What Smells Will Keep Mice Away from a House?

Certain scents attract mice to indoor spaces, such as sweet fruits, pet food, meat, and greasy food. The reason why people put peanut butter and cheese in mouse baits is because mice love these scents.

But on the other hand, what scents do mice hate, and what smells will keep mice away? Here are some items you can place around your house to deter mice based on their sense of smell.

Vinegar

Many people already have a bottle of vinegar in the house, so this is an easy DIY remedy for mice. Vinegar has a powerful smell, and you can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for this purpose. One idea is to soak cotton balls in vinegar and place them in areas where you think rodents are getting inside. Vinegar can also be used to clean areas that have been affected by rodents.

Citronella

Most people think of mosquitoes with citronella, but some also use it to eliminate mice. The strong smell can be too much for mice to handle, keeping both pests away from your home and property. You can find citronella in the form of sprays, candles, pouches, essential oils, and live plants.

Mothballs

Mothballs prevent moths from eating clothing but may also help keep mice away. The balls contain naphthalene, a substance that mice despise. However, this idea comes with some warnings because studies suggest that naphthalene can also be toxic to humans with excessive or prolonged exposure, causing issues with your lungs and the tissues in your nasal canal.

Cinnamon

Even though you may love the smell of cinnamon in holiday drinks and baked goods, mice don’t feel the same way. The spicy aroma of cinnamon can deter mice while being a pleasant scent for you to have around the house. To use cinnamon as a mouse-deterrent, hide cinnamon sticks under furniture and inside cabinets and drawers.

Mint

Mice are not fans of mint, which is why some people use peppermint oil to keep mice away. Peppermint oil is a heavily concentrated form of the scent, so it may be more effective than just having a live mint plant growing in your home. However, the oil can irritate your skin, so be careful while handling it. Alternatively, you can rub some mint toothpaste along baseboards and around cracks in your home to discourage them from entering.

Chili Powder and Oil

Anyone who has tried spicy food can attest to the fact that chili powder is a lot to handle. For a more concentrated version of this spice, you can also try chili oil around your home to deter mice.

What to Do When Scent-Deterrents Don’t Work

If you have tried a few scent-deterrents to address your mice problem and it’s not working, it’s time to call Precise Termite & Pest Control. We have been keeping Northern New Jersey mice-free for over 30 years and understand the different kinds of mice, the diseases they carry, and the damage they can cause.

Our professional extermination methods go far beyond just adding scents around your home, and we can use a combination of techniques depending on your situation, such as trapping and exclusion. Please get in touch with us at 866-971-2847 for your free mice inspection today!

How to Get Rid of Ants in the Dishwasher

Ants sometimes appear in the strangest places in a home, such as the dishwasher. This is a particularly unsettling place because the dishwasher is an appliance you trust to get your dishes and utensils clean enough to eat safely.

From the ant experts at Precise Termite & Pest Control, here is some information about why ants get into dishwashers and what you can do to get rid of them here.

What Draws Ants to Dishwashers?

You might think that a dishwasher is the last place an ant would want to live, especially with all that hot, flowing water on a regular basis. However, dishwashers are attractive to ants because of all the food residue left behind on the dishes you put inside them. Many people leave dirty dishes sitting in the dishwasher for a few days before running it. This is a great opportunity for ants to enter and feast on your leftovers.

Ants can easily hide in the cracks of a dishwasher to avoid drowning or being swept down the drain. Even modern dishwashers have various cracks and openings that offer easy entry points for tiny ants. Common entry points for ants in a dishwasher include side vents, gaps behind the dishwasher, the lower kick plate, and the area where the plumbing connects to the hole in the appliance.

Getting Rid of Dishwasher Ants

If you have an ants-in-dishwasher problem, it’s not enough to simply run the appliance on a hot cycle and assume they all died. Some DIY enthusiasts have tried placing delayed ant lures near dishwashers to poison ants that come into them and then spread the poison through the rest of the colony. Another option is to pour a cup of vinegar combined with boric acid down the dishwasher’s drain to reduce the smell of food residue that attracts ants. You can also scrub the dishwasher with soap and water to clean up food residue, check for leaks around the machine, apply diatomaceous earth around the dishwasher, or place ant bait stations underneath and around it to target the ant colony.

Professional Help for Ants in a Dishwasher

However, one consideration to keep in mind is that you don’t want poisonous substances anywhere near the cups, bowls, plates, and utensils that you will soon be eating with. Never spray pesticides inside a dishwasher because you could unintentionally poison yourself and your family while trying to get an ant problem under control.

The safest and most effective solution is to call Precise Termite & Pest Control for professional help with your ants in dishwasher issue. Ants common to Northern New Jersey are our specialty and what our trained exterminators excel at handling every day. From our experience, it is likely that you have ants in more than just your dishwasher if you find them here, so you may have a more extensive infestation problem on your hands than you even realize.

When you hire us to get the job done right, we will not only get rid of ants in your dishwasher but also inspect other possible entry points around your home and take preventative measures to ensure they won’t come back. For your free ant inspection, please call us today at 866-971-2847 or contact us online. It’s best to reach out to us at the first sign of ant activity so that we can address the infestation early on and prevent it from spreading elsewhere in your home.

Signs You Have Bees in Your Walls and How to Get Rid of Them

There are few things more unsettling as a homeowner than hearing buzzing sounds coming from within your walls. After all, the walls of your home are supposed to be durable and impenetrable to provide 24/7 protection from outdoor risks and hazards. However, bees can actually find their way into walls of buildings and be very difficult to get out.

Here are the signs that you have bees in your walls and the best approaches for getting them out.

Why Bees Get in Walls

Bees love to find dry, dark, and safe conditions to live in. If you have cracks, crevices, or gaps in your walls, these can be places for bees to hide and take shelter. Bees are drawn to wall cavities that form from natural wear and tear in your walls over time or due to another rodent or insect infestation. As professional exterminators in northern New Jersey, we have seen bees get into walls around plumbing and electrical wires, through gaps in siding, and around window openings too.

Some bees are more likely than others to get in your walls, including carpenter, bumble, and mason bees. It is risky to have bees in your walls because someone in your household could get stung, which is especially problematic if anyone is allergic to bees. If bees die while inside your walls, their combs can melt and stain your walls.

Signs of Bees in the Walls

The most common sign of bees in walls is a buzzing sound that indicates that bees are making a nest inside. You may also notice more bees outside the affected wall area, either suddenly or more than usual.

Another sign of bees in walls is an active hive near your home. Bees in walls may leave behind stains on ceilings and walls. They can destroy the wood and drywall while also attracting ants, rodents, and other pests.

How to Get Rid of Bees in Your Walls

It can be frightening and frustrating to have bees in your walls. Therefore, the best way to get rid of bees in walls is to contact Precise Termite & Pest Control for a free inspection to assess the level of the bee problem and remove them safely and humanely.

Bee removal is not a DIY endeavor, as many people end up in emergency rooms each year after trying to handle a dangerous bee infestation themselves. We have a team of highly trained bee removal specialists who can help you achieve a bee-free home with the right equipment and prevent bees from coming back in the future.

Preventing Bee Infestations Around Your Home

In addition to the bee prevention services that we provide, there are things that you can do to prevent bees from getting back into your walls. If you notice gaps, holes, or other damage to your walls, repair them as soon as possible before they become attractive habitats to bees and other pests. Use caulk to fill holes in the walls, roof, and foundation of your home, and make sure that chimneys, vents, and utility holes are covered properly. Bees are not likely to live exclusively in walls and will typically find their way out into your main living quarters if given the opportunity.

Call us at 866-971-2847 at the first signs of bee activity in your walls to be proactive about a potential infestation and take care of your household members and guests.

How Ants Get in Carpet and Tips to Get Them Out

It’s common to see ants crawling on the sidewalk, around the foundation of your house, and perhaps even on your kitchen counters if they find their way inside. But one place that you might be surprised to find ants is in your carpet. Regardless of whether your carpet is thick and fluffy or short and flat, ants in carpet are a more common issue than you might think.

Here is some information about why ants get into the household carpet and how to get rid of ants in carpet if this unfortunate situation happens to you.

What Draws Ants to Carpet?

First of all, there is nothing inherently attractive to ants about the carpet itself. What ants love to find in carpet are food droppings and residue from spilled drinks.

Many people have carpets in their homes to make the floors softer for kids and pets. But these household residents are likely culprits for spilling and dropping foods and beverages without promptly cleaning them up. Spilled items can become embedded in carpet fibers over time. Meanwhile, carpenter ants can be drawn to the wood below the carpet and access that wood through tiny holes in your carpet.

DIY Solutions for Ants in Carpet

If you notice just a few ants in your carpet for the first time, you might initially turn to DIY solutions and home remedies to get rid of them. Start by vacuuming your carpet more regularly than you usually do to get rid of food sources and suck up the ants. After vacuuming your carpet, you can spray a cleaning solution made with 50 percent vinegar and 50 percent water on the carpet to kill the remaining ants.

Another DIY method is sprinkling baking soda or diatomaceous earth on your carpet to get rid of ants. Ant baits can be set up on and around your carpet to kill them. Some commercial carpet powders contain ingredients that are toxic to kids and pets, however, so you will need to be careful with what you put on your carpet.

Exterminating Ants from Carpet

The safest, easiest, and most effective way to get ants out of your carpet is to call Precise Termite & Pest Control and have one of our professional exterminators come to your home. We offer free inspections and are experienced with all kinds of ants that live in northern New Jersey. Our ant control and removal services are affordable and will keep ants from coming back into your home while also keeping little ones and furry friends safe.

Preventing Ants in Carpet

Once you get the ants out of your carpet, there are steps you can take to help prevent them from returning. Vacuum your carpet at least once or twice per week on a regular basis, and then vacuum up crumbs and wipe up spills as soon as they happen. You’ll also want to mop your floors and wipe down counters in your home so that ants aren’t attracted to other parts of your home and later find their way to the carpet.

When our exterminator arrives at your home, ask the professional for other tips and ideas for keeping ants outside where they belong and not in your house at all. Exterior sprays, for example, can be very effective when professionally applied around the outside of your house and leave long-lasting protection for several months or more.

For more information or to schedule your free inspection, call us at 866-971-2847 or contact us online.

How to Identify Hives: Bees, Wasps, and More

If you discover insect activity around your home, chances are that a hive or nest is close by too. These shelters look different based on the type of insects that made them, and some are more dangerous to be around than others.

In this article, we are covering hive identification tips so you can learn about the types of bee nests and what to do when you find a bee or wasp hive on your property.

The Importance of Hive Identification

If you find a hive, it is helpful to know what kind it is so that you know who to call for help. For example, if you have a bee hive on your property, you may choose to hire a local beekeeper who can make use of the bees and honey in a productive way.

However, hives that are bothersome or dangerous require the expertise of a professional exterminator who can safely remove the hive without putting you at risk. Regularly inspecting a hive at your home can help you assess the severity of a potential infestation and whether the insects inside are beneficial or a nuisance.

Bee Hive Identification

There are different types of bee nests because the various species of bees prefer different structures to live in. For example, honeybees thrive in hollow trees and man-made hive box structures. Bumblebees build their nests underground and prefer hidden places like abandoned mice holes and spaces underneath sheds. Carpenter bees build their nests in trees and on the sides or eaves of buildings.

Meanwhile, wasp nests are typically paper-like and gray in color. Wasps build nests in trees, inside sheds and garages, and in other places out in the open. You may find yellow jacket nests in the ground, but other wasps choose to build hives under picnic tables, inside light fixtures, and underneath wood awnings. Unlike bees, wasps do not make honeycombs, so you won’t see the hexagon-shaped clusters of honeycombs if you have wasps.

Bees Nest vs. Wasp Nest

In general, beehives are larger than wasp nests. Wasp nests are often umbrella-shaped and only about two to six inches in diameter. Bee nests can be made of honeycomb, while wasps make their nests with wood pulp and mud.

Beehives can accommodate tens of thousands of bees, while wasp nests can usually only hold a couple of dozen wasps. Look for beehives out in gardens and meadows where there are flowering plants, and look for wasp nests in protected areas, such as overhangs.

Other Types of Hives and Nests

In addition to bees and wasps, you might see other hives or nests around your property and need to identify them. Ants build nests that look like mounds of dirt and extend underground through potentially extensive tunnels. Termites also build nests in underground areas and can eat away at the wooden structures of homes. However, nests are the creations of social insects, and less social insects do not typically build nests, such as stink bugs and Asian beetles.

What to Do When You Find a Hive

Whenever you find a hive on your property in Northern New Jersey, Precise Termite & Pest Control should be your first call. We will send one of our trained specialists out to your home for a free inspection and to confirm what type of hive or nest it is. From that point, we can advise you on the best course of action so that the insects are handled in a safe and humane way without putting you and your family at risk.

What Do Termites Eat?

Termites are insects that cause billions of dollars in property damage in the U.S. every year because of how much they love eating the wooden structures of homes. However, a termite’s diet might actually surprise you because of how varied and diverse it is.

From the pest control specialists at Precise Termite & Pest Control, here is our answer to “What do termites eat?” so that you can be an informed homeowner who is ready to handle any insect that comes your way.

Do Termites Only Eat Wood?

If you ask almost anyone what termites eat, the instant response you’ll probably get is wood. However, termites do not only eat wood, as they have a varied diet that helps them thrive in many different environments around the world.

Termites are resilient insects that can eat almost anything. They commonly eat dying plants, roots, fungi, and grasses. They also eat mulch, sugarcane, and cotton. Certain types of trees are especially attractive to termites, including pine trees, oak trees, palm trees, and ash trees. Materials that you have lying around your yard may attract termites to feed as well, such as cardboard, fabric, carpet, insulation, and pet feces.

How Do Termites Digest Cellulose?

For termites to be able to eat wood, it is necessary for the insects to digest cellulose, which is no easy task. To break down the wood in a termite’s diet, the insects have beneficial bacteria and protozoa in their stomachs. The digestive enzymes from these organisms naturally break down cellulose to help termites digest wood and get nutrition from it in the form of sugar.

To aid the digestion process, termites will often eat decaying wood because it is easier to digest than fresh wood. Baby termites develop these stomach organisms later as they grow and develop, so worker termites must pass along sugar from their own cellulose processing through mouth-to-mouth feeding.

How Do Termites Get Energy?

Worker termites are tasked with feeding and grooming other termites in a colony, and they are the ones that forage for food to share with their companions. When a termite finds a food source, it will leave a trail behind and go back to the colony to get more help to feed everyone else. A termite’s energy comes from its unique gut bacteria that allows the insect to break down cellulose and fuel its usable energy.

Understanding Termites’ Diet and Why It’s Important

A termite’s diet is crucial to its survival and serves as a guide for its habits and activities. You can reduce your risk of attracting termites by limiting potential food sources for this insect and keeping your property clean and tidy. Any decaying wood or debris materials should be promptly removed from your property so that they don’t attract termites. However, some termite food sources cannot be avoided, especially since these resourceful insects are known to infest roof shingles, utility poles, decks, fence posts, and other outdoor structures.

At the first sign of potential termite activity, call Precise Termite & Pest Control for a free inspection. We specialize in this type of extermination and offer fast and reliable service that is always affordable

Don’t let termites eat away at your precious home and yard. Contact us at 866-971-2847 for help and advice!

Ants in the Garage: Why They’re There and How to Get Rid of Them

Garages are handy places to store vehicles, sporting equipment, exercise machines, and tools. But they are also attractive spaces for ants to move into and take up residence. If you have ants in your garage, the issue could be more severe than you might initially think because of all the access points to boxes, attics, and the main house.

Here are some tips for dealing with ants in a garage and insights about what drew them into this area of your property in the first place.

Why Ants Like Garages

One of the most common types of ants living in garages is the carpenter ant because this type of ant loves wood frames and structures. Many garages have exposed wood areas that are not sealed and offer easy entry points. Garages may accumulate moisture due to car tires and shoes that make the floor wet during rainy and snowy days. Ant in garage problems can get even worse if you store pet food in your garage or leave open trash containers in your garage.

Signs of Ants in Garages

If you knock on wooden structures in your garage and hear a hollow sound, it could be due to carpenter ants digging through the wood to make nests. You may notice droppings from ants in your garage or find holes in bags of pet food you have stored in the area. Doors that stick, floors that sag, and walls that bulge are other signs of damage that may be due to an ant infestation.

How to Get Rid of Ants in a Garage

Some baits and traps can be used to eliminate ants from garages. These extermination strategies have long-term effects and can be very effective for ridding your property of ants. You might try mixing equal parts water and vinegar with a few drops of liquid dish soap as a DIY strategy. It is also helpful to identify ant nests to know where ants are coming from and gathering together.

Make a point to inspect vehicles parked in your car for ant activity, as well as storage boxes and other items you don’t access regularly. Inspect the outside perimeter around your garage to see if ants are active in the outdoor areas nearby. Going forward, avoid keeping trash, food, or seeds in your garage to deter ants. Clean up excess moisture as soon as possible inside the garage so that it is less attractive to pests as well.

When to Call a Professional for an Ants in Garage Situation

If the ants in your garage seem like more than you can handle with an easy DIY approach, Precise Termite and Pest Control is here to help. We assist New Jersey residents with prompt, professional, and effective ant control services every day and know what it takes to keep garages free of ants.

At the first sign of ants in your garage, we recommend calling us at 866-971-2847 for a free inspection. We look forward to helping you make the most of your home’s garage space without any ant issues!

Ants in the Kitchen Sink? Here’s How to Get Them Out for Good!

You use your kitchen sink to scrub dishes, wash your hands, and prepare food. Clearly, this is no place for ants to be living. But there they are, walking around the drain and hanging out on your dish sponge. This is an unsettling place for ants to take up residence in a home but a more common place than you might expect.

Here’s a look at why ants are drawn to the kitchen sink and how to deal with an ants in sink problem at home.

Why Ants Get in the Sink

Like all living creatures, ants are constantly searching for food to eat to sustain their bodies. You’ll often find lots of food scraps, crumbs, and grease in kitchen sinks. Ants are also steady and reliable sources of water, which is another thing that ants need to survive each day. This makes them perfect habitats for ants, especially when you don’t keep your kitchen sink clean and tidy.

Leaving stagnant water in your sink attracts ants, as well as dirty dishes for long periods of time. You might also have an ants in sink problem if you have a leaky pipe that causes a pool of water to form under the sink. Inadequate caulking around the sink and a garbage disposal clogged with food debris can also lead to ant activity in the kitchen sink.

How to Get Rid of Ants in Sink

Ants in the kitchen sink are very noticeable, and getting rid of them requires more than just washing them down the drain. You’ll need to thoroughly clean your sink inside and out to deal with an ant infestation. To clean the top of the pipes, you can put baking soda and vinegar in your sink and then pour boiling water down the drain. However, you don’t want to use chemical ant killers in your kitchen sink because they could get into your water supply and put your health at risk.

Therefore, the safest solution is to call Precise Termite & Pest Control to come out and evaluate the extent of the ant problem. We can safely remove ants from your sink and give you peace of mind that they won’t keep crawling back up the pipes, through the drain, and to the rest of your kitchen.

Preventing Ants in Your Sink

One of the best preventive tips for eliminating ants is controlling moisture problems. This process may involve checking for plumbing leaks, removing puddles of water, and getting faucets tightened up. Keep food scraps out of the kitchen sink to prevent ants from coming back in the future. To make your kitchen less attractive to ants, keep the counters, the backsplash, and the stove clean and free of food scraps and spills.

Call Us for All Your Ant Problems

Most DIY ant remedies only address the ants that you can see and not the more significant problem of ants in the sink. An infestation may be worse than you think if ants live down within your pipe system, under your floors, and behind your walls. We are your local Bergen and Passaic County ant control experts, so call us at 866-971-2847 for an inspection any time you notice ant activity in your home.

What to Do About Mice in the Couch

Mice are resilient little rodents who seem to be able to live just about anywhere, such as attics, basements, walls, and kitchen pantries. But one place that many people don’t think about mice taking up residence is the couch. There’s something very unsettling about the thought of mice hanging out where you sit to relax and cuddle up with a book or watch TV. But mice in couch problems definitely exist, and we’re here to help when they happen to you.

Can Mice Live in Couches?

The short answer to this question is yes, mice can live in couches and make their homes among the soft cushions here. Some homeowners have taken DIY approaches to rodent control and thought they had a mice issue handled when they stopped seeing them in familiar areas. However, little did they know that the mice had migrated to the couch and started to destroy a valuable piece of furniture that they previously believed to be safe, clean, and comfortable.

Why Mice Like Couches

Couches are attractive places for mice, just like they are among our favorite places to spend time as humans. Couches are filled with soft materials that are cozy and make excellent nesting materials. The inside of couches are hidden away from the outside world and the humans and pets that may disturb them. It’s also a great place for pregnant female mice to have their babies and keep them safe and warm. If you have a habit of snacking on your couch, mice will find those tiny crumbs between the cushions and have their own little feast from your leftovers!

How to Identify a Mice Nest in Couch

One of the most common signs of a mice nest in a couch is mice droppings, which are fecal pellets left behind from these unwanted couch residents. A single mouse can create dozens of droppings per day, which will be noticeable when you rotate your couch cushions or remove them to vacuum your couch.

Other signs of mouse activity in your couch are gnawed portions of fabric, the smell of urine, and bits of stuffing on the floor. If you are quiet, you may even hear squeaking or scratching noises coming from your couch when you are not sitting on it.

We Can Get Rid of Mice in Your Couch

If you have noticed signs of mice in the couch or have any sneaking suspicions that they are living here, don’t live another day in these troublesome conditions. Precise Pest Control is the go-to source for mouse control in Northern New Jersey, and we are in the business of helping people get mice out of their couches for good.

Our professionally trained exterminators know the best ways to remove mice from couches so that you can assess the damage and make the best decision about your furniture. The longer you wait to take action, the more damage mice can cause in a couch. If you catch the problem early, you may be able to have the couch cleaned and repaired so that you don’t have to buy a brand-new couch and put a strain on your budget.

Then, going forward, we can provide you with helpful tips about how to keep mice from getting into your couch in the future, such as promptly cleaning up crumbs, strategically placing mice deterrents, and sealing up gaps and holes in your home.

How to Get Rid of Ants in the Bathroom

Ants are very common in New Jersey, and although they’re tiny, they can cause big problems for local homeowners. Ants can squeeze through the very smallest cracks and gaps in homes as they search for food, water, and shelter. One place that ants often gravitate to when they get inside is the bathroom, which can really throw off your normal hygiene and grooming routine.

Here are some tips for how to get rid of ants in your bathroom and where to turn for professional help to get a bathroom ant infestation under control.

Why Do Ants Live in Bathrooms?

There are a lot of things about a bathroom that makes it the perfect place for ants to live. These rooms of the house are dark and moist, with easy access to water. Bathrooms provide ants with a damp environment from condensation after you shower, pools of water from clogged drains, and plenty of smells from your favorite soaps and lotions. Even if you make a point to clean your bathroom on a weekly basis, ants can still make their homes here between your cleanings and without going noticed in dark corners and under the sink.

Ant Control in Bathrooms

Ant control in the bathroom often involves setting baits after identifying the type of ant you are faced with. Baits are most effective when they target specific kinds of ants, and yes, we do have several different types in our region. Yet, getting rid of ants in bathrooms starts with finding the place where they are coming in from and following their trails. From there, look for what is attracting them to the area, such as a leaky pipe or crack in the wall. If you don’t address an ant infestation promptly, the ants can get into your toiletry products, cause plumbing problems, and be very unsettling for everyone in your household and guests.

Professional Help with Bathroom Ants

The professional exterminators at Precise Pest Control can identify the ants in your bathroom and come up with a quick and effective solution to get rid of them. There are DIY home remedies that you can try to eliminate ants from your bathroom, such as white vinegar, borax, and coffee grounds. But if that sounds like too much of a hassle to mess with and you simply want the ant situation to go away as quickly as possible, Precise Pest Control should be your first call.

Prevention Tips for Ants in the Bathroom

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to prevent ants from inhabiting your bathroom for the next time after we have come out to exterminate the existing ant colony. When you are done using the shower, turn on the bathroom fan or open a window to remove steam and reduce moisture levels. Clean the space between floor tiles to remove grime that can attract ants, and wipe up any puddles of water on the floor as soon as possible.

Other ways to prevent ants in the bathroom are to replace bathroom mats, empty the bathroom trash can regularly, and clean the bathroom drain occasionally. The area behind the toilet is an enticing place for ants and somewhere that you don’t look at every day. So, this is an important place to pay attention to with your regular bathroom cleanings.

We are here for you whenever you have an ant problem in the bathroom or elsewhere in the house. Call us at 866-971-2847 for a free ant inspection!

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