How To Protect Your Home from Carpenter Ants this Spring

While there are so many reasons to look forward to spring, one drawback is the potential for carpenter ants to enter your home in search of their own place to live. As one of the largest species of ants, these pests chew through dead or wet wood to create cavities, where they lay eggs and build their colonies

This can lead to serious damage to your home, so it’s something you have to be on the lookout for. The good news is there are ways to protect your home from carpenter ants. Here are a few of them:

Trim Trees and Bushes

Do you have any tree branches or bushes that come into contact with your home? It’s important to trim those as soon as possible in the spring. Carpenter ants live on the branches of these trees and bushes and will look to make the move inside if they have a clear path. Trimming can help keep them at bay. If you’re removing a tree that’s close to your home, remember to have the stump removed as well as ants can nest in there too.

Remove or Repair Rotting Wood

Carpenter ants are attracted to rotting wood as it’s their favorite place to make a home. If there is any rotting wood in or around your home, it’s time to repair or replace it to keep the ants away. This may be a deck that has been neglected for a little too long or maybe an old tree or firewood sitting around your yard.

Clean Your Gutters

One spring cleaning chore you shouldn’t skip over is cleaning your gutters. While you’re doing that this year, check to make sure there are no cracks or damage to them. When gutters are damaged or filled with debris, they can leak, leading to excess moisture around the foundation of your home. This can cause the carpenter ants to quickly begin nesting in the rotting foundation.

Despite your best efforts, carpenter ants may still find their way into your home. If they do, it’s time to call in a professional to remove them. Amherst Exterminators has more than 25 years of experience in removing and exterminating unwanted pests from homes across Western New York. Give us a call today at 716.908.2475 for a free estimate!

Signs You’re Dealing with a Bedbug Infestation

Bed bugs are some of the most insidious pests imaginable. They can sneak into your home undetected on luggage or used furniture. They’re hard to detect as they’re so small and they can hide away in small crevices for the same reason.

It doesn’t matter how clean or dirty your home is as they only feed on blood. They invade the space you feel most comfortable in – your bed – and bite you in the night, while making a mess. If you have a bed bug infestation, you’re going to want to handle it as quickly as possible. The problem is it’s not always easy to tell quickly. Here are some signs that you’re dealing with a bed bug infestation:

Unexplained Bites

If you’re waking up in the morning feeling itchy and finding unexpected red marks all over your skin, that’s no doubt a concern. Bed bug bites will typically occur in areas where skin is exposed overnight – mainly in the arms, hands, and legs. People will react differently to bed bug bites with some people having no physical reaction at all, so it’s not possible to diagnose a bed bug problem from bites alone. But it’s at least evidence that should be considered along with other signs.

Stains

Unexplained stains on your sheets are also a sign of potential trouble. Sometimes after a bed bug fills up on your blood, you may roll over on it, crushing it or at least causing it to lose some of your blood. This will lead to blood stains. Meanwhile, bed bugs are like any other creature in that they excrete, so be on the lookout for any brown or rust-colored stains as well.

Evidence of Life

If you’ve already noticed unexplained bites and stains, it’s time to start looking for evidence of active bed bug life. One such sign is eggs, which are laid each day by female bed bugs. They’ll be about one millimeter in length, white in color, and oval in shape. They’ll likely be stuck to a surface on or near your bed. Another sure sign of an infestation is the brown and yellow translucent shell casings bed bugs leave behind when they shed their exoskeleton.

Of course, there’s no more reliable indicator of an infestation than live bed bugs. They’re difficult to find as they tend to stick to their hiding spots during the day. When you do discover them, they’ll be extremely small and reddish brown in color.

If you’ve noticed some of these signs, it’s time to give Amherst Exterminators a call. It’s nearly impossible to get rid of bed bugs without professional help. Give us a call at 716.908.2475 today to set up a free estimate and start sleeping easier.

How To Keep Rats Out of Your House This Winter

As the temperatures continue to dip and move closer and closer to the winter months, it’s time to start preparing for the cold weather. During the winter, we tend to spend a lot more time indoors, in the comfortable confines of our homes.

But we’re not alone in wanting to stay warm and avoid the outdoors in the winter. Many pests – rats especially – will be looking for a way into your home this year. The good news is there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening. Here are a few of them:

Cut Off Food Sources

Rats are like many animals in that they’re always looking for their next meal. And they might find it in an area you don’t expect. It’s important to store any food that isn’t in your fridge in a sealed container. Also be sure to keep your counters and floors free of crumbs. Check under appliances such as your stove and refrigerator to make sure there aren’t any loose crumbs down there. If they can’t get access to any food, rats are far less likely to enter your home.

Eliminate Clutter

If rats find entry into your home, they’ll immediately begin looking for a safe place, which they usually find among clutter. They’ll often find good hiding spots in the clutter, especially in low traffic areas like basements and attics. Doing some cleaning and organizing will cut down on the number of hiding spots rats will find in your home.

Keep An Eye on Firewood

If you have an active fireplace or wood-burning stove in your home, there’s a good chance you keep a stack of firewood nearby for convenience’s sake. Unfortunately, this can also be a convenient place for rats to spend time. To prevent this, you should keep your firewood a little way away from your home and elevate it at least 18 inches off the ground.

Identify Points of Entry

Rats can contort their bodies to fit into very small spaces, so even small cracks can allow them entry into your home. Look for any entry points in window screens, cracks in walls, and areas where your pipes enter your home.

If these measures fail and the rats find their way into your home, give Amherst Exterminators a call. We will examine the inside and outside of your home to determine the best way to handle your rat problem. Give us a call at 716.908.2475 today to set up a free estimate.

Fall Tips for Preventing Pests from Entering Your Home

Fall can be a beautiful time of year. The air is crisp and cool. The foliage makes nature more beautiful than any other time of year. You can enjoy hayrides, apple picking, scary movies and football in these lovely months.

One thing you likely don’t want this autumn is for pests to invade your living space. Unfortunately, that’s something that can happen if you’re not careful. Of course, you should be wary of rodents, insects and bugs at all times of year, but there are specific steps to take in the fall to ensure your home remains pest-free. Here are a few of them:

Inspect Remote Areas

As the temperatures begin to cool a bit, many pests will begin to look for a new home. They’ll tend to gather in your attic, crawlspace or basement as it’s easier to hide in these areas. If you don’t spend a lot of time in these areas, it’s smart to inspect them occasionally, to ensure no rodents are making their home there. Rodents and other pests also like damp spaces so it’s important to keep your attic, basement and crawlspace as dry as possible.

Seal Off Potential Entrances

You close your doors and windows at night, so intruders don’t come into your home. But much smaller intruders can find their way in through other means, especially when they’re looking for somewhere warm to stay. That’s why it’s important to seal off any cracks on the side of your home and to repair or replace any broken screens. It’s also wise to install a chimney cap to ensure no rodents can enter via your roof.

Monitor Your Firewood

One of the best perks of fall is having fires both in the backyard and if your home if you’re lucky enough to have a wood-burning stove or fireplace. But wood piles are a great place for pests to nest as well. This is why it’s smart to keep your wood pile a decent distant from your house and to always inspect wood before bringing it inside.

Watch For Signs

Despite your best effort, pests may still find their way into your home. But you can catch them early by keeping an eye out for signs like evidence of burrowing, nests, droppings or clusters of bugs. And if you believe you have a problem, call the professionals at Amherst Exterminators. We’ve been solving pest problems for more than 25 years. We’re available 24 hours per day at 716-908-2475 if you need us!

Reasons You Should have Yellow Jackets Professionally Exterminated

When you think of flying, stinging summer pests, yellow jackets may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But they can be as aggressive, annoying and destructive as just about any type of insect. If you’ve noticed any yellow jackets buzzing around your home or yard, looking to build a nest, it’s wise to call an exterminator right away. Here are some reasons why:

They Can Sting Multiple Times

It’s commonly known that many types of bees die immediately after stinging someone as they lose their stinger. But that is not the case with yellow jackets. They will sting you over and over if they feel threatened. Enough stings can lead to anaphylactic shock in some people, which can cause death.

They Are Easily Provoked

Yellow jackets tend to hide their nests away from potential predators so you may not even know where they are. But they’ll know when you get close. Even the tiniest vibration will set them off. This can be something as simple as your lawnmower getting too close to a nest.

Once they feel threatened, they will swarm out of the nest and attack you, perhaps before you even realize what’s happening. To make matters worse, if they feel sufficiently threatened, they will chase you for a short distance.

They Can Nest in Strange Places

Yellow jackets will build their nests in places you do not expect, using plant fibers. Some will hide high up in trees, but others stick closer to the ground. They will nest in decaying wooden features, eventually leaving a rotting nest to cause further decomposition. They often find their way into sheds and similar structure. They’ve been known to target furniture and stacks of objects that aren’t often disturbed by humans. They like to be close to the ground, so porches and bushes are also popular nesting spots. They can even create a best underground.

Yellow jackets are dangerous, aggressive and difficult to deal with. For these reasons, it’s vitally important that you call a professional exterminator to properly deal with them. If you’ve spotted a yellow jacket on your property, call Amherst Exterminators today at 716-908-2475.

Tips to Avoid an Ant Infestation

No one wants an ant invasion in their home, but unfortunately, it’s a pretty common occurrence, particularly during the summer months. The good news is these infestations are not completely random – there are some steps you can take to keep ants out of your house. Here are some tips to keep your home ant-free this summer

Eliminate Potential Food Sources

While crumbs on a floor or smudges on a plate may not be a meal for us, they are for ants. Like any pest, ants are looking for leftover food scraps to subsist on. You can ensure they don’t find anything by keeping your floors clean, washing dirty dishes and wiping down other surfaces.

Additionally, any other food you have should be properly stored. This means putting food in sealed, air-tight containers so ants cannot get to them. If there are no easily available snacks, ants won’t be as likely to enter your home.

Get Rid of Their Entrances

In many cases, ants will enter your home through cracks around your windows, doors and foundation. Look for potential ant entrances throughout the outside of your home and seal them off with caulk. If scout ants can’t find a way into your home, you’ll be protected from the rest of the colony as well. Sealing off visible entryways makes it all the more difficult for an infestation to occur.

Unfortunately, cutting down on their food supplies and blocking off potential entrances may not be enough. There’s a chance ants might find a way into your home anyway. The best way to solve interior problems is to have maintenance treatments done on your exterior by a professional.

Amherst Exterminators has handled ant infestations and a variety of other pest removal services for more than a quarter-century. We can eliminate any type of problem you’re dealing with. Our exterminators are available 24 hours per day so call 716-908-2475 now if you have a pest issue.

How to Keep German Cockroaches Out of Your Property

Several German Cockroaches Walking In a Group Cockroaches live in and adapt to just about any type of environment and have thrived on this planet for millions of years. They are very adept at finding places of warmth where they can thrive, such as homes, businesses and more.

Should you have a cockroach problem, especially German Cockroaches, at your home, business or other property, it’s extremely important to call upon a professional exterminator for pest services that will have them safely and effectively removed.

Keep your home sanitized

One thing you can do in an attempt to keep German cockroaches out of your property is proper sanitation. While cockroaches can survive in even the harshest of environments, German cockroaches have the basic needs of food, water and shelter. Because of this it is necessary to keep all sinks, counters and surface areas in your property dry and free of food and grease particles to stop these pests from thriving and reproducing.

Call upon an exterminator for problem areas

If you have tried the above method, yet believe you have a German cockroach infestation in your space (they are about 1/2 an inch long, tend to be a brownish color) it’s important to call upon a professional exterminator to resolve the problem.

They will place residual and bait applications in common entry points of your property, as well as in ant cracks, crevices, inside of cupboards, behind refrigerators and stoves and more where German cockroaches typically linger.

It’s important to note that you and any pets will need to be out of the structure or contained in a room not being treated when the exterminators are work and for a period of time afterwards (as directed by the exterminator).

Perform regular maintenance

Once the applications have been applied, it is important to stay on top of things and clean up dead cockroaches daily, as eggs will still hatch off of the dead roaches.

It is important to avoid washing treated areas with chemical cleaners for 14 days, but you may sweep or vacuum the areas daily if desired. Also, you should not use any over the counter or organic pest control products for 30 days, as this may prevent chemicals from working properly.

It is essential that you remain patient and allow the treatment the necessary time to solve your cockroach problem.

If you believe there is a German cockroach problem at your home, business or other property, we ask that you contact our friendly and experienced team at Amherst Exterminators.

We have the expertise to remove these creepy pests from your Western New York property and promise that we won’t finish the job until the pests are completely gone.

Give us a call today at 716.908.2475 for a FREE ESTIMATE.

Effective Rodent Control for Your Home

Mouse on trap with cheese When it comes to keeping rodents out of your home, there are several measures that can be taken in its interior and exterior to ensure these pesky critters stay where they belong.

Whether it be rodent proofing, well placed traps at entry points of your home, baiting with rodenticides and more, these remedies will effectively keep rodents at bay when the temperature drops.

Rodent proof your home

One of the most effective ways of controlling rodents is by making sure all cracks, holes and openings are properly sealed in the entryways of your home.

Mice are extremely crafty when it comes to getting into homes and have the ability to squeeze into extremely small areas. If you see any cracks or holes near entry points where you can fit a pencil, it is suggested to fill in these openings to prevent easy access.

While you can create a makeshift seal to protect your home for the time being, it is suggested to have a professional rodent control company to your home to provide the long-lasting sealing you require.

Well placed traps

While rodent proofing your home can keep mice and rats at bay, many rodents will still attempt to enter your home through chewing and gnawing. In the event that they are able to get into your home through these techniques, it is important to have well placed traps indoors.

A professional rodent control company will have the experience and knowledge to place traps in the most effective areas (out of reach of children) and will even come back regularly to monitor the traps.

Baiting with rodenticides

Another effective means of rodent control is through baiting with rodenticides outside of your home.

Locked, secured rodent stations will be expertly placed around the foundation of your home, and when baited with rodenticide, will effectively attract then eliminate the rodent problem from your property.

If you believe that you have rodents on or inside your property and want to have them safely and effectively removed, we ask that you call on our team at Amherst Exterminators.

We are the experts to call for rodent identification and removal in the Western New York area and will be honored to get to work at your home to make it rodent free. Call us today at 716.908.2475 to get started.

Reasons to Hire an Exterminator for Fall Exterior Maintenance

Fall is one of the most important times of year to call on a professional exterminator as insects are on the move looking to find a home for the winter season.

Spiders, ants and other insects will often enter homes or businesses as they provide shelter and warmth until the spring rolls around.

Exterior maintenance during the fall season will help ensure that your property is protected from these insects. Whether you’re concerned about these pests entering at the ground floor, through windows on a second story or anything in between, a professional exterminator will have the experience and applications to have your property protected from its foundation to peak.

Prevent spiders & ants from entering your property

Nobody likes insects crawling through their property. They are not only unsightly, but certain insects pose health risks and can cause damage to your property’s foundation.

Fall exterior maintenance services will help create a barrier between your home and the outside world and will ward off pesky spiders, ants and more from causing unnecessary damage.

There may be times where a few insects enter the home after the maintenance has been performed, but maintenance will prevent a full-on infestation and is the key to long-term protection.

Get outside peak to foundation maintenance

As mentioned above, exterior maintenance services provided during the fall will help protect your home against a variety of insects.

To ensure the utmost protection, many extermination companies will provide peak to foundation maintenance service. This simply means that they will provide protection to areas of your property that include overhangs, windows, doors, seams and cracks, as well as the standard ground floor services.

Treating all surfaces of your property will decrease the chances of insects entering during the winter months.

Get the very best applications on the market

When you hire an extermination team for fall maintenance, your property will be getting applications that have proven to be successful. Ask about applications such as Talstar, which have been shown to be extremely successful at warding off insects during the fall and winter seasons.

Please note that these applications can take up to 30 days to reach their peak effectiveness, so it’s important to be patient.

If you’re interested in having fall exterior maintenance services for your property in the Western New York area, we ask that you think of our team at Amherst Exterminators.

For years, we’ve offered the very best peak to foundation maintenance services with Talstar applications to ensure your property is completely protected against spiders, ants and more.

Give us a call today at 716.908.2475 for a free estimate or to learn more.

Importance of Removing a Bee’s Nest Before Winter

If you’ve noticed a bee’s nest on your property this summer and think you’ve made it through the worst, you will be surprised to know bees can actually keep their nests through changing seasons. In many cases, a bee’s nest can stand for several generations when firmly entrenched in a space.

Make sure the nest on your property does not become a yearly nuisance by calling a professional exterminator to have it safely and effectively removed.

This will not only keep your family safe but can potentially save you big by avoiding damage to your property.

Bees can live through winter

There’s a misconception out there that bees die off once the late fall and winter rolls around. Although this is true for some of the bees in a colony, many bee populations (including carpenter bees) will actually rest during winter and reappear for mating season when the weather turns in the spring.

They can nest in your home

Bees are able to survive the winter months, even in colder climates, because of the way that they make their nests. They will typically chew through wood and create their nest inside to keep warm. Most nests are found in unpainted wood, where it is easiest to chew through.

If a bee population does create a safe and warm area to nest, they will not only become a nuisance for you each spring and summer but can create costly property damage to your home.

Nests can last for generations

If a nest is not taken out in the first year that it’s on your property, it can actually continue to grow with several generations all living inside the growing nest.

This will cause further damage to the wooden frame of your home, can attract other critters and can even cause wood to rot.

To avoid a sustained problem at your home, it is highly suggested that you have the bee’s nest removed by an expert exterminator.

If you live in the Western New York area and are looking for such an exterminator, we ask that you reach out to our team at Amherst Exterminators. We have years of experience removing bee’s nests from homes in the area and will make sure your property is protected now and in the future. Call us today at 716.908.2475 to schedule your service.