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Bees
and Wasps are beneficial
insects, but their ability to sting and disrupt outdoor activities
makes them real pests! It is important to distinguish between
Bees and Wasps since each requires a specific treatment method.
In New Jersey there are several different types including: Bald
Faced Hornets, Mud Dauber, Cicada Killers, Carpenter Bees, Paper
Wasps and Wasps.
Bees and wasps present a real safety issue as many adults and
children are allergic to them and can even have their lives
at risk if attacked. Make sure you have your house routinely
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There
are over 10,000 species of ants found
worldwide. These social insects live in colonies with one or
more queen present. Queens can live up to 15 years while the
average life span for workers is between 4-7 years.
Nests are found in the ground, in trees or within structures
such as your home. Ants are a common household insect that have
been known to transmit diseases such as Salmonellosis and Staphylococcus.
Ants enter a home in search of food and water, feeding on sweets,
starches and greasy substances found inside your home. Ants
are usually found indoors, along walls, hiding under baseboards
or carpets. Outdoors they are generally found under decorative
landscaping, wood piles or rocks.
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Your
home is the perfect environment for cockroaches
to live and breed. Your home has numerous nesting sites and
plenty of food and water needed for roaches to thrive.
Roaches enter your home through small cracks and crevices, drain
and sewer pipes, vents, and electrical ingress points to name
a few. Once inside, roaches can be a pervasive pest, multiplying
quickly they can remain active all year long. They feed on starchy
foods, paper, fabric and decaying organic material. Roaches
are nocturnal, seeing a roach in your home during the day may
be a sign of a serious infestation.
If you have children with Asthma or Allergies, it is important
to get rid of the infestation as quickly as possible. Cast-off
roach skins become airborne and act as an allergen that can
cause an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals. |
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Rats
and mice have adapted to live in close association
with man, where they damage structures, chew wiring, eat and
urinate on human and animal food, and carry many diseases.
While these rodents are present around our homes throughout
the year, they often become a problem in the fall and winter
when they enter homes seeking warmth. Rats and mice have no
respect for economic level or status. They rely predominantly
on smell, taste, touch and hearing as opposed to vision.
Rodents memorize specific pathways and use the same routes consistently.
They are omnivorous, eating nearly any type of food, including
dead and dying members of their own species. Signs rodents may
be present include droppings and urine, gnawed objects, rubmarks,
burrows, or sounds.
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There
are thousands of different types of Spiders
found worldwide, but only a handful are commonly found in New
England. The spiders most commonly found in our area include:
the brown recluse spider (see photo), jumping spiders, house
spiders, sac spiders and wolf spiders. Spiders do not eat solid
foods, but inject a digestive fluid into their prey that dissolves
the tissue that the spider can then digest. This is important
when comparing the bites of certain spiders.
Spiders are not insects. They are distinguished by having 8
legs instead of 6. Spiders are opportunistic predators. They
spin webs to capture prey, lie in wait for prey to come within
easy striking distance, while others will actively search for
prey.
Although these spiders
vary widely in their size and shape, one thing they have in
common is their very presence may be an indication of a more
serious pest infestation as spiders feed off of other common
household pests. |
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The
common bedbug is the bedbug best adapted to
human environments and the one that causes most problems for
humans. Once a common health problem that was almost eliminated
as such, bedbugs in the last decade have had a successful resurgence.
They are increasingly becoming a problem in homes, apartments,
condos, hotels, hospitals, college dormitories and cruise ships.
Adult bedbugs are
wingless, reddish brown, flattened, oval, 4-5 mm long and are
fast runners. They change color to a deep red-brown after a
bloodmeal. Usually flattened from top to bottom, bedbugs will
swell like a balloon when engorged with blood.
Young bedbugs called "nymphs" look like adults only
smaller. There are 5 stages the nymphs pass through to adulthood.
Each juvenile stage requires a bloodmeal to mature to the next
level. Entire development from nymph to adult requires 6-8 weeks. |
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Bedbugs
are often mistakenly associated with filth. They are attracted
to exhaled carbon dioxide and body heat. They feed on blood,
not dirt or waste. The sanitation of an environment does not
affect bedbugs. Bedbugs have not been known to transmit any
disease to humans; however, continued feeding on the same host
can cause an allergic reaction to the bedbug saliva. The reaction
is much like the reaction to a mosquito bite.
Adults can live an average of up to 1 year. Eggs are very difficult
to see as they are cream colored and only 1mm in length. Bedbugs
have piercing sucking mouth parts. They pierce the skin, injecting
an anti-coagulant then withdraw blood until full. Adult bedbugs
will feed every 5 to 10 days. |
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