Pest Guide
Everything You Need To Know About Pests
identify your pest
NYC Extermination understands our clients’ anxiety when it comes to pests or rodent infestations. Oftentimes we have found that a little information on that pest and its behavior can clarify a suspicion. Do you have a bed bug infestation or is it something else that’s causing your issue? Can you tell the difference between the Norway rat or brown rat and how to treat each (probably not – that’s our job)? What kind of roach infestation do you have (there are several types)? Our pest and insect identification expertise helps you identify your pest problem and enables an informed discussion about your suspicions with our certified exterminators. NYC Extermination provides reliable and safe pest control solutions for bed bugs infestations, cockroaches, rodents, flying insects, ants, and wildlife as well (raccoons, squirrels, skunks, possum, birds, bats). Get rid of your pest effectively and permanently by partnering with us.
Bedbugs
Bed bug infestations are quite common, and these tiny pests reproduce quickly, infesting your home and office and creating a range of very serious challenges. A bed bug infestation can be hard to spot sometimes, but signs that you have bed bugs include fecal spotting, castoff skins, empty eggshells, and carcasses. Bed bugs are long and brown with a flat, oval-shaped body. If the bed bug has fed recently, it becomes balloon-like and elongated with a reddish-brown color. The most common place to find them is in the seams of the mattress and box springs, headboards, couches, cubicles, and desk chairs. If you put your backpack or purse down on something that is already infested, they are likely to travel with you and spread to your home or office. Cleanliness of home or office does not matter to bedbugs, as they thrive in inconspicuous places.
Termites
Termites are commonly misidentified as ants. In doing so, they can inflict tremendous damage to homes and structures. Any wood that is in contact with soil or with concrete is vulnerable to termites. Termites like moist wood but can also be found in dry wood as well. This is why the inspection we do encompasses the entire house. A noticeable clue in identifying damage is something called mud tubes. These are tubes created by the termites to transport food back to the nest. When you notice the winged termites, this may mean the insects may have established a colony and have been present for a few years.
When you suspect you have termites, there is no home remedy and a professional pest control operation is necessary. The homeowner may have to replace any damaged wood. We employ different types of treatments depending upon the results of our inspection. We use an integrated pest management approach using the least aggressive to most aggressive methods. Some of these treatments are injection method of pesticides into the soil, barrier treatment of wood beams and baited traps.
We are New York State and DEC licensed in termite treatment. Our experts are ready to assist you with any termite issue you may have.
Cockroaches and Water Bugs
As most of us have experienced, Cockroaches are the most common pest affecting apartments and homes. They are a problem where food is present and can cause food poisoning and illnesses such as salmonella. These insects have small heads and broad, flattened bodies, with a reddish-brown to dark brown color. Roaches breach your home or office through pipes, window cracks, and door openings and by attaching themselves to grocery bags, boxes, and used furniture.
Water Bugs look like cockroaches but are much larger, with foreleg pincers. These insects have an oval-shaped body and are dark brown in color. Water bugs gain access to your home or office through gaps in the windows and doors or through vents. They also crawl through the walls from other apartments or buildings. Able to hold their breath underwater, these large insects will even play dead to escape predators.
Flies
Blowflies are commonly found in homes and restaurants and have often met their fate on the end of a swatter. Adults are often blue, green, or black and some have a metallic sheen. Blowfly eggs are yellow or white in color and look like rice grains when laid (often referred to as maggots). Difficult to control, females can hatch 150 to 200 eggs per cycle and hibernate in walls and other hard to reach areas. When they land on your food or dishes, they empty their stomachs unbeknownst to you, which can transmit diseases and illnesses, including Cholera, Conjunctivitis, Dysentery, Gastroenteritis, and more.
Fruit flies found in kitchens are a nuisance year-round. They are mainly attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables. Adults measure about 1/8” long and are tan in color with black ends and red eyes. Fruit flies lay about 500 eggs near ripened food or moisture. Although small, this type of fly can transfer E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria to the surface of the food.
Mice
Do you ever hear mice running around at night? These pesky vermin are rooting through your possessions trying to find materials for nesting. New York City mice can be found in homes, restaurants, garages, sheds, storage containers and anywhere else they can take shelter. Why all their chewing? Because their front teeth grow so rapidly that they need to constantly wear them down. So they chew on anything and everything from food to wood moldings, boxes and electrical wires, making them a fire hazard.
Difficult to eliminate, the average adult female births about 5 to 10 times a year, producing a litter of 3 to 14 babies each time. These small pests transmit bacteria such as Shigella, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile, and diarrheagenic E. coli, which cause gastrointestinal diseases in humans. Ranging in color from gray to brown, mice measure about 5″ to 7” in length, have large ears and small, beady dark eyes. Certified and trained in mice control, our exterminators use bait, traps and glue boards to eliminate mice and can identify the pathways in which they travel to treat for optimal results.
Rats
Just hearing the word rat can give you the creeps. Seeing them is even worse. Norway rats are the most common variety of rats found in New York City. Large and bulky at approximately 16” in length, rats have coarse brown hair and a gray to brown underbelly. Their ears have no fur and are small while their tail is shorter than their body. An adult female rat can have 3 to 6 litters a year, and each litter contains 10 to 12 baby rats.
Rats transmit diseases such as rat bit fever, cowpox virus, trichinosis, and salmonella. They contaminate food stocks, causing digestive distress and disease. Because of their gnawing, they cause property damage, including wires and pipe damage, which can be costly to repair. If left unchecked, a rat population will soar and their destructive potential grows exponentially. NYC Extermination tailors programs to control and eliminate rats for good. We look for entry points, seal them up and then we treat the area to eliminate the rat population. Our certified exterminators implement long-term strategies that reduce the chance of re-infestation.
spotted lanternfly
These insects almost look like moths but are closely related to aphids, cicadas, and stink bugs. Spotted lanternflies are not stinging insects, and they do not bite humans.
The spotted lanternfly adult has piercing mouth parts to suck the sap from plants, causing significant damage and destruction. After feeding on a tree or plant, it leaves behind a sticky secretion that resembles black sooty mold.
Experts have observed feeding on over 70 plants and trees, including crops and ornamental plants. However, their favorite host is the tree of heaven.
Affiliations
At NYC Extermination, we are proud members of both the National Pest Management Association and NYS Pest Management Association. As active members, we are guaranteed continuous access to new product announcements and upcoming pest legislation that affects the pest control industry. These memberships also allow us continued growth through educational classes that are required by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to maintain our license up to date.
