How do I get rid of mice in my home?
Mice are commensal rodents that exploit structures for food, water, and shelter. They compress through openings as small as one-quarter inch. Mice are primarily nocturnal, navigating along walls using whiskers. Females produce five to ten litters yearly with five to six young per litter. They gnaw continuously to wear down ever-growing incisors, damaging structures, insulation, and wiring. Mice contaminate surfaces with urine, droppings, and hair. Signs include rod-shaped droppings, gnaw marks, greasy rub marks along travel routes, and scratching sounds in walls. Prevention requires sealing entry points, storing food properly, and eliminating harborage. Hello Pest Control inspects for rodent activity and access, performs exclusion with steel wool, hardware cloth, caulk, and foam, and uses snap traps and tamper-resistant bait stations. Hello Pest Control includes follow-up and monitoring with rodent service.
What's the difference between rats and mice?
Rats are commensal rodents larger than mice. Norway rats burrow along foundations, under slabs, and near garbage areas. Roof rats climb and nest in attics, trees, and upper portions of structures. Rats squeeze through openings as small as half an inch. They gnaw through wood, plastic, and soft metals. Rats contaminate surfaces with droppings, urine, and hair. They reproduce rapidly, with females producing four to six litters per year. Signs include capsule-shaped droppings larger than mouse droppings, gnaw marks, burrow openings, and greasy rub marks. Prevention requires exclusion, sanitation, and elimination of harborage and food sources. Hello Pest Control inspects for rodent activity and access, performs exclusion with steel wool, hardware cloth, caulk, and foam, and uses snap traps and tamper-resistant bait stations.
Why do I keep seeing carpenter ants in my house?
Carpenter ants excavate galleries in wood to create nesting space but do not consume wood as food. They feed on insects, honeydew from aphids, and household food sources. Colonies consist of a parent nest typically in moisture-damaged wood outdoors and satellite colonies that may establish in structures. Workers travel between nests along established trails. They prefer wood softened by fungal decay associated with moisture. Signs include piles of coarse sawdust-like frass, faint rustling in walls, and nocturnal worker trails. Winged reproductive swarmers emerge in spring. Prevention requires correcting moisture problems, eliminating wood-to-soil contact, removing dead trees, and sealing entry points. Hello Pest Control inspects foundation gaps, wood-to-soil contact, and entry points, then places targeted bait along ant foraging trails and applies a perimeter barrier. Hello Pest Control includes follow-up with ant service and offers an optional recurring plan.
How do I reduce mosquitoes in my yard?
Mosquitoes require standing water for reproduction. Females lay eggs in water, and larvae develop through four stages before emerging as adults in seven to fourteen days. Adults detect hosts through carbon dioxide, body heat, and chemical cues. They are most active during dawn and dusk but some species feed during daytime in shaded areas. Adults rest in dense vegetation during heat of day. Different species prefer different water sources. Prevention focuses on eliminating breeding sites by removing containers that collect water, maintaining gutters and drainage, treating water features, and managing vegetation that provides adult resting habitat. Hello Pest Control assesses mosquito resting zones and standing water, applies a barrier spray to foliage, and treats standing water with larvicide. Hello Pest Control repeats seasonal mosquito service every three to four weeks from May through October.
What's the best way to prevent ticks on my property?
Ticks are parasitic arachnids requiring blood meals at each life stage: larva, nymph, and adult. They do not jump or fly but climb vegetation to quest, extending front legs to grasp passing hosts. Blacklegged ticks and American dog ticks are common species. Blacklegged ticks transmit Lyme disease and other pathogens during feeding. Ticks quest most actively during warm months but can be active whenever temperatures exceed freezing. They require humidity to survive and concentrate in leaf litter, tall grass, wooded edges, and shaded groundcover. Prevention includes maintaining mowed lawn buffers, removing leaf litter and brush, managing groundcover vegetation, and creating barriers that reduce wildlife movement into yards. Hello Pest Control walks the property edges and transition zones, then applies an acaricide barrier spray that includes approximately the first nine feet of wooded edge, and may also use an optional granular treatment for ticks. Professionally applied acaricide treatments can reduce tick populations by 68–100 percent. Hello Pest Control offers seasonal tick re-treatment from April through November.
Who do I call for wasp nests in Pomona?
Social wasps including paper wasps and yellowjackets build colonies that grow through spring and summer. Queens overwinter and emerge in spring to establish new nests. Paper wasps build open-comb nests on protected surfaces like eaves and porch ceilings. Yellowjackets construct enclosed nests in aerial locations, wall voids, or underground cavities. Workers forage for insect prey to feed larvae. Colonies become most populous and defensive in late summer and fall. Only fertilized queens survive winter. Prevention involves sealing structural gaps in early spring, eliminating potential nest sites, and removing food attractants. Hello Pest Control inspects nests, entry points, and carpenter-bee damage, applies insecticide dust or liquid to the nest or entry, removes nests where safe, and seals access.