Common Ways to Find Out if You Have a Bat Infestation

Bats are a vital part of the ecosystem. While they’re important and a common sight outside, you don’t want them in your home. How do you know if your home or business has been invaded by bats?

One of the most common ways that you’ll realize that you have a bat infestation is by the presence of bats. Bats are nocturnal and tend to roost in attics. So, if you suspect you might have a bat problem, one of the best ways to find out, would be to check the attic during the day for sleeping bats. If you find any, then you have an infestation on your hands.

Another way to find out if you have bats in your home is to look for the droppings. Bat feces looks a lot like mouse feces, only bigger in size. Also, they tend to be clumped together in one place.

Additionally, scratching can also be a sign of bats in your house. Sometimes, you’ll be able to hear a strange scratching through the walls in your home. Usually, it will sound like it’s coming from the attic. While it can also happen during the day, this is not as common given that they tend to sleep throughout daylight hours. Scratching noises tend to be a clear sign that there are animals in your home.

If you aren’t sure about whether or not you have bats and do not want to go into the attic to come in contact with them, you can post people outside your house. Bats tend to take off at dusk to find food, so if you have people taking watch, you will see them fly out of your home. The best way to make sure that they are roosting there is to do this several times.

Scent can also be a signal for homeowners that they have a bat problem. Guano builds up and gives off the scent of ammonia. Now, the problem with this is that by the time it has built up enough that you can smell it, then you typically have a large bat infestation on your hands.

There are a lot of easy ways to confirm whether or not you have bats living in your home. Of course, if you come to the conclusion that you have an infestation, the best course of action would be to have the bats removed. Information about bat removal in Durham can be found at this website.

He Wants to Suck Your Blood!

Gorging themselves on your blood, bed bugs secrete pheromones to attract thousands of others just like them and to promote breeding. In no real time at all, your home could become infested if not properly treated against them. 

Rocky Raccoon Does Not Belong in Your Home

How often are you going to be plagued through the night with the terrifying and irritating sound of scratching in your attic, basement, and/or chimney? Any strange creature that scratches within your home is a thing to be eliminated, but some of these varmints are more detrimental than others. If you hear scratching like this, there is  great likelihood that you have raccoons moving into your home, and those cute critters are surprisingly dangerous to both home and inhabitants.

The Bottom Line on Household Damage

As forest habitat becomes encroached upon and raccoons grow more accustomed to people, they become much bolder about trying to make their homes among humans. Scratching their way into various accommodations, these agile animals damage walls, ceilings, electrical wiring, plumbing, and even roofs. In the end, tolerating intermittent scratching could make you tens of thousands of dollars poorer.

The Prescription for Health and Security

Meanwhile, the health concern surrounding raccoons should not be ignored. Pretty though they may be, these beasts deliver painful bites and scratches. What’s more they are notorious for carrying and transmitting rabies. Anyone sharing a home with raccoons is in serious danger of becoming injured and perhaps infected. Your children and pets deserve to be protected.

Calling a pest control professional is your best step toward dealing with a raccoon problem. Visit this website to learn more about raccoon removal in Burlingame. 

Researchers Learn to Drive Cockroaches

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Save the Bees and Your Home With Humane Bee Removal

Bees are amazing little creatures that pollinate food crops and produce honey. However, they are a wonder of nature that are best admired from a distance. Bees high up in a tree are not of much concern, but a colony living in the walls of your home is a problem. Professional exterminators can humanely remove bees from structures and take them off of your property. Here are three ways professionals can accomplish this task.

Luring and Trapping

Using a one-way wire mesh device, bees can be lured out of their nest in your house and into a hive placed nearby. This is an effective but slow process.

Vacuuming

Specially outfitted vacuums can be used to safely extract the bees. They are then relocated. This method tends to stimulate the bees and make them aggressive, so only properly-outfitted professionals should do this.

Hand Removal

Trained professionals are able to access the nest and physically remove it. This is best done when the hive is at its weakest, typically in the late winter.

Whichever method appeals to you, make sure that your bee removal expert is well-trained, licensed and insured. Visit this website for more information about humane bee removal in Rancho Bernardo.

Cockroaches in the Kitchen

Nothing is nastier that having a kitchen infested with cockroaches. Too bad the little critters can’t make themselves useful. Even if they can’t cook, at least they could do the dishes. 

Learn the Signs of Vole Infestation

Small rodents such as mice, moles and voles are common in most climates.Mice are generally unseen unless they have moved into your house. Moles leave tell-tale mounds of dirt all over your yard. Voles are less-commonly discussed, but are very damaging to your landscaping. Here are some tell-tale signs that you have a vole infestation.

1. Mysteriously Dead Plants

If your trees, shrubs, bushes and other perennial plants are dying for no obvious reason, you might have a vole infestation. Voles burrow underground and feed on root systems, leaving your plants defenseless.

2. Chew Marks

Small chew marks can be seen around the base of plants dead or dying plants. Most munching takes place below ground, but voles are known for leaving their mark above ground as well.

3.Tracks in the Lawn

Voles travel across your lawn in runways that are furrowed into the topsoil. Vegetation is displaced, leaving a noticeable track of dead grass. If you see these tracks in your lawn, you have voles. However, the tracks may not be noticed until significant damage has been done. Keeping your lawn mowed will enable you to spot the damage sooner.

Like other rodents, voles carry diseases and are hosts to parasites such as ticks and fleas. Elimination of a vole infestation can be very tricky without professional help. For more information about vole removal in El Cajon, visit this website.

Best Methods for Legally Removing a Raccoon

Raccoons may be adorable to look at, but they can cause a lot of damage to a home. In addition, raccoons have been known to carry such diseases as rabies and roundworms. To protect your family, you’ll need to remove the raccoons and take steps to prevent them from returning.

Take a look at your local wildlife laws before you create a plan to remove the raccoon. Many counties do not allow homeowners to relocate the animal, while others will allow for the relocation, but only by a licensed professional.

Once you know the law, begin removing the raccoon by repelling it. This will force the animal to find a new home. You can spray a predator urine, such as from a coyote, hang ammonia-soaked rags, or place naphthalene balls around the areas the raccoon likes to frequent. Another option is to set up a few motion sensors that will play music or shine a bright light whenever the raccoon draws near. This will scare the animal so that it runs in the opposite direction.

While taking measures to repel the raccoon, you’ll also need to work to make the environment less attractive to the raccoon. This is done by keeping a tight lid on trash cans, placing dog and cat food inside, instead of outside where the raccoon can grab a quick meal, and trimming back any tree branches that the raccoon could be using to jump onto your roof. Then clean up your yard so that it is free from debris that the animal could use as a hiding place.

Should the above methods prove unsuccessful, you’ll need to trap the raccoon, or have a one way door installed. If the law prohibits you from doing this, then call a professional. It is important to make sure that any baby raccoons are caught as well. Once you have the raccoons in a trap, you can release them in your yard, or in a nearby forest. This again depends on your local laws.

After the raccoon has a new home, you’ll need to prevent the animal from returning. Take a walk around the outside of your home and caulk any openings that you find. Another option is it install a wire mesh sheet if the opening is too large for caulk. Don’t forget to check possible entries to your attic, as that is where most raccoons enter a home.

These are just a few methods for removing a raccoon. To learn more about safe and legal raccoon removal in Durham, visit this website.

4 Signs of Termite Damage in Your Home Furniture

Termites nest and breed in areas with little to no moisture, including wooden furniture. These quiet pests aren't particularly harmful to humans, but people with respiratory problems may have issues due to microscopic bits of sawdust floating through ventilation systems. An unmanaged termite problem can be quite costly, but thankfully, you can watch for the signs to ensure you catch a problem early.

1. Look for Sawdust

Since termites eat away at wood, you might notice tiny piles of sawdust under your couches or in the drawers of your dresser or entertainment center.

2. Tiny Dark Spots

Small, unexplainable dark spots on, in or around your furniture could be fecal matter from termites. If you notice these spots, be sure to do a more thorough inspection.

3. Tiny Tubes or Mounds

Sometimes termites build tiny mounds that settle onto the wooden parts of your furniture. If you come across these tubes or mounds, a professional can provide a thorough inspection.

4. Visible Damage to Furniture

The most obvious sign of an infestation is visible damage to your furniture. It might seem that tiny parts of your wooden pieces are slowly chipping away, or you may notice cracks or distorted paint.

If you've done a thorough inspection of your furniture and suspect you might have a termite infestation, you must call in a professional to prevent further damage. To learn more about termite pests removal in Cary, visit this website!

Educating your employees on pest control

While offices, restaurants and other working environments are usually only temporarily inhabited by humans, they can become a permanent base for some unwelcome visitors… read more

Is There a Difference in Pest Treatment & Pest Proofing?

Oh no! It’s happened to you. You suspect you have bed bugs in your home. Don’t panic. Learn about pest treatment and pest proofing to get your home back again.

Pest Treatment

To paraphrase an old adage, pest treatment is about “getting the horse back in the barn.” Treatment is what you do when you find you have a pest problem. Depending on the pest, there is usually a variety of treatment options available. You want to find the safest, most effective treatment that removes the pest but has the least side effects for your home and family. There are options to treatment with chemical solutions. Newer heat treatment methods kill bed bugs without poisons.

Pest Proofing

To go back to the adage, pest proofing “keeps the horse in the barn” in the first place. Pest proofing includes both behaviors and mechanical best barriers. Encase your mattress in a bed-bug proof cover. When home from traveling, keep your luggage out of your bedroom until you determine you didn’t bring home an unwanted souvenir. Be wary of secondhand clothing and furniture. Even though it may be a fantastic looking antique couch at a bargain price, its bed bug infestation makes it too good to be a true deal.

Pest proofing and pest treatment remove your pest problem and keep it from returning. If you need advice about bed bugs treatment in Raleigh, click here to get to an informative website with helpful details and answers to your questions.

Top 3 Myths About Bed Bugs

Roughly the size of a pencil eraser, bed bugs have become an epidemic across the United States. These parasitic insects are practically clear when born and light or dark brown as adults, and they are extremely hard to get rid of. Many people still believe quite a few myths about these bugs.

1. Bed Bugs Only Live in Dirty Homes

Although it might seem like bed bugs and other "dirty" insects would only live in unsanitary conditions, the truth is they can live anywhere. Even five-star hotels have had problems with bed bug infestations!

2. Bed Bugs Only Live in Your Mattress

Because of its name, many people assume bed bugs only live in mattresses. In truth, they live everywhere. If you have an infestation, they will be in every room of the house. They've even been known to nest behind picture frames and in electrical outlets.

3. Bed Bugs Are Only Active at Night

Bed bugs will become active during the day if they're hungry. If you have an especially large infestation, you're likely to come across them anytime you sit down.

You can’t get rid of bed bugs simply by spraying repellant or bombing an apartment. If you suspect an infestation, it is necessary to call in a professional that specializes in the pest. To find out more about the process for bed bugs treatment in Raleigh, head to this website right away!