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Ants With Wings!!

Have you been seeing ants around your house? Do any of them have wings? If you answered yes to either, or both of these questions, you could have a carpenter ant problem. Still not sure what you are seeing? Take a look at the picture above, and if the ants you are seeing looks like that, then you have carpenter ants. What exactly is a carpenter ant, and should you be concerned?

Carpenter ants are wood destroying insects that make their nest by excavating wood from trees, logs, or the wood frame in your home. They are attracted to a wet wood, so if you have ever had a leak in your house, this could lead to a carpenter ant problem. The fact that you are seeing carpenter ants however does not mean that there is a nest inside your home, so how do you know if you have more than just an annoyance?

There are two main things to look for to know if you are having an annoyance, or if you actually have a more serious problem. The first is simple, but not always accurate, the number of ants you are seeing is a good indicator. I you only see the occasional carpenter ant in your house, it is more likely that there is a carpenter ant nest nearby, and the ones you are seeing are just coming from the outside. As the number of ants you see increases, the chances of there being a nest inside one of your walls increases along with it. The second, and clearer sign that you have a carpenter ant problem is when you start seeing carpenter ant swarmers, or the ones with wings. These ants only appear when a nest has reached a mature state, which can take from 2-3 years to occur. If you think you have a carpenter ant problem, you should contact a professional, or just give us a call at 216-348-3379.

What are these holes in my yard?

Spring time is here, and with it comes warmer weather (which I think we are all ready for) nut also it brings many pest problems, and one of the most unsightly of those are moles and voles. As the snow melts off your lawn you will see mounds of dirt from all the tunneling the moles and voles have been doing all winter. The tunnels they leave are not only unsightly, but can be damaging to your lawn and or shrubs. Many people try to tackle a mole or vole problem by using poisons to kill grubs, this can work in some instances, but most cases it just ends up costing you money, and your problem is still there. The only way to get rid of moles and voles is by trapping. In order to do trapping you must be able to track where they are most likely to travel, as moles and voles will often dig tunnels that they never use again. You also must be able to tell what direction they will be traveling, and set the trap to where it will actually trigger when the mole or vole travels under the trap. Our technicians are experts at trapping moles and voles, as they were taught by the Mole Man, and no he’s not some monster out of a budget horror movie (at least not to our knowledge.) So if you want someone who really knows how to whack a mole, give us a call at 216-348-3379.

Carpenter Ants In My Bathroom!!

Yesterday morning we received a call from a customer who had been seeing some large black ants in her bathroom, and from her description we were able to determine she had carpenter ants. She was really concerned by this, as she had a severe carpenter ant problem in the past in her garage header. What happened was her garage door header was never sealed properly, so water was slowly leaking in making the wood wet, which is the perfect environment for carpenter ants. Because of the way the house was built, this turned into a very expensive problem. The header, which ended up needing replaced due to the fact that the problem went unnoticed for a long time, was the support for the whole roof. This carpenter ant problem ended up costing her more than $2,000!! So when she heard that the ants in her bathroom were carpenter ants, she wanted us out as quick as possible. We were fortunately going to have a technician near her Hudson Ohio home later that afternoon, and were able to get there that day. Our technicians arrived just a few short hours later, to discover it was indeed carpenter ants. When dealing with a carpenter ant problem, the hardest, and most important part is to determine where they are coming from. Through our investigation process we found that she had no known leaks, but the ants were concentrated around the sink, and bath tub. We also found out that just a few months ago she had a dead tree removed that was by the same corner of the house. This told us what the most likely cause of her current problem was, what often happens when a dead tree is removed, an existing carpenter ant nest is disturbed, and goes in search of a new home. Our technicians were able to take care of her issue before it became a major problem. If you start to see carpenter ants, the best thing to do is call us at 216-348-3379 before it becomes an infestation, this will keep the cost down, and reduce the chances of needing major repair work done.

Caught 2 Rats & A Mouse

Today we were near one of our regular customers in Cleveland Heights, who had been battling some rats, so we called her to see if we could stop by to check how everything was there. When she answered the phone she told us that she was indeed home, and that we could stop by anytime, so we headed over. When we arrived we found that progress was definitely being made as we had caught 2 rats, and one mouse. We removed these from the traps, re-set the traps, and checked all of her bait stations. This house is a very nice, and very clean place, so sanitation is not the problem here, it can be a contributing factor, but usually is not the cause of the problem. When you live in a city, rats usually come from a break in the sewer line, and since their teeth are continuously growing, they will chew through almost anything, including cement! This can make controlling rats a very difficult problem, and you may be wondering what can I do? Well hopefully you don’t have this problem, but if you do, just give us a call, and our pest control experts will make sure that your problem is resolved quickly, we can be reached at 216-348-3379.

Exposed Mouse Bait in an Office

When dealing with mice, a lot of people think simply putting out poison is the solution to the problem. While this can reduce the number of mice, and in some instances solve your problem, it is not the best method. One of the things that you must consider is when you put out exposed bait, or poison, it puts small children and pets at risk. It only takes a second of you not paying attention for a dog to get into the poison, and if this is not caught in time it can lead to the death of your pet. This is why we use only bait in a lock box, and are also very conscious of the placement of these stations.

Today we got a call from an office building that had been experiencing problems with mice for a while. They finally had enough, and decided that they needed the help of a professional. Upon inspecting the premises we found exposed D-Con bait trays throughout the office. To make matters worse the owner often brought his dog to work, which meant he was putting his dog at risk. We removed all the D-Con, and replaced it with our lock box bait stations. We were also able to identify a couple of spots that the mice were coming in. We then sealed these entry points up, which is the most important part of getting rid of a mouse problem. So if you are having a problem with mice, don’t simply put out poison and think your problem is solved. Putting mouse bait out is a temporary solution at best. If you want you problem solved, give us a call at 216-348-3379

Winter Pest Control

Winter is coming! Just like every other season in Ohio, winter brings with it specific pests that will invade your home. This is the time of year that pests try to take over your home to keep warm. The pests that you will often find in your house this time of year are pavement ants, mice, and spiders. Just like any other pests, this requires a unique treatment in order to properly rid your house of them, or to prevent them from coming in the first place. There are many pests that people see invade their homes this time of year, the most common being mice, pavement ants, spiders, and stink bugs. Mice are very good at finding ways into your home, all they need is about a pencil sized hole to get in. Once inside your house they will be evident by their droppings, and the occasional sighting. If they get into your pantry, it can lead to food being eaten, and contaminated.

Mice, along with spiders head into your house for warmth, and shelter. Spiders, while the natural species to the area are not harmful, they are unsightly. Spiders are one of the tougher insects to control, as their bodies are usually far away from any treatment with their long legs. Being on a regular maintenance program is the best way to keep the spiders away. Stink bugs will also come into your house in search of warmth. In recent years the brown marmorated stink bug has been invading Ohio, originating from China. They can get into your home through any small crack or crevice, making prevention the best method of control.

Pavement ants are a tiny ant only getting up to around 3mm in length. They nest under stones, sidewalks, foundations, or even in walls. They are most commonly seen in a slab house, and are a year round pest as they come in foraging for food. The first sign of pavement ants is the worker ants searching for food in your home. Once a larger number of ants are present, small piles of dirt can be found as the excavate for their nest. If you want to get your home ready for the winter months, give us a call at 216-348-3379.

Scratching Sound in My Ceiling

Today we received a call from a customer who had been hearing a noise coming from her attic. Diagnosing what is going on at someone’s house over the phone can sometimes be tricky. It becomes even harder when they have not seen anything, and are only experiencing a sound. The different animals that can be making that sound are mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and even raccoons. Knowing that all of these are possible, and determining the difference takes a lot of knowledge. She described a scratching sound, that was not very loud, but at night was very annoying. From her description of the scratching sound, and through a series of questions, our technician was able to determine that the noise she was hearing was from a mouse. We arrived at her house in Twinsburg Ohio to find that she not only had mouse droppings in the attic, but also in the basement. Our technicians set up a combination of bait stations, and snap traps based on what we saw going on there. We also went around the exterior and searched for entry points, something that we do whenever doing a treatment for mice. We found several points around her house that were possible ways for mice to get in, and sealed those locations for her. Whenever dealing with a scratching sound in an attic space, it can take some time for it to go away completely, but with our expertise we guarantee that we will take care of it. If you have a problem with mice, or are hearing a scratching sound coming from your attic, and do not know what it is, give us a call at 216-348-3379.

Mouse Droppings In My Basement

Today we received a call from a customer who had been having a problem with mice. On the phone he told us that he had recently had a handyman out to seal up the house, hoping this would solve his issue. Even after having everything sealed, he was still getting mouse droppings, and decided that he needed to turn to a professional. We happened to have someone in his area, and were able to get to his house in Aurora Ohio within a couple hours of him calling. When we arrived we found that he was taking a pretty aggressive approach to getting rid of his problem. He had mouse bait, and glue boards all over his basement. This unfortunately did not appear to be doing anything. We replaced all of his traps, and baits with ones of our own, and placed them strategically based on what was going on there. Then we went out to his garage, and inspected there, as this is one of the most common places to find evidence of mice. We found that they were out there as well, so we set up some bait stations out there as well. We also went around the exterior, and discovered 3 entry points we were able to seal up for him, and one that required the work of a handyman. Sealing up the house is the key to eliminating a mouse problem, if all you do is trap, more will just keep coming. He was surprised that there were so many entry points still at his house, because that is what he had paid a handyman to do the week before. So if you have a mouse problem, and would like to get rid of them, call us at 216-348-3379, and we will take care you.

Mouse Droppings Found During Inspection

Many people wisely choose to have a Wood Destroying Insect Inspection done when in the process of buying a new home. When we do these inspections the focus is clearly on wood destroying insects, but we also will make the buyer aware of any other pests that are present, so that if they choose to, they can take care of any pests prior to moving in to their new home. Common non-wood destroying pests that we find during inspections are mice, spiders, stink bugs, and a few others. Today in doing an inspection in Pepper Pike Ohio, we found evidence of mice in the garage, basement, and attic. This may seem like a lot of places to find mice, but is actually not uncommon to see in houses in this area, in fact it is more rare to find no evidence of mice. As the weather gets colder mice, like us tend to seek shelter and warmth which is why we see more activity inside our homes in the colder months. They can easily enter and exit a house as they only need a hole about 1/4 of an inch wide, or just slightly larger than the size of a pencil. Once inside your home a mouse will tend to stay hidden keeping to areas like crawl spaces, attics, and even inside your walls. Evidence that mice are present in your home usually comes when they come out at night in search of food, you will find items gnawed on, droppings, and sometimes even here a scratching sound in your wall. If you have a problem with mice, you should call us at 216-348-3379, because our pest control experts will not only know how to properly bait, and trap for mice, but also will seal up entry points into your house, creating a long term solution to your problem.

Giant Spider In My Garage!!

Today we received a call from one of our regular quarterly customers saying that she had just walked out to her garage to discover that there was a giant spider in it. Being afraid of spiders, she decided to call us immediately. Fortunately for her, we had a crew that was just around the corner from her, so they were able to stop over within minutes of her calling. When we arrived on site we found a large black spider sitting in the middle of the garage floor, our technician walked over to it, and stepped on it, but nothing happened!! This clearly was no average spider, so our technician took a closer look, and discovered that this was a plastic spider that had been left over from Halloween decorations. Since we were already there, we made sure that everything was still good at her house, checking all of her mouse bait stations, and making sure that her house was free of any real spiders. Because she is a quarterly customer, there was no additional charge for us to come out, and take care of her enormous fake spider. When you are one of our customers we make sure that you get the best care, no matter what the problem, real, or imaginary. If you are having any pest problems simply give us a call at 216-348-3379 and one of our experienced technicians will get out there for you.