Celebrate a Pest-Free Fourth of July
The Fourth of July agenda usually includes picnics, cookouts, fireworks, and good times with family and friends. It can also include an explosion of unwanted pests that want to spoil your good times.
When people gather for holiday celebrations, it’s a given that there will be abundance of food and beverages available. However, your guests aren’t the only ones angling to fill up their plates. Pests are drawn to the fruit, soft drinks, and sweet, sugary desserts that are a staple of holiday functions, 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 have a safe, enjoyable Fourth of July, and offers the following tips to keep annoying pests from spoiling your holiday 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 the 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, food spills, and leftovers. These insects – especially 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 prize.
Stinging Insects can be a major good-times buzzkill, and nothing can ruin a party like getting stung by a bee or yellow jacket. The Clark Man recommends that you inspect your property before the party for any signs of nests in trees, under awnings, and under the eaves of your home. If you do spot a nest, call the stinging insect experts at Clark Pest Control immediately. Also, cover food and beverage cans and bottles, because many stinging insects are attracted to sugary substances, and who wants to swallow a bee that flew into their beverage?
Mosquitoes are nuisance pests that are regular holiday party crashers, and eliminating standing water and keeping vegetation trimmed in your yard are ways to prevent mosquitoes from nesting. Using insect repellent or yard sprays containing DEET or eucalyptus oil, lighting citronella candles, or turning on a ceiling or box fan to blow mosquitoes away from your deck or patio – as mosquitoes are not good flyers – are ways to toss these uninvited guests out.
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.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!