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Keep Pests out of Your Yard and Home

Posted: 4/17/2010

Keeping insects out of your yard will help keep them out of your house.

(NewsUSA) - When ants invade pantries, or fleas infest the family pet, Americans shriek, jump on chairs and start squashing. But if you really want to keep bugs out of your house, you will have to look to your lawn.

Keeping ants, ticks, fleas and other insects away from the exterior of your home will help keep them out of the interior. But some pest-removal methods prove more effective than others. According to a recent survey conducted by the maker of Spectracide herbicides and pesticides, American homeowners have attempted to kill ants with magnifying glasses, through drowning and by setting ant mounds on fire.

Using a pesticide is far safer than setting a bonfire. Better yet, pesticides actually work. That said, some pesticides are more appropriate than others. For example, if you're dealing with lawn and garden pests that attack plants and flowers, choose a liquid pesticide. Spectracide advises users of its Triazicide Insect Killer Once & Done to use a concentrate with a tank sprayer for widespread infestations, ready-to-spray formulations for covering entire lawns and ready-to-use spray bottles for smaller jobs.

Bugs that live in the soil, like ants and grubs, are best killed through granules. To rid a large area of soil-dwelling insects, apply granules with a lawn spreader. To treat smaller areas, like an ant mound, pour granules directly from the canister. After distributing the granules, water them if indicated on the label.

For especially hardy pests, like fire ants, look for insect-specific pesticides. Spectracide brand, for example, makes a product called Fire Ant Killer Plus Preventer Bait Once & Done in the form of granules. Worker ants confuse the granules with food and take them into the mound to feed their queen, poisoning her. Because only the queen reproduces, killing the queen destroys the fire ant colony.

Homeowners can also destroy mounds that appear on their property using a contact killer like Spectracide Fire Ant Killer Mound Destroyer Granules, which kills fire ants on contact, eliminating the colony and mound. Children and pets can re-enter a sprayed area once the application has dried.

Spectracide brand's Web site has educational guides available for download, as well as online videos that offer tips for selecting and applying pesticides. For more information, visit www.spectracide.com.

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