What bugs you feeds them
Dave Ellenberger's truck looks a little like the place where zoo meets science lab: A couple of caged raccoons are packed amid coveralls, snake tongs and mysterious solutions, ready to spray from a stainless canister.
Oh. And don't forget the helmet and netting. Those help when Ellenberger faces nests of hornets. And a respirator is handy when dealing with bats.
"I get called Batman more than Bruce Wayne, probably," said Ellenberger of Karns City, whose pest removal services often involve the flying mammals.
But Ellenberger is among a pool of professionals also certified to remove bugs, snakes, rodents and larger animals when called by frantic homeowners.
In addition to helping remove the pests, Ellenberger and his peers can offer trouble-shooting tips and advice on thwarting the visits.
Raccoons and groundhogs can be cute in the woods, less so near roads and homes.But that doesn't prevent them from venturing close to residences and, in many cases, inside.Along with commercial exterminators, however, two state government agencies are available to help.The U.S. Department of Agriculture employs about 10 wildlife technicians in its Wildlife Services branch, based in Westmoreland County and covering Western Pennsylvania.Phil Heagy, among those technicians, said the agency doesn't deal in mice and other small rodents, but does exterminate raccoons, groundhogs and similar-sized animals. They also deal with bat infestations.A fee is charged since the agency doesn't receive government funds for such work except as part
They may be small, but tiny pavement ants prompt many homeowner calls to Ellenberger, who says Terro and similar bait products work on these ants and others attracted to sweets. But the products don’t work on grease ants, which comprise about 10 percent of local species. Those ants are difficult to treat without professional help, Ellenberger said.As with many insect pests, carpenter ants can be treated by spraying the perimeter of the home with a store-bought pesticide, since active ingredients are typically the same as with commercial solutions, which are sold in higher concentrations.According to Ellenberger, it’s the spray applicators in retail stores that undermine a pesticide’s success.Since most retail hand-spray containers would cause physical discomfort if used long enough to apply the right amount of pesticide, Ellenberger recommends transferring the solution to a deck sprayer or garden sprayer, making sure to label the sprayers accordingly since modern day pesticides have little odor and might be difficult to identify later.The same is true with powders and dusts.“Powders are awesome, but they don’t sell an application device, so you have to sprinkle it from a cup,” Ellenberger said.To remedy the problem, he suggests finding a handheld dust-bulb applicator online. A squeeze of the dust bulb can distribute dry pesticide in areas that sprays can’t reach — especially around corners or behind walls. Yellow jackets residing in walls, he noted, will eat drywall, regurgitating it to build a hive.In those cases, the dust bulbs can eliminate the need to drill multiple holes to locate the problem.“It doesn’t seem like it, but a dust bulb will shoot dust about 12 feet,” he said.Yellow jackets also live in holes in the ground. Those can be filled with gasoline, but not ignited. The fumes alone do the trick.In the case of external hives built by hornets and wasps, Ellenberger suggests spraying the hive with a contact pesticide when all insects are inside the hive — usually at night. If the hive is sprayed during the day, while bees, hornets or wasps are outside, use a residual-type pesticide, which continues to work by rubbing off on insects that come and go from the hive.The residual pesticide also can be sprayed as a preventive measure where hives are likely to appear.Modern pesticides have become more user-friendly, he added, since most degrade shortly after use.To prevent other infestations such as with ladybugs and flies, he suggests spraying around internal and external corners where walls meet ceilings and floors. Other sites include around windows and doors, behind switch plates, around light fixtures, under sinks, behind toilets, around basement sill plates, behind water heaters and pumps and in utility rooms.Since flying ants are often mistaken for termites, Ellenberger also offers suggestions on dealing with the wood-eating pests, which are present in swarms indoors or outdoors between February and May.Catch a few in a baggie and examine them more closely, counting the body segments that distinguish the two insects. A termite has a head plus a body segment that combines the thorax and abdomen. A flying ant has three well-defined segments instead of two. Termites also leave thin, muddy streaks down walls.
Like raccoons, skunks and other mammals, bats can carry rabies.They also can enter homes through small, coin-sized openings — so infestations are common and tedious to rectify.Ellenberger said a law in recent years banned the killing of bats to protect the state’s endangered varieties. Prior to the law, a percentage of bat removals included disposing of bats, but now bats can only be sealed out of structures by plugging holes and installing one-way doors, so the animals can fly out but not re-enter.Although nine bat species are found in Pennsylvania, big brown and little brown bats are among the most common.The bats often relocate to neighboring houses, Ellenberger noted. Special bat boxes can be built or purchased to help the bats relocate, but those usually attract male bats instead of the whelping females, he added.Since bats often use attics for whelping, their removal shouldn’t be done in summer months, typically June and July, when young bats unable to fly would be sealed indoors.Aside from the eventual smell from the trapped mammals, Ellenberger said the young bats potentially could crawl onto sofas or other spots where they would bite, unable to escape an unknowing human.If homeowners are interested in correcting their own bat problems, Ellenberger warns that cleanup should be done with care — using a HEPA vacuum, respirator and protective clothing — since contact with the guano, or droppings, can lead to respiratory illness.To find a specialist to remove bats or other nuisance pests, consumers can get a list of licensed exterminators from the Penn State Extension office in Butler Township. That number is 724-287-4761. Consumers also can call the USDA Wildlife Services division at 724-263-9199 or the Game Commission at 814-432-3187.Insect exterminators are licensed through the state Department of Agriculture. Wildlife exterminators are licensed through the state Game Commission.
