Summer means pool days, ice cream, running through the sprinkler and soaking up the sun before it’s time to go back to school. And even though fall is right around the corner, both summer and fall are optimum times for pests to get into your house or yard. So grateful Fox Pest Control is here to help families in our area!
Mention DC Moms and get $50 off our Home Protection Plan when you call (703) 659-6559!
Last summer, we had an issue with ground bees in our backyard, making outdoor playtime less fun (good thing we took a COVID summer road trip so we could escape our house/yard for a bit). And last fall, it was unseasonably rainy, which is what the man who sold me our ant traps blamed a sudden and swift ant infestation in our dining room on. This year, I wasn’t going to wait until the pests came. I was going to head them off with a pest control company.
Setting up a visit
Setting up a service is simple! Just call Fox Pest Control at (703) 659-6559 to set up a service. When I spoke with a specialist at Fox Pest Control, he asked me what type of pests I had been having issues with in and around our home. He also asked if I had any children or pets so that the specialist who arrived would know what recommendations in services to make. I scheduled the visit for a few days later.
Services
Fox Pest Control has programs for a variety of pests, including rodents, bees, ants and termites. When the technician arrived, he called me instead of knocking on our door – because we have a sign that asks for deliverymen, etc., not to knock! Anyone who has a dog and baby/toddler knows that when the dog keeps barking at the door, nap time is over!
Andy was wearing a Fox Pest Control face mask when I met him outside, and I told him my main concerns: ground bees and ants. We went to the backyard where I showed him where I suspected the ground bees nest to be, and I also pointed out the exterior of the room where the ants were accessing, since it was on the upper level, not the lower level, and expressed how I was confused where their entry point could have been last year.
Andy actually spotted a piece of siding that seemed to have a gap in it and said that could have been the ants’ entry point. I would have never noticed that if he hadn’t pointed it out! I was concentrating on an entry point in our brick wall, not the siding.
Andy outlined exactly what he was going to use and how he was going to treat the exterior of the house and yard for ground bees and ants.
Ground Bees Treatment
He sprayed a non-repellent spray into the ground bees’ suspected nest in our backyard, and sure enough, a bee crawled up the hole. Andy explained that he used a non-repellent instead of a repellent because the bees wouldn’t be able to detect a non-repellent. This would make the bees that weren’t in the ground nest return unsuspecting, walk into the poison, and eventually die. If he had used a repellent, the bees that weren’t in the nest would be able to smell it, and could have simply dug a new nest elsewhere in my yard.
Ant Treatment
For ants, Andy first got rid of any cobwebs or anything that could interfere with the treatment. Then he sprayed what he called a “dust” of ant poison under all the siding where he saw some gaps between it and the brick. We have a carport that was added on in the front/side of the house, and a slight overhang in the back from the upper level to the lower level. Andy sprayed the dust under all of the siding on the upper exterior, then sprayed the lower exterior of the house with the non-repellent ant spray.
Bonus Tick Treatment
After Andy was done with the bee and ant treatments, he knew we had a dog (he saw our Frenchie dog mat and saw him in the window), and offered to treat the yard for ticks, as well. In the DC area, ticks are horrible, so I immediately took him up on his offer!
He used a sifter to spread tick repellent on our yard and explained that I should wait 24 hours to water the yard. Then, after that 24 hour waiting period, any rain or watering would push the tick treatment further into the soil and keep preventing ticks as the grass continued to grow.
The End Result
After receiving Fox Pest Control services, I had peace of mind that the ground bees would soon be gone, and ticks and ants would be prevented from coming. As evidenced with the technician offering an additional tick treatment, Fox Pest Control is clearly a company that cares about residents’ homes and families. We can’t wait to spend the rest of summer (and fall!) bee- and ant-free.
We received complimentary treatment for pests, but all opinions are my own and I truly do recommend them! When you sign up with Fox Pest Control, you are hiring a company that cares about you, your home, and your family. Fox Pest Control’s branches, including the Northern Virginia/DC West branch, are locally operated.
