Spring Cleaning Pest Control Tips

Warming temperatures and increased rain, starting from March through May, results with insects such as ants, sow bugs, earwigs, flies and of cause mosquitoes to spring into action. Ticks and fleas are a major concern as well due to the relatively warm winter in which they survived. Rodents like mice and rats add to the problem as they are always happy to invade homes and businesses year-round.

What can homeowners do to protect their family and friends from these pesky, disease carrying invaders? What can business owners do to protect their employees and/or customers?

Spring Into Action

There are three things that insects and rodents need for survival and to reproduce, they are:
1. Food
2. Water
3. Shelter

Let's begin with food. Insects and rodents are small, so it doesn't take much to satisfy their hunger. If you keep garbage cans and/or dumpsters clean and keep the lids on them, pest will be forced to find food somewhere else. It's even helpful to have dumpsters and garbage cans treated at least once a month during the spring and summer as an added protection.

                                                                           

Replace cans and lids if they have holes in them. Holes in the lids not only allow access but allows rainwater to collect in the cans which can result in a breeding area for mosquitoes.

Let's consider water. Insects and rodents thrive when water and moisture are readily available, in fact like humans they can go longer without food than water. Eliminating water and moisture around the foundation, crawlspaces, basements and attics is very important. Take a look at the condition of your downspouts as an example.


 

If your downspouts are damaged or not working properly, water can accumulate around the foundation and slowly seep down into the basement creating an excellent environment for insects and rodents to breed. Even if you don't have a basement water sitting around a slab on grade brings insects of all types. Downspouts should extend at least six feet. Additionally, the grading around a structure should have enough of a slope so rainwater can drain away. Also make sure gutters are clean, free of leaves and dirt, and properly in place.


Finally let's take a look a shelter.  Outdoors, rodents have to move about undercover, that's because they're constantly hunted by predators like birds and cats. Keeping grass cut low and eliminating weeds will help keeps rodents at bay. Low cut grass and a weed free perimeter makes them easily seen by predators and so will discourage them from coming around the property. Keeping firewood away from the exterior walls will help reduce termite and carpenter ant infestation. It's wise to keep the perimeter of the structure as dry as possible, so remove items that will create a cover for insects and that holds moisture.

Cutting vegetation back at least one foot away from the structure will also keep rodents and insects from invading your home or business.

If vegetation is allowed to grow on the building it will only invite both insects and rodents. The pictures to the right and left are great examples of maintenance that was neglected at this house. As a result of this overgrowth mice, bugs, mosquitoes and mold growth was found both inside and outside the house creating an unhealthy environment. Repairing doors, screens, windows, attic louvers, thresholds and cracks on the exterior walls will help keep unwanted guess away.

 Be aware of wood mulch. Wood mulch looks nice and enhances the appearance of plant beds. It's also great for plants as wood mulch retains moisture to the plant's roots, thus reducing the need for watering, but it also attracts wood destroying insects. Having wood mulch treated with Eco friendly products monthly helps reduce wood destroying insect infestation.


Keeping pest away takes a little time and effort. If you want to keep spring and summer pest from taking over your home or business, then spring maintenance is not an option. Your local pest control professional will also be happy to give you tips and help with any pest control needs or concerns you may have.

Raccoons - Signs Of Their Presence

Raccoons are fairly large animals. They range in size and weight from 12 - 36 pounds and their bodies can range from 26 - 38 inches long, including an on average 10-inch tail. Raccoons can be found in great numbers in both urban and suburban environments. In urban areas, for example, raccoons can reach densities of 100 or more per square mile. They are highly adaptable and will eat whatever is available, such as fish, birds, insects, worms, crops, acorns, fruit, seeds pet food and garbage in garbage cans/dumpsters. It's little wonder that more home owners are having encounters with them.

Raccoons are not territorial; they make homes in a number of areas covering a distance of about one mile in diameter. If there is a good feeding area though, they will fight to establish dominance. Some places they make their home are up in trees, tree cavities hollow logs, rock crevices, sewers, abandoned autos and burrows. Often they make their way to residential properties such as chimneys, attics, crawlspaces, porches, sheds, and garages. So how can you tell if its raccoons in or around your home?

                                                                 

                                                Signs of Raccoons                   

Here are a few things to look for to determine if you have raccoons in and around your property:

• Visual sightings - if you are seeing them walking about in or around your yard, they may be nesting in or on your property, or may be dining on garbage, bird seeds or pet food left outside.

• Feces(scat) - feces are usually dark, tubular 2.75-5.9 inches long with blunt ends. Often it can be found on lawns, base of trees and on the flat part of a roof or in the valley of the roof. If found on the roof its usually in front of where they're entering the structure.

• Tracks - like people, they are flatfooted. All four paws have five abnormally long toes. Their tracks are generally described as miniature human footprints with the exception of abnormally long toes.

• Lawn damage - in their efforts to find and eat grubs, worms, snails and other insects, raccoons  roll up large areas of grass, damaging many sections of the lawn. If raccoon traffic is heavy a trail will be left in the grass.

• Crop damage - if you grow corn, you'll find plenty that are partially eaten as well as broken stalks. Watermelons too will be damaged in the form of holes in the rinds as raccoons will eat the seeds and flesh of the watermelons. Blueberries, blackberries etc. are also on the menu.

• Sounds - sounds include hisses, grunts, barks, and growls. When attacked they make a series of piercing snarling screams. The young pups especially make lots of noise; their cries are often mistaken for birds. Home owners often report loud thumping and banging sounds in the attic which is due to the raccoons movement, fighting or playing.

• Fish ponds - they love fish and have been known to raid fish ponds. The raid generally occurs at night often resulting in damage to plants in the ponds when raccoons struggle to catch the fish.

• Garbage cans - home owners also report that their garbage cans are knocked over and garbage is found all over the ground.

                                                                Call the Pros

If you experience any of these signs, then you have raccoons. They may appear to be cute and friendly, but remember they are wild animals and can be very aggressive. They are the primary carriers of rabies and roundworms. The feces can harbor the eggs of Baylisascaris procyonis, a dangerous species of roundworms.

If you have any encounters with raccoons, or suspect you have them anywhere in your home or on your property, call EM Pest Control immediately at 516-455-6742. We safely and humanely remove them from your property. At EM Pest Control, we don't kill the animals we capture, instead we move them five (5) miles from the captured site and release them, safe and sound.

                                                                             
                                                                             

For more information on wildlife or any other pests visit our website www.empestcontrol.com

If you're buying a home and need a home inspection to determine the condition of the house and possible wildlife issues visit www.closerlookpi.com 

Carpenter Bees And The Damage They Cause

Termites and carpenter ants are the most destructive insects of wood in structures found in the United States. Yet another insect that must be addressed are Carpenter Bees. Although not as destructive as termites, or carpenter ants, carpenter bees can do their fair share of damage to the exterior of structures. During the summer months, Home Inspectors and Pest Control Professionals (PCP) will be attentive to the damage that results from an infestation of carpenter bees.

                                                                    Characteristics of Carpenter Bees

                                                                                   

Carpenter bees Closely resemble bumble bees in that they both have a stocky or robust build. The major difference in their physical characteristic is that the top surface of the abdomen of the carpenter bee is bare black and shiny, whereas the bumble bee has many body hairs and appears fuzzy. Carpenter bees have a dense area of hairs on the hind legs, bumble bees however have dense yellow hairs on the abdomen and large pollen baskets on the hind legs.

                                                                           Structural Damage

                                                                               

Carpenter bees do not eat wood, but the females bore circular holes, about 1/2 inch wide at a right angle for about an inch deep into the wood they infest. They begin to excavate galleries in the direction of the wood grain for about 4-6 inches and this is where they make their nest. They can nest in all species of dried seasoned wood, but they prefer softwood like cedar, redwood, cypress, pine, and fir. They will bore in wooden members on houses such as eves constructed with pine and on decks, fences and dead tree limbs.  It's these areas that home inspectors and pest control professionals will take a closer look to determine if any activity exist. Carpenter bees are known to return to the same wood year after year to drill nests and lay eggs. If left untreated the wooden members can weaken resulting in costly repairs.

                                                                                   Treatment

How can you determine if carpenter bees are nesting in structural wood on your property? If you see a number of bees hovering around the eves for an example, they're protecting the entrance to a gallery and will chase away any intruders, including humans. The males do not sting, however who wants to wait around to determine males from females? If you suspect you have carpenter bees, call a pest control operator. Many have found closing the holes with corks helpful. Painting the wood will not protect it from carpenter bees, but it is helpful since they prefer bare, exposed wood. Some pest control professionals as a last resort use a pesticide in the form of dust that's applied inside the galleries that acts as a residual and is effective in the control of carpenter bees.

For more on home inspections, insects and treatments visit us at:

www.closerlookpi.com