How To Take The Sting Out Of Your Fire Ant Problem

Fire ants are a nuisance and a health threat to South Alabama. They are very aggressive and their bites are painful. Fire ants create an allergic or shock reaction to sensitive people and animals.

Our Fire Ant Program will control fire ant mounds in your yard (up to 1/2 acre) with a specialized insecticide providing a single-application to control fire ants for up to a full year by eliminating existing colonies and preventing new infestations.

BugMaster’s Fire Ant Program can help you:

• kill existing fire ants and the queen
• prevent new fire ants from invading
• eliminate fire ant mounds, especially in hard to reach places like under sidewalks and driveways
• provides limited control of nuisance insects such as fleas, ticks, and mole crickets

BugMaster will make any necessary follow up treatments for no additional charge within the year. This program is guaranteed for one year and costs $295* annually.

*Residential only. Up to 1/2 acre maximum area.

Click here to schedule a technician or call 251.666.4402 to speak to a BugMaster Fire Ant expert.

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BugMaster supports Serve It Up With Love

BugMaster was happy to sponsor the Child Advocacy Center’s Serve It Up With Love Tennis Tournament. This years tournament, at Copeland Cox Tennis Center, had more than 300 men, women and juniors participate to raise money for the Child Advocacy Center’s yearly efforts to assist the community.

The Child Advocacy Center provides services to abused children in the Mobile area. The Child Advocacy Center serves over 3,000 children in Mobile County a year making it an essential aspect to the Mobile community. Last year alone, the CAC provided:

• 741 Child sexual abuse forensic interviews
• 87 Forensic medical exams
• 289 Children counseled
• 1,575 On-going counseling sessions
• 346 Cases reviewed by CAC
• 173 Cases referred for vertical prosecution

Each year the need for fundraising is just as important as the last to help the continuous efforts of the CAC. Thanks for all you do, Child Advocacy Center. We’re happy to support you!

To talk to BugMaster about how we are involved in your community, call BugMaster’s Mobile HQ, 251-66-4402, or BugMaster DIY, 251-626-6667.

Click here to find out more about the Child Advocacy Center.

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Termites: Keep Them Out of Your Home

Termites like a lot of things about Mobile. They like its warm weather, humid environment, and all of its trees. While we guess that we have some similarities with termite interests, we know that a friendly relationship is no longer be a possibility as soon as they start chowing down on our homes.

Which they do. And if you don’t take measures to prevent their feast on your home, you will probably end up getting these pests. Along with azaleas, palm trees, beaches, and hurricanes, termites are an unfortunate part of the Gulf Coast package. So here’s how to take some preventative measures to keep your home from being the new termite-hang-out-place in Mobile:

Keep soil from being in contact with the wood on your home by:

• keeping the wood portion of your home at least 6 inches above the soil
• keeping mulch lower than where the siding begins
•  removing dead trees and stumps from near your home
• storing firewood and lumber away from the house

Keep moisture away from the foundation of your home by:

• sloping soil away from the foundation
• diverting water away from the foundation with gutters and downspouts

Get a termite bond
We’re not just saying this because we’ve been told that we have the best termite treatment in the region (seriously, ask around), but because it really can help you keep your home safe. If your house does not have termite damage, a termite bond will promise to keep it that way. And if you do have termite damage, that bond is a guarantee to get rid of that damage. In this high-risk area, you are really putting your home at risk by not having a termite bond.

After taking all of those initial steps, ask yourself these questions every year:

•  Is water directed away from my house?
•  Is wood away from the foundation?
•  Is the foundation exposed all around the home?
•  Is the basement/ crawlspace relatively dry?

It goes without saying that termites in their most ideal environment (the Gulf Coast) can do a lot of damage. Fight the termites before they get to your home.

To talk to BugMaster about your termite, or any other pest solutions, call BugMaster’s Mobile HQ, 251-66-4402, or BugMaster DIY, 251-626-6667.

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Mild Winters Make Happy Termites

BugMaster’s Austin Key went on WKRG to share his some of his termite knowledge last Monday.

Because of Mobile’s mild winter, all bugs like mosquitoes, fleas and termites are having a particularly busy spring. While there are precautions to take against each of these pests, Austin focused on termites in his interview with WKRG.

Here are some of Austin’s tips for your home:

• Pay attention to the slab of your home. There are warning signs and you will be able to see if termites are crawling into cracks in your home.
• Make sure that the slab of your home is exposed, so you can check it frequently for damage.

But how do you know if you already have termite damage? Here are some warning signs:

Hollow-sounding wood or cracked paint

Termites dig into wood to chew happily in the darkness. If parts of wood in your home sound hollow or feel squishy, that is a tell-tale sign of termites. Also, if the paint on the wood is cracked, it is because termites are disturbing the wood.

Swarms of flying insects or discarded wings

Reproductive termites, called swarmers, fly to make new colonies. If you see warming termites, or their wings, you should be aware that termites are most probably present.

Mud tubes on exterior wall

When termites crawl into those cracks in your home’s slab foundation (or other exterior surfaces) they build mud tubes to keep themselves surrounded in moisture while they eat away. Austin describes the tubes like this: “They would be a mud tube and they vary in width, and they will come from the ground up into a crack.” Mulch, wood chips, and firewood should are happy homes for termites. So do not keep them by your home to prevent the pests from munching on your house.           

While calling a professional extermination company, like BugMaster, is best for major termite problems. Smaller termite issues (such as termite colonies in your yard and from your home) can be diminished with the use of Termidor. Termidor is not a repellant, but instead will be used to kill the colonies of ants and termites within two months. And, the best part about Termidor is that it lasts 10 years.

To talk to BugMaster about your termite, or any other pest solutions, call BugMaster’s Mobile HQ, 251-66-4402, or BugMaster DIY, 251-626-6667.

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Product of the Week: Dr. T’s Snake-A-Way

It’s the time of the year that snakes wake up from hibernation. When the warm weather returns to Mobile, the snakes crack open their eyes and start to slither.

Which is fine until you don’t want them to slither into your yard. Snakes can provide great pest control until they become the pests. We live in an area with many poisonous snakes, so that means we all have to take special precaution to determine which snakes are poisonous.

Or you could just keep the snakes away. If you have snakes that you don’t want in your yard, we recommend using Dr. T’s Snake-A-Way. When used correctly, Dr. T’s Snake-A-Way can prevent you from being surprised by a slithering and potentially poisonous pest.

Get your Dr. T’s Snake-A-Way for $27.35 at our BugMaster’s Do It Yourself Pest  Retail Store or call 251.626.6667

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Moles: Tunneling Little Home Wreckers

Who knew such a tiny critter could do so much damage? Moles can wreak havoc on your yard and property which, unfortunately, can leave you with anything from a ruined lawn to thousands of dollars in property damage. But not to worry, CritterMaster has some tips for you.

How do you know if you have such a digging menace living in your yard? Here are some signs:

• You see volcano-like mounds of dirt
• You see “surface tunneling” which basically looks like veins made of dirt

Despite being rather unsightly, these signs of mole damage are a warning sign you should really take heed to. If you see surface tunneling, then you know the mole is walking around under your backyard doing an annoying amount of damage. These annoying tunnels mean that the mole is displacing dirt; so the ground can become significantly less compact and sturdy if the mole gets his way trying to dig to China.

When moles become more than really annoying lawn-ruiners is when you can’t see the damage. If you see a mound of dirt in your backyard, consider where that dirt is coming from. That tiny mole has been hard at work excavating, and his excavation can mean serious damage for your various foundations. People have had pools, house foundations, and porches collapse because moles made such big tunnels that the ground could no longer support what resided above it.

BugMaster ecommends using Talprid Mole Bait to get rid of that burrowing critter. To use Talprid, you hold back your tunnel-stomping children, and keep the tunnels open for the mole to roam around. Then you insert some Talprid worms into the tunnels so the mole thinks that’s real food, eats the bait, and then is no longer a problem for your property. Then you rejoice in knowing that your house foundation won’t fall in and your children can start playing soccer on Saturday mornings instead of squashing mole tunnels.

To talk to BugMaster about your pest problems and to get pest solutions, call BugMaster’s Mobile HQ, 251-66-4402, or BugMaster DIY, 251-626-6667.

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BugMaster’s New Pest Control Supervisor: Scott Robinson

Scott Robinson: Pest Control Supervisor

Scott Robinson was recently named the Pest Control Supervisor on April 1, 2013 and has been with BugMaster for 9 years this April!

Scott’s responsibilities at BugMaster include:

• Overseeing all Tech schedules
• Customer Service and Retention
• Managing Daily Production of the Department

Favorite Movie: Cinderella Man

Best vacation ever: Mexico

Last book read: Bible

Food I Can’t live without: Mexican

Favorite TV show: Swamp People

Celebrity I’d most want to meet: Nick Saban

Favorite Band: 311

Scott has two children, Taylor and Ella, and he has a dog named Chloe. He likes to play Xbox (college football),  and he attended Mobile Christian High School.

For any pest control or animal control removal and prevention services for homeowners and businesses, call us at 251-666-4402, or at our Daphne DIY location: 251-666-6416.

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