What does summer smell like? Fresh cut grass, burgers on the grill, corn on the cob?Memorial Day is literally right around the corner so we’re gearing up for our annual BBQ with friends, family, food and fun. What are your weekend plans?

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.

As nuisance wildlife professionals, it is our job to safely trap and remove wildlife that are damaging your property or nesting in your home. Catseye’s goal is to humanely remove the animals in such a way that ensures their survival in the wild once released. There are also state laws that we need to follow, as well as our own company policies and moral standards.

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!

Catseye Pest Control provides safe and humane trapping and release for all wildlife that begins to make your home its own. Our goal is never to kill the wildlife, but remove them safely and bring them back to their natural habitat, miles away from residential properties. There is one story in particular that we’d like to share with you, displaying Catseye’s professionalism and sympathy for the animals.

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.

Let Catseye detect the Carpenter Ant colonies in your home. Colony detection is an important step in eliminating the worker ants and finding the Queen. You see, the Queen will continually lay eggs, producing worker ants to grow her colony. Once she and all of her eggs are eliminated, the colony will suffer. The key is to detect the colony before any major structural damage has occured.

That’s right. When the weather heats up, you may notice Carpenter Ants. Carpenter Ants inside your house may indicate that a colony is present within the walls of your strucure. Call Catseye today for a full inspection.

Carpenter Ants prefer to nest in moist wood, which is why certain parts of a house like around windows, eaves, decks and porches are more likely to be infested by the insects, as these areas are most vulnerable to moisture. For every Carpenter Ant you see, there can be hundreds or thousands in your walls, building nests and causing structural damage.

As you walk out into the fresh air you can smell it everywhere.  It’s the time when trees begin to bud and the birds let us know that the time has come to enjoy the great outdoors.  The long awaited start of spring is finally here (I guess you can tell I’m not a winter person).  Nature awakens from its winter slumber, bringing us the activity of wildlife looking for love.

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.

As the days draw longer and warmer, what parent hasn’t heard the phase “can I go out now?” from their children. When cabin fever kicks in our children are not the only ones eagerly anticipating the great outdoors. Their annoying buzzing and swarms at times has become an indicator that spring is near. No, I’m not referring to the anxious children longing to play outside, but rather to Cluster Flies.

Normally they are quite happy to be in the great outdoors until the weather begins to get cold. Then, like us they pursue a warmer place to overwinter. This migration begins in the latter part of August to the early part of September. They usually work their way into our attics, wall voids, behind baseboards, behind draperies, under carpets as well as into cracks and crevices.

Cluster Flies are nature’s way of letting us know that spring is near. Those first warm days will bring them out of hibernation and as they emerge, they are in essence asking “can I go out now?” You will find them making their way to your windows or doors. At this time they are not very alert but rather sluggish and can easily be caught or vacuumed. If they appear in large numbers it may require that your cracks and crevices be treated. By the way, you will also notice the Asian lady beetle (most call them lady bugs) emerging, this is also an indicator that you have Cluster Flies. Since Asian lady beetles are considered a beneficial insect there is no treatment prescribed for them other than removing their food source – other insects.

The most effective control for these pests is to treat the perimeter of the structure (especially the sunny side) prior to their migration indoors in late summer, early fall. The timing of course is crucial if control is to be achieved. This would also include pest proofing your home by sealing cracks and crevices along the areas used to gain entry into your home (eaves, windows, doors and where the siding meets your foundation). However, the reality is that once you have Cluster Flies, it becomes an annual occurrence that will be reduced only with regular treatments, reducing their numbers year after year.  If you follow my recommendations, the only ones you will be hearing asking “can I go out now?” will be your children.

Many of us enjoy their humorous antics as they chase each other around our lawns.  Some folks enjoy them so much (after all they’re so cute), that they encourage them to visit by placing feeders on their lawns and yards.  Yet, you have others that view them simply as rats with fuzzy tails.  As you have guessed, Im talking about squirrels.  These tree squirrels include the common grey squirrel, the red and the flying squirrel as well as the fox squirrel.

In their natural environment they are a wonder to watch and enjoy.  Squirrels normally inhabit wooden areas (hence the term tree squirrels) where they will construct their nests.  But, as it usually happens, we enjoy the same locations for the same reasons they do.  We build our homes in what use to be their home turf and that invasion at times causes a conflict.  To the squirrel, our home is simply a strange looking tree with many new opportunities.

So, that racket you hear in the attic could mean that you have unwanted visitors staying with you.  The average tree squirrel will have two litters of young each year, in the spring and late summer.  Depending on the species, the number of young may range from three to eight.  At this point theyre not so cute, since they can cause serious damage to your home.  From ectoparasite problems as a result of nesting sites to electrical damage caused by their gnawing, to bites that result from a close encounter of the unwanted kind.  Youre wondering what you can do to assure that you keep them out of your home.

The following steps will assist you in achieving that goal.

• Find their means of entry; 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.

They’re so cute when they play on your lawn and stay out of your home.  So, if youre hearing something in your attic, give us a call and we will let you know who is visiting.

They freak you out.  As you watch them slither away they appear to be slimy.  Regardless of their appearance, many of you will shout get them out of here!  Some may say that theyve been given a bad rap and that they are misunderstood.  If you havent guessed by now, Im referring to the occasional snake invader.  This invader reminds me of that line in the Indiana Jones movie why did it have to be snakes, I hate snakes.   My daughter-in-law would agree with Indiana and many others who would not tolerate any type of snake around their homes.

Whats interesting is that most snakes found in the United States are harmless (as if that made a difference).   Never the less, on occasion poisonous snakes do invade homes in rural areas near their normal habitats.

They are actually really cool when you take a close look at them (although I dont think so).  Take for example the poisonous snake.  Its fangs are modified teeth in the upper jaw that fold back onto the mouth when not in use (just like a switch blade), pretty cool.  Another helpful fact to keep in mind is that they are predators eating a variety of animals, from frogs to rodents, and they will hibernate in dens during the winter, sometimes in large numbers.

At this point, all you want to know is how to keep them from getting into your home.  Generally it is impossible to eliminate snake populations in a given area, nor would it be wise to do so.  The site will still attract other snakes if it continues to provide them with food and shelter (as well as maintaining the ecological balance).

The most effective way to control snakes is to remove their food and harborage.  First you need to identify potential harborage sites, such as woodpiles, rock piles and other debris which may invite them to your home.  Then elevate these woodpiles off the ground.  Close mowing of grass and other vegetation will also reduce their visits.  The other key element is to remove their food source (remember they are predators).  An effective rodent program is essential along with sealing the entry points by using the CAT-GUARD EXCLUSION SYSTEM.  Though repellents have been used in the past, none have proven to be effective.

So the next time you hear or say the words get them out of here, remember to remove the harborage sites and seal up your home with Cat-Guard.