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How to Apply Insect Repellent - NPMA

Watch this video to learn the proper way to apply insect repellent when spending time outdoors. Video provided by the National Pest Management Association (NMPA).

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Ants will nest in the most unexpected places in and around your home. Recently, a concerned homeowner in Rumson, NJ called Cowleys after discovering ants nesting inside the cushions of her patio furniture. When the patio furniture was not in use, she would store the cushions in a nearby shed to protect them from inclement weather when not in use. Recently, on a nice sunny day, she had taken them outside so that she could relax by her pool. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected surprise. Ants started pouring out of the cushions. Apparently, they wanted to enjoy the nice weather as well!  She immediately contacted Cowleys and asked that someone come out as soon as possible to resolve the issue. Soon thereafter, I was dispatched for this ant problem and arrived as soon as I could fit it in my schedule. Upon arrival, I saw that the homeowner was visibly frustrated that her patio future was infested, and I assured her that the problem would be resolved. She brought me over to the shed, and I started my inspection. I immediately found a trail of ant entering around the shed door. There was no access for me to inspect underneath the shed, but I was able to determine where they were gaining access. I applied a non-repellent application around both the interior and exterior perimeter of the shed. With non-repellent products, the insects have no idea that the product has been applied so the foraging continue to cross in and out of the shed, blissfully unaware that they have come into contact with the treatment. Also, the effect of the treatment is delayed. The ants are not immediately killed. Instead, they stay alive long enough to carry the product back to the nest where it is shared among the members of the colony. Within two weeks, the entire colony will be eliminated.  Ant infestations can be challenging because of their sheer numbers. Ant colonies can range from a few hundred members to tens of thousands. As such, to successfully resolve an ant infestation, the treatment must reach the nest. Merely killing the foraging workers as you see them does virtually nothing to eliminate the infestation. Those ants you see are just the tip of the iceberg. For an ant treatment to be effective, it must reach the underground nest. This is why we use professional-grade non-repellent applications.
Ants shack up in Rumson, NJ shed
Spiders can show up anywhere in your home, often when you least expect them. For those who have outright phobias of spiders, coming across one is no joke. It can be a frightening, traumatic experience. Why don’t these creepy spiders just stay outside? One reason they like to come inside our homes is because their webs are delicate. Spiders look to build their webs in quiet, private places, often in the corners of rooms, where they are protected from the outdoor elements. What better place to build a web than inside a structure free from wind and rain. With an indoor web, all the spider need to do is patiently wait for an unsuspecting insect to get stuck in its little trap, and it’s dinner time! Recently, I was sent to a home in Barnegat Light, NJ. This homeowner found a clutter of spiders nesting behind an umbrella in the corner of the mud room that was not used for quite some time. She was none-too-thrilled to come across so many spiders at once. After a loud shriek that reverberated throughout the house, she collected herself and contacted Cowleys. She had no interest whatsoever in trying to deal with this spider infestation herself.   Upon arrival, I first vacuumed all of the live activity and spider debris that I could find including the webs and egg sacs. Vacuuming removes the immediate problem. After, I applied a liquid treatment that will act as a preventative moving forward. One of the best ways fro homeowners to reduce spider populations by reducing other insect populations in and around their home. Spiders are predators that seek out all sorts of insects for food. They are actually beneficial insects in that they reduce the populations of many unwanted pests. The problem with spiders is when they gain access inside your home and start to breed, often in alarming numbers. Periodic preventative perimeter treatments will  keep out insects as well as the spiders that follow them.   All of us find an occasional spider or two in our homes. However, once spiders start to nest inside the home and are crawling around in large numbers, professional pest control treatment is necessary. Also, a large spider infestation is often a sign f another insect infestation in your home. After all, a thriving spider population requires a good, steady food supply. Finally, although black recluse and black widows are the only two venomous spiders in New Jersey, virtually all spiders bite. For some, a spider bite can trigger severe swelling and other adverse reactions. In those cases, immediate medical attention is necessary.
Spiders love corners in this Barnegat Light, NJ home
Here is a video demonstrating how we “disable” and remove a large baldfaced hornet nest in Plainsboro, NJ. These are strong, aggressive, territorial wasps whose stingers can puncture thick clothing. They are a type of yellow jacket and are identified by their white markings on their head an abdomen. While yellow jackets typically build nests in underground burrows, tree cavities, or behind home siding, these wasps build large nests. As you can see in the video, they often attach their nests to tree limbs. Unfortunately, this one was built too close to pedestrian traffic and needed to be removed.  When dealing with an active baldfaced hornet nest, I always put on a full body suit and face protector. These wasps get particularly nasty if their nest is threatened, and a mature nest can have hundreds of workers ready to protect their nest at a moment’s notice. Even wearing all of this protective gear does not make you completely immune to being stung. If there is a small hole or some weak stitching a wasp or two can find their way in.  As shown in the video, the first step in removing one of these nests, is thoroughly spraying the entire nest with a knock-down aerosol. These nests are complex structures with rows of combs inside a tough outer shell, and it is important to completely saturate the nest. Also, I thoroughly spray into their entry and exit hole at the bottom of the nest. After spraying the nest, I wait until I observe no more activity — and then I spray a bit more for good measure! Even pest control technicians don’t like to be stung, and even though we are used to it, they still pack a wallop. Once there is no wasp activity, I’ll cut the nest off the tree limb, bag it, and remove it. Even with all this spraying their can still be live wasps inside the nest. 
Huge wasp nest taken down in Plainsboro, NJ
Recently, as part of my periodic servicing of one of our commercial accounts in North Brunswick, NJ, I was checking rodent bait stations that I had set up on an earlier visit. One of the bait boxes had a large number of ants in and around the box. Although the target pest was mice, of course, quite often ants are attracted to the bait. When servicing these bait stations, I often find the bait either partially or completely depleted. Since these bait stations are a necessary part of our treatment plan to control rodent populations, it often becomes necessary to control the ants that are attracted to and are feeding on the bait. Prior to this servicing, I happened to be at another commercial establishment that had an ant infestation around the building’s exterior perimeter. When attempting to resolve this ant infestation, I first tried an ant gel bait where they were trailing. The ants had no interest whatsoever in the bait. There was no problem with the bait itself. It just so happens that gel baits have a sugary base that ants need for energy during certain periods in their lifecycle. And at this particular time, they didn’t need it. I immediately went to Plan B and switched the bait to a granular bait that has a protein base. The ants were all over it — literally — within minutes.  Since I was already successful with the granular bait, I thought I’d use it again to deal with the ants that had invaded the bait station. This time, they were not interested in picking it up. I then went to the gel, and these ants began feeding on it immediately. These particular ants were at a stage whether they wanted sugar and not protein.   The lesson with the two jobs is that with ant infestations, and pest infestations in general, we have a variety of products and applications at our disposal. Dealing with pest infestations is not a one size fits all approach. Often, we must try different strategies until we find the one that works for that particular infestation.    
Ants find buffet in rodent bait station in Woodbridge, NJ
The National Pest Management Association conducted a study in which they took a half a million termites and placed them in the soil surrounding a tiny, built-to-scale dream home. A team of researchers observed and documented the behavior of the termites and the damage they caused. The shocking video shows how quickly termites eat away at the structure without the homeowner knowing the extent of the damage.
Model House Destroyed by Termites
Recently, I was in Farmingdale, NJ performing a residential servicing for a homeowner who had a carpenter ant infestation. While I was treating around the exterior foundation and windows of a split-level home, I observed a yellow jacket nest. While we come across hornet hives and paper wasp nests every day, finding an above-ground yellow jacket nest is unusual. Yellow jackets often nest in underground cavities, often in rodent burrows or from other burrowing animals like groundhogs or moles. Sometimes, you’ll even see yellow jacket nests in tree cavities. But it’s rare indeed to find a yellow jacket nest built above-ground like they did here.  Yellow jackets are among the nastiest of all stinging insects. They are aggressive and highly territorial, and won’t hesitate to sting if they feel there nest is being threatened. They wear their warning coloration as a badge of honor! Needless, to say, these yellow jackets were none too pleased that I was near their nest, and I could already see them become agitated. The key with a yellow jacket infestation is to treat them quickly and decisively.  I applied a dust application to the entry point, quickly covering all of the insects inside the nest. Once the signal is sent out that the nest and queen are in distress, the foraging yellow jackets outside become highly aggressive. As they enter the nest and come into contact with the product, they too will die. It takes a few hours for the hive to become completely inactive, and at this time I’ll remove it. One particular problem with yellow jackets is that they leave markers and return to the same location the following year to nest. It is imperative to use the proper product and remove all remnants of activity so they permanently abandon the nesting spot, and move on elsewhere — and any nesting spot fine as long as its not on your property!
Above ground wasp nest in Farmingdale, NJ
Recently, I was sent to a home in Belmar, NJ for its summer Home Protection Plan (HPP) servicing. With our HPP, homeowners receive periodic visits and preventative exterior perimeter treatments throughout the year. Also, with a HPP, homeowners can call us at any time to treat a pest infestation that’s covered under the plan at no additional charge. During these servicing visits, we perform a careful and systematic exterior inspection, looking for potential pest issues. Often, we uncover pest activity that the homeowner was completely unaware of. Here, for instance, with this servicing, I found ants trailing up the foundation. By treating ants and other pests while they are still outside, we can often avoid inside infestations that become more problematic to treat.  When ants build their underground nests nearby homes, foraging ants will often find small cracks and gaps around the foundation and windows to gain entry into the home. Here, I treated the foundation with a non-repellent residual spray. The foraging ants carry back to the nest and unknowingly share  it with the rest of the colony. This type of treatment is often the most effective way to resolve an ant infestation because the product is being carried and distributed throughout the nest, eliminating the entire colony including the reproducing queen. It’s far more effective than ant sprays that simply kill a few isolated foraging ants.  I also put down a granular product around the home’s foundation. These particles, which are activated with rainfall, release a small amount of product when wet, providing an effective long-term deterrent to ants entering the home.  We always prefer to eliminate an ant colony before the insects have a chance to gain entry inside the home. Ants, and any pest for that matter, cause far more problems once they are inside. Eliminating ant colonies around the exterior perimeter is one of the best ways for keeping your kitchen and the rest of your home ant-free.  
Ants found during HPP in Belmar, NJ
A commercial property in Belmar, NJ that I service on behalf of Cowleys, contacted me after someone on their staff discovered mouse droppings inside the building by their back door. They were understandably concerned about a rodent infestation and the severity of the problem, and wanted a professional option about what preventative steps could be taken to resolve the infestation, and more importantly, to stop further rodent entry.   I immediately stopped by to conduct an inspection and locate the access points for these animals. Mice can squeeze through an opening the size of a dime. The general rule is that if a mouse can poke its nose through an opening, the rest of its body will follow. I started near the droppings, and found a small opening around the door trim as a possible entry point. Of course, an opening that looks small to us, can be more than enough from the perspective of a mouse! I then took my inspection to the building’s exterior. It didn’t take long for me to find several openings where rodents could be entering. Upon closer inspection, I found some proof-positive evidence: There were mouse droppings inside openings that lead straight inside the building. this was a definite entry point that needed to be sealed. To exclude mice from gaining any further access through these openings, I first used a gnaw-proof copper mesh. Although mice must gnaw to sand down their ever-growing incisors, they cannot handle this rough, unforgiving mesh on their teeth. If the mice can’t make a quick entry where there was an opening, they will divert to different areas. If your building’s foundation is a solid barrier with no easy access points, they’ll move to some other building. After the copper mesh was in place, I wanted to add extra assurance that mice could not enter, so I applied an expandable foam that locked everything in place. These openings were now permanently sealed and any foraging mice would be out of luck to use these points of access again.  With the entry points sealed, I placed a few “tin cat” traps by the interior areas as a precaution. These low-profile non-poisonous non-lethal “bait, trap, and release” traps are a great way to monitor the size of the population without dealing with smelling insect-attracting rodent carcasses. We use these traps as a monitoring tool to determine whether we were successful in locating all of the rodent access points. I’m looking forward to the follow-up in two weeks to reinspect and determine whether mice are still able to gain inside access. I’m extremely confident that between the sealing of these holes and the placement of the traps, indoor mouse activity will drop down to nothing for this customer and this infestation will be completely resolved. 
Rodents find way into Belmar, NJ home
Recently, I was at the home of one of our residential customers in Bridgewater, NJ where i removed a hornets nest. Whenever I am dispatched to a home, I always conduct an inspection of the home’s exterior perimeter to check for signs of other insect or rodent activity. Often, homeowners are not aware of what insect activity may be going on just outside their home, and it is far easier to deal with an infestation before the pests gain access inside.  Here, while inspecting the pool house and patio areas, I cam across a large ant colony with a number of foraging ants out and about searching for food. Swimming pool areas are a common location for ant infestations. When we are in the middle of the summer “grilling and chilling” by the pool, we happen to be creating an ideal habitat for ants to thrive. There is plenty of water and we manage to leave behind plenty of crumbs and food debris from our poolside snacks and everything that’s left behind after cookouts and family gatherings. The homeowners had no idea that their pool area was infested, and they were thankful I identified the problem. It just so happened that they were planning on having a poolside party in a couple of days and ants crawling around is an unwanted distraction for the guests. I treated the ant trail with a residual non-repellant product. The foraging ants will bring the product back to the nest where it will be distributed throughout all the members of the colony, soon eliminating the queen and everyone else. I also applied a granular bait to the landscape beds for good measure. There will be a noticeable reduction in ant activity, and by the time the family get-together happens, I expect that the colony will be gone completely.
Ants around the pool house in Bridgewater, NJ
There is nothing like a few sunny days and plenty of rain for insects, especially ants, to become very active. This holds especially true for those ant species like pavement ants that build shallow nests under pavers, mulch, decks, and rotted wood. When their nests become flooded, they desperately search for higher drier ground, and they often wind up inside our homes through gaps and cracks in the foundation and openings around doors and windows.  Recently, I sent to a home in Asbury Park, NJ, to resolve what the homeowner described as a major ant problem. Upon arrival, I inspected the entire exterior perimeter of the home to determine is there were insect issues besides ants. I only saw a few foraging ants trailing between the wall structure and the deck. Even if you only see a few ants, it is often just the tip of the iceberg. Somewhere nearby there is a nest, and that nest can house hundreds of ants. The major problem with ant infestations is their sheer numbers, and you can’t judge the size of the colony based on the number of foraging ants that happen to cross your path. I was determined to find their nest and flush these pests out in the open. I put down granular and gel bait in the visible cracks of the deck, and patiently waited a few minutes for the product to take effect. These baits are highly effective attractants, and once a few foraging ants find some new “treasure,” it doesn’t take long for other ants to join the party. Sure enough, the ants took the bait (literally) and hundreds of ants came out. My strategy was to drag the ants out from under the deck and lure them to the far exterior of the home, away from the interior of the home where ants can cause a lot of trouble. The attached video shows the effectiveness of a professional ant treatment.  
Pavement ants invade Asbury Park, NJ property
Recently, we received a call from a homeowner in Lanoka Harbor, NJ for one of the most common summer pest infestations — ants! When temperatures warm up, insect populations spike. She was finding ants all over her kitchen counters. These ants are not only a nuisance; they can potentially contaminate your food. The foraging ants that you see are just the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that the ants you see criss-crossing your counters are only 1 to 5% of the entire ant colony. So, killing a few foraging ants won’t resolve the problem.  If you have more than a few isolated ants in your kitchen, a professional pest control service can apply food-safe, non-repellant products that the ants will bring back and share with the rest of the colony. Ants are social insects — they touch each other, share food with each other, and communicate with each other. These products exploit this behavior so that it gets distributed throughout the entire nest. Eliminating the entire colony is the only long-term, successful way to resolve an ant infestation.  Upon arrival, I first inspected the kitchen and dining room areas. I did not find any ants trailing inside the home. That doesn’t mean there weren’t any ants. They just happened to elsewhere, most likely in the nest, when I arrived. Following the interior inspection, I inspected the home’s exterior perimeter. Here, the ants were out and about. I saw an ant trail along the kitchen exterior wall. In all likelihood, the ants were able to enter the holes through cracks in the foundation and through a gap at the bottom of the door frame. Because of their size, ants can get into just about any pinhole crack or crevice. Once I find an ant trail, I try to determine where they are going and where they are coming from. Often, I’ll find the food source or attractant bringing them in the home and I’ll also have a good indication of their nest location.  To resolve this infestation, I flushed the foundation cracks and door frame voids with a residual aerosol. Next, I applied an exterior perimeter treatment around the foundation, windows, and doorways. This product acts as a barrier, blocking the ants from entering the home. I also applied a granular bait around the home’s perimeter. Ants will bring this product back to the nest and share it. These treatments will work together to quickly eliminate the ant infestation. Soon, these ants will be one less thing that this homeowner will have to worry about.
Ants infest Lanoka Harbor, NJ kitchen
Pavement ant activity has been extremely active in New Jersey, and the rest of the northeast, this summer. We call these ants pavement ants because of their nesting locations. These soil-nesting ants like to build their shallow nests under sidewalks, driveways, and building slabs. You know these ants are busy when you see little dirt mounds accumulating on top of the pavement. These ants often keep to themselves outdoors and don’t become a nuisance until they invade your home. Homeowners often find these ants after a heavy rain when they are flushed out of their nest and are looking for higher ground. Homes become a quite attractive ant refuge to escape, from their perspective at least, is major flooding of their home. Ant invasions can become quite frustrating for homeowners because of their sheer numbers. No matter how many foraging ants you kill, there are plenty more to take their place. A homeowner from Hazlet, NJ, was in the midst of a Great War with a colony of these ants. She soon came to realize that her DIY attempts were unsuccessful and she was in a losing battle and decided. The homeowner had enough. She contacted Cowleys to bring in “the big guns” and get rid of this ant infestation once and for all. Upon arrival, I was immediately brought into the kitchen where she she had seen the ants trailing along her countertop and straight into a cabinet where her family’s sugary snacks. She understood that the snacks were an ant attractant once they were in the kitchen, but she could not figure out where they were coming from. She checked everywhere around her kitchen cabinets and there were no ants to be found other than the countertop trail. I asked her if the inside did not turn up anything, did she inspect the outside? She give me one of the “lightbulb just went on” expressions.   Together, we walked outside into her backyard to look for evidence of ant activity. It didn’t take much detective work. There was a vegetable garden right below a kitchen window. The ants were walking across the garden and entering the house underneath the siding. Unfortunately, ants can enter homes through the smallest of entry points, and the natural gaps and cracks around a home’s foundation provide almost unlimited opportunities for ants to gain entry. Now that I was hot on the ant’s trail, I followed the ants a bit farther and saw that there was an ant trail along a long stretch of fence panels. Walking along the fencing, I saw the ants foraging about 30 yards away from the home. They were feeding on pollen and pine secretions that were leftovers from a  few deceased bees. Ants are scavengers what will exploit any opportunities for food. I lightly treated the ant trail along the fencing. With this product, the ants will unknowingly get it on their bodies when they come into contact with it and then take it back to the colony like a Trojan horse. The product spreads throughout the colony from the ants’ activities. They feed and groom each other and even eat their dead. Ant colonies are a closely knit group and the product spreads from ant to ant. Within two weeks or so, the entire colony will be eliminated and there will be no more ant activity inside this home — the kitchen and all of the snacks will once again be safe and ant-free!      
Pavement ants infest Hazlet, NJ home