Relaxing in Her New Home

This mother raccoon is grateful to be returned to her natural habitat where she can raise her litter in safety. She shows that, whenever possible,trespassing wildlife is removed humanely.

Container Disposal for Developing Countries

Risks associated with exposure to pesticides from un-rinsed or poorly rinsed containers are very real in many parts of the world… read more

Different Species of Bats and Removing Them From Your Property

Despite efforts to educate the public, many people are still deathly afraid of bats. Bats are highly beneficial flying mammals that are nature’s own pest removal service. Each night, the average bat consumes several pounds of harmful insects. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not very likely to carry rabies.

Common Bat Species

The most common bat species in this area are big brown bats, little brown bats and Brazilian free-tailed bats. If these little guys are so good, why do pest removal services remove them from properties? Ideally, they roost in trees, in homemade bat houses, under bridges, in caves and any other place that is sheltered and quiet. However, sometimes a colony of bats will try to roost in a home’s attic or crawl space, which is when they become a problem. As helpful as they are, no homeowner wants to deal with messy piles of bat droppings.

Can You Relocate Bats on Your Own?

Bats are federally protected, so it is illegal to kill them. There are certain times of the year during which nobody is allowed to disturb them due to their mating seasons. If you are dealing with an unwanted bat infestation, you will need to call an experienced pest removal company to safely and effectively deal with them.

You may wish to install bat houses on the trees surrounding your property to encourage them to roost in a proper place and rid your yard of mosquitoes and other pests. For more information on bat removal in Raleigh, visit this site.

What PCOC does for the industry

Pest Control Operators of California is a non-profit trade association that has served the business and educational needs of pest control operators for over 60 years… read more

Are Bed Bugs Real?

Everyone has heard the saying, “Sleep tight—don’t let the bed bugs bite.” This poetic wisdom is often regarded as silly due to the assumption that the insect in question sounds to be made up. However, the fact is that bed bugs are quite real and very common in many households throughout the world. If you have been waking up with small, itchy spots in the morning, your problem may not be mosquitoes after all.

What Are Bed Bugs?

Difficult to detect because of their size and reclusive nature, bed bugs are small, brown insects with bodies that resemble flattened apple seeds. They feed on the blood of a host, after which time they become engorged and reddish in color. Bed bugs can move quickly but are not capable of flying and they do not spread disease, making them a lesser concern versus mosquitoes.

Where Do They Come From?

Subsisting on blood exclusively, bed bugs do not thrive in or come from dirt or dirty environments. They can enter your home just as any other insect might, or more likely through clothing or upholstery that has previously come into contact elsewhere before being moved to a new location. They may spread to adjacent apartments in tenant buildings as well.

How to Get Rid of Them

Start by washing and drying your bed linens on high temperatures and scrubbing the seams of your mattresses with a sturdy brush to kill bugs and their eggs. Vacuum the bedroom area frequently and immediately remove the cleaner’s bag to be disposed of outside when finished. It may be necessary to encase a mattress or box spring in a zipping cover to lock bugs in (or out) for long enough that the population dies off permanently.

For more information about bed bug treatment in Raleigh, please visit this website.

The Three Mask-eteers

This treed trio of raccoons is exactly where it belongs: in the wild and not in your house, thanks to professional and humane removal by wildlife experts.

Pest Control – A Valid Necessity

You may not have had to ever call a pest control service before, so now you’re wondering if the problem you’ve noticed warrants a phone call. Can’t you just take care of the problem on your own? Will the pests just go away if you ignore them? What is the best way to deal with this?

In some cases, a single mousetrap or some poison will take care of a mild infestation. You might get unwanted critters to stop frequenting your home if you remove the things that attract them, such as leftovers on the counters or an easily-accessible garbage can. However, in most cases you won’t notice an infestation until it’s become severe. By then, they will rarely leave on their own even if you remove their temptations. 

Here are some of the pest problems many homeowners need help dealing with:

Spiders, Wasps and Harmful Insects

Most spiders are beneficial, but some, like the black widow or the brown recluse spider, are highly venomous and are dangerous to human beings. Wasps can be aggressive, while other insects like termites cause extensive damage.

Rodents

Mice, rats, moles and other rodents can cause damage in your home and garden and may be a source of disease or parasites.

Larger Animals

Some creatures like raccoons can pose a health hazard around your family and pets, and can try to nest in your basement or attic. Snakes can be beneficial, but some are deadly. People typically don’t like to see large snakes in their yards anyway.

These are just a few of the many different types of critters people rely on exterminators to safely and permanently remove from their homes. Visit this website for more information on wildlife removal in Durham.

How to Survive Vacation Season Without Bed Bugs

Vacation season is quickly approaching, and the North Carolina Pest Management Association (NCPMA) urges North Carolinians to be vigilant in preventing the spread of bed bugs while on vacation and at summer camps… read more

What You Should Know About Raccoons

When you notice a raccoon in your neighborhood, it can be easy to assume they are the cute, furry creatures you see in cartoons. However, raccoons in real life are anything but friendly. They can often be found nosing around backyards and garbage cans in any urban neighborhood at night. In fact, you may have several raccoon families living in your neighborhood, but you never even realized it.

If you do find yourself facing a striped furry bandit in an unexpected encounter, what should you do? Do you take matters into your own hands or call a professional? Here are some things you should know about raccoons before you decide to chase Bandit away on your own:

• Raccoons can be mean. They are used to defending their territory and the food they find. They will most likely view you and your pets as trespassers.
• They can carry serious diseases such as rabies and parasites like ticks and fleas. You don’t want to get close.
• Raccoons can and will destroy your property to get at what they want. This includes knocking over garbage cans, pulling shingles off the roof and chewing on your siding.
• These guys are nocturnal, which may explain why you don’t often see them. In fact, the middle-of-the-night crashing that you blame on the neighbor’s cat might just be your neighborhood raccoon foraging for food.
• They are also brave; some have been known to enter homes through pet doors and steal cat or dog food right out from under pets’ noses.

You don’t have to put up with raccoon invaders on your street, but you should call a pest control service for the safety of you, your family, your pets and the raccoons themselves. For more information on raccoon trapping in Raleigh, visit this website.

Members’ Value Programs

PCOC’s Members’ Value Program provides members with access to high-quality products and services we use in the Pest Control industry… read more

What a Marsupial Is and Is Not

For those who live outside of Australasia, regular encounters with marsupials are probably fairly rare. It may be this lack of frequency that results in confusion for many people regarding what exactly qualifies an animal as a marsupial. While many of these types of animals do reside in moderate climates where trees and other foliage exist for climbing and eating, these are not actually the calling cards which distinguish them from other classes.

Two of the best known members of the marsupial family are often photographed perched in or hanging from trees. The koala and opossum are certainly two very different-looking creatures, and yet they hail from the same infraclass. One key difference to note is that koalas, like most marsupials, are native only to Australia and nearby Oceania islands. By contrast, opossums represent the only marsupial that is native to North America, dispelling the common myth that all animals of this type hail from just a single continent.

Trees are not the only dwelling places for these types of animals, either. While koalas and opossums have no problem scaling limber branches, larger species must rely on other means of shelter and self-defense against predators. A well-known example is the kangaroo, a land-based animal known for the distinctive pouch used to carry and protect the animal’s young. This is actually one of the few true distinguishing features of all marsupials, who give birth to young early and continue to raise and develop them within the safe confines of their built-in pouches. Kangaroos just happen to get most of the recognition.

While the image of the rugged Australian outback may come to mind when picturing a typical habitat, many marsupials exist in a range of varied climates. As an example, the mountain pygmy possum makes residence in the snowy Australian Alps, while animals such as wombats actually burrow underground to establish their dwelling spaces. Indeed, the image of kangaroos and koalas populating barren stretches of dry land is just a small picture of marsupials as a whole.

One last common mistake is to make the assumption that a marsupial is naturally an herbivore. In fact, depending on the animal’s specific type of teeth, marsupials may indulge in many different forms of sustenance. For example, opossums and bandicoots are actually known to be omnivorous, while wombats, kangaroos, and koalas are more apt to stick to leafy greens. Many other species subsist on insects and small prey, highlighting the truly diverse nature of marsupials as a whole.

To learn more about wildlife removal in Durham, please visit this website.

The Masked Menace

This masked creature, while cute in the wild, will wreak havoc if it nests in your home. Raccoons leave damage and foul odors, make noise at night, and carry bugs and diseases. They must be removed professionally.