Where Do House Flies Come From?

September 14, 2016. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Pest Control • Houston

In warm, humid climates like we have in Houston, flies can be a real nuisance. You want them gone as fast as possible when they invade your home. This article discusses four types of flies common to our area, where they come from, and how to deal with them.

Types of houseflies

House flies are perhaps the most common flying pest in our homes. These are a half to a third of an inch in length, black or gray in color, and have translucent wings. They are attracted to garbage cans, animal feces, and fresh food.

Blowflies, also known as bottle flies, are much less common indoors but far more annoying when they appear. Similar in appearance to house flies, these are a bit larger and slower moving. Blow flies are usually associated with dead animals.

Drain flies are small brownish-black flies with dark wings and a furry, almost moth-like appearance. They tend to … Read Full Post »

Using Compost to Maximize Your Soil’s Potential

September 5, 2016. Posted by ABC Home & Commercial in Fertilization • San Antonio

Gardens and lawns need a variety of nutrients, but it’s not just a question of adding fertilizer. To maintain healthy plants, you also need to make sure there’s enough organic matter in the soil. This organic matter breaks down into a substance called humus which helps to maintain soil moisture and feed the tiny organisms that plants need to grow.

Adding compost to your soil is just what the doctor ordered for your landscape.

Below we’ll look at what compost is, why it’s important, and how you can use it to increase organic matter in the soil for the happiest plants on the block.

What is compost?

Compost is made up of decomposed materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps. Insects and tiny microorganisms help to break it down, and the resulting mixture is chock full of the nutrients plants need to survive.

When added to the garden or lawn, compost restores life … Read Full Post »

Household Flea Treatments for Pets, Yards, and Homes

All pet owners know that fleas are a never-ending problem in warm climates. As soon as warm weather returns to San Antonio, fleas reappear with a vengeance, turning your cute pets into scratching machines.

As common as they are, there’s no simple solution to fleas. To successfully eliminate them in your home, you must simultaneously treat your house, your pets, and your yard. With effective treatment, you can kill adult fleas and remove their eggs, disrupting the flea reproductive cycle.

Below we’ll take a look at the problem and offer some solutions that will help you deal with flea infestations in your home.

Why are fleas a problem?

Fleas feed on blood. Their bites cause pets (and when populations are high, their human family) to suffer significant itchiness. In some cases, pets become allergic to the flea bites, causing dermatitis, scaly skin, hot spots, and skin infections.

When cats lick themselves to wash, they can … Read Full Post »

Looking For A Better Night’s Rest? Adjust Your Thermostat.

August 31, 2016. Posted by ABC Home & Commercial in Air Conditioning & Heating • San Antonio

It seems that being tired these days is a common challenge for many people. With smartphones and other smart devices, working around the clock is the new norm – and it has become even harder to disconnect from our technological leashes.

While work stressors and a constantly connected environment may be interrupting our sleep schedules, there are multiple other factors to consider – like light, mattress quality, and diet. Surprisingly, something you may not have considered is that temperature can make or break a good night’s sleep.

But before you dial down your thermostat to nearly freezing, let’s learn a bit more about how your thermostat affects your body, and how, as a new homeowner, you can maintain an energy efficient home.

The Mirroring Effect

The temperature of your room or sleeping area has a significant effect on your quality of sleep. Despite your comfort levels during an evening at home, scientists suggest setting … Read Full Post »

Your Guide to Preventing and Eliminating Flea Infestation at Home

August 31, 2016. Posted by Les Stobart in Pest Control • Bryan-College Station

Contrary to popular belief, fleas are attracted to more animals than just your furry pet. They’re known to bite humans, too. Similar to mosquitos, fleas feed off their host’s blood, and while they’re traditionally known to target animals – especially dogs and cats – flea bites for humans are more common than you think.

Fleas might be small in size, but a bite from this wingless insect can cause major irritation, and sometimes lead to a serious reaction. The best way to avoid potential problems is to adopt and carry out preventative measures before they make their way into your home and onto your body.

Here are a few ways to prevent fleas from biting you and your loved ones at home.

Inspect Your Furry Friends

The most common way fleas enter your home is via your pet. And once inside, they reproduce at rapid speeds; in their life cycle, females can lay up … Read Full Post »

What do Bats have to do with Bed Bugs?

August 31, 2016. Posted by Les Stobart in Bed Bug Control, Pest Control • Austin

What would you say if we told you bed bugs come from bats? Seems crazy; shocking even! We know. But as unbelievable as it sounds—it’s true. The bloodsucking bed bug’s origins do in fact, trace back to bats.

Our team at ABC Home & Commercial may know a thing or two about bed bugs, but we realize that many of our neighbors here in Austin aren’t so in tune with this headache-causing pest.

Whether you’ve dealt with a bed bug infestation in the past, or have yet to encounter the creepy crawlers in your home, understanding where the pests come from and why they’re in your home is your best bet for keeping your home safe.

Let’s take a look together at how and why such tiny creatures can create such a big problem.

Historical Figures

According to a study conducted at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, scientist found that bats were the first ancestral … Read Full Post »

Termite Research: The Next Frontier of Science

August 30, 2016. Posted by ABC Home & Commercial in Pest Control • Austin

The word “termite” is not generally one that comes to mind when thinking about species that have a positive impact on our environment. Termites can become the bane of our existence – invading our homes and destroying our property. They can cause property value loss and force you to invest time and effort trying to rid our homes of their presence.

But have you ever stopped to think about the overall environmental impact of termites? Is there any way they could ever be a positive inspiration?

Researchers at various universities are starting to learn how termites and their respective digestive systems work, and how we might put that knowledge to use to create cleaner energy in the future.

Breaking it down

Termite intestinal tracts contain many different enzymes that enable termites to break down wood, a very dense biomass, into food. Researchers from the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, CalTech, and the … Read Full Post »

Backyard Beauty – Landscaping Ideas for Austinites

August 22, 2016. Posted by ABC Home & Commercial in Holiday Lighting, Landscaping • Austin

Here at ABC Austin, we love the summer time. We’re suckers for a good backyard BBQ, weekend swims at Barton Springs, and of course, spotting the weird bugs that make their presence known around the city when the mercury is high.

But with the kids heading back to school and cooler temperatures (and evidently this year, lots of rain?) around the corner now is the perfect time to focus on a backyard redesign.

We’re ready to roll up our sleeves, be creative, and—finally—start working on a new backyard we’ve been dreaming of all summer long.

So whether you have a large yard or just a small space to work with, we have a list of ideas that are sure to get your green thumb moving. Here are a few of our favorites ideas.

Plant Local Varieties

Shopping local has become quite the fad in recent years—and why shouldn’t it be? Choosing local products is an excellent … Read Full Post »

How to Aerate Your Lawn for Happy Green Grass

August 22, 2016. Posted by J Zambo in Lawn, Lawn Care • Austin

Beautiful, healthy grass makes a great yard for play, right? While this is something many of us would love to have, it’s easy to overlook some of the factors involved in having such a luxury – including the soil below the lawn.

In many ways, the soil underneath your lawn is like the foundation of your house. The key function of the foundation is to provide a stable base, so your house doesn’t shift.

Similarly, the soil beneath your lawn must be healthy and nutrient-rich for your lawn to thrive. The best way to keep the soil beneath your lawn healthy is to aerate your lawn.

Aeration provides important benefits to any lawn

The process of aeration removes small plugs of dirt and help to break up compacted soil, where it can be difficult for plants to grow. There’s less space for roots to spread out in compacted soil. That means those roots can … Read Full Post »

When to Fertilize Your Lawn for the Greenest Grass

August 22, 2016. Posted by ABC Home & Commercial in Fertilization, Lawn Care • San Antonio

Imagine yourself as a newly-minted homeowner. You’ve recently purchased and moved into a beautiful home with a well-established lawn.

As part of your home maintenance schedule, you start to think about how to maintain this lovely lawn – mowing, watering, weeding and fertilizing all come to mind. Each of these tasks seems pretty straightforward, especially mowing and watering which happen on an as-needed basis.

But what about fertilization? When is that supposed to happen for best results?

How do you know when to fertilize your lawn?

Fertilizing seems like an easy task in and of itself. You may remember watching a parent or neighbor spreading those little white fertilizer pellets on lawns in your neighborhood.

What you may not remember about that process is when it happens and why. There are several factors you should consider before deciding when to fertilize your lawn. Here are a handful of factors you might want to consider.