New Jersey pest control experts are often contacted when surprised homeowners find evidence of mice in their homes.  Mice enjoy the same comforts that humans do…food, water and a warm place to live.  Once they find a nice place to live, they will not be leaving of their own accord.

Signs of infestation of mice include gnaw marks on wood cabinets or furniture, track marks, nesting material, mouse droppings, and dribbles of urine.  Mice constantly need to file down their incisors so they gnaw on wood.  Nesting material can consist of sticks, leaves, fabric, hair, paper, cardboard, string, or anything that a mouse can forage and shred.

Mice are most active at night.  They prefer to eat grains, but they are scavengers and will feed upon any food source that they come across.  Not needing much food to survive, crumbs or pet food that is left unattended can feed hungry mice in a home.  Because mice have strong sharp teeth, they can easily rip open sealed packages of food and eat undetected in cabinets.

Mice infestations are difficult to control because they multiply very quickly.  Female mice can have from five to ten litters of pups in her lifetime.  Each litter has on average between five or six mice babies, which are born approximately 21 days after mating occurs.  Those babies reach reproductive maturity in six to ten weeks depending on the environment that they live within.  It’s easy to see how a single pair of fertile mice can multiply out-of-control and cause a full-blown mouse invasion in no time.

The pest control technicians at Stern Environmental Group are trained to look for the signs of mice activity and can find their nesting spots so that they can be safely eliminated in homes, garages, sheds, attics, and all types of businesses.

They have a somewhat harmless and romanticized name but they are far from any type of bug that you would want to spend any alone time with!  The “kissing bug” is also known as the assassin bug, the Mexican bed bug, and the cone-nosed bug, is bloodthirsty pest to keep a watchful eye out for.  There are several species of kissing bugs within the United States. Some have a painless bite, while others deliver what is considered to be the most painful bite of any type of insect.

There are 16 species and 18 subspecies of Triatoma in the United States. Just like a bed bug, the kissing bug survives solely on the blood of mammals.  These bugs will attack wild and domestic animals, as well as humans.  In North America, opossums, raccoons, rats, armadillos, cats, and dogs have fallen victim to kissing bug attacks.

Kissing bug bite wounds are often misdiagnosed as spider bites, bed bug bites, herpes zoster, flea bites, and erythema multiforme.  In extreme cases, death from anaphylaxis is possible from the bite of a kissing bug.

The main reason that the kissing bug bite is so dangerous is because it can spread Chagas’ disease.  The disease is spread when the kissing bug bites their victim and leaves their feces behind in or near the bite wound.  If a person scratches or rubs the feces into the bite wound, the disease can be contracted.  Some people will show signs of the disease immediately, some will not.  Symptoms include a rash, fever, vomiting, and a swelling near the eyes.  The disease often goes misdiagnosed by the medical community.  Additionally, some people will not show any symptoms of the disease for years.  Chagas disease will lurk in their blood and surface twenty to thirty years after the bite wound occurred.  When this happens it is difficult for doctors to determine the digestive and heart problems that the victim is exhibiting.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion.

The honey bee is not native to North America.  Recognizing their extreme importance to the environment and their way of life, the bees were brought here by European settlers during the colonial times.  The bees served as pollinators to their crops and provided beeswax and honey.

Honey bees remain a beneficial insect in New Jersey as well as other parts of the United States.  They are responsible for pollinating approximately 80% of the fruit, nut, vegetable and grain plants throughout the United States.

According to a report from Environment News Service on January 10, 2012, the nation’s honey bee population could be in serious danger.  Researchers out of San Francisco State University have recently discovered that many honey bee nests have been invaded by a fly parasite which renders affected honey bees into a “zombie-like” state of being.  Their research has shown that “The fly, Apocephalus borealis, deposits its eggs in a bee’s abdomen. Usually about seven days after the bee dies, fly larvae push their way into the world from between the bee’s head and thorax.”  Bees that survive the attack are disoriented, walk around in circles with no sense of direction, abandon their hives (or are thrown out by other bees), and tend to congregate near lights.  It sounds like a strange science fiction movie!  Some researchers speculate that this parasite could be the reason for the honey bee colony collapse disorder.  You may read the full article here.

Because honey bees are beneficial insects, honey bee nests must be relocated from a home or business by a beekeeper.  Stern Environmental Group performs bee eradication services for other types of troublesome bees and wasps.  Nuisance bees such as yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, and carpenter bees can safely be removed with the help of Stern Environmental Group.

 Call us today for expert service in New York, New York City and New Jersey.

As the war on bed bug infestations marches forward, so does new technology to battle the creatures that bite in the night.  Bed bug infestations are difficult pests to eradicate say New Jersey pest control professionals.  Because of their ability to hide in tiny cracks, crevices, under carpets, and inside walls, bed bugs have been able to survive even the best treatment offered by pest control experts.
Once an infestation is underway, bed bugs are indiscriminate about where they hide. 

Clothing, books, electronics, bedding, appliances, upholstered furniture, wood furniture, pictures, mirrors, and curtains all create the perfect nesting spots for bloodsucking bed bugs.  The challenge for NJ pest control experts is to root out and kill the bugs without harming any belongings in the process.

New York City continues to top the nation as a problem spot for bed bug infestations.  PRWeb showcased on December 8, 2011, Stern Environmental Group’s new mobile bed bug heat treatment trailer in their online magazine.  Thermal heat treatment has proven to be extremely effective at killing adult, nymphs, and bed bug eggs.

Stern Environmental Group offers their custom built, state-of-the-art trailer to both retail and residential customers who are suffering from bed bug infestations.  The innovative design of the mobile heat treatment trailer kills all stages of bed bugs through an advanced computerized monitoring system.  Once items are placed inside of the 22-foot long trailer, the baking process begins.  The exquisite seals on the trailer prevent any bed bugs from escaping and the extreme heat is able to penetrate deep into all surfaces to efficiently kill bloodsucking bed bugs and their eggs.

Retailers and residential customers will find that using our mobile bed bug heat treatment trailer for bed bug eradication on their goods and belongings is an efficient and cost saving alternative for New York and New Jersey bed bug infestations.

Continuing from Wednesday…

Stern Environmental Group has been a leader in the fight against bed bugs in New York and New Jersey.  We are proud to be a company in the New York and New Jersey area to offer a Thermal Heat Remediation Trailer for killing your bed bug infestation.  Our heat treatment services were recently mentioned on BedBugger.com, which is a useful resource site for those who are suffering from New York City bed bug infestations as well as bed bugs across the United States.

The National Pest Management Association has stated that all stages of bed bugs and their eggs will be killed when they are exposed to temperatures that reach 122 degrees.  Here’s how it works…

• At 95 degrees, bed bugs leave their hiding places in search of a blood meal.

• When temperatures reach 105 degrees, bed bugs try to escape because the space becomes too hot.

• Leaving a room at 113 degrees will take 7 hours to kill bed bugs and their eggs.

• Leaving a room at 118 degrees will take 90 minutes to kill bed bugs and their eggs.

• Once the optimal temperature of 122 degrees is reached, bed bugs and their eggs will die a sudden death in less than a minute!

Stern Environmental Group offers customers the opportunity to bake bed bugs and their eggs in our portable heating trailer.  At 22 feet long, this amazing bed bug killing machine will safely kill bed bugs in most any type of furniture and personal belongings that you own.  Heat treatment is so effective that even bed bugs hiding deep inside of upholstered pieces of furniture do not stand a chance of survival against the extreme temperature.

Stern Environmental Group understands the difficulty involved with treating nasty bed bug infestations.  Our experienced movers will carefully remove your belongings into our special heat treatment trailer for quick bed bug eradication.  Call Stern today for expert NYC and NJ bed bug services.