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How to Win Yard of the Month: October Edition

lawn of the month killingsworth environmental

Get The Best Yard In The Neighborhood With These Decorations

October is an exciting month, between the seasons changing and Halloween festivities. This month we have special tips for you to get your yard in tip-top shape to ace yard of the month and get your well-deserved shout out!

Decorate and tidy up your yard with some of our favorite recommendations:

1. Wreath the benefits

Create or purchase an autumn-themed wreath to hang on your front door. This will give your house an instant fall pick-me-up. Your wreath can include fall colored flowers or leaves, mini pumpkins, gourds, and burlap ribbons!

If you choose to go the DIY route, we recommend starting with a frame like this one to get the clean, natural shape.

2. Welcome your friends with open….mats.

Doormats are great for wiping those dirty fall leaves off your shoes and welcoming your guests with a nice, simple fall message. Pick a mat that has browns and oranges to tie in your wreath, or you can go with a festive Halloween message like ‘trick or treat.’

3. Don’t neglect the stairs

Orange is definitely a trending color in October. Get festive by lining your porch stairs with an assortment of pumpkins and gourds. Layer a variety of sizes and weave in some green vines to portray a mini pumpkin patch leading up to your front door!

4. Fall for flowers and bushes

First and foremost, make sure your bushes are groomed and trimmed. You can also plant vibrant mums or other flowers in between your bushes to add a splash of color. We love seeing decorative flower pots with seasonal red, orange, yellow, and white flowers on the porch. The options are truly endless! And, for a fun festive decoration, add a mini scarecrow in front of your bushes, to tie your porch into your yard!

5. Mailboxes aren’t just for mail

Last but not least, don’t forget about your mailbox–most of the time, it is the first thing visitors see from the street! There are so many way to get creative. Flowers and ribbons are great at the base and there are tons of festive signs to choose from. You can even add pumpkins or haystacks to the base of your mailbox, just be careful if you’re close to traffic that might blow your hay into your yard. We hope you enjoyed our October Edition of how to win yard of the month! While you’re preparing your yard for the fall season, make sure you take advantage of Killingsworth’s expert lawn services!

How to Win Yard of the Month: October Edition

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.




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