Subterranean termite swarm season is here again. If you’ve ever come home to find hundreds or even thousands of little black bugs in a window sill you can’t help but get nervous at this time of year. And if your home hasn’t been treated by a professional and inspected annually thereafter you’re probably nervous with good reason. Over $500 million is spent annually to control and repair damages done by termites in Florida alone. The good news is that the quality of termite treatment products have improved drastically over the last decade and if your home has been treated properly you should have very little to worry about.

A termite swarm is often a homeowner’s first sign of a termite infestation. Those little black bugs that you find crowded around a window are called alates. Alates are termites that have developed the ability to reproduce, and they are only a small fraction of the much larger termite colony that is actively damaging the structure. It is important to have a trained professional examine the structure to insure that all points of infestation are identified and to insure that there are no other issues that need to be addressed to insure control.

Your home is typically your biggest and most important investment; protect it with the best product on the market today and that’s Termidor. There are plenty of products on the market for termite control, but Termidor is the only one that we will use to control active infestations of subterranean termites. Since we began using Termidor back in 2000 we have not had a single failure. Because of our track record of success with Termidor we no longer worry about customer failures during swarm season. You won’t have to worry either if you choose Safari Termite & Pest Control as your termite protection specialists. We offer free inspections, free estimates, and we guarantee on time appointments.

On July 23rd, 2008 Jacksonville mayor John Peyton signed a bill designed to reduce the amount of nutrients that end up in the St. Johns River by limiting fertilizer usage. The bill is based on the Florida Green Industries Guide to Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources in Florida (BMPs) which is a guide most industry professionals have been referencing for years. In fact all of our technicians have successfully completed the Florida Green Industries Best Management Practices Training Program which is certified by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection

Unfortunately the media circus that accompanied this legislation would lead you to believe that the excessive use of fertilizer by turf management professionals is the lone cause of river pollution. Truth be told if anyone is applying more fertilizer than necessary it’s more than likely those homeowners who choose to do it themselves. Industry professionals are far less likely to over apply fertilizer for many reasons. First of all we know how to make sense of the label on a bag of fertilizer. The spreaders we use to apply fertilizer are calibrated precisely on a daily basis. And we are already up to date on all of the BMPs, meaning we know exactly how much fertilizer a plant can make use of. We wouldn’t throw money away by applying more fertilizer than the plant can use. How many do-it-yourselfers can calibrate their spreaders, or tell you how many pounds of nitrogen is in a bag of fertilizer? And I’m sure the overwhelming majority have never even heard of the BMPs.

As industry professionals and local residents the health of the river is extremely important to us. We will gladly follow all guidelines set forth in the new fertilizer ordinance. Hopefully homeowners will do the same.

As pest control professionals we are often expected to eradicate any and every dollar weed in a customer’s lawn with just a single weed control application. The trouble with that is there are several major factors that affect dollar weed control in St. Augustine turf and many of these factors are outside of our control.

The single biggest factor is often water. Dollar weed is an aquatic weed meaning it thrives where there is an abundance of water. This could be due to several factors, including poor drainage, shade, soil compaction, and excessive irrigation. That’s why we work with our customers to fine tune their irrigation systems and practices to insure that all water related factors are being addressed.

Another common factor influencing dollar weed control is the invasion of dollar weed from neighboring lawns.  We understand that you have no control over your neighbors weed control issues so all of our technicians are trained to concentrate on the perimeters and borders of our customers’ lawns when making pre emergent weed control applications.

The final factor in dollar weed control is the application of post emergent herbicides. Many of the products that are commonly used for weed control are not particularly effective on dollar weed. The most glaring example of this is the herbicide Atrazine. Long considered the only herbicide needed for weed control in St. Augustine turf, Atrazine does a poor job at best of controlling dollar weed. Because it is the primary weed control product in “Weed and Feed” type fertilizers many homeowners are left with yards full of dollar weed. And ever since its 2003 EPA mandated label change it can’t be legally applied within 66 feet of perennial or intermittent streams and rivers or within 200 feet around natural or impounded lakes and reservoirs (including retention ponds). How many landscapes in your neighborhood does that rule out?

Our solution to the dollar weed problem is the use of a blend of properly labeled herbicides that are more effective in the control of dollar weed as well as other broadleaf weeds. With our specialized herbicide blends dollar weed is generally one of the easiest weeds for us to control. As a matter of fact we guarantee at least 50% control of it with your initial application alone.

The following is a list of things homeowners can do to help prevent ant intrusions in the home.

* Keep trees and shrubs pruned so that they don’t contact the home.
* Make sure shrubs in landscape are pest free because many shrub pests will produce a sweet syrup like substance called honeydew which many ants feed on.
* Seal all possible entry points on exterior of home such as pipe entry points or cracks in the siding.
* Treat ant mounds around the perimeter of the home to prevent them from moving in.
* Make sure all food and drink items are properly sealed and stored.
* Keep pet food and water bowls away from common entry points like windows, and doors.
* Be sure to clean up any food or drink spills in a timely manner.
* Many ant species are prone to infest structures where an excessive moisture condition exists so eliminate any moisture sources such as leaks, condensation or faulty irrigation.
* Take your garbage out regularly and if possible, store it away from the home until your trash collection day.
* Last but not least remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our Perimeter Pest Control Services go a long way in preventing ant intrusions. By making preventative residual applications to the exterior of the structure and the landscape that surrounds it we keep the pests and the pesticides out of your home.