Category: Best Pest Removal LLC

Integrated Pest Management Techniques In Extermination Explained

We have created an environment that makes homeowners feel that the only way to truly feel accomplished is to attempt all projects on your own first.  The only problem with this is that we end up paying twice as much as we would have when we end up having to hire the professional to come in a clean up the messes we have made trying to fix our issues in the first place.  One arena this could not be truer for is in the area of pest removal.

There are several reasons that pest removal and bug control should not be done by homeowners but instead left to the professionals.  The most important reason is the fact that quality best control professionals use a system in removing, eliminating and preventing pest that allow pest removal to be done in an environmentally, pet friendly way called Integrated Pest Management or IPM for short.

Control tactics is the last step in IPM and the most important.  It states that there are three methods available to use in controlling, eliminating and preventing pests.  They should be applied to any situation in the following manner: cultural, biological and lastly chemically.  Without professional experience in IPM techniques and terminology it is easy to get lost.

Cultural control can be explained as steps taken to control pests not using chemical or biological methods.  In cultural control an eco-friendly method is applied to begin with.  For outdoor pests this may be something as simple as planting peppermint plants to help reduce and eliminate an overwhelming mosquito population in your yard.  If you have a flea infestation in your home the cultural control technique would be sanitation.  If would mean consistent cleaning and vacuuming of carpets, drapes and such as well as washing bedding and the flea breading grounds within your home.  It would also consist of regular checks and baths for pets.

Next we will take into consideration the biological control methods.  These are ways to control pest that use things in nature that do not have toxicity to humans, the environment or domesticated animals.  The biological method for flea control is using a flea predator such as a nematode to come in and eat the fleas and their larvae.  Another biological method would be with the use of a flea spray.  The spray acts as a predator and detours the fleas from getting comfy.  With IPM, a combination of methods can be used to combat an infestation.  You may use both cultural and biological to remove the fleas from your home.  You can sanitize while also using a flea spray to deter the bugs from making your home theirs as well. When you use a combination of methods you are decreasing the chance of needing chemical control in excess while decreasing the pest population.

Chemical controls in IPM consist of using the most environmentally friendly methods first to control, eliminate and prevent pests.  Many chemical products are now environmentally friendly and pet safe to use.  Options using citrus and lavender and other plant based products in a chemical combination are used over harsh chemicals that leave an imprint on our environment.

When hiring a pest control provider look for a local exterminator that employs IPM techniques over one that does not.  The last thing you, your family or pets need is to be subject to the intense effects of harsh pesticides and chemicals in your home.

Hiring An Exterminator Verse DIY Pest Removal

When it comes to pest control services hire a professional! By the time you try to eliminate the pests on your own with expensive chemicals and fail you could have had the professionals do it.  It just makes sense to start there in the first place.  Pest infestations of all types are nearly impossible for the untrained professional to completely eliminate let alone prevent from coming back.  From termite infestations to bed bugs, pests are ridiculously hard to eliminate from your home.

There are several benefits to hiring a professional exterminator.  The first is the expense.  It may seem that the initial outlay for a professional is a lot in comparison to running to the store and purchasing some over the counter product. This may be true to begin with but in the end when you have to continue running to the store as you discover the pest problem is not eliminated those chemicals as well as time spent will add up to more than the initial fee, treatment and prevention that comes with hiring an exterminator.

Hiring a professional is often more convenient than running out buying supplies and the labor intensive process of eliminating them.  A professional will work to meet your demands in pest removal, elimination and prevention.  Most exterminators work twenty four seven and will work to schedule appointments when convenient to homeowners.   Although a pest infestation is never convenient a professional exterminator can make the situation a lot easier for the homeowner to handle.

Another major difference is the experience level between a professional and a do it yourself homeowner.  Their experience allows them to come into a situation, identify the issues and treat the problem.  They also have the knowledge and understanding of what needs to be done next to prevent the pest issue from reoccurring.  An exterminator offers much more experience and expertise than the label on a can of insect spray.

Chemicals come with risks, especially pest killers.  If you apply chemicals without being knowledgeable about their risks you put yourself, family and pets at risk.  Hiring an exterminator eliminates the risks involved with pest control.  Pest control specialists use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which safeguards human and environmental health by using the least toxic methods first.

The effectiveness of do it yourself products is often less than desirable.  Household pests often become “immune” to store bought chemicals.  When you hire a professional pest removal company you hire an exterminator who has up to date information on changes to chemicals that are effective for your specific type of pest infestations.

Another major difference is the warranties and guarantees that come along with extermination services over store bought products.  Check with different exterminators before hiring one to eliminate, control and prevent pest problems within your home.  Make sure that you are hiring a company that offers a warranty for which they will come back to your home, at no charge, to retreat an infestation if a re-occurrence happens.  A good extermination company will stand by their products and services.

Ridding Homeowners Of Wildlife Intrusions

Winter time in the north is prime time for wildlife intrusions in your homes and barns.  Squirrels, mice, raccoons and even a stray cat or two will all be on the lookout for a warm place to lay their head.  This does not mean that your home has to play host or hostess to any of them.  The question lies in how to safely remove the extra wildlife that has taken residence without harm to your existing pets.

Neither invasion of your home is easier to get rid of then the next.  However, prevention is often simpler when it comes to ridding a home of spiders, cockroaches or bees.  When it comes to larger wildlife we try to remove them and preventing them from returning in the most humane way possible.  Trapping is the most common way to catch the culprit.  The problem with wildlife in the winter is that you are most likely not dealing with a lone squirrel or one mouse you are dealing with a family.

As an exterminator I have seen this scenario played out all too frequently; a squirrel at home in your attic is caught and the area sealed off and yet a few days later you are still hearing that all too familiar sound in the attic.  The squirrel isn’t back but the nests of babies are hungry and without mom and dad coming in and out to feed them they are getting restless.  Worse yet, weeks later the over powering smell of decay and dead animals.  Don’t fall victim to this.

A trained professional will come in to your home, evaluate the scene and proceed accordingly.  An exterminator knows exactly what signs to look for when dealing with wildlife invading your home to track if you are dealing with more than one menace.  They will help determine points of entry and remove the entire nest with the mom relocating them to a place other than your home.  Relocating the mother or babies on their own will create different problems.  A mother squirrel will do anything she needs to do to rejoin her family even if that means pulling up roofing etc.  Once in your home again, where she does not find her family, she will be left to creating the havoc she was before you trapped her.

This is one reason it is important that homeowners look to the professionals when it comes to removing wildlife from their homes.  Winter brings out wildlife looking for warmth and the thaw of spring brings on more common pest and insect infestations such as ants, spider and fleas.  Spring is the time for all of those nasty pests to awaken out of their winter slumbers.  Prevention is the key in extermination.  Yes, we can treat and remove all pests from cockroaches to bed bugs but preventing the homeowners the hassle of dealing with the pest in the first place is our first priority.  Call a local pest control company before issues arrive.  Exterior power defense applications can be applied to your home making your home undesirable. We provide homeowners with the best case scenario when it comes to common pests, none at all.

Things to Consider When Hiring An Exterminator

When you think of the top ten worst jobs exterminator has to be somewhere in the list.  Who doesn’t scream like a baby when they see a spider or two and forget it one mouse and I am out forever.  Never to return to the room that once was infested, because yes in my mind one would be an infestation, with mice.  Exterminators have a tough, dirty job that sometimes is not without failure.  It is true that some infestations take continual treatment and a one-time procedure is not going to fix the homes issue.

There are a few things you should be aware of before you hire an exterminator and yep one of them is that sometimes for your infestation to stay at bay they will have to visit more than once.

First things first, the cleanest homes and kitchens are still not immune to some insects and rodents.  As unsettling as this is it is true.  Pests are attracted to clean homes.  They like food, whether it is in a sink, a trash can or a closed cupboard.  They can find it anywhere.  Pests also love moisture.  They foster in moisture which also sustains them as a viable life form within your home.  To avoid issues from food and moisture around the home make sure that you take your trash out regularly.  Don’t allow food to stay on plates whether they are sitting in the dishwasher or the sink.  Dry the dishes with the heat of the dishwasher which prevents unwanted moisture from dishes put away moist.  On the outside make sure that water is never left to puddle up and become a habitat for critters.

If bugs are attracted to your home they will find a way to make it theirs.  Certain bugs, such as bedbugs don’t care about your homes environment all they care about is you.  You are their source of food, well your blood is.  They are incredibly difficult to get rid of and can hitch a ride home with you on basically any surface.  Leave your luggage outside after traveling.  Wash everything and don’t assume that because you can’t see them they aren’t there.  This is not the case at all.  They are tiny and hiding is there main goal during the daytime.

Don’t assume because I was able to get rid of your pest problem it won’t ever come back again. If you bring a roach home, you will get roach’s again.  If you don’t keep the lid on your trash the raccoon I got rid of will have a brother that comes to visit.  Your exterminator can only do so much.  They can get rid of an issue and to treatment to prevent another infestation but you need to be vigilant and follow their advice as well to help yourself.

Head lice are not something an exterminator can help you get rid of. With any bug that hosts on hair or skin you are looking at needing to be vigilant in medically removing it yourself as well as within your home.  An exterminator is not who needs to be called in to handle a case of body or head lice.

Be sure to hire a pest removal company that uses an Integrated Pest Management process.  This ensures that you are getting the safest pest removal using the least amount of product that achieves the most effective results.

Finding The Best Pest Removal Company In Your Area

From the minute you find an unwanted pest within your home the only thing you will want to concentrate on is hiring a pest removal company. It will eat at you and not allow you to sleep. All you will imagine is the creepy crawlies all over you while you sleep. Hiring a company to eliminate and prevent pests from your home is an important decision that can’t be rushed. It is in your best interest to discuss your pest problem with several exterminators before selecting one to manage your pest infestation be it mice, bees, termites, bedbugs or a combination of pests.

Pest problems will never arise at a convenient time; let’s get real pests are never convenient. Your pest issue is urgent, they always are but it is important to do a full evaluation on several companies. Invite them into your home to visually see the pest infestation and determine what course of action to take next. It is important that they are reputable, knowledgeable and have viable references.

Below are some key points to consider when evaluating a local pest removal company. In finding the best pest removal company you will look at their qualifications, experience, reputation, customer service and the value of their services.

First check the qualifications of the pest removal companies that you are looking at exterminators. Does the company and all of their technicians have current licenses needed for pest removal in the state in which you live. Is the license the classification that you need for your pest removal job? This can be found by interviewing them and by checking the state pesticide regulatory office. When changes come in regulations, products used in extermination and safety techniques how are those changes communicated to the staff? Integrated Pest Management, IPM, techniques are important qualifications for a company to follow as well.

Experience is important and should be discussed with the companies that you are looking into. Of course the number of years that they have been in business is not the only thing to consider. Longevity is one piece but doesn’t always mean that they are up in the latest techniques in pest management. Determine how many people that have been clients that have the same pest infestation that you are experiencing. It is important that new employees have been trained by experienced technicians as well. As with everything this is only one determination to consider when hiring a pest removal, management company.

The companies reputation is also incredibly important when hiring a company to remove your pests be it spiders, ants, termites and more. Family, friends, neighbors and co-workers are great for recommendations on pest removal company but it won’t be open discussions you will have to ask them outright. It is not common for people to openly discuss their pest issues so it is something to ask them about. Customer references are another terrific way to determine if the company is “the one” that you wish to use for your exterminating needs.

Customer service, value and safety are all things to consider as well. When you have found an extermination company that you trust and want to work with get a written contract of the services that they will be providing. This saves both parties from any confusion later on down the road with the services that you have been promised.

Tips on Living in a Vermin Free Environment

What type of pictures come to your head when I mention the word VERMIN? Do you cringe? Most people don’t have images of cute, cuddly household pets. We think of bugs, squirrels, raccoons, beetles, maggots and other small creatures that cause ruckus and delay to normal life. Vermin removal takes time you don’t have. Vermin don’t always go away nice and easy. Most of the time it takes major dedication to completely rid yourself of pests. Vermin navigate by smell and nothing smells better than your trash. Your trash is like a mega phone broadcasting a signal to your home.

There needs to be a plan for managing your outside trash to make sure that vermin stay at bay. Once you have attracted these mega pests removing them is a difficult process. Vermin attract stray animals to your home. In turn the chaos that they attract will bring dirt and disease to your home environment. It is much less work on a homeowner’s part to manage their waste than to go through the processes of vermin removal. Managing the waste in your outside trash cans will eliminate the attraction of vermin to your home. This will decrease the possibilities of an infestation of vermin inside your home.

How can you minimize the attraction your garbage has to vermin? It is much easier than most would believe. First you will want to make sure that you have created a situation where it is virtually impossible for pest to get into your garbage cans. Many people who live where trash management companies are abundant have bins to hold their trash. Bins are a wonderful distraction for vermin but unless they are properly latched and sealed the critters can intrude. You will want to place latches on the trash that are sufficient in locking critters away. If you are out in the country where trash management companies are less abundant you will need to store your garbage properly until you can take it to the recycling facility. Many folks use bins made out of wood materials and chicken coop wire. A lock is place on the top portion of the bin to secure the waste inside of the enclosure. The chicken coop wire is used to provide proper ventilation so that the scent does not start to attract the vermin.

Another tip in minimizing the attractiveness of your trash is to bleach out all of the containers that hold trash. Keeping the containers clean and free of trash juice will make sure that vermin such as maggots don’t start to make a residence in your trash receptacles. Even the slightest crack or hole in your trash can enables the smallest of vermin to enter. The use of trash can liners can also help decrease infestations. Another tip if you find yourself with a crawling vermin infestation is to keep your trash cans in trays lined with water. Vermin cannot swim and will drown getting to the intended promise land.

Whatever you do to keep vermin at bay will help in the long run. Vermin removal is a long a tedious process so anything that you can do to maintain an environment that does not promote vermin will be beneficial. Another key is to help spread the word and promote cleanliness within the neighborhood. If everyone is taking an active role in preventing vermin than the neighborhood should stay vermin free.

How to Handle an Unwanted Mouse

Here is a riddle: It is inevitable. Every home owner will experience it at least once if not more. It is a nuisance. It leaves a trail. Sometimes it steals your food. It visits at night when you are least expecting it. What is it?

If you guessed mice you are correct! Mice are a problem because they destroy your home, carry infectious disease and are hard to rid of yourself. We would all like to believe that we can prevent mice from visiting our home. The truth is that no matter how sanitized your home is, no matter how many entrances and exits are blocked and no matter how much care is taken to prevent an attack it will happen. Whether children accidently drop cookie crumbs or a dish is forgotten in the sink mice will smell food and come running. Being prepared and not scared is the best option you have to rid your home of the mouse. Then you can start to plan against an infestation.

There are really three main ways to get rid of a mouse. Your humane options are limited but it can be done. The key with these methods are to release the mouse far away from his current environment. If death is the message that you would like to send to this mouse there are two different options snap/clap/sticky traps or poison. The disadvantages range from visually seeing a mouse suffer on a sticky trap, headless on a clap trap or decaying in your walls after having ingested poison. I know it is all a little graphic and overwhelming but these are the facts you need to face before one mouse turns into twenty.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all methods of mouse removal. Let’s begin by exploring the poison method. The major advantage is that you can cover a great deal of ground with it eventually you will hit the exact location of your mouse. This will bring the desired consequence and the mouse will no longer exist. The major disadvantages start with the fact that you are using a poison that could ultimately be ingested by something other than the intended recipient. A pet or child digesting poison could cause major medical issues. Another major disadvantage is the mouse will still live once he has taken in the poison leaving him to go back to his home and die. The bad part is that his home could be your cupboard. A rotting mouse is not a pleasant smell so I don’t think that is much of a solution to a household mouse.

The next method of mouse removal is traps. There are two major traps; sticky ones and snap traps. Snap traps cause immediate death. They work by placing bait on the end of the trap and the mouse steps onto the trap releasing a clasp that basically snaps the mouse’s neck. The advantage of this method is that the mouse does not suffer and his death is immediate. One disadvantage is that mice are sneaky and can steal the bait without getting trapped. You might find yourself in a cat and mouse type battle. Sticky traps work in a similar fashion. The good thing about sticky traps is that there is no way a mouse will steal the bait. The minute the mouse steps onto the trap they are stuck. That is a major advantage to sticky traps. The disadvantage is that you are left removing a mouse that is suffering and still alive from your home. If you want to lessen the cruelty you are left to kill the mouse yourself. Removal is not an option. If you try to remove a mouse from the sticky trap you will see that all you are doing is tearing the apart.

The humane method is of course the one I would advocate for. There are two major disadvantages to this method. It takes planning and effort on your part. Also you will need to release the vermin in an environment that is far enough away that they don’t remember the path into your home again. The advantage is that you using a non-lethal method of mouse removal. Mice are basically a pest. They are pretty harmless to most households and can be dealt with fairly easily without causing harm to you or the mouse. A catch and release method involves minimal clean up and you won’t be scarred by the mouse’s death.

Whatever method of mouse removal you choose in your home the key involved is to be prepared. Mice can strike at any time, during any season. As mentioned above keeping a clean home will eliminate the draw a mouse has on your home. However even the best laid plans can fall apart. All it takes is one crumb or dirty dish and a mouse can scamper into your life.

Preventing the Spread of Bedbugs

Bedbugs are creepy little critters that invade and spread in the correct environment. They are persistent and hard to get rid of. Bedbugs are able to hide in the smallest cracks and crevices where they breed and are not easily found. These critters are nocturnal and only come out when most people are asleep. This makes getting rid of bed bugs very difficult. Another thing that makes them so difficult to get rid of is that they can live for long periods of time without food and can survive traveling long distances. They reproduce quickly laying approximately 300 eggs that hatch every 10 days. These reasons make it difficult to keep bedbugs at bay. Prevention is the key element in keeping your home free of bed bugs.

To keep your home free of bedbugs you will want to avoid bringing them into your home in the first place. Many people believe that travel within the United States and abroad is making the resurgence of bedbugs possible. When people travel from one place to another they can unknowingly carry these tiny creatures with them. Bedbugs thrive in tight dark spaces. Luggage makes a perfect home for traveling bedbugs. In order to keep your luggage free of bedbugs follow these tips.

1) When traveling keep luggage zipped and elevated on a luggage rack at all times. Many people believe it is best to keep luggage in the bathroom. This environment is not one that seems to draw bedbugs.
2) You may hang your clothes using caution. It is unadvisable though to make use of hotel dressers.
3) Make sure that when you arrive home that you instantly wash and dry your laundry. It is important that you leave your luggage in the garage until you have time to thoroughly inspect it for bedbugs.

In order to be extra cautious review the hotels you are looking at staying before booking a room. If a hotel has multiple reports of bedbugs it is best to book elsewhere. Once an infestation is reported it is difficult to ensure complete bedbug removal. You can improve your chances of not getting bedbugs by taking the following precautions.

1) When arriving at your hotel ask to inspect your room before settling in.
2) When inspecting a room look for telltale signs of bedbug infestations. You will look in the seams of the mattress and furniture for molted skin and light brown fecal matter.
3) Check in nightstands and headboards, cracks are perfect hiding spots for these nasty nuisances.
4) If you see any signs of bedbugs request a different room or for that matter find another place to rest your head.

Remember prevention is the only way you can truly keep your home bedbug free. Take the necessary steps to avoid an infestation because bedbug removal is a long a tedious process that is never a hundred percent effective.