Termites are incredibly sly and persistent when they decide to attack your home. The best part is that they remain effectively concealed until it is too late. But alert and vigilant house owners can prevent expensive restoration and damage control by calling for pest control early. However with all their precautions, there are some significant tell-tale signs that point strongly to a termite infestation. Here are some of the signs that signal termites:

Mud tunnels from woodwork to the ground or at the foundation wall

• Tunneling- tunnels are a typical characteristic of termites. Both drywood as well as subterranean termites make tunnels. Drywood tunnels burrow out tunnels by feeding on wood while subterranean termites make mud tunnels. The general appearance of these tunnels is rough. These tunnels essentially resemble mud tubes. These tunnels are often built in an irregular pattern and consist of mud particles and fecal matter.

The presence of winged reproductives called swarmers

• The other common sign is that of spotting winged swarmers in your house. These are winged termites that are produced when the colony has grown very big. They set out in search of new nesting places to set up satellite colonies. The winged swarmers can be most commonly spotted during the spring months of March and April. Occasionally they may also be spotted during a warmer autumn. People often mistake them for flying ants. The presence of winged swarmers indicates the presence of a large and established colony in the vicinity.

Termites breed in thousands and have an organized colony structure that is efficiency-oriented. When you spot any of these signs- either mud tunnels or winged termites at your window pane or near a light source, it is time to call in the termite experts to inspect your property.

Termite season is upon us and it’s vital that every home owner is aware of the signs of Termite infestation.

Basic warning signs of termite infestation

• Small piles of wings near wooden structures or windows – termites shed their wings often after flight.
• Damaged or destroyed wood that could not have been destroyed by old age or recent water damage.
• If tapping on solid wall sections like walls or ceiling gives a hollow sound, it may indicate termites inside your home’s structure.
• Evidence of mud tunnels near walls or window sills, and the outside around your home.
• Small pin-sized holes on walls or floor where the termites exit and enter.

A reputed pest control company will stamp their client’s service offerings with reliability, punctuality and efficiency. Keep your eyes peeled for these warning signs. If you suspect Termites are trying to claim residency in your home, call Horizon Pest Control today for a free inspection.

Among all the pests that may invade your home or business premises, roaches perhaps are the creepiest ones. There are hardly any human beings who will not give a convulsive shudder when they see a roach. There is good reason to feel repulsed by them. They are associated with filth and unsanitary environments. Though a very tenacious species, roach infestations can be controlled by prevention, detection and elimination.

Signs of a Roach Infestation:

Roaches are largely nocturnal and if the business premises are deserted at night, it may be impossible to spot any sign of them until there are thousands of them. Even if you spot a stray one scurrying in the day, try keeping sticky roach traps to see if there are more.

Eliminate hiding places:

Roaches love little cracks and crevices in which to hide. Caulking cracks and crevices discourages shelters for roaches.

Check to see if there are any leaky pipes

If there are leaky pipes that drip water, chances are that a roach infestation might start itself there. Take no chances, call the plumber and keep your pipes in sleek condition and prevent stagnant water pools from forming.

Keep food containers tidy

If your office has a cafeteria that caters to staff, make sure the utensils and the cooking area is completely clean of left-over food particles.

Examine boxes and cartons

If your office regularly gets consignments from other places, have them examined for roaches or roaches’ eggs. Roaches are fond of nesting inside paper or cardboard. Avoid keeping any unnecessary rags, boxes or old newspapers around.

Contrary to popular belief, roaches may be found in the cleanest places too. They may be eliminated by using insecticides, baits and dusts. If the problem is severe, then you could consider calling in professional pest control services.

Mold is a form of fungi that breeds in warm and moist places. While most forms of mold are harmless to humans and are very useful in decomposing dead matter, there are some unwanted forms of mold that find shelter in our homes. People may become very sick with breathing problems because of the presence of mold spores. Areas which are prone to condensation tend to attract the formation of mold. A common area where condensation takes place is air ducts. This makes it important to clean your air-ducts regularly to avoid mold formation.

How to check for the presence of molds in air-ducts

You can dismantle sections of the air-duct to check for mold. Mold signifies its presence by white or black spots and by a typical musty odor. Regular inspection of the air-ducts is a must as mold breeds at breakneck speed and will spread every time the air vents are turned on.

Air-duct cleaning to get rid of mold

It is best to request the services of a certified and licensed air-duct cleaning firm in your area. They will inspect your air-vent and suggest the right treatment for the mold. The normal course of treatment is a chemical based spray.

Some tips to keep your air-ducts free of mold:

• Keep the cooling coil of the air-conditioning system dry. It will usually drip water, keep wiping the coil regularly. Spray  disinfectant regularly.
• Opt for sloping drain pans instead of flat ones.
• Have your air-duct filter changed regularly. A mold infested filter may cause the mold spores to spread throughout the house.
• Fiber-glass insulation should be removed as it tends to become breeding colonies for mold infestations. Its better to opt for plain sheet metal minus insulation.

What are fruit flies and why do you get them?

Fruit flies are named after what they like to eat the most- fruits and vegetables. They are also known as vinegar flies. They are typically spotted around fruits and vegetables that are left out to ripen, vegetable gardens and trash cans. They are attracted to the smell of ripening and rotting fruits and veggies, then flock to the location of that smell. They are generally black in color and about one-eighth of an inch in size. They are known to hover over food that they’re attracted to, like a fruit bowl, and are known to be found most commonly in homes, gardens, supermarkets and grocery shops.

Why Fruit flies are considered pests:

Though fruit flies are usually just annoying more than anything else, they can also contaminate food with bacteria that can spread diseases. They also have the ability to breed at breakneck speeds and multiple into the thousands quickly, becoming even more annoying and unsanitary.

How to prevent fruit flies infestations in your home?

The best and most effective way to prevent fruit-fly infestations in your home or business is by keeping all vegetables and fruits neatly stored. Food that is left out and beginning to spoil will attracted these annoying insects. Even a small spillage of fruit juice under the kitchen sink might breed thousands of fruit flies. So, the best way to keep Fruit Fly’s away is to keep your house clean and free of rotting remains of fruit and vegetables.

How can fruit-flies be eliminated?

Certain chemicals are effective at eliminating breeding nests of Fruit Fly’s, but the first task is locating the breeding station. Finding the existing breeding stations as well as potential nests may be quite challenging. If you find your home invaded by fruit-flies, the best thing to do is call Horizon Pest Control to inspect your home or business and eliminate the problem swiftly and completely.

Angie’s List has again bestowed the honor of their Super Service Award for 2011 to Horizon Pest Control. The Angie’s List Super Service Award for 2011 was awarded for both Pest Control and Animal Removal!

This is the second Super Service Award won by Horizon – 2009 for the Pest Control category.

This was not awarded to Horizon because of a single individual or event, but awarded to a team of professionals who act to best service their customers needs every day. Great job team!

Thank you to our customers for letting our family take care of your family. We wish all the best in 2012!

Do you know what mold looks like? It comes in many colors like green, gray, white, an black. It can look fuzzy, velvety and inactive mold looks dry. The one thing that stays consistent with mold is it’s smell.

Mold is Nature’s tool to break down organic matter, and mold eats everything. When mold eats, it produces a gases as a byproduct. The byproduct gas is the same smell consistently with mold and it helps confirm what you’re actually looking at when you smell it.

How does Mold choose to eat?

Molds are fungi that grow and reproduce quickly based on conditions. The most notorious condition to enable mold growth is consistent moisture. Any organic material exposed to consistent wetness has a high susceptibility to mold growth, especially if it’s located within a dark, dank place. This is why most residents of New Jersey find mold in their basement, crawl spaces, attics, and storage areas & closets.  These areas of are not frequently visited and mold is left alone to multiply and eat away at your home.

Is Mold Harmful, and How? 

YES! Molds can be very harmful and create severe illness.

When mold reproduces, it releases spores into the air. These spores literally travel with the wind and are transported by air. When humans breathe mold spores into their lungs, these spores can wreak havoc on our immune system. While very short exposure to mold spores will not send you to the Emergency Room, but consistent inhalation of mold spores cause health problems.

As mentioned above, mold spores travel by air. So if you’re smelling mold in your basement, just closing the basement door won’t help you. Those mold spores will travel throughout the house and you will breathe them into your lungs. This is especially prevalent in the winter when all the windows are closed and the heater is on, and the same air is recycled over and over again.

Symptoms of Mold Exposure

Continuous inhalation of mold spores can create symptoms similar to sinus infections, respiratory problems, skin rashes, asthma, and a susceptibility to illness.

If you smell a musty odor from a specific room or area of your home consistently, call Horizon MoldExterm for a Free Inspection. We’ll be able to test your air quality and home for mold damage. A Free Inspection can give you the piece of mind you need to know you’re protection your home and property from mold damage. 

Wintertime is usually a time for joy and merrymaking for most people. It also the time when rodents like mice, rats and squirrels are known to enter homes. The cold winter forces rodents to find warmth and shelter. Your home provides all the things they need: shelter and nice supply of food and water.

Rodents have an uncanny ability to slip through tiny gaps and holes. Some of the smaller ones like mice can even squeeze their tiny little bodies into holes as small as a nickel. These pesky visitors will hide in various places such as your cabinets, trash bins, your attic and other places not regularly visited. Also, do not make the assumption that your house is rodent-free just because it is spotless. Even immaculately clean houses can be infested with rodents!

These furry little creatures can do serious damage to your house and property. Mice and rats will chew wires, which is a leading cause of fires in home. Worse still, rodents carry diseases that contaminate your air and food. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention lists 12 deadly diseases directly transmitted by rodents including Leptospirosis, Rat Bite Fever and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome. Aside from that, there are numerous diseases which can be indirectly transmitted by rodents.

Even if you cannot see them, there are many telltale signs which indicate that the unwelcomed visitors are in your home. They leave droppings in dark corners that may look like dirt, along with scratch and claw marks all over. You will hear them scurrying and squeaking when they think you’re not around as well. If you find any signs in your home, contact a rodent control company. Do not make the mistake of using poison bait or traps. Utilizing these techniques is not only dangerous to you and your family but inhumane as well.

Horizon Pest Control offers the most humane and effective trapping techniques. If you think you may, have a rat, mice, or rodent problem, call us today to schedule a free inspection of your property. If we find you have a problem, we’ll remove the animal invaders and seal your home to prevent another visit. Protect your home through the winter from rodents. Call today for an inspection.

Is the local wildlife becoming a nuisance and bothering you? Have animals moved into your home and now you find it hard to sleep because of the constant scratching noise in your attic? Are you afraid of acquiring diseases because of the wildlife in your home? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it is time to call an nuisance wildlife & animal control company.

What exactly can these animals do to my property?

Raccoons, skunks and opossums may look cute but they are actually very dangerous. Raccoons are capable of ransacking homes in search of food and warm shelter. They can tear off your shingles, chew through wires and rip-off air-conditioning ducts.  Skunks, like raccoons, will raid your kitchen and garbage cans for food. They can even attack your pets. Opossums are just like the other two, and can cause great havoc within a home. Once these animals make residence in your home, they will not only destroy it but make it their toilet. They will leave their waste and urine all over, creating a horrible odor in your home.

As if those problems aren’t enough, these nuisance animals are known to carry myriads of diseases transferable to humans. Rabies is the probably the most common mentioned disease linked with these nuisance animals. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90% of all rabid animals reported to them occur in wildlife. Raccoons and skunks are included in the list of main animals that get rabies. Aside from rabies, they are capable of transmitting other life-threatening diseases. Raccoon’s droppings contain roundworms which can be accidentally inhaled or ingested by humans. Once the roundworm is inside the human body, it can affect the muscles and various organs. Skunks and opossums can spread diseases not only to humans but to domestic animals as well.

Can I remove the animals by myself?

Of course you can remove the nuisance animals by yourself. However, wild animals can attack and bite you. If one of these animals is carrying a disease, it might get transferred to you. Fr these reasons we recommend you contact a professional nuisance animal control company to help. Professional animal & pest control companies will trap the animal and safely remove it from your home. This way there is no harm to the animal and the human is at zero risk as well.

After the animal is removed from your home or building, it’s extremely important that the paths in which the animal entered at identified and sealed. Entry ways can include holes or gaps within the structure that an animal can squeeze through. A thorough inspection by a trained and experienced professional will identify all of the potential entry points and make sure your home is secured. Enabling you to protect your hard-earned investment and be safe at the same time.

If you think the you have new neighbors in your attic or basement, call Horizon Pest Control for a Free Inspection.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects scientifically named as Cimicidae. The term “bed bug” actually came from the location the creature usually chooses to live within your home – THE BED. Bed Bugs also enjoy staying inside sofas, furniture and even computers. These small wingless creatures are oval in shape and usually flat. They feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals like us, humans. Although they cannot fly, they are extremely agile and can move quickly.

Bed bug infestation is a growing problem within homes and other places such as hotels, movie theaters, and cruise ships. Because bed bugs are very small, they can enter any dwellings unseen. Their flat bodies enable them to crawl through crevices and cracks. Once they’ve entered a building, they locate warm and cozy places to wait for their food to arrive.

Unlike some insects, the bite of a Bed Bug is painless and you wouldn’t recognize it was happening. Combine this with Bed Bugs being nocturnal and living in your bed, it is most common for people to wake up with bites all over themselves. The bites are small, red bumps on your skin. Usually the bites are very itchy and sometimes they are worse. If you notice a weird bite when you wake up, call a pest control company immediately. Horizon Pest Control offers a Free Inspection of your residence or building to identify if you have a Bed Bug infestation. If you do have an infestation, we offer affordable and reliable solutions to remove all bed bugs.