Pest Control Johnston, Iowa
When pests come knocking, trust Janssen Pest Solutions for all of your pest control Johnston needs! Our certified pest control technicians can provide you with effective pest control solutions for ants, bed bugs, spiders, roaches and more! Our pest control products are designed to eliminate pests and leave a pest free, happy healthy environment. Protecting your home or business in Johnston from pests is our primary goal. We work to provide an exceptional customer experience from start to finish.  From the moment you call to well after our service is preformed and the pest are long gone, we have designed a customer experience that ensures you and your families safety is our primary focus.

Our Green Guard Pest Control Program is perfect for a busy family.  Exterior driven pest control removes scheduling hassles while making sure you don’t have any pest control issues between services.  If pests do come back you know you can count on out pest free guarantee.  Our technicians are all certified pest control applicators, have been background checked, are tracked via GPS and receive 60 hours of continuing education per year!  When you contact Janssen Pest Solutions you can rest assured you will receive the very best pest control experience possible.

Bed Bug Control Johnston, Iowa

Bed bugs are not just a nursery rhyme, Bed bug treatments Johnston from Janssen Pest Solutions are the very bed bug treatment option available. We work to be the most educated bed bug exterminators in Iowa and have attended several global bed bug summits to make sure all of our treatment techniques are the most effective treatment options available. We worked with the Iowa department of public health to develop best treatment practices for pest control companies in Iowa. Our heat treatment coupled with our canine bed bug inspections are the very best bed bug treatment options available to the pest control industry.

Termite Control Johnston, Iowa

Janssen Pest Solutions has been a Termite Control Johnston expert since 1987.  We have been an authorized Sentricon installation company for over 20 years!  No other pest control company in central Iowa can claim that distinction. The Sentricon colony elimination System has been shown by more than 30 independent university studies to kills the entire termite colony.

If you suspect termites are invading you Johnston home, our want to prevent from gaining a foot hold on your property give us a call today at 515-223-0269  
www.cityofjohnston.com
https://johnstonchamber.com/

What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Integrated pest management has been a term used in West Des Moines pest control and by pest control companies throughout the United States since the early 90’s.  As science and the pest control industry has evolved pest control experts have developed ways to control pest in a better way.  IPM in short, is the practice of identifying the type of pest, recommending physical, mechanical, cultural, chemical, biological and educational programs to keep pest populations low enough to prevent intolerable damage or annoyance and monitoring the pest activity to quickly identify and eliminate fledgling pest populations.  Understanding these key principles is what helps Janssen Pest Solutions stand out above the pack in West Des Moines pest control and achieve amazing results for our pest control customers.

Step 1. Identification

Pests must be properly identified in order to recommend an effective treatment.  Janssen technicians receive 60 hours of continuing education each year to ensure they are truly pest control experts.  Once a pest is identified, an inspection must ensue in order to find and help eliminate conditions that are promoting the pest population.  All pests have a life cycle, and these life cycles are quite different depending on the species of pest that is found.  For example, fire brats and silverfish are very similar in size, shape and color.  They are classified in the same group of pest, “bristle tails” but they have very different habitats and preferred breading sites.  A properly trained and certified pest control technician knows the difference and knows where to look to control either pest.

Step 2. Recommending Modifications
Modifications cover the areas of physical, mechanical, cultural, chemical, biological and educational controls.  Some simple examples of this include removing trash that may be the source of fruit fly or house fly breading.  This technique requires no chemical control method and is very effective.  Another example is pest control exclusion.  Often time a home owner will call about a mouse problem they are having.  Upon identifying the type of mouse (there are over 10 species of mice found in Iowa) our technician will find areas where mice can easily gain entry into a home.  Sealing up utility penetrations, repairing soffits and installing door sweeps can prevent new mice from entering the home.

Landscaping can have a large impact on pest populations around West Des Moines homes as well. Mulch is a great tools for gardeners as it is designed to retain moisture to ensure plants remain healthy in the warm West Des Moines Summers.  Pests also thrive in moist environments and it has been said that all pest issues can be related back to moisture.  River rock is the preferred alternative to help provide an environmental control measure near homes.  Things like trimming trees and bushes back as well as removing toys and other items that catch rainfall can be helpful in reducing pest populations and preventing them from being able to bread around your West Des Moines Home.

Step 3. Pest Control Treatment (if required) 
West Des Moines pest control treatments should consider the pest issues that are prevalent during season or that may be prevalent during the coming season.  Different products are labeled for different pests, beyond that certain products are more effective against one pest then another.  This product efficacy is the basis for our green guard treatment program.  Janssen Pest Control Technicians will consider a number of factors when selecting the right product for the job.  These considerations include the environment that the product will be placed, the pests found in your West Des Moines homes area as well as who will potentially interact with the product, your family and your pets.  We select products that are effective yet ensure you and your family have a healthy, happy home!

Step 4.  Monitoring for future pest Activity
Janssen Pest control technicians have a great deal of knowledge and resources to monitor for future pest activity to prevent future pest infestations.  Items like insect monitors, bait stations and sightings logs are excellent tools to help identify and prevent future pest infestations from occurring.  Regular preventative pest control treatments and pest inspections can save West Des Moines Home owners a lot of time and money.  Consider our Green Guard pest control program to prevent future pest problems and if pests do come knocking, you know you can count on our pest free guarantee!

Seven Tips Every Property Manager Should Know About Bed Bugs in Apartments
If bed bugs have become a problem in your apartment buildings or your just trying to prevent bed bugs from gaining a foot hold on your property, here a seven tips every property manager should know to control and prevent bed bugs from becoming a real headache.

1. Research local laws in your area
Bed bugs can be a highly litigious pest and there may be laws in your area that govern how to handle these situations.  Work with a licensed attorney to develop a lease that protects you and your property from the legal issues that are related to bed bugs in your apartments.  You may want to consider your tenants duty to notify you about their bed bug issues.  When should they notify you, how should they notify you (in writing, email, or phone call).  Who is responsible for paying for the bed bug service if needed?  What happens if the tenant doesn’t comply with recommended treatment protocols?  Can the tenant hire their own pest control company to perform the bed bug treatment?  There is a lot to consider, working with an experience pest control company as well as a good attorney will help you find a lease addendum that is right for you and right for your company.

2. Conduct regular bed bug inspections to get a snap shot of your properties health.
Regular bed bug inspections can help you get a snap shot of your apartment’s health as it relates to bed bugs.  Many tenants do not know or recognize they have a bed bug problem for weeks or even months.  Bed bug populations can swell from a few bed bugs, to hundreds of bed bugs in matter of weeks.  Once a bed bugs have established a foothold in a unit they can travel to adjacent units easily.  Our canine detection team can quickly identify bed bug problems (averaging 5-7 min per unit), sometimes before the tenant even knows they have bed bugs saving you money and additional headaches.  Many of our client conduct quarterly bed bug inspections as well as bed bug inspections following a move out to assist in due diligent and reduce the chance of moving a new tenant into a bed bug infestation left by the previous tenant.

3. Be able to identify signs of bed bugs and train your maintenance staff to do the same.

Training yourself and your staff on what signs of bed bugs look like it a great idea.  If a maintenance tech is completing a repair order and finds evidence of unreported bed bugs he/she should get a gold star!  Identifying bed bug evidence can be tricky and an actual confirmation should be made by a licensed pest control technician.  If you know what to look for, you can save yourself some trouble and be a hero to your tenants.  Common bed bug signs include fecal spotting on sheets, bedding, couches and in the ceiling wall juncture.  Some experts believe that heavy infestations often have a unique smell exclusive to bed bug infestations.  Cast skins and live insects are also a good indicator that bed bugs are present.

4. Don’t panic, and don’t point fingers.
If you have taken the time to implement a lease addendum you likely have set a course of action in the event bed bugs are found on your property.  Unfortunately there is no conclusive test to tell where bed bugs came from.  That fact can be very beneficial and also very detrimental to property managers.  Because there is no way to tell where bed bugs came from, it is difficult to prove that you the property manager, moved a tenant into a bed bug infested unit.  Also it is difficult to prove that the tenant brought the bed bugs in to the unit.

Don’t point fingers, contact a certified and experienced bed bug control expert like Janssen Pest Solutions to treat the unit and get the tenant back to living a bed bug free life.  If you and your tenant follow your bed bug lease addendum and contact an bed bug control expert to eradicate the bed bug issue the bed bug problem will be taken care of and you and your tenant can get back to a normal life. Pointing fingers and blaming tenants can have a negative effect and result in tenants failing to notify you that they have a bed bug issue and attempting to control bed bugs on their own.  Over the counter products to control bed bugs generally perpetuate the bed bug problem and may cause bed bugs to spread into adjacent units.  That’s something that needs to be avoided to save you headaches and money.

5. Do not attempt to treat the bed bugs yourself
Avoid the temptation to treat bed bug infestations using products available on the internet or at a local hardware store.  These products often contain a chemistry that will spread bed bugs instead of killing them.  Fogging and sprays can be sensed by bed bugs and the bugs will dive deeper into cracks and crevices, making professional treatments more difficult and potential spreading bed bugs to originally un-infested units.

6. Inspect adjacent units  
Often times the squeaky wheel get the grease.  A good tenant may call to report a bed bug problem that may have originated in an adjacent unit.  The old adage one man’s trash is another man’s treasure is a perfect example.  A tenant may have had bed bugs for months and attempted to treat them themselves causing bed bugs to spread to other units.  Once the spread occurs “good” tenants may begin to call.  Any time a bed bug infestation is confirmed in a unit, an inspection of adjacent units must be conducted.  This adjacent inspection helps ensure that the bed bug treatment will be effective and help rule out the possibility that bed bugs came from another unit (many tenants effected with bed bugs will attempt to blame adjacent units for their problem) being proactive and inspecting those units will help put tenants mind at ease and help you get to the bottom of the bed bug problem.

7. Be honest about bed bugs and encourage an open discussion with your tenants
Being open and honest with tenants about bed bugs will help you stay on top of any potential bed bug issues.  If you start off right from the top with a lease addendum, your tenants will be aware that bed bugs are a serious issue and you know exactly what to do in the event bed bugs might find their way onto your property.  We have conducted training sessions with tenants during community gatherings.  There is a lot of misinformation and just plain untruths when it comes to bed bugs.  Taking the chance to educate tenants about bed bug facts is a good practice and helps to ensure bed bug issues will be reported to you quickly!

If you’re interested in Des Moines Bed Bug Treatments for your apartments contact us today.  We are Des Moines and Central Iowa’s bed bug experts.  We utilize heat to control bed bugs.

Our system is designed to prevent any damage to the building and property while eliminating bed bugs quickly and effectively.  We have successfully treated thousands of apartment units with little to no failures.  Do you have sprinklers in your buildings?  No problem, we utilize a specialized cover to prevent degrading the mercury switch for the sprinkler head.  If you have a bed bug problem, we have a solutions.  Give us a call today!  

How are bed bugs treated:
There are three major types of professional bed bug treatment Des Moines options.  We will discuss each in detail here.

Option 1: Chemical Bed Bug Treatments
Option 2: Partial thermal remediation with chemical in un-heated spaces.
Option 3: Total thermal remediation (whole house is heated to lethal temperature)

Option 1: Chemical Bed Bug Treatments

Pro: 

• Chemical bed bug treatments are often the most inexpensive way to treat bed bugs.
• Chemical bed bug treatment can be effective on low level infestation.
• Chemical bed bug treatments have been an industry standard for many years

Con: 

• Chemical bed bug treatments take time to work.  According to best management practices, several visits are required to fully control bed bugs.
• The higher the infestation level (which may be hard to judge even with a trained inspector) the more product and time it will take to control bed bugs in Des Moines and around the nation.
• Bed bugs in Iowa and throughout the US have shown increasing resistance to modern professional grade pesticides.  Recent studies have found that nearly all bed bugs found in the wild (our homes) in the US show some signs of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides.

The wrap up:
While chemical bed bug treatments can be effective, they are often very disruptive to your home over an extended period of time and require a great deal of knowledge and experience by the pest control company.  Even the most experienced pest control technicians miss areas where bed bugs hid because bed bugs are cryptobiotic (they hid very well).  Not all surfaces can be treated with pesticides including bedding, clothes, electronics and surfaces humans commonly come in contact with on a regular basis.  Because not all surfaces can be treated some items may need to be thrown away to fully eliminate all the bed bugs in a home.

This process also commonly requires a great deal of preparation by the home owner to achieve the maximum effectiveness and kill ALL the bed bugs.  Not every bed bug is killed with one type of insecticide.  It is recommended that several different products be used to control bed bugs, there is no one “silver bullet” that kill every bed bug in your home.  With all treatments the possibility for re-introduction of bed bugs into your home exists.  The bed bugs found their way into your home once, they can do it again if your not diligent!


Option 2: Partial heat treatment with chemical in un-heated spaces

Pro:

• Items that can not be treated with chemical can be treated with heat to control bed bugs
• Portable heat chambers can be set-up almost anywhere

Con:

• Not every item can fit into the heat treatment compartment and therefore some items will still require chemical application.
• While bed bugs will harbor in furnishings they commonly are found under baseboards, behind door frames and in structural and aesthetic parts of the home.  These areas must be treated with a chemical option.  Gravid female bed bugs (pregnant) often move away from bed bug aggregation sites in order to escape the harassing males.  This means that lone females will often lay there eggs in places away from normal aggregation sites, this behavior can make finding and elimination the eggs and gravid female bed bugs difficult.

The Wrap Up:
Using a portable heat chamber can assist in controlling bed bugs but must be coupled with an extensive chemical treatment.  As we learned in the previous option (Chemical bed bug treatments) not all bed bugs are killed the first time they are treated with chemical.  Once the heat chamber is shut off and the items brought out,  bed bugs that survived the chemical treatment may can find there way back into the heated items resulting in the need for multiple treatment to fully eliminate the bed bugs.  In our opinion if your going to heat something, do it right, heat the entire space and kill all the bed bugs the first time.


Option 3: Total Thermal Remediation

Pro: 

• One treatment is usually all it takes to control bed bugs.
• Often the preparation for this treatment  is much less then a chemical application.
• No items will ever have to be thrown away when a total heat treatment is done.  These items are heated to a temperature that no bed bugs or there eggs can survive.
• Heat kills ALL life stages of bed bugs.  Bed bugs can not survive temperatures above 120 degrees
• The entire home is treated with heat allowing heat to penetrate deep into furnishings, stored items, beneath carpets, behind baseboards and door frames.  There is no place a bed bug can hide to escape our heat.
• Janssen Pest Solutions utilizes a hybrid system to kill bed bugs and keep them away for good.  Not only do we heat your home to lethal temperature but we hold the heat longer then our competition.  Then we employ a minimum of 3 chemistry’s to provide a lasting residual that helps keep bed bugs away for good.  Now that integrated pest management at it finest!

Con:

• Some preparation is required by the home owner or tenant in order to facilitate air flow throughout the home.
• The home owner or tenant will have to be out of the home for most of the day 7:30am – 5:30pm.
• Large equipment will be brought into the home.  This large equipment can make working in the space very difficult especially if there are a lot of items in the home and the preparation was not done properly by the home owner.  these conditions can increase the risk of damaging some items.  It is very important that the preparation sheet be follows in order to ensure no items are damaged.
• Your neighbors might become curious why there is a trailer in your drive way.  Janssen Pest Solutions use un-marked trucks and trailers to perform our heat treatments.  We value your privacy!
• Selection the right company and the right method of heat to control bed bugs can be confusing.  Janssen Pest solutions uses the Temp-Air electric thermal remediation system.  The Temp-Air system is superior to a forced gas system (a furnace in the trailer burns propane and blows the hot air into your home via ducting tube) because we never put a positive air pressure on your home.  Positive air pressure can cause bed bugs to follow the cold escaping air deep into hiding spots and survive the heat.  Our Temp-Air system recirculates the air inside your home and rather them forcing bed bugs into hiding spots, the heaters actually draws  bed bugs closer to them, before reaching lethal temperatures and killing them.

The wrap up:
Whole home thermal remediation is often more expensive then traditional chemical treatments but it is far superior in may ways.  Thermal remediation kills bed bugs, there is no resistance to the heat treatment.  Bed bugs exposed to temperature of 122 degrees are dead with in seconds.  As with the other treatment options re-introduction is a possibility. If bed bugs found their way into your home once they can do it again.  Combining the best of both worlds thermal and chemical treatment hybrid treatments, Janssen Pest Solutions offers an excellent bed bug treatment Des Moines experience that far exceeds the industry standards.  If you want to get rid of bed bugs thermal remediation from Janssen Pest Solutions is the best way to go!  When bed bugs are suspected in your home call Janssen Pest Solutions.  Janssen has the most effective and comprehensive bed bug treatment Des Moines and surrounding areas have to offer.

Why Termite Prevention is Important!
Termite prevention is a great topic for home owners in Des Moines, Urbandale, Johnston and central Iowa. Termites cause as much as 5 billion dollars worth of damage property damage each year in the United States, and most home owners insurance does not cover termite damage. In Des Moines and central Iowa eastern subterranean termites are active from late March to late October and generally cover an area of about an acre per termite colony.

What To Look For
Termite colonies spend the majority of their time underground foraging for cellulose like old tree stumps, fire wood and the 2×4 structures that support your home.  Termites are cryptobiotic meaning they hid very well and are often not discovered until a remodel occurs.  Worker termites dry out easily and are bright white, these worker termites build mud tubes to provide them with continued moisture and hide them from predators like birds and other insects. Images and some content provided by Dow Agoscience

SWARMING
Termites often swarm in warmer weather and after a rain shower to start new colonies. The swarming event can be brief, so even if you do not see flying termites, you are likely to see the discarded wings around window sills, doors, heating vents, bathtubs and sinks after a swarm takes place. Termite swarmers use their wings to move away from their original colony. Their wings break off and they pair up and find locations with a wood source where the male and female can begin a new colony. Whether you see the swarm or think there might have been one,call a professional immediately.

MUD TUBES
Foraging worker termites, the ones that eat wood to feed the rest of the colony, must stay in moist conditions and away from natural enemies like ants. To get across barriers between the soil and the wood above, termites construct small, meandering “mud” tubes from moist soil and excrement. The tubes are about the diameter of a pencil, though they can become wider. Tubes can be seen on foundation walls or inside walls, on plumbing pipes and spanning crawl spaces between the ground and the sub-floor. These termite highways are a sure sign termites are or have been in the home.

DAMAGING WOOD
Termites eat wood from the inside out along the grain, so damage often isn’t visible until it becomes significant. Termite inspectors often will tap to listen for hollow-sounding wall studs, baseboards and floors. If the wood gives way, it may reveal a hollowed-out honeycomb pattern. The wood also will include some “mud” similar to mud tubes, plus live termites.

Formosan termites are an especially robust, destructive species with large colonies. Walls of infested buildings may contain carton nests that hold enough moisture to allow the colony to live entirely above ground, sometimes causing bulging walls.

LIVE INSECTS
When building or remodeling in your home, keep an eye out for soft-bodied, light-colored insects about the size of a grain of rice. Termites avoid light, so they are seldom visible in open areas.

Where to Look
Sill Plates
Sill plates in the basement of a home offer a great area to inspect for termites. Termites often enter a home though cracks in the buildings foundation that are as small as 1/16th of an inch. Once inside termites often move up and begin attacking the sill plates of a home. Their distinctive mud tubes will give away the presence of termites in a home. Us a flashlight and a screw driver to inspect your homes sill plates for termite activity.

Garages and Out Buildings
Garages and out buildings are a common place for termites to attack and are often easy to find if the structure is unfinished.  again use a flash light and inspect behind and underneath stored items for the tell tail mud tubes.  Be sure not to store firewood, old boards and boxes on the floor as these can be inviting food sources for termites.

Stumps and Stored Firewood
Old stumps and firewood are a great source of food for termites in Des Moines.  Be sure to store firewood off of the ground and away from the home.

For more information about termite control Des Moines, Termite Control Ankeny, Termite Control West Des Moines or Termite Control Contact Us