoid a large-scale flea or tick infestation on your property.

• Maintain your lawn by keeping the grass cut short and removing piles of leaves and other debris from your property. 
• Make your yard less attractive to wild animals that harbor fleas and ticks. Remove bird feeders, keep lids on trash cans, and regularly harvest gardens.
• Reduce the shade and moisture near your home's perimeter by cutting back shrubs and bushes, installing gutters, and creating a crushed stone barrier between mulch or soil and your home's foundation.

If these blood-feeding pests have become a problem on your property, don't delay; reach out for professional flea and tick pest control help. 

Mosquitoes, wasps, and bees are three of the most common and problematic flying insects to invade our Houston properties. All three pose dangers, making them pests we can't ignore nor want to discover have become comfortable in our yards. Mosquitoes deliver itchy bites and transmit diseases and parasites through their feeding habits, making people and animals quite ill. Bees and wasps deliver painful, venom-filled stings as a means of defense that can trigger life-threatening reactions in people.

Keeping flying insects away from your property is tricky since they can fly to and from it as they please. Flying insects are opportunistic creatures, and any of our yards can meet their needs. Houston's warm temperature and humid climate allow these pests to thrive throughout the year. Keeping these pests from flying onto your property is a full-time commitment and best accomplished with the help of a professional.

The best defense against flying insects is to make your property seem as uninviting as possible. Remove areas of standing water that offer breeding sites and water sources. Keep a well-maintained yard free of overgrown grass and shrubs, and remove yard debris to remove harborage sites. Reduce the flowering vegetation on your property, especially near your home's entrances and exits. For assistance with flying insect control, call today.

Many pests regularly and without hesitation live inside our Houston homes. While most pests like rodents, cockroaches, mites, and more can live successfully outdoors in Houston, they make themselves right at home when they come indoors. Pests can enter our houses on their own through small openings they come across, usually while searching for food or by hitchhiking in things like boxes, deliveries, food packages, or secondhand items.

When pests find their way into our homes, only they benefit. Pest infestations are not only annoying but can cause problems like damaging your home and personal items and causing you and your family to become ill. The safest and easiest way to eradicate the pests currently feeding, breeding, and nesting in your home and to keep new pest problems from forming is to partner with an experienced pest professional. For year-round pest control, give us a call today.

Use the following tips to keep out the many different types of pests that want to live inside your Houston home.

• Keep your home and yard free of debris and clutter that offer harborage sites.
• Always inspect secondhand items, potted plants, deliveries, and storage boxes for hitchhiking pests before bringing them inside your home.
• Repair leaky pipes and clogged drains, store food in the fridge or airtight containers, and pick up uneaten pet food to remove reliable food and water sources.
• Regularly vacuum and dust your home to dislodge and remove hiding pests.

For home pest control services in Houston, call Swisher Pest Control today.

A common misconception is that spiders are a type of insect, but they aren't; they are arachnids. Like most arachnids, spiders are efficient hunters and feed on live prey like insects and other types of spiders. Having spiders in our outdoor spaces usually isn't problematic and is helpful, as they control the pests that call our yards and gardens home.

Spiders typically only become a problem when they take over our outdoor spaces in large numbers and move into our homes. Most spiders enter our homes, crawling through open windows, cracks in the foundation, and gaps around utilities as they follow their insect prey. Once inside, if they find dark, dry shelter and easy access to food, they won't be in any hurry to leave.

To avoid regularly spotting creepy crawly eight-legged pests in your Houston home, implement the following prevention tips.

• Cut back bushes, shrubs, and tree limbs from your home that can provide spiders with shelter and a highway to and from your home. 
• Avoid attracting hoards of insects to your home's exterior- turn off exterior lights, keep lids on trash cans, and eliminate areas of standing water.
• Keep spiders out of your home by repairing torn screens, caulking cracks and crevices, and sealing gaps around windows and doors.

In addition, keep spiders off of your property with the help of the home and commercial pest control services that we offer at Swisher Pest Control!

Without the help of termites, decaying and dead trees, leaves, and other organic debris, would cover the ground. While we can't argue that termites are necessary, it also can't be argued that these insects don't belong living in residential areas with people. When termites move from wooded areas and other outdoor spaces into our yards and home, the damage they cause is unmatched.

Termites feed on the cellulose found in wood and other things made of plant materials. When termites get into our homes, the structural wood, flooring, beams, trim, and wooden furniture provide termites with abundant sources of food. Termites feed day and night and are active year-round. Therefore, taking a proactive approach and partnering with a professional before termites damage your Houston home is the best way to guard it against wood-eating termites.

Guard your home, its structural integrity, and your bank account from destructive termites using our top prevention tips:

• Quickly remove and replace water-damaged wood from your home.
• Repair leaky pipes and fixtures and ensure your home has good ventilation to reduce excess moisture.
• Eliminate as much wood-to-soil contact on your property as possible. And remove from your yard fallen trees, tree stumps, and other wood debris.
• Repair cracks that form in your foundation that offer entry points.

Termites are challenging pests to control and prevent. If you ever spot evidence of termites, call Swisher Pest Control for termite control in Houston.