They are carpenter bees!  For many people, carpenter bees are considered to be a nuisance pest as they lurk, buzz, and dive bomb.  They are non-aggressive, but still an annoying pest none-the-less.  Male carpenter bees are harmless and do not have a stinger.  Most of the time male carpenter bees are the ones that tend to do the buzzing around people.  This show of force is one way that they “show-off” for their female counterpart.

The female carpenter bee tends to hang out closely by the chosen nesting site.  She is the one that works feverishly to create the nest as she prepares to lay her eggs.  Females are not considered aggressive, but they do have a stinger and they will sting you if you take a swat at them or if they think you are threating their nest or budding babies.

Carpenter bees drill holes in new and old wood for their nests.  Each hole that is created is used by subsequent generations as well.  The deck railing is often the target of the resourceful carpenter bee.

Stern Environmental Group offers 24 hour emergency hive removal and carpenter bee treatment.  You don’t have to be annoyed by these bees any longer.  Call Stern for expert help.

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Because many business establishments are not open 24 hours a day/7 days per week, rats and mice have the opportunity to easily infest a building or business and operate uninterrupted.  Storage facilities and restaurants that house large amounts of food products are highly susceptible to rat and mice populations.  While these locations remain quiet during the nighttime hours, rats and mice are able to chew and claw their way into precious food supplies, contaminating all that they touch.  It is estimated that rats and mice contaminate 20% of all of the food sources in the world.

Rats and mice are resourceful creatures.  They don’t care much about what they eat report NYC pest control professionals.  Rats and mice are typically nocturnal creatures, but will come out during the daytime hours if they are in need of food or water, or if their nesting area has been disturbed.

Stop by our website to read about our innovative “Track & Trap” system.  Invading mice don’t stand a chance when we use this device as we are able to track their every move which enables us to see where their entry points are and their nesting place is.  We can safely remove mice in no time at all by using the Track & Trap.

If bed bugs are found, treatment must be completed to the unit and all of the surrounding units as well.  PHAs may offer special services to tenants such as inspecting furniture, non-chemical treatment of furniture prior to moving into a unit, the use of bed bug detection devices or mattress encasements, but tenants are not required to use the services.  All special services must be incurred at the expense of the PHA.

Public Housing Agencies cannot deny residency to tenants who have had previous bed bug experiences.  Preferential treatment may not be provided to tenants based upon their response to the question regarding exposure to bed bugs.  Any person who lives in a HUD owned Public Housing Unit cannot be charged for bed bug eradication services.  All costs for bed bug eradication must be covered by the PHA.

Recognizing that tenants have some responsibility in controlling bed bugs, tenants must also take an active role in avoiding and eliminating the pests.

In the regulation, “tenants are strongly encouraged to immediately report the suspicion of possible bed bugs in a housing unit or other areas of the property.”  This should be a REQUIREMENT, not an encouragement!  Bed bugs spread very quickly.  It is imperative that pest control professionals be called at the first sign of a bed bug infestation.

Tenants will not be reimbursed for bed bug infested items so it is important for them to cooperate and aid in the eradication process.  When bed bugs are concerned, tenants, PHAs and pest control professionals must all work together for full eradication.

Public Housing Agencies and Pest Control Professionals are encouraged to keep abreast of the new HUD guidelines by reading Notice: PIH-2012-17 provided by HUD.

It has been recommended that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plans be implemented to help control bed bugs as well as other types of household pests and HUD is strongly encouraging Pubic Housing Agencies (PHAs) to incorporate a good IPM plan.  According to HUD, the procedures include:

“Raising awareness through education on the prevention of bed bugs.

Inspecting infested area, plus surrounding living spaces.

Checking for bed bugs in luggage and clothes when returning home from a trip.

Looking for bed bugs or signs of an infestation on secondhand items before bringing the items home.

Correctly identifying the pest. Keeping records indicating dates and locations where pests are found.

Cleaning all items within a bed bug infested living area.

Reducing clutter where bed bugs can hide.

Eliminating bed bug habitats.

Physically removing bed bugs through cleaning.

Using pesticides carefully according to the label directions.

Following up on inspections and possible treatments.”

In the new guidelines, PHA must respond to complaints of bed bugs within 24 hours and discuss what measures will be taken to get rid of the pests with tenants.  Inspection of the unit in question, as well as the units above, below, and on the sides must also be performed within three business days.  If bed bugs are not found, re-inspection must be completed periodically over the next several months.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion.

Cockroaches in New York City are one of the many types of pests that can easily slip inside of a business and multiply very quickly.  Because cockroaches are typically nocturnal pests, at least in the early stages, they often go unnoticed by employees, managers and business owners.

Cockroaches can be transported into a business via shipping boxes, a neighboring business, or even via a customer.  Resourceful cockroaches will seek harborage in cardboard boxes, behind or in cabinets, in walls, in or around garbage, and behind appliances.  These pests need food and water and typically reside within a 15 foot radius of those sources.

Not only will cockroaches prove to be a horrifying site to customers, they also pose a health risk as they are known to carry many disease causing pathogens.  Because cockroaches will eat just about anything, and travel through garbage and other vile areas, they collect pathogens on their legs which in turns contaminate all surfaces that they travel upon.

Keeping your business pest proofed by hiring a NYC commercial pest control expert is the key to keeping disease ridden cockroaches under control.  Stern Environmental Group has extensive experience in cockroach eradication.  Listen to our “cockroach stories” and you’ll hear how our technicians are able to identify the source of the cockroach infestation and use our extensive knowledge to rid businesses of even the most invested areas a short period of time.

Thousands of Americans are transported to hospitals from coast to coast each year with serious allergic reactions to pests that sting.  Of those, at least 40 will die from anaphylaxis.

According to the Observer on April 24, 2012, Dr. Joseph Petrusek of La Grande, stated that encountering any of the 11 symptoms of a systemic reaction after a bee, hornet or wasp sting will put you at risk for a life threatening reaction.  The risks include:

“• hives.

• a metallic taste or tingling in the mouth

• swelling of the tongue, lips or throat

• difficulty breathing or swallowing

• abdominal cramps

• vomiting or diarrhea

• a rash or itchy skin

• coughing or wheezing

• loss of consciousness

• increased heart rate

• dizziness or sudden weakness”

According to reports, anyone who has had any of these reactions to a stinging pest is susceptible to experiencing some sort of life threatening reaction if they are stung by another bee, wasp, or hornet.  Upon testing by a physician, patients who are allergic to the venom will be prescribed a self-injectable epinephrine pen which will lessen the chance of the allergic reaction being life threatening.

Having bees, hornets or wasps eliminated by a NJ pest control expert will help keep you and your family safe.

Many cities in the State of Ohio have been fighting the bed bug battle and losing ground daily.  In an effort to gain the upper hand on the problem, some landlords are making the tenants responsible for bed bugs by making them sign stringent contracts making them responsible for pest control responsibilities.

10TV.com reported on April 27, 2012 that tenants at a Columbus, Ohio apartment were given a pest control addendum to sign along with their lease renewal.  According to reports, the addendum required the tenants to:

• Certify that their apartment was currently free of bed bugs. – Not bad

• Agree to notify the landlord if any bed bugs were to appear. – Not bad

• Cooperate with pest control if bed bugs appeared. – Not bad

• Pay for all of the costs of extermination! – What!?

• Pay for all of the costs of exterminating other units if the bed bugs spread! – No Way!

• Agree that they would immediately lose their apartment and their lease would be terminated if they had bed bugs! – Wow!

You may read the article here.

Tenants who live in an apartment building are easily subjected to bed bugs that are in any other unit within the building because bed bugs travel between the walls and along the electrical wires and piping.  While some tenants may be honest and tell the landlord that bed bugs have appeared, perhaps another tenant may not be as forthcoming thus allowing bed bugs to spread.

It’s these kinds of strange rules that drive people into silence about bed bug infestations!  Incidentally, the tenants did not sign the addendum and were issued a 30 day notice to vacate the premises!  Unbelievable!

There are different methods to eliminate NYC rat infestations being utilized throughout the city. The options include live traps, glue traps, snap traps, and electronic rat stations. Most people are not fond of live traps because they must then relocate the unharmed trapped rat to a new location far away from its nesting site.

Glue traps are commonly used, but often times, a clever rat is able to escape from the glue trap by wiggling free or even chewing its own foot off to free itself. For the faint of heart, the sounds that a rodent makes when stuck to the glue trap can be difficult to endure. Snap traps and electronic rat stations are a fast and immediate rodent kill.

Some people choose to use poison to try to rid their homes or business of rat infestations.  Rodent poisons have proven to be effective at killing rats, but they are also extremely toxic to humans, pets and other wild animals. CBS News reported on March 10, 2012 that three seemingly healthy and uninjured hawks have recently been found dead in NYC parks.  Hawks provide some relief in the war against NYC rats as they are one of their favored meal choices. It is suspected that the hawks were poisoned by eating rats that had consumed rat poison. The NYDailyNews.com reported on April 10, 2012, that suspicions were indeed correct. A necropsy found traces of rat poisoning in the liver of the latest hawk that was discovered in Central Park according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Traps alone cannot control rodent populations. Disease ridden NYC rats won’t leave on their own; a New York City pest control professional is needed to eradicate these pests.

• Always keep your luggage zipped shut.  For added protection, consider using the BugZip Luggage Bags and Zippered Hotel Drawer Liners Bags when you travel.   You’ll have the added peace-of-mind knowing that you have done all you can to avoid bringing bed bugs home from your vacation if you properly secure your luggage or seal your belongings in these zippered encasements when you use a hotel/motel dresser.

• What you do upon your arrival home could make the difference between having a bed bug infestation and not having a bed bug infestation in your home.  NYC pest control experts recommend that all luggage be emptied outside of the home.  Bed bugs cannot stand the heat so all clothing should be placed directly into the washing machine (clean or dirty) and washed on the hottest temperature setting.  All clothing should then run through the dryer on the hottest temperature setting to kill any hitchhiking bed bugs or their eggs.

• Luggage should be carefully vacuumed (inside and out), paying particular attention to the zippered areas and folds in the luggage.

• In locations known to have hot temperatures, placing the luggage in a sealed trash bag and placing it in the sun will help kill any bed bugs that could have been missed during vacuuming.

• Store the luggage in a sealed trash bag in the garage.

Despite your best efforts, you still may be unlucky enough to bring bed bugs home with you this summer.  Bed bugs are not a do-it-yourself type of pest that can be handled with a bug bomb or other type of store bought chemical.  Bed bug treatments require a trained professional with specialized equipment and knowledge of eradication procedures.  For expert bed bug extermination service in Secaucus, New Jersey, the greater New York City Metro areas, and Connecticut regions, contact Stern Environmental Group.  Our trained technicians will offer the best alternatives for fast bed bug eradication.

Recognizing that bed bugs are still a major problem throughout the United States, the PPMA has designed the last week of the National Pest Management month to be “Bed Bug Awareness Week”.  In such, they would like to remind consumers to be vigilant in their quest to avoid bed bug exposure this summer travel season.  The PPMA recognizes that having knowledge about bed bugs, their habits, and their harborage will help consumers avoid bringing the blood thirsty pests home with them this summer.

Stern Environmental Group is a leading authority on bed bugs.  We have extensive experience with bed bug eradication and offer a multitude of bed bug products to help consumers remain bed bug free.

Stern would like to offer some reminders for safe and bed bug free traveling this summertime:

• Check for bed bugs in any hotel or motel upon your arrival. Carefully examine the entire bed, headboard, furniture and room.  Remember, even 5 star hotels can have bed bugs at any moment in time!

• Check for bed bugs when visiting a relative’s home.  Having bed bugs is not a sign of uncleanliness.  Anyone can pick up bed bugs from any location.

• Use the luggage rack in a hotel/motel.  Never place your luggage on the bed or carpeted floor areas.  The slick surface of the bathroom is also a good area to store luggage.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion.