PEST GUIDE FOR HOLPER'S PEST & ANIMAL SOLUTIONS

Likely you are thinking of sonic rodent control. We have not heard of anyone using it successfully. Concerning to us is that it is advertised as pet safe. How can something be safe for your small pets if it can kill a large rodent? The sure way to achieve rodent control is professional help. Once we have your rodent issue under control, we keep it under control with snap traps indoors and baited rodent stations outside.

Every mattress should have a mattress cover to help with this. We sell one that does kill dust mites. At the very least a mattress should have an encasement, washed at minimum every three months. 

It doesn’t matter what the sound is, it will not be effective.

Absolutely! Even a tiny opening can create a pathway for unwanted pests.

Not regular newspaper. However, ground cellulose that has been treated with borates can be used as insulation.

In short, neither! Neither lime nor sulfur is an approved treatment for insect removal, and the potential risks far outweigh any potential temporary reduction in numbers. Only approved pesticides should be used.

This can be accomplished by using shingle tabs attached to the roof line. For your safety, and to save yourself hours and hours of time, call Holper’s Holiday Lights at 314-544-7378 to have your lights professionally installed.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to pest control. That’s why the knowledge of a professional pest control technician is so valuable. Roaches need to be baited vs. merely using a spray. Microencapsulated type insecticides will work on spiders. While this type of spray could initially kill some roaches, it won’t solve your roach infestation issue.

Unfortunately, there are no Over-The-Counter (OTC) products available that will keep ants away. Most OTC sprays merely disperse the ants to other areas in the house. Holper’s has a seasonal ant program, which consists of 2 sprays during the height of ant season. If your goal is to keep ants and other seasonal pests away year-round, our Silver, Gold, and Platinum Services provide that peace of mind.

Borax is dangerous for humans, so this method should never be attempted.

Regardless of how much someone will charge you to do it, bombing ants is not an effective treatment. Ants primarily live outside and come inside for water and food, so bombing the inside of your home won’t reach the majority of the problem. Also, there is no resid

The safest answer is that you don’t. As bats can be rabid, a bite can mean a series of painful injections. Leave the trapping to a professional with the proper safety equipment, training, and experience. Bats must be left intact to be tested for rabies.

Human exposure to mothball fumes is extremely dangerous, and possibly even deadly. Do not try this method.

Bat removal involves sealing the structure, except where the bats are entering and exiting. Those entry/exit points are fitted with a one-way door so that bats can’t re-enter once they exit! After all the bats leave, the one-way doors are taken down and the entry/exit is sealed, bat-proofing your home.

Bed bugs are not believed to transfer any diseases when they bite, so in that sense, they cannot be contagious. Possibly the person who asked this question was wanting to know if they are easily spread, and the answer is a huge YES! Bed bugs hitch rides on clothing, purses, diaper bags, backpacks, luggage, etc. If they can crawl in it or on it, they can hitch a ride back to your home from any building with an infestation. Yuck!

Unfortunately, nothing sold over the counter will work on bed bugs. You’ll save money in the long run if you call a professional at the first sign of bed bugs before you spend money and time trying to do it yourself. Only a professional has the materials, equipment, and know-how to succeed.

Less than ¼” long, adult bed bugs are flat, wingless, oval-shaped insects that are brown in color. Younger bed bugs are lighter in color and tinier. The eggs that bed bugs lay are minute and white in color.

Truthfully, any time you leave your house, you are at risk of picking them up. They hitchhike on clothing, luggage, backpacks, purses, diaper bags, etc. When someone whose home has bed bugs leaves their home, they carry them to the next place they go–fitting rooms, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, rental cars, offices, friends’ homes–they can go anywhere!

Leaving your lights on will not deter bed bugs.

This varies greatly by the size of the infestation and the sensitivity one has to the bites. It can take a month, or in some cases, the whole home becomes infested before someone notices. That’s why it is wise to have a professional do an inspection–catching things early greatly decreases your cost to treat and the time needed to complete the extermination.

Holper’s never recommends heat treatments for bed bugs as it doesn’t provide any long-term residual effect. A professional should treat all the cracks and crevices of the car with materials approved for bed bug extermination.

In short, you can’t. There is no magic wand. Some companies advertise heat treatments as such, but when your belongings are brought back into your home, you are likely just re-infecting your house. With Holper’s, we treat your home and belongings for a complete extermination.

They do not carry any known diseases, but some people will have an allergic reaction to the bite. Swelling, redness, and itching can occur, and there is always the possibility of infection and scarring if the bite is scratched.

So-called “bug bombs” that purport to eradiate bed bugs usually only succeed in pushing the infestation into new areas. Bed bugs are difficult to eliminate and extermination should be left to professionals.

There is no laundry detergent in and of itself that kills bed bugs. What kills the bed bugs is washing them in hot water followed by 90 minutes of drying in high heat.

Bed bugs can live a year without ingesting blood! It is nearly impossible to cure a bed bug infestation by hoping they will just die off.

Yes, they can. In extreme cold, they go into a dormant state, but the cold temperatures outside will not have an impact on them inside of your home.

In a word, no. Bed bugs are one of the hardest types of insect to effectively exterminate. Professional treatment is always required from a trained technician to thoroughly inspect your entire home to check for all locations that the bugs might have hitchhiked to aboard you or your belongings. It is a very involved process to treat all the development stages of the bed bugs to give you a home free of bed bugs. You’ll save money and time if you call a professional right away, rather than spending money and time trying to DIY first.

The only way a disinfectant would be able to kill a bed bug is if you soaked it in disinfectant, and obviously, you are not going to submerge your furniture, clothing, and belongings in disinfectant. A spray of disinfectant will do nothing, as the effect wears off as soon as the area is dry. Bed bugs are tough. Only trained professionals who know how to treat all stages of bed bug development can successfully rid your home or office of bed bugs.

In our area, they swarm in March and April.

Male carpenter bees are not capable of stinging. While the female carpenter bee can sting you, it would take an act of extreme provocation, such as attempting to handle the bee, for a female carpenter bee to actually sting you.

Birds will land wherever they want–nothing can control that. However, if you have birds that keep building nests in your deck area, Holper’s can help you set up deterrents, like flashers, to make your deck less appealing as a nesting site.

In theory, everything a professional does for mice control, a DIYer could do, too. The big difference is that a DIYer doesn’t have the trapping experience or knowledge of the pest which is needed in conjunction with using the traps and materials.

At Holper’s we use traps inside and rodent stations with a rodenticide on the outside perimeter. We do not use rodenticide indoors as it could lead to the rodent dying in your walls. The outdoor rodent stations are attractive to mice as they leave your home each day to find food. Eating outside eliminates them dying indoors.

Any building looks inviting to a mouse!

Not only is this not an effective treatment for getting rid of mice, but it can also be deadly to humans.

In some cases, they can, but it will be in a terribly inhumane way. They should NOT be used for this.

One female mouse can have 5 to 10 litters per year. While the average litter is 6 to 8 babies, litters can range from 3 young to 14 young!! No wonder mice populations grow so quickly when untreated!

They aren’t picky–mice will tend to eat what they find. That is why it is so important to keep food stored in airtight containers and keep floors and counters free of crumbs.

To the untrained eye, it can be nearly impossible to determine how mice are getting into your home or business. That’s why it is so important to contact a professional exterminator upon the first sign of mice. Once entry points are located, your home will be treated with a personalized combination of baited mouse stations, mouse traps, and repairs to entry points.

Moles don’t hibernate, they just go deeper in your yard with their systems of tunnels. As the weather turns colder, earthworms go deeper into the earth, and the moles follow their food source. At times moles do come to the surface when there is snow cover, creating surface tunnels in their wake.

Trapping is the best way to kill moles, and as the trap is underground, it is safe for pets.

No, they are not.

Moles move through the soil every day to get the food they need.

It can, but if you have rodent stations around the outside of your house and compost area you can prevent them from becoming an issue.

Rats live in all sorts of areas, including walls, basements, attics, plumbing pipes, etc.

If they are in your TV, then you have a very significant infestation on your hands. Professionally applied and placed bait will be necessary for something of this magnitude.

(Are there German roaches?) Yes, there are German cockroaches, whose infestations can be successfully dealt with by a professional. Over-the-counter sprays and baits are generally not effective. Holper’s approach is multi-phased–we spray, use an insect growth regulator, and different baits to solve the problem. Follow-up service will maintain a pest-free environment!

Many times roaches will hitchhike into your home in a box. If there is enough food supply in your home, they will be happy to stay! Roaches love buildings with multiple food sources, such as apartment buildings or office buildings. Keeping floors and counters spotless, along with all food secured in containers, will make your place much less attractive to roaches.

Every case is different. Treatment frequency is determined by the level of infestation and the cleanliness of the area with the infestation.

Yes, they do.

Skunks residing under porches and patios will need to be professionally trapped to get rid of them.

Skunks really do not like well-lit areas and tend to stay away, so a lot of light at night will help keep them away.

Skunks sleep their days away in dens or under porches, decks, and home foundations. In warmer weather, you might even see one sleeping in vegetation on your property. If they have already made a residence under your porch, deck, or foundation, it will be difficult to get rid of them, so professional trapping is your best bet.

No, that is likely an orb spider–perfectly harmless!

Several types of spiders can leave welts the size of a golf ball, although it is very rare for any bite to swell to that size. In the St. Louis area, the brown recluse spider has the most dangerous bite.

Luckily for us in St. Louis, black widow spiders are not indigenous to this area; brown recluse spiders are very populous, though. If a black widow has hitched a ride from elsewhere to reside in your home, a general pest control spray should take care of the problem. Brown recluse spiders are difficult to eradicate, but Holper’s can take care of that for you, as well.

The only thing available as a deterrent is keeping your tree limbs trimmed back 10 to 15 feet from the roof line. Again, this is only a deterrent. If a squirrel chooses your home, they are going to find a way in.

Squirrels are not afraid of common feeder birds, but they do take watchful care to avoid predatory birds, like hawks and owls.

Squirrel traps baited and set by professionals will accomplish this.

Keep limbs trimmed back to limit access to your roof. Limit other access points by having a professional check for cracks and openings in the gutter line, roof vents, etc.

No, there is not. Squirrels must be trapped and removed by experts, and all potential entry points to your home should be Professionally sealed. Once that is done, you can deter squirrels from gaining access to your home by keeping limbs trimmed back from your roof.

Winter months for squirrels are filled with breeding, eating stored food, and birthing litters.

They certainly can, although they have to catch one first!

Squirrels do not hibernate; they are active all year.

There is no such thing as squirrel repellent, but keeping tree limbs trimmed at least 10 feet from the roof helps limit their access to your home. (Although, if you have a brick home, squirrels can climb right up the brick into access points along the roof line!)

While nothing will act as a squirrel repellent, it is wise to keep garages clear of any food sources that would attract squirrels (or rodents!)

After professionals trap the squirrels residing in your home, they will seal all entry points where the animals are gaining access to keep any others out. If your attic has had nuisance wildlife as residents, it is very likely that your insulation has been compromised and/or contaminated. Holper’s can help you with that, as well.

Many things factor into the successful trapping and removal of squirrels. The trained professionals of Holper’s will inspect your home to determine entry points and then begin to formulate a customized treatment plan addressing not only the infestation, but also the damage. Variables that will be evaluated are the construction of your home, the location/height of the entry points, and the types of entry points (e.g. gable vents, mushroom vents, gutter line, dormers, etc.). Consideration of these will determine the type of trap(s) used. While the trapping phase is progressing, Holper’s will monitor activity at the entry points to ensure that no animals remain in the structure.

Some gardeners swear that there are certain bulbs/flowers that squirrels don’t like, such as daffodils, hyacinth, lily-of-the-valley, and geraniums. For every gardener that swears by that, there is another gardener vowing it doesn’t matter. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones!

The best way to keep squirrels out of your garden is trapping to reduce the population around your yard–then you can have a garden!

Yes, all the time! They dig holes to bury the extra nuts they find for future consumption.

If you have a garage, keep the garage door closed. If your car is parked outside, targeted squirrel trapping in the area you park will reduce the population, and reduce the likelihood of squirrels building nests in your car.

Squirrels have an incredible sense of smell!

No, professional treatment is required to save your home.

No, that is not a successful treatment for termites.

As their name implies, subterranean termites live underground and travel underground to reach your home or building. All termites damage the wood of the structure, which greatly compromises its integrity of it. Because subterranean termites are always hidden from view underground, they are able to “sneak” in and often create large amounts of damage to your home before you are even aware they are there. Termite damage in the US costs billions of dollars every year. This is one pest you want to be proactive about–get a professional to inspect your home and treat it to protect it.

You can pre-treat for termites on new construction. You can also pretreat if installing new patios or sidewalks by treating before the concrete is poured.

To exterminate voles where their yard holes are visible, the best method is a restricted-use pesticide, which only licensed professionals can obtain and apply. Traps can be used but are usually ineffective due to the large number of voles in a given area. Rodent stations are successful in keeping the voles under control after the pesticide has been implemented.

That white stuff you see in a wasp nest is the eggs/larvae.