Épisodes

  • Fire Ants Are Invading Montgomery, Alabama Lawns!

    Fire Ants Are Invading Montgomery, Alabama Lawns!
    Sep 11 2025
    Podcast Transcript: Michael Wienecke 0:23 Hey, and thanks for listening to the Peskies Pest Control Podcast. I’m Michael, and we’ve got Travis here, and we are going to be talking about the fire stinging insect that is in your front and backyard that creates unsightly mounds and just causes lots of problems. Travis, what are we going to talk about today? Travis McGowin 0:47 Well, fire ants, just to put it blatantly for everyone, fire ants is the scourge of most people’s lawns, sometimes the scourge of the structure that you know you live in. They they range everywhere from, you know, East Coast to West Coast, and you know, as far up as, say, Virginia and down towards Florida. So I mean, they’re very wide area that they live in, and that that means that, you know, a large amount of people you know across the globe are affected by these insects. Michael Wienecke 1:22 100% you know, they’ve come in from boxes over centuries, from other countries. I would say just, just like any other pests that we have in the United States, it came from Asia. Travis McGowin 1:35 Yeah. So actually, I was reading about that and the they believe that. I think the red imported fire ant was actually originally from Brazil, Michael Wienecke 1:45 Brazil. Okay, I know, I know other ants have come in from from Asian areas and all the shipping containers and all that. So another fun fact about fire ants, they are called fire ants because when they bite, it is like fire. It feels like fire. Travis McGowin 2:02 Yeah. You know, instantly, when you get when you get hit by one it’s, it’s not some delayed thing, it’s, it’s instant pain. And you know, think it’s estimated that one to 2% of the population in the United States is actually allergic to fire ants, which, when you think about the population of the United States, 1 to 2% that’s a pretty decent sized Michael Wienecke 2:24 chunk. So I’m glad you brought that up. So a couple months ago, we were gardening in the backyard, and I turn around and see my two year old rolling around in the in the grass. Well, he was covered in fire ants from about feet to waist, so ripped his clothes off, hosed him down. He was probably stung. It’s funny, I was about to say bit, and that’s something else we’re going to talk about too. But he was stung about, I would say, 20 something times monitored. Monitored him for any kind of, you know, anaphylaxis or anything like that. Did not have any issues, thankfully. But yeah, they can definitely be a safety concern. Travis McGowin 2:56 My brother has a similar story. When he was around the same age, he actually, he actually sat on top of a fire ant mound accidentally. And to this day, even as an adult, you know, in his late 30s, he is still allergic to him. If he gets stung by a fire ant, he swells up in the side of the sting. And so, yeah, that that one encounter as a child still lingers with him, even as an adult today. Michael Wienecke 3:26 Well, my son loves ants now. He tries to find him wherever he can. He hasn’t been stung again, so we’ll see how that goes. But I I certainly hope he’s not in the same boat as your brother. So let’s talk about what to look for like, What? What? What are fire ants compared to other ants color wise. So you’re looking for more of a yellowish, reddish, brownish color. And of course, the mounds. So the where they nest is going to be those unsightly mounds like we talked about. You know, I’ve got one right now popping up in my driveway between the cracks and crevices of the driveway, leaf debris, rock debris, anything that can kind of give them a good harborage area. Travis McGowin 4:05 And they will shelter up under things too. And here’s the crazy part. You know, people may not realize just how big of a problem and how invasive these insects actually are, but to put it into perspective, those properties that have a significant problem can actually have upwards of 30 to 100 mounds per acre. So that’s that’s a significant amount of ants, when you consider that the average colony size for a decent sized ant colony, and remember, 30 to 100 mounds, so potential colonies per acre and a colony size of 80 to 250,000per colony of ants. Michael Wienecke 4:54 And that’s, that’s one queen colony. Travis McGowin 4:56 Right, Exactly. So, I mean, when you, when you really think. About it, if you had it on the high end of 250,000 ants, and let’s just say you had 80 mounds, you’re talking about 20 million ants in one acre of property. Michael Wienecke 5:13 That’s that’s a lot of ants. Travis McGowin 5:14 Just, just to put it into perspective, right? Michael Wienecke 5:17 Well, that’s why I try to let people know if you have one fire ant bed. Typically, there’s going to be more, whether it’s on your property or your neighbor’s property. But again, that’s a lot of ants. And the crazy thing too, is, is that that queen is producing upwards of 1500 ants per day. Travis McGowin ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    13 min
  • Tips to Keep General Pests Away in Montgomery, Alabama!

    Tips to Keep General Pests Away in Montgomery, Alabama!
    Jul 14 2025
    Podcast Transcript: Michael Wienecke 0:00 Steve, hey, so today on the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, we would like to talk about solving pest issues without chemical application. So we’re seeing a lot of especially this month, last month, with the amount of rain we’ve had Travis, I think you can, with Montgomery, I think you can attest to that, that it’s just rained every other day, Travis McGowin 0:24 Every single day, and it’s and it’s unseasonable. I mean, realistically unseasonable for, you know, May into June and then even into July. I mean, this is just not something that we typically have. It’s just pretty much downpours and heavy downpours every single afternoon. But, I mean, on a side note, my yard looks great. Michael Wienecke 0:46 Well, I can’t cut my grass, so my yard, it’s cut now, but you know, it’s hard to cut it in the rain, which also leads us to, you know, the whole issue of pests. If you if your grass is, you know, knee high, expect to have some pest issues, Travis McGowin 1:02 Right. So, you know, when you talk about rain and home ownership, the first thing that comes to mind, I mean, when we’re just kind of talking about a broad overview of things and a broad overview of pests and pest problems that you can, you know, potentially solve yourself. I know I can speak for my yard and my house. When I tell you that they’re right off hand, I can think of right now, there’s two pretty much clogged gutters right now on my house. And knowing that clogged gutters mean that it’s got leaf debris, it’s got different tree you know, pine needles, different things from trees, the debris is there, meaning that it’s not draining properly. It’s holding water. So Michael, what? What insects am I having a problem with from my gutters that I have not cleaned because I’ve just frankly, been lazy. Michael Wienecke 1:53 I can think of a few, but the main one would be mosquitoes. Travis McGowin 1:55 Right! So we have a large amount of mosquitoes now. Granted, our houses, our lot is kind of low lying. We do get a lot of drainage off of other lots around ours that comes through our house. So we do get a lot of standing water, especially when it rains day after day after day. If we don’t cut our yard, then we get a lot of standing water. So we’ve kind of remedied that. But mosquitoes, I mean, that leaf debris is going to bring roaches, things like that, that. Yeah, people don’t realize how much standing water is actually left in your gutters when you don’t actually clean them out. And then, you know, mosquitoes can breed in as you know, think the size a container, the size of a bottle cap. So think how much water is actually up there. It’s more than a bottle cap. Michael Wienecke 2:35 That’s right. And I mean, it’s, it’s hard to clean your gutters out when it’s been raining every other day, because can’t get up there and do that. So it’s just been, it’s been a very hard, I would say, two months. Travis McGowin 2:46 It has. It’s just been out of the norm for Alabama. But I’ll tell you one thing that has continuously been coming to my houses or my house, is cardboard boxes with the word Amazon on the side. So we get deliveries every single day. So we take the items Michael Wienecke 3:07 Can we say Amazon? Travis McGowin 3:08 I don’t know. I think we just did. I don’t think it really matters. Amazon, Walmart, their Target. Okay, I got a bunch out of the way. So Amazon boxes are a staple. I see Amazon delivery drivers come through. You know, our area all the time. We’re in a rural area, so Amazon’s really just everywhere. But we pulled the item we ordered out of the box. We throw the cardboard box on the back porch, and Michael, what happens next? Michael Wienecke 3:31 Well, I’ve got the same issue right now. Spiders, ants, millipedes, roaches, silverfish, earwigs, wasps, bees, Travis McGowin 3:43 Small children. Michael Wienecke 3:45 Just about anything that likes a warm environment. Travis McGowin 3:50 Well, not only that, but what happens with all the rain we’ve had the the boxes get soaked. They absorb water. They never dry out, and it just creates this nice little habitat for for pests that, you know, you wouldn’t normally have out there, but there again, we didn’t, you know, throw away the boxes. We didn’t burn them. We just decided we needed to stack them on the back porch. Michael Wienecke 4:09 Well. And that brings up a great topic is, how do they breed roaches when they’re, you know, in a lab, or something like that. What do they use to breed roaches? Travis McGowin 4:18 Oh, certainly, cardboard or other types of paper material. I mean, it absorbs and holds moisture. It’s good cover for them. It packs down good, and it just gives them a perfect environment. Michael Wienecke 4:29 And one of the worst outside termite issues I’ve ever seen was a customer that put cardboard as their weed control. So instead of using the ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    15 min
  • Crane Flies Are Not Mosquitoes in Montgomery, Alabama!

    Crane Flies Are Not Mosquitoes in Montgomery, Alabama!
    Jul 1 2025
    Podcast Transcript: Michael Wienecke 0:03 Hey. So here today on the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, we’re going to talk about crane flies or Skeeter eaters. What are some other names, mosquito Hawk, tarantula flyer. I’ve heard all kinds of names, Daddy Long daddy, long legs, all that kind of stuff. Travis McGowin 0:23 So I feel like in Alabama, it’s getting harder to differentiate between real mosquitoes and crane flies, because I feel like the real mosquitoes are getting bigger. But that’s a conversation for another day. Michael Wienecke 0:35 Well, let’s see, may it rained, I think, every other day. Travis McGowin 0:39 It’s still raining every other day. Michael Wienecke 0:40 Yes, it is still raining every other day. So I think the biggest takeaway from here with mosquito hawks or crane flies are that they are not mosquitoes. They do not bite, they do not cause any issues. Like mosquitoes, they just kind of buzz around and are extremely annoying. Travis McGowin 0:58 Yes, but unlike mosquitoes, they like you said, they don’t bite, they don’t consume, you know, human or animal blood as their primary source of food. And even after, you know, the larva emerge into adults. The adults really don’t even they hardly consume anything before they, you know, do their reproductive cycle and then basically just die. Michael Wienecke 1:22 Yeah, what 10 to 15 days, and they’re, they’re goners, and really, they’re just kind of bouncing around, you know, like we get calls from customers, they’ll say, Hey, I’ve got a very large mosquito I’ve never seen before, or very large mosquito buzz around the house. And that’s typically what it turns into is a crane fly issue, which there’s no treating an adult crane fly. It’s just they fly around, they die, and then they start back over spring to fall, Travis McGowin 1:48 Right, and I mean, honestly, their primary focus, or primary, I guess, benefit to the environment, is that they’re basically one decomposers, so, and I’m going to assume that’s probably more on the larval side, where they’ve, you know, laid whatever eggs are going to lay, the larva hatch and probably feed on organic matter around the soil, decomposing things, probably very much like a termite does, just returning those items into the soil and enriching the soil. Other than the other thing is like just being a food source for other animals, for things such as, you know, fish, other insects, birds, bats and just other animals. I’m sure, probably, you know, lizards and things like that too. So when they emerge in large numbers, and like you said, customer calls, they’re flying around inside your house, because inevitably, once you open the door, they’re going to come flying in. You know, in those times when they’re kind of ballooning in their population, that’s when other animals get to feed on them and use them as one of their food sources. Ecosystem, yep. And it works out. It works out really well for everybody involved. Well, I guess, except for the crane fly. Michael Wienecke 3:01 Except for the crane. Well, let’s talk about the damage that they do cause. So one thing that they can cause damage to the grass, the larva. The larval stage, you know, which, that’s where they spend 90% of their life, is underground. They can destroy root systems and cause a little bit of damage to your grass. Travis McGowin 3:19 Right, and the larva actually look like, I guess you could say little, you know, little worms or or really, really small, thin grubs. Maybe some people would describe them as that, but a lot of people refer to them. I guess because of their they’ve got, like, a darkish brown color. But a lot of them refer to the larva as leather jackets. And like you said, the adults really don’t damage anything, but leather jackets can certainly hurt lawns and gardens. They’ll feed on plant roots. And you know, I’m sure it could either kill kill your grass, or kill your plants, or definitely make your yard, you know, off colored, or something like that too. So certainly could become a nuisance to someone who really likes a very manicured, well watered and lush lawn, or or lush, you know, group of plants in a garden. Michael Wienecke 4:11 Yeah, definitely. I was just lost with my train of thought. So we’re talking about the larval stage. Oh, where they like to breed. So biggest thing is going to be always a water source, major water source, marshes, ponds, they’re always going to lay eggs kind of near that area. That’s going to help those eggs thrive. And of course, you’re going to have a a lot of crane flies during the the spring and fall. Travis McGowin 4:36 Right, and it just depends on what breed of crane fly. There are, you know, here in Alabama, most of the time, like you said, spring into summer, you’re going to get your biggest group of population. But there’s even a European crane fly that will actually start to hatch and grow, you know, ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    8 min
  • Fleas Can Turn Into A Problem in Montgomery, Alabama!

    Fleas Can Turn Into A Problem in Montgomery, Alabama!
    May 30 2025
    Podcast Transcript: Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. Today, I wanted to discuss something that seems to have been kind of on an increase in terms of phone calls that we’ve been receiving on our phone lines, messages that we’ve been receiving through our website from customers. So I felt like it was something that needed to be addressed again, and wouldn’t hurt to give you some information. On but today we’re going to talk a little bit about fleas. Now fleas are, unfortunately, a very common pest a lot of people have experience with a lot of people have difficulty with at some point or another. You can have difficulty with fleas if you have pets of your own, and even sometimes, you can run into situations where you have problems with fleas, even if you do not actually own any pets. And I’ll discuss a couple of those situations. But just a couple things about fleas to make you think about the fact that they can actually balloon from a very small problem initially up to something that seems like you just cannot get rid of them. And this is because, for example, if you have pets, dogs, cats, if you have those animals living around your house or inside of your house, a domesticated animal, those fleas typically like to feed on the animal. Not saying that you wouldn’t see a flea in your house. You wouldn’t see a flea on your body at some point or another. It’s definitely possible, but as long as there’s a host food source, such as your pet, to take the brunt of the problem, most of the time, you may go a long time without really even noticing that you have a problem or that your pet has a problem. A lot of times, people discover it, though, when something happens and the pet is removed from an environment, say, the pet passes away. You know, something happens where you have to rehome that pet. You know, just various different reasons why you may no longer have that cat or dog inside your house, but as soon as the food source that pet is taken away, now, all that the fleas have left to feed on, unfortunately, is you so, you know, like I said, a lot of times, it balloons into this big problem, or people don’t even know that they have the problem until it’s a little bit too late. But female fleas alone can lay anywhere between four to eight give or take eggs after each time they feed on your pet or you. And in the grand scheme of things, they can lay somewhere between four to 500 eggs throughout their entire life cycle, and that’s just one female adult flea. So if you have multiple you can see where it could just seem like something that you may not ever be able to get rid of. And that’s not true. There are definitely methods that are successful in getting rid of fleas, but it definitely feels like a mountain that’s a little bit difficult to climb. So let’s talk a little bit about this. What are some ways that we can get rid of fleas? There are a lot of DIY people in the world, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I am on that same Avenue with many different projects around my house that I try to protect into and saving some money and that sort of thing. But if not done correctly, you can actually exacerbate the flea problem and you can actually make it completely worse. You’ve heard me say it on the podcast many times. This will not be the last time I say this. I tell my customers all the time. Just because a product says you can kill fleas with it, or you can kill roaches with it, or any of those pests, doesn’t always necessarily mean that that product should be used to kill that particular insect. So sometimes these products actually have an effect on making the insects seem like it’s worse inside your home, for example, if you use a product labeled for cockroaches on certain types of roaches, like German roaches, and it’s. Wrong style of product, you may actually cause those roaches to relocate to a different room in your house that you never actually had a roach problem in up till that point. And the same can go with fleas as well. So number one, if you want to get rid of fleas, and I tell my customers, is if I’m going to treat their house, this is number one in the discussion where I talk to my customers, you have to get your pet treated for the fleas, and you need to maintain regular flea treatments on those pets. Unfortunately, the way it works, we can certainly treat a house for fleas, but if the host is no is never treated or maybe just given a flea bath and not given some type of, you know, medication from the veterinary office. If there’s not some long term treatment plan for your animal, there’s a high likelihood that those insects will be back and you’ll have a problem again in the very near future. So that’s that’s number one we always recommend to the customer. Hey, please get your animal treated. You know, sometimes it’s a situation where maybe you don’t have a pet, and you move into an apartment, you move into a rental house, ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    19 min
  • Ryan Greer With ServPro of Montgomery Local Business Spotlight

    Ryan Greer With ServPro of Montgomery Local Business Spotlight
    Mar 7 2025
    Call Ryan Greer with ServPro of Montgomery, Alabama! Click Here! Find ServPro of Montgomery, Alabama on Facebook! Click Here! Visit ServPro of Montgomery, Alabama online! Click Here! Podcast Transcript: Travis McGowin Hey everybody! Welcome back to the Peskies Pest Control Podcast! Today we’re doing another one of our local business spotlights, where we highlight one of our local companies in the area that’s doing great things, reaching out, helping people. And today I’m excited to have on the show with me, Mister Ryan Greer, who is with ServPro of Montgomery. Ryan, how are you this morning? Ryan Greer I’m good. Travis, how are you? Man, thanks for having me on. Travis McGowin Yes, sir. Well, welcome. We appreciate you taking the time out to join us. So let’s get started. Tell us a little bit about yourself and maybe how you came to be with serve pro of Montgomery? Ryan Greer So I’m born and raised here in the Tri County area. I was in retail for a long time, and my daughter was born. And you know, when you have younger kids, you really retail life is very difficult on on on children. So have conversation with with her mom, and we prayed about it a lot. Asked God to open the door for us. And a couple weeks later, a friend of mine called and said, Hey, man, there’s a company here locally named ServPro that is needing someone in the Autauga County area. I know you’re from Prattville. Think you’d be great for it. What do you think about coming in and interviewing for it? So that’s how I ended up here. Travis McGowin Awesome. Well, sometimes same things just work out in the best way that they possibly can. So that’s great. So how long has ServPro of Montgomery actually been servicing the local community of the River region? Ryan Greer Yeah. So as you, as you may know, ServPro is a franchise, so there’s so we’re 2,200 locations nationwide. Our ownership group here has been in, it’s a family business, has been in the area, Montgomery, Tri County area, since the mid 80s. So coming up on 40 years now, pretty good, pretty good chunk of time. Oh, wow. So they have seen a lot of things happen in in 40 years. But that’s great to know. You know, I know you see ServPro logos and a lot of different places you see them, you know, at sporting events, you see them on the television, just in general, commercials. And it does make you think of a large company, and it is however, you still have that local ownership, that franchise ownership, that gives it that real personal touch, and that I think sets, sets it apart from some of the other, you know, larger companies as well. Travis McGowin So what else sets ServPro apart from from other companies? Is there anything that ServPro does to give back to the communities or to really help in local communities? Ryan Greer Yeah, so we, you know, there’s a lot of great companies out there. One of, one of my main focuses is actually community involvement. You know, we do anything from a lot of the local the golf tournaments, you know, there’s, there’s, we’re pretty involved with the hospitals Baptist Jackson, both. We’re involved with the Y pretty heavily involved with YMCA, really, anything that that I can be involved when community wise, is something I’m going to jump with the chance to be involved with it’s just something very close to me. So that is, that is hard, one of the wonderful things I get to do every day, Travis McGowin Right, and that’s a lot of great organizations and places that you listed there, so that’s really cool that ServPro is kind of has their hand in helping out with that. So for those unfamiliar with ServPro and what it does, kind of, kind of give us a list. What does ServPro of Montgomery do, as far as a range of services that you guys typically do offer to people in need? Ryan Greer Yeah, so we, I tell everybody, we, as far as commercially or residentially, both, we can handle anything above the slab. Of course, our bread and butter is going to be the water fire and the mold mitigation. Travis McGowin Right. Ryan Greer But we actually have a construction department here. Not all ServPros have it, but we’re looking that we have one here locally, that we can handle anything from sheet rock to paint to flooring to roofing, framing, all that good stuff. So yeah, anything above the slab we can handle. Travis McGowin That’s awesome. So you guys don’t necessarily have to subcontract anything out. You keep it all in house, and you get it done. And that homeowner, that business owner, is only dealing with, you know, one group, one company, instead of having to go through a whole bunch of different subcontractors and groups. I’m sure that makes a lot more easy and streamlined for the customers. Ryan Greer Yeah, it seems to. Now we do, we do sub subcontract, some things. We’ve got people in house that can handle, you know, the flooring removal and all that. But like you said, you know, it’s very ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    20 min
  • Michelle Rawls With Real Broker Local Business Spotlight

    Michelle Rawls With Real Broker Local Business Spotlight
    Feb 12 2025
    On today’s episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast, Travis was joined by local real estate agent Michelle Rawls! Together, they discuss Real Broker, real estate in Montgomery, Alabama, and how you can prepare to buy a home or sell your existing home! If you would like to contact Michelle, please click one of the links below! Call Michelle! Click Here! Visit Michelle Rawls on Instagram! Click Here! Visit Michelle Rawls on Facebook! Click Here! Podcast Transcript: Travis McGowin Hey, thanks for joining us today on the Peskies Pest Control Podcast. As you know, if you’ve listened to our podcast any amount of time, we do an occasional Local Business Spotlight where we talk to either a local business owner, a local business representative from our area, just to kind of hear what they’ve got going on and hear about their business and what it is they do and how they can help our clients too. Today, I am lucky enough to have with me Miss Michelle Rawls, who is a REALTOR with real broker. Michelle, how are you today? Michelle Rawls I’m fantastic. Travis, it’s so good to be here. Travis McGowin Yeah. Thank you for joining us today. You know springtime is on its way in, possibly Alabama is so unpredictable with its weather, it has so many ups and downs. But from what I understand in our previous conversations that you and I have had, that’s kind of when the real estate market starts cooking. Am I right? Michelle Rawls You are absolutely correct. We are starting to see an influx of movement on the in the market, on the MLS. So we’re about to head into our spring season where we’re going to start seeing some more inventory. So I’m really excited. At the moment, I’m just planting seeds and nurturing those seeds, because I know that by springtime, we’re going to start seeing a lot more movement. Travis McGowin Awesome. Well, so kind of paint the picture for us, what got you into real estate, and how did you eventually find your way over to Real broker? Michelle Rawls Sure, so I lived abroad. I graduated from AUM with business degree, and I went overseas and worked for a couple of years, and COVID brought me back to the States. Well, I have a background in sales, and I love sales, so it just kind of seems like a really great fit, and it’s really taken me to a lot of cool places, so I’m really, you know, I’ve really enjoyed it, and the fact that I get to help clients and first time homebuyers is just super rewarding as well, Travis McGowin Awesome. So give us a little about yourself here. You know, beyond enjoying sales and enjoying real estate, what are some things that you like to do, your passions, your hobbies, things that you do outside of work, Michelle Rawls I love to travel. So I’m super passionate about traveling. I i feel very proud to say that I was able to step foot on all seven continents, and I’ve been to like a bunch of different countries all over the world, and even domestically, here in the US, it’s beautiful. So I love road trips and catching flights and, you know, experiencing different festivals and hiking. I love the outdoors. So I’m, you know, very active outside. So when I’m not selling real estate, I’m, you can find me, you know, in the woods or traveling or just spending time with friends and family. Travis McGowin Awesome. Alright, so you like to, you like to make your rounds all over the world. That’s pretty cool. Michelle Rawls Yeah. Travis McGowin So tell us what makes real broker stand out from other real estate companies in, you know, the Montgomery area where you’re at, and what are some of the advantages that real broker brings with you to the clients that you guys serve. Michelle Rawls Sure, so real broker is one of the fastest growing companies in North America, and because of that, the access of training is top notch, and I think that as an agent, it’s super important to continue learn and sharpen your your skills. And that’s kind of what you know sets you apart from the competition, is just being able to negotiate and how to handle, you know, tough clients and tough markets. So I love the fact that my brokerage provides the training. They also have incentives with, you know, commission splits revenue. It’s publicly traded. So if you want to utilize that, it’s a great way to make additional money. There’s opportunities for leadership, if you want to start a team or if you want to sponsor another agent. So I love how there’s just different facets of it that can provide more income than, you know, some other agencies could could do, Travis McGowin Right, It sounds like there’s a lot of opportunity, a lot of growth, and a lot of great resources there for you, as well as your other you know, other agents that you work with. Michelle Rawls Absolutely and you know the CEO and the leadership board with real is just incredible and inspiring. And I think that good leaders, you know, produce other good leaders. So I just feel ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    15 min
  • Keeping Squirrels Out of Your Montgomery Alabama Attic!

    Keeping Squirrels Out of Your Montgomery Alabama Attic!
    Feb 7 2025
    Podcast Transcript: Travis McGowin Thank you for joining us again for another episode of the Peskies Pest Control Podcast. Today, we have a very special topic to talk about. Wildlife, and not just any wildlife, one that causes so many problems, so much frustration, and it’s just an overall nuisance to a lot of homeowners, and that wildlife is squirrels. Now, just recently, if you’ve been following along with our YouTube channel, you would have seen that I posted a video where we were actually trapping squirrels at a customer’s house here in Deatsville, Alabama, this customer woke up Christmas morning to some crazy noises going on inside of their kitchen. They’ve got an older home. The layout is a little bit different than what you might would typically see nowadays when people build a new build. So inside their kitchen, they actually had a kitchen cabinet that, when you open the doors, actually showed their breaker box. So the breaker box for the electrical wiring in that portion of the house was hidden behind this old kitchen cabinet, but the breaker box wiring actually went straight up into the attic, so there was no buffer zone. There was no enclosure that hid these wires from view, so when the squirrels made entry into the attic, they were able to come straight down through the wall void, following the wires and right into the customer’s kitchen cabinet. So imagine yourself waking up on Christmas morning to enjoy that time with your family, only to have pure and utter chaos from a rodent running around inside your kitchen, knocking things over and just making a mess. Thankfully, the customers were able to open a window in an adjacent room, using a broom or some other item inside the house, they were able to shoe that squirrel to that room and get the squirrel to leave the house out of a window. But if you’ve ever listened to any of our wildlife discussions or podcasts, you would know that that, unfortunately, is not the end of the potential problems that are going to be caused by squirrels. So before we dive into our inspection and how we would handle this problem, let’s talk a little bit about why squirrels or any other road in our wildlife would be an issue inside of your home, whether that be the living space, the attic space, the crawl space, wherever they may be. So since we’re talking about squirrels, if they make entry into your home, there’s always the potential for them to gnaw or chew on things, and that’s true with virtually any rodent on the planet. So for squirrels, rats, mice, doesn’t really matter. They’re always going to be chewing on something. And one thing that they always seem to search out and find that they always enjoy chewing on is electrical wiring. Why is that a problem? Because it’s electrical wiring. Definitely don’t want to have a house fire start somewhere in your home, in your attic from a rodent gnawing on those wires. It’s extremely important if you have a rodent issue, to get those animals out of your house as quickly as possible. So that’s kind of the worst case. But on top of that, you have the general mess that they make in your attic. They constantly go about throughout the day, foraging for different things to eat. They bring those items back and they store them in your attic. They eat on them in your attic. This can cause a huge mess. And not only that, but there’s the waste that comes from these animals pooping or peeing and just making their general home up there where they don’t need to be. So there’s several problems, but we’ve been able to help. For example, this customer in Dietz, Ville, Alabama, rid their attic space of these rodents. So after they called us, we set up an appointment. I went out there personally to inspect the property, and while I was on site inspecting the outside of the home, I could actually hear the rodent running around in the attic space close to the eaves. I could hear that rodent inside the attic. So that helped me pinpoint a couple of entry points around the house. If you watch our YouTube video, you’ll see that the gable vents on the side of the house actually are supposed to have a mesh wiring that keeps insects and rodents and different things birds out of the attic space, but still allows for ventilation, and there was just a gigantic hole in this attic Gable vent. I. Allowing these rodents to climb up the side of the house and directly into the attic. So we came back, we placed some traps, and there’s a little bit more detail in that YouTube video, if you’d like to see the type of traps that we used. We placed some traps over those entry points with bait on them, and lo and behold, we caught a squirrel. So you may be saying to yourself, Okay, I can do this. I can find the entry point. I can set a trap. I can catch a squirrel. What next? Well, once you catch a squirrel or whatever wildlife it is that’s getting into your attic, we always recommend resetting that trap or those...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    11 min
  • Fruit Flies Are Invading Montgomery Alabama Homes!

    Fruit Flies Are Invading Montgomery Alabama Homes!
    Dec 5 2024
    Why do I have this problem?

    Fruit flies are invading Montgomery, Alabama Homes! They infest your home when they find rotten fruits, vegetables, and other foods that are past their prime. We are all human and sometimes we may accidentally shove food to the back of the pantry or shelf. Over time, when the food spoils, this can create a great food source for fruit flies to consume.

    What can I do to get rid of Fruit Flies?

    Fruit flies can balloon into a huge problem rather quickly! One adult fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs! This can lead to a massive infestation in as little as 10 days!

    At Peskies Pest Control Montgomery, we recommend these simple steps to help control fruit flies in your home:

    • Locate and identify the source of the infestation

    Check food storage areas such as the pantry or cabinets in your kitchen where forgotten food may have been hidden from view.

    • Remove spoiled food items

    Immediately dispose of the spoiled food in an exterior garbage receptacle. Do not keep the spoiled food inside your home. Keeping the food inside an interior waste receptacle can cause the infestation to continue.

    • Trap remaining adult fruit flies

    Trapping the remaining adults will ensure that no further eggs can be laid on any other food in your home, thus, eliminating the infestation! Commercially available fruit fly traps are available at most grocery stores or, you can make your own using a simple mixture of apple cider vinegar and dish soap!

    Using these simple steps, most folks can rid their home of pesky fruit flies.

    Of course, if you still cannot seem to get rid of the fruit flies, we are always here for you! Give us a call today! (334) 595-9055

    Not having an issue with fruit flies? We can handle all of your pest control needs! Click Here!

    Follow Us on Instagram!

    The post Fruit Flies Are Invading Montgomery Alabama Homes! appeared first on Peskies Pest Control Montgomery.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    9 min