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Pest Control/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| bug cocoon | 2/9/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I recently found several cocoons approximately 1/8" long, brown in color, hard to the touch with a ... A: Shannon, I'd need a picture to be certain but from your description I think you have either a small ... | ||
| red squirrels | 2/6/2012 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: We have I red squirrels in our walls. Our home was built in the early 1970's. The Critter experts ... A: Sounds like you have a company that has a clue. Yes, red squirrels can enter structures at ground ... | ||
| sawyer pine beetle | 1/30/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I do have a infested pine tree close to my 40 yr old pine log cabin . This past fall the sawyer ... A: Chris, The pine sawyer won't infest the logs in your log cabin because they need live or recently ... | ||
| Bug Problem? | 1/26/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: DeAngelis, I am assuming by apartment has a bug problem, but I'm not sure what bug is causing it. ... A: Wondering, Since the bites/irritation have stopped and you've not detected any bed bugs in your ... | ||
| Rodent soiled insulation replacement question | 1/25/2012 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: I saw a question posted to you by someone else regarding a problem that I have as well. ... A: Well you still have to provide more information not for me but for yourself. Are you replacing the ... | ||
| Tricky Rat | 1/25/2012 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: Vantassel, My townhouse community experienced an increase in rats several months ago so the manager ... A: Don't waste your time with repellents unless you have lots of money to throw away. Don't know how ... | ||
| Rodent soiled insulation replacement question | 1/24/2012 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: I saw a question posted to you by someone else regarding a problem that I have as well. ... A: I think this is a tough question. It's relative. You didn't say what kind of rodents, it does make a ... | ||
| postpowder beetles | 1/19/2012 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: I live in Hawaii and have heard about boring beetles that bore little holes in wood. I pulled out a ... A: As far as treatment lets first determine that there is not any damage to the furniture that the ... | ||
| bird mites | 1/13/2012 | Rene Kesecker |
| Q: we live in the middle east. two years earlier we moved into a house, in which the previous landlord ... A: Sasa, From the sounds of it you are well on your way to having this situation under control. Because ... | ||
| oriental cockroaches and cat food? | 1/12/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live on the top floor of a 2 family home. My neighbors live on the ground floor + furnished ... A: Cockroach baits are generally safe around pets. Don't put them near the pet's feeding dish and put ... | ||
| oriental cockroaches and cat food? | 1/12/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live on the top floor of a 2 family home. My neighbors live on the ground floor + furnished ... A: Amanda, ANY sources of food (wet or dry) and water will be attractive to cockroaches. Dry versus ... | ||
| oriental cockroaches and cat food? | 1/12/2012 | Michael Furlong |
| Q: I live on the top floor of a 2 family home. My neighbors live on the ground floor + furnished ... A: Moisture is an issue and a permanent solution would be to find their nests and remove harborage and ... | ||
| Termite question | 1/10/2012 | Michael Furlong |
| Q: I saw on tv once that termites produce methane in quantity to cause explosions. If you had termites ... A: No. I suppose an accumulated amount by billions of termites in a concentrated area could have an ... | ||
| FL Trees infested with White Flies | 1/9/2012 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: Happy New Year! I live in FL. The White Fly is swarming all over all trees here, all their leaves ... A: Happy New Year to you. White fly tap into the flesh of plants, introducing toxic saliva and ... | ||
| Florida White Fly infestation | 1/9/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Happy New Year! I live in FL. The White Fly is swarming all over all trees here, all their leaves ... A: Rick, Severe whitefly infestations can cause defoliation and can stunt or even kill plants. Also, ... | ||
| White Fly in FL | 1/9/2012 | Michael Furlong |
| Q: Happy New Year! I live in FL. The White Fly is swarming all over all trees here, all their leaves ... A: White fly should not kill your trees- they can be very harmful to fruit production in some plants ... | ||
| Mice Holes | 1/5/2012 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: I bought a new end-unit townhouse which has a mice problem. I understand why the mice are here ... A: How did the exterminator inspect? Did he use a ladder, black light, non-toxic tracking powder? Go ... | ||
| cockroach problems | 1/4/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Jack, Thank you for your time. I have lived in my house for 10 years and never had much problem ... A: Tanya, It is much better to use baits for cockroaches rather than sprays. Sprays can be very toxic, ... | ||
| night flying insects rendering security cameras useless | 1/4/2012 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: I have a customer in a residential home in Leninists CA. They are probably a few miles from the ... A: I have been asked several times of what can be done and I am by no means a camera person but the ... | ||
| Tiny bugs found crawling on wall | 1/2/2012 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I have recently found many tiny brownish bugs crawling on my bedroom's wall. They are of sizes ... A: Valerie, From your description I'd guess either grain mites (also called mold mites) or psocids ... | ||
| Booklice | 12/21/2011 | Jeff Teague |
| Q: I have a question regarding booklice in my kitchen. It has been a while that I'm dealing with it but ... A: Mujda, Here is a link to Penn State fact sheet on book lice. ... | ||
| bugs/carpet beetles | 12/18/2011 | George E Serdes |
| Q: i first saw these bugs in my upsatirs bathroom, then in my kitchen and downstairs bathroom. As soon ... A: Sorry it's has taken me so long to get back to you. I've had some computer issues... The key to ... | ||
| small white bugs in the bedroom carpet | 12/14/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We have found small white bugs under our bed in the carpet, they do not seem to be crawling up walls ... A: Charlie, These are probably grain mites, also called mold mites (see ... | ||
| bushy tailed woodrat | 12/14/2011 | Rene Kesecker |
| Q: We have a cottage in the whiteshell, which is in south-east corner of Manitoba. This past weekend, ... A: Yes you are right...bird seed should be avoided around the cottage as it will encourage them to hang ... | ||
| bugs/carpet beetles | 12/12/2011 | George E Serdes |
| Q: i first saw these bugs in my upsatirs bathroom, then in my kitchen and downstairs bathroom. As soon ... A: First, are you absolutely certain they are "carpet beetles"? There are many different species of ... | ||
| Tiny ants | 12/11/2011 | Michael Furlong |
| Q: These little creatures are so small they are barely visible, but they have eaten holes 3 or 4 inches ... A: Pat, You may have an issue with carpenter ants but they are not usually that small. They do nest in ... | ||
| Insects/bugs due to deconstruction next door? | 12/7/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I've lived in my apartment for 3 years, and it was only recently that I come across this problem I'm ... A: Sounds like you've found the source of the psocids. To be certain you'd need to capture a few and ... | ||
| Insects/bugs due to deconstruction next door? | 12/7/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I've lived in my apartment for 3 years, and it was only recently that I come across this problem I'm ... A: Rai, Your description sounds like a psocid or booklouse (if you post a picture I could confirm). ... | ||
| droppings in attic | 12/2/2011 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: I have found flat very shiny plastic like pellets in my attic. At first I found them in a bucket of ... A: Well the key word in your question is shiny. Sounds as if you may have a few bats in the attic. ... | ||
| yellow stains | 11/28/2011 | Stephen Vantassel |
| Q: I was cleaning out a closet when I noticed some yellow stains on the floor. I had previously put ... A: I seriously doubt the problem is mice. Their urine output is in microdroplets. Also you would see ... | ||
| Termites? | 11/27/2011 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: I decided to ask a question here because I can't seem to get the attention of the landlord or the ... A: I would say that the debris that is coming through the trim above window would be frass from ... | ||
| Something eating our clothes! | 11/26/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: We live in Melbourne, Australia, and I’ve struck a problem I’ve never had before. We moved into a ... A: Lyn, This does not look like typical insect damage plus insects only rarely damage cotton cloth. ... | ||
| Cockroaches in Dishwasher | 11/24/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I just got a used portable, counter-top dishwasher. I brought it home & ran an empty load w/ bleach ... A: Ann, Baits are the best way to control cockroaches so your efforts so far are correct. See ... | ||
| Termites? | 11/23/2011 | Steve Oswalt |
| Q: I decided to ask a question here because I can't seem to get the attention of the landlord or the ... A: In the debris do you see any insect parts and is the debris hard? It looks to be aggregate from the ... | ||
| Bed bugs via shipping packages | 11/16/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I (as I'm sure most other people) have been hearing a lot about bed bugs lately. I'm beginning to do ... A: Amy, Not very likely. Bed bugs occur in areas where people sleep. Since they can't fly, or move ... | ||
| RID-X Bugs | 11/12/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: Today I found my laundry room infested with Drugstore Beetles. I went on line after I found the ... A: Tim, Drugstore beetles develop on a wide variety of organic material (see ... | ||
| Small flying insects | 11/12/2011 | George E Serdes |
| Q: There are flying insects in my house that are harmless but annoying. They are reproducing very fast, ... A: There are many, many different small flying insects. It is absolutely necessary to know exactly what ... | ||
| bed bugs | 11/12/2011 | Jeff Teague |
| Q: We have recently had bed bugs in our apartment. Our landlord has had a few units have them as well ... A: Ashley, I have seen many different levels of treatment between pest control companies. If your bed ... | ||
| Flea bomb problem | 11/8/2011 | Jeff Teague |
| Q: I bombed my bedroom and closet. After washing clothes 3 times in the washer I still can not get the ... A: Lynne, The residue would be based on the brand of total release fogger you used. You should ... | ||
| Black round bugs coming from roof of camper | 11/6/2011 | Jack DeAngelis |
| Q: I live in Yukon (nice cold temperatures in winter) but I bought a camper from rainy Vancouver last ... A: Sheila, I'm sorry but I can't tell what the "lady bug" or the "tiny black slivers" are without a ... | ||
Pest Control
Answers by Expert:
Jack DeAngelis
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions about the control of pest insects, spiders, mites and related arthropods. These household pests include termites, carpenter ants, powderpost beetles, nuisance ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, fleas, wasps, and many others. I can also answer questions about using pesticides and other pest control tools such as baits and traps.
Experience
I am a retired university extension entomologist. I've taught and conducted research in urban and agricultural entomology. I've published over 70 extension publications, 20 research publications and several books about insects.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Entomology
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