Monthly Archives: August 2014

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug Monitors, Bed Bug News, Bed Bugs, Insect Control, News, Pest Control, Pest Eradication, Pest Management, Residential Services

Bed Bugs and Venues You’ll Find Them In

Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs

Many pests affect our daily lives and bed bugs are at the top of the list as a major nuisance. These tiny insects have a healthy appetite and humans are a favorite target as a food source.

What are bed bugs and how do I get rid of them is a question being asked and one that the Stern Environmental Group can answer.

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are difficult to get rid. Do-it-yourself pest control most likely won’t get to the root problem creating an infestation.

They may be tiny, but they can be seen. Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed. They are attracted, not to smell or color, but to carbon dioxide. Humans expel carbon dioxide morning, noon and night and the bed bugs are there to take advantage of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The bugs can be found most anywhere in the home where there is clutter to hide in, dust ruffles around your bed or sofa, and in-between your mattress and box springs.

Vacuuming, dusting, and keeping areas clean has no effect on bed bugs. The main attraction is the carbon dioxide and this is wherever humans congregate.

Bed Bug Hiding Spots

  • Movie theaters
  • Retail stores
  • Libraries
  • Planes, buses and trains
  • Churches, schools and offices
  • Nursing homes
  • Yard sale items

For residential or commercial service, let Stern get rid of your bed bugs today.

Ants, Carpenter Ants, Insect Control, News, Pest Control, Residential Services

Do Carpenter Ants Have a Queen?

Carpenter Ant Control
Carpenter Ant Control

Carpenter ants are an unwelcome sight in any home due to their propensity for causing significant structural damage in moist or rotting wood. Though comprised of thousands of workers, a typically colony houses only one queen, capable of surviving up to 25 years and laying thousands of eggs.

Identifying the queen:
The largest ant in the colony at up to 1 inch, the queen may be dark brown, yellow, red or black in color. Responsible for laying eggs, she sheds her wings after mating, seeking out a nesting site of moist or rotting wood for her young to establish a new colony. She seals herself into the wood, laying an initial brood of 9-16 eggs that will develop into workers and future queens.

The carpenter ant family:

• Winged female swarmers
Born in the spring for mating purposes, these ¾ inch females lose their wings after mating. Each wingless female then attempts to become the queen of a new colony.

• Winged male swarmers
These exist for the sole purpose of mating with female swarmers, dying shortly after accomplishing the task.

• Workers
¼-½ inch long, female workers are sterile and responsible for all activities except egg laying, including caring for the queen and developing ants.

Carpenter ants rapidly deconstructing your home or business? Contact Stern Environmental Group today. Our professionals have the skills and technology to solve your pest problems fast!

Bees, Insect Control, News, Pest Control, Residential Services, Stinging Insects, Wasps

How Can Wasps Sting Multiple Times and Bees Only Once?

The Wasps Advantage
The Wasps Advantage

Wasps are considered more deadly than bees because they can sting multiple times, injecting their victim with an additional dose of venom with each sting. Most bees, on the other hand, can sting only once, dying shortly after their stinger pierces their victim.

A Matter of Anatomy

Why do bees and wasps have such different stinging behaviors? It all comes down to a simple, but critically important, difference in stinger shape.

  • Bees have barbed stingers that work like a fish hook. When a bee stings its prey, its stinger hooks into and becomes embedded in the victim’s flesh. As the bee tries to fly away, the stuck stinger is ripped from the insect’s body. It’s body ripped apart, the bee dies. Just because bees can only sting once doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. As long as the poison sac attached to the bee’s stinger remains in the victim’s body, it will continue to release venom.
  • Wasps have straight stingers that, like a needle, can slide in and out of a victim’s flesh quite easily. When a wasp stings its prey, the stinger punctures the victim’s flesh, then slides back out as the wasp flies away. While wasps can sting more than once, the amount of venom injected decreases with each sting.

Don’t place yourself at risk. Call Stern Environmental’s bee and wasp removal experts today.