Athens AL Pest Control

Pest problems are a fact of life in the Athens area. Pests invade because of a desire for shelter, food, and/or water. Pests love our homes for the same reasons we do – shelter and access to food. With our community being rural and many areas having surrounding fields, pests are constantly trying to invade and claim our homes as their own!

For reliable pest control service in Athens, give us a call. We are a locally owned and operated company right here in the Athens area! We know how to get the job done right. Enjoy a better experience from your pest control company, switch over and see how happy you will be with the difference!

Pests Problems often encountered in Athens:

Earwigs

Earwigs are the dark brown to reddish-brown bugs that you may sometimes see in your bathrooms.  Earwigs have little pincers on their tail, and while they may look scary, their pincers usually don’t hurt.  They normally live in the mulch and grass thatching around your home.  If their population gets too high, or if it gets to wet, dry, hot, or cold outside  –  they will want to come in.  Some neighborhoods in Athens are worse than others for earwigs, but rest assured we can take control of them for you!  As part of our service we will also evaluate your home for contributing factors that may be causing problems, and as part of our service we give you written suggestions on changes to make that help ensure a pest free environment!  One easy suggestion to help reduce earwig problems is to have a core aeration done on your lawn each year. This will pull microbes from the soil and spread them above the thatch, in turn causing the thatch to decompose as its supposed to and eliminating a large sheltered area that earwigs love!

Ants

Nuisance ants, sugar ants, little black ants, and argentine ants are common problems in Athens.  These ants vary from being extremely tiny and a reddish tan color, to medium-sized black ants, to red ants with a black tail, to medium-sized reddish-brown ants.  Each one is different, and the best treatment method can vary significantly depending on the species.  Ants are very sensitive, and have learned to avoid areas where traditional pest control products are used  –  at least until the products wear down a bit!  They then return to foraging in that area.  This is a common reason many people continue to see ants after they’ve treated themselves, or even when they’re being treated by many other companies!  At Scout we use baits, and specialized non-repellent products to eliminate ant problems.  We essentially put the ants to work for us in spreading our products out through their colony and to the queen.  This method can take a few days longer to work, but it actually addresses the source of the problem!

Spiders

Northern Alabama in general and Athens in particular has a wide variety of spiders.  We are in one of the areas with a high Brown Recluse population.  There are also several species of Black Widow and a species of Brown Widow spiders that we have to be concerned with.  These spiders have the capacity to do serious damage and harm with their bites.  Fortunately, those bites are not as common.  Brown Recluse bites usually come from when the spiders are hiding in an article of clothing, or in a bed or couch and become trapped as we get dressed, or roll over onto them.  The majority of Black Widow bites happen on hands and fingers when people try to grab them or play with them.  Most spiders have a bad reputation, while relatively few deserve it.  In addition to Brown Recluse Spiders, Brown Widow and Black Widow Spiders, we also have a wide variety of much less poisonous spiders that do a lot of good in terms of mosquito and fly control.  These range from colorful Orb Weaver spiders that make large elegant webs, to wolf spiders which hunt their prey be chasing them down.  While these other spiders are less venomous, it is still best to not handle them.  If you would like to discuss spider control options, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you out!

Wasps

In the spring and fall we see large increases in the activity, and population of wasps in the Athens area.  Most often in our area we see Paper Wasps, Yellow Jackets, Mud Daubers or Dirt Daubers, Red Wasps, and several kinds of Hornets.  Some kinds of wasps are fairly docile, while others can be very aggressive and defensive when disturbed.  If you see a couple of wasps flying through your yard, that’s normal.  If you start to see abnormal amounts of them around your home, or if they begin to make nests around your home, or if you see them going in and out of cracks, crevices, or openings, then it’s time to give us a call.  We have a wide variety of options to help keep wasps under control!

Rats and Mice

Depending on where in Athens you live, there is a potential to have problems with both Rats and Mice.  The type of Rat we see most commonly here is the Norway Rat.  This species can be pretty big, up to 18″ from nose to  the end of the tail.  These pests like to live in burrows and fields and can also be problematic near commercial buildings and fields.  In Athens we also get a lot of House or Field Mice.  These are much smaller, and often are heard making scratching noises in attics and walls.  While they may be depicted as cute and cuddly, they carry a host of diseases which they spread everywhere they go.  Mice are especially bad about spreading disease because they mist their urine out behind them, having the potential to contaminate much more than what they touch.  For rodent control we offer a variety of services, including baiting, traps, and exclusion.  If you’re hearing scratching or rustling noises in your walls or attic, if you’ve seen any rodents scurrying around, or if you would just like to prevent access to these pests, give us a call!

Centipedes

House Centipedes, or Mexican Centipedes are an issue we commonly find in the Athens Area. These are long-legged versions of the common centipedes. They like moist areas, and so are often found in bathrooms, mulch, and around foundations. Our service readily controls and prevents access to these pests.

For a better pest control experience, Trust the experts at Scout Pest Control!