The weather is heating up and flowers are in bloom. You may notice an increased number of bees buzzing around your yard, pollinating your plants. There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world!

Use caution this weekend when playing outdoors and always wear your shoes! Ground bees, such as solitary bees, wasps or yellow jackets, make nests in the ground and will sting when aggravated. Another type of bee, the Carpenter bee, is a wood boring insect, drilling holes through soft wood in order to lay eggs and protect their larvae. Keep an eye out for them around your deck as they could harm the structure.

Have you noticed either of these types of bees at your house? Don’t let them ruin your Memorial Day BBQ! Call Catseye Pest Control today to protect your home and your family.

We were recently called to trap and remove some sort of wildlife that was nesting in a chimney. Upon further inspection, we noted that a mother raccoon and her almost juvenile babies had indeed moved into the space. When the trapper arrived it was a struggle to get to the animals. The location of the raccoons was too remote for the trapper to successfully catch the mom and babies at the same time. If we caught the mom, the babies would perish in the chimney as they were not mature enough to return to the wild and forage for food. We could not suction out the babies as they were too small to withstand the force and would not survive.

Based on this information, Catseye decided to walk away from the trapping job. However, we continued to monitor the chimney each week to see if and when the raccoons were able to leave on their own. Ultimately, the mom and her young left the chimney without aid and we placed a chimney cap over the opening to ensure that no other wildlife could venture in.

Have you ever experienced wildlife living in your home? Tell us about it!

A new customer called us after hearing noises in the attic crawl space of their home. As with all new clients, we sent out one of our state certified inspectors to assess the situation. During the inspection it was clear that a mother raccoon and her young pups, approximately a week old, had moved into the customer’s home. The babies’ eyes weren’t fully open and they were still nursing. The inspector discussed the course of action with our wildlife trapper and the customer. Before service could begin there were a few important points to make.

1. Because the babies were so young, they wouldn’t be able to survive if we trapped and removed them separately from their mom.
2. The mom would abandon her babies if we trapped and released her into the woods separately from her babies.
3. The mom would abandon her babies if we handled them too much during the trapping process.

The decision was made to trap and remove the mom and babies at the same time. We also found a New York State rehabilitation center carrying a Rabies Vector Species license that would take the animals. The facility offered protection for the raccoons while allowing them to experience the outdoors. This way, the mom could continue to nurse her young and teach them how to forage for food. The raccoon family now had a great chance of succeeding in the wild and the customer could go back to living without any wildlife nesting in their crawl space. This proved to be a win-win situation.

A sure sign that spring is here, you can smell it in the air; that distinct smell that only a Striped Skunk can emit.  They emerge periodically during warm spells looking for that special someone (late February through March).  Interestingly, they are not true hibernators but will sleep deeply for up to three and a half months and as the weather warms, they become more active (as our noise will agree).

But, they are not the only ones that have heard spring’s alarm to awaken.  Woodchucks or Groundhogs (true hibernators, they sleep when the first heavy frost hits through spring) begin their quest for love (February through March).  They are most active in the early morning and evening hours.  Here is a cool fact you may not have known about these interesting creatures: they have been known to climb trees as high as 20 feet, although they will usually stay anywhere from eight to 12 feet from the ground.

Another animal making an appearance this spring is the masked Raccoon.  Their nocturnal behavior may lead us to believe that they have been hibernating during those cold winter days.  However, they will only sleep during the coldest days and are active on milder days.  Raccoons have been busy mating during January and February and begin birthing during March through May, with late breeding females between June, July and August.

During this resurgence of activity is when unwanted confrontations may occur as these various critters search for new dwellings.  You may be wondering what you can do to assure that their love den is not your home.

The following steps will assist you in achieving that goal.

• Find their means of access: utility lines, drain pipes, uncapped chimneys, overhanging tree limbs as well as open attic and basement vents
• Trap and remove them from the site
• Exclude their entry points by installing Cat-Guard

You can smell it in the air. The fresh sent of spring is everywhere and as you begin to enjoy the great outdoors, remember you’re not alone.