The holidays are upon us. Here at Stride Pest Control, we are constantly working hard to provide effective pest solutions to the residents of Austin and San Antonio. We are so happy that you have chosen us to provide you with high-quality pest control for your home or business.
As 2022 comes to a close and we prepare for 2023, we want to thank all our customers for their testimonials, kind words, and five-star reviews. Our experienced Austin pest control technicians are proud to serve you. We are so honored to be tasked to safeguard your property from ants, bed bugs, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, mice, and other pests.
We have been in business for almost 10 years now and still take customer service very seriously. Our main goal is to not only eliminate bugs but make sure you are satisfied with our service and professionalism.
As Christmas and the New Year approach, we want to wish you a wonderful holiday season. We hope that you and your family are able to relax and enjoy each other’s company as we move into a new year.
Read on to learn more about the San Antonio and Austin pest control experts at Stride Pest Control and how you can keep bugs, rodents, and other pests from ruining your holiday festivities.
About Stride Pest Control
At Stride Pest Control, we are a local service provider, so we feel as though we provide better service as well as better attention to detail. We feel that you get what you pay for when it comes to pest control. We are in the middle when it comes to price. We’re not the cheapest, but we try not to be the most expensive either. We employ top workers. All our technicians are fully licensed and do annual continuing education training. We do background checks and routine drug tests as well.
At Stride Pest Control, we use the best products on the market and have no problem switching to newer and better products, regardless of price. We use very low toxic products and are extremely careful about where we apply each product. There is little chance of toxic exposure to you, your family, and your pets.
We offer a guarantee: if you see anything out of the ordinary after the service, we will provide a complimentary re-service. We will refund your money if we cannot improve your problem after multiple tries, but note that this has never happened at Stride Pest Control.
Don’t Overlook Christmas Tree Bugs
If you decorate a real tree every year, you may be in for a real “treat” this year: Christmas tree bugs. Instead of filling your home with the smell of pine trees, you may be filling it with annoying bugs instead. While not every Christmas tree is infested, many are. It’s possible that your tree could be harboring as many as 25,000 bugs.
This may be alarming to you. Here are some common Christmas tree bugs to watch for:
- Spiders and mites. These tiny red and brown bugs are commonly found on white pine, spruce, and Douglas fir trees.
- Aphids. These six-legged black and brown bugs can be found on spruce, pine, evergreen, balsam fir, Fraser fir, and white fir trees.
- Praying mantises. There are thousands of praying mantis species, and they can be found on any type of Christmas tree.
- Bark beetles. The dark brown or black bugs like to burrow themselves in the trunks of Monterey pines, Coulter pines, white fir, ponderosa, and juniper trees.
- Sawflies. These yellow and black flies can be found on pine and spruce trees.
- Adelgids. These insects suck sap from spruce and hemlock trees.
How can you prevent a holiday pest infestation? Before bringing in your tree, always shake it outdoors. Inspect it carefully for cocoons and spider webs before bringing it into the house. Spiders and other bugs hatch from their eggs when they sense spring, so bringing a Christmas tree into a warm house could cause hundreds of spiders to suddenly hatch. Probably not the kind of decorations you want to have in your tree.
Speaking of decorations, you’ll want to check them thoroughly before hanging them on your tree. Take them outside and look for insect and rodent activity before bringing them in the house. Look for urine spots, feces, and chew marks. Also, look in and around storage boxes for spiders, ants, and other insects.
Make sure decorations are kept in plastic totes. These are much better than cardboard boxes and will help prevent rodent and insect infestations. Use alcohol wipes to clean ornaments before use. After the holiday, wash any fabric decorations, as roaches and other bugs are drawn to bacteria. Keep decorations in an area of the home that is dry and well-ventilated.
Just in case, you may want to keep a vacuum handy. You’ll need one anyway, as your tree sheds pine needles. Having a small portable vacuum cleaner nearby can help you suck up any bugs that do fall off the tree. Keep areas free of clutter, as pests like to hide in trash.
There’s one thing you should not do: use pesticides. Bug sprays, especially aerosols, are flammable, so the tree could easily catch fire once you add the lights. That type of Christmas memory will stay stuck in your head forever.
Reach Out for Pest Control in Austin
Stride Pest Control hopes that all our customers have a safe and pest-free holiday season. Hopefully you won’t have any bug or rodent emergencies this holiday season, but if you do, we’re here to help.
Stride Pest Control is ready to serve homeowners with their pest issues in the San Antonio and Austin areas. If you have a holiday emergency and need quick and effective pest control, contact our pest control experts. To schedule a consultation, fill out the online form or call (512) 777-1339. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Stride Pest Control!
