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.

Groundhogs are adorably cute when you look at them from your kitchen window.  The trouble comes when they decide to set up their humble abode on your property.  Groundhogs spend their mornings and evenings feasting on almost two pounds of delicious vegetation each day.  Nice landscaping will not stand a chance against a groundhog invasion.  In a short while, they can nibble your plants to the ground.  Groundhogs are also carriers of rabies in New York, New Jersey and other parts of the US, so you need to be careful not to approach them.

Just recently, one Minnesota county was so fed up with the damage the groundhogs were causing to property owners, and their over population status, that they came up with an interesting and somewhat morbid solution to the problem.  This particular county put a bounty on the groundhogs head…well, actually their feet.  County residents were paid $2 for every two pair of groundhog feet that were turned into a local agency on one particular day.  Hunters spent the entire spring killing off groundhogs and collecting their feet to get ready for the big pay-off from the county.  I can’t even imagine bringing in a big sack of groundhog feet!  Yuck!

It just seems so much easier, and much more humane, to contact a licensed pest control expert who is trained in the removal of groundhogs instead.  If you have groundhogs tearing up your yard or garden and munching away at your landscaping, contact Stern Environmental Group today!  Our trained operators will humanely remove troublesome groundhogs from your property fast!

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?

Now that winter has officially set in, many homeowners are experiencing the arrival of guests they were not expecting.  No, not Aunt Sally…instead mice, rats, squirrels, and other home invaders are using the warmth of homes to seek shelter from the bitter cold.  According to the National Pest Management Association, an estimated 21 million homes in the United States will experience a rodent invasion of some sort this winter.

If you have not already prepared your home for winter invaders, here are a few things you should do…

Trim any branches and shrubbery away from your home or roof so that rodents do not have easy access to your home.  Firewood is a favorite nesting spot for many creatures, so you should keep it at least 20 feet from your house and elevate it several feet off the ground.  Seal any holes or cracks on the outside of your home to keep would-be invaders out.  If you suspect that you might have a rodent invasion, inspect electrical wires and look for gnaw marks and rodent droppings.

If you are one of the unlucky folks who have been invaded by pests, it is always wise to contact a licensed pest control specialist to take care of the infestation as soon as possible.  Rats and mice carry diseases in their urine and feces that are dangerous when ingested or breathed in by humans.

Stern Environmental Group provides fast quality rodent extermination service to Secaucus, New Jersey, the Greater New York City Metro and Connecticut Regions.

The grey squirrels in one New Jersey County are having a blast this holiday season…again.  For the fourth year in a row, grey squirrels are noshing on the LED light bulbs that are decorating Fredericton in New Brunswick County.  For some odd reason, the squirrels like all of the colors except the red ones though.  County officials thought that this year they had outsmarted the squirrels when they installed larger LED lights.  These lights were no match for the taste buds of the grey squirrel though.  They like the new ones just as much as the old ones.  The squirrels are seen daily sitting up in the trees eating every bit of the plastic bulbs…except those pretty red ones of course!

Squirrels are wonderful to watch while frolicking out in the yard and up in the trees; but they can become quite menacing if they decide that your house or attic would be a good nesting spot.  Besides being messy houseguests, for some reason they like to nibble on electrical wires.  Many times, their chewing has caused homeowners extensive damage and even fires.

If you have squirrels in your attic or walls, you should never try to remove them yourself.  It is always wise to call a professional pest control expert who is trained in squirrel removal.  Stern Environmental Group provides 24 hour emergency squirrel removal service and always uses humane squirrel trapping methods.  Give us a call today.