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Learn How to Get Rid of Rats, Cleanup After an Infestation and Prevent Future Rat Infestations

If you live in one of the approximately 21 million homes in the United States plagued by rats or other rodents every year, you already know just how destructive these little pests can be. Gnawing wires, getting into food items, and leaving droppings everywhere are just a few of the hazards that rats pose to humans.

In addition to making a mess, rats also carry dozens of diseases that can affect people and pets, these illnesses include hantavirus and leptospirosis.

To add to this nightmare, rats can breed quickly.

A single female can give birth to six litters of five to 12 pups every year. Those pups mature within five weeks, making prompt action essential for preventing a full-blown infestation.

How to Get Rid of Rats in Your House

To get rid of rats in your house, it’s important to act at the first sign of rat activity.

To handle the infestation without professional assistance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using traditional snap traps to help reduce the number of rats living in the home.

But do-it-yourself efforts sound easier than it truly is. Humans are at risk of catching rodent-borne illnesses, so not only is the infestation a cause for concern but so is the potential of contracting a disease.

Calling for professional help is the most effective way to get rid of rats and keep the rodents out. Catseye Pest Control has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry. We provide a customized approach to quickly get a handle on any infestation and necessary clean up afterward.

Rat Prevention 101

The best way to get rid of rats is to never let them in the house. Although that’s easier said than done — after all, these critters can fit through holes as tiny as 20 millimeters wide — homeowners and renters can take steps to prevent rat infestations.

A few preventive measures to consider include:

• Seal the home: Installing an exclusion system for a permanent barrier is the ultimate in protection.
• Tidy the yard: Overgrown vegetation provides shelter to rats outdoors and can help them climb onto homes and buildings. Keep the yard mowed in addition to trimming trees and shrubs to remove any limbs that overhang.
• Install tight-fitting garbage lids: Rats love garbage. Don’t extend an invitation for them to come find their next meal. Instead, add tight-fitting lids and keep cans out of the sun to reduce smells that might attract rats.
• Revamp food storage: Human and pet foods attract rats indoors. Eliminate potential food sources by storing everything in thick, air-tight containers and storing items in the refrigerator when possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Scent Will Help Keep Rats Away?

Rats have a strong sense of smell. Using certain scents may help repel them from homes, buildings, and properties. Strong scents, including spicy, astringent, and menthol smells may help keep rats away, although homemade repellents rarely effective. Examples include:

• Clover
• Peppermint oil
• Citronella
• Eucalyptus
• Chili powder
• Mothballs
• Bleach
• Ammonia
• Scents from predators, such as cats, ferrets, or racoons

How Do You Keep Rats Away Permanently?

Permanent control relies on a multi-step approach, starting with removing rats and thoroughly cleaning affected areas. Ongoing monitoring and treatments help to catch new infestations and remedy the situation quickly.

Filling holes and cracks that provide entry points and installing professional exclusion systems from companies like Cat-Guard provides a safe, natural, permanent barrier to keep rats out.

What Will Make Rats Run Away?

You may hear about anecdotal remedies like ultrasonic devices, which use sound waves inaudible to humans and pets to repel mice, as effective methods to keep rats away for good. However, little scientific evidence supports their use. Adopting a predator like a cat, ferret, or snake may help, particularly if the animal leaves a scent to repel rats.

The most reliable way to get rid of rats quickly is to call a professional who has the necessary expertise to remove, treat, and prevent rat infestations.

Professional Rat Control and Exclusion Services

Although these efforts may help to keep rats away, or make the critter think twice before entering the home or other structure, nothing will prevent an infestation quite like professional rat control and exclusion services.

Our top-tier defense, better known as Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems is the best way to keep pests and rodents outside where they belong, permanently. The system is comprised of three levels, each designed to defend specific areas of a structure.

• Upper Cat-Guard: From the top of the first-floor windows to the peak of the roof, Upper Cat-Guard shields homes from rodents like rats, squirrels, or bats. This service is perfect for homes with chimneys that are more easily infested by wildlife.
• Lower Cat-Guard: From the first-floor windows down to the ground, Lower Cat-Guard shields homes and structures from critters like chipmunks, snakes, and opossums entering or causing damage.
• Trench Guard: Trench-Guard ensures low-clearance areas like decks and sheds are protected from skunks, raccoons, rats, and chipmunks. Trench-guard will go below the surface to ensure that borrowing pests are unable to enter a home.

Contact Catseye Pest Control for Professional Rodent Solutions

Rats carry diseases and wreak havoc on homes, businesses, and properties.

If you have tried unsuccessfully to control the situation on your own or you want to get ahead of it from the beginning, contact Catseye online or by calling 888-260-3980.

A highly-trained technician will come to you and provide a thorough inspection of the property before creating a fully customized plan to get rid of rats quickly and effectively.

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Learn the Signs of a Rat Infestation in a House, How to Eliminate the Infestation, and Prevent Future Infestations

Unfortunately, beautiful Boston, Massachusetts, regularly makes it onto lists of the top rat-infested cities in the United States, but these disease-ridden pests don’t just affect homes in big cities.

Homeowners and renters throughout the entire New England area also grapple with rat infestations, specifically the Norway rat.

Rats may live in a home without ever making an appearance. In fact, it’s not uncommon to remain clueless about their presence until there’s a severe rat infestation in the house or yard. Knowing the signs to watch for and steps to take to get rid of rats and prevent future infestations is essential to reclaiming a home.

Signs of Rats in Houses

The sooner a person realizes rats are moving in, the better.

Rats reproduce quickly, with gestation periods of only 21 to 23 days. Females go back into heat a mere 48 hours after having their litters. Each female can have an average of more than 80 pups every year.

That’s a large rat family that can spiral out of control quickly.

Knowing the signs to watch for can help homeowners spot rat infestations faster. That means they can call for professional rodent control faster to reclaim the house and keep rats out for good.

Rat Odors

Rats leave behind a strong, foul stink with a musty quality. The odor is made worse by the large volume of urine and droppings they tend to drag their bodies through as they move around the house. 

Droppings

Anyone who has ever experienced a rodent infestation can attest to the mess these critters leave behind. Piles of shiny, black droppings ranging from a half-inch to three-quarters-of-an-inch wide are a sure sign that rats have moved in.

Chewed Food Packaging

One of the primary reasons rats enter homes is to find food, particularly during New England’s cold winter months. Rats are naturally drawn to food items and aren’t shy about ripping open packaging to get what they want.

Gnawed Objects

Rats have strong teeth that continually grow. That means they need to gnaw on objects to keep the length of their teeth in check. They will gnaw on anything from wood to furniture to insulation to wires.

Dark, Greasy Tracks

Rats have oily fur that leaves a residue behind. Additionally, they tend to use the same path to get in and out of their nests, leaving a telltale accumulation on walls, siding, baseboards, and flooring.

A Rat Sighting

Spotting a rat inside a home means the odds are high that there is an infestation in the house. Rats tend to be more active at night, when many people report hearing scurrying and scratching in the ceilings and walls.

Signs of Rats in Yards

Outdoors, rats look for sheltered areas to build their nests. Common areas include spots near bushes, gardens, planters, tree beds, buildings, sheds, and greenways. Rat burrows consist of intricate underground tunnels. Additionally, owners should watch for the following clues:

• Fresh droppings
• Gnaw marks
• Worn paths in grass and vegetation
• Excessive garbage and clutter
• Live rats

Eliminating Rat Infestations

Locating rats and ensuring they are thoroughly removed from the house can be a significant challenge.

Rats tend to nest in basements, crawlspaces, walls, attics, and other hard-to-reach areas. The most effective way to eliminate rat infestations relies on using a multi-step approach, starting with removing rats from the property. It’s equally essential to clean, disinfect, and sanitize the affected areas.

But that’s still only part of the solution. To ensure these critters — and many others, can’t find their way inside the home in the future is vital.

Points of entry will need to be sealed — like gaps, cracks, and other small openings. Although do-it-yourself efforts can work as a temporary solution, installing our Cat-Guard Exclusion System, is the only permanent solution to keep rats out.

Comprised of three levels, Upper Cat-Guard, Lower Cat-Guard, and Trench Guard, each system is designed to protect the home from nuisance wildlife critters like rats, squirrels, mice, bats, birds, and so much more.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Know If You Have a Rat Infestation?

Seeing a rat inside the house isn’t the only way to know that a rat infestation exists. Droppings and gnaw marks are other warning signs. Finding food items, debris, and packaging that’s been inexplicably tampered with may also serve as clues.

What are the Six Signs of Rat Infestations?

In general, six key signs of rat infestations in houses include:

1. Odors
2. Droppings
3. Tracks or greasy smears
4. Gnaw marks
5. Food and packaging messes
6. Rat sightings

What Does a Rat Infestation Smell Like?

Rats leave a strong, musky odor in their wake. Droppings and urine accumulate wherever rats go, adding a sewer-like stench along the way.

How Many Rats do I Have?

As a general rule, there are approximately eight rats for every three burrows. This can add up to a significant number of rats rather quickly.

Eliminate Rat Infestations with Catseye Pest Control

Rat infestations aren’t a problem that can be taken lightly. Rats breed quickly, which means homeowners need to act fast. The most effective and reliable solution is professional pest control by a trusted, experienced company.

Catseye has more than 30 years of experience. Skilled technicians take an integrated pest management approach to pest control. They have expertise in wildlife removal and exclusion, disinfection, and minor repairs of the damage pests leave behind.

With Catseye, you get a free in-depth inspection and a customized treatment plan. Professionals will recommend preventive measures indoors and outside to help keep your home rat-free.

Are you ready to kick rats out of your house for good? Contact Catseye today to schedule a free inspection.

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Discover Ways to Keep Moles Outside and How to Protect Your Property

Did you know that moles look like cute rodents but are burrowing mammals? That’s an important distinction, particularly when it’s time to get rid of moles in yards and other areas on a property. Many states, including Massachusetts, limit how homeowners can trap or kill wildlife.

For anyone with moles in their yard, mole removal is a top priority. These relatively small creatures can wreak havoc on properties. Mole hills and tunnels quickly destroy all the hard work put into creating lush lawns, gorgeous gardens, and lovely landscaping.

Calling a licensed specialist is the most effective way to get rid of moles in the yard. Experienced professionals can remove these critters safely and humanely. In the meantime, several strategies can help keep moles out of the house and reduce the amount of damage they create.

Identification: The First Step of Yard Mole Removal

Before it’s possible to eliminate the problem, it’s necessary to know exactly what type of mole is causing problems. Many people confuse moles and voles, which are rodents that eat vegetation and create shallow runways and tunnels.

New Englanders may spot one of three common moles that live throughout the Northeast: the hairy-tailed mole, the star-nosed mole, and the eastern mole. Each has webbed feet with shovel-like forepaws that help them dig and a hairless, pointy snout. Most moles have scales on their hairless tails, along with small eyes and no visible ears.

Spotting the Signs of Mole Infestations

Many people see mole holes in their yard before they ever see a mole. These critters can dig through up to 18 feet of soil in a single hour, leaving behind unmistakable signs, such as:

• Round mole hills that typically measure three to five inches and have raised ridges and small piles of dirt near the exit holes.
• Patches of dead grass caused by moles disrupting root systems.
• Areas in the yard with loose soil or squishy-feeling ground caused by tunneling moles.

How to Get Rid of Moles in the Yard: 5 Tips

Moles are difficult to prevent and challenging to eliminate without professional intervention. Calling a Catseye Pest Control should be step one as our technicians are specially trained and have the necessary equipment to handle the situation with care.

Before assistance arrives, you can try a few things on your own. But it’s important to understand that these are typically only temporary solutions at best, nothing can replace a trained professional addressing the situation.

Mole Repellents

Certain smells can drive moles away, providing a potential solution to mole holes in the yard. Castor oil can be an effective and non-lethal deterrent.

Try mixing one part dish soap with three parts castor oil. Mix four tablespoons of the castor oil mixture with a gallon of water and pour it over mole holes in the yard.

Flowers like daffodils and marigolds look great and provide a natural repellent. Plant them near the edges of the yard or near any areas that need protection.

Barriers

Do-it-yourself (DIY) barriers take time but help keep moles out. Examples include in-ground fences combined with hardware cloth, trenches filled with rocks, and ultrasonic spikes.

Although they don’t frequently venture inside, moles can gain entry to homes and buildings through small cracks and gaps in the foundation.

Examine the structure and seal any openings to keep moles and other pests out. It’s also worth considering professional exclusion systems like Cat-Guard, a safe, natural, long-term solution to keep all types of wildlife out of designated areas.

Try DIY Remedies

Certain household items may help ward off moles. Anecdotal evidence suggests sprinkling cat litter, red pepper flakes, or coffee grounds may deter moles.

Create an Outdoor Space That’s Less Inviting

Making the garden or yard less appealing may help ward off all kinds of pests. These small pests like to remain in areas with plenty of cover.

Maintaining a tidy lawn with manicured landscaping beds helps eliminate potential shelter. Remove piles of debris and avoid adding thick mulch layers to landscaping beds.

Trap and Release

For the inexperienced, DIY trapping can be very challenging. Successful trapping depends on several factors, including buying the right humane traps and selecting the right place to place them. Additionally, it’s essential to avoid handling traps with bare hands because human scents will keep moles from approaching them. Finally, it’s critical to release trapped moles far enough away to prevent them from returning.

Contact Catseye for Professional Yard Mole Removal

Catseye has more than 30 years of experience handling moles and various other types of wildlife, rodents, and pests. Skilled, highly trained technicians will provide a free, thorough inspection of the property before creating a customized plan for safe, humane, effective removal.

The best way to get rid of moles in the yard and keep them out is with professional pest control. Contact Catseye online or call 888-260-3980 to schedule a free inspection.

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Discover How to Get Rid of Ladybugs in Your House and How to Prevent the Pest from Getting Inside

Although ladybugs are commonly associated with good luck, finding ladybugs in window frames and infesting other parts of a home is anything but lucky.

It’s rare, but these unwanted houseguests may bite humans, it’s more common for ladybugs to leave a foul-smelling yellow liquid behind during times of stress.

Ladybugs also exude pheromones. After entering a home, it’s like lighting up a welcome sign that beckons other ladybugs to join. If one ladybug is found, many others are probably on their way.

Understanding how to get rid of ladybugs in a house is essential to regaining control. If you find ladybugs indoors, the sooner you get rid of them, the better.

But first things first, is it a ladybug that has entered the home? Or is it an Asian lady beetle?

Ladybug vs. Asian Lady Beetle Identification

Ladybugs and the Asian lady beetle have similar names and share similar characteristics — but are not the same species.

Asian lady beetles will vary in color from red to shades of orange. The pest may also be seen with spots on its wings — known as cerci. But this pest doesn’t always have spots on its wings.

Ladybugs on the other hand tend to be a bright red color and have spots on their wings. So, if the pest in your home is orange and doesn’t have spots, it isn’t a ladybug.

Why Ladybugs Enter Homes

Like other pests, ladybugs are attracted to the warmth that many of our homes provide.

If a ladybug, or cluster of the pest, is found in your home or business, it’s likely because they are searching for a warm, dry place to escape the cold. This can become a living nightmare for any homeowner or property owner.

We work hard to make our homes warm and welcoming for family members and guests, but that doesn’t mean ladybugs — or other pests, should be able to take advantage of the hospitality.

How Ladybugs Get Inside Homes and Buildings

Ladybugs make their way indoors through tiny cracks and crevices in walls, foundations, and around doors and windows.

After entering, some ladybugs like to hang out in window frames or near doors. Many seek out warm, out-of-the-way corners in basements, crawl spaces, and attics.

Are Ladybugs Dangerous?

Luckily, these unwanted roommates don’t typically cause extensive structural damage. Although ladybugs aren’t poisonous, a bite may trigger an allergic reaction, which is characterized by symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and welts.

Female ladybugs look for warm, sheltered, dark areas to lay their eggs in the fall. They lay as many as 1,000 eggs during their lifespans, which is approximately one year. Because they are so prolific, even small infestations can quickly get out of hand.

How to Get Rid of Ladybugs

Even though they don’t pose a serious health hazard, turning a blind eye to ladybug infestations isn’t advisable. Between their ability to lay many eggs every season and the pheromones used to attract more ladybugs to the area, a small colony could experience a rapid population explosion.

Professional pest control is the best way to get rid of ladybugs in the house. Knowledgeable technicians can treat affected areas, remove pests, seal entryways, in addition to helping keep ladybugs and other pests from returning.

Year-round protection comes from professional pest control programs, such as the Platinum Home Protection from Catseye Pest Control.

The program begins with an extensive initial pest control service and a follow-up appointment 10 days later. A Catseye pest management professionals will then visit bi-monthly to ensure your home remains pest-free. If you see pests between visits, our team can be there within 24 hours.

This all-in-one pest prevention and maintenance program is customized to fit the unique needs of your home and comes with a 100% service guarantee and takes a proactive approach to pest control.

Preventing Ladybug Infestations

The best way to prevent ladybugs from getting into houses is to seal any cracks, gaps, and crevices that could be used as a point of entry.

Some homeowners plant cloves and bay leaves, which have scents that repel ladybugs, near their homes. Other effective measures include:

• Using caulk or weatherstripping to close gaps around doors and windows.
• Inspecting window screens for damage and repairing or replacing them as needed.
• Installing screening over roof vents.

But even the best do-it-yourself method will prove to be a temporary solution.

Preventing future infestations can be challenging with pests like ladybugs because of the scent trail they leave to attract others. A thorough cleaning can help remove these trails and eliminate the chemicals they leave behind that attract more ladybugs.

Another effective preventive tool is a professional exclusion system, which provides an all-natural, safe, permanent barrier. Not only will it prevent ladybugs from getting inside, but the right system can also keep homes and other buildings free of other common pests.

Contact Catseye to Get Rid of Ladybugs for Good

Ladybugs aren’t the kind of houseguests that anyone wants to keep around. Professional pest control from Catseye, a company with decades of experience and expertise, can help homeowners manage infestations, remove pests, and prevent future problems. Contact us to learn more or to schedule a free inspection.

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Discover How to Keep Stink Bugs and Boxelders Outside — Where the Pests Belong

Fall and winter are prime pest seasons as many critters and creepy, crawling things start looking for warm, cozy spots to nest for the winter. Two common offenders include boxelder and stink bugs.

Thankfully, these pests are relatively harmless — but annoying.

Although many people get confused about the two insects, the two different species have unique characteristics.

How can you tell the difference between the two pests? Check out a few tips and suggestions for how to keep stink bugs and boxelders out of homes and other buildings.

Stink Bugs vs. Boxelder Bugs: What’s the Difference?

Before it’s possible to figure out how to keep boxelder and stink bugs out of a house, it’s necessary to know which type of bug has invaded the space.

Length and coloring are two easy ways to spot the differences between these two pests. Boxelders are slightly shorter with red and brown torsos with off-white, bronze, black, or blue-hued markings on their backs.

What Do Boxelder Bugs Look Like?

Boxelder bugs are approximately 1/2-inch long with six legs and two antennae.

These pesky bugs have black, oval-shaped backs with three reddish stripes behind their heads and two more red stripes on each wing. Boxelder bugs drink sap from boxelder trees’ leaves, seeds, and twigs.

Boxelders tend to be problematic during the fall and spring. In the fall months, they start moving indoors to escape the cold. When spring arrives, the pest will return to the outdoors. Many homeowners and renters also find boxelder bugs indoors in late winter.

What Do Stink Bugs Look Like?

Stink bugs are invasive insects native to parts of Asia. These bugs average 1/2-inch long with oval, shield-shaped, mottled gray-brown or sometimes greenish backs. They have antennae and six legs that extend from the sides.

Aptly named, the term “stink bug” comes from the chemical released in their abdomen, causing a smelly or stinky odor.

This odor is also released when the bugs are crushed. Stink bugs tend to make a big stink — literally, in the fall, but they can also be active in late summer.

Are Stink Bugs and Boxelders Dangerous?

Neither boxelders nor stink bugs harm people, pets, or homes. Boxelders don’t bite, but they do have mouth parts that can puncture skin and create irritation similar to an insect bite. Additionally, boxelders’ fecal matter has a red hue that can stain clothing, drapes, and other materials.

As an agricultural pest, the brown marmorated stink bug can cause serious damage to fruit and vegetable crops. Feeding throughout the summer, stink bugs puncture holes into the fruit in order to feed. Leaving blemishes and dimples, the stink bugs’ feeding habits cause seed loss, as well as possible transmission of plant pathogens.

Why Get Rid of Boxelder Bugs and Stink Bugs

Neither bug is harmful, but they can quickly become a terrible nuisance.

Over the years, the stink bug population has increased due to the ideal climate for reproduction. In optimal conditions a stink bug can reach the adult stage in as little as 35 to 45 days. Female stink bugs can lay several hundred eggs in their lifetime. This pest population is expected to continue growing, as there seem to be no environmental factors slowing their distribution.

These statistics alone can cause nightmares.

The dead bodies of boxelder bugs attract insects like carpet beetles. That’s why it’s essential to use a professional pest control company to ensure thorough cleaning after removal.

How to Keep Stink Bugs and Boxelders Out of Your House

Prevention is essential for getting rid of boxelder bugs and stink bugs permanently. Preventive measures include:

• Sealing cracks around pipes, windows, doors, siding, chimneys, foundations, under wood fascia, etc.
• Applying silicone or silicone-latex caulk around skylights, electrical outlets, light switches, and door and window frames.
• Replacing damaged window and door screens.
• Trimming overgrown trees and removing branches that hang over the house.
• Installing yellow bulbs or low-pressure sodium exterior lighting instead of incandescent lights.
• Removing boxelder trees from the property.

Professional Pest Control

Although some do-it-yourself attempts can be helpful, it doesn’t replace professional pest control efforts.

Pest infestations should be handled by licensed pest control professionals. Skilled technicians can assess the situation, remove bugs, and ensure no traces are left behind to attract other insects to the home.

Catseye Pest Control uses advanced pest control techniques and customized solutions to help protect homes and businesses from the brown marmorated stink bug.

Beginning with a free inspection, our pest and nuisance wildlife control technicians investigate the home, business, or other structure to identify the type of pest invading your space. This step is also essential in determining how and why the pest is getting inside.

Then, a customized pest control solution is created that will help rid the space of the pest. This solution from Catseye can include a variety of items, like utilizing our Exclusion Systems, monitoring systems, and pest products.

Our techniques and solutions have been perfected over the course of nearly 30 years so that peace of mind can be restored for homeowners, property owners, and business owners.

Contact Catseye Pest Control

Contact Catseye for a no-cost inspection today. Based on those findings, Catseye technicians will create a customized treatment plan to remove the brown marmorated stink bug, treat the home, and maintain a pest-free environment.

The tailored solution will leave you feeling comforted knowing that these pest — and others cannot find their way inside in the future.

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Due to the abundance of buildings, streets, and other human-made infrastructure, cities usually support a much lower diversity of plants and animals than surrounding natural areas. However, some species have adapted quite well to city life and may actually thrive and become more abundant in cities than in surrounding suburbs or natural areas. In previous episodes we met bloodthirsty Culex mosquitoes that had taken up residence in subterranean pools beneath buildings in the nation’s capital, and red-shouldered bugs living the easy life dining on seeds of golden rain trees in Washington DC. This week we return to the city to discover another urban adapter enjoying life in the realm of concrete.

Pin oaks, Quercus palustris, and willow oaks, Quercus phellos, are two grand native trees often planted in cities throughout much of the eastern United States. These beauties deliver a bonanza of ecosystem services including sequestering carbon, mitigating pollution, enhancing water infiltration by slowing rainfall, cooling (shading streets, sidewalks, buildings, yards), providing food for wildlife in the form of caterpillars for birds and nuts for squirrels, and just looking marvelous with summer greens and autumn russets.  Ah, but as I roamed the streets of DC, I noticed oaks young and old with withered twigs, misshapen anemic leaves, some with coats of black fungus, and branches festooned with small brown bumps. These symptoms of misery are the handiwork of herbivorous insects known as scale insects.

Scale insects belong to a large group of insects called Hemiptera. They are characterized by having only three life stages – egg, nymph, and adult, in contrast to some of our more familiar insects like butterflies and bees that have four life stages – egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. In addition to this life stage difference, scale insects and other Hemiptera have sucking mouthparts used to sip fluids from plants. By contrast, caterpillars and beetles have jaws to munch leaves. The rascal waging war on the city oaks is a native pest called the oak lecanium scale. Nymphs and adults stick soda-straw-like mouth parts into a vascular tissue in leaves and stems called phloem. A tiny pump in their head allows them to suck nutrient-rich phloem sap into their bodies where it is used for growth and development and, in the case of females, production of eggs. Their feeding robs the oaks of nutrients, thereby reducing growth of branches and normal development and function of leaves.  

Oak trees lining city streets are sometimes plagued by sap-feeding insects called soft scales. Colonies of mature, bump-like female scales line branches, sucking sap and excreting a sticky waste product called honeydew. Females can produce more than 1000 eggs which hatch into offspring called crawlers. Crawlers migrate from branches to leaves in spring, feeding and robbing trees of vital fluids. In autumn before leaf-fall, they move back to branches to pass the winter before maturing into adults next spring.

An additional insult comes when excess fluids are discharged from the rear end of the scale insect in the form of a waste product called honeydew. We met another prodigious honeydew producer, spotted lanternfly, in a previous episode. Sugar-rich honeydew provides a substrate for the growth of an ugly black fungus called sooty mold that disfigures leaves, bark, and objects below the scale-infested tree. Unfortunately, honeydew also attracts stinging honeybees, yellow jackets, and paper wasps, creating a nuisance and health risk to people and pets.

Let’s circle back to the question as to why oak lecanium scales are more abundant in cities than in surrounding suburban and rural locations. The keys to these differences are found in a lack of scale-killing predators and parasitoids in cities and the warmer temperatures of cities, the phenomenon known as the urban heat island. Due to the predominance of buildings and hardscape, cities can be anywhere from a few degrees to more than ten degrees warmer than surrounding countryside. In a series of fascinating studies, entomologists at North Carolina State found oak lecanium scales to be 8 – 12 times more abundant on hotter urban trees. The abundance of egg-filled sacs was about five times greater on oak trees in hot spots than on trees in cooler locations. At warmer temperatures, survival of tiny scale nymphs was 20% greater than at cooler temperatures. Warm temperatures in the city may allow rapidly developing female scales to lay eggs before tiny parasitic wasps terminate their reproductive shenanigans. All in all, oaks and many other trees that line our streets and shade our parks have a tough go of it in the thermal refuge of a city. In many ways warmer temperatures of cities mimic larger changes associated with global climate change and a warming world. Scientists warn that if urban heat islands are the bellweather for a warming world, many of our pests may enjoy a heyday, not only in cities but in previously cooler parts of our land.

Acknowledgements

Two fantastic references, “Urban Warming Drives Insect Pest Abundance on Street Trees” by Emily K. Meineke, Robert R. Dunn, Joseph O. Sexton, and Steven D. Frank, and “Can Cities Activate Sleeper Species and Predict Future Forest Pests? A Case Study of Scale Insects” by Steven D. Frank and Michael G. Just were used to prepare this article.

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Years ago a summer microburst shredded several mature red maple trees in my backyard. Seeking a replacement for these carbon sequestering shade givers, I selected a young American elm of the Princeton clan. During the past two decades, this once spindly sapling has expanded to dominate my modest landscape. In recent weeks in the golden sunbeams of late afternoon, the airspace around my elm has been filled with a flurry of hundreds of tiny flying insects. Upon closer examination, I discovered these aerial acrobats to be none other than the sexual life stage of the elm cockscomb gall aphid, making their way from their grassy summer feeding grounds back to the elm tree that serves as their overwintering site.

On bright autumn afternoons the air near my elm is filled with a flurry of elm cockscomb gall aphids returning to their winter home, which is a Princeton elm. Watch as a female alights on an elm branch briefly before taking off, perhaps in search of another place to lay eggs or to escape my camera lens. For a much closer look, check out the aphid through the lens of a microscope. These are pretty cool insects.

Many species of aphids, including the elm cockscomb gall aphid, live complex lives. To this you might respond, well, don’t we all.  Yes, but not like these tiny sap suckers. For much of the summer these aphids have been living underground sucking sap from the roots of grasses in my lawn. With the onset of cooler temperatures and shorter days, these grass feeders produce a generation of vagabonds that take to the air in search of their winter refuge, which is my elm tree. Having consummated a relationship with a male, females of the sexual generation move to the tree and deposit a single large egg in their winter hideout beneath a bark flap. In this protected location, the egg passes the wicked winter. When the warmth of spring causes leaf buds to burst, tiny nymphs hatch from the surviving eggs and trek to rapidly expanding leaves. As nymphs feed on undifferentiated leaf tissue, they secrete compounds that co-opt the leaf’s genetic machinery and cause it to produce a strange looking structure called a gall. This gall bears a striking resemblance to the comb of a rooster, hence the name elm cockscomb gall. 

After reaching maturation in the hollow space within the cockscomb gall, the nymph completes her development and begins the task of reproducing asexually, meaning without the usual interlude with a male aphid. This parthenogenetic female is called a stem mother and she will give birth to hundreds of young within the confines of the gall. During spring and early summer, the inside of the gall is a riotous mass of aphids large and small sucking sap and producing honeydew. These nymphs develop into winged adults that exit the cockscomb gall through a slit on the undersurface of the leaf. By now the exhausted stem mother has perished, as her progeny depart for their summer feeding grounds. If you have a moment on a bright autumn afternoon, visit an elm tree and you may have a chance to witness an unusual migration by one of the interesting members of the aphid clan.

Acknowledgements

The fascinating article “Gall aphids on elm” by Edith Patch was used to prepare this episode. Special thanks to Bob Rabaglia for sharing his amazing image of elm cockscomb galls on what must be the most sought-after elm tree for these aphids.

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Spend the Week Learning How to Protect Your Property and Prevent Rodent Infestations

Fall is filled with exciting holidays. Although most people are familiar with the well-known days like Halloween and Thanksgiving, some of the lesser-known holidays in October include National Do Something Nice Day and National Get to Know Your Customers Day.

And now there’s another “holiday” to celebrate — Rodent Awareness Week. This event runs from October 16th through October 22nd. Timed perfectly to coincide with the season when rodents are finding shelter for the colder months, this week is the ideal time to learn about rodent treatment and prevention.

Raising Awareness About Rodents and the Harm They Cause

As temperatures drop, rodents like mice and rats start looking for warm, cozy spots to nest. This also makes it the perfect time to put measures into place to protect homes, businesses, people, and families.

The National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA) Professional Pest Management Alliance founded this annual event in 2014. The goal is to teach homeowners how to spot rodents, prevent infestations, and the importance of working with a skilled pest and nuisance wildlife professional.

After all, rodents carry dozens of diseases and parasites like fleas, ticks, and mites. They also commonly gnaw on everything from insulation to wooden structures to electrical wires, creating substantial damage when the problem is left untreated.

The costly damage to health and property emphasizes the importance of effective, efficient prevention and professional rodent control. Catseye Pest Control handles all aspects of proper pest and rodent control, including removal, monitoring, cleanup, and exclusion services.

Rodent Awareness 101

Millions of Americans deal with rodents in their homes or businesses every year.

Some rodents can squeeze through gaps and cracks as small as a dime. And once they’re inside, they can quickly breed, making a full-blown infestation a likelihood unless owners act quickly.

Signs of Rodent Infestations

Rodent Awareness Week 2022 is the ideal time to learn how to spot signs of rodent infestations.

Many rodents sleep during the day and are active at night, making it less likely to see them in action. Common signs that can help identify a rodent invasion include:

• Chewed food packaging.
• Shredded paper, plant matter, or fabric.
• Rodent droppings, particularly near food or in cupboards and drawers.
• Sounds like squeaking, scratching, and scampering in walls, ceilings, and floorboards.

Rodent Treatment and Prevention

Rodents are renowned for breeding quickly. A single female mouse, for example, often gives birth to up to six babies at once. Then, after having babies, she can mate again and have another litter as quickly as 25 days after the first.

That’s why calling a professional is always the best course of action. The faster and more effectively an infestation is eliminated, the quicker it will be to return the space to its previous condition.

Catseye’s treatment process includes four main steps: inspection, removal, cleanup, and exclusion. The free, detailed inspection allows our technicians to evaluate the property for damage, assess potential entry points, and develop a customized plan to get rid of rodents for good.

The most effective prevention strategy is sealing off potential entryways, effectively excluding the rodent from regaining access. Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems provide a safe, chemical-free, permanent barrier to keep rodents and other critters out for good.

Our state-of-the-art Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems are designed to target each level of the home, business, or other structure.

• Upper Cat-Guard: This system protects structures from the top of the first-floor windows to the peak of the roof.
• Lower Cat-Guard: This system has been designed to protect buildings from the first-floor windows down to the ground.
• Trench-Guard: This system has been designed to protect low-clearance areas like sheds and decks.

When installed together, the home or business can experience total protection from rodents like groundhogs, skunks, squirrels, birds, and so much more.

General Rodent Prevention Tips

It is always the perfect time to guard against rodent invasions and infestations, but especially as we begin to experience cooler temperatures. Rodents are active year-round but tend to move indoors during cold weather.

To minimize the threat of rodent infestations, pest control professionals recommend starting by examining outdoor spaces. Keeping the grass trimmed and pruning trees and shrubs that overhang buildings can help eliminate hiding spots and ways for rodents to hop onto structures.

Other tips include:

• Containing garbage in cans with tightly fitting lids.
• Removing yard debris and clutter, particularly near buildings.
• Removing dropped fruit from fruit trees.
• Switching to husk-less bird feed or stopping feeding birds.
• Storing food items in tightly lidded containers (including pet foods).
• Repairing cracks, gaps, and openings on the outside of homes and buildings.
• Installing door sweeps on exterior doors.
• Regularly cleaning floors and counters.

Schedule a Free Inspection from Catseye Pest Control

Catseye provides detailed, thorough assessments that can give you valuable information about the risks of a rodent infestation. It’s the first step we take in any rodent control program because it gives us the information needed to tailor the treatment plan to each customer’s unique needs and circumstances.

Contact us today to schedule your free inspection. We’re also always happy to provide more prevention tips or information during Rodent Awareness Week 2022 and beyond.

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Last week I received an inquiry from a concerned mother of two children who encountered a large and somewhat imposing spider apparently suspended in mid-air on her front porch. Hanging upside-down with striped hind legs raised, and a pair of dark eye-spots staring at her, this mom wondered if this arachnid was a “death spider”, a reasonable question with curious youngsters about. Late summer is a time when many spiders reach maturity and maximum size, having devoured nutritious prey throughout the growing season. We visited large and colorful orbweavers, the black and yellow garden spider and the marbled orbweaver, in previous episodes.

A few years back at the far end of my front porch, I also had the pleasure of a visit from a spotted orbweaver. She had taken up residence beneath the overhang of my front porch. Her web was no tiny affair like webs of cellar spiders or common house spiders we met in previous episodes. This web spanned almost two feet across. Her web was a masterpiece and a rapid chill on a humid night spawned a fine mist perfect for decorating the threads of an orbweaver’s web. What a delight. In more natural settings, the spotted orbweaver is often encountered in woodlands where it builds its web amongst the twigs and branches of trees and shrubs. Interesting studies of their web placement revealed that these spiders are creatures of the light. Webs are strung in relatively well lighted areas where the density of flying prey is greater.

During the day, my orbweaver hides out in a silken redoubt beneath the eves, but at sunrise she can be found feasting on an unidentified morsel or tidying up her web.

This scenario surely fit with the location of my orbweaver’s web. It was cleverly constructed in a light gap between shrubs and my home on the southern exposure of my porch. During the daytime, the orbweaver hid in a small silken refuge attached to the overhang of my porch. At night, after constructing a new web, it hung head down in the center of the web awaiting hapless victims to entangle themselves. Spotted orbweavers use powerful fangs called chelicerae to pulverize their prey. The protein in these morsels is turned into eggs, as many as a thousand of them, deposited in a spherical egg sac placed near the web. Eggs pass the rigors of late autumn and winter and hatch the following spring. And yes, just as E. B. White described it in ‘Charlotte’s Web’, shortly after hatching the spiderlings will stand on tiptoes, release strands of silk, and balloon on a warm breeze to establish webs of their own.  

Watch as this orbweaver wraps its prey and delivers occasional paralyzing bites to the victim.  

Acknowledgements

The wonderful web site “Neoscona crucifera (Spotted Orbweaver)” at www.spiders.us and the article “Choosing Hunting Sites: Web Site Preferences of the Orb Weaver Spider, Neoscona crucifera, Relative to Light Cues” by M. R. Adams were used as references for this episode. The inspiration for this episode came from Erin Kollins who shared her image of a “death spider”, and to several Maryland Master Naturalists who inquired about large orbweavers they recently encountered.   

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A few weeks ago, we visited stinging saddleback caterpillars as they bedeviled my attempts to weed a flower bed. Recently, an insect aficionado sent me a beautiful picture of a caterpillar resembling Cousin Itt, the gibberish speaking who-knows-what from the classic 1960’s television series, The Addams Family. Like Cousin Itt, the puss caterpillar, a.k.a. the southern flannel moth, is cloaked with strands of long blondish hair with no other features clearly visible (unlike Cousin Itt, the puss caterpillar does not wear a bowler and dark sunglasses). According to some sources the moniker “puss” stems from the caterpillar’s semblance to a rather tiny and very hairy cat. Ah, but this little puss packs a punch in the form of stinging spines concealed just beneath the cloak of attractive hairs. These barbed spines are described as urticating, from the Latin meaning “nettle.” Urticating spines can break off, embed in skin, and deliver a potent dose of venom. Venom from puss caterpillars and others in this episode can produce instant and building pain that has been described as burning, stinging, and “white hot”. Localized swelling, redness, and blisters may form. In some cases, systemic allergic reactions occur and medical attention should be quickly sought. Contact with mucous membranes in eyes and nasal passages are particularly serious and should be dealt with immediately. Despite these dire reactions, some say they have handled these stingers without sustaining stings or irritation, but why take a chance? Puss caterpillars are found here in the DMV and south to Florida and Texas. Oak is one of their common hosts but apple, birch, hickory, pecan, persimmon, and rose are also on the menu.

On leaves on a redbud tree in my front yard, I bumped into another stinger, caterpillars of white flannel moths, Norape ovina, which also find black locust, hickory, and other woody plants delectable. White flannel moths range from the DMV to the Deep South where two generations occur annually. In previous episodes of Bug of the Week, we met another clan of moths with urticating hairs, a large and beautiful Io moth caterpillar (Atomeris metzil) from Costa Rica and our home- grown Io moth (Automeris io) here in the DMV.  These remarkably beautiful caterpillars feast on a wide range of woody and herbaceous plants including trees, shrubs, and grasses. The Io moth found in the DMV ranges from Canada, where but a single generation happens each year, to the Gulf of Mexico, where three or more generations occur.

Our next stinger in this quintet of pain and itch is the buck moth, one of many spiny rascals in the genus Hemileuca. Buck moth caterpillars favor oaks as a food source and they can be found from Maine to states along the Gulf of Mexico. Caterpillar guru David Wagner reported their stings to cause small hemorrhages lasting several days. The beauty in this episode was seem marching along a fence pole overlooking Great Falls in Potomac, Maryland. One late summer afternoon at the marvelous Catoctin Creek Nature Center, I was treated to a marvelous performance by a waltzing hag moth caterpillar, a.k.a. monkey slug, as it toted its strange furry adornments along a branch of a redbud tree. Many other common woody plants are also eaten by this caterpillar, which can be found from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast. These caterpillars are among the most interesting and attractive of all to be found in the summer and autumn, but please don’t handle them yourself or let youngsters handle them. Let’s avoid a nasty surprise that could develop into an unwanted fear of these remarkable creatures.

This quintet of pretty caterpillars packs a wallop delivered by stinging, urticating spines. The puss caterpillar looks like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family to me. Next up are attractive caterpillars that turn into white flannel moths, but their sting does not feel anything like flannel. Io moth caterpillars are relatively common throughout much of eastern North America. Just look at their long spines. The buck moth caterpillar is in a hurry, perhaps to find oak leaves, a favored food. They too can give a nasty sting. And my favorite of the five is the very strange and adorable hag moth caterpillar. What are those wavy arms about?

Acknowledgements 

We thank Jo-Ann Chason for providing the nice image of a puss caterpillar that served as the inspiration for this episode. Two excellent references, “Stinging and Venomous Caterpillars of the Southeast” by Rebecca Perry and Adam Dale, and “Caterpillars of Eastern North America” by David Wagner provided details on these interesting stinging caterpillars.

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