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Bugs fascinate children; they love to watch an ant groom itself, a bee gather nectar, or a spider build its web. On the opposite end of the spectrum, adult attitudes toward insects are generally negative — the ant is a nuisance and the bee might sting!

Through these attitudes we send our children a clear, subconscious message that insects are unsafe, unclean, and unappealing. Most children adopt this viewpoint before they leave elementary school that the “only good bug is a dead bug.”

Although we work hard to rid your home of pests, we are insect lovers at heart! We see great value in what insects do for our ecosystem, and want to let you know that not all bugs are pests!

Aside from ladybugs (which are considered cute) and butterflies (they’re pretty), most insects are regarded with a certain degree of fear or revulsion. A few, like honey bees and praying mantis, may be recognized as useful, but all others are just pests.

This notion of pest is unique to humans. We define pests as any organism that causes annoyance or injury to human beings, human possessions, or human interests. The injury may be physical (bites and stings), medical (causing illness or disease), or economic (monetary loss of goods or property). Injury may arise directly from the pest itself, or may develop indirectly as a result of the actions or behavior of the pest.

In reality, many of the insects we label as pests are essential components of our natural ecosystem — we don’t want to live with them, but neither could we live without them!

Termites, for example, are serious pests when they move into the floor joists of a home. An infestation may cost hundreds of dollars to eradicate, and if ignored, could eventually destroy the house. So of course we want to respond to this pest situation.
However, in a forest ecosystem, termites are beneficial. They are a vital component of the biogeochemical cycle that releases nutrients from dead plant material. Without termites and other decomposers living on the forest floor, organic molecules would be locked away in piles of dead wood, unavailable to living organisms until released by fire or erosion.

A fear of insects is quite normal. Some people are so afraid of insects that it can affect their ability to function normally in society due to entomophobia. People with severe entomophobia are frequently confined to their homes; they are unable to enjoy gardening, walking in the woods, or visiting the beach because they dread an encounter with an insect. Psychiatrists estimate that 1-2% of the adult U.S. population is affected by some degree of entomophobia that limits activity or interferes with quality of life.

Of course we’re not suggesting you halt all pest control services, and live amongst the bugs! Protect your home when necessary, but appreciate the beauty of all creatures living amongst us in their natural environment.

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Since they were young, it was instilled in the Jenkins brothers of ABC Home and Commercial Services to be involved in the community, and to give back. Today ABC in the Dallas / Fort Worth area services 150 different charitable clients for pest control free of charge.

Dennis Jenkins and Mindy Ferguson

“We like to take care of folks caring for others,” Jenkins said. “Food banks, child advocacy programs, religious groups, people doing work for others.”

For years, ABC quietly helped different groups in an effort to make the work these places do just a bit easier.

“If we do pest control for free for these wonderful organizations then that frees up even just a little bit of money that they can put back into good work for others,” said ABC DFW owner Dennis Jenkins.

Surprisingly, most employees didn’t even know about the charity going on behind the scenes. Now Dennis, with the help of his wonderful staff, are in the middle of making a fundamental shift within ABC DFW with a new test-pilot program called Anteater Advocates.

The Anteater Advocates program is a voluntary system that asks employees who sign up to commit to doing acts of charity with ABC.

“We are not forcing anyone to be involved in the program,” said Dennis. “But once you sign up, you commit, and we’re going to keep score with levels to attain by how much time or how many things you do in the community.”

There are three ways in which employees can earn “credit” towards the program.

First, any specialist that goes on a call that ABC Dallas has accepted as “free of charge for charity” has the opportunity to get paid or choose to donate the time for that job.

“We have already set up the means to make these charity jobs happen, but it does cost us in supplies and labor,” said Dennis. “If a specialist donates the cost for the labor, this allows us to help more people in need in the community.”

The second way for a staff member to earn points is to volunteer for a charity on their own time. Things like working at a soup kitchen or volunteer bank.

The third way to earn points is through the particular events that ABC sponsors or is tied to each year, such as marathons or clean-up days.

“This program not only helps the community, but it binds our employees emotionally to the philosophy at ABC,” Dennis said. “We want them to feel good about the work that they do and the company they do it for. People want to feel a connection to the community, not just show up to work for a pay check.”

The other hope behind Anteater Advocates is that, by telling the world about the program, it will encourage other companies to come up with similar ways to help.

“Maybe if we can affect someone to want to do good in the community, they may affect someone else,” said Dennis. “The more we do this as a society, take care of each other, the better our world will be down the road.”

If you would like to contact the Anteater Advocate program about your charity organization email,  aarequest@abcpest.com.

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Dallas ABC Home and Commercial Services knows that keeping customers happy is critical to success.  ABC strives to go above and beyond with customer service as evident by these testimonials from satisfied Dallas pest control clients.

Commercial Pest Control Testimonials of our Staff

ABC’s goal is for our pest control technicians to develop a trusted relationship with our commercial clients.

“Rey always investigates any areas of concern and give us useful feedback.  He is always great at responding anytime we call.“
– Manager, Wendy’s in Fort Worth

“Bernadino is doing a great job.  It is night and day compared to the last company we used.”
-Manager, Dallas Advanced Concrete

“Thanks to Joe we scored 100% on our last AIB audit.  He is doing a good job on the paper work and in treating our facility.”
– Quality Manager, Pepsi in Mesquite

Visit our website for a list of our Dallas Commercial Pest Control services.

ABC Offers unsurpassed service to the health care, restaurant, food processing and real estate industry. ABC has always believed that these facilities receive the very best we have to offer.

Our staff is the difference between ourselves and the competition. All of ABC’s employees go through background checks, drug screenings, multi-interviews, and extensive training before they are sent out to service accounts. Our ongoing training for our staff is arguably the best in the industry. You can count on ABC to safely protect your clients and reputation.

This is one creepy fact about the crawly critters that are know to take down houses, caution this is not for the faint of heart. Did you know that termites will eat each other when there is nothing else to eat!

According to Timothy G. Myles, Ph.D. in his studies, Myles observed subterranean termites eating wither parts or sometimes even the entire bodies of others in the colony. The partly eaten termites were sometimes left alive by the other termites to suffer. Starving termites will eat larvae or adults. Termites will also eat the carcasses of any dead termites in their colony, which helps the survivors gain valuable nitrogen, according to the book Chemical Ecology of Insects.

Obviously we don’t recommend to wait for the termites to take care of themselves, we just thought you might want to know this scary fun fact about Dallas Termite Control!

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With the summer months approaching, drought is sure to return to the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. Trees are a silent sufferer during the hot, waterless days.

Giving your trees as much attention as you can will drastically help to improve the condition of your landscape design.

Dead Limb removal is a good thing to do even in the summer months. The removal of deadwood, even in a drought, does not cause as much stress to the tree as leaving it to decay and drop off on its own. Ignoring deadwood in trees is more harmful and hazardous for several reasons.

1. If you do not remove deadwood from trees, the decay that is actively moving through that limb will enter the main trunk or leader at the point of attachment – not sometimes, but always. Trees expend far more energy trying to contain decay, than they do from sealing a clean pruning cut made by a professional.
2. Most of the limbs that break and cause catastrophic damage, fail at a point of decay. Decay creates a compromise in the strength of the limb to withstand wind, rain, ice, and sometimes its own weight. If you look closely, you’ll see that most weakening holes or hollows in a trunk or limb are actually places where the limb was once attached.
3. One of the greatest concerns we have during the hottest months in Dallas is the potential for wildfire. We recommend that homeowners remove the deadwood, which is literally fuel for a fire disaster.
4. Deadwood is the preferred point of entry for many wood boring, tree damaging insects. Our trees have been overwhelmed by boring insects this summer due to the drought. Like most places in nature, predators feed on weak or injured prey, and our trees are certainly weak right now. Removing deadwood eliminates the path of least resistance.

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April is National Pest Management Month

For more than 30 years, April has been celebrated as National Pest Management Month, recognizing the industry for its role in protecting public health and property from significant pest threats. The Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) is educating the public about the importance of professional pest management, helping to raise awareness about the dangers of pests such as Bed Bugs in your community.

PPMA is also using the month to call attention to specific pest issues and initiatives. This year’s focus is on common pests such as ants, termites and spiders, which may be big problems for consumers this spring given the mild winter. The organization will also be launching “Bed Bug Awareness Week,” April 22 – 28 to spread awareness, promote public vigilance and provide essential prevention advice about bed bugs in advance of the summer travel season.

With summer travel around the corner, NPMA is reminding travelers to be vigilant wherever they go and to be mindful about bed bugs’ hitchhiking nature.  A few simple prevention tips can go a long way in saving travelers from an infestation when they return home.

For more information on National Pest Management Month, Bed Bug Awareness Week or for information on common household pests, please visit Pestworld.org.

The NPMA, a non-profit organization with more than 7,000 members, was established in 1933 to support the pest management industry’s commitment to the protection of public health, food and property.

READ more about how to detect and treat Bed Bugs on our blog!

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Termites are feared by homeowners for their appetites of any wooden structure. However, termites eat far more than just wood. They also eat anything made of paper, a variety of plants, products made from plants and synthetic materials. They can eat grass, landscape mulch and, depending on the species, special fungi grown deep inside termite colonies. When food is scarce, they will even eat each other.

Termites live on cellulose, and since wood is mostly cellulose – termites feed on wood. In addition, subterranean termites have been known to attack more than 47 plant species, including citrus, wild sherry, cherry laurel, & cedar.

The ABC Treatment for Termites

ABC will apply a liquid treatment zone in the area the termites are feeding. The materials that we use have both an ingestion and contact effect.Termites will unknowingly pass through the material and become infected and will transfer the material to non-infected nestmates. Termites that have ingested the material can transfer the material to nestmates by sharing their food before they die.

Give us a call if your suspect Termites have moved into your home!

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1.  Adjust Irrigation for the increasingly warmer seasons.

2.  Aerate your lawn to stimulate growth, and improve the soil’s profile.

3.  Proper fertilization involves getting on a program for weed prevention, nutrition and insect control of your lawn.

4.  Mow at the proper height, which is 3 inches. This helps with water retention, photosynthesis and aesthetics.

5.  Fire Ant Control, so when you’re enjoying your lawn, you won’t be chased away by those pesky pests.

Welcome spring, we’re glad you’re here!

If time is short, give us a call! We can bring life to your lawn and destruction to pests!

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