Groundhogs are known by several different names.  They are also called woodchucks or whistle pigs, and are considered endangered and are a protected species in Wisconsin.  Oddly enough, they seem to be multiplying in New York, New Jersey and just about every other area across the United States.

Groundhogs are one of the greatest challenges for homeowners this time of year, especially if you are trying to grow a vegetable garden.  Gardeners become quite annoyed because groundhogs can easily eat up to two pounds of vegetation each day.  They too enjoy the bountiful treats of nature as they feast on gardens and landscaping.  It only takes one night for one groundhog to mow down an average size backyard garden.  People  often try using electric fences, regular fences, bricks, hair, urine, and rotten egg juice to keep groundhog away; but these pesky creatures still seem to find their way into gardens.  Once a groundhog has moved on to your property, it is nearly impossible to get rid of them without the help from a pest control specialist.

Because of their constant burrowing and excavating skills, groundhogs have been known to cause considerable damage to foundations and they can even undermine the structure of swimming pools or other structures.  Although not always the case, groundhogs can be the carrier of the rabies virus as well as the hepatitis virus.

If you have groundhogs making a mess of your landscaping in New York or New Jersey, contact Stern Environmental Group today.  We provide humane expert groundhog removal service to our customers in Secaucus, New Jersey, the Greater New York City Metro and Connecticut Regions.  Don’t let groundhogs damage your expensive landscaping.  Take advantage of our 24 hour emergency groundhog removal services today.

Continuing from Thursday…

Not only is Josimar Ferreira accused of operating a Massachusetts extermination company without being certified, but it has been reported that he has also allegedly maintained pest control companies in New Jersey and New York as well.  Both New Jersey and New York have cited Ferreira for operating an unlicensed pesticide business.  It makes you wonder how he is able to obtain toxic pesticides, without being properly licensed.  Clearly there was a breakdown…in three states!

Stern Environmental Group has been providing expert bed bug and pest control services in New Jersey and New York for over ten years.  We pride ourselves on providing our customers with the safest pesticide application available, and offer a wide variety of services and products to meet many different types of needs.  We offer professional services to both residential and business customers alike.  Whether you are looking for help with bed bugs, rats, mice, squirrels, raccoons, groundhogs, ants, spiders, cockroaches, or bee control, Stern Environmental Group’s licensed pest control applicators are here to lend a helping hand!

Groundhog burrows are typically the focus area regarding groundhog control and not trees! A typical groundhog burrow has a main entrance and one emergency escape entrance. Their burrow is used for hibernating during the winter and for mating and raising their babies. Some groundhogs also known as woodchucks, also have a summer burrow. The summer burrow is typically situated in the middle of a grassy area. The burrow where the critters live in the winter and spring is often located in a nearby brushy or wooded area.

There are several groundhog control solutions residents of New York City and New Jersey and elsewhere can use:

1. Use repellent smells or tastes.
2. Use motion detection devices to scare them away.
3. Live-trapping the critters as they leave their burrows and relocate them to another area.

Also, to reduce the possibility that groundhogs will make a home on your property eliminate tall grass areas, tall weed areas and brush piles since they may not live near your garden If there isn’t good cover.

Quality groundhog removal services are available for New York City and New Jersey.

In continuation from Tuesday…

Once an animal contracts rabies, they are very unpredictable and should be avoided.  It was recently reported in the news that a nine year old girl was walking into a church when a rabid raccoon jumped out of the bushes and attacked her.  The raccoon had such a tight grasp on the poor girls leg that when church members scooped her up to carry her inside, the creature refused to let go and was lifted up as well!  In another story, a woman was sleeping soundly in her bed when a rabid raccoon entered her home and bit her foot for absolutely no reason!

Residents of New York and New Jersey should always take precautions and watch out for rabid raccoons when walking on the streets.  You should never feed or try to befriend any wild animal.  If you see an animal acting strange or have been bitten or scratched by a wild animal, the New York City Health Department advises that you contact the 311 line.

If you have raccoons causing trouble at your home or business in New York or New Jersey; Stern Environmental Group is here to help.  We provide 24 hour emergency raccoon removal services in the New York City Metropolitan region servicing New York City, parts of New Jersey and parts of Long Island.  Our trained experts will safely and humanly remove these damage causing, and potentially disease ridden pests, fast and efficiently!  Give us a call today.

Last night I returned home late.  It was dark and when I pulled into the driveway I noticed two little eyes shining underneath the van parked in front of the garage.  After I parked, I began calling “here kitty kitty” as my neighbors cat is often a nighttime visitor.  The kitty did not come out as it usually did so I bent down to look under the van to make sure that it was not injured.  The animal under the van began to hiss at me in a way that it had never done before.  I quickly jumped up and it was then that a rather large raccoon came bounding out towards me.  Not knowing if the raccoon had rabies, or what the animal would do; I quickly made a run for the front door.  I shutter to think of enduring the painful shots that I would have been subjected to had that raccoon gotten his claws or teeth into me!

Rabid raccoons have been a troublesome pest in New York and New Jersey as well as other parts of the United States.  In January of this year, the New York City Health Department reported that there were 23 rabid raccoon sightings, mostly in the Central Park area.  This is a spike in numbers from the four rabid raccoons reported in Manhattan for all of 2009. Unfortunately, in the Bronx and Staten Island, rabid raccoon sightings are a fairly common occurrence for homeowners.

Please check back on Thursday for the conclusion.

Raccoons are known for their cute and cuddly looks.  While watching them scamper and play outside it’s hard to think of them as a pest that will cause tremendous damage to your home or business; but that exactly what they are known for doing.

Raccoons are quite resourceful at climbing and can easily gain entry into an attic through a vent, soffit, or roof.  One family in Florida recently reported that they have been harassed by a pack of raccoons that won’t seem to go away.  These furry pests await the nighttime darkness and have repeatedly ripped the shingles off their roof and have dug holes through their plywood to gain access to their attic.  So far the family has caught 20 raccoons breaking in; yet much to their dismay they keep coming back, night after night.

New York and New Jersey residents have not only been battling the destructive antics of the raccoons; but they must also fear that the raccoons they encounter could have rabies.  Rabies is a virus that can infect all warm blooded mammals, including humans.  The virus is found in the saliva of rabid animals and is transmitted by bites and potentially contamination from open wounds.  Everyone is discouraged from having contact with raccoons because of the dangers they present.  If raccoons are giving you trouble in New York, NYC, or New Jersey, contact Stern Environmental Group.  Our professionals will provide safe, fast and humane raccoon removal services for your home or business.  Give us a call today!

A Walgreens located in Chicago was closed by the mayor’s Dumpster Task Force due to having 570 mouse droppings on the floors and shelves that contained snack foods and candy. Sounds like a good idea. Inquiring minds in New York City and New Jersey want to know if the store would have been shut down if they found 338 mouse droppings.

If a prominent company like Walgreens has 570 mouse droppings in a particular store perhaps other prominent stores have a large collection of mouse droppings. The phrase mouse droppings is not as repulsive as other phrases which could have been selected.

Inquiring minds in New York City and New Jersey and perhaps all over the nation want to know if the 570 mousse droppings count has been verified by an independent source. Well, perhaps not.

Just 20 mouse droppings would be enough to inspire the shouting of yuck! Why didn’t the employees notice the accumulation of mouse droppings when it got to 200 hundred?

Stern Environmental Group would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our faithful customers and readers.  We were recently notified by some of our customers that they had received some very strange email messages which initially looked like they were coming from our company.  Once investigated, we realized that our Stern Twitter account had been hacked by some unscrupulous people on November 4th and November 9th!  Hacking into someone’s online business sources is completely shameful and unethical!

We would like all of our customers and readers to know that Stern never participates in spaming or phishing schemes.  We will never contact you to ask you for any password or credit card information either. Stern strives to provide our readers with the most updated information about bed bugs, bed bug products, bed bug services, and other important pest and urban wildlife information.  Through our extensive research and experience, we are able to bring you interesting and sometimes even funny stories that are directly linked to the industry that we are so passionate about.

If you ever receive any communication from Stern Environmental Group that seems to be out of the ordinary or meets any of the above criteria; we ask that you please contact us immediately so that we can take measures to stop this deceitful practice of others.

We do encourage you all to stop by our Twitter page and view some of our interesting topics and links.

Have you ever walked out into your garage and found an unexpected obstacle course of debris that has been knocked down off of shelves?  No, it’s not likely a burglar rummaging through your boxed up Christmas ornaments, tools and sports equipment.  There is a good chance that you have another type of destructive visitor in your midst.

Opossums are nocturnal and as such they typically sleep all day long and forage for food all night long.  It is not uncommon for them to seek shelter in a garage or attic if given the chance.  With the weather abruptly changing to cold who can blame them really?  They have no trouble climbing to the top of your garage shelves and knocking down anything that is of interest to them or in the way of their waddling back end.  When not sleeping, they are always on the hunt for food.

It’s a good idea to keep your garage free of food products as they do invite all types of pests like squirrels, raccoons, opossums, rats and mice.  If you suspect that you have opossums in your garage, you could try to leave the door open in the evening and close it before bedtime.  Hopefully your visitor will leave on it’s own since it is a night time forager. Opossums are very resourceful though, so make sure that all areas of your garage are free of entry points.

Confronting a wild animal on your own is never a good idea.  They can become aggressive very easily and can carry dangerous diseases.  It is always a good idea to call a professional pest control expert instead who is trained in the humane removal of any wildlife.

As suburbia continues to spread outwards, more and more residents are encountering raccoons and other dangerous wildlife in their every day life.  Raccoons, along with opossums, rats, mice and other rodents are responsible for transmitting dangerous diseases to humans.  Eight residents in Long Beach, California with ages ranging from 1 to 59 years old have recently been diagnosed with typhus.  Typhus is not transmitted from human to human contact; rather it is spread by fleas that have hosted on various animals like the ones mentioned above.  Luckily for these folks in California, although typhus is unpleasant to contract, it rarely causes death and can be treated with antibiotics.

When dealing with wildlife, rabies should always be a top concern.  Rabies is most commonly found in raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes and coyotes, but any warm blooded animal can pass rabies onto people.

You should always try to avoid direct contact with wildlife; but if they do happen to enter you home or business, you should not try to remove them yourself.  Contacting a nuisance pest control removal specialist is the key to a humane and safe removal of wildlife instead.  Stern Environmental Group offers expert wildlife removal services to most of New Jersey, all of NYC, parts of CT and most of Long Island, NY.