Outdoor Pests

  • 8 Things You Need to Know About Raccoons

    Raccoons are clever troublemakers in nature. However, they can turn into pests in neighborhoods. If you’re dealing with raccoons in your neighborhood, you likely have questions. has answers. Here are the seven most common questions our wildlife experts get about raccoons. We’ll start with super-quick answers to these questions, then move on to more detailed…

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  • Preventing Stinging Insects from Nesting on Your Property

    Bees, hornets, and wasps aren’t just bothersome, especially for those with allergies, they can pose a real health concern. If someone in your home is allergic, preventing these pests from nesting nearby becomes essential for their safety and peace of mind. When allergies are a concern, simply spending time outside can be stressful every day…

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  • Cicada Season 2025: What to Expect

    Brood XIV cicadas are set to swarm in 2025, so now’s the time to prepare your property and learn how to deal with the noise and activity. Cicadas are big, flying insects that show up during summer. Drawn to loud noises like lawnmowers and power tools, they feed on tree sap but pose no real…

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  • Bald-faced Hornets and Football Nest

    Whether it’s an evening under the Friday night lights, NFL Sunday afternoons enjoyed from your backyard, or a pickup game in the park, the beginning of football season is one of the surest heralds of fall’s arrival. We love all things football, but there’s one kind of football you should actively avoid – the wasp…

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  • What Are Those Big Black Wasps?

    Wasp encounters can be scary. These large, flying insects are known for their painful stings and aggressive nature, and some may even swarm when their nests are disturbed. But not all wasps are quite so fierce, and the great black wasp (sphex pensylvanicus) is one of these. Also known as a katydid hunter, they are…

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  • 7 Ways to Have a Bug-Free Backyard Party

    Summer means outdoor entertaining and, while you might like large gatherings, you don’t want uninvited guests – like mosquitoes. From the itchy annoyance of bug bites to concerns about mosquito-borne diseases, pests are a big concern for any outdoor gathering. Luckily, there are ways to have a bug-free backyard picnic. How Do I Keep Mosquitoes…

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  • What You Need to Know About the Invasive Joro Spider

    Over the past few months, it seems that every media outlet has run some version of the sensational headline, “Giant, Venomous, Flying Spiders to Invade New York This Summer!” The implication is that the joro spider is a terrifying threat and we should prepare for our lives to look like a 1950s sci-fi movie. While…

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  • Tick-Borne Disease: Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS)

    It sounds like the plot of a horror movie: an innocent hiker is bitten by a bug, and suddenly they become violently ill every time they eat meat. Their skin erupts in hives, their throat swells, and they’re short of breath. It’s the stuff of nightmares. As unsettling as it is, this scenario is all…

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  • Carpenter Bee or Bumblebee? How to Tell the Difference

    Not all bees are created equal. Most happily pollinate plants, make honey, and play their crucial role in the food chain. Others, however, may wreak havoc by being aggressive or destructive. Two rather “friendly” species you may encounter are carpenter bees and bumblebees. Is that a Carpenter Bee or Bumble Bee? These large bees are…

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  • How Does Thermacell LIV Work?

    Your summer could be blissfully free of flying, biting pests with the right solution. Thermacell LIV is a permanently installed insect deterrent that uses heat-activated cartridges to emit vaporized repellent. It is effective against disease carrying mosquitoes… as well as flies, midges, and flying ants. The Thermacell LIV is clean, quiet, unobtrusive, and free of…

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