Unless we’re amazingly fortunate, every one of us, at some point in our lives, has had to endure the tedious task of dealing with those fluffy little balls of sofa-chewing, dropping-leaving, cat-provoking, seemingly invincible joy. That’s right, I’m talking about mice. When aimless snap traps and cheese have got you frustrated to no end, alas, there is another solution: the Track & Trap mouse control system, by Stern Environmental.

Perfect for restaurants, industrial settings, multi-family units, and homes, this innovative new technology not only takes care of one or two mice, but all of them. First, a mouse control expert will install a special mouse tracking box containing food attractant, surrounded by an environmentally friendly, powdered fluorescent chemical which covers the feet and bodies of the mice as they eat.

Then, as the mouse scurries back to its nest or hole, it will leave tracks of the fluorescent powder. After a few days, many of the mice (if there happen to be more than one) will have discovered this food source and, in turn, will have made more powder trails leading back to their nests or holes. Finally, a mouse eradication expert will come and track the path of the mice using a special UV light that will illuminate the box’s fluorescent powder and uncovering the mice’s feeding trail. Through doing this, they can then pinpoint each of the entry points and set traps, accordingly.

In addition to the Track & Trap mouse control system, Stern also provides traditional rat and mouse control, including snap traps, rodenticides, and mechanical traps, as well as rat and mouse inspection for any environment, such as restaurants, industrial settings, multi-family units, and homes. Don’t let these little pests scrounge throughout your home, any longer. Give Track & Trap a try!

Squirrels are seemingly harmless. They’re cute, fluffy, and playful when gallivanting around one’s front yard, picking up acorns and playing tag with one another. One wouldn’t expect a darker side to them, but if you let your guard down for even just one second, they’ll attack! Not really, but they do love to throw nuts at parked vehicles or unsuspecting hikers. Funnily enough, squirrels can be quite the nuisance to homeowners in many ways, including nut chucking. Just don’t judge a book by it’s cover. You might find out how sinister these pests can be.

Squirrels like to nest in your walls. It’s a harsh reality of life; your walls are not safe from these little buggers. Many a person has woken up to the pitter-patter of a squirrel making its nest from bits of insulation and dry wall. They also can be a threat to your electrical wiring. They have been known to chew right through them, which can leave you with two problems: lights out, and dead carcass. Not fun. Another problem is that squirrels are family pests and love to invite thier kin to stay at the free (your name here) motel. Imagine an orchestra of squirrel feet playing just for you.

There are ways to rid you of your squirrel issue. One popular way is to use strobe lights as a way to off set their sense of comfort in your home. This will cause them to leave on their own, and not leave thier bodies laying around. Another way is to seal up thier doors to get in and out. This will ensure that you won’t have a Best Nestern that is open 24/7. Or gee, you could just have an exterminator come in a nuke them. Whatever you do, do it fast before they start checking in and not checking out.

It’s no wonder that carpenter ants can make their presence felt quickly and over a long period. Breeding occurs between March and July, and typically each fertilized female lays 20 eggs in 15 days. The three stages from egg to larvae to pupal takes about 22 days, or 66 days total to adult, in 70 to 90 degree temperatures. If it is cooler, it could take ten months. This new colony does not produce swarmers until about three years later, and typically there are 2000 to 4000 ants over the next 3 to 6 years.

It is quite a sobering thought to realize how quickly a home can be overrun with ants, and just when you think you may have eradicated the problem, the colony can be growing geometrically, hidden in your walls.

The best way to prevent carpenter ant infestation is to watch for nests or swarms in moist or dry wood. Favorite locations include steps, porch supports, siding, seepage from plugged drain gutters, chimney flashing, wooden shingle roofs, hollow porch posts, columns, leaking window and door frames, window boxes, crawl spaces, pipes, poor pitch of porch roofs, flat deck porch roofs, under porches, attics. Indoor dry locations include doors, door casings, curtain rods, false beams, or under insulation in attics.

Family members may observe ants by seeing them or hearing them. An active colony may produce a distinct, dry rustling sound, like the crinkling of cellophane. Or you may need to set sugar traps and tape to discover their entrance points. A nest cavity has a hollow ring, and can be easily penetrated by a knife blade if the wood is infested. A household aerosol spray, containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide, applied directly into cracks, crevices or holes, will cause ants to emerge, revealing their nest.

Applying insecticides to eradicate the problem are best left for the professionals, who are experienced in preserving the integrity and foundation of your home. Preventative measures include trimming tree branches and removing stumps, and repairing rotted or water-damaged wood, and sealing cracks and crevices in the home’s foundation, especially near outside utility pipes and wiring.

I remember when I went away with my family one summer and returned after a month. The moment I stepped into the house I could see the floor moving. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. It wasn’t until I looked closer that I realized that the floor wasn’t moving; it was just covered in what seem to be a million fleas. They were everywhere! And the worst thing about a million fleas are that they aren’t the friendliest insects to swarm in your home. I was so bitten up from just walking to the bathroom. It took about three fumigations to completely kill every single flea, and unlike some people, I want to have children, so I was kind of concerned with this method. Come to find out that I didn’t have to spend all that money on harmful chemicals to rid myself of my massive flea issue.

Researchers have found that one could kill up to ninty-six percent of their flea problem with the aid of thier freindly, household vaccuum. Apparently, the force of the vaccuum is so intense that the fleas lose an outer layer of their body called the cuticle ( a waxy substance that coats their tiny bodies). Thus, the fleas dry up and die eventually, and this takes care of any stage of fleas that seem to plague your home, whether it be adult, larvae, or pupae.

So, next time I go away on vacation and I return to a foreign species who think they dominated a new home, I’ll reach for my vaccuum and save a penny or two.

Have you ever stood in line at the airport? It can be quite annoying, to be honest. All those checks and security precautions just slow everything down. But not always are they looking for bombs or weapons. Sometimes, the reason for all the wait is the little round object in your bag. Can you guess what it is? It’s that shiny, yellow apple. Believe it or not, this delicious, little fruit can be quite the bother to the agriculture enforcement team. And not just that fruit, but any kind of food or vegetation from a foreign country. Why, you ask? It’s because of the extra passengers who are hitching a free ride.

Every year, hundreds to thousands of food products, vegetation, or pet products are confiscated to protect the country from foreign pest outbreaks. As ridiculous as it sounds, an outbreak can occur (and has occurred) from just one pest, let’s say a little fruit fly. This single outbreak costs California over $100 million to eliminate the problem that that very fruit fly caused.

It’s important to remember that bombs and knives aren’t the only things that can endanger your life, especially when travelling from country to country. So, next time the security guards prompt you to take off your shoes and put your bag on the conveyor belt, just feel a little more secure in the fact that they’re making sure there are no teeny, tiny terrorists hopping aboard the plane.