When-pavement ants nest under the concrete floors of commercial buildings, retail establishments or schools, their small size and swarming behavior can create a tremendous problem for building owners. Just 1/8-inch long, pavement ants can swarm into building areas en masse searching for food.

Opportunistic feeders, they’ll eat nearly anything humans eat. As they look for food, pavement ants will swarm over floors, into purses and lunch bags and onto desks; often causing panic among employees, customers or students. Understandably, employees may refuse to return to work in infested rooms until ants are exterminated.

The locations of their nests under concrete slabs and floors makes exterminating pavement ants a considerable challenge that calls for the services of an experienced New Jersey/New York commercial pest control professional. Eliminating any ant problem requires that all nest mates, eggs, immature hat and queens be killed. Pavement ant colonies typically have multiple queens which can make exterminating colonies a considerable challenge and a job for an experienced ant exterminator.

Bed bugs are susceptible to extreme temperatures, but the problem with heat treatment is that bed bugs must be exposed to a constant minimum temperature of 118°F. for at least 20 minutes; eggs for 90 minutes. As the New Jersey couple found, that’s effectively impossible to achieve safely without specialized equipment or professional services.

Because there has been no mention of the home being infested with bed bugs, it is likely that the chair was a second-hand piece of furniture already infested with bed bugs when the couple brought it into their home. Used, found and second-hand furniture have become a primary method of bed bug infestations in New Jersey homes.

When furniture is infested, Stern offers reliable professional fumigation at an offsite location. We us an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that leaves no residue or film to treat clients’ furniture as part of our bed bug concierge services.

Native to New Jersey and common throughout Eastern and Midwestern states, groundhogs, called woodchucks in some areas, are members of the marmot family. Adults are brown with short bushy tails, weigh between 4 and 9 pounds and grow to an average length of 16 to 26 inches. These rodents typically live in underground dens in forested areas but in suburban areas will burrow under porches, decks and sheds. Dens harbor fleas, ticks and mites which can migrate indoors or onto pets when dens are built under homes.

Fierce defenders, groundhogs can carry rabies, presenting a serious problem for New York City, Long Island and New Jersey homeowners, particularly in late spring when litters are born. For your safety, humane groundhog removal should be performed by an experienced New Jersey wildlife removal expert.

Even using the most conservative calculations, if a single pregnant mouse takes up residence in an apartment complex or commercial building it can create a rodent infestation of more than 500 mice in just 6 months. Certain mice species that live in polygamous groups (one male and multiple females), such as the common house mouse, can reach overwhelming numbers even more quickly.

To eliminate rodent infestations, animal pathways into the building must be located and sealed, not an easy task given that mice can squeeze through a tiny, dime-sized hole. Stern Environmental solves this problem by employing the innovative Track & Trap mouse control program. Using fluorescent technology, our rodent tracking and trapping service is able to pinpoint mice pathways, allowing mice to be eliminated and entry points sealed against further invasion. Visit our website for full details.

Jurors were moved by the hundreds of bed bug bites the tenant endured after moving into the Annapolis apartment in 2011. Her repeated complaints were ignored by the landlord who also ignored complaints from other tenants. Eventually evicted from her apartment, the woman lost “practically everything” when her possessions were stolen after being removed from the apartment by bailiffs.

With public sympathy increasing for bed bug victims, tenant lawsuits are expected to climb and the potential for large jury judgments to increase. Regular inspections and proper bed bug treatment by a recognized New York/New Jersey bed bug control expert may offer the best protection against expensive lawsuits for apartment, condominium, hotel, motel, report and other commercial property owners. Visit our website to find out about Stern’s expert commercial bed bug services.

German cockroaches are a persistent problem in densely-populated metropolitan areas. Difficult to eradicate, they breed quickly and can easily migrate into your clean facility from neighboring establishments and curbside garbage piles. Keeping cockroaches under control is a never-ending battle for restaurants, day care centers, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, warehouse facilities and commercial enterprises.

Contracting for regular commercial pest management services with a licensed pest control company can keep cockroaches at bay and your professional reputation intact; however, it pays to investigate cockroach extermination options before choosing a pest control professional. Professional-grade pesticide sprays and baits are the most common form of commercial cockroach control offered in the New York City and northern New Jersey area; however, these methods of cockroach control may not be ideal for sensitive environments such as hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers or pet stores that serve children, ailing seniors or pets.

Cryonite offers a revolutionary, completely non-toxic and extremely effective alternative to traditional roach control methods. Get the details on our website.

1. Scale pests. Often overlooked because of their tiny size, parasitic scale insects suck the sap from landscape plants, killing their hosts.
2. Wasps. Their painful stings earned wasps the No. 2 spot on this summer’s pest list. While only female wasps sting, their straight stingers allow these pests to sting repeatedly. Wasp stings are painful and can cause severe redness and swelling, as well as life-threatening allergic reactions.
3. Bagworms. A perennial landscape pest, bag worms are recognizable the distinctive web-like nests they spin on tree limbs.
4. Japanese beetles. Shiny green beetles with copper wings, these pests are deadly to roses, tress and 300 other plant species.
5. Stink bugs. These shield-shaped insects cause untoward damage to agricultural and landscape plants and are a persistent nuisance in the fall when they creep inside to overwinter in New Jersey homes and commercial buildings.

When insects bother your home or business, seek the services of a licensed New York and New Jersey pest control professional.

Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not ingest wood, they hollow out large galleries in foundation timbers, building trim and wooden structures to house their massive nests and nurseries. Frass, the sawdust-like by-product of their excavation activity, is sometimes found where carpenter ants are active. More often the ants themselves are spotted as they forage for food.

The largest ant species in New York and New Jersey, carpenter ants are typically black and grow to 5/8 inch long. Due to the prodigious numbers, a colony of carpenter ants can cause considerable structural damage to commercial buildings over time. In fact, carpenter ants can be expected to attack 1 in 4 New York and New Jersey buildings. If you notice large black ants in or around your property, you have carpenter ants. Call Stern Environmental for effective commercial pest management.

Unlike honey bees which live in large social colonies, carpenter bees are solitary bees that live in mated pairs. They chew long nesting tunnels into unpainted or weathered woods where they lay their eggs and overwinter. They have a preference for the soft woods typically used to build and shingle homes, such as redwood, cedar, cypress and pine.

Carpenter bees tend to remain in one location throughout their lives, overwintering in nesting tunnels. Multiple pairs frequently colonize the same site and can cause significant damage to wooden porch roofs and eaves, cedar siding, picnic tables and backyard play sets over time. Their presence is distinguished by the perfectly round entry holes these bees drill into wood as they begin each tunnel. Sawdust-like remains of chewed wood under entry holes is another telltale size of a carpenter bee problem.

While only the female bees sting, aggressively attacking males make carpenter bee extermination a job for experienced New Jersey pest control professionals.

A number of the schools took responsible action and received passing marks when reinspected, but a few schools (NBC singled out Bensonhurst and Far Rockaway)  actually fared worse on repeat inspections. When interviewed by NBC, parents of students expressed “shock” and “horror.”

Mice, rats and cockroaches are persistent problems in large metropolitan areas like New York City. These noxious pests carry and spread dangerous diseases and their feces and dried droppings can cause serious health problems, including childhood asthma and deadly Hanta virus.

Stern Environmental provides expert commercial rat and mouse exterminating services and superior  commercial cockroach control services. Introduced to fight bed bugs, our cutting-edge Cryonite insect treatment system has proved to also offer extremely effective, non-toxic extermination of cockroaches and other insects.

When pests invade, call Stern Environmental for fast and effective action.