A home owner discovered she had thousands of honey bees in the inside walls of here home. I give her permission to yell “Oh the Horror! The Horror!” at thirty minute intervals.

Who is responsible for this invasion? Well I could easily blame the Queen bees. In the month of June the Queen gets bored with her residence and leaves her comfortable hive and  the rest of the bees begrudgingly or perhaps happily follow her to her new location which can be the inside walls of your home.

The homeowner realized there is a shortage of honey bees in the world for pollination purposes, but was saddened to learn the cost of  having bee keepers remove them was five times more expensive than hiring a pest control company to exterminate the honey bees.

However, exterminating or removing the honey bees will not end the problem. Hundreds of pounds of honey can easily be left in the walls which attracts other pests. Thousands of ants in the walls is not easy to deal with either.

Call a bee control specialist at the first sign of an infestation because “home sweet home” doesn’t make sense  if it’s accomplished by honey bees.

Insects are at their most active during the spring and summer. Warmer winters have contributed to an even bigger bug population than usual, meaning more bugs to bedevil you this summer. You may need the expertise of a pest control company to fight back.

Here’s what to look for when hiring a pest control company:

• Ask to see their license. Find out how their technicians are trained and screened. Ask how long the firm has been in the community. Check with the Better Business Bureau and ask for references from customers. When hiring a pest control company look for an honest firm you can trust. Their staff will be coming into your home, opening drawers and looking under the beds in their search for pests. You don’t want to give just anyone that kind of access to your home, family and possessions.
• Discuss the company’s approach to pest control. Look for a firm that practices Integrated Pest Management which uses an analytical approach to minimize the use of pesticides. Determining entry points and sealing them up so that pests can’t return is as important as killing the pests currently crawling around.
• Find out what is included in the services. Some pest problems can be cleared up with a single application; others require follow-up treatment. In many instances, pest management services — periodic inspections and applications — will best serve your needs.

How do you know when to hire a pest control company? Some pests can present a health threat or property damage risk that demands the immediate attention of a pest control professional. It helps if you can identify the cause of the problem.

If you hear scurrying across the ceiling at night or hear scratching or high pitched cries coming from the attic, chances are squirrels or a raccoon have moved into your attic. Little black pellets on the floor or shelves of your garage or basement are likely to be mouse or rat droppings. The sight of a trail of ants across the kitchen floor, a cockroach scurrying under the stove, a beetle or two on the carpet are all signs of a potential infestation.

Sometimes a problem is first noticed by the effects the insect’s presence. If you wake up with itchy welts on your body, bed bugs could be the culprit. If you discover round holes in the fascia of your house, be on the lookout for carpenter bees. If you find dirt tunnels on the side of your home, it’s time for a termite inspection. The discovery of mounds of sawdust along your foundation could indicate carpenter ants.

If you see signs of a pest problem, contact a pest control professional. He can tell you what your treatment options are and take care of the problem before more damage occurs.

People all over the country have to deal with pesky raccoons, even city dwellers. Raccoons enjoy residing in the underground sewer system and other locations. Unfortunately, raccoons sometimes have rabies. Rabid raccoons tend to initiate brawls with other animals. If you see one attacking a stout Grizzly bear he may have rabies or he may just have a massive ego.

If you live in an area where raccoons wander around it’s a good idea to vaccinate your pets against the disease. Rabies can kill. The variety of rabies that inhabit raccoons is a serous public health problem since it can be passed on to other animals.

The virus is contained in the critters’ saliva and is passed to their victims by bites and scratches. If you live in a community that features raccoons you might want to check with the appropriate public officials and inquire if they are willing to use baits that include a vaccine that when consumed by raccoons  protects the varmints from rabies. The bait is being utilized in various parts of the country. If  your community selects the right type of bait it will not harm dogs if they happen to eat a few for a snack. If you notice a rabid animal, immediately contact your government officials. 

If you have noticed large black bees flying about your residence or boring holes in wood structures you may have been selected as the new resting and breeding place for carpenter bees. Typically they are noticed with the arrival of Spring. The males don’t have stingers but the females are equipped with one, however they rarely attack humans. They look like bumble bees but the upper portion of their abdomen is void of hair and is shiny black while the bumble bee has a harry stomach which features yellow marks. It should be noted that I have not actually inspected bee bellies.

Carpenter bees can be a big problem due to creating tunnels in wood items to lay their eggs. They prefer unpainted and weathered soft types of woods, particularly redwood, pine, cedar and cypress.

If you are searching for carpenter bee nesting locations make sure to inspect the eaves of the house, wooden shakes, window trims, decks and your outdoor furniture. The holes are quite round. If the site of the nest has been used for years, extensive damage can occur.

Prevention consists of painting wood surfaces. You may need to hire a professional pest control company to get rid of your carpenter bee infestation.

For those of you who vacuum your mattress and box springs and other areas for added protection against the bed bug gangs, there are some things you should consider:

In order to prevent the vacuum from becoming a moving resort for the insects, select a vacuum that utilizes a bag that you can toss into the garbage can. Bed bug eggs can get stuck in the filter of the bag-less version. Don’t use attachments that include brushes or bristles. Send them to their death by the open hose. When you have finished hunting for the critters with your vacuum, place the bag in  a tightly sealed trash bag and place it outside of your home. Inspect the area for bed bugs where the bag is connected to the vacuum hose. If you insist on using a bag-less unit, make sure after you empty the canister, you wash it thoroughly.

Besides vacuuming, make sure the house is void of clutter. A messy house provides a vast number of hiding places for the insects. Clutter can lead to the demise of a quality bed bug control system. 

Don’t let your vacuum become a hotel for bed bugs. We  recommend Cryonite for pest control for those who prefer to freeze the critters to death.

Before the recent bed bug invasion, if you were sitting in a restaurant and you overheard a person tell his friend his phone was bugged you might think the FBI is looking into his nefarious activities. That conclusion is no longer valid. Beg bugs were discovered in a cell phone. It’s a rarity but it’s also a little spooky. Exterminators have recently been finding bed bugs in unusual places such as in clock radios, computer keyboards, electrical switches, televisions, inside books  and other places you perhaps thought were void of the insects. It’s almost like a creepy movie  made by high school kids bored with text messaging. 

 I have more wonderful, I mean troubling news. Experts predict that Long Island and the New York area will soon experience a significant increase in bed bugs due to all the visitors who come to the region for spring break. International travel and hotels are an excellent combination for the arrival of more bed bugs. Perhaps New Yorkers should recommend the beaches of Bulgaria to Spring Breakers.

People being in denial that New York City has a bed bug problem is another prominent issue that has to be dealt with. Preventive measures and pest control procedures have to be  strongly considered by the human population.

The New York City Health Department claimed that progress has been made regarding the battle with cockroaches. However 30% of the households have reported to be hosts for the annoying pests. They are residing primarily in poor neighborhoods.  One resident claimed he has not seen a cockroach in 10 years. He was pleading with them to come home (perhaps not).

There are a variety of products which can destroy the cockroaches. For those of you who are adventurous you can hire a gang of wasps to destroy the eggs. You can utilize the pest control services of wasps belonging to the Ampulicidae family. They’re predators of the adults and nymphal cockroaches. The house centipede is the star when it comes to getting rid of cockroaches. If you have human visitors, some might consider your choice of exterminators to be quite rude or very silly or quite odd. 

Cryonite, used by Stern Environmental has been very effective at destroying German cockroaches as well as their egg cases. It’s a non-toxic carbon dioxide that freezes them to death and has been very effective with bed bugs. We don’t recommend a battalion of wasps or purchasing three tons of centipedes (even if you have a coupon) because if you do city officials might put your name in a special file. Try some Cryonite.

In Hollywood you can tour the Homes of the Stars, but the Rat Tour is only offered in the Big Apple! The Rat Tour was the culminating event of last Friday’s town hall meeting hosted by NY State Senator Bill Perkins to highlight NYC’s new rat eradication initiative. Held in Perkins’ 125th Street office, the meeting featured “Rat Czar” Bobby Corrigan, the city’s noted rodentologist.

Dragging a dead rat from his backpack and tossing it into the air, Corrigan got the meeting off to a quirky start. “I caught this rat myself in New York City, so there’s one less out there for sure,” he joked. Corrigan, who has been stalking rats for 35 years, said, “I have a lot of respect for this mammal.” Rats are smart and capable of learning from experience. However, they also destroy enough food worldwide to feed more than 200 million people a year.

NYC is populated with Norway rats which range from 1 to 1.5 feet long and weigh about a pound. Highly adaptable, they can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter, jump 3 feet vertically and fall 5 stories without injury. “Rats are not as big as alley cats,” claimed Corrigan, who attributed the myth to the fact that rats puff up their fur when frightened which can appear to double their size.

Scientists have known for some time that cockroaches produce allergens than can increase the severity of asthma symptoms, particularly in children. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one in five children in the U.S. is severely sensitive to cockroach allergens. These allergens are introduced into homes through cockroach saliva, droppings and decomposing bodies. Now new research indicates that cockroaches may also harbor molds that can trigger allergic reactions.

In research on Madagascar hissing cockroaches — at 3 inches long and up to an inch wide, the King Kong of the roach world — a trio of Ohio doctoral students have found that the giant bugs carry 14 different types of molds. Several of these molds produce spores that can trigger stuffy noses, itching eyes, wheezing coughs and irritated skin in people with allergies. Additional research will be needed to see if common roaches and the hard-t0-kill German cockroaches that bedevil American apartments and homes similarly carry molds.

Allergies generally increase with repeated exposure. Since there is no such thing as a single cockroach, allergy risk increases exponentially if roaches enter your home. Allergens enter the air and then your sinuses and lungs on minute dust particles. Professional cockroach extermination and pest control is needed to eliminate the allergy and asthma risk caused by cockroaches.