How to Avoid Bee Stings
No one wants to get stung by bees. In fact, when a bee flies near you, the initial reaction is to run away. There are a few things you can do to keep bees and wasps at bay.
Don’t smell like a flower
Floral shampoos, perfumes, and body sprays smell like food to bees and wasps. Avoid anything that reminds you of a flower because it reminds them too.
Don’t look like a flower
Those bright colors resembling flowers attract bees and wasps so that they can pollinate the flower. If you’re wearing bright colors, you look like a giant flower. Khaki is the color least likely to get you a stinging audience.
Pack your lunch away
It’s a good idea to stay away from cans of soda or beer in the summer. Buy bottles, especially ones that you can recap. Cover foods and salads completely. Bees are looking for something sweet, but wasps are meat-eaters. All of these bugs simply want the easy meal that you laid out for your family. Cover everything and look for ways to keep the bees and wasps out with screens and wraps.
Watch your step
Wasps live in the ground. If you’re barefoot or wearing flip-flops, you might find that you have stepped on the home of some very angry pests. Wasps are aggressive when they feel threatened, so wearing something that protects your feet might keep you from being in a lot of pain.
"Bee" calm
Swatting and running when you see a bee is a natural response, but it’s also the reason that you might get stung. Try to remain calm and let them do their thing. They won’t sting unless they think they might be harmed. That’s only going to happen it you smack them upside the head. Relax and let them buzz around for a few minutes.
As their food sources begin to disappear, wasps get increasingly aggressive. Late summer and into fall, wasps can become a bit crazy and dangerous. Avoid them if at all possible.
Don’t do it yourself
There are hundreds of bee and wasp killers on the market, but killing them is not a job to take on yourself. A wasps’ nest can be huge underground and invisible to your view. A beehive in a tree can be massive, where you can’t see it. These insects become extremely aggressive when attacked, so they will come after you if they think you are trying to destroy their home. Call a pro, no matter how small you think the job may be. It could save you a lot of pain and even a trip the hospital.
The major key to not getting stung by bees and wasps is to simply leave them alone. If you’re out in the woods, simply steer clear. If they’re near your home, call in a professional to help you with getting rid of them. One or two stings for someone who isn’t allergic is not a big deal, but a hive’s worth of stings can send anyone to the hospital.
Winter Preparation Pest Control Checklist
Winter is here and everyone is heading into the house for warmth and delicious meals, even the bugs and rodents in your area.
Before you settle down for a cup of hot cocoa and a great movie, take the time to secure your house against uninvited squatters that will enter your house to eat your food and generally make everyone uncomfortable.
Outside
- Put chicken wire around your deck, patio, or porch. The chicken wire will prevent rodents from hiding under your porch for the winter.
- Don’t vent your clothes dryer in a hidden space. A dryer vent under your porch, patio, or deck is a warm tunnel for mice and rats to camp out.
- Have the walls treated by a professional for insects. A chemical treatment will keep insects from climbing the walls and getting into your home.
- Put chicken wire onto your downspouts. Rodents will attempt to crawl into them to hide from cold, wind, and snow.
- Keep woodpiles off the ground and away from the house. Woodpiles are a termite and ant superhighway into your house.
- Put your trash into sealed containers, particularly metal ones. Lunch is hard to find under the snow, but not in your garbage cans.
- Install gutters around your house to keep moisture out. Insects, like termites, require moisture to survive and thrive.
Inside
- Don’t leave food out. Even pet food is a great snack for insects and rodents. Leaving it out is like setting out an all-you-can-eat Las Vegas buffet.
- Store everything in plastic containers, including paper and fabric. Anything in your house can be food or a nest for rodents or insects.
- Work with a pro to spray your house and set out traps. A professional exterminator can advise what to do and will help you do it.
- Seal cracks and holes in your walls. Using some simple silicon caulk, you can keep most creatures out of your house.
- Check wires for gnaw marks or missing insulation. Rodents will gnaw on almost everything. Those exposed wires can cause a fire later.
- Replace missing mortar and weatherstripping on your home. Those tiny pathways are ideal for bugs and rodents.
- Look for feces and listen for gnawing sounds. These are the clearest evidence that you have unwanted house guests (no, not your in-laws).
Keeping your house protected and going through this checklist is the best way to have a quiet and happy winter. Now, about those in-laws… you’re on your own there!
Getting a Real Christmas Tree? You May Be Inviting Pests Over For The Holidays!
Your real Christmas tree has beautiful lights and shiny decorations. It might also be transporting some unwanted guests into your home, pests! While few of these insects are harmful, they are very unsightly and, well, gross.
The list of potential hitchhikers includes Praying Mantii, beetles, spiders and aphids. Some of them will stay on the tree. Others will wander around your home.
Here is a brief list of some of the tiny beasts that can enter your home on your fresh Christmas tree:
Praying Mantids
– These fascinating creatures lay eggs on conifers. The eggs will hatch once the tree starts to warm up. These predatory insects will eat all of the bugs on the house, but will also cannibalize each other if there is no more food supply. Many people think that praying mantids are protected, but that’s not true. The best way to deal with them is to remove the light tan frothy egg masses and discard them.
Bark Beetles
– These tiny beetles live on and in trees. They aren’t a threat to furniture or homes, but they can leave a fine sawdust on the floor and make a mess. The beetles tend to stay on the tree and will go back outside when the tree is discarded.
Spiders
– Among the most feared creatures in the world, the spiders that typically hibernate on conifers are harmless. They can be a real surprise in the middle of winter crawling across the floor or up a wall. If they come down from the tree, they will weave small webs in corners. These spiders will often die very quickly inside of the house.
Scale Insects
– These tiny red insects can be seen on your trees as miniscule dots moving around on the branches. When crushed they leave tiny red spots that can be washed off. They are not at all harmful, but they are not welcome friends on Christmas.
Aphids and Mites
– These very familiar little insects that exist everywhere outside. When they come in on a Christmas tree, they can be seen crawling around on the tree and near the packages under the tree. The most annoying part of these insects is when someone finds them crawling over their gift.
A tree shaker, a large device that shakes a tree very hard, can remove most of these insects. It will knock the little visitors off outside where they have a chance to survive. Alternatively you can make sure the tree is shaken out very well before you bring it into your home.
Birds’ nests can often be found in trees, as well. If a tree shaker doesn’t take the birds’ nests out, they should be removed manually. Not only are there many insects that live in birds’ nests, there are parasitic disease in the birds’ feces. Even though they seem cute, they should not be allowed to stay in the house.
One important point: You should not use chemical insect sprays. They are often very flammable and toxic. They should not be used in the house. They can cause a fire and might be toxic to children and animals that play near the tree.
Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays from Anchor Pest Control!
Are the Mosquitos getting too friendly? Here are some tips to keep them away from your home.
“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.” - HH Dalai Lama
Mosquitoes are small insects found everywhere in the world except the very extreme North and South Poles. They are flying insects that are often described as the most annoying and dangerous creatures on the planet.
Mosquitoes carry disease. From the West Nile Virus to malaria, most mosquitoes are the most prolific spreaders of disease in the world.
Fortunately, there are some very simple things that you can do reduce the number of mosquitoes in your world. Follow these simple guidelines and your mosquito problems will nearly disappear.
Standing water is the mosquito’s ideal habitat. Mosquitoes lay hundreds of eggs at once in standing water and their gestation period is about 7 days. That means that in about a week after water collects, there will likely be mosquitoes.
Here are some of the most common sources of standing water:
- Bird baths - Keep them clean and change the water at least once a week.
- Old tires - Those old tires on land are mosquito condos. Drain them and throw them away.
- Clogged gutters - Gutters that hold water become little mosquito nurseries.
- Low spots - Low land that holds water can become mosquito ponds. Fill in the land to keep puddles from forming.
- Flower pots - There might be flower pots around without flowers. Flip them over or get rid of them.
- Kids toys - Sometimes the kids will leave toys in the yard for weeks. As soon as water sits in them, so will mosquitos.
If you insist on water features for your tranquil garden, get a fountain. Mosquitoes can’t lay eggs in moving water. Fish ponds are great too. Fish and frogs love the taste of a little mosquito or their larvae.
Bats are the mosquito’s worst enemy. A bat can eat 600 to 1000 mosquitoes an hour. A few bat houses around your property will keep the mosquito population down. Don’t worry about the bats being a nuisance, you don’t look anything like a mosquito in their sonar.
Mosquito spraying with products you can find locally tends to be ineffective. Partially because it is hard to find them in their natural habitat and also because as soon as it rains the pesticide is gone and the mosquitoes are back. And in the summer, rain storms can be extremely frequent.
In reality, the absolute simplest thing you can do is to find the standing water and get rid of the places where mosquitoes populate. If these DIY tips don’t help, contact the Anchor Pest Control Mosquito expert team to come survey your property and help you exterminate them once and for all.
NJ Home Pest Control Tips
Pests and rodents are a nuisance and they can severely affect your health and the health of your family. Bug and insect prevention is critical in protecting homes, businesses, schools and other places where people live, work and play. Make sure you are keeping routine maintenance and never hesitate to call Anchor Pest Control during the early stages of a pest problem.
General tips to take care of your home or business:
Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home including entry points for utilities and pipes. Metal flashing and caulking can be very helpful for keeping insects and pests out of your house and out of your life.
Keep tree branches and shrubs well-trimmed and away from the house. These types of situations can act as highways for rodents and insects, particularly treeborne bugs. Squirrels and other tree mammals might be a bit too happy to crawl around on your house.
Keep the whole house dry and well-ventilated – Damp basements, attics and crawlspaces attract bugs. The moisture provides water for bugs and the bugs can give rodents something to feed on. While you are keeping it well-ventilated, make sure that it is secure; rodents will hide anywhere they can/
Lock up the trash – Trash and recycle bins need to lock. Trash to you is an all-you-can-eat buffet for rodents and insects. Locking lids, preferable made of metal, will save you a lot of hassle later.
Get rid of the rot – If there are rotting fascia, shingles or siding, it needs to be handled right away. Not only is an easy way for larger pests to get in, but some insects, like ants, wasps and termites love rotted wood
From small things come big problems – Have the mortar and caulking around the basement fixed. Even a small crack can allow in all kinds of bugs and other issues.
Keep the firewood away – Keep firewood at least 25 feet from the house and at least 6 inches off the ground. Rodents and insects use your wood pile the same way that they use wood piles in nature, as food and a place to live. The further from the house that they are, the better.
Don’t suffer in silence – Call a qualified and trained professional to give you advice and help to eliminate pests quickly and safely.
Planning a Vacation? Bed Bug Prevention Tips for Travelers
When you go on vacation, you look forward to coming home with a tan, photographs, memories, and maybe even a few cheesy mementos. You don’t plan on coming home with a new insect infestation, but it happens often enough that it has become an epidemic.
Bed bugs typically don’t cause disease, but an invasion of bed bugs can be nerve-wracking. Waking up each morning with tiny spots of blood on the sheets from bug bites is traumatizing. There are a few things you can do to avoid bringing home unwanted pets when you go on vacation.
Check reviews - Any mention of bedbugs should be taken seriously. If you have no other options, call the hotel and ask about their bedbug status and when the last time was that a thorough inspection was done. If possible, avoid hotels that have had a problem in the last year. Bed bugs are tough to get rid of and many hotels don’t do it well.
Use a hard-side luggage - Less fabric gives bedbugs less places to hide. It will also make it much easier to inspect your luggage before leaving.
Bring a flashlight - You will want to inspect the room before you settle in. Place your luggage in bathroom and check the room. You’re looking for small blood stains, insects that are about half the size of a grain of rice, or feces that look like black pepper. Look on the mattress, especially in the seams. Also, check the headboard, on the floor near furniture, and in closets. Even if a room hasn’t been occupied for months, bedbugs can still be there. They can live for years without food.
A large trash bag - Once you’ve decided that the room is clean, take your luggage out. Keep your clothes up off the ground. For example, keep everything on the dresser top or in the luggage rack. Place your empty luggage into a plastic bag and seal it up. It will make it harder for the bugs to get into your bags.
Don’t use the dresser - Bedbugs love places where they know they can hitch a ride. The dresser in a hotel is an ideal location.
Check your rental car - Be sure to comb over your rental car, including the trunk, very well. Again, bedbugs are travelers and a rental car is as good a place as any to hang out waiting for a ride.
When you get home...
Don’t go straight in - Bring your luggage in through a garage or straight to the laundry room. Empty everything into a washing machine and wash everything in hot water. This will kill any hitchhikers you might have found.
Go over your luggage - Look in the seams and throughout your luggage for bedbugs. They may be lying in wait for you to bring the luggage into the house.
Be vigilant - The key to keeping bedbugs out of your home after a vacation is to remain vigilant. Don’t take anyone’s word for it that there are no bedbugs. Look for yourself. Don’t tolerate any bedbugs in your hotel room and do everything in your power to kill them if they show up in your possessions.
Simple Ways to Keep Unwanted Squirrels and Raccoons Out
Squirrels, raccoons, and other pests are shrewd animals. If given the opportunity, they can sneak their way into your home and create extensive damage to your home. These animals can easily get into your home because they are small, agile, and extremely clever when motivated. To avoid major headaches, try these simple tips to keep unwanted animals out of your home.
- Trim back any tree branches that touch your home or property.
- Make sure your chimney has a properly installed cap and or screening, check to make sure it isn’t loose.
- Keep your gutters clean and installing gutter guards can also be very helpful.
- Make sure your garbage cans have lids on to cut off potential food sources. Also keep containers of bird, dog, and/or cat food closed tightly.
- Inspect your attic. Check to see if daylight shines through which indicates possible entry points. Vents at the peeks are often easy access points so installing screens behind these vents is helpful.
- Make sure all flashing on peeks is secure, animals can often force their way into these small entry points.
If you hear animals above in the attic or even in between the walls, you may already have an infestation. Rather than spraying repellents, which rarely work and cloud your home with toxic fumes or trying to trap the pest yourself, save time, energy, and money by calling a professional. Our certified experts can remove the unwanted pests in minimal time, remediate any entry points, and ensure your home is safe for your family.
3 Keys to a Successful Bed Bug Plan for Multi-Tennant Property Owners
Educate Your Residents
There are preventable measures that can be taken by your residents and staff, as well as important first steps to limit the exposure. Simply put, anyone can come across bed bugs. A reputable company like Anchor Pest Control will provide literature for your residents, training programs for your staff, and around the clock support for your property. Anchor offers a FREE Pest Identification Service to quickly identify and diagnose issues without a service call – saving you money!
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
If you are only doing a reactive approach you are costing your property more money. A penny of prevention is worth a hundred dollars of cure! Preventive inspection and monitoring devices can help you catch a problem at its earliest stages. This will decrease the damage and risk involved with a bed bug infestation. Currently, K-9 bed bug detection is the most effective tool available to find bed bugs prematurely, before they spread throughout an entire building. This can be done in a very cost-effective way by a licensed company with certified and trained K-9 dogs, such as Anchor Pest Control.
Proper Preparation
The #1 reason bed bug treatments fail is due to improperly prepared units for treatments. There is absolutely no reason to rush a bed bug treatment. It is critical that a resident properly prepares their property. If you are worried about bed bugs spreading and have the surrounding units treated preventively, no preparation is needed. If a resident is not able to prepare their unit themselves, it is important that you contact a licensed company, such as Anchor Pest Control, that can provide an affordable bed bug treatment preparation service.
Are you unhappy with your current Pest Control Company, looking for an affordable Maintenance Plan, have a question? Give Anchor Pest Control a call at (732) 636-8761 or visit us online today!
Looking to do some DIY Pest Control? Check out these tips.
There is a lot you can do to keep your home and yard from being a hangout for unwanted squatters. You can search the internet for a collection of tips and tricks, or check out a quick list that we put together right here!
Here is a list of things you can do:
- Caulk your house - Go around the inside and outside of the house with a caulk gun. Fill in every hole and crevasse. Even the tiniest holes can allow in critters and insects.
- Move the wood pile away from your house - Termites prefer a wooden highway, so don’t stack wood against the house. One infested log can be all they need to start eating your home.
- Wipe counters and floors - Using a simple solution of peppermint castile soap and water can be enough to keep ants and roaches out. They don’t like soap, so simply staying clean gives them nothing to eat.
- Spray vinegar and water - Spiders aren’t fans of vinegar. Spraying corners and cracks with vinegar and water can keep them out.
- Plant away from the house - Plants and bushes are a great way for everything from rodents to carpenter ants to get into the house. Leave a gap between the plants and the house.
- Beer is good - Put out saucers of beer to keep roaches away. They don’t like it, so they won’t go past or near it.
- Coffee is good, too - Ants won’t cross a coffee line. Simply leave a line of it in the back of cabinets or entry points and the ants will stop in their tracks. You can also use equal parts borax and sugar. Put it in small jars with holes in the lids. The ants will go in, but they won’t come out.
- Stop leaks - Leaky faucets give bugs a water supply. Turn off the water, and the insects are less likely to come around.
- Put a lid on it - Everything from your trash cans to your dry food containers should have lids. Cardboard boxes and plastic containers just give mice bedding and a meal.
- Cut branches - Branches that touch the house create an easy way for squirrels and other rodents to get onto and into the house.
- Close the roof - Make sure roof vents are intact. Bats will find the smallest holes and move right in.
- Bat houses - In your attic, bats are bad, but on your lawn, bats can keep the mosquito population down. Put up bat houses outside and the bats will eat the bugs in the air.
- Put a cap on it - Make sure your chimney and vents have caps. Opossums, raccoons, rats, and mice love the shelter when they can get in.
Rather than having to use chemicals or violence to eliminate pests, there are lots of simple, non-toxic ways to make your home a less hospitable place for pests to show up. Each of the above ideas will only take you a small amount of time, but they could save you large dollars exterminator fees!
Don’t let the bugs bite… But when you’re bit, this is what you should do.
It’s is part of being human, but it’s so annoying: getting bit by insects. Of course, the most common is a mosquito bite, but there are thousands of little bugs in the world that want a piece of you or want some peace from you. Here are some of the most common bug bites identified by what the bites probably look like.
Pinkish welt with a lot of itching
Mosquitoes: Most of us are very familiar with mosquito bites. They are often found on legs and arms, but can be anywhere. Hard bumps, often with a red dot in the middle, are the usual appearance of these bites. Sometimes they look like blisters. For the most part, mosquito bites are harmless in the US but in other parts of the world, they are responsible for the spread of malaria, zika, West Nile and more. Insect repellent, full covering clothes, and removal of nearby standing water will usually decrease the problem.
Reddish bumps with bleeding
You will know when a horsefly bites you. It can feel being stabbed. It’s very painful, sore and itchy. They are very aggressive and will stay around until they have had some of you. Their bites are open sores so it’s a good idea to put antibacterial treatments onto any bites to prevent infection.
Redness, swelling, sometimes blisters
Ant bites are usually not too painful, but for someone who’s allergic or from fire ants, the bites can be dangerous. Someone who is allergic to wasp or bee stings might especially susceptible to an allergic response. If you feel nausea, dizziness, sneezing, wheezing, or any other severe allergic symptoms seek medical attention immediately.
Blood drops on your sheets or small red welts
If you have been traveling, it might be bed bugs. This is especially true if there are small blood stains on your sheets in the morning. It might take a while to notice. They are notoriously difficult to get rid of. Get some professional assistance exterminating your home.
Bites in pubic hair, armpits, scalp, or eyebrows
If you have itching “down there” with bluish-grey skin reactions, you might have lice. There will often be tiny white eggs in the hair as well. Itching can begin right away or might happen 2 weeks later. There are shampoos that will eliminate them.
Bulls-eye rash around a swollen red bite
Lyme disease is spread by ticks. There’s usually a bulls-eye ring around the bite mark. This should be seen by a doctor immediately. Lyme Disease can be very dangerous.
Two tiny puncture marks with redness and swelling
There are thousands of spiders, but two in particular are of concern in the US: the black widow and the brown recluse. If you are bit and then experience muscle cramps, swelling sweating, increased blood pressure, you might have been bitten by a poisonous spider. Get medical attention immediately. These bites can be fatal.
Large blister or welt on the skin
This is likely a blister beetle. A chemical that is in the beetle causes a painful skin reaction. This is no lasting skin damage, but don’t crush blister beetles on your skin. This can cause a larger skin reaction.
Pimple-like rash near joints or between fingers
These are scabies and they aren’t caused by a bite. The little mites burrow under the skin and eat human skin. They are easy to remove, but kind of gross. There’s no lasting damage as long as it’s handled early.
No matter what you saw or didn’t see bite you, if you feel nauseous, dizziness, have muscle pain, eyesight issues, or any type of difficulty breathing, visit the doctor immediately. Most of the time, bug bites are harmless, but there are a few that are severe enough to need medical attention.