Here’s a good post on the rise of  bed bugs in home and business.  It’s worse in the summer then the winter.    Don’t let the bed bugs bite!

Here are some of the good reviews summaries in YP

Here’s a couple more:

As the sun warms up, the pest control season is here again. The goal is to have a bug free summer where those pesky bugs live on the great outdoors and not in our homes.

But, how do you pick a good pest control professional? Here’s a great video from Pest TV that is an illustrative pop-up storybook telling a story from a mother’s perspective about why she has selected a pest control professional to protect her family. The storybook highlights many typical misconceptions homeowners might have about professional pest control and why using a pest control professional is good idea. As the video say, “Trust a Pro.”

Enjoy the show!

Thumbs up for the Eco Shield Pest Control team in San Antonio Texas!  Five Stars on Yelp!!

The Yelp review for Eco Shield Pest Control is found here:

 www.yelp.com/biz/ecoshield-pest-control-san-antonio

Here are some of the additional five star comments:

“We are very pleased with the service that Ecoshield has provided for our home. We moved into a new home last March and an Ecoshield representative came by our house to tell us about their pest control services. The prices were great and the service is just as great! Thank you to Darren Valadez for taking care of our home!”  |  Jeani C. – New Braunfels, TX

“Very good service and professional. Darren did a great job!”  |  Suzy L. – San Antonio, TX

“Darren Valadez was very professional and the team always takes good care us! They always make an effort to address and treat any special areas of concern!!”  |  Lorrie R. – San Antonio, TX

“Jason T, from Eco Shield is awesome. I highly recommend Jason and this pest control company to anyone who has a bug problem.”  |  Christine V. – Killeen, TX

“Christopher Joiner completed my quarterly pest service. He was very friendly and thorough. Even though he was running a little behind the office contacted me to let me know he was a little behind schedule. When he arrived he was professional and apologetic for being late.”  |  Sean Michael S. – San Antonio, TX

Everyone knows how bothersome pests can be during those pleasant picnic and bbq times of the year. But what about when we humans are huddled inside keeping warm? Surely there can’t be a need to control those same pests during these cold months, can there? After all, you rarely ever see them hanging out around your home like you do doing the spring and summer. However, there may be more lurking around than you would expect.

So what do pests do when the weather gets cold? The same thing we do, they try to find a warm spot to hide! Unfortunately, your home is the most consistent and convenient place to find this warmth, and since pests have spent thousands of years perfecting the ability to hide from bigger predators they find a way to hide from you as well. This is where it pays to have a professional on hand. With years of bug hunting under their belt they can accurately pinpoint the harboring areas of these covert critters and help you work toward clearing bugs from your home.

Is pest control really needed year round? Absolutely. Don’t let all that hard work you did during the warmer months be for naught by allowing the intruders a warm refuge. Often times we’ll get a call in the middle of the winter with snow on the ground asking where in the world these ants are coming from? You may also be able to cash in on savings because winter months tend to be a bit slower for pest control companies so many of them offer their biggest discounts during this time. Call now for a free quote and to see what discounts are going on in your neighborhood.

Well, the world did not come to an end and we didn’t go off the fiscal cliff last year, so there’s much to be optimistic about again this coming year!  And that includes getting rid of pesky bugs that invade our living spaces.

Although we would probably not put in on our our top ten list of things to accomplish this year, bugs are one of those quiet annoyances that steals many moments away from us.

You know what I mean, like, when a nasty looking spider invades your bathroom privacy while seated on the great white throne.  Or when mosquitoes rob you of that magic moment on the porch with someone special.  Or even worst, when a mouse invades your house, how well do you sleep at night knowing that they are nocturnal creatures?  The bug scenario’s could go on and on.  What you need is peace of mind, a place where not even the bugs get in!

We could go on about the merits of Eco Shield at this point.  But we’ll let another site tell the story.  Check out this website link, www.yelp.com/biz/eco-shield-pest-control-geneva-2 .  It’s got over a 100 reviews, with some great bug stories from people who took action to be bug free in their own homes.  Here’s a timely comment:

“Their service uses less poison which is good when you have children in and around the house, plus they were the only ones to control our lady bug problem, which is a major nuisance for us due to our close proximity to a forest preserve – we had massive amounts of lady bugs seeking to hibernate in our home during the fall/winter and our last couple of bug guys were ineffective.”

Neil S. – Chicago

For all our customers, employees, and owners who participate in the Exterminate Hunger campaign,  it’s the best gift we can give to American’s in the communities we serve.

If you have not yet made a food donation, please do so if you can.   Even if you can’t make a donation, just get involved!

Our goal is exterminate hunger in the communities we serve.  That numbers are brutal here, with 1 in 6 Americans who go without proper nutrition on a daily basis.  This is particularly hard during the holiday season for those that don’t have the means to feed themselves or their own.

If you’re looking for more information, you can check out the Exterminate Hunger website at www.exterminatehunger.com

No one wants critters in their home and no critter is more despised than a house mouse. Some would say they are better dead than alive, however, at EcoShield we think everyone can agree that mice-free is the way to be. There are many ways to kill mice once they get into your home including rodenticide baits, snap traps, and glue boards. However, in this article we will focus on taking steps to exclude mice from your home.

A typical house mouse is 3-4 inches long and weighs less than one ounce. An average mouse can probably fit through the size of a nickel, and a smaller mouse may fit through the size of a dime. To fortify your home seal all holes with steel wool, silicon caulking, wire mesh, and/or expandable foam.

Common entry points:

• The Garage

An attached garage can be an easy access for mice. Often there are small gaps on either side of the door, even when the garage is closed. Mice then can set up shop in the garage, feasting on pet food or even garbage. In some cases mice may find their way into the home via unsealed holes for utility lines or other small gaps around the garage.

• The Crawlspace or Basement

It’s not unusual to find gaps in the foundation of old homes. Even new homes settle over the course of time, leaving it vulnerable to mice invasions. Inspect around the base of the home and look for any unsealed gaps. Take the aforementioned measures to seal them.

• The Kitchen, Bathroom(s), and Utility Room

Sometimes you may not be able to find all the gaps on the exterior of the home. Inspect around inside the cabinets and around plumbing because they often are unsealed, leaving room for mice to squeeze into your living space. The vents of the dryer in the utility room are another hotspot for mice to come in so make sure there is a screen outside on the vent.

At EcoShield, one of our favorite methods of prevention is the strategic placement of a repellant gel. The combination of cayenne pepper, garlic, and silica makes for some serious mice-repulsing gel. It acts as an invisible fence as mice scurry around looking for entrance points. The best way to combat mice is a combination of professional pest control services alongside efforts from the homeowner to look for points of entry around the home and then seal them. Don’t spend this winter harboring guests that aren’t paying rent!

Homeowners question all the time how often should they be receiving pest control. How often is too often? Will this service be enough? It’s not always easy to know. The answer? It depends. There are quite a few factors that go into how often you should receive pest control, and your answer is going to differ whether you live in Chicago or Los Angeles, what kind of pests are visiting your home, and who is providing your service.  Even Halloween can have it’s own pest control tips.

Probably the most important factor is the climate and region in which you live. In most cases, if you live in an area where your winter brings below freezing temperatures, you’re not going to run into as many pest problems, or at least not the same type, as if you lived in sunny Southern California. The second consideration would be the type of pests that are causing problems. Each pest, from ants to cockroaches to mice, has their own traits that require a certain level of service. If you can determine which pest is causing you the most trouble, your pest control professional can help determine the frequency at which you may want to consider receiving service. The final main factor is the products used to protect your home. Some products stick around longer than others, for different reasons, and can dictate how often they should be reapplied, if at all. This, again, would be a question for your pest control professional.

All in all, it is usually recommended that you receive your pest control treatment at a monthly, bi-monthly (every two months), or quarterly frequency. While bi-monthly and monthly tend to be the preferred choice, especially in warmer climates, it’s always a good idea to call your local pest control professional and talk to them about it. They can help find a solution that’s just right.

As we head towards the holiday season, many of us gather together for fun, food and football.  We invite our family and friends into our homes for parties and celebrations.  As we prepare our menus and clean our homes, the unspeakable happens… ANTS!!  Your thoughts turn to what your friends might think if they saw ants trailing around your kitchen and around your plate of freshly baked cookies.  Perhaps the sight of the ants dredges up painful memories of the last time you ventured a bit too close to that ant mound.  Whatever the case may be, these guys must die, and they must die NOW!  Before you reach for the can of RAID or that bottle of bleach, here are a few reasons why calling a professional is so critical for indoor invading ants.

Ant Pest Control FAQs

1)      Identification is Key – The first step to a proper ant control program is knowing what type of ant you are dealing with.  Some species of ants do require different treatment methods and without knowing which ant you are dealing with, you could be making things worse.

2)      To squish or not to squish – In many indoor invading ant species, there are multiple queens in a colony.  However tempting it is to squish or spray or ignite those little buggers to kingdom come, you may be putting the colony in stress and causing them to take their queens and split off the main colony, forming TWO or more satellite colonies!

3)      Do it Yourself products – A spray or a bait station that you may buy to treat for ants could work but without proper understanding of the ants and their feeding patterns you may be wasting your money.  Many ants will switch from proteins to sugars, depending upon the needs of the colony.  The ants depend upon their workers to forage for these types of foods and bring them back.  If you spray the area, you risk contaminating the baits that you used, and killing off the workers, making your problem worse.  (see reason two above)

Together with a competent, knowledgeable technician and an ant control program custom tailored to your home, the holidays and every day can be filled with ant free enjoyment!