Dealing with an ant infestation inside of your home is extremely frustrating.  Homes have many places for ants to hide and nest on the inside as well as on the outside of the home.  One particularly annoying ant is the odorous house ant.  This pesky ant is notoriously hard to treat throughout New Jersey as well as the entire United States.  It has earned its name well by the distinct sweet smelling rotten coconut stench that it emits when it is squished.

The odorous house ant nest is commonly found outdoors just below the soil surface, in mulch, under rock beds, in woodpiles, in flower pots, under siding, and under pavement stones.  Once they break away from their outdoor nesting site, homeowners often find them indoors occupying wall voids, under carpets or wood floors, in potted plants, and even in appliances.  Do-it-yourselfers beware, using a store-bought ant spray will cause these ants to scatter.  Once they scatter, the colony will relocate and often times disperse into satellite colonies thereby spreading the infestation.

Controlling odorous house ant infestations can be a difficult endeavor.  Heritage Pest Control’s technicians are trained to find ant nesting sites so that full eradication can be achieved.

Carpenter ants cause huge problems for homeowners throughout New Jersey.  These pests do most of their damage at night as they are typically nocturnal creatures.  Like termites, they cause thousands of dollars in damage to New Jersey homes each year.  Once they decide to invade a structure, an entire colony numbering into the thousands can move inside overnight.

Unlike termites which eat wood sources, carpenter ants excavate wood to make their nests.  When they migrate into a structure, they move their eggs, larvae and pupae with them in one massive move.  Carpenter ants need moisture to survive.  Wood that is damaged by rain, leaking faucets or pipes, water heaters, soffits, or gutters, are an open invitation for carpenter ants to come indoors.

Carpenter ant nests are often found under floors, in wall voids, under roofing material, in or under kitchen or bathroom cabinets, or any place where moisture has damaged wood sources.  A New Jersey pest control technician is trained to find carpenter ant nesting spots so that they can be stopped before too much damage can be inflicted.
 

Apartment buildings and other buildings such as hotels, motels, condos, and townhouses that have bed bugs are faced with huge challenges when it comes to eradicating the infestations.  Shared walls allow bed bugs ample places to hide and multiply.  Multi-unit buildings allow bed bugs the opportunity to move from unit to unit establishing a presence.  Bed bugs use the electrical wiring, plumbing, and cables to travel with ease from victim to victim.

Many multi-unit buildings make the mistake of providing treatment to the unit that they believe that the bed bugs are infesting.  At the very minimum, the units above, below, and on each adjoining side of the known infested unit must receive treatment from a pest control professional in order to stop a bed bug infestation.  The best way to achieve eradication however is to treat the entire building at one time so that surviving bed bugs do not have the opportunity to re-establish themselves in the same or other units within the building.

Bed bugs are aggressive creatures that require an aggressive approach to eliminating their presence.  Many strains of bed bugs are pesticide resistant so they can be very difficult to eradicate.  A licensed pest control operator who uses Integrated Pest Management techniques can help eradicate bed bugs in all types of buildings.

A University of South Carolina student and her family have learned the hard way just how cleaver bed bugs can be.  According to WISTV.Com the student claims that she moved into an off-site campus apartment building at the beginning of the new school semester.  It did not take long for her sleep to become disrupted by bloodsucking bed bugs.  The nocturnal nibblers began their nightly attacks soon after her arrival.  The student claims that her furniture was new when she moved into the apartment complex so it is impossible that she brought the bed bugs in with her.

Unable to withstand the nightly attacks, the student moved back home while her apartment was in the process of being treated for the bugs.  Unbeknownst to her, the bed bugs apparently hitched a ride home to her mother’s house.  It did not take long for the bugs to infiltrate the family home as well.  The family has had to endure months of nightly attacks and costly bed bug treatments to try to rid their home of the nasty nibblers.  To date, both the apartment and the family home still have bed bugs!  You may read the article here.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion.

Mice are prolific breeders.  A pregnant female mouse carries her litter for 18 to 21 days.  On average each mouse litter contains five or six pups per birthing cycle, but it would not be uncommon for a litter to contain as little as three pups or as many as a twelve pup off-spring.  Male and female mice are capable of breeding as early as five weeks of age, but typically females mature at six weeks and males at eight weeks.  The lifespan of a wild mouse is approximately 12 to 18 months and a female mouse can produce at least five litters during that timeframe.

Mice need food, water, and shelter to survive.  They are nocturnal creatures that do not typically venture more than ten feet from their nesting site.  Once a mouse has invaded a home, it will not leave on its own accord.  Hiring a northern New Jersey pest control professional that has experience in mice removal is key eliminating these pests.  For expert services in Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Morris County, Passaic County, and West Essex County contact Heritage Pest Control.

When a homeless shelter becomes infested with bed bugs, there is not always a huge rush to provide bed bug eradication services.  More times than not, shelters are financially strapped and are unable to come up with the funds needed to kill the bloodsuckers.

KPRC reported on January 20, 2012 that women and children are being attacked by bed bugs at a homeless shelter in Webster, Texas.  Out of desperation to keep the bed bugs from biting her small children, “one woman claims she had to buy plastic crates to put her babies in so they don’t get bitten.”  Another woman said that her daughter “was in bed for one hour and she had 50 bites on her legs.”  You may read the article here.

Some types of pests, such as cockroaches, thrive in filth ridden environments.  Having bed bugs is not a sanitation issue, although clutter does provide ample places for them to hide.  Bed bugs survive solely on blood, preferably from humans.  Bed bug infestations are difficult to control without the help of a licensed pest control professional who has experience with bed bug eradication.

On February 5, 2010, a pest control company was hired to kill voles at a residence in Utah.  According to reports, during the treatment of the property, the pest control technician administered poison too close to the family home.  Soon after the poison was administered, the two small daughters (4 years old and 15 months), became ill when the gases from the pesticide leaked into the walls of the structure of their home.  Both girls sustained extensive lung damage as a result of their exposure to the gas, and soon died from their injuries.

Initially, the pest control technician and the company that he worked for did not admit any wrongdoing in administering the pesticide.  Fox13now.com reported on January 6, 2012 that the pest control technician has since admitted that his actions “lead to the deaths” of the two girls.  He was sentenced to 36 months of probation and given a $3,000 fine for his actions.  The pest control company maintains that there was no wrongdoing, but was also given the same sentencing in this matter.  You may read the article here.

Pest control technicians have an obligation to provide services to their customers without causing harm.  Heritage Pest Control has been providing northern NJ pest control services to customers for over 22 years and safety is a top priority for our knowledgeable staff.

Screened attic vents, soffits, and even attached roofing material are no match for the skill and desire of a raccoon.  The arrival of nuisance wildlife can occur at any moment in time.  They tend to invade human structures to have access to food, water and shelter.  In order to eliminate raccoons and other nuisance wildlife from your home, it’s imperative that a professional evaluation be completed so that entry points can be discovered, damage assessed, and a proper treatment or exclusion plan designed.

Heritage Pest Control reports that wild animals are not only difficult to eliminate from a structure, they can also be dangerous to encounter, especially when they are defending their young.  In addition to animal encounter issues, the urine and feces left behind by invading nuisance wildlife can be harmful to humans.

Heritage Pest Control offers expert wildlife exclusion, humane trapping and removal services to Northern New Jersey residents.  Call us today to see how our wildlife control program can help you.

Bed bugs continue to make their comeback from their near eradication due to the banned pesticide DDT years ago. The CDC said most cases involved pesticides containing pyrethroids and pyrethins. The Center goes on to say it was the use of these chemicals by noncertified, inexperienced people led to the problems that included dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. The return of bed bugs has been a New Jersey pest problem for some time, and this story shows that we are not alone.

Bed bugs gather in small areas near your bed and they crawl out of these cracks and other hiding places to bite at night. They are dependent on the blood of humans and other animals. They do not normally transmit diseases, but obviously their presence can cause health trouble if pesticides to combat them are used improperly. Your New Jersey pest professional  has the certification and experience with the chemicals and other measures to safely rid your home of bed bugs once and for all.

These bugs have an inner clock that is now telling them its time to move where it will be warmer and that could very well be your home. Insect populations are usually higher near the end of the summer and that means you have an even better chance of seeing them in your house. An increase in insect populations may have you going to the store and getting traps, baits and cans of insecticide but this isn’t always the best plan.

A better strategy would be to contact your New Jersey pest control technician. This professional will follow a course of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) services to eliminate insects and restore order to your home. In addition to eliminating any pests inside they will check your exterior and identify areas that may be inviting insects into your home. They can make repairs to wood and siding that the bugs can use as an entry way.

This total approach can be done once or you can sign up for a seasonal service plan to help keep your home pest free. Use the New Jersey pest pro to give you the upper hand in insect control.