During the summer months, insects are often abuzz and lurking in all corners of your yard. These insects carry diseases that can make you and your pets very sick. Common insects and pests, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas, invade and breed on your property and quickly spread out, leading to harmful diseases.

Thankfully, our professional pest control team is capable of handling these insects and preventing them from invading your property. We apply safe and effective insecticide treatments to help reduce the infestation of these common pests in and around Alton, Godfrey, Edwardsville, and surrounding areas in Illinois.


Mosquitoes Can Spread West Nile & Zika Viruses

A mosquito on a leaf in Alton, IL.

Mosquitoes ("mosquito" means "little fly" in Spanish) are common insects that suck blood and transmit some of the deadliest diseases, such as the West Nile disease and the Zika virus. The West Nile disease causes high fever, skin rashes, headaches, muscle weakness, paralysis, and more. The Zika virus includes headaches, rashes, fever, muscle pain, and joint pain. Professional mosquito control treatments will effectively reduce mosquitoes on your property to help keep your family and your pets safe from these diseases.

Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in as much as an inch of water. To try and reduce the number of mosquitoes on your property naturally, look for and limit the places where mosquitoes can breed - especially in areas that collect stagnant water. This can include hollowed-out tree holes, low spots in your yard, rain gutters, wading pools, birdbaths, overturned leaves, and so on. In addition to this, always keep your grass cut, your leaves raked, and your weeds pulled to reduce the amount of warm, moist areas where mosquitoes will thrive.


Ticks Can Cause Lyme Disease & Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

A red tick on a leaf in Bethalto, IL.

Ticks are spider-like blood-sucking bugs that can cause and transmit bacteria-causing diseases. Ticks attach themselves to pets or people through infected bites. Common types include deer ticks and American dog ticks (or wood ticks). Deer ticks carry Lyme disease, while American dog ticks can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever along with other potentially fatal illnesses.

Ticks are known to hide in hot, moist, and brushy areas of your garden or lawn. Pest management experts like the ones on our crew can locate the cause of the problem and take the necessary steps to control it. They will use specialized equipment and products to prevent and get rid of the ticks that infest your property.

Regular lawn maintenance services like mowing, trimming, and debris removal will help naturally keep ticks away.


Fleas Can Spread Tularemia, Typhus & Black Plague

Fleas on a potential client's pet in Edwardsville, IL.

Fleas affect people, pets, and their living environments every summer when infestation always seems to emerge. Fleas are very tiny, wingless insects that attach to your pets, especially cats and dogs. They mainly choose animals as their hosts because they are closer to the ground and have warmer body temperatures.

Because fleas feed on blood, they can cause anemia and other issues related to blood loss. Fleas also spread diseases like Tularemia, Murine Typhus, and the Black Plague. Tularemia can cause fever, muscle pain, headaches, and loss of appetite. Typhus can cause vomiting, nausea, fever, muscle pain, coughs, and rashes. The Black Plague (or Bubonic Plague) can cause fever, chills, and swollen lymph nodes.

To keep fleas under control, give your pets a good brush and bath regularly. A clean landscape will also limit the number of fleas you encounter on your property. Call on pest control professionals to help keep those pests at bay with anti-pest formulated applications.


Prevent a nuisance insect infestation with safe and effective pest control treatments. Call us today!

Insect infestations can cause harm not only to you and your family but also to your pets. At Element Turf & Outdoor Solutions, LLC, our expert team can implement a thorough and comprehensive nuisance pest control program to keep your household and pets safe from harmful insect-borne diseases.

We will assist you in finding the right combination of treatments to eliminate mosquito, tick, and flea infestations in your residential or commercial property in Alton, Godfrey, Edwardsville, and the surrounding Illinois areas. Our basic and premiere pest control applications are safe to use and will not harm your landscape. Contact us today at (618) 467-7047 to schedule.