Pest Control Service Company in Parlin, NJ

One of our home protection plan customers in Parlin, NJ reported a mouse problem in her basement. Home protection plan customers benefit by periodic preventative treatments throughout the year. In addition, the homeowner can always call us for a pest control technician to come out and take care of any covered insect and rodent infestations as part of the service. 

I was dispatched to take care of her mouse problem, and was able to get there that day. Mice are persistent and this was not the first time that these little rodents managed to find their way inside her home. I conducted a perimeter inspection to determine where the mice were entering the home and sealed the point of entry. I also replenished the bait in the rodent bait boxes. It may take a few days, but I’m confident that this homeowner will not be seeing or hearing any more mice scurrying about in her basement. 

While at her home, the homeowner let me know that she also had large bees swarming around the home and her mailbox. She was especially concerned about bees around her mailbox because she was afraid of being stung every time she went to get her mail. She also did not want the mailman to risk being stung when delivering her mail. 

Upon inspection, I observed gallery holes consistent with a carpenter bee infestation. Carpenter bees are wood-destroying insects, but unlike termites do not actually eat wood. As their name implies, they bore holes into wood. More specifically, it’s the females that do the boring. They tunnel into wood to lay their eggs. Common nesting sites are fascia boards, eaves, window trim, deck posts and rails as well as outdoor sheds and outdoor wooden furniture. Carpenter bees holes look as through they have been drilled with a 1/2 inch drill bit.

I applied a residual insecticide dust to the gallery holes that I could find outside the home. This method, while more time-consuming than spraying, is highly effective for eliminating the female from the gallery. With the female out of the picture, the nest will soon die. As a bonus, the dust kills the male bee as well. Even though the male does not do the wood boring, he goes into the gallery at night when temperatures drop, and would be exposed to the dust at that time. Finally, the dust has a long residual effect, which is so important with insect infestations. Once the larvae mature into bees, they will be killed as well. The dust will patiently wait for them.

Next, I ventured out to the mailbox. There was an active infestation with carpenter bees were swarming around. It was easy to see why this homeowner was afraid to get her mail with bugs circling about!

I found several carpenter bee holes bored into the old support post of the mailbox. Since there were only a few bored holes bored holes, I decided to use the same treatment that I did for the home — an insecticide dust. Because of its excellent residual properties (that is, it continues to work for a long time after it is applied), I like to use the dust whenever I can. Spraying works well when there are many galleries. However, to me, , when there are a limited number of holes, the dust treatment has the advantage of pinpointing the treatment areas and making sure that the female bees and the larvae are killed. By killing multiple generations of insects, you know that the infestation will be resolved for good.

Shortly after dusting the holes, I also noticed ants swarming out on the post covered with dust. This dust will also kill the ants. So, I was able to effectively treat for two insect pests at the same time. This would be a good time to change the expression “killing two birds with one stone” to “killing two insects with one application!”

The homeowner was pleased that I was able to resolve three different infestations — mice, carpenter bees, and ants — during one visit. She was also happy that she could now pick up her mail from her mailbox without worrying about being stung. I’m also glad that I could help the mailman — he should now be able to deliver the mail without worrying about being attacked by stinging insects. 

About a year ago Cowleys installed Sentricon termite bait stations for a Parlin homeowner. Sentricon is the premier termite colony elimination system that leverages termite biology and behavior against them. The bait stations contain cellulose bait treated with an insect growth regular that prevents molting. The worker termites bring the tainted bait back to share with the colony. The termites, unable to molt, die, and soon the entire colony is eliminated. 

We inspect these bait stations annually to clean them out, make sure they are in good working order, and check that there is still bait and that the bait is still in good shape, ready to attract termites. When inspecting this station, I observed termites actively feeding on the bait. Since the homeowner happened to be there, I showed this to him. This homeowner was fascinated to see the Sentricon system in action. He commented that it was a whole lot better to see termites feeding on the bait rather than eating the wood in his home. I couldn’t agree more! 

I look at a Sentricon bait station installation as an underground protective moat for homeowners, giving them peace of mind from termite damage. Bait stations do a great job luring termites away from homes. Sentricon helps prevent the significant property damage that can be caused by these wood-devouring insects.