Twenty two pests, and what each one actually does.

Adult bed bugs are reddish brown and about the size of an apple seed, turning darker red after feeding. Newly hatched nymphs are far smaller and nearly invisible, and they are expert hitchhikers on people and pets. They cannot fly, but they are persistent, and they cost you sleep. It is essential to correctly identify look-alikes such as poultry and bat bugs, because the right treatment depends on it. A certified technician should inspect and treat.

Beetles damage a home by feeding on wood or infesting plants, herbs, spices and stored grain. Even the click beetle finds its way inside with the change of season or an attraction to light. We inspect, treat, prevent and explain, using environmentally safe materials inside and outside the structure.

Black, red and yellow ants ranging from half an inch to an inch long. They tunnel and nest inside wooden structures, weakening them over time. They usually nest outside and come indoors for food and shelter. We examine the property for entry points and damaged or infested wood, suggest practical ways to make your home less appealing to them, and build a treatment plan around the cause rather than the symptom.

The varied and the black carpet beetle are the two common types in New Jersey. Some people react to them, but the real damage is to clothing, carpets, furniture, and human and pet hair, which the larvae feed on. They arrive on plants, flowers or infested fabric, and adults come in from outside while foraging. Inspection, treatment, prevention and education are all needed to clear them.

Segmented bodies and many pairs of legs, which is how centipedes earned the name hundred leggers. They prefer dark, damp outdoor spots but move into basements and crawl spaces. We inspect the interior and recommend preventive measures and treatment to keep them out.

Tiny red pests about the size of a pinhead that gather in large groups to feed on plants. They are mostly a nuisance, but they wander into buildings and leave a red stain when crushed, which damages surfaces. Our team is trained to eliminate them.

Cockroaches do not bite, but they reproduce fast, and their shed skin and excrement trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks. They carry E. coli and Salmonella. Our region has American, Brown banded, German and Oriental cockroaches; the Pennsylvania wood roach stays outside in wooded areas and is less of a concern. We eliminate them at the source and show you how to keep them from coming back.

The house cricket and the camel or cave cricket both invade buildings, thriving in warm, dark, moist spaces like basements, crawl spaces and laundry rooms. Depending on the species they can spread disease through excrement and saliva, they bite, and they feed on clothing, furniture and houseplants. They come in from the exterior, so treatment has to start there or they return.

The pincers look intimidating, but earwigs are typically not dangerous. They are occasional invaders that move into a structure when the weather turns, preferring damp, dark spaces like basements, laundry rooms and utility closets. We inspect and build a treatment plan around where they are actually getting in.

Adult fleas are the size of a grain of sand, brownish red, hard to crush, and able to jump eight inches onto a host. They spread disease and parasites, and their saliva causes allergic reactions in animals and people. They arrive on pets, on people who have been outside, or on furniture that met an infected animal. A flea job has to be meticulous, because they hide in places that are hard to reach. We prepare you, inspect thoroughly, treat the whole home inside and out with certified safe materials where needed, and explain how to prevent the next infestation.

House flies, fruit flies, produce hitchhikers, and drain flies or sewer gnats are all found in our area. Flies carry bacteria and pathogens from unsanitary conditions, which makes them a health hazard if left alone. We eliminate breeding sites through proper sanitation, control access to the structure, and use environmentally friendly insecticides and fly lights in commercial accounts as part of an integrated pest management inspection.

Mosquitoes spread bloodborne illnesses including Zika, West Nile, malaria and Chikungunya. They gather where they find what they need to survive: nectar from flowering plants, blood for egg development, standing water to lay in, and shelter in gutters, downspouts and dense vegetation. We offer recurring barrier protection, special event sprays, all natural protection, and combined tick and mosquito treatment.

Two types are common in New Jersey households. The Indian meal moth, the pantry pest, has a gray body and brown wings and feeds on grains, pasta and spices; it arrives in infested packages from a warehouse or store and flies around the food it has laid eggs in. The webbing clothes moth feeds on silk, wool, cotton, furs and synthetics, leaving the silk webbing patches it is named for. We find the source, explain the sanitation that stops it, then spot treat and bait the infested areas.

House mice and deer mice gnaw structure, utilities and belongings to build nests, and they contaminate food and surfaces with saliva, urine and feces, spreading salmonellosis, dysentery and Hantavirus. Roof rats climb and enter from the attic or a roof line touching a tree or neighboring building. Norway rats do not climb well and burrow near the buildings they visit, usually at ground level near a food source. Both bring fleas and ticks in with them. We inspect the property and structure, identify entry points, recommend exclusion, and treat at the source. Where rodenticides are used they go in a labeled, tamper proof station.

Silver and grey scales, quick movement, and a preference for damp, humid parts of a building. They arrive in infested boxes, papers and packaging, or through cracks and crawl spaces, and they damage personal belongings. We inspect to find the infestation and treat the affected structure with certified materials where needed.

Acrobat ants, odorous house ants, pavement ants, pharaoh ants and citronella ants are all common in New Jersey. They contaminate food, give off unpleasant odors, and damage wiring insulation, and they gather around water sources in warm weather. Pharaoh ants are the concern: they spread salmonella and streptococcus, and they relocate the colony if the queen is threatened. We inspect, treat, prevent and explain, tailored to which ant you actually have.

House spiders, jumping spiders, wolf spiders and the black widow, whose venom makes it the dangerous one, all get into New Jersey homes. They come in from outside to build webs and hunt the insects already indoors. An exterior power spraying treatment of the vulnerable areas plus targeted interior treatment of the problem spots is what clears them.

An invasive species now established in New Jersey and doing extensive harm to crops and hardwood trees. They congregate on vertical, sun warmed surfaces, where their vivid wings and spots make them easy to spot. Acting quickly limits the damage they do.

Bees, hornets and wasps threaten people and pets when they feel threatened near a nest or a feeding area, and they nest on or inside a structure, damaging it. They are also essential pollinators, so they deserve a measured approach. We inspect, identify entry points, suggest exclusion, and treat at the source. If we find a honeybee colony we recommend beekeeping professionals who can extract the queen, hive and honey and repair the damage the nesting caused, so the pest is removed without harming the environment or non target insects.

Shield or stink bugs pose no threat to people, but the pungent odor they use against predators makes them a nuisance. They shelter in structures through the colder months and reappear when it warms up. Preventing them means treating in the fall, with a thorough power spraying of the exterior.

Subterranean termites live in colonies below the soil and feed on the cellulose in wood, reaching the framing of your building through a crack in the foundation and then traveling behind walls and under floors unnoticed. You can see them above ground in the mud tubes they build. Most owners have no idea there is an issue until an inspection, a wall opened during construction, or warm weather bringing swarmers that drop their wings all at once. We inspect thoroughly, explain how to reduce the risk, and treat several ways at once. As an alternative to injecting hundreds of gallons of pesticide into the soil, we now use advanced perimeter baiting systems and targeted liquid treatment, which works just as well with less impact.

Ticks are prevalent across rural and suburban New Jersey, especially in overgrown vegetation and around wildlife. Depending on the species they transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, ehrlichiosis, tularemia and Lyme Disease to people and pets. Treating the areas around your property and the fence line is what lowers the risk. We inspect, explain how to reduce infestation, and treat inside as well if anything has made it in.