Residential & Commercial Pest Control in Port Reading, NJ

Recently, we were sent out to a new Home Protection Plan customers home in Port Reading, NJ to handle a mice problem. When we arrived, the homeowner mentioned hearing noises in his attic. We inspected the area and found multiple mice tunnels in the insulation and mice droppings throughout the attic. Apparently, the mice were climbing along the joists of the attic and digging through the insulation, which explains the scratching noise the homeowner heard. 

As we continued inspecting the home, we found a tiny hole in the roof that the mice were using to infest the home. We told the owner and, once the mice are gone, she will hire a roofer to repair the damage. In the meantime we carefully cleaned up the droppings and placed several rodent bait stations in the attic, the two rooms on the second floor, and along the exterior of the home. We will return for several follow-up visits to monitor the infestation and replenish the bait stations as needed. 

Since the insulation in the attic was saturated with mice urine and their droppings, we told the owner that all the contaminated insulation must be removed and disposed of once the mice are gone. She agreed and mentioned that she will contact our Attic & Crawl Space division to remove all the contaminated insulation, disinfect the area, and add blown-in cellulose insulation. 

I was doing my routine commercial service in Port Reading at an assisted living center that serves primarily lower income residents. During these service visits, I inspect all rooms and treat as needed. I am especially cautious in senior living facilities to ensure that there is not a bed bug problem, especially when there have been bed bug problems in the past, like with this facility. 

Bed bug infestations are especially common in high density living arrangements such as apartment complexes, college dorms, and nursing and assisted living facilities.  Unfortunately, the  elderly in these facilities often have diminished senses, especially vision, and diminished mental capacity to even recognize that there is an infestation. Also, many of the elderly in these facilities are on steroid medications like prednisone to reduce inflammation from arthritis and other conditions. As a result, they are less sensitive to, and may be totally unaware of, bed bug bites. 

Fortunately, my caution paid off. During my inspection, I observed active bed bug activity in one of the units. Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers that latch on to a person or their belongings to go from one host to the next. I don’t want to inadvertently have a bug crawl onto me where I could carry it back to the Cowleys offices (and have my boss Bill Cowley upset with me) or to my own home (and, even worse, have my wife upset with me). I went back to my truck and put on a Tyvek suit to seal my clothing from any bugs. 

The first step for bed bug treatment is thorough vacuuming. I vacuumed the entire unit to remove all the active and bed bugs and their remnants, including their shed skins from molting, from the bed, bed frame, and around wall line. Any crack or crevice is a potential harborage space for these parasites. Once I collected all of the live bed bugs, I was ready to treat the room. I placed my applications around base boards, bed side furniture, and bed frames. Once finished with my treatments, I dusted all of the electrical outlets to kill any bugs hiding in the walls that may have escaped treatment. 

Finally, I noticed that the encasement on this resident’s bed had small splits and holes. For bed bug encasements to be effective, they must form a complete impermeable seal around the mattress and box spring. I spoke with the manager of the assisted living center and asked him to replace the encasement as soon as possible. Fortunately, he found an extra one in their storage room. I helped him place the brand new encasement on the infested bed. This encasement will trap any bed bugs hiding in the mattress and stop them from biting the resident. These bugs feed exclusively off human blood, and I did not want to leave this facility until I was sure that these bugs would not be given another opportunity for a blood meals from this hapless resident who had suffered enough.