Signs of Pest Infestations

Inspecting homes for pest infestations before buying - Expert extermination, pest control and removal service by Batzner Pest Control, serving Southeast Wisconsin

House hunting is an exciting yet nerve-wracking endeavor. Among the numerous concerns like a leaky roof or faulty electricals, pest infestations might take time to come to mind. Yet, overlooking the signs of an infestation can lead to significant issues. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help identify potential pest problems when considering a new home.

What’s the Difference Between a Pest Infestation and a Couple of Bugs?

While spotting the occasional bug or pest is common, a full-blown infestation involves a larger, persistent presence of unwanted critters. It’s about the frequency, the extent of invasion, and the potential damage or health risks they pose. Here are the top ten signs that you’re dealing with an infestation:

  1. Unusual Indoor Activity: Keep an eye out for erratic movements of insects, especially around food sources or warm, moist areas.
  2. Traces of Excrement: Insect or rodent droppings, especially near entry points or common hiding spots like cabinets, often signal an infestation.
  3. Rodent Nests: Discovering nests made of shredded materials or finding gnaw marks on household items indicates a rodent problem.
  4. Foul Odors: A musty or foul smell, particularly in hidden areas, could indicate that pests like bed bugs or rodents are nearby.
  5. Property Damage: Many pest species cause damage to structures or personal belongings. Chewed wires, torn fabrics, or damaged furniture might suggest rodents’ activity.
  6. Unexplained Noises: While you may not notice the sounds of pests while inspecting a home, it’s worth listening for. Scratching or scurrying in walls or ceilings often indicates pests.
  7. Grease Marks and Rub Marks: Rodents and other pest species tend to leave grease or rub marks along their regular pathways.
  8. Visible Pests: Spotting mice, rats, bed bugs, or other pests during daylight hours could signify a significant infestation. 
  9. Nesting Materials: Discovering shredded paper, fabric, or insulation in unusual places could mean that the property has a large population of rodents or other pests nearby.
  10. Gnaw Marks: Many pest species, including rats and mice, chew on items while nesting or burrowing. Look for chew marks on furniture, wires, or stored items.

Signs of an Outdoor Infestation

It’s normal to come across bugs in your yard or garden. But, there are some circumstances where outdoor pest activity is abnormal and could pose a greater risk to your home. Here’s what to look for when inspecting your landscape:

  • Nearby Breeding Grounds: Assess neighboring areas for unkept spaces or stagnant water sources, and potential breeding grounds for pests like mosquitoes or rodents.
  • Damaged Plants and Lawn Patches: Inspect plants for signs of insect trails or gnawing. Uneven grass lengths or circular brown patches can hint at lawn pest infestations or mole activity.
  • Mole Holes and Ant Hills: Mole activity might present as raised ridges across the lawn accompanied by dirt piles resembling mini volcanoes. Look for ant hills along fence lines or in pavement cracks.

What to Do If Your Home Has Pests

When inspecting your property for these signs, focus not only on the obvious but also on less frequented areas like ceiling corners, under furniture, and within cupboards or pantries. Professional pest control technicians at Batzner Pest Control can thoroughly inspect and treat your home to prevent or address any pest problems.

Why Are Bees and Wasps so Bad in the Fall?

Have you ever been at a fall tailgate and thought, “Wow, there seems to be way more wasps now than during summer?” This experience, combined with the increased interest in stinging insect treatments we see in the fall, prompted me to ask Batzner Associate Certified Entomologist Dave Kusnierek whether stinging insects really are worse in autumn or if it was just my imagination. Here is his response:

Population Size

Problems with stinging insects such as bees, hornets, and wasps do increase in the early fall, mainly because populations are at their largest size around that time of year. The size of the nest has been growing all summer, so in the beginning of fall you start to run into fully mature nests that simply have a higher population than earlier in the summer. The larger nests send out more foragers, increasing the chances that they become a bother to you.

Dietary Changes and Food Availability

During the fall, some species of stinging insects become more aggressive because they are preparing their queen for the winter, and are more protective near the hive. This aggravated behavior is made worse as natural food sources, such as flowers and insects, are depleted with colder weather, and they grow hungry. Many stinging insects also undergo a change in their dietary needs in the fall, switching from requiring proteins to requiring carbs. These factors cause stinging insects to seek out artificial food sources, leading them to become more of a nuisance around outdoor events like festivals and backyard picnics. Our own behavior can also increase run-ins with stinging insects, as doing fall maintenance around the house often leads to areas where stinging insects are likely to build nests.

The best way to stop them from becoming a major problem in the fall is by having an ongoing service to prevent the population from growing too large throughout the summer. The populations will decrease naturally once the weather gets too cold; however, it is still worth it to treat the nests in the fall. The queen will leave the nest to spend winter in a crack or void of a building, so treating the nest before this happens can reduce the likelihood of having a nest built on your property the following year.

If you experience an issue with stinging insects, don’t hesitate to contact us or call (262)797-4160 for more information on our year-round preventive or single treatment stinging insect services!

5 Pest-Free Holiday Decorating and Storage Tips

In my experience, there is no season fuller of surprises than the holidays. From unexpected visits from relatives to getting that one present my mom swore she wouldn’t buy, there was always something surprising to make each year’s holiday season memorable. Fortunately, I’ve never had the surprise of opening a box of decorations to find a family of cockroacheshaving their own holiday celebration, but many people experience a similar situation every year. The dark, undisturbed areas in our attics, garages, and basements where decorations are usually stored are also the perfect winter habitat for many pests. Roaches, ants, centipedes, spiders, silverfish, and mice are just a few of the pests that find warmth, shelter, food, and space to breed in your home’s storage spaces. Make sure you watch out for these potential hideouts while you prepare your house this year!

1. Trees/Wreaths/Garland

If you are bringing a live tree or other natural plant decorations into your house, make sure to shake them out beforehand. Many different types of insects including aphids and beetles nest in Christmas trees and other holiday greenery, and while a good shaking might not get rid of all of them, it’s certainly better than not doing anything at all. Eggs laid in or on live plants usually hatch when they sense spring, and the temperature difference between your home and the outside can be enough to trigger hatching. Regularly check on any plants you’ve brought inside to catch problems early on!

For those who reuse an artificial tree/wreath/garland, vacuum the branches either before you assemble it or before you hang up your ornaments. Once it’s time for them to go back into storage, make sure to use a sealed plastic bag or storage container to prevent against pests, water damage, and humidity.

2. Boxed Decorations

The first step is to inspect boxes where they are being stored and look for any signs of a pest infestation. The last thing you want to do is take a box full of ants from your basement and plop it down in the middle of your living room! Things to look out for include spider webs, droppings, dead insects, and gnaw marks. Always use plastic bins that can be sealed rather than cardboard, as cardboard provides an ideal habitat for a variety of pests, especially cockroaches and silverfish.

3. Fabric Decorations

For fabric decorations like stockings, a cycle through the washing machine and dryer can help stop the spread of live pests. Storing them in plastic is also beneficial to prevent damage by moths and other fabric pests. To be extra careful, you can also wash and dry them before putting them back into storage, as any amount of germs or bacteria is more attractive to pests than none. This is especially important for table cloths, as even the smallest crumb can attract mice and ants.

4. Plastic, Metal, and Other Hard Decorations

Give any hard-surfaced decorations a cleaning using alcohol wipes or soap and water. Similar to the fabric decorations, a cleaning before going back into storage can also be beneficial.

5. Lights

Inspect your lights for things like spider webs and frayed wires before removing them from storage. For exterior lights, also inspect before putting them back into storage so you know if damage occurred outside of your home. If you put them away with no frayed wiring and the next year you notice damage while taking them out, it likely means that mice are present where you are storing your lights!

Perhaps the most important step you can take to prevent pests during the holidays comes at the end of each season, when it’s time to take down the tree and pack up the decorations. Store holiday decorations in hard, plastic bins with tightly sealed lids instead of cardboard boxes or bags that can easily be chewed through. Do not pile discarded live trees or cut firewood near your home, as this can attract mice, mosquitoes and other pests.

If any of your holiday decorations have signs of a pest infestation, or if you have any questions about identifying a potential pest infestation, please don’t hesitate to call us at 866-591-3519 or contact us online. We wish you all the happiest of holidays, and hope that they are full of surprises that don’t involve pests!

Don’t Let Pests Crash your 4th of July Party

Independence Day is a time for food and fun with family and friends. There are also some uninvited guests that will undoubtedly try crashing your party.

Common cookout-invading pests include mosquitoes, stinging insects such as wasps and hornets, pesky ants like carpenter ants and pavement ants. The combination of holiday cookouts and high pest activity can make for a less than enjoyable experience if you’re not properly prepared.

Before and during your 4th of July festivities, take the following measures for an enjoyable and pest-free* celebration:

  • Check your screen doors and patch any holes to keep pests out of your home.
  • Eliminate any source of standing water around the outside of your home to reduce the threat of mosquitoes.
  • Stinging insects love sweet treats and drinks. Keep food and beverages covered.
  • Consider using clear plastic cups for beverages. Cans and bottles make for great hiding spots for stinging insects.
  • Trash cans should be covered and kept away from the party area.
  • If possible, it’s best to serve food indoors and keep the outdoor space for eating.
  • Clean up any food or drink spills immediately.

Keep the bugs away and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

A Guide to Carpenter Ants

In the busy summer pest season, there is one pest that stands above the rest. Carpenter ants are a nuisance pest that many home and business owners have come to know all too well. They are relatively large when compared to other ants, ranging in size from 0.3 to 1 in., and are dark in color. The most common species found in and around homes in the United States is the black carpenter ant. Carpenter ants are vital to the balance of nature because they nest in dead wood and aid in the process of decaying. Although the carpenter ants play this important role in the natural cycle, they can become pests to home and business owners when they make their home in the wood structures of buildings.

What are carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants, one of the largest ant species found in the United States, reside both outdoors and indoors. They need a constant water source to survive and their habitat consists of moist areas or decaying wood. The carpenter ants can create elaborate passageways in the wood for nesting and movement throughout the colony, connecting them to different food sources. Although carpenter ants make their homes in decaying wood, they do not feed on the wood. Rather, their diet consists of dead insects, sweets, meats, and fats. Carpenter ants forage for food around their nest, carry it back to the nest, and share the meal with the rest of the colony members.

Although most carpenter ants do not have the ability to fly, there are winged male and female members of the species. In particularly warm and humid weather, these winged ants leave their nests to mate in a process called “nuptial flight.” After mating, the female seeks out a suitable place to create her nest and grow her colony. If winged ants have been located, it is possible that a new colony will be forming soon.

Signs of a Carpenter Ant Infestation

There are several signs that homeowners can look for that may signal a possible carpenter ant infestation. Areas around and under windows, roof eaves, decks, and porches are common areas of infestations. The most common method to identify an infestation is the sighting of carpenter worker or winged ants in the home. Although worker ants (ants without wings) can be seen in a home without an infestation, the identification of winged ants often indicates a mature colony that is ready to reproduce and form new colonies. Additional signs of an infestation can include the location of sawdust-like wood debris (frass) from tunnels created by ants. A rustling sound can also be heard as the ants build tunnels throughout the wood in a home.

Pest Control Tips for Carpenter Ants

There are several steps that can be taken to avoid carpenter ant infestations. Be sure to trim all trees and bushes so that they are not touching the house. Additionally make sure to correct all plumbing and flooding issues as soon as possible. These issues create moist wood that can attract ant colonies. It is also a wise idea to store and wire wood off the ground and away from the home.

If you believe that you have an infestation, contact your local pest control expert to safely and effectively eliminate the problem.

Three Stinging Insects to Avoid in Wisconsin

They’re among the most feared pests out there. And they’re back. Fall is peak stinging insect season, and wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are once again a bothersome reality for people heading outdoors to enjoy the remainder of summer.

While many simply classify any stinging insect as a “bee,” there are important differences in behavior that set stinging insects apart. The National Pest Management Association and Batzner Pest Control offer helpful tips in identifying and preventing common stinging insects.

Bald-Faced Hornets

Bald-faced hornets get their common name because they are largely black in color, with a mostly white face. These social insects live in colonies that can contain between 100 and 400 members at their peak. They build nests that are at least three feet off the ground and in exposed locations such as trees, utility poles, overhangs, houses, sheds or other structures. Unlike many other stinging insects, bald-faced hornets do not reuse their nests season after season.

Sting Prevention: Bald-faced hornets are aggressive and will attack if their space is invaded. During the summer months, walk around the exterior of your home to inspect for nests on a routine basis, paying special attention to overhangs, eaves, the underside of porches and decks.

Yellow Jackets

These social insects tend to build nests in trees and buildings, as well as in the ground. They are slow to sting unless their nest is threatened, in which case they will become highly aggressive. Unlike bees, yellow jackets can sting several times and inflict severe pain.

Sting Prevention: Yellow Jackets are especially attracted to sweets and proteins, so it is important to cover food and drinks during outdoor events and promptly clean up and dispose of food and garbage in a sealed trash container.

Paper Wasps

Paper wasps get their common name from the paper-like material they use to build their nests. Their nests are typically made in the shape of an umbrella. These pests build nests on twigs and in tree branches and shrubs, as well as porch ceilings, eaves and similar covered places. Wasps are capable of stinging more than once and may use alarm pheromones to call for back-up in defending their nest.

Sting Prevention: Check for paper wasp nests before performing yard work such as shrub or hedge trimming. Treat wood fences and deck railings with a repellant oil to deter paper wasps from gathering cellulose for nest creation.

Attempting to self-treat a stinging insect nest is a dangerous task. When dealing with a stinging insect nest, it’s always best to leave the job to a professional.

Learn more about common stinging insects below.

 

Put Wisconsin Spiders in Their Place Before Winter

Have you seen more spiders inside your home? Or spider webs in the basement? With the weather continuing to drop as winter comes around the corner, now is a great time to put spiders in their place. While many insects and rodentshibernate for the winter, spiders can withstand really cold Wisconsin winters. In fact, these cold-blooded creatures can survive in the temperatures around them. While you and I may avoid the great outdoors when the weather dips into the single digits, spiders live in below-freezing temperatures. Whether you reside in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison, Fond du Lac or Appleton, Batzner’s team of experts would like to share information on spiders and how to prevent them from residing in your home.

So where do spiders hide?

  • Outside your home under rocks, leaves or snow
  • Inside your home in cracks and crevices, wall voids and other undisturbed areas (basements, attics and crawl spaces)

What brings spiders inside your home?

  • Pests are drawn to moisture giving them something to drink
  • Spiders are attracted to flies, wasps and other overwintering pests as they provide a food source
  • Open trash provides a food source for other insects which draws spiders for a meal
  • Bushes and shrubs around your home provide a way for spiders to make their way inside your home
  • Items in storage spaces provide a hiding place for spiders to create their webs

How can you get rid of spiders?

  • Seal up your home by using caulk to prevent spiders from finding their way indoors
  • Cover vents, chimney tops and window screens
  • Remove vegetation around the perimeter of your home
  • Clean your home on a regular basis to avoid food crumbs and dust build up
  • Replace outdoor lights with yellow sodium vapor lights
  • Use plastic storage containers in place of cardboard boxes

While spiders make their way inside homes throughout the year, they are known to be extremely active in the fall with the temperatures getting cooler and prime time for mating season. The majority of household spiders in Wisconsin homes do not pose a threat and are more of a nuisance pest by leaving behind unsightly webs.

Prevent the spider invasion in your home by reducing attractants. Also, partnering with a local Wisconsin pest control company will guide you in preventative measures and a specialized treatment program to put pests in their place.

5 Tips to an Effective Pest Control Program in Food Plants and Warehouses

Mice, flies, cockroaches and other insects have no place in a food processing, manufacturing or warehousing facility. While pests may find a way to make your facility their home, hiring a pest control provider that understands Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and food safety can send the pests packing.

Pests in your facility can be a serious problem if they contaminate food supplies or worse yet, your reputation. When partnering with a pest control provider, we recommend 5 tips for an effective pest control program in food processing, manufacturing, warehousing and audited facilities.

5 Tips for an Effective Pest Control Program

  1. The time spent at each service visit inspecting the facility is worth the investment. A trained pest professional will conduct regular inspections to the building structure, office, garbage room, loading docks, food processing areas, restrooms and other locations. Your Service Specialist will note any conducive conditions and signs of pest infestation to ensure you catch a potential issue before it becomes a bigger problem.
  2. Keep your windows, doors, screens, loading docks, exhaust vents and floor tiles in good shape. Openings or gaps in your facility provide an opportunity to leave your facility susceptible to pests. By sealing cracks and crevices, closing openings, covering vents with wire screening and repairing damaged floor drains or tiles; your facility will not give pests access to your sensitive environment.
  3. Reduce pest problems by focusing on sanitation in your facility. Having a regular cleaning schedule that focuses on the hidden parts of your facility will help you remove any potential pest harborage areas. The cleaning schedule should include hard to reach areas, dumpster rooms/pads, floor drains, employee locker rooms, storage areas, and ceiling voids.
  4. Consistent monitoring can be the difference between stored product pests infesting one container or an entire room. Ask your pest control provider about visual inspections of delivery shipments, rotating your stock, and the use of pheromone traps.
  5. Communication is key with your pest control professional. If you are not available during their visits, encourage him/her to follow up with you in regards to any concerns. Batzner Service Specialists regularly use photos and email reports to keep their contacts “in the loop” on items in their facility.

Batzner’s Brand Protection program follows integrated pest management principles that focuses on inspection, sanitation, exclusion and monitoring. So how do we do that?

  • Partnership approach with detailed reporting, ongoing communication and rapid response times
  • Specialized programs with an emphasis on quality pest control solutions and training options for your staff
  • Expertly Trained Service Specialists and Account Executives to provide expertise you can count on

For more information, contact us here or call 866-591-3519 .

Preventing and Managing Mice in Office Buildings

Mice are a common commercial pest in New Berlin WI - Batzner Pest Control

When mice are found in office buildings, they are in search of food, warmth and shelter. Your office provides an exceptional shelter for mice, it hides them from the cold weather and protects them from predators. Plus, with all the food left in cubicles, desk drawers and break areas, your office is like a giant all-you-can-eat buffet. Because offices are the center of businesses where meetings are held and work is being completed, a rodent infestation can create less than ideal working conditions for your staff.

How Can Mice Get Into My Building?

Mice are very nimble creatures, able to run and jump at great lengths, as well as climb almost any surface. On top of that young mice can squeeze through a gap as small as ¼ inch. There are many ways in which a mouse, or rat, can get into your office.

  1. Mouse Highways – One way in which mice can navigate their way into your workplace is through connections between different buildings such as water pipes, cables and other underground methods. This allows rats and mice to quickly move between different buildings with ease. With more and more buildings being built every day, each sharing the same pipes and cables, rats and mice are finding it even easier to explore new territories in search for food and a place to live, and this can be your office. Once inside, mice can find their way around using ‘mouse highways’ we have created: cable risers, false ceilings, false floors, wall partitions, lift shafts – quick ways to travel longer distances in search for food.
  1. Food Pallets – Another way mice navigate their way into your office is through food pallets, especially if your office is attached to a warehouse. If a food preparation plant has an infestation of rats or mice, this can quickly spread to other areas. A mouse will no doubt explore the environment of the new area they have travel to. All mice need to survive is shelter and minimal food and water, plus they can multiply within months. The more we ship food from one place to another, the more mice will hitch a ride unnoticed.
What Can Mice Do to My Office?

Mice are pretty harmless right? So what’s the big deal if they decide to live in my office? To put it politely, you couldn’t be more wrong. Although mice look sweet and innocent they can be quite a menace.

  1. Spread Disease – Mice carry many diseases rats and spread them around the office.
  2. Droppings – Rodents such as rats and mice can spread diseases through their droppings. Unlike you and me mice aren’t toilet trained, so they leave a mess anywhere and everywhere, including your keyboard and phone. You don’t want to be touching that first thing on a Monday morning.
  3. Urine – Mice also like to urinate everywhere, especially in a new place. It lets them keep track of the places they’ve been and is a way of leaving messages behind for their friends. When mice urinate in certain areas multiple times you start to get urine pillars. This is where the urine merges with the grease from their fur and creates small piles which look a lot like stalagmites, that’s not something you want to see during lunch break. On top of this, mice and rat urine is also one of the main instigators of the spread of rodent borne diseases. These harmful pathogens could be picked up on your hands or sometimes mix with dust, which, if disturbed, can be inhaled.
  4. Chew Cables – Mice are very neophilic (like new things) creatures, it is in their nature to explore – especially with their teeth. They gnaw at items to test for food, gain passage, or just out of curiosity. Being in an office environment this curiosity can lead to rats and mice chewing on the billions of cables in your office. This can be anywhere from keyboard and phone wires to internet and server cables.
  5. Start Fires – One of the potential downfalls of rodents gnawing at the wires in your office is the potential to start fires. By chewing on the wires, the mice leave the rubber casing open, which can lead to them short circuiting and catching alight.
  6. Lose Work – On top of the potential fire hazard having mice in your office creates, there is also a risk of losing work. Nowadays everything is done on computers, having a mouse gnawing its way through the power cables can result in computer failure leading to loss of work.
How Can I Stop Mice Coming Into My Office?

So now you know the risks of having mice in your office, but how do you stop them? The best way is through a handful of mouse prevention techniques that can be carried out without the help of a professional.

  1. Clean Up – Mice are amazing scavengers, although they don’t need much food to survive, they won’t pass up a free meal. That’s why dirty plates are a dream find for a mouse. Free food with not that much effort. A simple way to stop mice from coming into your office is to make sure all your plates, mugs, and cups are clean at the end of the day.
  2. Empty Garbage Cans – Garbage cans are also a good place for mice and rats to find food. They aren’t fussy eaters (mostly) and will quite happily eat out of a garbage can. Be sure to empty your garbage cans at the end of each day. It’s a good idea to speak to the landlord of your office complex to try and get the outside dumpsters placed a good distance away from the building to stop mice from finding their way inside. Some infestations have been nipped in the bud when cleaning rotations are changed to ensure offices are cleaned thoroughly at night and not left to the morning.
  3. Don’t Eat At Your Desk – It’s very common to see this happening in this day and age, but it’s a big no no if you don’t want to attract mice into the building. Eating at your desk is an open invitation to mice. Any crumbs or leftover food you leave at your desk is a gold mine for a hungry mouse. If you do decide to eat at your desk, make sure you clean up any crumbs left behind as well as discard used packaging and unwanted food.
  4. Keep Food in Plastic Containers – We all have our favorite snacks hidden away in our desk, but did you know these are giant magnets for rodents? A great way to keep snacks nearby is to place them in air-tight plastic containers. Not only do they keep the scent hidden from mice, but they also keep your food fresh!
  5. Baiting – An effective way to control rodents on your property is through the use of bait. Rodent baiting consists of strategically placing bait in boxes around your building. The mouse enters the box in search for food, and has a nibble on the bait.
  6. Professional Mouse Control – If you have taken the necessary prevention procedures but still find yourself with some unwanted office guests, the next step would be to contact a pest control professional. When Batzner inspects office buildings, the main areas we inspect are we check the following:
  • Kitchenettes and break rooms
  • IT or Computer closets
  • Equipment or appliances
  • Employee desks and cubicle dividers
  • Behind boxes or filing cabinets
  • Custodial or utility closets
  • Heating systems and pipe chases
  • Storage or warehouse locations
  • Suspended ceilings, floors and wall voids

Batzner partners with businesses to eliminate pests from commercial office spaces. Our experts can recommend sanitation best practices and create a customized pest control protection plan to protect your brand. To schedule your free pest control evaluation, contact Batzner today or call us at 866-591-3519 .

9 Tips to Pest-Proof Your Home During Winter

Winter is in full swing. And while this may mean things are slowing down in the lives of bees and ants, there are many pests whose winters are still busy. The last thing you want are extra guests in your house over the winter. Here are a few helpful tips from the National Pest Management Association for how you can pest-proof your home this winter:

  1. Screen attic vents and openings to chimneys
  2. Eliminate moisture sites, including leaking pipes and clogged drains
  3. Seal cracks and crevices on the outside of the home using caulk and steel wool. Pay close attention where utility pipes enter the structure
  4. Store food in airtight containers and dispose of garbage regularly in sealed receptacles
  5. Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around the basement foundation and windows
  6. Store firewood at least 20 feet away from the house; keep shrubbery well-trimmed
  7. Install door sweeps and repair damaged screens
  8. Inspect items such as boxes of decorations and grocery bags before bringing them indoors
  9. Properly take care of holiday decorations before they are set up and before they are stored or discarded

Remember, it’s always best to contact a professional if you suspect an infestation of any kind. Batzner has been protecting Wisconsin homes for over 70 years. Our experienced service specialists are the best in the business at handling any type of pest, and would love to help keep your home pest-free* this winter season—and beyond!