Archive for the ‘Pest Control’ Category

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Spotting Carpet Beetles

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

There are three species of carpet beetle that are the most common problem for homeowners. These are the varied carpet beetle, the black carpet beetle and the furniture carpet beetle. Larvae are by far the most harmful stage in the carpet beetle lifecycle.  Female carpet beetles lay anywhere from 50 to 100 eggs near food sources. An adult beetle can live four years, laying eggs once a year. Eggs are incredibly resilient. Once the eggs develop into cocoons and larvae, they stay in this stage nearly a year. The larvae is the most destructive stage of the carpet beetle. Both eggs and larvae are very difficult to detect since they tend to blend in with the fabric they inhabit. Once they mature, carpet beetles are scavengers and may be found in areas well away from food sources.

You may find one or two larvae crawling on surfaces. But the first sign of a carpet beetle infestation is usually irregular holes chewed in fabrics. They feed on the nap of fabrics and carpeting without eating the base threads. If you are finding holes in fabrics around your home, and think the damage is due to carpet beetles, look for fecal pellets and skins shed by the larva. They most often feed in dark secluded places, so do a thorough inspection for them in these areas:

  • Undersides of furniture
  • In areas around or behind furniture where pet hair may accumulate
  • Corners and bottoms of drawers
  • Along baseboards where carpet meets molding
  • Under area rugs and carpets
  • Inside closets – especially in corners
  • In basements and attics
  • Between walls and insulation
  • In and under storage boxes
  • On window and door frame moldings
  • In gaps alongside and above and below shelving
  • Outside your home where there might be dead rodents or birds

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Posted in Carpet Beetles, Frontbox, Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Get Rid of those Carpet Beetles!

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

Because carpet beetles are active in multiple small hidden areas throughout your home, it can be very difficult to get rid of carpet beetle infestations. A qualified pest control expert is the best way to beat your beetle problem. However, there are some things you can do before help arrives to lessen the problem and damage:

1.      Use a vacuum to remove the carpet beetles you can see.  Immediately remove the carpet beetles with a vacuum. This includes the adult that look like typical beetles, as well as the larvae which look like tiny hairy caterpillars.

2.      While you have the vacuum out, suck up all the pet hair or fur hiding under furniture and in corners.

3.      Immediately seal and throw out the vacuum bag afterward.

4.      Since adult carpet beetles do not stay in one area very long and may have laid eggs in numerous places throughout your home, you will need to treat all of your carpets, area rugs, upholstery, draperies, linens and stored clothing.

5. Discard, dry clean or wash items that show signs of carpet beetle damage. Also include any nearby items that may be hiding tiny eggs and larvae you may not be able to see.

6.      Wash clothing and machine washable items using soap and the hottest water you can.

7.      You can also place items that cannot be washed in a dryer on the highest heat setting for at least 30 minutes.

8.      Have your rugs professionally cleaned, or rent a steam cleaner and do it yourself.

9.      Larvae are usually deep within fabric, so make sure to get into every nook and cranny of upholstered furniture.

To prevent future carpet beetle activity, vacuum your carpets regularly and thoroughly, wash area rugs and make sure to clean up pet fur as often as possible.

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Posted in Asian ladybugs (Asian lady beetles), Carpet Beetles, Frontbox, Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Carpet Beetles Eat More Than Rugs

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

At first, you may think you have moths in your home. But if you are finding damaged clothes, carpet, upholstery and other items, it most likely is carpet beetles.  These little pests are more common than most homeowners realize. They can be very destructive, and to make it worse, they are quite difficult to control. You may find one or two beetles or the evidence they leave behind, but the problem can grow if not handled properly and quickly.

Besides feasting on your belongings, carpet beetle larvae shed small hairs which can cause allergies. Infestations of these pests have been linked to the spread of infectious diseases, like Anthrax.

Part of the problem with controlling carpet beetles is that they live in many areas of a home and eat more than carpet. They consume anything containing organic fibers and organic products. Here is a sampling of the preferred carpet beetle buffet:

Household Items

  • Carpets – Most synthetic carpets contain some organic materials
  • Rugs
  • Drapery
  • Furniture
  • Clothing – especially cotton, silk and wool
  • Household linens – tablecloths, dishtowels, sheets, towels

In the Pantry

  • Cereal
  • Corn
  • Flour
  • Grains
  • Nuts
  • Pasta
  • Seeds
  • Birdseed
  • Pet Food

Misc.

  • Hair (pet or human)
  • Animal Fur
  • Animal hides
  • Taxidermy animals
  • Dead animal carcasses

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Posted in Asian ladybugs (Asian lady beetles), Blog Posts, Carpet Beetles, Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Jiminy, I Think We Have A Cricket Problem

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

You can hear them chirp. Every night. And you’ve noticed your wallpaper has been chewed. But finding and eliminating a cricket infestation can be quite challenging, since house crickets stay in hiding during the day. You may be familiar with field crickets found outdoors that look similar to grasshoppers. House crickets look the same but are a much lighter tan to light brown with three dark bands on their heads. Full-grown crickets are about an inch long.

A female cricket can lay hundreds of eggs, which take a year to grow into adults.  If one cricket finds its way into your home, usually in the fall, its hatchlings can quickly grow and scatter throughout your home undetected, especially since their natural coloring tends to blend into their surroundings. By the time cold weather sets in the following year, these houseguests will have settled in to your nice cozy house for a long noisy winter.

Finding and Eliminating Crickets

House crickets usually begin their lives outdoors, but may infest homes in large numbers. They search out warm places like heating ducts and the paneling behind heating installations. They also nest in moist areas and near areas where garbage is kept. Air conditioning units, downspouts, piles of mulch and wood chips are also popular nesting spots. Your compost pile actually provides a great source of food and heat.

Crickets often enter a home through crawl spaces, wall voids and basements. They will then move into living areas, to be found around and behind baseboards, furniture, window frames, door frames, electric outlets, switch plate covers and in closets. And of course, as the story goes, around fireplaces.

If you have pets such as lizards, turtles, snakes and fish that eat live crickets, make sure the meal doesn’t escape and hide under floorboards to surprise you later with a midnight chorus.

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House Crickets – Melodious or Maddening?

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

“To find a cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing of all.” This is according to Charles Dickens in his 1845 novella “The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home.” Having a cricket on the hearth has been a sign of luck for thousands of years all over the world. In China and Japan, crickets have been brought indoors to delight inhabitants for almost 1000 years! Valued for their song, crickets were kept in small cages of bamboo. House crickets are often associated with the new year and good luck.

But to many homeowners, a cricket on the hearth, or under the floorboards, is nothing but a nuisance due not only to the noise they make, but the damage they can do.

House crickets make a distinctive chirping noise. It is loud. It is continuous, often for hours at a time. And it occurs at night since crickets are nocturnal and do their feeding and singing when it is dark outside. Some say they sound like new born chicks.

The male cricket is the one that sings, doing so to attract the females. He sets up his own little home (on the hearth or another location of his choosing) and makes his sound by rubbing his wings together. Crickets become louder and faster as temperatures rise. In fact, scientists can measure temperature by calculating the frequency of cricket chirps. Male crickets also emit a sharp piping note when another male cricket attempts to enter his territory.

A love-sick cricket can sing for hours at a time, making as many as 10,000 chirps in one hour.  The larger the cricket, the more frequent the sound. In the Imperial Palace of ancient China, ladies kept crickets in small golden cages on their pillows, so that they might fall asleep to the song.

Crickets are a noisy house guest, but they are relatively harmless unless there is a large infestation in a home. Because they eat just about anything, crickets have an abundant supply of food in most homes. They prefer soft plant matter, but will also eat other live or dead insects, silk, wool, synthetic fabric, paper, wood, rubber, fruit, vegetables and other foods.

A favorite cricket delicacy is wallpaper. They love to eat the glue that holds paper to walls. They will then continue to eat the wallpaper itself.

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Posted in Blog Posts, Crickets, Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Spider?

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

They’re hairy, ugly and have eight eyes. That alone will make homeowners want to keep wolf spiders out of their homes. The good news is they are not aggressive. The bad news is, they will bite if provoked. And although their eight eyes make them good predators for smaller insects, they may not be able to tell your finger from a cricket. Wolf Spiders are considered poisonous, but not lethal. Nonetheless, a wolf spider bite can be quite painful, especially for children and the elderly. Some people have strong reactions to these bites as well. If a wolf spider bite penetrates the skin, you may have pain, swelling and the bite location may itch. Most symptoms last only a few minutes, but in some cases a wound can take days to heal.

If you are bitten by a wolf spider, wash the wound with soap and water immediately. If there is swelling, use an ice pack. Do not put a bandage on the wound as that will hinder it from healing. A tetanus shot is recommended after a spider bite.

Distinguishing a wolf spider from other spiders is easy once you know what to look for. You will not find spider webs, as these spiders hunt their prey. Although they may look like tarantulas or recluse spiders, they are smaller, usually between ½” to 1.25” in length. They are dark brown and have bristles on their legs that make them look hairy. Two of their eight eyes are larger, and will reflect the beam of a flashlight. If you suspect you have wolf spiders in your home, set out after dark with a flashlight, since that is when the nocturnal pest hunts for food. But you have to be quick – a wolf spider can move two feet per second! You will most likely find them where they will find other insects to hunt such as door frames, plants, windows, and in humid basements and garages.

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Posted in Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Spiders, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Baby It’s Cold Outside: What’s Coming In Your House to Stay Warm

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

And they have very clever ways of doing so, including moving into your house. Some pests go into a state of “diapauses” which keeps them dormant until warmer weather appears. Some of these insects can survive in temperatures as low as -94o F!. Dormant insects are either freeze-susceptible or freeze-tolerant.

Insect species, size and stage of growth also determine if they will overwinter – perhaps in your home. Some insects have a built-in antifreeze system that releases a cryoprotectant called ethylene glycol – the same chemical used in car antifreeze liquid. This supercools their bodies above their freezing point. Other pests actually freeze – at least their body fluids do.  Most insects are like little baggies of water. If they can squeeze this water out, they can lower their freezing point. That’s why you are more likely to find ants, small spiders and small houseflies inside, rather than grasshoppers or bees.

Other insects survive outdoors. They can stay warm inside the insulation of a good fluffy snow cover. The south sides of trees stay warmer on sunny days, giving insects some respite from the cold. Depending on how cold the winter is, and how much snow versus sunshine you have will determine what comes inside, and what will be waiting for you just as you start spring cleaning.

In my next few articles, we’ll talk about the most common insects you may find inside your home.

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Posted in Box Elder Bugs, Carpet Beetles, Crickets, Massachusetts, Pest Control, Slider, Spiders | No Comments »

Unwanted Roommates: Dealing With Bed Bugs in College

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

News reports about bed bugs are all over the place today, and most of them address the issue of dealing with them in your home or hotels. But the tiny pests are showing up somewhere else that’s causing a great deal of stress: college dorm rooms.

Higher education is stressful enough without worrying about bloodsucking insects. Unfortunately, there are several factors that make dormitories prime breeding ground for bed bugs.

First is the sheer population of people – thousands of students congregating from different cities, states, and even countries makes a college campus extremely vulnerable. As recently as a few years ago, bed bugs were most likely to come in with students from abroad, but the recent surge of infestations in the U.S. means that just about any of the incoming pupils might be bringing uninvited guests.

So the fact that bed bugs are generally more prevalent now in the United States than before makes colleges highly susceptible to the hitchhiking bloodsuckers. But the social dynamics of college itself also gives bed bugs lots of opportunities to spread around.

Typically, students are paired with at least one other roommate. Any bed bugs brought along with one student are almost assured to spread out into the clothes, bedding, and other belongings of all that person’s roommates.

The risks of a dorm room’s close quarters can be applied to a dorm or even a campus as a whole. In other words, large numbers of people sharing a small space increase the likelihood of a widespread infestation. Couple the concentration of humans with the social activities that students engage in – going to other students’ rooms to party, watch a movie, or even (occasionally) study – and you have a perfect commuter system for bed bugs.

There is no evidence to suggest that bed bugs transmit any diseases to humans when they feed at night. But just because they don’t pose a health threat doesn’t mean these creatures can’t cause trouble and distress to the college students who unwittingly let them crash in their room.

Bites from bed bugs are small, red, and often itch. They feed once a night, usually just before dawn, then retreat back into hiding to shed their skin. This cycle repeats five times, and then the bugs are ready to lay eggs. All this means that a few bites on a college student’s skin can quickly multiply into many as the bugs feed and breed. Moreover, the stresses of academic and social life are likely to be much higher priorities than the origins of the irritating bumps on their back. This makes it easier for bed bugs to escape notice before they can feed several times and lay their eggs.

There’s also a potential element of embarrassment in admitting that you have bed bugs. Even though the cleanest of houses can become host to them, there’s still a social stigma that someone who has them must be dirty – filth by association. This myth is gradually disappearing, but any negative judgment, real or imagined, is bound to add to the stress of a student’s life.

Most of all, because bed bugs are so resilient, the extermination process can seriously disrupt the already hectic life on campus. Depending on the method of treatment (pesticides, extreme temperature manipulation, etc.), students may have to evacuate their dorms for up to several days while the pests are eliminated.

Come summer, you can always hear students singing “no more pencils, no more books.” Let’s hope that we can add “no more bed bugs” to the list soon too.

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Bed Bugs and Pets: How to Keep Your Animals Safe and Happy

Monday, December 13th, 2010

As America’s bed bug infestation continues to spread, families across the country wonder what it could mean for their pets.

First the good news: nature seems to be on your side. Bed bugs are not known to carry any diseases transmittable to mammals. Additionally, studies indicate that these nasty parasites prefer the blood of humans to those of household pets. This means that the health risks to your dogs or cats are relatively low.

However, that doesn’t mean that your pets are immune. When humans aren’t an available menu option, bed bugs will feed on the blood of other mammals. They can also use pets to hitch a ride and spread to a new location.

Here are a few tips on keeping your furriest family members safe.

Prevention: The Best Defense

You can save yourself the headaches of dealing with a bed bug infestation by taking some preventative measures.

There are some pet medications that protect cats and dogs from bed bugs (in addition to the usual ticks and fleas). If your pet is currently on meds, be sure to check the label. If it doesn’t list bed bugs among the pests it protects against, assume that it doesn’t repel them.

Perhaps the best way to protect your pets is to protect your home. One of the easiest things to do? Open the curtains and windows. Bed bugs hate fresh air and sunlight, so let in as much as you can. Making your bed in the morning will also help circulate air through your sheets, as well as let you check for any signs of an infestation.

Beyond the bed, make sure to vacuum at least every two days, keep clothing off the floor, and tend to dirty laundry promptly and often. Most importantly, keep your dog or cat off the bed – their fur will attract bed bugs to the mattress like a magnet.

What To Do If You Have an Infestation

If you see bites on your pet, inspect them closely. Bed bug bites are tough to distinguish from the marks of other insects, but they are usually small, red, and appear in a line instead of scattered. If you’re not sure, check your linens (and your pet’s bedding) for small spots of blood, feces, or shed skins the bugs may have left behind. If the results are still uncertain, take your pet to a veterinarian.

If you do find hard evidence of bed bugs, gather the linens in a plastic bag for transport, and then empty the bag into your laundry machine. Wash and dry at the highest temperature setting.

It’s also a good idea to call a pest control service if you suspect your home has bed bugs. A professional exterminator can provide a thorough examination of your house and take the necessary steps if you do have a problem. But when making an action plan, be sure the exterminator knows you are a pet owner, so that no harmful pesticides or chemicals are used. Don’t forget this, because bed bug extermination often requires more than one visit.

In the end, knowledge is your best weapon against bed bugs. Knowing what to do will save you lots of mental energy. With these tips in mind, you can keep dog tails wagging, cats purring, and safely cuddle up to your pets without worry.

For a free estimate, give us a call at 781-986-0701 and mention that you found us from this article.

Tim Taylor, President of Heritage Pest Control in Randolph, MA, is an expert in pest control, with more than 20 years of education and experience in residential and commercial pest control.  Tim has an extensive background in entomology, and is a member of the National and New England Pest Management Associations and the Randolph Chamber of Commerce. Tim is also a 29-year member of the National Guard and is active in national and community activities including Pop Warner Football. Heritage Pest Control serves the greater Boston area including the suburbs of Brookline, Cambridge, Brighton, Allston, Milton, Quincy, Braintree and Canton. For more information, or to contact Tim, CLICK HERE to send a note to Tim or call him at 781-986-0701.

Posted in Bed bugs, Blog Posts, Massachusetts, Pest Control | No Comments »

Avoid Getting Drain Flies

Friday, December 10th, 2010

A drain fly is basically a gnat. They don’t bite, but since they live and breed in rotting organic material, they can carry bacteria and disease-causing organisms. They can cause you to develop bronchial asthma from breathing in dust and body parts from their dead carcasses.  You can find drain flies anywhere there is moisture, especially stagnant water that sits for more than a week. In homes, this includes  drains, bathtubs, infrequently used toilets, damp basements and garages, water tanks, in between bathroom tiles and walls, and in roof gutters. Drain flies can also breed outdoors and come in through holes in screens, open doors and windows, looking for a place to eat and breed – which may be your drains.  Following these rules to avoid drain fly infestation:

  • Clean your drains with a pipe brush, snake, plunger or drain cleaner once a month.  In between these cleanings, make sure the hair catcher is clean.
  • Run your garbage disposal every day, even if you have not put any food in it.
  • Take out garbage every day, keep your garbage cans clean and covered.
  • Don’t leave food out any longer than you have to. Clean up crumbs and spills promptly.
  • If you have house plants, empty and clean the water trays under the pots after you have watered them.
  • Make sure your screens don’t have holes.
  • Try not to leave doors open.
  • If the grout in your shower or bathroom floor is cracked, re-grout it. Check the caulking around the drain too – if it is gooey, it can be a place for flies to lay eggs.
  • Check under your washing machine for wet lint.
  • Keep your bird baths clean, get rid of standing water in gutters, compost piles, and air conditioner vents.

For a free estimate, give us a call at 781-986-0701 and mention that you found us from this article.

Tim Taylor, President of Heritage Pest Control in Randolph, MA, is an expert in pest control, with more than 20 years of education and experience in residential and commercial pest control.  Tim has an extensive background in entomology, and is a member of the National and New England Pest Management Associations and the Randolph Chamber of Commerce. Tim is also a 29-year member of the National Guard and is active in national and community activities including Pop Warner Football. Heritage Pest Control serves the greater Boston area including the suburbs of Brookline, Cambridge, Brighton, Allston, Milton, Quincy, Braintree and Canton. For more information, or to contact Tim, CLICK HERE to send a note to Tim or call him at 781-986-0701.

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