Most common pest problems

Beetles

Your home can be at risk of beetle infestation. These unwelcome guests cause real damage by feeding on wood or infesting plants, herbs, spices and stored grain products. Even the click beetle finds its way inside with seasonal changes or an attraction to light. The answer is a thorough inspection, treatment, prevention and education process using environmentally safe materials inside and outside the structure, before the problem escalates.

Carpenter Ants

Ants of varying colors, including black, red and yellow, are recognized by their size, from half an inch to an inch long. Their presence is a threat because they damage wooden structures by creating tunnels and nesting areas inside them, weakening the structure over time. They usually nest outside but will move indoors in search of food and shelter. Our team examines the property to identify entry points and locate wood that has been damaged or infested, suggests practical ways to make your home less appealing to them, and builds a treatment plan that addresses the root cause.

Carpet Beetles

In New Jersey the two most common types are the varied and the black carpet beetle. Some people react to the insects themselves, but the real concern is the harm they do to clothing, carpets, furniture, and even human and pet hair, which the larvae consume. They arrive on plants, flowers or infested fabric items, and adults mostly wander in from outside while foraging. A comprehensive inspection, treatment, prevention and education are required to clear them.

Centipedes and Millipedes

Centipedes and millipedes are considered pests for their segmented bodies and multiple pairs of legs, and centipedes are commonly called hundred leggers. They prefer dark and damp outdoor areas but find their way into homes, particularly basements and crawl spaces. Our professionals conduct a thorough interior inspection and recommend effective preventive measures and treatment to keep them out.

Clover Mites

These tiny red pests are about the size of a pinhead and gather in large groups while feeding on plants. They are mostly a nuisance, but they do find their way into buildings by accident, and the real problem is the red stain they leave behind when crushed, which damages property. Our team is trained to handle them and can be called in to eliminate them.

Cockroaches

Cockroach infestations are a genuine health risk. They are not known to bite, but they reproduce rapidly, and their shed skin and excrement trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks. They also carry harmful diseases such as E. Coli and Salmonella. Our region is home to the American, Brown banded, German and Oriental cockroach; the Pennsylvania wood roach is less of a concern because it stays outside in wooded areas. Our team clears them at the source and gives you practical prevention steps so they do not return.

Crickets

Two types invade buildings: the house cricket and the camel or cave cricket. Both thrive in warm, dark and moist environments such as basements, crawl spaces and laundry rooms. Depending on the species they spread disease through their excrement and saliva, and they can bite. They also feed on fabrics, including clothing and furniture, and on organic matter such as houseplants. Crickets almost always come in from the exterior, so our professionals inspect thoroughly and recommend preventative measures that stop the problem recurring.

Earwigs

Earwigs look intimidating with their pincer like appendages, but they are typically not dangerous. They are occasional invaders that seek refuge in a structure during weather changes, preferring damp and dark areas such as basements, laundry rooms and utility closets. Our trained professionals inspect thoroughly and create a treatment plan for them.

Fleas

Adult fleas are hard to spot without magnification: about the size of a grain of sand, brownish red, and hard to crush thanks to a durable shell. They jump up to eight inches onto a host. They are more than bothersome, they are a health risk to animals and people, spreading diseases and parasites, and their saliva causes allergic reactions. They usually arrive on pets or on people who have been outside, but they also attach to furniture that has been in contact with an infested animal. Because they hide in hard to reach places, clearing them takes a meticulous inspection, certified safe materials used through the whole home inside and out where necessary, and guidance on preventing the next infestation.

Flies

Our area sees house flies, fruit flies, the kind that hitchhike in on produce, and drain flies or sewer gnats. Flies carry bacteria and pathogens from unsanitary conditions, so left unchecked they are a health hazard. Our professionals eliminate them and prevent the next round by applying proper sanitation techniques that remove breeding sites and by controlling access to the structure. In commercial accounts we use environmentally friendly insecticides and fly lights as part of a full integrated pest management inspection.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are a real nuisance and a serious health risk, spreading bloodborne illnesses including Zika and West Nile viruses, malaria and Chikungunya. They gather wherever a property gives them what they need: nectar from flowering plants, blood for egg development, standing water to lay in, and shelter in gutters, downspouts and dense vegetation. Our team has the hands on experience to manage them, recommends preventative measures, and offers backyard control several ways: recurring barrier protection, special event sprays, all natural protection, and a combined tick and mosquito treatment.

Moths

Webbing clothes and pantry pests

Two types are common in New Jersey households. The Indian meal moth, the pantry pest, feeds on grains, pasta and spices, and enters on infested packages or products from warehouses and stores. It has a gray body and brown wings and is usually spotted flying around the food it has infested to lay eggs. The webbing clothes moth feeds on silk, wool, cotton, furs and synthetic fabrics, and produces the silk webbing patches it is named for. Proper sanitation and targeted treatment prevent both. Our professionals identify the source, show you the sanitation that matters, then spot treat and bait the infested areas.

Rodents

Mice and rats

We come across two kinds: mice and rats. House mice and deer mice invade buildings and damage the structure, utilities and personal belongings by gnawing them to build nests, which gets expensive fast. They also spread disease by contaminating food and surfaces with saliva, urine and feces: salmonellosis and dysentery from house mice, Hantavirus from deer mice. Roof rats are excellent climbers and enter from the attic or a roof line connected to a tree or a neighbouring building. Norway rats are poor climbers and burrow near the buildings they visit, usually at ground level near a food source. Both can bring fleas and ticks in with them. Our specialists inspect the property, identify entry points, recommend exclusion, and eliminate them at the source. Where rodenticides are used they go in labelled, tamper proof stations.

Silverfish

Silverfish damage personal belongings. With their silver and gray scales and quick movements they thrive in the damp and humid areas of a building. They arrive in infested boxes, papers or packaging, or through cracks and crawl spaces. Our team inspects to find the areas of infestation and treats the affected structure with certified materials where that is necessary.

Small Ants

Small ants are a common New Jersey problem, and there are several types: acrobat ants, odorous house ants, pavement ants, pharaoh ants and citronella ants. They contaminate food, emit unpleasant odors and even damage wiring insulation, and they gather around water sources in warmer weather. They usually live outside but come in looking for food and water. Pharaoh ants are the concern of the group, because they spread illnesses such as salmonella and streptococcus and will relocate the colony if the queen is threatened. Our team inspects, then builds treatment, prevention and education around what your property actually needs.

Spiders

Several types of spider get into New Jersey homes: the house spider, the jumping spider, the wolf spider, and the black widow, which is particularly dangerous for its potent venom. They enter from outside to build webs and prey on the insects indoors. The treatment that works is an exterior power spraying of every vulnerable area, with targeted interior treatment for the problem areas.

Spotted Lanternflies

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect species that has arrived in New Jersey and is causing extensive harm to crops and hardwood trees. They congregate around vertical and sun warmed surfaces, showing their vivid wings and distinctive spots. Acting quickly matters here, both to clear them and to prevent further damage to the environment.

Stinging Insects

Bees, hornets and wasps

New Jersey has three types of stinging insect: bees, hornets and wasps. They threaten people and pets when they feel threatened near their nesting or feeding areas, and they nest on or inside a building and damage the property. They are also essential pollinators, so the approach has to be measured. Our team inspects thoroughly, identifies entry points, suggests exclusion, and eliminates them at the source. If we find a honeybee colony we recommend beekeeping professionals who can extract the queen, hive and honey from the structure and repair the damage the nesting caused. A targeted, thoughtful approach clears the pest while protecting the environment and non target insects.

Stink Bugs

Shield or stink bugs pose no threat to humans, but they become a nuisance, and their notable defense mechanism is a pungent odor used against predators. They are seasonal: they seek refuge in a structure during the colder months and reemerge in the warmer seasons. The way to keep them out is to treat in the autumn with a thorough power spraying of the exterior.

Termites

Termites do significant damage to the structure they infest. They live in subterranean colonies and can be seen above the soil inside a structure in mud tubes, travelling toward their next meal, the building framing. Most property owners do not know they have an issue until a home inspection is performed, construction work opens a wall, or warm weather brings swarmers out to drop their wings en masse. Subterranean termites feed on the cellulose in wood, and while foraging they find their way in through a crack in the foundation, then travel behind walls and under floors unnoticed until the damage is done. Our professionals inspect the premises thoroughly and show owners how to reduce the chance of infestation. As an alternative to the traditional method of injecting hundreds of gallons of pesticide into the soil, we now use advanced perimeter baiting systems and targeted liquid treatment, which work just as well with less impact on the environment.

Ticks

Ticks of several species are prevalent in rural and suburban New Jersey, especially in overgrown vegetation and around common wildlife. Depending on the type they transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, ehrlichiosis, tularemia and Lyme Disease to people and pets. Treating the areas around your property and along the fence line is what mitigates the risk. Our technicians inspect the premises, show you how to minimize infestation, and provide several forms of treatment and prevention, including interior treatment where something has already got inside.