We have an ongoing problem with what we were told are fungus beetles. We found dozens of them on the ceiling in a corner of the kitchen. We had an exterminator treat the area and my husband found a roof leak in the attic that had dripped onto that area. The leak has been repaired
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At our house, we love to feed birds and have a couple of large feeders in the backyard. In the last couple of weeks, we have had large flocks of starlings mobbing the feeders, scattering seed and keeping the other birds away. Is there any way to scare them off and keep them away? Loud
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Now that Christmas is another happy memory and a New Year is fast approaching, I think it is a great time to talk about chimneys and pest control. Although many newer homes lack a conventional fire place and chimney of block, brick, and mortar, all heating systems require ventilation. Newer systems are designed with efficiency
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When you have a pest problem in your home or yard, you have two choices. Do you hire a professional or do you do the job yourself? If you choose to tackle the job yourself and you choose to use a pesticide, which pesticide product do you select? Home-use pesticides come in many forms, including
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If you don’t mind looking at them, leaving the nests in place won’t hurt anything. They will eventually be torn apart or knocked down by weather or animals. But be forewarned that the queens from those nests might end up building their new nests in the same general area. The spot obviously has all the right stuff — the shady, protected location that the wasps look for when siting a nest.
VIEW MOREWe almost never see mealworms as pests in a home, but they are pests in facilities that store or process grain. Even in these sites, they are not major pests because they rarely feed on clean grain that is food quality. They prefer grains that are old and moldy, and so they are found in dark, damp, musty sites where there is damp grain spillage. In addition to moldy grains, mealworms will also feed on meat scraps, dead insects, and feathers.
VIEW MOREMold-feeding pests can be easy to control if the site can be dried out. Once the mold is gone, the pests will either die or move on. Drying the site might mean roof or plumbing repairs, correcting drainage or condensation problems, or installing a dehumidifier. In the best-case scenario, the mold pests are infesting wet, moldy items, like old newspapers, that can simply be discarded.
VIEW MOREWhat’s the difference between house crickets vs. field crickets? There are a few. Though they’re each in the same family (Gryllidae), the house cricket is in the genus Acheta (Acheta domestica), while the field cricket(s) belongs to the group Gryllus. Probably the most common species of field cricket is Gryllus pensylvanicus which literally can be found
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My 5-year old son has recently become fascinated by ants. He watches them trailing outside and follows them to and from their nest. He asked me how they know where they’re going and where the trail is. I decided to consult an expert. A.P., Dedham, MA The answer is pheromones. When a worker ant is
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