From sunshine and flowers to short sleeves and cookouts, April brings a lot of great things to Oklahoma. Unfortunately, it also brings two of our least favorite and most invasive pests—Fire ants and Spiders. Both of these invaders begin to come out in force in the month of April due to the rising temperatures and the increased precipitation. You’re also more likely to notice them as you are starting to open up more doors and windows to let in the warm spring breezes, which also lets in the spring pests. We know how upsetting these pests can be to have in your home, and how difficult they can be to get rid of on your own, and that’s where the professionals at Arrow Exterminators come in. With decades of experience eliminating these pests, we have what it takes to keep your home pest free this spring.
Fire ants are not native to the United States; this invasive species was brought here from South America in the 1930s and quickly started multiplying. They now infest hundreds of millions of acres in 13 states, including Oklahoma. These small, reddish-brown ants pack a powerful, painful sting and can be especially dangerous to those who are sensitive or allergic to their stings. They live in low, circular mounds which can be distinguished from other ant hills because they do not have a central opening at the top. When the mounds are disturbed, the ants will swarm out of the mound and aggressively attack whomever has disturbed their home.
Because they live underground and their colonies are so massive, ants are always hard to get rid of. Fire ants are particularly difficult to get rid of because they are especially aggressive and we tend to try and keep their two natural predators—armadillos and phorid flies—away from our homes and lawns as well. And very few DIY organic treatments—like pouring boiling water onto the mounds—have been proven to have any permanent impact on these resilient pests. This is a heavy duty job that requires Oklahoma’s premier pest control team: Arrow Exterminators. We can inspect your home and property, confirm that it is fire ants that are bothering you and create a comprehensive plan to eliminate them once and for all. The methods we use to eliminate the fire ants on your property might vary slightly depending on the number of ants, how many mounds there are, how close they are to your property and if they have invaded your home or are just a menace to your yard.
The other spring menaces you’re likely to start seeing in April are spiders. Spiders tend to come out of hiding with warm, wet spring weather and seek a dry place to shelter. Hopefully they find that dry place outside, but more likely than not, it means you’ll soon see spiders coming into your home, business, barn, garage, shed and other sheltered areas looking for a dry place to spin a web and catch easy prey. Oklahoma plays host to a variety of spider breeds that range from small, benign garden spiders to large, colorful orbweaver to sneaky, venomous Black Widows and Brown Recluses. While these arachnids play an important role in nature serving as natural pest control and making sure that mosquito, fly and other insect populations don’t get out of hand, they can be annoying and even dangerous when they come in close contact with people.
Spiders can be difficult for the average homeowner to get rid of on their own—even the friendly ones! Most spiders are shy, reclusive creatures and prefer to avoid human contact. This makes finding them and eliminating them difficult. The dangerous ones, like Brown Recluses and Black Widows, are even more difficult to eliminate from your home and property. Like other spiders, these guys are shy and can be difficult to spot. However, they are also highly venomous and special precautions have to be taken when dealing with these spiders so that you are not bitten and harmed while trying to eliminate them. This is one job that definitely should be left to the trained professionals at Arrow Exterminators. We have over 60 years of experience eliminating Oklahoma spiders and we can bring that knowledge to work for you to make sure your home is spider-free this spring.
We hope this information helps you better prevent spider and ant infestations and keeps your home free from any type of pest all year long. And if you see any of these creepy crawlies—or any others—in your home, give us a call or visit our website to get started on your free, no-obligation evaluation. We’ll create a custom pest control plan to get rid of all your pest problems in no time! You can call our trained pest control experts at any time with questions about pest control methods or pest prevention techniques. You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ for more pest prevention tips and tricks.
