Everything you need to know about pests

If your house is infested with bed bugs, mice, termites, cockroaches or any other pest and you find yourself needing to contact an experienced pest control company to handle your pest problems in a professional way, then you should research the pest control companies as you will need a company that is reliable and worthy to come in and perform the service that you are looking for.  Below are several key things to look for when picking a pest control service. 

Hire a pest control company that has an excellent record. It is even better if the company is insured as this will ensure the protection of yourself and your house.  You may not want to let just any company get into your house. So, it is essential to hire a trustworthy, credible and qualified pest control service. 

The pest control company must have adequate knowledge of techniques used to exterminate pests and be able to provide answers to your questions on pest management. You should ask for their license and certification before allowing them into your home. Their license should have a yearly renewal to be sure they are up to date with the newest technology.  Price shouldn’t be much of an issue when it comes to getting quality services so, make sure the pest controller that you are going to pick offers best pest services at reasonable prices.

Consider your kids and pets if you have any and go for a professional pest removal that will get rid of the pests using the non-toxic and environmentally friendly approach, you don't want to poison your family and ecosystem in the process of exterminating pests. 
A good pest control company should, at minimum, belong to their state organizations and also be a certified professional by the National Pest Management Association. It is essential that you go for a company that keeps to government guidelines and not those that could put your family at risk.
Many reputable companies offer a free estimate for their services, they will inspect your home to know the exact pest problem you may be facing and how to eradicate them, and they will as well recommend any preventative measures to prevent reoccurrence of pest infestation in your home. When you are looking for an exterminator, take your time to find the best company that will render for you the value for your money.
Seek references and feedback from their customers in order to be sure of if their treatment is effective and to know if their treatment schedule is adhered to strictly.
Check for a company that has technicians who are certified to apply correct treatment for each type of pest problem and are trained to eliminate pests from those hidden habitats that couldn’t easily be reached.
Know the exact approach they’ll take for controlling your pests, what they will use and how long it will take, be sure to sign up for treatment that covers your problem, the treatment for ants and roaches are not the same for termites, rodents, and bedbugs. 
Finally, make sure they are helpful, pleasant, and take the time to listen to your concerns and perspective. They should arrive on time, and call you to let you know if they are going to be more than 15 minutes late. 
Being a novice at pest control, you cannot know or be better than a professional when it comes to exterminating pests from your home. That is why you should keep the above points in mind before selecting a pest control service to free your house from these destructive pests.

Cockroaches are insects of tropical origin that live in close association with people in parts of houses and other facilities where heat and moisture prevails. Broadly expanding in numbers, cockroaches love to huddle in large groups; that is larger favorable spaces and environmental conditions promote the growing population of cockroaches. They are public health pests associated with food borne illnesses and have been documented to be a physical carrier of food contaminants and pathogens in their bodies which are harmful to the health of people. It is believed that the cockroach may be a reservoir for a range of bacteria including salmonella, staphylococcus, gastroenteritis, and streptococcus and they also likely harbor viruses such as polio. Ingested bacteria can survive in a cockroach's digestive system sometimes for months or even years, and are passed in its droppings. In addition, they carry eggs of parasitic worms and can cause allergic reactions including asthma, dermatitis, itching, ocular swelling and chronic respiratory problems in sensitive individuals. They eat a wide range of food among which are rotting garbage, food spills on kitchen floor and fecal materials, all of which they vomit and defecate on food and as a result transmit diseases to humans when humans eat food contaminated by cockroaches.

Cockroaches are synonymous with dirt and filth swarming all over your meal, they spread filth and ruin food, fabrics and book bindings. Which is why people are generally anxious to their cockroach problem remediated. They live in accumulating fecal material, and decaying organic debris, they feed on rodent/bird droppings and animal carcasses, from which they will pick up the bacteria on their legs and bodies and spread these disease-causing agents to food and other surfaces, They disgorge portions of their partially digested food at intervals and drop feces, their bodily secretions and nauseous discharge also stain and leave an offensive odor that can permeate packaging. The cockroach species that infest a food processing facility can vary by geographic location but the three domiciliary main species of importance are the German cockroach, the Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) and the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana).

The right environment is the cause of almost every occurrence of cockroach infestation. Cockroaches are primarily nocturnal insects and so prefer to be in the dark, they require warmth (about 70°F) and a dark habitat with little air movement, which is why they tend to thrive in very warm stuffy places, like attics.  Moisture can be in the form of humidity making it convenient to thrive well in hiding spots like the cracks in walls, underneath a stack of magazines or cardboard boxes, any furniture items that are generally left undisturbed, kitchen cupboards, below sinks and around water heaters, they are often harbored in spaces where normal cleaning and sanitizing methods do not reach.  Sightings  of roaches when people are present, during the day, or under light conditions may indicate the presence of a severe infestation. It is important to note that cockroaches can live for a few days up to a month without food that is; because you are not seeing cockroaches in your home does not mean they are not there,  Research has shown that 20-48% of homes with no visible sign of cockroaches have detectable cockroach allergens in dust.
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Cockroaches can be brought into buildings on products.  German cockroaches are very effective hitchhikers and may hide in incoming supplies, packing materials, cardboard boxes, pallets and so on. Unless the sewer connection is addressed, sewer and floor drains can provide a never ending route for cockroaches to penetrate as some cockroaches will travel between and enter buildings through drain/sewer pipes, underground utility lines, and steam tunnels. Once inside a building, cockroaches take up occupancy in facilities like boxes, shelves, and books and tend to live in cracks and crevices where they can feel the floor, ceiling, or walls with their antennae. Generally, any environment within the facilities that offers cockroach survival resources like food, water and shelter is susceptible to infestation.

In September of 2016, three high profile state buildings in the capital of New Jersey, Trenton, were found have serious bed bug problems. It was a full-blown infestation. Not even the Department of Health was spared from their wrath.  Just a few decades back, bed bugs were not something that any of us would have been concerned about. When pesticides like DDT were still in use, bed bugs were essentially eradicated.  But now, they’re back.  They can’t fly, but they spread and transmit by clinging onto things and other animals.  And, with the speed and ease that people can move around the country (and the world) coupled with large populations in cities like Jersey City and Newark, nowhere is safe.

How do you know if you have a bed bug problem?

Bed bugs are about 3/8” long, so still visible to the naked eye.  But, you aren’t going to find one just walking around - they only come out at night.  So how do you tell if you have them in your house?  Like every hasty criminal, they leave a lot of evidence. 

Follow these steps to find out:

Step One:  Do you find raised red welts and bite marks in lines on your body? Do the welts itch and burn… and is there a rash in the area around them?  Bed bug bites initially don’t hurt but soon start itching and burning.  They can often be confused with flea bites.  However, unlike flea bites, they don’t have a red spot in the center.  Additionally, flea bites will generally appear around your ankles while bed bug bites will be found on any  skin that would normally be exposed while sleeping.

Step Two:  Bed bugs shed their entire outer shell as they grow.  They also leave dark red fecal matter stains and blood stains that look like spots.  They leave eggshells and molt five times until they become adults.  Look for these under the bed sheets on the mattress - near the edges, crevices and piping – anywhere they can hide.  Box springs and bed frames should also be given a careful inspection.  Bedbugs also leave a bad musty odor around the house.

Step Three:  If you are not sure whether you have bed bugs, look harder. Around your bed, inside things lying around the area, inside electrical outlets and the clothing you wore while sleeping.  Still unsure?  Or if you do find out you do have an infestation?  Call a local exterminator.  

No one wants to live in a room infested with bed bugs. But don’t blame yourself.  Bed bugs travel can travel a thousand ways to arrive in your bed.  Keep yourself informed and take proactive bed bug remediation steps.

Whatever you do, it is advisable to seek professional pest control help, particularly a bed bug exterminator (or an exterminator who has extensive bed bug experience).  You may try to get rid of the insects yourself but these are not ants that you can simply remove with a spray that you bought at the hardware aisle at the supermarket.  The best treatments are done with chemicals and tools you will not easily find in a store, and that require training and experience to use correctly.  Remember, they are called “bed bugs” not “coffee table bugs”;  you don’t want to haphazardly poison something upon which you spend eight or more hours, every day (not including Netflix time and anything else…) 

This mini guide will help you keep a check on everything you should keep in mind when calling local pest control services in Jersey City and elsewhere:

Before the Treatment: If you are living in a rented property as a tenant, the landlord or the concerned authorities must be made aware. Send a notice to your landlord via mail.  Keep the apartment clean so that the landlord cannot blame you for the infestation.  This advice should be followed no matter what kind of dwelling you live in.  When the pest control people come for an inspection and offer you a quote, ask them about the licenses they hold for using their chemicals, the procedures they are going to use, service guarantees and additional guarantees offered, contracts and prices being offered and any references, and if follow up visits are included.  Look up their reviews on social media if they have any.

During the Treatment:  Generally, the exterminators are going to employ two primary types of treatment:

1.) Whole Room Heat Treatments: The pests are killed by raising the temperature of the room between 135 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 hours. The exterminators will advise you to remove anything that might get damaged due to the heat. Similar treatments like steam treatment, container heat treatment may also be applied.  Remember, there is nothing to stop the bed bugs from infesting the house again. So,  next, preventive treatments are employed to prevent recurrences. 

2.) Insecticide Treatments: Depending on the nature of the surfaces and the different kinds of exposure they get from people in the house, three different kinds of treatments are carried out:

• For surfaces that come into human contact frequently, a quick action contact based insecticide is used.ii. For areas that don’t come into contact as often, like the undersides and insides of furniture, a residual insecticide is used that settles on the surface.
• For cracks and crevices like electrical outlets, a dust insecticide is used. 
• Each treatment can take anywhere from half an hour to 2 hours and after that the room shouldn’t be entered for some time as advised by the exterminators.  Plan accordingly.

A one-time treatment is never going to be enough for complete bedbug extermination.  2-3 treatments minimum will be required.  Ask the exterminators for detailed instructions beforehand so that you can prepare yourself and your house not just for the effectiveness of the treatment but also the safety of your family, and pets.  

After the Treatment:  Keep your house as clean as possible. Avoid using secondhand things like mattresses and cushioned furniture at all costs. Try to ensure that when you travel you don’t carry any bed bugs back with you from hotels and AirBnB residences.  Check beds when you travel for similar signs of infestation before you go to sleep. 

A bed bug problem is nothing to be worried about and with the help of professional pest control experts will be gone before you know it.  So sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite. 

Bed bugs have become a common issue among residential and commercial dwellings, and because of this bed bugs can be picked up almost anywhere. These pests have been known to "hitch-hike" whether you're traveling or going to the gym, they can hop right into your luggage or gym back. Or if you're at your neighborhood coffee shop or local doctors office, bed bugs have also been known to "hitch-hike" right on top of you! But once they get into your home or office they can become quite difficult to manage, without the help of a professional bed bug exterminator.

The Jersey City Exterminators are here to help! If you have seen any type of evidence that you might have bed bugs, give us a call today we will schedule an appointment for our professional exterminators to perform an inspection on your home or work space. We will them provide you with a complete analysis of our inspection and we will recommend the best treatment process specified to your needs. Our professional bed bug exterminators will then implement our bed bug treatment process that will not only get rid of your bed bug problem, but it is also safe for you, your family, your pets, and our environment. For more information about our bed bug treatment process or to schedule an appointment, give us a call today.