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What’s that scratching in my walls? Pt 1 Yellow Jackets

You don’t forget the first time you hear it, and you can’t just forget about it.  There is something in your wall or ceiling and it is scratching, clawing, or chewing.  What could it be?  In this series of the DIY Pest Controller, we will explore the most common causes and solutions to a scratching sound in your wall or ceiling.

 

I have occasionally received a service call request to treat for rodents in a home.  The homeowner will state that they “all of a sudden” started hearing a scratching or chewing sound in the wall or ceiling.  If there is an attic above the ceiling, we can eliminate some possible causes of the sounds.  If no animal droppings are seen in the attic, or if the insulation does not look disturbed by rodents (or something larger), then it’s time to start thinking that the sound is insect related.

 

 

If the sound is coming from a wall, simply place your ear to the wall and listen to the sound.  If the sound sounds like wings flapping, the issue is typically a bird or bat.  A bird or bat trapped in a wall is more typical in older homes where the wall voids are greater.  Refer to our series on animals in your home for more information.

 

 

There are 2 types of insects that will make noise like chewing or scratching and should be treated.  The first is a yellow jacket nest, which we will cover in this article, the second is carpenter ants, which will be covered in our next article in this series.  To verify if you have yellow jackets or carpenter ants making the sound, go outside and look around the area where you have been hearing the sound on the inside.  If you see a lot of yellow jackets flying around that area or see them coming and going from your home, you have a nest in the house.

 

Once you have verified that you have a yellow jacket nest in the wall or ceiling, it is time to treat the nest and remove it.  If the nest is allowed to continue, it will very quickly grow and wear away at the drywall in-between you and the nest.  Often times, I can put my finger easily through the wall or ceiling drywall because the moisture in the nest has made the drywall paper-thin.  You will want to use an approved aerosol insecticide that is labeled for use on yellow jackets and wasps.  Make sure you have at least 2 cans because once you start the treatment, you shouldn’t stop until the treatment is complete. The last thing you want is to begin applying the insecticide and run out, allowing the still alive yellow jackets to pour out of the nest and voice their displeasure with your actions.

 

  • Drill or poke a small hole in the drywall directly over the nest (where you suspect the nest is).
  • Apply the approved aerosol insecticide in a manner that is in compliance with its stated label
  • Continue to apply the insecticide until you are confident that it has permeated the wall or ceiling void.
  • Once all of the yellow jackets are no longer a threat, it is time to remove the nest. Removal of the nest is critical to prevent future infestations
  • If the drywall is super soft and thin, remove that entire section since it will need to be replaced anyways. Otherwise, cut a section out so that you can access and remove all of the nest material
  • Apply an insecticidal dust into the void, making sure that the product that you use is labeled to do so. This will prevent the bees that were not in the nest from entering the former nesting area.
  • Caulk or seal up the gap on the outside where the bees were entering the house.

After the nest has been treated, removed, and the entrance sealed up, temporarily close up the drywall area that you cut open.  This will prevent any straggler bees from entering the livable space of your home.  You can use a simple barrier of cardboard and tape until you can get the drywall patched and repaired.

 

A final word of caution:

Yellow jackets are not like honey bees.  They are aggressive, stinging insects that love to defend their home.  If you or someone in your home is allergic to bee stings, this may not be the project to tackle yourself.  Once the treatment begins, there is no going back.  Hire a professional if you think that this may be outside of your comfort level.

Admin

Small ants in the kitchen, a cautionary tale

We’ve all had them at some point, those tiny ants in the kitchen.  The type of ants where the yoga forums tell you to use patchouli oil and vinegar to treat.  After spraying natural chemicals, you move onto a can of whatever insecticide they sell at your hardware store but the ants remain.  You keep your kitchen clean, so why do you have ants?

 

The best method to treat those small ants in the kitchen is to use an insecticidal bait.  Spraying this type of ant can cause the colony to become distressed but not be eradicated.  You might think, “who cares if they become distressed?”.  If the colony becomes distressed, it can split the colony in order to survive.  If the colonies (plural now) are allowed to continue to flourish, your spraying just doubled the ants you have.  These ants are mostly moisture driven so it doesn’t matter that your kitchen is immaculately clean.

 

Using a bait type insecticide allows the ants to consume the bait and transfer it to other members of the colony.  In the few hours after you apply the bait, you will see more ants.  That’s a good thing to see.  It means that the ants like the bait, are eating it, and are taking it back to their friends and family.  Resist the urge to kill these ants and allow them to continue to feed.  After a few days you should see less and less ants.

 

The underlying cause for this issue is moisture.  Maybe you’ve just had a spell of rain where the ground is saturated.  Maybe you have some plumbing issues behind the sink or below the kitchen which is providing a moisture rich environment.  If you are able to locate and eliminate the moisture, you will help prevent future infestations.  Of course, a pest control professional has the tools, and the knowhow to find these areas and protect your home.

Admin

How did I get mice?!

Maybe it happens every year, like the changing of the seasons or the turning of the page on the calendar.  Maybe you’ve just been awakened from a great slumber at 2am and this is the first time that you have heard the sound.  The scratching, squeaking, rustling sound of mice in your home.  In this article, we will explore why you got mice and what you can do now to help prevent it from happening again.

 

Mice, like you and me, require some basic necessities to sustain life.  The big three requirements are food, water, and shelter.  Mice can, and often do, get their water through their food source.  This means that as a homeowner, you can eliminate some prime rodent necessities to lower your chance of getting mice.

 

Prevention always starts on the outside of the home.  Even if you are currently having a rodent issue, inspecting the outside of the home can shed some light on where and how the mice are entering your home.  Look for areas where there is a hole in your home from the outside to the inside.  Check where any water pipes, electrical lines, HVAC lines come out of the house.  Are there gaps or crevices where they come through the wall?  How about the seal at the bottom of your garage door and basement door?  These are all common ways for mice to enter the house.

 

Make sure that all food, including pet food, is in secured packaging or containers.  Mice can chew through shockingly strong materials, but will often not expend the effort if there is an easier way.

Admin

Bat in the house Part 2

This is part 2 of a 2 part series on a bat in the house. Part 1 can be found here.

So you’ve just successfully evicted that lone bat that you found flying around inside of your house.  Your sense of accomplishment and rush of adventure have faded a bit as you lie in bed attempting to fall asleep after the bat ordeal.  One nagging question keeps you from falling asleep: “How did that bat get in here?”.  In this article we will investigate some common ways for bats to enter a structure.

Check all of the windows in your home.  Sometimes when opening a window, the top part of the window will drop down a bit allowing a bat to enter.  Sometimes a door was left open and a bat came in.  If you have checked all of your windows and doors and are convinced that the bat entered another way or if you have had more than one bat in the house recently, continue below.

First, let’s determine the severity of your situation.  Do you have a colony of bats living in your home or did a lone bat enter your livable space?  If you have an attic, go into the attic and look around.  If you see a pile of rodent sized droppings in concentrated areas of the attic, then you have a colony of bats.  Bat droppings look like rodent droppings but are a little longer and will accumulate in piles.  If you see a few bat droppings, then you probably have less than 5 bats living in the attic space.  If you see no evidence of droppings in the attic, then the bat probably entered the house through another way.

Bat colonies should never be exterminated, and should almost always be evicted by a professional.

 

Bats, like mice, can enter a structure through very small openings.  Often these entrances are less than half an inch.   Unlike mice though, bats will not chew or cause damage to enter a structure.  The bats will only exploit an already existing hole, gap, or crevice to enter a structure.  Bats often will enter the attic space through gaps in the fascia board, where roof pitches meet, gable vents, other attic vents, and chimneys.  A suspected opening will show some staining where the bats have been coming and going for a period of time.

 

A professional wildlife eviction for bats will include identifying the primary entrance point and installing a bat excluding device.  This device allows the bats to leave but not re-enter the structure.  This technique is only effective if the whole house is sealed up.  This involves the professional sealing, caulking, and flashing current and future vulnerable areas where bats or other wildlife can enter the structure.  Once all of the bats have been evicted, usually 1-3 weeks, the bat device is removed and the remaining opening is sealed shut.

Removal of the bat droppings in the attic should be handled by a wildlife specialist. Bat droppings are considered hazardous materials and should be treated as such.  Our removals involve chemically treating the droppings and then removing the droppings using a special HEPA vacuum system.  Proper protective equipment should be worn at all times including respirators, suits, gloves, and head covers.

 

Once the bats have been evicted and the droppings properly treated and removed, we always treat for bed bugs.  Wait, why bed bugs?  One particular type of insect commonly found with bat infestations is the bat bug.  The bat bug is a direct cousin of the bed bug and like its cousin, it feeds on blood.  The bat bugs primary food source are the bats they live with.  Once the bats are evicted, the bat bugs do not simply leave.  The bat bugs seek out a new food source, and that happens to be the occupants of the home.  Treating the attic space and the home with an insecticide can prevent an infestation from happening.

Bat evictions and cleanups are among some of the pricier jobs that you will pay a wildlife specialist to handle but it is worth every penny.

Admin

Bat in the House Part 1

Tell me if this sounds like you right now. It’s late at night and you are awakened to what sounds like wings flapping above you. You try to convince yourself that it is just the fan making the sound or that you must have imagined the noise. Just to make sure that there is nothing there, you get up and turn on the light. That’s when you see the unmistakable shape of a bat in your room. In this article and in the next series of articles, we will discuss what to do if you find yourself in this situation.

There’s a bat in your house right now. With just a little bit of knowledge and some courage, you can rid yourself of this unwanted intruder quick and easy.

Step 1: Stay in the room with the bat and shut the door so that the bat and you are in the room together. You may be thinking “you want me to do what?!?!?!”. Trust me, the bat doesn’t want to be in there with you either, so let’s start the plan of action and get it over with.

Step 2: Turn off the fan, close the vents, and open the window. We want to eliminate all other sources of airflow in the room so that the bat can more quickly find the window and exit.

Step 3: If you must handle the bat, wear leather gloves and wait for it to land on a surface. Either grab it with your hands, or use a container to scoop it into to.

Step 4: Once the bat has been successfully evicted, close the window. Inspect the rest of the house to determine if there are any doors, windows, or other obvious points of entry.

Important Note:
It is not uncommon to get 1 bat in the house every now and again. Maybe you were carrying the groceries inside and the door was left open just long enough for a bat to enter. Maybe you opened a window to allow some air into the house and a bat came in. If you are getting more than 1 bat a month in the house or more frequently than 2 bats a year in your house, you very well may have a colony of bats living in your attic space. If you suspect you have a bat colony in your home, it is time to call the professionals in to evict that colony.

Click here for Bat in the house PART 2