Jul 6, 2017, 08:31 AM by Fred Speer

The Clark Man hopes your Fourth of July celebrations – picnics, cookouts, splashing in the pool, fireworks – with family and friends were fun, safe, and above all, pest free.

Summer celebrations feature an abundance of food and beverages, but your guests aren’t the only ones angling to dine.

Unwanted pests such as ants, flies, and stinging insects are attracted to the sweet, sugary ingredients in desserts, fruit, and soft drinks, as well as the greasy leftovers that can be found on grills, serving trays, and garbage cans filled with post-party trash.

The Clark Man wants you, your family, and your friends to enjoy your summer celebrations. The following tips can help to keep annoying pests from spoiling your fun.

Flies are a common interloper to almost any backyard cookout or picnic. Keep these filthy insects from spoiling your picnic by covering your food with foil or tight-sealing lids, or set up your buffet inside a screened in porch or tent. Also, remember to clean up food and beverage spills, because they are a major attractant to flies.

Ants, like flies, are drawn to food, along with spilled food and leftovers. Argentine ants, one of the most commonly found species in California, thrive on sweet, sugary substances like spilled soft drinks. Cleaning up spilled food and drinks, and rinsing out cans and bottles before they go into the recycle bin or garbage can, will deny ants their sought-after prizes.

Stinging Insects, like bees and yellowjackets, can ruin a party like nothing else. Inspect your property before guests arrive for any signs of nests in trees, or under the eaves or awnings of your home. If you do spot a nest, call the Clark Man immediately. Also, cover food and beverage cans and bottles, because many stinging insects are attracted to sugary substances, and no one wants to swallow a bee that flew into a beverage.

If you’re having trouble keeping flies, ants, stinging insects, or other pests from invading your outdoor living space, call or text (800) WE-NEED-YOU (936-3339) or drop me an email at clarkcares@clarkpest.com.

Until next time I’m the Clark Man, and thanks for helping me keep unwanted pests out of your home.