Have a question about your pest situation?

Be sure to submit your questions through our "Ask an Expert" form so we can help. Here are a few of the common questions we get. Who knows... maybe your question will be listed here too?

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How long do I have to stay out of the house after an extermination?
The short answer (for a general pest service) is, "never more than four hours."  But for many types of services (rats, mice, roaches, and ant problems) you can return immediately.  Though we are not always required by law to ask you to leave the home during a service, we generally like to take the extra precautionary step of making sure that we have plenty of room and access in order to give your pest problems the concentration that they require.  For flea treatments and flea control, we require that you remain out of the home for about three hours, or until our products have dried.  For outside treatments, such as power spraying, we ask that people and pets stay out of the yard for three to four hours.  Once dry, the products are no longer readily absorbed by hands and paws.

Where are these bugs coming from?  I keep a clean house.
Sometimes it's tough to remember that the bugs aren't doing this just to drive us crazy.  Most bugs only come inside when the outside becomes less hospitable.  During the summer, the heat dries up the ground and forces ants inside to search for new sources of moisture.  They love your kitchen for the condensation on its plumbing almost as much as they like finding a drop of syrup.  Tighten up leaky faucets.  Seal gaps in plumbed fixtures.  Create a barrier around your living space that makes the ants seek refuge at your neighbor's.  During the winter, rats and mice find that many of their preferred food sources are hibernating or dead.  They also encounter the added displeasure of having to live in soggy burrows.  The cold sends many rodents inside to search for food, nest materials, and warmth.  Seal up all gaps greater than 1/4".  Roaches are generally imported from the grocery store, or within cardboard boxes. Avoid the storage of brown paper sacks and cardboard.  (When was the last time you checked the weather stripping around doors?) 

What are the noises I hear in my attic?
The smart money says "rats."  Roof rats are amazing acrobats and climbers.  Your attic provides all the promise of a Club Med to a rat:  seclusion, raw materials like insulation for nesting, warmth, and easy access to a food source - the part of the home where you live.  Check your roof for low hanging branches and unscreened ventilation holes.  By placing screens over vents you will also protect yourself against the immigration of birds, bees, and vertebrate mammals like possums.

When can I expect to see results from a professional pest control service?
The results should be almost immediate in most cases (sometimes rodents take a little longer).  A proper pest service always begins with an inspection.  For ants, we seek out the nest, generally outside of the home.  Once we eliminate the nest, your ant problems are over - until a new colony finds its way in.