Regular lawn care and maintenance will ensure a well-maintained, year-round landscape for your Bergen County home, but it won’t address outdoor pests that can quickly ruin it. Outdoor pests are a normal part of any landscape, but without proper pest control they can cause extensive damage. By using professional pest control services in Bergen County, you can prevent outdoor pests and enjoy a healthy, green landscape all year.
Your lawn, as well as trees, plants and shrubs on your property, are susceptible to various types of outdoor pests that feed on grass and plant roots and leaves. Tiny insects like aphids, mealybugs, grubs, slugs, fire ants, and wire worms are often difficult to see, but they can quickly destroy your lawn by damaging turf roots. If you have a large amount of trees and vegetation, you may encounter small critters like moles, gophers, chipmunks, opossums and raccoons who build their homes on your property. In a very rural Bergen County area, you may even encounter larger animals like deer, coyotes and bears. Without essential pest control services in Bergen County, your home can become a breeding ground for all types of outdoor pests that can cause significant damage to your lawn and landscape.
An Integrated Pest Management Program
An Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) provides a way to prevent unwanted pests in your lawn and landscape. It focuses on safe, healthy pest control treatments to keep your landscape pest free year-round. If you have existing pest-related problems and damages, an IPM can help identify the pests and provide proper pest control solutions to prevent further damage. An Integrated Pest Management Program provides top-quality pest control services in Bergen County that include:
- A property visit from an IPM specialist during the season to evaluate your lawn and landscape health.
- An inspection by an IPM specialist of your lawn, shrubs and trees at each visit, followed up by recommended treatments for insect and pest problems found.
- A detailed report after each inspection that outlines any pest problems found and how those problems were treated.
Specialty Treatments
Professional lawn care and maintenance on a regular basis will keep weeds, debris and stagnant water out of your landscape. Outdoor pests are particularly attracted to ill-maintained, overgrown landscapes that offer good hiding places and safe refuge for a warm home. In addition to regular lawn care and maintenance, an Integrated Pest Management Program provides specialty treatments that promote organic pest control services in Bergen County to keep your landscape healthy and pest free. IPM specialty treatments include:
- Winter protection treatments.
- Organic root feedings.
- Organic flea, mosquito and tick control.
- Organic deer repellent.
- Other special treatments as needed.
Tree Trunk Injections
Just like your lawn and garden, your large trees are also susceptible to significant damages caused by outdoor pests. Smaller insects like spider mites, caterpillars and parasitic wasps will invade trees to feed on the leaves, while other types of borer insects like certain species of beetles will invade tree trunks to feed on the bark. If you have fruit trees on your property, they are especially susceptible to birds, chipmunks, squirrels and small animals who are attracted to the fruit. An Integrated Pest Management Program provides organic injections for your trees that will stop all types of outdoor pests from invading tree trunks and causing damage. The organic solutions used for pest control services in Bergen County will provide a safe, healthy and pest-free outdoor environment for your family and pets.
Benefits of An Integrated Pest Management Program
As a Northern New Jersey homeowner, you should be able to enjoy outdoor activities with family and friends in your back yard. Outdoor pests like flies, wasps, spiders, fire ants, fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks can prevent outdoor relaxation and entertainment, especially during warm spring and summer months when you want to get outdoors the most. Not only are these types of pests annoying, but they can also cause illness and spread disease to your family and pets. An Integrated Pest Management Program can help keep your family and pets safe and healthy.
Spiders
New Jersey spiders range from the harmless common house spider to the poisonous brown recluse and black widow. Knowledge of the type of spider you are dealing with is essential for proper pest control services in Bergen County. In New Jersey, spiders are a year-round concern.
- Brown Recluse Spiders – They are dark brown in color with a violin-like marking on their back. They range in size from 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch. The venom from a brown recluse spider causes the tissue around the bite to ulcerate. The ulcerated tissue is very prone to infection, and the wound can take months to heal.
- Black Widow Spiders – They are a shiny, black color with a round body and a distinctive, red hourglass shape under their abdomen. They range in size from 1 1/2 inches to 1 3/8 inches. Most bites occur accidentally, as these spiders are very shy. They tend to hide under rocks, wood piles and in clothing and shoes. The venom from a black widow spider affects the central nervous system of their victim.
Fire Ants
Most ants in New Jersey are just a nuisance, but fire ants have a potent sting. Fire ants range in color from reddish-brown to black and are about 1/4-inch long. They build mounds about a foot high, usually in grassy areas like lawns and pastures. Fire ants are very aggressive when their mound is disturbed. When provoked, they swarm on the perceived intruder and bite and sting repeatedly. They have been known to live on crops, animals and water, and they are extremely hard to get rid of without professional pest control services in Bergen County. Fire ant stings produce red, swollen spots that develop blisters on top. They are painful and itchy and can cause allergic reactions in some people.
Fleas
Fleas are a type of parasitic pest that feed on the blood of mammals. They prefer furry species like dogs, cats, rodents, deer, raccoons and other wild animals. Fleas create dangers because they can carry and transmit a wide variety of diseases like typhus and plague or parasites like tapeworms that can affect both people and animals.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are attracted to any area that provides an easy access to water and food sources. Females are the only mosquitoes that bite people and animals. They need the proteins found in blood to lay their eggs. Mosquitoes pose dangers to humans because they have the ability to carry and transmit serious diseases including West Nile Virus, Malaria and now Zika Virus. Mosquitoes feed day and night and can drink up to three times their body weight in blood.
Ticks
Ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of their host. Most species prefer to feed on livestock, deer, rodents, humans, and cats and dogs. Adult ticks typically hide in heavily wooded areas or areas that have extensive vegetation. There are many different species of ticks, but the three most common to Bergen County areas include:
- Deer Ticks – Black-legged ticks are often called deer ticks because their preferred host is the white-tailed deer. They are common in New England areas and are responsible for transmitting various diseases, including Lyme disease, to humans.
- American Dog Ticks – American dog ticks are larger in size and swell after a blood meal. They prefer the domestic dog as their favorite host, so they are often found in back yard areas with pets. Common to Northern NJ, they are responsible for transmitting tick-borne diseases including Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
- Wood Ticks – Adult lone-star ticks (wood ticks) are reddish brown in color with white spots on their backs. Wood ticks can transmit tick-borne diseases to humans, but they are not known to transmit Lyme disease.
As you can see, Bergen County is home to a wide variety of outdoor pests. Some that can destroy your beautiful lawn and landscape, and others that pose serious dangers to your family and pets. As a homeowner, hiring a professional landscape company that provides pest control services in Bergen County is the best way to keep your landscape lush and green and keep your family and pets safe and healthy. Keeping your home pest free will give you an outdoor environment that you can enjoy all year.
