Do you value the health of your property? If so, aphids are the last pests you want around. Fortunately, their season has not yet come, but it is around the corner; this gives you some time to prepare before your trees and greenery come under siege. If you wonder how you can do this, here are a few tips to keep summer aphids off your Elk Grove lawn.
What Are Aphids
Before we talk about how to prevent aphids, let's talk a bit about these destructive pests. Aphids are soft-bodied, winged insects that feed on plant sap using their piercing and sucking mouthparts. These pest infestations typically start with just a few aphids flying over and testing out a plant to find out if it is a suitable place to live. After this, it only takes a couple of weeks for a few aphids to turn into hundreds.
Problems Aphids Cause
Have you ever found a sticky, viscous substance on the exterior of a tree? It's called honeydew and is a byproduct created by aphids as they feed. It is not uncommon for this substance to drop from trees onto cars parked beneath them, causing discoloration to paint jobs and window tints. If the leaves and branches on a tree infested with aphids start turning black, it is most likely due to sooty mold which grows on honeydew.
The more aphids feed on a plant or tree, the more they drain the life out of it. Over time, damage to greenery becomes more noticeable. In certain rare conditions, plants infested with aphids can become sickly and die.
One of the biggest problems with honeydew is that it attracts other insects such as ants. Interestingly enough, ants will protect aphids because they know they are making food for them. With ants, one thing you should keep in mind is that the closer they are to the exterior of your home, the more likely they will be to try to come inside. In addition to attracting ants, honeydew is also alluring to both bees and wasps. These flying pests often settle down near aphid infestations and threaten homeowners with their painful stingers.
How Neighborly Treats For Aphids
Here at Neighborly Pest Management, we take aphid prevention seriously. To ensure your property has the best chance to stay free of these pests through the summer months, we start prevention early. Using non-invasive products and methods, one of our friendly service technicians will treat your property's soil, specifically around the trees aphids infest. This treatment reduces the amount of sap these trees can produce, which in turn reduces the chance of dealing with damaging aphids. The best part of this service is that it comes with a pest-free guarantee. If you find aphids on any of your trees after the initial service visit, we will return and retreat at no additional cost.
Why Neighborly Pest Management Is Right For You
Many pest control companies are only in business for what they can get and not what they can give. At Neighborly Pest Management, we make sure this isn't the case. Our goal is to always provide the highest quality services at the most affordable price points. From rodent control to bed bug removal to aphid treatments, our team is ready and capable of a solution to any pest problem your Elk Grove home is up against.
Give us a call today, or reach out through our website to learn more about our detailed pest control options, or to schedule an appointment to have your Elk Grove lawn treated for aphids.