I’m in a newly built home, and wanted to see about having a rodent exclusion before it gets cold as we’re surrounded by fields, woods, and a lake.

We have no existing rodents.

The house is wood sided and has no garage and is pretty small.

There’s 6 entry points that are all the wood corner boards. And then 2 junction(?) points on the roof. They bundle the 6 entry points as 2 for $150 making it 3 entry points for $449

The 2 roof ones for $199

And they said they add a trap to catch anything that may get in so they know if they need to seal more?

And it comes with a 12 month renewable($199) warranty

The total is $749 plus tax

I’m a new homeowner and wanted to know if this seems reasonable or if I should call around? It’s a local highly rated small business.

Is it worth it to have a rodent exclusion done before rodents could possibly get in?

Hello!

We had our quarterly service yesterday. We noticed a lot of ants crawling from our outlet today along with hundreds of super tiny red bugs on the window sill. We called the pest control company and they said it is normal for a small uptick for up to 2 weeks...is this normal? Because this is very scary and we did not have this issue until we sprayed outside yesterday.

We just bought/moved into a house 2 months ago.
Yesterday, I was preheating the oven and found this guy in my clock panel. It's a bit smaller than a grain of rice. Assuming the worst, we've already called pest control/exterminator, and the gel-bait (Vendetta Plus) got delivered this morning. We haven't seen any signs of German Roaches otherwise (we're super clean people) but I have the heebie-jeebies and I just need some clarification/words of encouragement until the pest guys get out here.

my cat has fleas, and has been in my closet, and my bins of clothes that i store under the bed.

it’s really expensive to do laundry in my apartment, and to wash everything in my apartment’s shared laundry, and replace my fabric bins.

is there any other solutions i can do to get rid of fleas in my closet? cojld steaming around the clothes and drawers be a decent option?

Ive done a lot of the leg work already, check for moisture spots and all that. I was just curious is there a way to narrow down where the breeding site is a little easier?

Has anyone had any luck with coming up with a plan to figure out where they come from? We have days where i Kill a handful and later that day they seem to be at bay, but other days, I kill the same amount, and then they get slightly worse again.

Is there a way to pinpoint or come closer to pinpointing a spot in the house where they are coming from? i know you can put traps and stuff around the house and the ones that have the most are near the source.

Has anyone had a house where they come from the floor drain in the basement. I look there in the morning and there is none there, but i know that doesn't necessary mean that they are not coming from there.

It sucks not being able to prep food or enjoy my morning coffee without one of these cursed flies landing on something it shouldn't.

I just currently created some dried liver and dawn dish soap traps which i know can take a few days to become active. I also have some Nibor-d foam for the drains coming.

I did have a small leak behind the bathtub, but since ripped off some of the dry wall and have had it drying out for the last few days. I do not see many around this area anyways.

any crazy tricks or anything that have helped someone locate them? I have not took apart my fridges yet to check there. but i will be doing that this weekend.

I have read through lots of reddits so just looking for someone to hopefully have some crazy miracle way they used to find the nest. :D

Hello I had a roach clean out done to the apt I moved into a few months ago the clean out was done on Tuesday its now thu evening the place was sprayed fogged and gel baited when I returned home the floor was slick the tec told me not to mop and it's safe for ny cat but I'm not buying that should I mop the floor?

Overview:  My partner and I are dealing with a severe infestation on the house we rent. Brown banded roaches have completely taken over but that’s not the only species we’ve seen. We’ve documented Florida wood, smoky brown, and American roaches as well. At peak activity we were seeing 12+ a day inside. Outside, we’d see piles of them at night. In 2 days we recorded 48 separate instances of live roach spotting.

The infestation is so bad they have even been spotted inside our vehicles and have now destroyed appliances within the home we rent. Us and the Landlord have taken measures to prevent further escalation but nothing seems to stop them from coming. Even professional pest control doesn’t seem to be working. I’m looking for any advice at this point or something that can help me understand where they’re coming from and why they won’t stop. 

If you’re looking to give advice, here’s the background information

The house: We moved into this rental property about 6 months ago. It was newly built in 2024 with the previous tenants being the landlord himself. He documented seeing some roaches around the property but ensured pest control was handling it. The house sits next to a vacant, vegetated lot and sits at a slightly higher elevation. Theres about 10feet of distance between the lot and the house. I know that living next to a vacant lot increases the chances of having roaches due to decaying vegetation and rainfall. On the other side of the vacant lot, there is a house that is inhabited but has boarded up windows and a fence that extends into vegetation. The other side of the house we rent is just another house in which those people keep a clean house and property. 

List of Home mitigations conducted

• Caulked every inch of baseboard 
• Froze all food waste 
• Routinely Bleaching trash cans 
• Replaced rotting mulch beds 
• Placed bait traps 
• Placed glue traps
• Placed NiBan Granular bait
• Ensured the property was spotless and never left dishes in the sink. Even have a robot vacuum to ensure no crumbs are left behind
• Left outdoor lights off to ensure it wouldn’t attract additional bugs

Landlord also hired a second professional service after I told him the first company he hired wasn’t doing anything. Which we probably can assume also lead to the escalation of roaches since it wasn’t handled properly. 

We noticed a decline with the second company as they were extremely thorough. Hundreds of bodies were all over the garage and attic.

We’re on 5 treatments currently. Including lawn treatments, indoor treatments, granular treatments for the attic, dusting of outlets, dusting of recessed can lighting, dusting of vents, glue traps, gel baits, IGR for attic and probably more than I cannot think of. Pretty much every legal amount of pesticide has been used at this point and at first it declined and now it’s ramped back up.

I don’t understand what is driving them to the house. I’ve spoke with professionals who study insects and they’ve suggested there must be a food source that is driving their breeding through the roof. Even the professional pest companies are confused by why we have such a high quantity when everything is in perfect order. 

I just don’t know what to do at this point and I feel like I’m losing a battle to bugs. 

I’m saddened most of all because we were supposed to stay here a good while and now we have to move again. Most importantly, because the infestation is so heavy, everything that comes with us must be handled properly otherwise we risk reintroduction.

The moving process is It’s expensive and exhausting and we have to go through it again.

Ive gone down every rabbit hole possible including legal advice, code enforcement action, and health and safety laws. Any new perspective or hopeful insight would be greatly appreciate.

ive had the exterminator come numerous times and was never told to put up my cats, to not any room until they’re dry and was never told to open the windows. Hell, the guys would spray the baseboards while looking right at the cats! I’ve recently heard about how dangerous the wet areas can be if you touch them or breathe them in, which I’ve accidentally in into it numerous times and breathed it in. Never had any issues; am I overreacting, are my exterminators shitty, or are they using a less dangerous pesticide?

We’ve been having a roach problem for about a month so we had terminex come out and all the guy did was spray the baseboards..I did research and realized after they should have put some kind of bait gel down and actually looked to see where they are coming from. Is that what a lot of companies do? I’ve already got rid of them and hired a new company that has good reviews and says they are very thorough. It’s very stressful cuz I feel like we could have a better handle on this if he did his job correctly. I’m so frustrated ugh

I have a lot of fruit flies in my room and I have left out glasses with apple cider vinegar and dish soap for days. A lot of them have died but there are still many alive. Since it's fall and cold outside, could opening my window during the night help? I know the cold won't kill them but could it at least make them stop flying around all over my room and maybe just get in the damn apple cider vinegar already? Cause really the main problem for me is that there's constantly a fruit fly flying towards me when I'm trying to relax in my room, other than that I don't really care if it takes a long time for them to all die.

In NJ.

Found in bedroom. They were found dead. All 3 pictures are the same 2 bugs, just moved them to a white napkin with and without flash for pics 2 and 3.

They look like they might even be 2 different types of bugs?

Been trying to identify what type of ant this is? Sorry if it's not super clear, struggling to get better pic.

Saw few around the bath and trying to climb the wall... Is there anything I can do myself or better to all the professionals? I also noticed some eating on leftover food in the kitchen.

EDIT: they appear to be very tiny like a spec unless you look closely, colour is reddish/brown and the end is more distinct/darker colour?

14-year mystery: microscopic crawling/jumping/biting sensations associated with textiles and humidity — looking for help identifying the cause

This is going to sound strange, but I've been dealing with this for about 14 years and I'm hoping someone with experience in entomology, mites, springtails, environmental pests, or microscopy might be able to point me in the right direction.

First, I'm not claiming that I have discovered a biting springtail or some new parasite. Springtails are simply one possibility I've considered because some of their environmental characteristics seem to fit. I could be completely wrong.

What I really want at this point is to capture and identify whatever is present—or establish objectively that there isn't an arthropod present.

How it started

This started very abruptly when I was about 22.

I was extremely healthy, athletic, and had never experienced anything remotely like this before.

I used a laundromat, brought my laundry home, and left the clean clothes/bedding sitting in a clean hamper for about a week.

When I finally put those sheets on my bed, I woke up that night with what felt like thousands of extremely tiny things crawling, jumping, pinpricking/biting, and moving across my skin.

It was literally an overnight change. I had never experienced the sensation before using those sheets.

That was roughly 14 years ago, and I've been trying to understand it ever since.

The strangest part: it seems associated with my belongings, not permanently with me

Over the years, certain clothing, bedding, furniture, rooms, and vehicles seem to become associated with the sensations.

If I shower, leave everything behind, travel somewhere with completely new clothing, and stay in a clean environment, I can have essentially zero symptoms.

If I bring affected textiles/belongings with me, the problem can eventually appear in the new environment.

I've moved houses and changed vehicles and still experienced this after transferring belongings.

Whatever is responsible also seems incredibly persistent. I've tried normal washing, clothes dryers, freezing, cleaning, etc., without reliably eliminating it.

I've left rooms/houses alone for months and returned expecting the problem to have died out. Instead, the apparent activity can sometimes be worse, almost as though the population increased while I was gone.

That is one reason I've questioned whether this could be an ordinary parasitic mite that requires a host.

Humidity and temperature make a HUGE difference

I live in Florida, so most of my experience has unfortunately been in a warm, humid environment.

The apparent activity seems to absolutely thrive around roughly 75–80°F with high humidity (~75% RH).

Under those conditions, it can seemingly explode.

I can't actually count organisms because I can't reliably see anything with my naked eye. When I say "thousands," I'm describing the sheer frequency of the sensations: crawling, rapid movement, jumping sensations, and sharp pinprick/biting-like sensations occurring constantly.

Cold/dry conditions produce almost the opposite effect.

When I'm somewhere snowy, cold, or very dry—particularly if I've brought completely new clothing—the problem can essentially disappear.

This strong moisture dependence is one of the reasons I eventually started researching Collembola/springtails.

My dogs appear to react too—but this started BEFORE I owned dogs

This is another part that makes the situation interesting to me.

I've had this problem much longer than I've had my dogs, so they definitely weren't the original source.

However, after my dogs live in an affected environment, during periods when the apparent activity becomes intense, they can start scratching almost nonstop.

When I treat the environment and the activity decreases, their scratching can decrease too.

I'm not claiming this proves they're being bitten. There could be another environmental explanation. But the correlation has been noticeable enough that I think it's worth mentioning.

Pesticides/environmental treatments can dramatically reduce it

This is probably the biggest reason I keep coming back to an arthropod explanation.

I've spent years wondering whether I simply had some bizarre neurological or dermatological problem.

I've seen doctors, including dermatology/internal medicine, and have undergone extensive medical workups without finding an explanation.

There were actually years when I mostly gave up trying to solve it and just lived with it.

But here's what keeps bringing me back:

Treating an affected environment can dramatically reduce or temporarily eliminate the sensations.

I've had vehicles where the crawling/jumping sensations were extremely noticeable. After treating the vehicle with an insecticide, they dropped dramatically or disappeared for a period.

Pyrethroid-type insecticides have worked at various times, although they sometimes seem less effective after repeated treatments. I realize I cannot call that "resistance" without actually identifying the organism and testing it.

More recently, I thoroughly cleaned an affected environment using an ammonia/alcohol-based cleaner. After treating the ceiling, walls, flooring and affected areas, the crawling/jumping/pinprick sensations dropped to almost zero.

That's obviously not scientific proof of an insect. There could be confounding variables.

But when something has been happening for 14 years and repeatedly changes after environmental treatment, it's difficult for me to ignore.

I have not simply sprayed pesticides over every room, bed, and piece of clothing I own because I don't want to chronically expose myself or my dogs to pesticides—especially when I don't even know what I'm trying to kill.

Why I've wondered about springtails

I understand that accepted entomology says springtails don't parasitize or bite people. That's actually the mystery.

But several characteristics seem oddly similar:

• Strong dependence on moisture/humidity
• Thrives in warm, humid environments
• Activity drops dramatically in cold/dry environments
• Sensations resembling extremely fast crawling/movement
• Distinct jumping sensations
• Apparently capable of persisting in buildings for extremely long periods
• Seems capable of persisting without a human host
• Appears associated with textiles/organic material
• Can seemingly become extremely numerous very quickly

I also experience what feels like different levels or stages.

Sometimes it's incredibly subtle—almost like tiny/light movement across the skin.

Other times the sensations are much stronger: rapid crawling, jumping and sharp pinpricks that feel like bites.

I don't know whether that represents different life stages, different organisms, population density, environmental conditions, or something completely unrelated.

One particularly strange characteristic is that whatever causes this seems capable of surviving perfectly well without me, yet activity seems much more noticeable around a warm person or animal.

That makes me wonder whether—if an organism actually exists—it normally lives on fungus, microorganisms, organic debris, textiles, etc., but is attracted to warmth, moisture, CO₂, sweat, or something else associated with mammals.

Again, that's just speculation.

Not everyone around me feels it

Not everybody entering an affected environment reports the same thing.

I realize that's an important point.

But I don't think subjective sensation can answer this question either way. Different people could have very different sensitivity to tiny arthropods, allergens, fibers, static electricity, skin irritation, or whatever else might be occurring.

After 14 years, I don't really care whether my springtail theory turns out to be completely wrong.

Really looking to the community to see if anyone has solved this completely. I'm ok using pesticides just tell me what you did and how much, often, etc. However this thing seems so insanely adaptive and hardy and multiplies sooo fast. Literally seem like a bio-weapon. Again I have successfully removed them from my truck with IGR and Bifen but it took about 2-3 treatments in a week or so...I'm not sure I can do that to my entire house safely?

Has anyone encountered anything remotely similar?

More importantly:

And are there organisms other than springtails that could potentially explain the combination of:

extreme moisture dependence + rapid movement/jumping + persistence without a host + textile/environment association + apparent attraction to humans/animals?

I'm completely open to being wrong about what it is.

I'm not looking for someone to confirm my theory.

Is there actually an arthropod or other organism consistently present in the affected material, and if so, what is it?

I spotted a nymph of an american cockroach on the 14th September and since then I been cleaning the flat almost obsessively, covering every sink hole, ventilation and holes on the wall with metallic tape (it's all I got), cleaning any water on the sinks, bathtub, balconies and floor, pouring hot water with bleach in the pipes once a week and treating any hidey spots and the bottom of the entrance door with Raid Pest Control. I also use peppermint essential oil in repelling mixtures but carefully because of my cat.

Problem is, I'm supposed to be away from Christmas to New Year's. And while I seen no roach since September, I'd like to know if it's wise to be away for a week.

Any suggestions on how to keep the flat cockroach free during that week?

A few days ago at work, we caught the death of a fox on CCTV. It happened just before 02:00 in the morning.

It walks in to frame with what looks to be a rat or other small animal in its jaws. It walks normally and seems just like a regular healthy fox. Then it stops for a few seconds, stands on its hind legs and falls over on its back.

It then lies on its side, moves its head for maybe 10 seconds and looks to be dead.

It was found and removed the next day and colleagues who removed it saw no injuries to the fox, nor is there any blood where it fell.

Pictures I saw of it showed no mange or malnurishment. Nice thick fur and no blood around the mouth or nose either.

My first inclination was that it was shot, but since this is on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, and inside a secured freeport/customs area, hunting is out, and poaching seems unlikely also.

The only poison I can imagine that would work this fast is Carbofuran or similar, but they are banned here in Denmark, and has been for ages.

Did we just witness a fox having a stroke or a coronary and die, or could it have come across poison bait left by professional pestcontrol or is there something else going on?

Hi! I’m in a large apartment building in NYC. The other two people there have lived there since 2021 and 2023 and have said they see about one American roach a year. About 5 months ago the building sent an email saying they’d no longer treat the whole building for roaches but would respond to work order requests to “target the issue” although all they do is leave bait traps that do not kill or repel them. We’ve seen 3 American roaches we believed to be coming from the bathroom. We now have coverings over everything but the hole in the sink ( we’re trying it’s just a very weird shape so it’s been difficult to do) 4 days ago we saw a German roach in the kitchen. For context, it’s basically an L shaped place that goes bathroom, bedroom bedroom bedroom kitchen front door/ entryway. We don’t have a living room we have a tiny table with two barstools next to the kitchen.

The building itself is around 100 years old and truly massive. I am 5 months into an 18 month lease paying 1700 a month due to one of the roommates being locked in at that rate. I cannot afford to break the lease or higher rent elsewhere.

I have a horrible phobia of roaches. I wish I could say the kitchen one died but unfortunately I immediately started throwing up so it kinda won that battle. My room is directly next to the kitchen. We have no pets or kids.

I have used silicone caulk on every crack in my room. It’s very clean and dry and I do not eat in there. I do not leave any trash or any food outside of an airtight thick plastic container but the other rooomates do not care nearly as much as I do.

My question is- to the best of my ability understanding that the only real solution is to treat the root problem- how can I try to keep my bedroom and my apartment as roach free as possible? Given the lack of real pest control I’m pretty confident they will be around unless I personally do something.

Please help- thank you!

I live in a 200 unit apartment building in DC. Me and my neighbors have a lot of problems with pests and I don’t know how it compares to other places, or how the pest control regiment.

Since moving in less than a year ago:
-I’ve caught 35 fruit flies over the course of 3 days
-Caught 2 mice and saw another running around
-have seen 4 baby roaches over the course of a week
-caught two adult roaches
-saw one roach crawl out of my clothes into the lint filter in the communal laundry area
-saw one dead bedbug on top of one of the washing machines

Additionally I’ve asked a bunch of neighbors and 40% of them have also reported rodents, one saying that they’ll even come out and chase each other around in the living room when the family goes to the kitchen to eat dinner.

We have an exterminator come in once every week. Most everybody in this building is working class families, some single young adults, and elderly and disabled people. I know the building is old, it was built in the 1940s, but I can’t help but wonder if the other older buildings with richer tenants have to deal with the same level of pests and problems. Like there’s a lot of children and elderly people here who have to live around rodent droppings, roaches, and mold.

To bring pest issues down to a manageable, minimal level, does it require insanely expensive measures? We’re thinking about approaching management as a group but I want to know set my expectations on what’s reasonable and what’s not.

Caught about 5 of these the last 4 months in our basement. Located in the Northeast, USA. Never dealt with rodents before in our previous homes. They seem to like slim jims and peanut butter. Any help is appreciated!

Moved into terraced flat in London, one bedroom renting. Quickly realised there is a problem with mice.

Contacted landlord who sent her own pest control guy out the same night so felt good about it being dealt with. He put down bags of poison.
Came back a week later to check them and seal the holes.
He has left bags of poison that are half chewed and spilling across the bottom of the clothes cupboard floor.
Contacted him and landlord and they are saying that the bait needs to be left as a precaution incase he missed any holes and that she has contacted the neighbours to also get pest control in.
Isn’t this hazardous leaving poison open like this?

im not sure if i got scammed by this pest control company or not, i have a clothes moth issue in my room and its been a problem for months theyre pretty much on all my clothes and somehow ended up in my ps5 which sucks. I've put traps everywhere, vaccumed, etc. and they just keep coming.

I paid around $230 for the initial service from this company and the guy just came today, not only was he late as they said they would be here at 12:30 but came at 1:30, but he looked through the closet, the two vents and checked under my bed for literally 1 second and noticed i had a trap. He then sprayed the walls, the vents the closets and i think he sprayed under the bed for maybe 10 minutes max, probably even less tbh. He then just put some more moth traps which ive already done and then left. I have no clue what he sprayed but he said not to touch the walls or anything and it looked like some large cylinder tank with a hose coming out of it.

Is this a normal procedure for a pest control company or did i just get scammed? I want to point out that theyre the ones who offered the price initially and i found them from Agni or something which contacts pest control companies and tells them your problem and then the pest control company contacts you. I saw their reviews and they seemed legit but im starting to think i was scammed but idk. I just really want to get rid of these clothes moths and theyre literally everywhere I had to move to a different room and even my ps5 is infested with them now lol.

For anyone who works in pest control i have had a hest treatment with chemical and 2 follow up chemical sprays. The follow up chemical sprays are 5 minutes long and i live in a studio apartment. Is that enough time for a spray? I am still finding bed bugs in couch after these tresrments

I currently live in an infested apartment and am moving in 4 days. I noticed roaches near the microwave so I assume they are living inside of it and was wondering the best way to vacate them from the microwave so I can take the appliance with me to my new place, I don't think the new place has roaches so I really don't want to be the one to bring them that would be horrible, any tips on the cheap would be greatly appreciated