Crickie's New Jersey Pest Control Tips

Carpet beetles are a persistent household and commercial pest in northern New Jersey which is home to several species of this voracious insect. These small, 3/8-inch long black beetles were given their name for their appetite for carpeting, but these insects can cause significant damage to a wide variety of fiber and wood products as well as stored foods.

Carpet beetles present a serious problem for clothing, furniture and fabric manufacturers, storage facilities and retailers. These voracious pests feed primarily on dried animal and plant products but will also consume synthetic fibers. They can cause extensive damage to wool carpets, wood products, furs and hides, feathers, hair, silk, linen, cotton and rayon. A bane to museums in northern New Jersey, carpet beetles pose a serious threat to exhibit pieces, particularly fabrics and taxidermy.

Carpet beetles are also a significant stored products pest and can wreak havoc in food storage facilities and distribution centers where they will feed on cereal, stored grains, nuts, meal and maize used for animal fodder. When carpet beetles invade northern New Jersey homes, they can damage carpets, furniture, stored furs and clothing, and contaminate food supplies.

A home protection plan that provides regular inspections and treatment by a northern New Jersey pest control professional can keep carpet beetles from invading your home.

Most people describe them as tiny, gray armadillos. Called pillbugs but also known as wood lice, these small pests are not actually insects but tiny crustaceans like shrimp and crayfish. Pillbugs have seven pairs of legs attached like fringe to flat, oval bodies. Their bodies are covered with overlapping protective plates that give them their armadillo-like appearance. When disturbed, pillbugs curl up into a distinctive protective ball. 

From 1/2 to 3/4 inch long and gray to brown in color, these damp-loving pests are typically found in basements and under garden rocks. Pillbugs feed on decaying organic matter and have a particular taste for garden mulch. You may see dozens of them scurrying for cover when you turn the compost pile or rake garden mulch.

Pillbugs typically live in dark, damp outdoor environments. Unfortunately, the unusually hot weather that has blanketed northern New Jersey this summer has sent scores of these pests scurrying indoors in search of moisture. In northern New Jersey, pillbugs are becoming a problem not just in basements and crawl spaces but in bathrooms and laundry rooms. 

An annoying but not harmful New Jersey nuisance pest, pillbugs are one of many common household pests covered by Heritage Pest Control’s Home Protection Plan. Our Home Protection Plans provide regularly scheduled home inspections and pest control treatments by experienced northern New Jersey pest control professionals. Home Protection Plans keep your northern New Jersey home safe and pest-free year round. Visit our website to find out more.

Insect and animal pests not only present a health risk to you and your family, they can cause hundreds, even thousands of dollars in damage to your northern New Jersey home. Professional pest control companies can get rid of invasive pests, but what about the damage to your property? It may be weeks before you can get a handyman to come to your home and make necessary repairs. While you’re waiting, your home is exposed to new infestations. New pests can find their way into your home through unfilled cracks and holes, dryer vents, crawl spaces, chimneys, etc.

The only way to permanently keep pests out of your northern New Jersey home is to replace or repair areas damaged by pests to deter new infestations. Possible pest entry points must also be located and sealed off to prevent re-entry and the conditions that attracted pests to your home, such as water damage and clogged gutters, must be eliminated.

Heritage Pest Control offers convenient Home Damage Repair Services to assist northern New Jersey homeowners in protecting their families and their property. No waiting until your number comes up on the handyman’s schedule. No struggling to make repairs yourself. Heritage Pest Control’s experienced Home Damage Repair Service can repair pest damage and make pest exclusion modifications immediately. For complete information on our home repair services, please visit our website.

When you see a cockroach skitter across your kitchen floor or find ants crawling on the counter, you need a northern New Jersey pest control company — fast! But how do you choose?

Here’s what to look for when selecting a New Jersey pest control firm:

• Longevity of service. You can count on a northern New Jersey pest control firm that has been part of your community for decades to be around when you need help. Pest control firms don’t stay in business if they don’t do a good job. A firm with a long history in your community is a sign of customer satisfaction. Family-owned and operated, Heritage Pest Control has been serving the residents of Bergin, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties for more than 20 years.
• License and training. For your safety, choose a licensed New Jersey pest control firm like Heritage. Licensure indicates  knowledge of appropriate pest control techniques and use of EPA-approved products. Heritage’s commitment to continuing education ensures that our pest control professionals are skilled in the latest techniques. 
• Service flexibility. Some pest control firms only sell one-year service contracts. Heritage offers one-time service and home protection plans to meet all your needs.
• Speedy service. When you have a pest control problem, you want help NOW! Heritage monitors its phones after hours and can usually provide same day response to your pest emergencies.
• Repair service. When pests damage your home, Heritage’s home damage repair service comes to the rescue.

When they pour out of a patio crack and head for the potato salad, ants are an unwelcome guest at northern New Jersey picnics. One of the most numerous species on the planet, ants account for nearly 25% of the Earth’s total animal biomass. That means that of all of the living beings on the planet, nearly a quarter of them are ants! Northern New Jersey homeowners who have suffered an invasion of these persistent insects can attest to their seemingly endless numbers.

More than 12,500 ant species of have been identified, although, fortunately, only a handful reside in northern New Jersey. Even so, their habit of living in massive colonies of thousands, even millions of individuals makes ant control and elimination a real headache if these tiny insects get a toehold in your home. Particularly attracted by sweets, ants will eat nearly anything humans consume. Their minute size allows ants to easily penetrate food boxes and containers, contaminating the food inside. Huge colonies can develop in relatively small spaces behind cabinetry, in wall voids, under countertops and behind baseboards. The only way to completely annihilate an ant colony is with professional pest control.

Professional northern New Jersey ant control experts use non-repellent insecticides to create a barrier of death. Ants walk through or feed on these products, transporting the poison back to the colony where it is spread during feeding and grooming, eventually killing the entire colony.

Bed bugs shut down the Lenox Hill Victoria’s Secret store in Manhattan this week, sending ripples of concern through the northern New Jersey retail community. Coming on the heels of bed bug infestations that closed two popular NYC Abercrombie and Fitch Hollister stores in SoHo and South Street Seaport over the busy 4th of July weekend, this most recent store closing is indicative of the growing prevalence of bed bugs in everyday American life.

Until this year, reports of bed bug infestations have centered largely on multi-family apartments and condominiums, hotels and motels, public housing and college dorms — all settings that cater to dense, highly transient populations that could be expected to increase the risk of bed bug infestation. This year, however, bed bug complaints have been increasing across the country and particularly in northern New Jersey in schools, private residences, movie theaters, hospitals, nursing homes  — and retail establishments.

Heritage Pest Control has developed a proprietary blend of EPA-approved pest control chemicals that have proven highly effective in controlling bed bugs while protecting the safety of families and customers. Our expert pest control technicians partner with northern New Jersey retailers and residents to implement pest management techniques that reduce the risk of bed bug infestations. Don’t let bed bugs damage your commercial reputation; call Heritage Pest Control today.

Bed bugs have become such a serious problem in the northern New Jersey area that some people are resulting to drastic measures to gain relief from these noxious blood-sucking pests. New Jersey pest control companies hear horror stories every day of people bathing their children with insecticides, soaking mattresses in gasoline or ransacking garage shelves for more powerful pesticides in hope of finding something to kill the bed bugs lurking in their beds.

In America, insecticides and pesticides are tested and licensed for use in different settings: residential, commercial or agricultural. Certain pesticides are available for consumer use; more potent chemicals are reserved for use by properly trained professionals. Pesticide use is strictly governed by the EPA, so it’s rare to hear of a pest control firm misusing these potent chemicals.

Reputable northern New Jersey pest control firms like Heritage Pest Control were concerned to hear that a Newark firm, TVF Pest Control, has been cited by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental  Protection (DEP) for using unapproved garden insecticides to spray inside homes to combat bed bugs. DEP ordered an immediate clean up of all affected residences and buildings, primarily located in Essex, Hudson and Union counties.

A respected company that has been providing northern New Jersey homes and businesses with expert professional pest control services for more than 20 years, Heritage Pest Control protects the safety of our customers by using only EPA-approved pesticides. We also offer green pest control that uses completely pesticide-free natural organic compounds. The health and safety of our customers is our primary concern.

Expert northern New Jersey pest control companies provide warranties for many of their services. Pest control warranties ensure homeowners and business owners that the pest control company stands behind its work. Warranties protect your investment in your home or business and are your insurance against future pest attack.

Typically, pest control companies in northern New Jersey provide 1-year warranties on Home Protection Plans and termite control services, both bait system and liquid termiticide treatments. In most cases, 1-year warranties are renewable at a considerable savings over the initial cost of pest control services. An average 85% to 90% of Heritage Termite Plan and Home Protection Plan customers choose to renew their annual warranties because of the value and security they provide.

Pest control warranty services provide northern New Jersey home and business owners with value and peace of mind. Annual renewal of pest control warranties ensures that your home or business receive regular inspections by pest control professionals trained to recognize potential pest problems and eliminate them quickly. Warranty customers can call Heritage any time they have a pest concern and receive prompt treatment at no additional charge.

Here at Heritage Pest Control, we stand behind our pest control services. If pests return, so will we! Our goal is to provide our customers in Bergen, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties with superior, problem-free pest control services. If pests are pestering you, give the pest control experts at Heritage Pest Control a call today.

If you see signs of termite activity at your northern New Jersey home, it is important to contact an experienced termite control expert to prevent additional damage from occurring. Termites invade 4 out of 5 homes in Bergen, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties every year. Living in massive underground colonies that can number in the hundreds of thousands, these voracious wood-eating insects can do considerable damage to your home’s structural wood and even cause structural collapse.

Northern New Jersey pest control companies use two methods to rid homes of termites and protect them from re-infestation: bait systems and liquid pesticides. The success of both termite control methods requires expert application of professional-grade termiticides by experienced northern New Jersey pest control professionals.

The Exterra Bait System uses termites’ biology and social habits to eliminate the entire termite colony. Cylindrical bait stations are installed in the ground around the affected structure and baited with pesticide-laced food. Foraging termites eat the poison, then feed it to colony members via regurgitation. Eventually the entire colony dies. Annual monitoring of bait stations prevents future termite attacks.

Termidor Liquid Application is a non-repellant termiticide that creates a pesticide barrier around infested structures. As foraging termites move through the barrier, poison clings to their bodies and is spread through the entire colony during normal grooming rituals, killing the colony.

If your New Jersey home has suffered termite invasion, it is important to continue annual inspections through a yearly termite warranty to keep your home termite free.

Termites may be gnawing away on your northern New Jersey home. These usually unseen wood-destroying pests live in massive nests deep underground leaving little sign of their destruction until considerable damage has occurred. Termites will damage 1 in 5 homes in Bergen, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties this year. Nationwide, these stealthy insect pests cause more than $5 billion in damage annually.

Capable of consuming 1 lineal foot of 2×4 timber every 120 days, a large termite colony can do thousands of dollars in damage to your home’s structural wood before you realize you have a problem. The size of a rice grain, the Eastern Subterranean Termite, the only termite species active in northern New Jersey, is 1/8 to 1/4 inch long with a white, oval, wingless body. Termites feed on but do not live in wood. They require high moisture levels to keep their unprotected bodies from drying out so live deep underground where soil moisture content is fairly constant. Termites are attracted to damp, damaged wood but will expand foraging into dry, healthy wood as colony needs increase.

Examine wood structures like porch posts or basement foundation walls for signs of deterioration. Puddles of “flying ants” indicate termite activity. Also look for pencil-sized mud transit tubes on floors and walls. If you see signs of termite activity, call a termite extermination expert to stop damage and prevent termites from returning. More on that next time.