Watching squirrels frolicking is a late summer pleasure. Let’s face it, they’re adorable – chasing each other across the yard and gathering food for the cooler months to come.
They may be cute, but are squirrels truly welcome on your property? And what about your garden: do they do more harm or good for your plants?
It’s summertime, and suddenly there are a few mysterious holes in your siding, deck, or other wood areas of your home. You prod one of the holes and a little sawdust comes out. Then you see it… a dark, fuzzy bee that has been droning around the yard enters the hole. “What in the world is going on here?” you may wonder.
If this has happened to you, there’s a good chance carpenter bees have taken up residence on your property. Carpenter bees are a member of the bee species that drill holes in wood to build their nests. Female carpenter bees use their powerful mandibles to bore into wood in a circular motion. This creates a round hole that over time is expanded into a maze of channels and chambers. These tunnels eventually weaken the wood and damage the integrity of the structure in which they’re built.
Keeping pests away from your home and yard is a year-round endeavor, but springtime truly is “go time” for preventing bug and rodent invasions. This is when overwintering pests emerge from hibernation and eggs laid in the fall hatch… creating hordes of hungry pests that are ready to invade your property for sustenance, mates, and a comfy place to live.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make your home less attractive to pests – inside and out – and to increase the effectiveness of professional pest control treatments.
The weather is getting colder here on Long Island; it’ll be months before spring warms us back up again. We do our best to stay warm and limit our time out in the cold, and unfortunately, we’re not the only ones out there doing just that.
If you want to stay out of the cold, you can bet all sorts of pests out there would like to do the same. And if you’re keeping your home warm, they’ll think that’s the perfect place to go. [Read more…]
What’s that rustling noise in your chimney? Could it be…Santa?
We don’t want to be the bearer of bad news at this otherwise joyous time of the year, but unless it’s Christmas Eve and you hear sleigh bells on the roof, chances are it’s not Santa Claus. Any sounds of scrabbling, rustling, clawing, scratching, or flapping indicate a pest problem in your chimney that can cause severe issues for your home and family. [Read more…]
Fall decorating means pumpkins, especially for outdoor decorating. Whole or carved into jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins are frequently placed on porches, steps, and walkways to provide a festive seasonal touch. [Read more…]
