How To Prevent Rodents From Taking Refuge In Your Properties This Winter

Don't Let Mice and Rats Move In
Don’t Let Mice and Rats Move In

We can handle a rodent infestation swiftly and humanely, but everyone would prefer to keep mice and rats out of their office and grounds in the first place. Here are some tips to prepare as rodents begin approaching your property this fall:

Are you feeding rodents?

Mice and rats are opportunistic eaters—they’ll eat just about anything when hungry, especially when preparing for the New Jersey winter. Seal away pet food and human food in hard, airtight containers because rodents will chew through bags.

Seal off entry points

Mice and rats can squeeze through tiny openings. Use steel wool to plug holes and add plaster or wooden boards wherever necessary. Call us to inspect and find potential entry points if you have trouble finding them.

Don’t provide shelter

Many restaurant and business owners accidentally provide rodents with the perfect shelter. Cut any grass or weeds around your foundation. Don’t let lumber or stacks of cardboard sit around inside or next to the facility or building.

Know the signs of rodents

If you can identify the signs of rats or mice, you can act quickly and call us for control and removal solutions. Look for droppings, urine stains, and signs of chewing and eating. Another method is to scatter flour near potential hiding places and check for tracks later.

Had rodent problems before? Afraid they’re already inside? Call Stern Environmental for fast, safe, professional rodent control immediately.

Top Three Ant Pests that Bug NJ Businesses

Pesky Ants
Pesky Ants

Pests come in all shapes and sizes and one of the smallest and most annoying are ants. Not only are they clever, industrious, and master architects,  they can move fast, maneuver into the tiniest crevice, and magicians at infiltrating just about anything and everything.

Types of Ants

Three types of ants you’re likely to see skittering across in a variety of locations such as countertops, sidewalks, driveways, on walls, trees and plants, to name a few, include carpenter ants, pharaoh ants and pavement ants.

Carpenter

While carpenter ants won’t turn down a free meal of goodies, they are most destructive to wood structures. Carpenter ants like to build their nests in hollowed out dwellings where millions – yes millions – create extensive and well-managed and maintained colonies.

Pharaoh

Pharaoh ants and their queen run the show when it comes to massive infestations. These nearly translucent pests are bacteria and pathogen carriers making them dangerous. They prefer sweets but will also chow down on fatty food, grease, and insects.

Pavement

These tiny black bugs are opportunistic feeders and swarm as a group in search of tasty tidbits. They frequently nest under concrete slabs or wedged into cracks and crevices. To eradicate these pests, professional pest control services are the best option.

Contact us at the Stern Environmental Group by mail, phone, or email and let one of our associates help you take care of your pesky pests problem.

The Best Way to Keep Your House Safe From Bedbugs

Bed Bug Protection
Bed Bug Protection

Nobody wants the nightmarish experience of a bed bug infestation in their home. Here are things you can do to prevent bed bugs from entering your home and controlling them quickly if they do:

Mattress Protection

Bed bugs love camping in mattresses and box springs. Encasement bags provide guaranteed protection because bed bugs cannot bite through the material or crawl inside. Your valuable mattresses and box springs will be preserved, and you’ll also take away bed bugs’ favorite hiding spots.

Know Where They Live

Bed bugs spread anywhere people commune, especially when upholstery or fabrics are involved. Be on guard when visiting hotels, movie theaters, public transportation, nursing homes, and similar environments.

Be cautious and do not bring garments or fabrics into your home if you think they may be hiding bed bugs. This may seem inconvenient, but a bed bug infestation is far worse.

Bed Bug Detection Products

Science and technology change the way we prepare for bed bugs. The Bed Bug Early Detection System (BEDS), for example, works as a glue trap that draws in bed bugs so you can know about them before they take over.

You can also buy bed bug fecal detection kits or even advanced bed bug monitoring devices to catch bed bugs or test for their presence.

If bed bugs have already entered your home, call Stern for fast, thorough control immediately.

Do Rats Live in Colonies?

Rat Facts
Rat Facts

Perhaps you have heard that once you see one rat, you’re likely to see more. Many of our clients ask us to confirm or deny this “rumor,” hoping we’ll tell them that it isn’t true at all.

Unfortunately, it is true. Rats do live in colonies, and depending on where you live, those colonies can become fairly large very quickly. In smaller colonies, female rats have their own little burrows where they raise their young. Usually one male rat will oversee these burrows. In larger colonies, rats will live together in relative harmony. As you can imagine, because rats can have so many babies every year, colonies can increase in size very quickly.

Rats are generally found in areas where shelter, food and water are available. They aren’t picky or too selective about their homes at all, and they can easily squeeze through the smallest of spaces to find new homes in businesses or in residences. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to identify an infestation until it has grown fairly large in size.

If you think you might have a rat control problem, it’s important to contact a professional who can assist you as soon as possible. We’ll be happy to investigate the size of your infestation, and come up with a quick plan of attack.

To make an appointment for an inspection, please contact us today.

Understanding Rodents – Rodent 101

Rodents 101
Rodents 101

A major part of rat control is understanding the way these rodents behave. Once you know what to look for, and you know how these pests tend to behave, you have a better chance of catching an infestation before it gets out of hand.

Fact #1: Rat-proofing your home or office is almost impossible -Even though they’re bigger than mice, rats can also sneak in through very tiny openings in the foundation of your home or business. Their teeth are sharp, and they’re even harder than iron. That means that gnawing through just about any material is very easy for them.

Fact #2: Rats are quite resilient – Rats do not die easily, which is why they’re so prevalent in big cities. They can easily adapt when they need to change environments, and they when it comes to needing water, they can go longer than a camel on a single drink.

Fact #3: Rats multiply quickly – Did you know that mating rats can produce as many as five litters of up to fifteen pups each and every year? That means they grow their numbers fairly quickly. All the more reason to not waste time when you need expert rat control.

If you believe you have a rat control problem, or if you need another type of pest control, please contact us today to schedule an inspection.