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!

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.

Besides carrying potential diseases, raccoons can be territorial and mothers can even become aggressive if they feel the need to protect their young.  Just this past weekend an elderly lady in Florida was watching five raccoons in her backyard.  Once the masked group moved to the front porch of her home, the woman decided that it was time to shoo them away.  The pack of raccoons turned on the poor woman and attacked her!  She was knocked down and repeatedly bitten and scratched by the pack of raccoons and is now hospitalized.  Now the authorities are looking for the pack so that they can determine if they have rabies.

If you have raccoons or other nuisance wildlife that have moved into your property, it is not a good idea to try to remove them yourself.  You never know when they might become aggressive and attack you.  You never know what sort of diseases that they may be harboring.  You should always call a licensed pest control specialist instead who is trained in the removal of dangerous nuisance wildlife.  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.