A-Expert

Extermination &

TERMITE CONTROL

 co., inc.

Wasp - predator

Pest Control Maintenance

Pest Control Maintenance Programs

Regular maintenance for your home against most common pests gives you and your family piece of mind.

Our services begin with an evaluation by a state-licensed inspector, who will gladly provide you with a solution to remedy all crawling and flying pest problems.

Our maintenance programs offer monthly and bi-monthly service. Our general pest control program covers ants, fleas, cockroaches, silverfish and spiders. Our technicians are dedicated to their assigned territories and are in your neighborhood. Following your initial inspection we will be able to monitor and treat your home regularly.

Pest Control Service Benefits

A-expert Extermination Company inc. Professional Engineering Reports

Stink Bug Control

Outside of the agricultural industry, stink bugs are simply a nuisance – but that offers little solace to hotels, restaurants, and property management companies that must field complaints from customers and tenants with the spring or fall stink bug infestations.

Stink bugs love heat, and when the temperatures decrease and the days grow shorter during fall, they seek warmer locations — which might mean invading your business. First they take up temporary residence in your insulated walls. Then, when winter brings freezing temperatures, the bugs move into the warmth of the indoors. Once inside, their goal is to overwinter, meaning they will remain until spring arrives, and they come in groups. Stink bugs release a chemical aggregation pheromone that attracts other stink bugs to the area. While stink bugs do not sting, bite or cause structural damage, they do emit a characteristic odorous smell.

They have antennal segments include a white band. Also, several of their abdominal segments protrude from beneath the wings and are alternatively banded with black and white. Their underside is white, sometimes with grey or black markings, and legs are brown with faint white banding. People have commented on the bug's rather pungent odor when picked up or vacuumed.

Their host plants include maple, serviceberry, birch, butterfly bush, pepper, pecan, catalpa, hackberry, redbud, citrus, dogwood, cucumber, tomatoes, fig, sunflower, honeysuckle, tomato, apple, plum, pear, rose, lilac, linden, viburnum and grape.
Toward the end of September, shorter days and decreasing temperatures cause adult stink bugs to seek overwintering sites. They tend to congregate in large numbers, invading buildings and becoming a nuisance. During this time, they do not feed or reproduce. In fact, females are incapable of reproducing until early spring. When the weather warms, the bugs emerge and lay eggs in June and July, which are 1/16 of an inch and pale green. Most egg masses have about 25 eggs. Nymphs develop to adulthood within about two months.

A Targeted Stink Bug Control Program:
Successful stink bug prevention hinges on proper timing. By treating to disrupt the stink bug normal, preferred life cycle, our Pest Control methods help to control stink bug populations at your facility – reducing the stink bug problem and removing stink bugs on site. That means:
    •    Fewer stink bug appearances
    •    Fewer customer complaints
    •    Less stress for maintenance teams
Our stink bug reduction program takes a phased approach, removing pests, identifying interior and exterior stink bug entry points, and seeking out any stink bug feeding sites on the exterior of the building. Subsequent visits include careful application of stink bug control materials and removal of any remaining insects.

Bird Control
Not often thought of as a problem animal, birds are capable of causing serious problems, including building damage and health issues. Western Pest Services offers humane bird control solutions to deter birds from nesting in your properties.
We discreetly and humanely treat bird problems by:

    •    Preventing access to areas where birds perch and nest
    •    Applying repellents to discourage roosting
    •    Trapping birds in established nesting areas and relocating them
    •    Cleaning and sterilizing impacted areas
Problems Associated With Persistent Bird Infestations and Gathering
    •    Unsightly and foul-smelling droppings
    •    Contamination, disease, and serious health problems
    •    Additional pests lodging in nests, such as fleas, ticks, and lice
    •    Building damage from uric acid

Fly Control
Flies are a nuisance, but they also may pose a serious health threat to humans. House flies are capable of carrying over 100 different pathogens including typhoid, salmonella, and tuberculosis. Each time they land on a surface, flies deposit feces, which means they could be depositing potentially fatal diseases to surfaces and items throughout your business.

House Flies:
House flies are general feeders on liquids; attracted to many substances, from excrement to human foods. House flies can liquefy solid foods by regurgitation.
Adult female lays oval, white eggs singly in clusters of 20-50, laying 350-900 eggs in her lifetime. Eggs hatch in 8-20 hours. Larvae go through 3 instars in 3-7 days at 70-90 degrees F. Full grown larvae go to a cool, dry place to pupate, traveling up to 150 feet in 3-4 days. Pupa goes from yellowish to black during a period of a few days to a month, depending on temperature and humidity. After emerging, the body hardens and the wings dry within about an hour. Development from egg to adult can be as few as 6 days, with 10-12 generations per summer. Adults live 15-25 days.
    •    Commonly found around sweet spilled or unsealed liquids.
    •    Can hear a buzzing noise if you are close to this fly.
    •    Look for openings in your buildings that flies often enter through

Fruit Flies:
These nuisance pests develop on fresh produce and fermenting liquids, including beer and wine. Fruit flies are tiny and can fit through ordinary screens, feasting on your fresh fruits and leaving behind their eggs, which only take 30 hours to hatch.
Drosophila females lay eggs near the surface of fermenting fruits and vegetables or in poorly sealed jars of these foods. Eggs take about 30 hours to hatch. Larvae develop in brine or vinegar of fermenting material. They feed near the surface, mostly on the yeast, for 5-6 days. They go to drier places to pupate. Newly emerged adults mate in about 2 days. The life cycle may be completed within 8-10 days at 85 degrees F (29 degrees C).

Bottle Flies:
Flies feed on garbage and on dead animal carcasses, and can transmit a variety of hazardous diseases. They are most active on warm, sunny days, which may attract them indoors if the lights are on. And flies can transmit a multitude of the hazardous diseases they carry to humans.
These flies are really disgusting since their main food source is meat; animal carcasses, especially those of birds and other small animals; excrement; decaying vegetation; garbage.
Females lay their eggs on material which larvae will eat. Larvae may feed on the surface, then burrow into less decayed material underneath. They go through 3 instars, leaving the food material in order to pupate. Most species pupate within the top 2" of soil. Usually they overwinter as mature larvae or pupae. Development time from egg to adult varies, depending on species and temperature conditions, but usually takes between 10 to 25 days.
Problems Associated With Flies:
    •    Negative customer and employee experiences
    •    Transmission of bacteria and filth
    •    Disease-causing pathogens including E -Coli and Salmonella
    •    Product contamination
    •    Expensive regulatory citation

Bed Bug Control
Bed bugs are a growing problem across the U.S., and we know how damaging they can be to your business. Difficult to detect and to eliminate, they can wreak havoc in places that cater to large groups, including:
    •    Apartment buildings
    •    Hotels
    •    Cruise ships
    •    Dormitories
Treatment:
Bed bugs have proven quite resistant to traditional pest control materials. Our Pest Control Services are superior in determining the severity of your bed bug problem to develop a customized approach using multiple strategies to eliminate bed bugs fast:
    •    Vacuums
    •    Steam machines
    •    Targeted treatment to bed bug harborages
    •    Wall void treatment (if needed)
Faster Treatment through Teamwork:
Our bed bug treatments work best with a cooperative approach. You can help prepare for treatment with some simple, in-depth housekeeping tasks beforehand, including:
    •    Ensuring that rooms are vacant during treatment
    •    Stripping beds of all linens, removing window treatments, and placing them in plastic bags for immediate laundering with hot soapy water
    •    Wrapping mattresses in plastic before discarding
    •    Detaching all items from walls (pictures, mirrors, light fixtures, outlet covers, switch plates, headboards, etc.)
    •    Vacuuming floors, furniture cushions, mattresses, and box springs
Preparation:
Proper preparation of a room for bed bug treatment will reduce the spread of bed bugs and help ensure a successful treatment. You may see some bed bugs in the affected rooms after the initial treatment. If you see bed bugs after we clear the room please call us immediately for assistance. Although we strive to eliminate bed bugs please be aware they may be reintroduced to your facility immediately after we release the room to you.
    •    Room(s) to be vacant and not to be reoccupied until we release the room.
    •    Strip beds of all linens and place in plastic bags for immediate laundering. Always use hot, soapy water when laundering items.
    •    If Disposing of infested mattress and box spring, wrap in plastic before discarding
    •    Remove curtains and shades and place in plastic bags for immediate laundering. Always use hot, soapy water when laundering items.
    •    Detach, but leave in room, all items attached to walls (pictures, mirrors, lights fixtures, outlet covers, switch plates, headboards, etc.)
    •    Loosen the carpet from tack strip at floor/wall junction around the perimeter of the rooms
    •    Vacuum floors using crack & crevice tool under wall baseboard.
    •    Vacuum seams and general surface area of all sofa and chair cushions.
    •    Vacuum seams and general surface area of mattress and box spring. If sofa contains foldout sofa bed, vacuum that as well. DO NOT FORGET UNDERSIDE OF BOX SPRING. Remove vacuum cleaner bag and discard outside of the facility immediately.
    •    Remove cloth cover from bottom of box spring and chairs and discard. (Please Note: If cloth covers are still on, we will remove and discard them during treatment)
    •    Remove all clothing from drawers & closets in plastic bags and launder & dry at the hottest setting possible for the material. Do not remove from bags until room is cleared.
    •    Place all books and other items from shelves and closets into plastic bags and leave in room.
The room should be reset after we clear it of bed bugs. This includes reattaching the carpet to tack strip and plastic/carpet baseboard to wall, reassembly and adjustment of furniture, re-securing loose wallpaper, re-hanging pictures, curtains, and decorative items, and generally cleaning the room prior to occupation.
The failure to complete these items will significantly hinder our ability to control bed bugs.

Rodent Control
Worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through handling of rodents, through contact with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly, through ticks, mites or fleas that have fed on an infected rodent.

This web page offers helpful suggestions on rodent control during and after a rodent infestation. The primary strategy for preventing human exposure to rodent diseases is effective rodent control in and around the home. This is achieved by eliminating any food sources, sealing even the smallest entries into homes, and successfully trapping rodents in and around the home.

Cleaning Up After Rodents - Urine and Droppings:
Take precautions before and during clean up of rodent-infested areas. Before cleaning, trap the rodents and seal up any entry ways to ensure that no rodents can get in. Continue trapping for a week. If no rodents are captured, the active infestation has been eliminated and enough time has passed so that any infectious virus in the rodent’s urine/droppings or nesting material is no longer infectious.
Before starting clean up of the space, ventilate the space by opening the doors and windows for at least 30 minutes to allow fresh air to enter the area. Use cross-ventilation and leave the area during the airing-out period.
When you begin cleaning, it is important that you do not stir up dust by sweeping or vacuuming up droppings, urine, or nesting materials.
    •    Wear rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves when cleaning urine and droppings.
    •    Spray the urine and droppings with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water and let soak 5 minutes. The recommended concentration of bleach solution is 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. When using a commercial disinfectant, following the manufacturer’s instructions on the label for dilution and disinfection time.
    •    Use a paper towel to pick up the urine and droppings, and dispose of the waste in the garbage.
    •    After the rodent droppings and urine have been removed, disinfect items that might have been contaminated by rodents or their urine and droppings.
Mop floors and clean counter tops with disinfectant or bleach solution.
Steam clean or shampoo upholstered furniture and carpets with evidence of rodent exposure.
Wash any bedding and clothing with laundry detergent in hot water if exposed to rodent urine or droppings.
Lastly, remove gloves, and thoroughly wash hands with soap and water (or use a waterless alcohol-based hand rub when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled).

Dead rodents or nests:
Wear rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves when cleaning up dead rodents or nests.
    •    Spray the dead rodent or nest and the surrounding area with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water.
    •    Soak rodent, nesting materials or droppings in solution for 5 minutes before wiping up with a paper towel or rag.
    •    Place the dead rodent or nesting materials in a plastic bag and seal tightly. Place the full bag in a second plastic bag and seal.
    •    Throw the bag into a covered trash can that is regularly emptied.
Remove gloves, and thoroughly wash hands with soap and water (or use a waterless alcohol-based hand rub when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled).
Cleaning cabins, sheds, barns, or other outbuildings:
Before attempting to clean cabins, sheds, barns, or other outbuildings, open all doors and windows for 30 minutes. This will allow fresh air to enter the work area.
    •    Wear rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves and clean up all rodent urine, droppings, nests, and dead rodents using disinfectant or mixture of bleach and water.
    •    Mop floors or spray dirt floors with a disinfectant or mixture of bleach and water.
    •    Clean counter tops, cabinets, and drawers with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water.

Cleaning attics, basements crawls paces, and other storage areas:
Before cleaning attics, basements, crawls paces and other storage areas, it is necessary to completely remove the existing rodent infestation by trapping. When there is no evidence of infestation, wait about 5 days before beginning to clean these areas. Before cleaning the space, ventilate the area by opening the doors and windows for at least 30 minutes to allow fresh air to enter the area and to remove potentially contaminated air from the area. Use cross-ventilation and leave the area during the airing-out period.
When cleaning attics, basements, crawls paces and other storage areas:
    •    Wear rubber, latex, or vinyl gloves when cleaning up urine, droppings, or nesting materials. Note that a dust mask may provide some protection against dust, molds, and insulation fibers, but does not protect against viruses.
    •    Spray any urine, droppings, and nesting materials with either a bleach and water solution (1 parts bleach to 9 parts water) or a household disinfectant prepared according to the label instructions for dilution and disinfection time. Soak well. This will inactivate any virus. Use a paper towel or rag to pick up the materials and dispose of them.
    •    Mop floors after spraying them using bleach/water solution or a disinfectant. Dirt floors can be sprayed with either bleach and water solution or a disinfectant.
    •    If exposed insulation has become contaminated with urine and droppings, it should be placed into plastic bags for removal.
    •    To remove any potentially contaminated materials from storage vessels/boxes:
    ◦    First, move the storage vessels/boxes outside and place them in an area that is well-ventilated and exposed to direct sunlight. The outside of the storage vessels/boxes can be disinfected using bleach and water solution or disinfectant solution;
    ◦    Next, remove the potentially contaminated materials while in the sunlit, ventilated area. Remain upwind so that any dust or debris is not blown toward your face. Some contaminated stored materials, such as clothing, books, etc. can be decontaminated by following the recommended methods of disinfection provided in the table below; items that are no longer needed can be discarded.
    •    Dispose of any cardboard boxes contaminated with urine or droppings. Plastic, glass, or metal containers can be disinfected by spraying with the bleach and water solution or disinfectant. Then, using a rag or paper towel, wipe up the urine or droppings and dispose of the waste.
    •    Clean counter tops, cabinets, and drawers with disinfectant or bleach and water solution.
    •    Decontaminate gloves with disinfectant or bleach and water solution. Wash hands well with soap and warm water

Termite Control
Termites cause more than $5 billion in damage each year, and are particularly prevalent in the Eastern U.S. With colonies continuously foraging and feeding, termite activity may leave no part of a property untouched, which can lead to:
    •    Wood damage
    •    Brick damage
    •    Sheetrock degradation
    •    Paint erosion
    •    Costly repairs
Termites can easily be mistaken for ants due to their winged bodies, color and similar shape. If unchecked, termite damage can ruin a business or destroy a home at its core leaving uninhabitable due to structural damage.

Eastern Subterranean Termite:
Eastern subterranean termites are the most destructive insect in our region of the U.S. Termites live in large colonies that depend upon the worker termites to consume wood or other forms of cellulose in order for the colony to grow and survive. These termite colonies are dependent upon soil contact and the workers will construct mud tubes as they feed inside a structure. Any time you see termite worker mud tubes or the winged form of the termites known as swarmers, contact us quickly so we can inspect your residence or building and apply either a liquid or bait treatment.
Similar to western subterranean termite. After swarming, a pair breaks off their wings and burrows into the soil. Here they mate and the female produces only a few eggs the first year, increasing up to 5,000-10,000 eggs a year when she is mature. The queen can live for many years, and workers can live 1-2 years. Swarmers are produced the 3rd or 4th year at the earliest. Swarming occurs in the daytime, typically during the morning of the day following a warm rain. Spring is typically when swarming occurs, but it may possibly be followed by one or more smaller swarms until winter. In the extreme northern states and Canada, swarmers are rarely seen.

Other Wood Destroying Pests:
Brown Rot:
Brown rot is spread by spores. Brown rot hyphae attack the wood's sugars and starches, as well as the cellulose of the cell walls. This can reduce the strength of the wood, and cause it to absorb more moisture. Some brown rot fungi can withstand high heat and dryness. Some species can remain dormant for long periods, and then revive when moisture is present.
Affected wood becomes brownish. While drying the wood tends to crack perpendicular to the grain, resulting in cube-like structures which are easily crushed into powder when dry. A thorough inspection is needed in order to identify the source of moisture, and to lower it.
    •    Affected wood becomes brownish. While drying the wood tends to crack perpendicular to the grain, resulting in cube-like structures which are easily crushed into powder when dry.
    •    A thorough inspection is needed in order to identify the source of moisture, and to lower it.
True Powder post Beetle:
These beetles grow and feed on hardwoods, where they lay their eggs in the wood and the larvae feed and destroy it. Adult powder post beetles (lyctids) are active at night, fly well, and are attracted to light. Female lays (15-50) eggs in exposed wood pores, cracks and crevices, but never on wood that is painted, polished or waxed. The larvae tunnel in sapwood, along the grain, packing their tunnels loosely with very fine, powdery, flour-like dust. After several molts (2-9 months), the mature larva bores back to near the surface to build a chamber and pupate. The adult bores out to the surface to exit, and mates, doing very little feeding. Development time from egg to adult is 9-12 months, but can be as little as 3-4 months, or as long as a few years.
    •    Round exit holes, diameter 1/32-1/16 in (0.8-1.6 mm)
    •    Piles of very fine powdery dust, which falls easily from holes, as it is not packed tightly in.
    •    Presence of emerging adults during late winter/early spring (then eggs are laid, and larvae begin to bore through the wood.
False or Large Powder post Beetle aka. Bostrichid Beetle:
The Bostrichid beetle moves into wood to lay eggs. Inside buildings, they will lay eggs in furniture, where the larvae eat and pupate in the wood. Because of this damage, the wood becomes fragile and unusable.
Bostrichid larvae feed on wood cell contents, which is mainly starch, with some protein and sugar. They cannot digest cellulose. Unlike anobiids and lyctids, female bostrichids bore into wood, making tunnels across the grain of the wood before laying eggs in wood pores. Larvae tightly pack their mealy frass into the tunnel behind them as they bore through the wood. After molting several times, a mature larva bores closer to the surface, makes a chamber, and pupates. The emerging adult bores to the surface and exits. Development from egg to adult usually takes 1 year. For some species that breed in partially seasoned wood, it may take up to 5+ years in fast drying wood.
    •    Look for round exit holes with diameter of about 1/8-1/4 in (2.5-7 mm), accompanied by piles of powdery frass without pellets.
    •    Identify correct beetle family (and sometimes species).
    •    Identify on the basis of the type and age of wood, type of product damaged, exit hole size and shape, frass, and wood moisture, since these insects are rarely seen.
    •    Have professional inspection to determine activity.
Deathwatch Beetle:
These beetles invade buildings in the spring, laying their eggs and targeting older wood furniture. These creatures are able to do considerable damage once inside.
Studies indicate that anobiids, unlike bostrichids and lyctids, can digest wood cellulose, due to yeast cells in their digestive tracts.
They are nocturnal. Female deathwatch beetles (anobiids) lay their 20-60 eggs in cracks, in old exit holes, and under surface splinters of wood. After hatching the larvae bore against the woodgrain a ways, then turn and go along the grain, packing their frass and fine wood fragments into the tunnel behind them. In a softwood (conifer) this mixture feels gritty due to the shape of the pellets; in a hardwood (broadleaf) the mixture is tightly packed and not gritty. With each larval molt and for pupation the tunnel is made wider. The adult bores straight to the surface of the wood to exit. (This differs from bostrichids, which bore almost to the surface first before pupating.) The adult does not feed, but looks for a mate. Development from egg to adult takes 1 year in good conditions, but often 2-3+ years indoors .
    •    Round exit holes, diameter 1/16-1/8 in (1.6-3.2 mm) with piles of gritty powder nearby.
    •    Spring: new exit holes.
    •    Summer: new holes, adults present.
    •    Fall: larvae still active inside wood.
Carpenter Ant:
The carpenter ant resides both indoors and outdoors in moist, decaying or hollow woods. If this happens to be inside your building frames, it could cause serious damage. They cut passageways from section to section in the wood, which can cause building damage to occur faster.
Larger than most ants, carpenter ants can grow up to an inch long. Most adults are black, but can also have some brown, yellow, or red coloring. Carpenter ant queens have large front wings.
Its food source outdoor is plant juices, insects, honeydew from insects, spiders. Its Indoor foods are sweets, grease, meat, eggs. Carpenter ants follow a regular trail when foraging. A mature colony of western carpenter ants may have 10,000-20,000 workers or up to 100,000. Swarmers aren't produced until the colony matures. In the West, swarmers may appear between February and June. There is usually just one functional, wingless queen per colony. Development from egg to adult takes at least 60 days.
    •    Look for piles of sawdust-like shavings, sometimes with bits of insulation and insect parts.
    •    Listen for rustling sounds from within the walls. (A listening device is useful.)
    •    Watch for foraging trails outside, especially between 10 am and 2 pm.
    •    Be alert to the emergence of swarmers.
    •    With a tool gently tap exposed wood and rafters, listening for a hollow sound which might indicate a nest cavity. A knife blade will easily sink into the wood if a nest is present.
    •    Check attics, basements, and crawl spaces. Check wires and pipes. Locate high moisture areas. (A moisture meter can be useful.)