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About Stephen Vantassel
(Top Expert on this page)

Expertise
I was a professional animal damage controller. If you are having problems with squirrels, raccoons, beavers, moles, voles, etc. damaging your property, I can help give you information to resolve that damage. I was an assistant editor for Wildlife Control Technology magazine and have published numerous articles as well as two books in this field.

Experience
former Assistant Editor of Wildlife Control Technology magazine, the nation's only exclusive professional magazine for animal damage controllers. I have published two books, the Wildlife Removal Handbook and the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook.
   

You are here:  Experts > Science > Insects/Spiders > Pests

SubjectDate AskedExpert

Ants and more Ants7/18/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: Help Please Black small, kinda fat ants keep infestiing my garden. I have some Eugenia around the ...
  A: The mulch is not attract to them unless the ants see it as an easy place to build a nest. I would ...
Fox in our yard7/16/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: We live in a rural area of upstate NY. We have 2 cats, one of which spends a lot of time outside in ...
  A: Your cat is in grave danger. Just as your cat is predating on other animals, it may also be preyed ...
saveing my crabapple treee7/16/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: i have black ants on my 2 year old crabapple tree with allot of bumpy looking things on the bark and ...
  A: Sounds like a scale insect more than liley San Jose scale. One of the most important pests of the ...
beavers or...?7/15/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: it seems unlikely that beavers could be causing this damage. the site says they are 13" long and ...
  A: Then ground squirrel would be my next guess. Too large for vole. Too small for rabbit. You are ...
chipmunks and rabbits7/15/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: tell me how to get rid of two chipmunks that have taken up residence underneath my front stoop. ...
  A: Chipmunks and Structures Inspection: Find how they are entering the structure. Look for 1” holes ...
more on animals eating my plants7/14/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: sorry--i meant to write that i live in northern california, ukiah, which is 2 hours north of bay on ...
  A: Looks too big for vole. Since you are in northern CA, I think you have mountain beaver. ...
Transient Skunks7/14/2008Dan Jincks
  Q: Wondering if there is any product to deter skunks from parading through property? They are living ...
  A: Yeah skunks will do that. Their activity varies with the time of year. Sometime they are settled to ...
animals eating my plants7/14/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: i've put in a garden in the last year, and this year fairly large holes are appearing in the soil ...
  A: Tough to say as you haven't provided enough information such as location. First, are you absolutely ...
sawdust falling from my trees7/14/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: I live in Northern Nevada. I have two locust trees that seem to be shedding sawdust. The plants ...
  A: This is a insect called the locust borer. The locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) belongs ...
varmint ID by droppings7/13/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: We live in rural North Central Texas app. 7 miles from the Tx/Ok border. Our problem is with a ...
  A: Got various ideas but to list them would only add confusion. My first suggestion is to visit ...
Squash problems7/13/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: Mike, I had some of my squash develop a black mold on the small fruit. Now, I am losing some of my ...
  A: Jerry, it sounds like your plants have developed a bacterial disease which is normally spread by an ...
moles in lawn7/10/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: We had a beautiful lawn and moles are tearing it up. We do have multiple flower beds to add to the ...
  A: Getting rid of moles Before anything make sure the problem you are complaining of is moles and not ...
chipmunk7/5/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: A baby chipmunk is digging up all of my flowers and shrubs. How can I safely deter him from our ...
  A: There are no chemicals or repellents that are effective in repelling chipmunks. You have ...
Zeuzera pyrina7/5/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: .. I live in Iran and I'm working on Zeuzera pyrina... I want to know about available formulas or ...
  A: I am sorry, I am not familiar with Zeuzera pyrina. Perhaps I should note that I only deal with ...
pests on my annuals7/2/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: I have large pots planted with annuals: potato vines, New Guinea impatiens, ageratum, alyssum. Some ...
  A: Judy, the pesticide you are using is called pyrethrum. As you mentioned, it is derived from the ...
Weird fly things around my garden pond7/1/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: Dont know if im in the wright section here but. I live in England and ive recently just upgraded a ...
  A: Sounds like one of the dragon flies. A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order ...
pests6/30/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: i have planted sun flowers and one by one they have gotten eatened.hey get cut right offat the base. ...
  A: Fred, unless you see what the culprit is, I can only surmise that the animal is a groundhog, rabbit, ...
Something's eating my plants.6/30/2008Dan Jincks
  Q: First off: Many thanks for any help you can provide. I live in north-central Massachusetts, in an ...
  A: If you saw a groundhog... that's the likely culprit. However deer are night foragers and would go ...
Something's eating my plants.6/30/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: First off: Many thanks for any help you can provide. I live in north-central Massachusetts, in an ...
  A: Sounds like your woodchuck is fattening up. Mothballs are little more than a placebo, but as you ...
Grass Spiders6/29/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: It has been very rainy here (in Gloucester, MA) for 2 days and I came out to find dozens (and ...
  A: The webs are built to catch insects. Usually small flying insects. They are there most of the time ...
Large Bobcat6/27/2008Dan Jincks
  Q: I have seen a very large male bobcat, a good 50 lbs., roaming around near my house. I live in a ...
  A: Your pets are definitely at risk. Bobcat are great climbers. Even if you put a wire on top it might ...
Brown bugs6/27/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: I live in NC and we have had the worst garden ever, i have thses little brown bugs eating ...
  A: They could be flea beetles or mites, but it is very difficult to determine which insect it is ...
maple tree6/26/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: I have a maple tree (not sure what species), brighter green leaves. Every year it gets these ...
  A: These are maple spindle galls. Maple spindle gall is caused by mites. The galls are found on soft ...
chipmunks6/23/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: We live in the woods w/ lot's of tree's and nuts and have small holes all over our surrounding area ...
  A: If you are looking for some sort of repellent to drive the chipmunks elsewhere, don't waste your ...
tomato pest6/17/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: Mike--We have a bunch of critters on our Roma Tomato plant(not on our other tomato plants)that are ...
  A: Although spider mites, thrips, whiteflies, and aphids are the most common pests that attack ...
Southern Pine Sawyer Beetle6/16/2008Jim Hyland
  Q: I encountered a large beetle in my home and learned that it was a southern pine sawyer beetle. Are ...
  A: This sawyer occurs throughout the eastern and southern United States and is destructive to pine logs ...
Raccoons in house6/12/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: there is a family of racoons in my crawl space in the bathroom what can you do to take them out
  A: Trapping is really your only option besides poison if they are in the house. Trapping is relatively ...
ground squirrel or rat?6/10/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I live in the AZ desert on 3 acres. What I thought were cute little ground squirrels are now ...
  A: You can visit http://www.icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/FranklinSquirrels.asp to learn options on ...
ground squirrel or rat?6/10/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I live in the AZ desert on 3 acres. What I thought were cute little ground squirrels are now ...
  A: Don't waste your time or money with repellents. They won't work. I doubt you have woodchucks but ...
birds6/10/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: My two little boys have a little garden in the backyard. We planted grapes and blueberries for the ...
  A: The netting shouldn't hurt the birds provided it is able to be seen. There is a small risk of a bird ...
unidentified spear shaped egg or droppings6/6/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I hope you can help me to identify. It is a larger than a rice spear shaped with a hard surface ...
  A: Unfortunately, without more information it would be difficult to give a definitive diagnosis. I am ...
armadillos6/4/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: do you know of a good remedy to rid your yard of armadillos? we have never had the problem until ...
  A: Armadillos Repellents There are not any federally registered repellents for armadillos at this ...
Honeysuckle eater6/2/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: About a month ago I planted a honeysuckle about 3 feet away from a mature pine tree. I ran a wire ...
  A: Tough to say, my first guess would deer. Tracks aren't always left as track presence depend on ...
hedge hogs eating my tomatoes?6/1/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I need some advice. I have several large hedge hogs cleaning out my tomato garden. They eat the ...
  A: I'm sorry but I have no experience with hedgehogs as they aren't native to the U.S. By hedgehog you ...
Red bugs5/31/2008Mike Mascio
  Q: My name is luke I live in Southern Indiana and I am nine years old. I was out side sitting on ...
  A: Luke, there are literally hundreds of red insects, so it is very hard to give you a definitive ...
house squirrels5/29/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I have a lot of noise in my walls in the late evening - no scratching - just sort of bumps. No ...
  A: There could be a myriad of reasons. First scratching is a lighter sound. Maybe it is too low for you ...
Plants are getting eaten by something!5/29/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I have some random flowers that I put in some pots and everyday they are getting eaten by something. ...
  A: Hmm. Unfortunately, I don't have much to go on here. I don't know your location, time of day the ...
Lots of Bees in tree5/28/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I hope I am asking the right person. Anyway I have a honey locust tree in my front yard by the ...
  A: Look in the yellow pages for bee keeper or call your local extension office. Honey bees, if that is ...
Red Fox5/27/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: There is a family of red fox living under my neighbors shed, but they seem to like my yard at ...
  A: Foxes can be kept out of gardens through fencing. Fencing would need to be at least 4 feet high and ...
house squirrels5/27/2008Stephen Vantassel
  Q: I have a lot of noise in my walls in the late evening - no scratching - just sort of bumps. No ...
  A: You need to have a proper inspection done. Squirrels only need 1.5" hole. Rats need 1/2 inch hole. ...

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Questions by
Active Experts:
Dan JincksJim HylandStephen Vantassel
Mike Mascio  

     
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