Blogs

In late May and June, we get calls from homeowners who suddenly have cockroaches in their homes. Large, brown, flying cockroaches that are freaking them out. When cockroaches appear indoors at this time of year where there have been no cockroaches before, it’s a good bet that it’s the Pennsylvania wood cockroach, especially if we’re talking about a single-family home on a wood...

Q. My neighbor complained to my husband that the reason he has so many snakes in his yard is because we feed birds. Do snakes eat birds? A. What he says makes some sense, but he skipped a step. Snakes eat rodents. Rodents eat spilled seed from bird feeders. So, feeding birds often means an increase in the natural rodent population which means an increase in snakes. The populations of mi...

Q. I have a question about those wasps that build the mud tube nests on houses. How do they get the mud to make the nests? A. You’re talking about mud dauber wasps, also sometimes called dirt daubers. They get their name because of their unique nests that are made of mud tubes. To start her nest, the female mud dauber finds a protected, shady site near a potential supply of mud. Nests...

An empty bird’s nest can be more than just an empty bird’s nest. It can also contain parasitic mites, ticks, and fleas, as well as other scavenger insects, especially if it has been recently abandoned by the birds. When a bird’s nest is built on or in a home or other occupied building, those insects and mites can find their way inside and can bite people, or infest other mater...

When pin-sized holes and “sawdust” are discovered on hardwood floors, the culprit is usually a powderpost beetle. There are two types of powderpost beetles, lyctids and anobiids, that could infest the floor but lyctids are the usual culprit. Only an expert can tell the difference. When powderpost beetles show up in hardwood flooring, the question is often, “who is responsi...

Q. We have this very strange bug that keeps getting into our house. It looks like a brown beetle, about ½ inch long, but it jumps and makes this snapping sound. I often find them in the bathroom in the morning but sometimes in other rooms. Do you know what it’s feeding on? A. I think your nighttime visitor is probably a click beetle. It’s not feeding on anything in your h...

You may have seen little, dark beetles crawling up your walls lately. Or, you may have found them dead in window frames or on windowsills. At this time of year, what you’re probably seeing is carpet beetles searching for a way out of your house. The newly emerged adult beetles are attracted to light. Carpet beetles are a common indoor pest but most people don’t notice them, except f...

Q. I think I know what you’re supposed to do when you check into a hotel to keep from getting bed bugs, checking the bed and all that. But I heard something about some steps you’re supposed to take when you get home to keep from bringing bed bugs into your house. Could you go over those please? A. Sure can and you’re right. Too many people come home from travel not suspec...

1) Pet food is a perfect food for pests - Would you be surprised to know that one of the favorite foods of beetles and moths that feed on packaged foods is good ol’ dry pet food? Those doggie kibbles and kitty krunchies provide a nutritious and convenient food source for both insects and rodents. Think about it. Dog food isn’t much different than commercial rat food that you buy fro...

We have long known that seagulls eat putrid landfill food. When you see a circling, swirling flock of seagulls inland, they’re often hovering above a landfill waiting for a chance to land and peck at piles of garbage. The numbers of seagulls have been increasing in many areas and experts attribute that increase to an increase in human garbage. Gulls that traditionally live near water and...