NJ pest control professionals receive many calls about the yellow sac spiders that are creeping about both indoors and outdoors in New Jersey homes and businesses.  Yellow sac spiders are one of three types of sac spiders that exist within New Jersey.  During the fall, these larger sized sac spiders find their way indoors through cracks in the concrete, door openings, gaps in the windows, or through crawl spaces.  Once they come inside, they make silken nests in the corner of a ceiling where they will rest until it is dark.  Sometimes they are spotted running across the ceiling.  If they are spooked, they will drop to the floor and quickly head for cover.

Yellow sac spiders are not poisonous but they are believed to be the spider that causes the most amounts of bites both indoors and outdoors in New Jersey.  Sac spider bite wounds tend to leave red, itchy marks where the spider took its bite.  A sac bite is likened to that of a bee sting and often requires medical attention due to the fact that the tissue dies where the bite occurred.  For help eliminating yellow sac spiders or other troubling indoor or outdoor insects, contact a NJ pest control professional like Heritage Pest Control.

Wild mice are known to transmit dangerous viruses such as “Hantavirus” to humans.  Hantavirus is a respiratory disease which leads to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.  The respiratory disease is dangerous in that it mimics flu-like symptoms in many ways yet quickly damages healthy lung tissue.  Hantavirus can be transmitted through the saliva, urine, or fecal matter of infected mice.  People become ill with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome after breathing in air that has been contaminated with the dangerous virus.

Keep your home or business safe from this dangerous disease is critical.  A NJ pest control professional like Heritage Pest Control will be able get rid of mice and repair the damage that they have caused they leave in their wake. Call us today to hear about out or excellent service.

It would be extremely uncommon for moles or voles to happen to find their way indoors as they are perfectly comfortable living in the outdoor environment all year long.  Both moles and voles live almost completely underground and are rarely spotted by humans.  The best way of determining that they are present is by the damage that they leave behind.

Most people have a difficult time telling the difference between mole and vole tunneling systems.  Vole runways are about two inches wide and are constructed close to the surface of the ground.  It is estimated that up to five hundred voles can travel the runways, which can be quite extensive.  The feeding tunnels serve as a way for these rodents to eat grass, grub, earth worms, and other types of insects that the critters come across.  In addition to the runways, moles will form runway systems that run deeper down in the earth and connect various feeding tunnels.   These deeper tunnels form mounds in the yard for which the moles are known for.  Other tracking systems that are left in the soil can be from either a vole or a mole.

Homeowners are not typically successful at catching moles or voles as they are fast and tricky pests and poisoning them will place children and pets at risk.  Controlling moles and voles requires the help of an experienced NJ pest control professional.  Contact us today for expert NJ pest eradication services.

Voles are often referred to as meadow mice or field mice.  Voles are however, not mice-like, except for the small body and perhaps even the color of fur that they have.  It might be surprising to learn that there are approximately 70 different species of voles that live throughout the state of New Jersey.

Moles and voles look somewhat similar and they both cause damage to areas around New Jersey homes and businesses.  Both types of outdoor creatures are rarely ever seen, but they make their presence well known by the damage that they cause to grass, shrubs, and the base areas of trees.  Grass damage occurs when these rodents consume actual grass blades and also create runways which make a lawn look unsightly.  Moles and voles will burrow into the root systems of young shrubs and trees causing them to lean or give way completely.  Moles and voles are active year-round as they work to create their intricate tunneling systems.  These rodents will even use the cover of snow to hide the chewing action which occurs at the bottom of trees.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion.

Ticks are arachnids which survive solely by eating the blood from a wide variety of hosts that they encounter.  Ticks live in wooded areas, forests, areas with brush, high grassy areas, and lawn and garden areas.

Ticks are opportunistic feeders.  Any person, pet, or wild animal that crosses the path of a hungry tick is subject to having a tick attach themselves to them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone should protect themselves against ticks year-round, but especially during the warmer months (April through September) because this is the time that ticks are most active.

Use an insect repellent when spending any time outdoors to help protect yourself against ticks.  For the best protection from ticks, insect repellents should contain 20% or more DEET.  Use repellent on exposed skin and on clothing for the best possible protection.  Insect repellent will also help to keep bloodsucking mosquitos from biting as well.

Ticks will bite exposed skin as well as skin that is covered up.  Ticks are tiny and are able to cling to clothing.  They are experts at being able to find a place to slip under clothing in order to satisfy their need for blood.

Heritage Pest Control can help to protect your home from ticks and other types of unwanted pests.

Mice may look adorable, especially when they are young, but don’t let their cute looks fool you.  They are small, have a hairless tail and slightly bulging eyes.  Fertile females have the potential give birth to 10 litters of mice each year!  Each litter of mice will consist of five to six young.  Each of those mice are able to reproduce once they reach approximately 30 days of age.  These staggering numbers mean that three small mice can multiply into 60 mice in only three short months.

Mice are unsanitary as they leave behind a constant stream of urine and fecal matter in their wake.  The urine, fecal matter, and saliva of mice are known to carry pathogens that can cause serious and life threatening diseases to humans.  Mice infestations should be handled by a licensed NJ pest control expert like Heritage Pest Control.  We also provide rodent exclusion services and services to repair the damages that mice and other rodents cause.  Call us today!

Carpenter ants are known for their destructive behavior and are often confused with termites, especially during the springtime when both types of winged reproductives take flight from the nest so that they can create new nesting sites. Carpenter ants however do look different in that they have elbowed antenna and the termites only have non-elbowed antenna.  Carpenter ants have a skinny waist and termites have a broad waist.  Carpenter ants have 2 larger set of wings and 2 smaller set of wings.  Termites have 4 wings, all the same size.

Carpenter ants are often seen foraging for food, but termites are not ever seen by the typical NJ resident.  Termites live underground and create tunneling systems so they can travel to and from their intended target.  There the worker termites will grab tiny bits of wood and bring it back to their nesting site.  Termites live and work within the mud tubs that they create as they are not able to withstand exposure to the sun, wind, heat, and other elements.

Worker termites work 24 hours a day, 7 days per week and live about 2 years. The queen termite can live over 20 years and is an egg laying machine.  Only a NJ pest control professional can eliminate termites and carpenter ants completely.  Contact Heritage Pest Control for expert termite and carpenter ant eradication services.

One of the questions most often asked to NJ pest control professionals is…”How do I tell the difference between termites and carpenter ants?”   Here is some helpful information…

Despite the cold temperatures of New Jersey, carpenter ants can appear within a home at any time of year.  These pests can exist within walls, under roofing material, under carpeting or wood flooring, behind cabinets, in attics, in crawlspaces or any other place that provides ample hiding locations.

Carpenter ants are attracted to a home that has rotting, wet damaged wood.  Carpenter ants do not consume wood; rather they use their mandibles to rip into wood as they dig a tunnel through it.  You may notice a pile of tiny wood shavings that are tossed aside when carpenter ants are present within a building.  Carpenter ants create tunnels through the wood, and galleries in which they store their food, create their nurseries, and escape the elements.

Carpenter ant infestations are difficult to eliminate as once discovered, the ants will grab their eggs and disperse as quickly as possible.  A New Jersey pest control professional will be able to properly eradicate carpenter ants and stop their destructive behavior.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion.

Most people do not realize that it’s easy to identify one particular type of common household ant species…the odorous house ant.  These types of ants can be found in New Jersey as well as other areas throughout the United States.  The odorous house ant has earned its name by the somewhat unpleasant smell (likened to that of a rotting coconut) that they emit once they are squished.

Besides being stinky, the odorous house ant is known for being particularly difficult to eradicate report NJ pest control professionals.  Homeowners that find odorous house ants crawling around their homes may instinctively reach for the ant spray to kill the invasive pests.  They might be surprised to know that store bought sprays will kill the ants on contact, but the surviving ants will detect the pesticides and send an alarm pheromone out to the rest of the colony.  They will in turn scatter for protection.  As the ants scatter, additional satellite colonies are formed which makes controlling this type of ant species particularly difficult.

A licensed NJ pest control professional like Heritage Pest Control knows how to identify and provide the proper treatment to all types of ant species.  Contact us today for expert help with ants and other invasive pests.

Will store bought bug bombs kill stink bugs in my home?

• Bug bombs have proven to be ineffective at controlling a wide variety of pests.  Stink bugs that are directly exposed to a bug bomb (i.e…perhaps one crawling on the wall) may succumb to the poison, but those hiding in walls, attic, baseboards, etc. will not be affected.  Additionally, bug bombs will not keep stink bugs from coming into a structure so they are considered to be useless against this stinky pest.

How can you help scientists understand the spread of the brown marmorated stink bug?

Entomologists at Rutgers – New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station are interested in obtaining stink bug specimens from New Jersey residents as well as residents in other parts of the United States.  Residents are encouraged to place live or dead (not squished) stink bug specimens in empty pill bottles and send them to: Rutgers University New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station 88 Lipman Drive New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8525 The specimens that are collected will provide valuable information to scientists. For those who do not wish to send actual specimens, clear digital photographs are also helpful to entomologists.  Those can be sent to: stinkbug@njaes.rutgers.edu.

How do I control this stinky pest?

• NJ pest control experts recommend sealing up cracks and crevices to prevent stink bugs from gaining access to a home.  Check to make sure that all screens on windows are intact and fit tightly as stink bugs can squeeze through small spaces.  Hiring a licensed NJ pest control professional like Heritage Pest Control for stink bug elimination is an excellent decision.