Spring Cleaning Includes Preparing for Bugs and Pests!
Spring is in the air! At least we hope it is. Seems we bounce from freezing to beautiful every day now. While it may confuse us, it’s not confusing pests. As the days become warmer, you’re going to see more issues with ants, bees, cockroaches, earwigs, flies, mosquitos, silverfish, wasps, and rodents.
- Ants are most active in spring, building routes into homes to bring food and moisture back to their nests.
- Beetle grubs begin to feed on your yard roots… preparing for summer when they’ll emerge.
- Stink bugs will emerge from their hiding places and begin to mate and lay eggs.
- Wasps, hornets, and yellowjacket queens are coming out of hibernation and ready to start new nests.
- Mice and rats are on the hunt for food – finding any way they can to get into your home to feast on whatever they can find.
- Spiders mate in spring and their fall eggs will begin to hatch.
- Ticks that have stayed warm in leaf bins and garden mulch for the winter begin to lay eggs for the summer.
Since it’s also Spring Cleaning time, be on the lookout as you’re cleaning out your garage, opening the windows for fresh air, and clearing up the winter mess from the yard. Be on the lookout for three things:
- Water or moisture that will attract bugs and small posts.
- Dark and hidden spaces where bugs and spiders will make their new home.
- Cracks and crevices in your home’s foundation, siding, and roof where pests can make their way indoors.
This is the best time of year to prepare and prevent pests since they’re most vulnerable, mating, and laying eggs. Treating your home, gardens, and yard today can save you a ton of energy and money later! Here’s a detailed checklist:
- Cabinets and Pantries – empty out, vacuum out, and wipe down to ensure no food or traces of food are in there.
- Windows and Doors – patch and replace screens and insulation that may be damaged and provide a means into your home.
- Garages – move your lumber and stuff off the floor onto shelves with plenty of room to wipe and vaccuum in, around, and behind them. Break down boxes and toss out anything that will provide a home or bedding for pests.
- Leaks and Drips – keep an eye out for any puddles or moisture around pipes and hoses and fix them all.
- Foundation – walk around your home and look for breaks in your siding and cracks in your foundation. You can typically find outdoor caulking kits you can use to fill them.
- Firewood – store old firewood away from your home. Spiders and pests love wood piles.
- Soffit – clean and inspect your soffits frequently looking for wasps who may start building a new hive.
And, as always, if you find a nest or some other creature that sends you screaming – give us a call and we’ll take care of you.
Bee Stings: Everything You Need to Know!
Bees are not only known for their honey, but for their painful stings as well. As sweet as the name may sound, an upset bee will sting you with all it has. Eventually, the bee also dies after stinging when its stringer breaks into the skin and is ripped off their body.
Typically, a sting might annoy you with a little temporary swelling, pain, itch, and redness at the infected area. But if you are allergic to bees or suffer multiple stings, things can get severe and problematic.
When a honeybee stings you, it leaves behind its stringer embedded in your skin which contains a toxin, if you are allergic to that toxin you will suffer severe symptoms. The toxin contains proteins that infect skin cells and immune system.
Bee Sting Symptoms
Symptoms of bee stings may vary from mild to extreme reactions, according to the nature and quantity of stings. These stings can produce a different reaction; some may experience mild pain, while others may suffer a severe allergic reaction.
- Mild reaction – Most reactions from a bee sting will be mild and symptoms will include a burning feeling at the site of the sting, slight swelling and a red welt. For most of the people the symptoms will last only for few hours.
- Moderate reaction – Some people might develop moderate symptoms that include extreme redness and swelling, which enlarges for a day or two. A moderate reaction lasts up to 5 to 10 day. If you develop these symptoms each time you suffer a sting, then consulting a doctor is advisable.
- Severe allergic reaction – Anaphylaxis is a severe reaction caused by a bee sting. It can, at times, be life-threatening and require immediate medical treatment. In rare cases, people suffering from a bee sting develop severe symptoms including hives, itchy skin, pale skin, fainting, a weak heartbeat, swelling of tongue and throat, difficulty in breathing, nausea, and diarrhea.
People with allergies to bee stings may be advised to get immunotherapy to avoid these reactions. Or, your Doctor may prescribe an Epinephrine Kits at home. These kits provide an auto-injector for you to inject yourself in the event of a bee sting. Having a kit at home can be the difference between life and death for someone who has a severe reaction to getting stung.
Multiple Bee Stings
Usually, bees sting in self-defense. If a person disrupts a hive or a swarm of bees, he will likely end up with multiple bee stings, especially if they’re African honeybees. African honeybees are an invasive species that are slowly taking over the United States. They are widely known for their aggressiveness and attacking in swarms. Thankfully, we’re not seeing them in our climate at this point!
Symptoms of multiple bee stings include a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, high temperature, convulsions, vertigo, and fainting. Multiple bee stings require an emergency treatment, as they can cause serious complications in children and adults with heart and breathing problems.
Bee Sting Home Remedies
If your reaction is mild, you may not need to visit a doctor. Home remedies will ease your pain and treat other symptoms, as well. The first thing you’ll want to do is carefully remove the stinger with tweezers or something similar. Don’t squeeze the stinger, as it can cause more venom to be released. After the stinger is clear and you’ve washed with an antibiotic soap, you’ll want to relieve the pain.
Following are the remedies that are mostly used to counter the reaction of a honeybee’s sting:
- Toothpaste – A quick remedy is to apply toothpaste on the affected area as soon as possible. It is believed that the alkaline nature of the paste neutralizes the acidic bee-venom and relieves the patient.
- Papain is an enzyme which is believed to breakdown the protein of the venom that causes pain and itchiness. Make a solution of one part papain and three parts water and apply on the sting area for 30 minutes.
- Baking Soda – Apply a paste of baking soda to the area. This will relieve the pain, swelling and itchiness by neutralizing the venom.
- Honey from the culprit itself will help relive the symptoms. Apply a decent quantity of honey and wrap in a loose bandage.
- Apple cidar vinegar helps neutralizing the bee venom. Soak a cloth in vinegar and apply at the sting point for about 15 minutes.
- Herbs and oils such as aloe vera, natural oils, witch hazel and many others are known for their pain and swelling relieving nature. Dab few drops of one of these on the affected area and dab for few minutes, you will forget about the pain.
Medical Treatment for Bee Stings
If the reaction is severe then you are strictly advised to consult a doctor because as discussed earlier, a severe allergic reaction can be life-threatening. A mild reaction doesn’t need medical help, but a multiple sting and a severe reaction are considered as an emergency which require an immediate medical aid.
A medical team may even perform CPR if you stop breathing as result of an anaphylactic reaction. You may be given following medications:
- Epinephrine, to reduce the allergic response of your body. If you are allergic to bee sting then medical experts recommend keeping an epinephrine auto injector with you all the time, in case of emergency situations.
- Oxygen, to help you breathe.
- A beta agonist, to help you counter breathing problems.
- Intravenous antihistamines and cortisone, these medicines will reduce the inflammation of your air passages, so you can breathe properly.
If you ever experienced a severe or multiple sting reaction, then a physician might recommend you to get allergy shots. These shots are generally given regularly for few years and are known to eliminate allergic response to bee venom.
How to Avoid Getting a Bee Sting
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; therefore it is wise to take necessary steps to avoid any such condition. If you live in an area where you have to face honeybees then you should:
- Get the hives near your homes removed by a professional
- Don’t wear bright colored and loose clothes
- Stay calm while walking past through bees
- Wear close-toed shoes
- If it appears that you have a swarm or collection of hives, contact your local government to see about removal.
Following above mentioned advises is important, as it is better to be proactive than to be reactive!
Fine Print: We’re not Doctors, so always check with professionals on the proper treatment of bee stings. We’re just trying to put some commonly known information out there. And of course, you can call us BEFORE you get stung if you see a bee infestation. Of course, if you have a large property, you may even wish to start beekeeping!