Holiday Mouse Problem – Afraid the Mice Will Eat Santa’s Cookies?

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holiday mouse problem

Holiday mouse problem got you down?  One of my long-term clients who ended up putting in our rodent traps, first found this problem during the holidays.

Holiday mouse problem

For many families, leaving cookies out for Santa is part of the fun of celebrating the holiday season. Unfortunately, it might not be Santa (or a parent dressed up as him) who eats the cookies this year.

If you have a mouse problem, your furry little visitors would be happy to claim first dibs on the cookies… and the gingerbread house… and any other food they can squeeze or gnaw their way into.

Don’t worry, though – they probably won’t eat the whole cookie. They’re more likely to nibble on all the cookies and leave the chewed-up remains for you.

And lest you think they’re ungrateful for the food, they’ll probably leave a gift in return – in the form of rice-shaped pellets of mouse poop.

Fortunately, dung isn’t the type of present you have to smile at awkwardly while pretending to like it.

In this article, we’ll help you to diagnose your mouse problem to see how serious it is and tell you how to get rid of it, so Santa and his parent-shaped doppelganger can have the cookies all to themselves.

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Natural Holiday Decorations without pests

natural holiday decorations

Sometimes, the best holiday decorations are the ones we make ourselves. As pretty as the store-bought ornaments are, and convenient though an artificial tree may be, there’s nothing quite like having a Christmas tree you found and chopped yourself.

Unfortunately, you might not be the only one who was attracted to your all-natural approach to holiday home decoration.

You might remember the famous scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, in which a squirrel singlehandedly terrorized the Chevy Chase household by leaping out of their Christmas tree.

While this scene was funny – at least, in the eye of the beholder – we imagine you’d find it a lot less comical if the same thing happened in your home, especially if you replace the squirrel with a brood of newly hatched baby spiders.

Many pest species feed, breed and hibernate on organic materials like trees, so unless you want your home to be suddenly flooded by uninvited crawling guests, it’s important to take precautions before you deck the halls.

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Pest infestations in holiday decorations

pest infestations

Thanksgiving just ended, and some of us are cleaning up our houses in the wake of the festivities and making plans to go hunting on Monday.

Meanwhile, another holiday season is fast approaching, and many people are planning to go hunting in their attics and basements in preparation to make another, prettier mess: decorating for Christmas and other winter holidays.

Unfortunately, you might not be the only one who’s drawn to your artificial trees and other holiday decorations. Pests love to hide in dark, quiet, secluded areas, and that includes unsealed boxes in attics and basements.

Today, we’re going to tell you about some of the species you might find in your decorations, and what do to about them.

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Overwintering Stink Bugs – what to do

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Overwintering stink bugs

Overwintering Stink Bugs: What to do About Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs

As Thanksgiving Day draws near, many of us are getting ready for an influx of guests. Unfortunately, in the midst of preparing for fun and festivities, some people are discovering a different and much less welcome type of visitor in their home: brown marmorated stink bugs.

These malodorous, shield-shaped insects have been taking up residence in people’s homes, sometimes by the thousands. Once they’re established, they start getting into everything – your clothes, your belongings, even your food.

Killing them just makes the smell even worse, so many people are at a loss for how to handle them.

Why do they enter your buildings, and what can you do about them?

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Holes in clothes – Why are my sweaters full of holes?

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holes in clothes

Holes in Clothes

Have you ever had one of those days when you opened your closet, pulled out your favorite sweater, and found a bunch of little holes in it?

Those tiny tears weren’t there before, and you don’t remember abusing the sweater, so why is it suddenly damaged beyond the point of being presentable in public?

And, more importantly, how can you keep this from happening again?

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PA Spiders – Put the “Haunted House” look away

PA spiders

How to Contain Them to Halloween Decorations This Year

Halloween is over, but for some people, the “haunted house” look is doing its best to stick around in the form of uninvited spiders.

Spiders can be very beneficial in moderation because they eat bugs that could otherwise damage your plants, your enjoyment of your yard, or even your health.

But if they get into your house – or, Heaven forbid, your clothing – they can be creepy, unpleasant or even dangerous, depending on the species. There’s also a chance that an egg sac could hatch inside your home, covering the area in tiny eight-legged babies.

In this article, we’ll help you to identify some of the common spiders found in Pennsylvania, particularly the ones that bite, and to keep them from taking up residence inside your home.

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Ticks Prevention in Western PA

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ticks are in those woods

Do-It-Yourself Tick Yard Treatment and Tick Bite Prevention

If you spend any amount of time outside, there’s a chance you could be bitten by a wood tick. And as the leaves begin to really fall this weekend – there are lots of opportunities to be in the wrong place.

This is especially likely if deer, birds or rodents frequent your area, or if there are shrubs, dense undergrowth or tall grass on your property or in the area where you’re hiking or vacationing or performing leaf removal.

While most tick bites don’t case any significant health problems, some ticks can carry diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever, Colorado tick fever, and babesiosis, as well as tick paralysis.

On top of all of that, having a bloodsucking bug latch onto you is just plain gross.

In this article, we’ll explain how to identify ticks, keep them off your yard, protect yourself when you visit or live in an area where ticks live, and rid your yard of the pests if they’ve taken up residence.

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Fall Pest Prevention

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Fall Pest Prevention

Fall: that magical time when the leaves change color, the weather gets cool and all kinds of tiny animals decide that your house looks warm and they should go inside.

Some of these fall pests can cause major problems, especially if their presence goes unnoticed long enough for them to harm your family or home.

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Know and Reduce the Risks of Insect Spray

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Insect Spray

When you’re just trying to enjoy the outdoors, but swarms of insects won’t stop trying to eat you alive, it can be tempting to douse yourself and your kids in bug spray.

Using insect repellent can protect you and your family from dangerous insect-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus, but some brands and ingredients are safer than others.

It’s important to use bug spray safely, especially when you’re putting it on young children or using it frequently.

In this article, we’ll explore some insect spray ingredients, how they can affect your health, and how to reduce your risk of spray-induced illnesses.

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DIY pest control this Autumn?

DIY Pest Control

DIY Pest Control techniques

Autumn is now in full swing, and as the weather continues to cool down, a variety of unpleasant guests might be driven into your house by the falling temperatures.

No, we’re not talking about crazy relatives; that’s a couple months from now. We’re talking about spiders, mice, stink bugs, and other small non-human pests that might try to take refuge in your home or business building.

In this article, we’ll give you some simple, effective do-it-yourself pest control methods you can use to keep common pests out of your house and to get rid of them or manage their population if they’ve already taken up residence.

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