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.

The house mouse is a native of Asia that was spread throughout Europe.  Humans helped the house mouse spread throughout the rest of the world.  Like other types of insects and animals, mice need food, water and shelter to survive.  Human habitats provide the perfect environment for mice to thrive.  Once they have moved into your home, you’ll need help from a NYC pest control professional to eliminate the pesky critters.

The house mouse will eat crumbs, food scraps, or pet food that is left out.  They will also gnaw into boxed or bagged food with ease to gain access to sealed food products.  Mice constantly dribble urine and leave a trail of feces behind in their wake which will contaminate any surface that they walk upon as well as any food product that they are near.

Mice tend to stay within 10 feet of their nesting site and they typically follow the same path to and from food or water sources over and over again.  Trying to remain undetected, mice will travel from place to place along the walls.  In addition to a dirt or oil type smear left on the wall.  You may also notice gnaw marks on the wood baseboards or furniture as mice are in constant need of filing down their incisor teeth.

Stern Environmental Group provides commercial and hospitality industry rodent extermination services to businesses in New York and New Jersey.  Call us today for help with your mice or rat eradication needs.

They are curious, cold, and above all else…always hungry.  They don’t care that they are dirty, or that they carry fleas, ticks, or can transmit a variety of dangerous diseases.  They are not toilet trained and will not hesitate to drop urine or feces throughout your home.  They won’t ask for food, they just take it…ripping packages and containers open by using their razor sharp teeth.  They prefer grain type food, but these hungry rodents will settle for anything to fill their bottomless pit stomachs.  Any food that is not sufficiently stored will become part of their menu plan.

Fall is a good time to check your home for rat and mice entry points.  Seal any holes or cracks where entry can be made into your home.  Trim branches and shrubbery away from the roof, windows and exterior walls.  Wood piles should be kept away from your home to discourage easy access to your structure.  Seal exterior pipes with expanding foam to discourage mice entry.  Rats and mice are prolific breeders so it’s important to call a NJ pest control professional at the first sign of their presence.

Rats and mice are the worst house guest that you can have entering your home.  Even if your home is sealed up tight, you could experience an invasion from these cleaver creatures.  Rodent control should not stop during the winter months.  If you find that you have mice or rat activity at your house, contact a licensed pest control specialist before these critters multiply out-of-control.

Once rodent droppings are discovered, you should contact a licensed pest control expert who will devise a plan to trap the invading rodents.  There are various rodent traps that can be used:  traditional snap trap, glue trap, electronic trap, ultrasonic rodent control, humane mice control trap (catch and release), and rodenticides (rat/mouse poison).  Consumers and pest control experts likely have a preference as to which one is their favorite device to use.

It should be noted that reports vary as to how effective the ultrasonic rodent control device performs.  Recent studies have shown that rats and mice quickly become accustomed to the noise emitted and don’t mind living with the sound waves that they hear.  Using rodenticides without proper training can be very problematic for home and business owners.  Rats and mice will eat the poison and can then be attacked and consumed by household pets or wildlife, which will then become poisoned as well.  In addition, many times rats and mice consume rodenticide products and then scurry off into attics, crawl spaces, wall voids, and behind cabinets where they meet their demise.  The smell from their decomposing bodies can be unbearable to live with and impossible for a business to explain away to customers.

A New York City pest control technician will be able to fully eradicate mice or rats that have invaded your home or business by using the most up-to-date monitoring and trapping techniques.  For expert pest control services in New York or New Jersey contact Stern Environmental Group.

The house mouse is able to live and thrive under a variety of conditions.  You will easily find them in homes, business, open fields and agricultural areas.  The house mouse may look unassuming and even cute to some people, with their oversized ears and small eyes, but they are considered to be a troublesome pest that seriously impacts the economy in all parts of the United States.

The house mouse can be gray or brown in color with a white belly, weighs ½ ounce, and will grow to about 7 inches long (including the tail) at adulthood.  New York City pest control experts report that the house mouse is a serious threat to homes and commercial structures because they consume and contaminate massive amounts of food products.  They prefer to dine on cereal grains, but will eat any food that is meant for humans or pets.  Mice can enter a structure via holes as small as the size of a pencil so it’s important to seal up holes to ensure that mice are kept outdoors.

Besides the economic problems that having mice create, mice can also cause serious health problems for humans.  Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is a common rodent-borne disease that is contracted by humans, which is fatal in over half of the diagnosed cases.  Hantavirus is transmitted when the dust that is contaminated in rodent urine or feces is breathed in.  Hantavirus often goes undetected because the symptoms mimic the flu with headaches, nausea, rapid shallow breathing, vomiting and dry cough.  Humans are also at risk of contracting Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM) and Salmonellosis from the house mouse.

Properly controlling mice can be achieved by hiring a New York City pest control expert with experience in mice removal.

When I spoke with the teacher this weekend, my suspicions were confirmed about how extensive the schools mice infestation really is.  She confirmed that mice have been seen in many classrooms, in the lunchroom, in bathrooms, and in the cafeteria as well.  Evidence of mouse activity has been reported throughout the entire school as teachers report seeing mice feces in cabinets, along classroom walls, in supply boxes, and in the hallways too.

Unlike when a school has a bed bug infestation problem, a school does not need to worry about children taking mice home and transferring the infestation. They should however be worried about the dangers that mice present when they are infesting a school.  Although the teacher was in good spirits about the mice running wild in the school, she had no idea that having a mouse infestation is actually quite dangerous for the children as well as the staff members.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion.

As the weather turns to bitter cold in New Jersey, many people are finding that mice are working their way indoors to seek shelter.  Mice can squeeze their nimble body into spaces as small as ¼ of an inch.  Any type of crack, crevice or hole around your home is fair game to a cleaver little mouse.  Basements, attics, wall voids and garages all serve as perfect mice nesting spots during the wintertime.  The trouble is, once mice move indoors, if the food supply is good, they don’t tend to ever leave.  Mice are prolific breeders and will have pups year round.  Having one mouse in your home can quickly turn into a serious NJ mice infestation.

Despite their timid looks, the deer mouse and the white-footed mouse are known carriers of Hantavirus.  Hantavirus causes a disease called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS).  People become infected with the disease through the urine, saliva, or droppings of the mouse.  It can take up to five weeks for symptoms of the disease to appear so many people do not associate Hantavirus with their illness.  To further complicate matters, the symptoms resemble the flu so the disease is able to progress without treatment or is often misdiagnosed.

The best way to avoid Hantavirus and HPS is to keep your home free of a NJ mice infestation problem by hiring a licensed pest control professional.  For expert mice or rat removal and exclusion services, contact Stern Environmental Group today!

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!

According to Bobby Corrigan, this new type of bait has been used in a variety of locations with great success.  It is perfect for use in locations that pesticide usage is discouraged.  This new type of bait is recommended for schools, biotech firms, pharmaceutical plants, zoological gardens, animal-rearing facilities, zoological gardens, etc.

Another interesting fact about this new bait is that it has been found to not only work on rodents, but cockroaches as well.  All pest control experts know that cockroach infestations are difficult to treat.  Bobby Corrigan’s study has found that once cockroaches have eaten the non-toxic bait, their feces also glow in the dark.  This new technology could also aid in the eradication of cockroaches as it will be easier to pin-point their exact locations so proper treatment can be applied.

Bobby Corrigan said “In short, monitoring/tracking baits can help us be better detectives.  Against the cleaver urban rodent pests, we need every detective tool and clue-gathering technique we can get.”  Read the entire “Biomonitoring For Rodents” article that was featured in PCT by Bobby Corrigan for more interesting information about rat and mouse tracking and monitoring.

The proposed bill would require that any insurance company that underwrites property and casualty policies in New York State also offer policies that would cover the costs associated with bed bug infestations.  It the bill does make it into law, it is not mentioned if every property and casualty insurance policy would then need to cover bed bug infestations or if this would be a separate type of insurance policy that would be offered to consumers.

If the new legislation does pass, entire structures will be able to be covered by this new type of insurance thereby protecting residential building owners, condo owners, and co-op associations in New York.  The legislation would require that policy holders be reimbursed for all bed bug infestation related costs.  This would include cleaning the insured’s property, pest control services, and replacement costs of items that cannot be treated or cleaned (mattresses or furniture etc.)  If the bill passes, it will take effect 90 days after it becomes law.

To date, insurance companies have been sitting back and watching consumers scramble with bed bug infestations.  Currently there are no insurance policies, in any state, that provides coverage for bed bug infestations as bed bugs are considered “vermin”, like rats, mice and cockroaches.  One of the main differences with having a bed bug infestation compared to typical “vermin” is that while having rats, mice or cockroaches living in your home is considered to be disgusting, and time consuming to eradicate, they do not cause thousands of dollars to get rid of!  Nor do other types of vermin cause consumers to replace expensive furniture.

Although there might be some folks who are jumping with joy at the thought of receiving some financial relief for their own bed bug infestation issues, nay-sayers are shaking their heads “no”.  It stands to reason that if the insurance industry is forced into providing this service, the cost will be passed down to the consumer.  There are no free rides when it comes to any type of insurance coverage or premiums!