We have a television producer looking for stories about infestations for a show.
This is about past infestations- anywhere up until a couple of years ago- so please post if you had that experience or know someone who has.
I found these nest-like structures in attic a few weeks ago. I poked the big one a few times but nothing came out.
That’s the result of bird activity Juan, most likely starlings. We sent a photo that looked almost exactly like that, also taken in an attic, to our wildlife specialist a couple of years ago and he identified it.
so you are not talking about when all the grandkids show up at once then ?
Make every effort to keep grandkids out of the attic. Or maybe lock them into the attic, can’t make up my mind.
Thanks Kenton!
is 30-40 big hairy wolf spiders visible all at once on a white plasitic vapor barrier an investation?
I think that would be a sighting that would indicate an infestation, but they have to be able to make a show out of it… how did they get rid of them, did they see them other places, was anyone bitten, “OH GOD it was AWFUL!” kind of stuff.
A few years back, in my own home…
I was making kids lunch boxes up for school, when a one of the acoustic tiles from the drop ceiling fell on my head, as I looked up I saw a giant raccoon! His butt was wide as that was my initial vantage point as he hung on to the drop ceiling grid work with his front paws. Luckily for me, He was agile enough to grab the metal frame of the drop ceiling and get back up there. If he had fallen through, he was directly over my head, he’d have torn my head to bits. I locked the kitchen door as its the only room that has the drop ceiling to keep him contained and I went back in with a sword off the display rack on my wall (like an idiot). My wife asked what the hell I was doing with a sword in the kitchen. I told her stay out, I’m not losing this fight! He hissed and went back up into the attic.
I “wised up” and called a pest control company. This guy went into the attic with chain mail gauntlets on and an IR camera. The raccoon was gone, so he patched up the outside with chicken wire where he got in.
It turns out my fascia was rotted a bit and the critter would stand on the gutter, it would pull back and in he went. It looked normal at a glance from outside.
That night you could hear the raccoon going nuts trying to get in, bouncing on my roof and gutter. I went out and shot him with my pellet gun, but its a small gun and this thing was a beast. It didn’t seem to phase him.
When the contractor I hired to replace the fascia was doing his work, he discovered three dead baby raccoons in the soffit area. I figure mama was trying to get to her babies.
I called the critter removal company, as they billed me to remove the raccoon(s) and missed three (with IR tech, allegedly). They did not want to lower my bill, perhaps take 30% off of the $400+ invoice. I explained my contractor did part of your job. They reused to budge. After a call to the BBB, the pest removal company waived their fee completely.
True story.
Pest control operators are always supposed to check for animals in the attic before they seal it off. Raising babies is typically why raccoons look for a den, like under a porch, deck or in an attic. Checking for babies one of the basic tennets of that type of work. That guy was either lazy or unqualified.
An easy way to get them out of a confined space is to throw in a bunch of mothballs. I’ve done it… it works. They’ll move them the next night to a new den.
MITES? Is there currently inspection training & or testing to determine the presence of Mites? Not bed bugs. Not flees … Mites !
We had a bee infestation this past summer. It was first noticed by my painting contractor when bidding for a paint job on the house. He stated that we would need to remove the bees before he could paint.
The bees were in the enclosed soffit on the second story. I called a bee specialist, and between the two of us determined that the best approach would be from inside the house, as it is difficult to walk on a 12/12 tile roof.
From inside I drilled 3/4" holes in the drywall to access the soffit. I was immediately greeted by very aggravated bees, but I was ready, and quickly covered the holes with 2" masking tape as I drilled each one. The few that actually made it into the room were sucked up with the vacuum.
The bee guy then injected his secret white powder concoction into the holes with a 12" long metal probe. He explained that the bees would get aggravated, and they’re flying around would keep the powder airborne and result in their ultimate demise.
I waited another week after this to be sure they were all dead. And that the “Robber Bees” had finished removing the honey from the hive. This makes the cleanup easier. I then erected a scaffold to work off of to remove the fascia board to access and remove the honeycomb. The Robber Bees were able to get most of the honey, and left the honeycomb pretty clean. I scraped the wax from all surfaces as best I could and painted and replaced the fascia board. I then sealed any little access point with stainless steel wool to prevent future infestations.
I’ve seen several occasions of bedbug infestations, don’t have any photos but small blood stains on sheets are a good indicator to watch for as many people never realize that they have been bitten by them. I personally have stayed at hotels that were infested with them and I am very allergic to them, I wake up looking like I got chicken pox if exposed to an infestation.
That’s disgusting.
It makes me itch just thinking about it. 
Roaches in a warehouse in downtown was the worst Ive personally seen. There were a ton of floor drains where the p-trap dried up roaches would come out of the drain non stop from the sewers. It was like clockwork, Im guessing something was happening in the sewer lines at about 4-5pm, but thats when the roaches would stampede out of the drains and in less than 15 mins there would be hundreds of huge June bugs running around.
The worst story I ever heard was from a bed bug exterminator. He tried to describe the environment like it was a scene from a homicide. The tenant lived with bedbugs for years and would regularly smash them on the walls whenever he saw them. The result from doing this for a long period was blood stains all over the place and a mattress that even the pros didnt want to get near.
Very. I would suit
This discussion didn’t give me the desired results. To date I have about a dozen posts ( questions ) listed in the forum. Not one answer ! Am I missing something? Am I supposed to use a secret code? LOL
I had a garden and I planted cabbages using organic fertilizer to make homemade sauerkraut. The next day I went out to check on the garden, and three of the cabbages were dug up and laying on the ground next to the hole. It dawned on me that something liked the fertilizer and then discovered it was made from sugar beats. That night I poured some of the fertilizer on the ground and set my live trap on top of it. The next morning I had caught two raccoons in the live trap (first time I ever had seen that). Long story short over the next few weeks I caught 16 baby coons between the garden and the chicken coop!
About a month later, a knock on the front door came from the neighbor who owned all the farm land and woods behind my house. He was looking for his coon dog, conversation revealed that he was given 16 baby coons which he released in the woods behind the house. I smiled and told him that explains the 16 coons I caught the about a month ago. He said oh they’ll be back. I smiled and said your probably right. Knowing full well I dropped off about at different locations in state parks and farm land only after going at least 10 miles and crossing two rivers. Never had any more problems with coons after that.
I have no idea. Never heard the question asked before. I think the best people to ask would be pest control contractors.
If you’re talking about dust mites, don’t bother testing, they’re all over every house.
