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Walter's Pest Control, LLC
Central Connecticut Pest Control
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powder post beetles
There are several species of powder post beetles. The most common in the Northeast are the “Anobiid” and “Lyctid” species. The Anobiid infest either hardwood or softwood. They need a humid environment, so it is common to find them infesting subflooring or structural framing in a basement. They also infest timbers used to build timber framed houses, barns and similar structures. The Lyctid species infest primarily hardwoods, including furniture. Often times, the timber used to build the structure was already infested when the structure was built but is not always the case. Homes that were built in the colonial era often show signs of powder post beetle infestation but it is possible that the infestation was there when the house was built but has not been active for many decades. An experienced pest control professional can determine if that is the case.
Unlike termites, powder post beetles do not live in the soil. They bore into the wood and make their nests in it. Telltale signs are very small holes in the wood. Evidence of an active infestation would have fine sawdust and fecal pellets below and around the holes. The size and shape of the hole, sometimes called a “shot hole” can help determine the species.Bees & wasps
Bees and wasps are not quite the same. Bees collect pollen and are not usually a danger unless they or their nest is disturbed.
Wasps on the other hand are certainly a danger and their nest needs to be eradicated before you or someone is stung. Yellow jackets are particularly aggressive. They can make their nest in the ground, sometimes in an abandoned mole hole or an aerial nest in a tree or on your house or in your attic.
Hornets are also aggressive. Their nests usually are about the size of a football when fully developed and is composed of a light gray paper like material. They hang from a tree limb or from the eaves of your house.
Paper wasps build the nests that you see are honeycombed shape that suspend from the eaves of your house or other protected area. They too are a danger and their nest should be eradicated before someone is stung. They abandon their nest at the end of the season and will build a new one the following spring.
Carpenter bees are very similar to bumble bees in appearance. However carpenter bees like to build their nests in soft wood, such as the cedar siding or rake boards of your house. They bore out a hole about ½” in diameter for their nest and can over winter in it. They re-use the nest every year. They can be aggressive if disturbed.
Honey bees as we know are in decline. The reason is still the subject of much debate among entomologists. They should be left alone unless they make their nest in your home. Then, they can be very aggressive and are a serious danger to your family and need to be eradicated before someone is stung. I addition, the honey left behind will attract other insects. It can also melt because the bees are not hovering over it to keep it cool. The honey can then creep down through the ceiling due to the heat in your attic in summer.FLEAS
Contrary to what their name implies; fleas cannot fly. They can jump however, 7”-8” high and 14”-16” vertically. They live in your pet’s fur, deep down in carpeting, furniture upholstery, in your pet’s bedding or even in cracks between floor boards. Females lay several eggs a day until there are up to 200-400 eggs either on your pet or elsewhere. The eggs hatch in 7 to 14 days in favorable conditions, so they can infest your pet and house quickly. Vacuuming carpeting can help but the eggs will cling to the carpet fibers and resist the pull of a vacuum.
A pest control professional cannot treat your pet, only you or your veterinarian can do that. A pest control professional can however treat the carpeting and bedding. However it makes sense to discard the pet bedding if it is infested and have the PCP treat the carpeting, upholstery, etc.Rats & mice
There are Roof rats and Norway rats found in North America, however the Norway rat is the species found in the Northeast. They are a serious health hazard, capable of spreading several diseases, not to mention the property damage they cause. Eradicating rats from a property can be a tedious process. Rats are “neophobic” meaning they are afraid of changes in their environment. In addition, they multiply quickly. Litters usually contain 8 to 12 pups. Their gestation period is 22 days. Half of the litter will be females, so you can do the math exponentially. Rats are also social rodents, meaning they live in colonies. With all these factors, eliminating a rat infestation can be a tedious process.
The Northeast has two types of mice. The Deer mouse and the House mouse. Deer mice seldom come indoors, however the house mouse will look for a warm, safe place to nest for the winter, namely, your house and garage. They can squeeze thru a hole the size of a dime and therefore it is common for them to start in your basement or garage and find a way into your house from there. They may start their indoor habitat in the basement but it is common for them to find their way into your attic up along soil or central vacuum pipes due to a search for nesting, food or territorial fights with other males. When in your attic, they will nest under the insulation where it is warmer and concealed. This can make it difficult to locate their nests.
Mice will eat anything people eat as well as bring in seeds and nuts from outdoors. They can live without water and extract moisture from the foods they eat. Their gestation period is 19 days and litters contain 4 to 7 pups. As with rats, an out of control infestation can develop very quickly. Mice are mostly nocturnal so you may never see them, but hear them gnawing through wood in the attic above your bedroom or find droppings scattered everywhere. Eliminating a mouse infestation can be a tedious process sometimes as well and may take more than one visit by a pest control professional to eradicate the problem.
The best treatment is prevention by exclusion. Seal all small openings outdoors, around your basement with caulk or fill the opening with a material that mice cannot gnaw through such as a fine copper mesh.
There are many weapons in a pest control professional’s arsenal to eliminate rodents. Snap traps for one, however they can only catch one at a time. There will be many others still in and around the nest. Rodenticide baits containing anti-coagulants cause death by slow internal bleeding. This method is considered more humane because their death is painless and the rodent will not associate their weakened condition with the bait. They will also carry some of the bait back to the nest to feed their young. The bait is placed in plastic bait stations which are tamper resistant to children and a dog cannot bite through it. A special key is required to open them which is not available to non-professionals. Other baits are called “acute” and are not anti-coagulants. They cause death by stomach poison, heart attack or some other method.
Contrary to popular belief, rodents may, but will not necessarily conveniently crawl outdoors to die. They may very well die in a wall or other concealed location.FLIES
There are many species of flies. All are annoying. Some are a health hazard and some species are innocuous.
The Cluster fly is similar in appearance to the House fly but is innocuous. They appear in late summer and early fall. They like to follow the sun and will likely be apparent on the east face of your house in the morning and west in the afternoon. They are small, nimble and find a way into you house or attic readily. One characteristic of a Cluster fly is that it’s a little slower than a house fly and easier to swat. They like to overwinter in your attic, on the warm side of the insulation. That is why you may wonder why you see a fly in your house in colder months.
The common House fly is not only annoying, fast and difficult to swat but is a health hazard as well. They lay their eggs on dead animal carcasses or manure and then land on a food prep surface or the food on your table. They are known to carry several diseases.
Blow (or Bottle flies) are the larger flies you see that have a bluish green color on their bodies. They, like the house fly are fast, annoying and also a health hazard.
Fruit flies as their name implies like ripened fruit among other food sources. Their population can build rapidly and lay their eggs on fruit, vegetables and as well in floor drains and other sanitary outlets in commercial kitchens. They are not known to transmit diseases but someone certainly would not want to consume contaminated food that has fly eggs in it.TERMITES
Termites cause the greatest damage to the structural integrity of wood framed buildings, much more so than Carpenter Ants. Termites live in the ground below the wood structure. Unlike Carpenter ants, termites actually eat the wood they infest. They are social insects and create their colonies in the ground. They need the ground for its moisture and for protection from the elements and other insects. They travel back and forth from the ground to the wood structure in what are commonly called “mud tunnels”. These are small tubes that extend from the soil up to the wood, their food source. Termites will also attack paper and cardboard, anything made from wood.
The termites you may see flying around in the spring in or around your home are the swarmers or sometimes called “alates or primary reproductives” They emerge in the spring with the warm weather, fly around, drop their wings, crawl into the ground and mate. Their eggs create workers, soldiers, future reproductives, king and queen. It’s the workers that do all the damage. The soldier caste protects the colony from invaders. They are fed from the workers as are the reproductives, king and queen. The queen lays most of the eggs, however the reproductives do as well and can be located away from the queen. This can cause a colony to propagate quickly.
Termites may have been active in and around your home for years without being noticed or identified. By then, their damage may be extensive. Treating a building can be labor intensive and is expensive.ANTS
Seeing an ant foraging in or around your home or place of business is not a cause for immediate alarm but is a cause for concern. Ants are social insects, meaning they live in nests. If you see one, there is a nest somewhere nearby. A thorough inspection in and around your home is necessary in an effort to locate it.
Ants will eat most anything people eat, are especially attracted to sweets but also eat other insects dead or alive as well.
There are many species of ants, to name a few are the Crazy ant, the Odorous house ant, yes, that’s right and the Argentine ant. Though they exist in parts of North America, the most common in New England are Pavement ants and Carpenter ants.
Pavement ants are small and dark brown, almost black. They got that name because they like to nest in the ground between the cracks in sidewalks and driveways. They can easily find their way into your home, especially your kitchen cabinets where they have a food source, concealment and moisture. They will often leave a foraging trail up the foundation of your house from the ground.
Carpenter ants are the most common found in and around a home and are cause for alarm. Their natural habitat is in decaying logs in a wooded area but they multiply quickly and can create a nest in the wood structure of your home as well. Carpenter ants do not eat wood as do termites do but excavate it to build their nests. You may see a small pile of sawdust and dead ants in your basement, garage or elsewhere. This pile is called frass.