Pest Control in Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Palos Verdes Estates

Famous for its scenic beauty and luxurious homes, the City of Palos Verdes Estates is the oldest of four cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The City of Palos Verdes Estates

Hearts Pest Management is a growing, family-owned company - number one in green pest control for Palos Verdes Estates!

A bit of history: Incorporated in December of 1939, the City of Palos Verdes Estates was landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers whose father, Frederick Olmsted, Sr. designed Central Park in New York City.

Vintage photo of La Venta Inn

Overlay of La Venta Inn, the first permanent structure in Palos Verdes Estates; a retreat and clubhouse for many a Hollywood movie star. Today the inn is a popular wedding venue with an ocean view.

Keeping as much of the natural landscape as possible was important to the Olmsted Brothers. As a result, today's Palos Verdes Estates is a combination of gently winding roads, green hillsides and paths, giant eucalyptus and pepper trees.

Twenty-eight percent of the city’s land continues to be permanent open space. The city today, continues to focus on preserving and protecting its natural landscapes and assets that makes Palos Verdes Estates a beautiful place to both live and visit.

Coastal temperatures keep residents in Palos Verdes Estates cool in the summer and warmer during their mild winters. Not only do people enjoy temperate climates such as this but also insects, rodents, and other forms of life that can very quickly become pests.

5 Star Review:

green 5 star review

Carri in Palos Verdes Estates – is impressed!

I’ve been using Hearts for over 3 years and am very impressed with their organization! They do terrific work in addition to be reliable, honest and extremely knowledgeable and polite.

They come bi-monthly and use an organic solution to spray outside. It’s a pleasure and relief to do business with them.

Carri B., Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Spider Control in Palos Verdes Estates

Along the coastline, spiders have a behavior called “ballooning,” which creates a higher level of infestation in homes on or near the coast than in inland areas.

Ballooning can transport spiders from one home, to nearby neighborhoods, all the way across town, even to ships at sea!

Ballooning is when young spiderlings climb high on a fence or other structure, then release a single thread of silk and let the ocean currents carry them away to new locations. It’s because of these ocean air currents that spiders can travel great distances.

Western spotted orb weaver spider

Western-spotted Orb Weaver – Garden spider traps landscape pests.

Female Green Lynx spider

How can anyone be afraid of this spidey face? This Green Lynx spider is a harmless garden spider. Note how the female hangs upside down on her egg sac.

Homeowners can rely on Hearts Pest Management to keep their spider population under control; however, spiders do have their place outdoors. . .

Many spiders, such as garden orb-weavers, are beneficial in keeping landscape and garden pests at bay, and – they don’t bite humans.

Widow Spiders

The two spiders of medical importance in Palos Verdes Estates are black and brown widow spiders. Both will bite when disturbed or threatened.

It is very common to find widow spiders and their egg sacs under outdoor furniture, playgrounds, woodpiles, corners of the garage, storage areas, and in the eaves of the home.

Brown widows and black widow spiders are quite different in appearance but both sport the tell-tale hourglass which can be found hiding underneath their bulbous bodies. Black widows have a black hourglass whereas brown widows have an orange hourglass. You can also spot a brown widow by her cream-colored spiky egg sac.

black and brown widows

Hearts service representatives are experienced at identifying different spider species and searching for their hiding places.

Our professionals will remove unwanted webs around the parameter of your home but because spiders are solitary, it is not unusual to see new webs a few days after a treatment.

If you have a lot of spiders, you may want to consider a monthly maintenance plan until the infestation is under control at which time you can opt for a bi-monthly plan.

Here are some of the things homeowners can do, in-between pest services, to keep spiders from coming indoors:

    • Caulk any cracks and crannies to keep not only spiders out but ants and mice too.
    • Sweep at least twice a week, knocking any webs down found in corners and in the garage.

 

  • Check under patio furniture; brown widows love hiding under there with their spiky egg
    sacs.

 

  • Let your Hearts Service Professional know where you’ve seen spider activity.

Ant Control in Palos Verdes Estates

Hearts Pest Management technicians are EcoWise Certified for organic applications and practicing IPM (Integrated Pest Management) methods.

Monitoring and inspecting your home for ants, or ant entry points, is an important part of your Integrated Pest Management program.

Argentine Ant

Argentine ants are the most problematic of ant species in Palos Verdes Estates.

Our certified technicians will be able to search out entry points, colonies, and identify ant species to determine the right kind of treatment needed.

Different species of ants respond to chemicals and management practices separately and need to be treated accordingly.

It’s good to remember that ants play a beneficial role in the garden and environment.

Once you become aware of the seasonal cycle of the ants in your area, you can prepare for annual invasions by caulking entry points, trimming shrubs and trees away from the home, and keeping moisture at a minimum. Preparation will make the spring and summer more pleasant – for both humans and ants.

Hearts IPM certificate

Do-it-yourself Ant Control

What about Do-it-yourself methods? Many times, customers will use their own natural remedies and/or over-the-counter products to try to control ants but for many ant species, these methods just don't work and they end up calling a pest control company.

By this time, they don't care whether we treat traditionally or organically, they just want the ants gone!

Not only are a lot of retail products ineffective but ones that contain pesticides can harm the environment by overuse or if the containers are not disposed of properly.

Foraging ants typically represent just a small portion of the colony – It really takes a highly trained technician to provide long-term results.

Ant farming aphids

Ants “farm” aphids. They don’t eat them but provide protection from predators in exchange for the sweet honeydew aphids emit.

Ants can be treated with either organic or traditional pesticides by your Hearts Pest Management professional.

He/she has access to effective materials, application equipment, and IPM methods to treat ants while, at the same time, preventing contamination to the environment.

Hearts service technicians will use pesticides only when necessary and as a comprehensive pest management plan tailored to your needs.

It’s unrealistic to eliminate ants from the outside entirely; they are beneficial to the environment in many ways, such as aerating the soil, and eating decomposed matter.

Ants nesting outdoors may be associated with plants that support large populations of their favorite honeydew making insects – aphids.

Controlling aphids and other scale insects can curb the ant population around your home and keep your plants looking healthy.

Landscape Pest Management

Leaf Damage by Snails

Leaf Damage by Snails

Hearts Pest Management can take care of a wide variety of landscape pests including whitefly, fungus, fleas, grubs, rose slugs, gophers and squirrels.

Our approach to landscape pest control is by first examining every non-pesticide way to manage outdoor pests. Then review the needs of our customers and provide customized solutions to managing their garden landscape.

Our Palos Verdes Estates homeowners want the pests to go away without harming their children, pets or garden crops.

Hearts provides landscape inspections free-of-charge and offers both traditional and organic methods for treating landscape pests. We work with homeowners that have special needs or chemically sensitive environments.

Roses and Tulips

Roses and other flowers such as these tulips are often infested with aphids.

Rose Slug

Rose Slugs “skeletonize” the leaves of rose bushes.

All of our service professionals practice Integrated Pest Management solutions for maintaining your garden landscape.

We take care in preventing harm to beneficial insects such as lady bugs, praying mantis, honeybees, and garden orb-weavers.

Roses get tiny green caterpillars that look like inch worms called “Rose Slugs” that come from the Sawfly. Damage from rose slugs causes skeletonization of the leaves.

Summer pests on roses also include aphids, powdery mildew, rust, and black spot.

Whiteflies usually are found on the underside of the leaf of hibiscus and other types of trees.

They cause leaves to yellow and appear dried out. Both whiteflies and aphids excrete honeydew which attracts ants.

Hibiscus flower and whitefly

Hibiscus trees often become infested with whiteflies.

Did you know that rats eat snails? If you have a lot of snails, you could be attracting rats!

Gophers, Rats and Mice, Oh My!

Living in a luxurious home, one may wonder, “How is it possible to have rats?”

Because, even newer homes have gaps around piping and other nooks and crannies where rodents can squeeze in and make their way indoors; especially if you live near open areas of natural habitat and large landscapes.

Mice can squeeze through an opening the size of a dime and rats will use that opening, gnaw at it with their sharp teeth until it’s large enough for them to squeeze through.

Besides droppings, rats leave evidence of what’s called “grease rubs.” The oil from the abdomen of rats and mice leave dark, greasy spots near the access points where they’re getting in.

House Mouse

House Mouse

You know you definitely have rats if you hear noises in the ceiling or there’s a bad smell coming from one of your walls. Sometimes, you can hear rats in the middle of the night when they’re most active.

Once rats are in your attic, they destroy the insulation by urinating on it; breathing in the contaminated insulation and feces through air vents can transmit diseases to you and your family.

Hearts provides trapping and remediation, exclusions (blocking off where the rats and mice got in), as well as clean-up of the attic.

Your service professional may also recommend a monthly rodent baiting service to keep rats out of the yard and garage.

Gophers cause damage to landscapes

Gophers cause major havoc in grass and garden landscapes.

We provide rodent control of rats, mice, gophers, and squirrels.

Monthly gopher and/or squirrel baiting is recommended to keep landscapes from being ruin and riddled with holes.

We offer rodent inspections free-of-charge to Palos Verdes Estate residents.

Here's a review of our pest control services we at Hearts can offer Palos Verdes Estate residents and business owners:

  • general pest control
  • green and organic pest control - certified!
  • residential, commercial and landscape pest control
  • rat, mice and bird control with complete programs to stop entry and clean up all the mess and contamination
  • bee removal and honeycomb cleanup
  • gopher control
  • cockroach elimination
  • flies and fleas
  • landscape pruning and modifications

To schedule a service or a free inspection, please call today for a caring Hearts Pest Service Representative at:

800-986-1006

You can also fill out the form below to obtain more information regarding both our traditional and organic pest management services./

Call Now 1-800-986-1006 or complete the form below

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Hearts Pest Management Staff

Hearts Pest Management Staff