CNN Travel reported on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 that during a September flight from North Carolina to Houston, a couple claims that they were joined by more than just passengers and crew aboard their flight.  The couple claims that they were shocked when disgusting cockroaches began crawling out of the vents and the passenger’s overhead carry-on bins.

The couple, one of which is an attorney, has since filed a lawsuit against the offending airline stating that passengers are entitled to be “clean and pest free” accommodation. The lawsuit accuses the airline of “negligence and recklessness, infliction of emotional distress, nuisance, false imprisonment and unfair and deceptive trade practices, and is suing for more than $100,000 plus the price of their tickets.”  The airlines response to the couples complaint is not surprising…they are denying the majority of their allegations.   Armchair lawyers believe that there is no way this lawsuit will ever make it into a courtroom.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the settlement to be offered to the couple.

You may read the article and watch the video here.

New York City pest control experts say that all businesses, including airlines, must be on the constant lookout for all types of pests.  It is an unbearable to think of being stuck in an airplane that is rocketing though the skies at 30,000 feet while cockroaches are crawling out of a vent overhead.  Businesses should have a licensed pest control company at the ready to kill any new infestations that does arise.

KZTV10.com reported on July 12, 2011 that a hotel guest claims to have awoken to a really odd and frightening occurrence.  According to their report, a gentleman says that he woke up with a cockroach coming out of his nose!  In addition to his roach claim, he says that he has a strange bite mark which continued to grow for which he has sought medical treatment for.  You can read the article here.

Additionally, KXXV-TV News Channel 25 reported on July 12, 2011 that a woman claims that she too was the nighttime buffet for bed bugs at a Waco, Texas motel.  According to reports, she claims that she awoke to dozens of the bloodsuckers slurping away and when she jumped out of bed, the buggers were everywhere!  You can read the article here.

Don’t let your guard down against bed bugs while you travel.  They are not just in Texas, nor just in hotels or motels.  Bed bugs can be found anyplace that humans frequent.  Movie theaters, restaurants, taxi cabs, buses, airplanes, jails, hospitals, retail stores, and even Aunt Martha’s house can all have these horrible bloodsuckers lying in wait, hoping to hitch a ride home with you!

If you think you have encountered bed bugs, or have an ongoing New Jersey bed bug infestation, it’s crucial to contact a licensed pest control expert that is trained in bed bug eradication services.

Bed bugs are sneaky travel companions as they will easily hitchhike their way into your clothes or suitcases while you travel. With the spring break travel season fast approaching, Stern Environmental Group has the perfect travel solutions to help keep your home bed bug free.

The Bed Bug Patch has proven effective at keeping bed bugs away from humans while they sleep.  The Hefty Bedbug Travel Bags works great for storing all of your personal belongings in a giant zippered see-thru storage bag.  The BugZip Luggage Bags and Drawer Liner Bags allow you to place your entire suitcase in the special rectangular shaped plastic bag that you are able to seal shut so bed bugs cannot climb inside.  They are great for using inside of hotel room drawers too.  The Bed Bug Control and Mattress Spray is non-toxic and is safe for use around humans and pets.  It will prevent bed bugs, fleas, ticks and cockroaches from hitching a ride home with you!

In addition to using these great products, it’s important to look for bed bugs or the signs of bed bugs whenever you are traveling.  Remember, despite their name, bed bugs are not only found in beds.  Bed bugs can be found most anywhere that humans frequent.  In a hotel room, check for bed bugs on the mattress and box spring, between the sheets, behind the headboard, and in the bed frame.  You should always look for blood smears, fecal matter, skins, and live or dead bed bugs when you travel.

If you need help getting rid of a NYC or NJ bed bug infestation, contact Stern Environmental Group for expert bed bug eradication services.

Odd at it may seem, some people believe that there is an acceptable level of vermin that can be present at New York City restaurants, grocery stores, delis, bars, mobile carts or trucks, retail warehouses and the like say NYC pest control experts.  In every state throughout the United States, and in most countries, there are laws that require that all food establishments and facilities be free of vermin at all times in order to remain in operation.

New York City pest control experts say that any vermin in a food facility is a serious problem as rats, mice and cockroach infestations put the public’s health in danger.  Vermin are always on the hunt for a good food source and food establishments provide ample opportunity for an infestation to occur.  It’s important for all businesses to ensure the safety of their patrons by hiring a pest control professional for regular pest control treatments.

The signs of rats and mice are fairly easy to notice as they leave a trail of feces in their pathways and they gnaw into any type of food source that they can gain access to.  Rats and mice are able to squeeze into small openings into businesses, which must be completely sealed in order to keep them out.  A good NYC pest control expert will aid restaurants in finding the entry points and nesting spots when rats or mice are suspected.

New York is home to four different cockroaches, the German cockroach, the brown-banded cockroach, American cockroach, and the Oriental cockroach.  Each of these cockroaches can easily infest a restaurant as they feed on wide variety of food sources.  Cockroaches carry bacteria on their legs which is then transferred onto food preparation surfaces, utensils, bowls, plates, and food sources.  Restaurants with a NYC cockroach infestation must worry about transmitting the Salmonella bacteria to their customers.

There is no acceptable level of vermin in any business establishment!  Stern Environmental Group recommends that all businesses maintain good sanitation practices, regular rat and mice inspection and extermination services, and utilize cockroach eradication services on a regular basis.

The opossums were apparently set free at various parks and underneath the Coney Island boardwalk two years ago.  It was assumed that once the rat population had diminished, the opossum populations would as well because of the lack of food that would be available.  The problem is that these cleaver pointy nosed creatures have been able to thrive alongside other problem pests in Brooklyn with great ease.

Many area homeowners are crying foul as they wonder why the City Council would release another type of problem pest into the area.  But, perhaps the opossums are not as problematic as you might think.  According to The National Opossum Society, opossums are a beneficial animal for many different reasons.

Contrary to what some people believe, opossums do hunt, kill, and consume a large number of rats and mice.  Being nature’s ultimate scavengers, they will consume all types of dead animals (carrion) that they encounter.  They also eat many types of bothersome insects like crickets, beetles, snails, slugs, and cockroaches too.  Fallen fruit in neighborhood yards is a particular treat to a roaming possum.  Opossums do tend to carry fleas like other wild animals; but they seem to have a high immunity to most diseases, especially rabies!

Now if we could just train them to hunt and eat NYC bed bugs, perhaps they would be the perfect pet!

Opossums can be trouble when they rummage through trash cans and pet food left outdoors.  Like any other wild animal, they will bite if they are grabbed too.  If they happen to enter your home or attic though, you should never try to remove them yourself.  Wildlife removal is best left to professional pest control experts like the ones you will find at Stern Environmental Group instead!

A pest infestation is bad for business in many ways.  Infestations will not only drive needed customers away, they are also known to shut businesses down completely as well.  Having an unwanted pest infestation at your restaurant can easily destroy your food supply.  Mice and rats carry dangerous diseases in their urine and feces.  They contaminate food preparation areas and chew into food supplies.  Cockroaches transmit bacteria and can bring disease into your environment.  No food source is off-limits to a cockroach.  They will eat anything, including another cockroach if need be.

The presence of mice, rats, or cockroaches can easily tarnish or destroy completely a company’s professional reputation.  Once patrons hear about a cockroach infestation at a restaurant or hotel, they are likely to head for the hills!  Customers often remain leery for a long time after the reported pest problem has been taken care of, in fear that it could return at any time.

Businesses would be wise to consider having a pest control specialist perform pest inspections and treatment at regular intervals to keep unwanted pests at bay.  Commercial pest control services are a small price to pay in comparison to a business losing its long standing good reputation.

Stern Environmental Group has been providing expert pest control services for over 10 years to businesses in Secaucus, New Jersey, the Greater New York City Metro and the Connecticut Regions.  If your business is experiencing rats, mice, cockroaches, ants, spiders, bees, or other problematic pests; give us a call and we will send our trained technicians out to get rid of your pests!

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!

Train operators have blamed some of the pest problems on the fact that people eat on the move and leave food on their seats.  Food crumbs could be attracting the cockroaches, but certainly not the bed bugs and fleas.  Bed bugs and fleas want one thing for dinner…blood, preferably from humans.  How nice that they have a warm place to live and a nice host to grab a quick meal from in the confines of the trains and buses in England.  Some passengers are so worried about the problem that they have resorted to sitting on plastic bags on their seats.  Perhaps more hygienic, but not sure how safe that is.

Rentokil, a pest control company there, has developed as new cleaning system where heat is used to kill all of the insects and their eggs in the trains and buses.  Hopefully, for the passenger’s sake, and those of us across the pond, something will be done to ease the spreading of bed bugs!  Sadly, it has already been reported that bed bugs and cockroaches have been spotted in New York train stations too!

If you have encountered bed bugs, it’s no laughing matter.  Bed bugs will multiply very quickly and disrupt your life.  Stern Environmental Group provides fast and discreet bed bug service to Secaucus, New Jersey, the Greater New York City Metro and Connecticut Regions.

Tests were performed by spraying a pesticide inside of an empty train and a bus and then they counted the insect bodies. That sounds like a fun job to have!  The amount of dead insects found was absolutely staggering.  Reports are that the average commuter train contains up to 1,000 cockroaches behind lighting and ceiling panels, and 200 bed bugs and fleas in the seats! Wow, that’s a lot of potential infestations going on there.

Of course the train and bus operators deny that they have this sort of bug problem happening within their systems. They say that the trains are cleaned after each work day and deep cleaned every 14 days.  Just with bed bugs alone, a simple cleaning is not enough.  Even with a ritual deep cleaning every 14 days, you can just imagine how many bed bugs bite people, or worse yet, hop on people’s clothing and travel back to their home or businesses with them.  Bed bugs are master hitchhikers, it’s no wonder that England is suffering with such bad infestation problems!

Please check back on Thursday for the conclusion.

Not liking the cold winter months, many cockroaches move indoors and invade our living space.  They especially love to hang out in the kitchen and bathroom, because of the ample food and water sources.  Cockroaches are known to spread 33 different kinds of bacteria, seven types of human pathogens, and six parasitic worms.

These nasty creatures are also known for causing terrible allergies and asthma in children and the elderly.  Cockroaches contain allergen proteins that are known to trigger asthma attacks and allergies in people who have sensitivities.  Cockroach saliva, droppings, and decomposing bodies all contain these proteins and should be avoided if at all possible.

Whether you have a business or a home, if you suspect that you have a cockroach infestation problem, you should contact a licensed pest control professional who is trained to take care of your infestation problem quickly.