Author: Wendy Holtz

Dealing with an Asian cockroach infestation? These troublesome pests prefer to live outdoors, making themselves at home in your lawn or garden, and they’re incredibly difficult to control thanks to their abundant population and ability to fly long distances.

These nuisance pests become active at sundown, and they’re attracted to lights, making it difficult for Central Florida homeowners to enjoy their outdoor spaces after dark. While indoor infestations are rare, Asian cockroaches can easily make their way inside, carrying diseases that can be contracted by humans if they contaminate food. If you suspect you have an Asian cockroach problem at your home, here’s how to identify these pests and eliminate the infestation for good.

Identifying Asian Cockroaches

Asian cockroaches look very similar to the notorious German cockroach—a common indoor pest in Central Florida. Before you can carry out any treatment program, you need to know what type of pest you’re dealing with. Here are some of the characteristics of Asian cockroaches, so you can easily identify them:

• Asian cockroaches and German cockroaches look almost identical to each other, as they’re both ½ an inch long. Asian cockroaches are slightly lighter brown in color and have longer, narrower wings.

• Asian cockroaches are much more capable fliers than German cockroaches. The German variety rarely flies, even when disturbed, while Asian cockroaches can fly up to 120 feet at a time. If you’re watering your garden beds and notice hundreds—or even thousands—of insects take flight, it’s a good sign you have an Asian cockroach problem.

The best way to determine whether you have an Asian cockroach infestation—or any other pest problem in your yard or inside your home—is by reaching out to the pest control experts at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control. We’ll perform a thorough inspection of your property, pinpointing the type of infestation you’re dealing with, what’s causing it, and what solutions work best to treat it.

Learn More: Pests Every Central Florida Homeowner Should Recognize

How to Handle an Asian Cockroach Infestation

If an inspection reveals an Asian cockroach infestation, your pest control technician will develop a targeted treatment plan to eliminate the problem once and for all. Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control only uses eco-friendly treatments that are family- and pet-safe. While your treatment plan will vary depending on the severity and location of the infestation, we’ll suggest the following methods for removing Asian cockroach populations from your property:

• Outdoor eco-friendly barrier treatment that kills Asian cockroaches and repels them from your property.
• Outdoor application of eco-friendly insect bait.
• Indoor treatment with eco-friendly bait.

Learn More: 5 Times to Avoid DIY Pest Control and Call a Professional

Enjoy Your Property to the Fullest With Eco-Friendly Pest Control Treatments From Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control

Asian cockroach infestations can be difficult to remove, mainly because these resilient pests reproduce so quickly and travel so easily. If Asian cockroaches, or any other nuisance pests, are keeping you from enjoying your yard—or if they’ve invaded your home—call Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Debary today at (407) 880-6655. We’ll develop a personalized eco-friendly treatment plan that protects your property, so you can say goodbye to nuisance pests for good.

Dreaming of a lush, green lawn that’s the envy of the entire neighborhood? It all starts with choosing the best grass type for your Central Florida lawn. The area’s unique hot, subtropical climate allows warm-season grasses to grow very well throughout the year. So, which grass is best for your lawn? A lot depends on your local soil type, as well as how much maintenance you’re willing to do. Here’s a guide to the best types of grass for Central Florida lawns. 

St. Augustine Grass

This grass variety featuring a wide leaf blade is the most popular grass found across Central Florida. When properly maintained, St. Augustine grass forms a dense turf that’s tolerant of most soil types. While it’s a warm-season grass type, some cultivars tolerate shade very well, too.

St. Augustine grass can be gorgeous as long as you’re taking care of it the right way. You should always mow to a height of two to four inches and always be on the lookout for pests like cinch bugs, as well as signs of common diseases like patching or gray leaf spot. Many homeowners find that leaving lawn care to the pros keeps pests and diseases at bay, helping their lawns grow dense, green, and gorgeous.

Learn More: 4 Essential Tips for Zoysia/St. Augustine Lawn Care in 2023

Zoysiagrass

Looking for dense, beautiful turf that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance? Central Florida homeowners love Zoysiagrass—it not only has good shade tolerance, but it also has good disease resistance.

Maintaining Zoysiagrass is much easier to maintain than St. Augustine grass, but it still requires an expert touch to ensure your turf stays pest- and disease free. Look out for large patches and hunting billbugs—the most common problems in a Zoysia lawn. You’ll also need to aerate or dethatch at least once per year and fertilize seasonally to ensure healthy growth.

Bahiagrass

Central Florida homeowners looking for low-maintenance grass often choose Bahiagrass for their lawns. It’s extremely drought-tolerant; resistant to most insects and diseases; and requires less-frequent mowing—in other words, it’s ideal for open acreage or large yards.

Bahiagrass tolerates sandy or infertile soil, and it isn’t prone to insect problems. If you choose Bahiagrass for your lawn, keeping up with regular aeration and fertilization can give your lawn the extra help it needs to grow healthy and green, year after year.

Learn More: Which Lawn Should I Choose for My Yard? (Zoysia, Bahia, St. Augustine)

Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control Keeps Central Lawns Looking Their Best

No matter what variety of grass you choose for your lawn, keeping it lush, healthy, and green can be a time-consuming challenge. Leave lawn care to the pros at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Apopka and you can count on a yard that not only looks beautiful but also feels great underfoot. We’ll help you pick the best grass for your soil type and maintenance needs, so you can achieve the gorgeous lawn you’ve always dreamed of. Call us today at (407) 880-6655 to schedule your free lawn care consultation!

Termite infestations are serious business—they cost millions of dollars in damage each year. Unfortunately, termites eat everything from wooden bed frames to wooden chests and can live on or in your property for an extended period of time before an infestation is even detected.

From drywood termites to subterranean termites, it can be tough to discover these harmful intruders before significant damage is done. If you want to protect your home or business and keep the damage to a minimum, look out for these warning signs of a termite infestation—and call your local termite control specialists immediately if you spot them.

1. You’re seeing termite mud tubes.

Termites create mud tubes, or shelter tubes, to build a bridge between their underground colony and the wood it feeds on. As you walk about your property, keep a lookout for these tiny tubes — they’re usually made of a combination of soil, wood, and debris. If you spot these brown, dry, and cylindrical termite mud tubes on your property, take a picture to show your local termite control specialists and call immediately, as it’s a good indication you’re dealing with an infestation of subterranean termites that could enter your home through a cracked or unsealed foundation.

2. Your floors, walls, or ceilings are sagging.

If you notice any part of your property—including floors, walls, or ceilings—start to sag, the culprit may not be water damage. If winged drywood termites have made themselves at home in your home or business, they consume the wood within your walls, leading to the sagging.

These termites are very common in Central Florida and warm, southern climates in general. Also, look for small piles of feces and small piles of wings that resemble saw dust around your property—these indications mean it’s a safe bet you’re dealing with a winged drywood termite infestation and need the help of a termite control professional.

Learn More About At-Home Testing

One way for termites to be discovered early is to listen for hollow sounds in the wood when knocking on the walls throughout your home or business. Termites create tunnels throughout the wood in the walls when they are eating and, when tapped, these tunnels will have a very different sound from the solid wood. It should be relatively easy to hear the difference. If you detect hollow sounds while conducting at-home testing, it’s a good sign you should contact a local termite control professionals immediately.

Call Evergreen Lawn & Pest Control Immediately at the First Sign of Infestation

Put simply, the moment you see a termite at your property is the moment you should reach out to your local termite control professionals. Termite damage is often severe and expensive, and the sooner you handle the problem, the better the outcome. Call the termite control experts at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Leesburg today at (407) 880-6655 for your free consultation and say goodbye to termites for good!

Getting your home ready for the holidays? If you plan to bring a live Christmas tree—and all the holiday spirit it brings—into your home, keep in mind that you could be bringing some unwanted stowaways along with it. It’s always possible you’ll find bugs living on your Christmas tree’s branches, especially since many insects love to feed on or spend the winter in pine trees.

Spiders are just one troublesome pest that can make their way into your home on your live Christmas tree. Here’s what you should do if you suspect spiders are living on your Christmas tree.

Keep Spiders Out of Your Tree and Out of Your Home

So, you’ve just found the perfect live Christmas tree and brought it back home. Before bringing it inside, remember that it could be crawling with insects, including spiders. These annoying pests are commonly found on many Christmas tree varieties, including Douglas fir, Fraser fir, spruce, and white pine trees. Luckily, these spiders are usually not dangerous at all. Rather, they’re “overwinter” species, simply looking for a cozy spot to ride out the winter.

If you suspect there are spiders, or other pests, living in your tree, it’s best to prep your tree before bringing it inside. Leave the tree in your garage for a few days, if possible, and shake the tree before you bring it in. Simply lifting up the tree and knocking the bottom on the ground can shake loose some of the bugs that may have made themselves at home on your tree.

You could also spend some time vacuuming on or around the tree, targeting any spider webs you may see. Additionally, it’s helpful to dust the tree with Diatomaceous earth or spray it with neem oil to kill any bugs that are still on the tree. Diatomaceous earth is a natural insecticide powder with no scent that uses no synthetic chemicals. It’s one simple way to kill any remaining bugs – sprinkle it over the tree and shake off the excess powder before bringing it inside. The same goes for neem oil, which is another naturally-occurring pesticide spray that is commonly used to target insects at every growth stage.

Remember that you should never spray any type of chemical or aerosol pesticide on your tree. Not only are these sprays highly flammable, but they shouldn’t be used indoors at all. Protect your tree—and your indoor air quality—by avoiding any chemical sprays.

Related > How Can I Prep My Christmas Tree To Protect It From Bugs?

Other Common Christmas Tree Bugs

While there are several bugs that can make themselves at home in your Christmas tree, most of them aren’t dangerous to people or pets. Look out for these common Christmas tree-loving insects:

• Adelgids
• Aphids
• Bark beetles
• Mites
• Praying mantises
• Sawfly

Most insects quickly die from desiccation or starvation when you bring the tree inside, and the ones that don’t, can be treated with the same method described above—Diatomaceous earth or neem oil.

Enjoy a Pest-Free Holiday with the Help of Evergreen

Ready to make the most of this holiday season? Make the season bright and ensure your guests are comfortable in your home or business by keeping it pest-free through the holidays and beyond! No matter what pest problem you’re dealing with—from spiders and mites to rodents and termites, Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Debary is standing by to help. Call us today at (407) 880-6655 for your free consultation!