Long Island Pests - DQ Pest Control

Long Island Pest Control - Nassau County Wildlife Removal
by DQ Pest Control

Say Goodbye To Pests

Cockroaches

Cockroaches have been shown experimentally to transport a number of pathogenic bacteria and viruses on their legs and bodies. They have been found to carry the pathogens that cause tuberculosis, cholera, leprosy, dysentery, and typhoid, as well as over 40 other bacteria (like salmonella) or viruses that can cause disease. Thus, cockroaches, through their nocturnal feeding habits, represent a serious potential health problem. Therefore, roaches should be eliminated in dwellings and food establishments.

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants build their nests in hollow trees or other cavities, including the walls of buildings. They usually take advantage of wood that is damaged by water and nest in it. These ants will remove water damaged wood, ejecting the dark particles of wood from the nest in piles outside. These piles resemble sawdust and are commonly seen near doors or windows near their nest.

Clothes Moths

Clothes moth larvae feed on wool, feathers, fur, hair, leather, lint, dust, paper, cotton, linen, silk, and synthetic fibers. Moths are only destructive during the larvae stage. Damaged fabrics have holes eaten through them by small, white larvae and usually have silken cases, lines of silken threads, and fecal pellets over the surface of the materials.

Termites

Termites mostly feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10% of the 4,000 odd species are economically significant as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Termites live in colonies that, at maturity, number from several hundred to several million individuals.

Ticks

Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that are often found in tall grass and shrubs where they will wait to attach to a passing host. Ticks can detect heat emitted or carbon dioxide respired from a nearby host. Physical contact is the only method of transportation for ticks. Ticks do not jump or fly, although they may drop from their perch and fall onto a host. Ticks are vectors of human disease including the transmission of Lyme disease.

Fleas

Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds. Their legs are long and well adapted for jumping. Fleas attack a wide variety of warm-blooded vertebrates including dogs, cats, humans, chickens, rabbits, squirrels, rats and mice. Fleas can be a vector for disease. Fleas transmitted the bubonic plague between rodents and humans by carrying Yersinia pestis bacteria. Murine typhus fever and tapeworms are also transmitted by fleas.

Mites

Mites are occasionally found in homes and attack humans in the absence of their normal hosts- birds, rodents, or insects. Bites from these mites may be painful and cause severe skin irritation. Bird mites are usually encountered in homes when they migrate from bird nests. The bird nest may be located in the eaves, rafters, gutters, window air conditioner, stove or clothes dryer exhaust vent. Rodent mites are primarily external parasites of rats and house mice, but they will also feed on humans. Rodent mites can cause severe irritation and dermatitis in humans. Areas bitten by mites may remain swollen for several days and leave red spots. Scratching of bites often can result in secondary infection.

Hornets Nest

Bald-faced hornets are best known for their large football-shaped paper nest, which they build in the spring for raising their young. These nests can sometimes reach 3 feet tall. Bald-faced hornets are extremely protective of their nests and will sting repeatedly if disturbed. The main area of the body that bald faced hornets attack on humans is the facial area. Exterminators from DQ Pest Control do bald-faced hornet nest removal in Nassau County, NY.

Yellow Jackets

There are six species of yellow jackets native to New York State. Yellow Jackets are shiny yellow and black wasps. Fertilized queens start nests in the spring in ground depressions or cavities or sometimes in hollow logs on the ground. A European species of yellow jacket, was introduced into the northeastern United States about forty years ago. Unlike the native New York species, it prefers to build nests inside the walls of homes.

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are similar to honey bees, in that their colonies are headed by a queen, they collect nectar and store it as honey. However, bumble bees do not produce large amounts of honey, as honey bees do. Bumble bees are important pollinators of many flowers and plants. Bumble bees are important in nature, because they are vital to the production of certain seed crops. Bumble bees nest in the ground. These bees may build their hive under your home, under your shed, or under your porch. Although their activity in your gardens may be desirable, allowing them to nest in areas where children and pets frequent is not. As beneficial as bumble bees are, they are indeed a pest when the location of their nest causes stings to people and pets.

If you have seen evidence of a pest or want help protecting your home, or business against unwanted guests, DQ Pest Control will come and inspect your premises. On the initial visit we will conduct a thorough inspection of your property, and if necessary, bring in state-of-the-art equipment, such as moisture meters, telescoping cameras, and UV lights, to help identify high risk areas such as entry points, leaks, and cracks.

At the conclusion of the inspection, we will complete a Home Inspection Report that outlines your problems and recommends a plan tailored to your home, or business. We will take care of any identified pest control problems and install pest-monitoring tools in critical areas to help keep an eye out for pests. DQ Pest Control uses the best tools and scientific solutions available to get to the root of the cause, so we can thoroughly and efficiently treat your pest control problem.

Pests don't come just once a year, so why should we? DQ Pest Control will visit on a regular schedule year-round to monitor your home, or business and pest activity. We will check for new pests while monitoring the status of previous treatments. DQ Pest Control will continue to document your progress and problems to ensure the best pest management approach for your premises. Winter, spring, summer or fall, we will head off seasonal pests and ensure the long-term success of your pest control service. Were not happy unless youre 100% satisfied.

Carpenter Bee

Carpenter bees get their name from their ability to drill into wood and nest in the hole. Their drilling creates an almost perfect hole, about 1/2 inch in diameter. This hole is usually located on the underside of the wood surface; including siding, soffits, decks, overhangs, fence posts and window frames. Although the hole appears to be only an inch or two deep, it rarely ends there.

The female carpenter bee will turn 90 degrees and bore a channel from six inches to as long as four feet. This channel serves as a main corridor from which she will drill small chambers a few inches deep. These chambers become egg holders. She will deposit an egg, bring in a mass of pollen for the newly hatched larvae to feed on, and then seal it all off to ensure it's development before she repeats the process for the next egg.

The male spends most of his time flying around the nest playing guard. Simply killing the male will not solve your problem. The nest must be treated. A single pair (male and female) occupies each nest. It is not uncommon to find several pair of carpenter bees nesting in one structure. They frequently nest near each other and often in the same area year after year, causing extensive damage. You may find old holes near newer ones. Sometimes the female will renovate an old nest gallery and reuse it.

Paper Wasp

Paper wasp nests commonly occur around the home underneath soffits, eaves, decks, in attics and sheds; wasps attack when the nest is disturbed and each can sting repeatedly; stings typically cause localized pain and swelling, but in sensitive individuals or when many stings occur systemic effects can occur including allergic reactions that may result in death. Since their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and because their stings are quite painful and can produce a potentially fatal reaction in some individuals, nests in human-inhabited areas present an unacceptable hazard.

Norway Rat

Norway rats have become inhabitants of New York. They weigh up to one pound are 12-18" long. They will nest both indoors and outdoors. They dig burrows which are deep and long and have two or more entrances. They can cause extensive damage to buildings and homes as they seek food and nest sites. Their burrows may undermine foundations and slabs. Their nests may block a vent causing an electrical hazard. Rats chew on wires, causing electrical systems to short-circuit, or even start a fire. They contaminate stored foods and can transmit murine typhus, leptospirosis, trichinosis, salmonellosis and rat bite fever to humans. They are often infested with lice, fleas and mites that transmit other diseases.

Mice

Mice can damage buildings and households as they seek food and nest sites. Their nests may block a vent causing a fire hazard. They chew on electrical wires, which in addition to creating a fire hazard, could also short-circuit electrical systems causing failures of alarm systems or refrigeration. They contaminate stored foods. Mice are a disease risk and harbor parasites.

Silverfish

Silverfish will feed on anything that contains starch or polysaccharides, such as dextrin in adhesives. Favorite foods include glue, book bindings, paper, photographs, sugar, hair and dandruff. Silverfish can cause significant damage to books, tapestries and textiles. They may also feed on cotton, linen, silk and synthetic fibers.

Carpet Beetles

These Beetles can damage carpeting, clothing, furs, upholstered furniture and other articles containing animal products and natural fibers. Carpet beetles can damage fabrics, furnishings and clothing that contain natural animal fibers such as wool, silk, hair, bristles, fur or feathers. Synthetic items are resistant to attack, but mixtures of synthetic and natural fibers can be damaged. The natural habitats of carpet beetles are the nests of birds, rodents, insects and spiders. They can spread into homes to damage carpets, rugs, and clothing. They also may feed on pollen and can be carried into the house on cut flowers.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are parasites that preferentially feed on humans. If people aren't available, they instead will feed on other warm-blooded animals, including birds, rodents, bats, and pets. Bed bugs are fast moving insects that are nocturnal blood-feeders. They feed mostly at night when their host is asleep. After using their sharp beak to pierce the skin of a host, they inject a salivary fluid containing an anticoagulant that helps them obtain blood. Nymphs may become engorged with blood within three minutes, whereas a full-grown bed bug usually feeds for ten to fifteen minutes. They then crawl away to a hiding place to digest the meal. When hungry, bed bugs again search for a host. Bed bugs are most frequently found in dwellings with a high rate of occupant turnover, such as hotels, motels, hostels, dormitories, shelters, apartment complexes, tenements, and prisons. Such infestations usually are not a reflection of poor hygiene or bad housekeeping.

All About Bed Bugs

You know the old saying, Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! This childhood rhyme shines bed bugs in a whimsical light, but they are actually a serious problem in many homes, apartment buildings, hotels, dorms and other dwellings. Learn more about bed bugs so you can identify whether you have an infestation and remedy the problem quickly.

What Are Bed Bugs?

These small, wingless insects are about the size of a poppy seed when newly hatched. Adults grow to about one-quarter-inch long. They are flat and oval shaped, ranging in color from nearly white to deep brown.

Bed bugs are little vampires, feeding solely on the blood of their victims. This can cause the insect's body to swell and turn red or black. The feeding process is painless for the host, which is why bed bugs get away with it at night while the host sleeps. The bites resemble those left by fleas and mosquitoes and the tiny amount of saliva deposited into the skin during feeding may cause allergic reactions, especially in sensitive individuals. Despite this, bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious diseases.

Where Are Bed Bugs Found?

Adult bed bugs, nymphs, and molted skin on furniture

These insects can be found worldwide. Their populations dwindled at the end of the 1990s but have resurged in recent years, especially in North America, Europe and Australia.

Some bed bugs have evolved into nest parasites, occupying bird nests and bat roosts until their victims return home. Others thrive in human nests,or beds, which is where the insect's name comes from. This is where bed bugs can be found in greatest abundance since they usually feed at night, but they are known to venture out if they become hungry during the day.

Their tiny size and flat bodies allow bed bugs to hide in the smallest cracks and crevices, helping them remain undetected. Favorite hiding spots include folds in the bedding, between the mattress and box spring, and inside the bed frame. Knickknacks around the room provide additional hiding places and make it more difficult to eradicate an established bed bug infestation.

How Do Bed Bugs Invade Your Home?

A common way for bed bug infestations to begin is when the insects stow away in your luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows and boxes when you go on vacation or move to a new home. Used furniture, especially mattresses and bed frames, could also potentially harbor bed bugs and their eggs.

Because they can survive for months between feedings, it's not uncommon for a vacant, clean home or apartment to have a residual bed bug infestation. The tiny insects can also wander between adjoining apartments through holes in the walls for wiring and plumbing, meaning an originally un-infested apartment could start crawling with bed bugs if the tenants next door move out and take the bed bugs food source away.

How to Tell If You Have an Infestation
Bed bug bites on leg

The first clue you have a bed bug infestation is if you wake up with tiny red bite marks on your feet and legs. A strange smell similar to coriander may also permeate heavily infested residences.

Bed bugs leave other traces behind as well, such as molted skin, reddish-brown droppings and bed bug carcasses. This evidence signifies you at least had a previous infestation, but to verify the bed bugs are still there, you need to find living, crawling specimens.

Thoroughly scrutinize the mattress, box spring, bed frame and sheets for bed bugs and their eggs. Then look through curtain pleats, loose edges of wallpaper, corners of dresser drawers, within wicker furniture, behind crown and baseboard molding, and in the hamper.

What to Do If You Have an Infestation

If you find insects you suspect are bed bugs, first ensure your hunch is correct. Carefully compare the specimen with accurate reference images to confirm their identity. If you still have doubts, take a sample to an entomologist for evaluation. Once you're sure you have a bed bug infestation, devise a plan to remove them while limiting costs and insecticide exposure.

If you own your home, contact a licensed pest control company who has experience with exterminating bed bugs. Request a written plan describing the procedures and insecticides the pest control company plans to use.

Some pest control companies request that you not immediately start cleaning and laundering the affected areas, since it disturbs the bed bugs and makes bed bug hiding places harder for the technician to find. Check with your pest control company beforehand, and if they give you the go-ahead, start by thoroughly cleaning the infested room. Launder bedding in hot water, dismantle the bed frame, remove all contents from desk and dresser drawers, and vacuum every inch of the room, including all cracks and crevices.

If you're a tenant, contact your landlord to discuss your options. Emphasize the importance of checking adjacent apartments for infestations as well.

How to Prevent Future Infestations

Encase mattresses and box springs with special bags. Any bugs trapped inside the bags will eventually die. Pull the bed a few inches from the wall and tuck blankets under so they don't touch the floor. Place a dish of mineral oil under each bed frame leg.

Apply caulk around wiring and plumbing penetrations to prevent infestations next door from reaching your apartment. Fill cracks around crown and baseboard molding to decrease hiding places.

When you travel, be aware that bed bugs often make hotel rooms their home. Keep your luggage off the floor to prevent stowaways. Then immediately launder your clothes and vacuum out your suitcases when you get home. Also, carefully scrutinize any used furniture you want to buy and consider its history before bringing it home.

What Are Your Legal Rights as a Tenant?

Your landlord is legally obligated to provide a safe, habitable accommodation. A bed bug infestation typically counts as unacceptable. You are obligated to cooperate with your landlord and prepare your apartment for a visit from a pest control company. Contact your state or municipal health agency for specific guidance.

Whatever you do, don't panic! Bed bugs can be annoying, but by educating yourself and contacting a knowledgeable pest control company, you can expect the problem to be eradicated safely and successfully. Contact DQ Pest Control for more information.

Call us for a free quote

Your Family's Safety is our #1 Priority - Pet and child friendly practices.

Call us at 516-417-3472

DQ Pest Control is Nassau County Animal Control and Pest Control! Call us at 888-92-Trapper

Website Privacy Statement | Website Terms of Use