If you’re a proud homeowner in sunny South Florida, you’ve most-likely invested in long list of items that you’ve deemed necessary in the protection of your home.
Winter Lawn Stress In Florida
Are you noticing brown areas in your yard? This is the time of year when brown patches can appear in a few short days, as if by magic. Don’t worry! There is often a simple explanation for the appearance of brown patches. Here are two common things we see when we’re called to treat a lawn with mysterious brown areas, and what you need to know most about these two lawn threats.
They May Not Be Swarming… But They’re Still Here!
subterranean-termites
It may not be swarming season, but that doesn’t mean the termite damage stops. Your home is one of your largest investments, and termites can cause extensive damage and depreciate the value that your home has. Every year termites alone cause several billion dollars in structural damage in the United States.
Community Lawns’ Killers
If you live in a community that includes minor monthly lawn services like I do, you may have weeds in your St. Augustine lawn. This is quite common among Home Owners Associations (HOAs) in South Florida due to the same lawn maintenance equipment (i.e., mower) being used on multiple lawns in the community, spreading the seeds of ONE lawn’s weeds to ALL of the lawns. Just like the saying “one bad apple spoils it for the bunch,” the same is happening for community lawns. Except now you can apply this archaic adage to something a little more modern than a “bunch of apples!”
What is the Zika Virus?
The Zika Virus is a mosquito-born virus that has recently seen outbreaks in South and Central America and is spreading north. There are now 43 cases of Zika victims who were bitten by a domestic mosquito in the U.S., and all but one of those cases are found in South Florida.
We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat!
The recent blue-green algae bloom in South Florida has been on the minds of all summer beach-goers and outdoor adventurers. The cyanobacteria that causes the blue-green sludge on the surface of our bodies of water also produces potent toxins.
Pest Peeves – A Battle You Can’t Win on Your Own
As a native South Floridian, I don’t bat an eyelash when I see trailing ants by the sink, the occasional roach in the garage or multiple fire ant mounds in the yard. Maybe it’s because bugs don’t gross me out the way they do my wife. But it could also have to dowith the fact that living in South Florida—bugs are everywhere!
Curb Your Mosquito Lifestyle!
In South Florida, summer comes early. The month of May brings it all: the 85 degree heat, the 40% humidity. Watermelons are stocked in the produce aisle at Publix, and the smell of burning charcoal can be found at every public park.
Threats of a South Florida “Super Termite” Invasion
You may have heard recently that University of Florida researchers have been conducting extensive research on the hybridization of two invasive termite species: the Formosan Termite and the Asian Termite. While talk of a “super termite” sounds alarming, let’s explore both the possibility of this occurring in nature and the implications that would ensue.
Is There Such a Thing as Non-Toxic Pesticides?
No. That would be an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp or big baby. You can have the words “non-toxic” but you can’t combine them with the word “pesticide.” Any type of non-toxic substance wouldn’t help your pest problem. But most people are misinformed.