Pest Pains
A guide to the pests in the North Country
Story and Photos Alan Fanitzi
Carpenter Ants love moist wood because it's easy for them to dig into.
Lying still underneath a wooden deck hides a porcupine, nibbling away at the plywood to satisfy its craving for salt. Suddenly, a dog is let out of the house for a quick walk and immediately hears the creature munching away at his owner's deck. Curious, the dog darts beneath the wooden deck to explore, and within seconds, the homeowners run outside after hearing a startled yelp. As they walk out the door, they notice that all the vegetation in their garden is completely up-rooted—it is not a pretty sight. Wondering who or what did this, the whimpering dog walks up to them with sharp quills covering his body, and the answer is clear.
There is no mistaking a porcupine. It is North America’s second largest rodent—after the beaver—and is considered a pest by many. This creature is known for causing property damage by gnawing through wooden sheds, cabins, and homes. This has to do with a special craving that every porcupine has.
“Porcupines crave salt and will destroy wood siding on cabins looking for the plywood resin; we get many calls per year in regards to porcupine damage to homes, sheds, and cabins,” says Sean Carruth, vice president of Critter Control Inc., a national wildlife control firm.
Though they are a nuisance, porcupines in the North Country are not a threat to humans. “Their hazard to people is quite low. They are slow-moving and unless you are handling them, they pose little risk,” says Stephen Vantassel, the wildlife damage specialist at the Center of Wildlife Damage Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“We get many calls per year in regards to porcupine damage to homes, sheds and cabin."
Porcupines are not the only bothersome creatures in the North Country. Unfortunately, residents may be sharing a home with pests much smaller and more common. These critters may not have needle-like quills, but they can feed on blood while one is asleep, make a home out of the kitchen cupboard, or even spread harmful diseases.
“We get many calls per year in regards to porcupine damage to homes, sheds and cabin."
Porcupines are not the only bothersome creatures in the North Country. Unfortunately, residents may be sharing a home with pests much smaller and more common. These critters may not have needle-like quills, but they can feed on blood while one is asleep, make a home out of the kitchen cupboard, or even spread harmful diseases.
Bed Bugs
In July 2010, the popular clothing chain Hollister, along with its parent company of Abercrombie & Fitch, closed two of its stores in New York City due to a reported bed bug infestation. Although there have not been reports similar to this in the North Country, bed bugs are here and can be a nuisance.
No bigger than an apple seed, these small creatures resemble small brown cockroaches that literally get under people's skin. Joe Rotella of Rotella Pest Management in Plattsburgh, N.Y. has been in the pest control business for more than 12 years and provides some insight regarding bed bugs.
“Bed bugs are here in the North Country. They look for veins close to the surface of the skin and jab you to draw your blood—that’s how they live,” Rotella says. This is similar to when a mosquito draws blood from human skin and leaves an itchy bump shortly after the bite. Bed bugs will leave a welt a few days after the bed bug draws blood. This makes for an uncomfortable experience, especially if the surface of the skin is covered in welts from multiple bites.
“They look for veins close to the surface of the skin and jab you to draw your blood—that’s how they live."
There are only a few remedies for getting rid of bed bugs, but many pest management services enlist a special tactic when it comes to dealing with this small pest. “The non-chemical method is heat,” Rotella says. “Heating your house up to 140 degrees and letting it sit for 36 hours kills everything inside.” This method may seem like overdoing it, such as trying to kill a mouse with a rocket launcher; however, it will insure that the pest problem at hand will be solved.
According to Cornell University’s Integrated Pest Management Program, since bed bugs are vulnerable to heat, steam-cleaning the possible bed bug locations—such as bed sheets—will kill whatever creature lives there. Keep in mind that this method may not solve the problem completely—there may still be bed bugs outside of the steamed location, so wash everything thoroughly.
Carpenter Ants
What is small, black, and eats houses? The answer is a carpenter ant. These ants are a big pest problem due to the damage they can do to decks, tables, and other wooden structures on a homeowner’s property. As time goes by, the wood becomes weak and structurally unsound, resulting in a dangerous and dreadful sight.
Carpenter ants have strong mandibles and a part of their mouths designed to bite food, which allow the pest to forge tunnels through wood in search for water or for a place to build a nest. “If there’s moist wood, ants love it—it’s easy for them to dig into,” Rotella says. Rotted out trees, roots, and stumps are often infested with carpenter ants because of the high moisture content, and the soft wood makes tunnel forging a breeze for these ants. Although this typically happens in the wild, damp wood in a house can easily attract these pesky critters.
According to Pennsylvania State University’s Entomology department, there are tactics that can be used to prevent keep carpenter ants from destroying wooden structures near households. Removing stumps and logs around the house and repairing any water-damaged wood will help prevent carpenter ants from invading a home, thus saving a lot of damage and aggravation from happening.
Mice
According to the NYS Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University, mice are the most common pest that lives among people. Not only do they contaminate the surfaces they touch, but they can also chew through electrical wires, causing a fire.
Common house mice are around 8 centimeters long and have brown and gray skin. Feeding on whatever food they can gnaw on, mice choose their nesting grounds selectively. “Mice go into houses and nest in things like cupboards, drawers, and cabinets,” Rotella says. In addition, salmonella poisoning, Lyme disease, and tapeworm are just a few sicknesses that can be contracted from mice.
Mice are a nuisance in the colder months because they're looking for a place to live.
Mice problems in homes occur year-round; however, one season in particular force mice into warmer locations “Mice are just a nuisance, especially in the colder months when they are looking for a place to live during the winter,” Rotella says. It’s not hard for mice to get inside of a home—mice use their small size to their advantage when it comes to invading a home.
According to Rotella, “They only need a hole the size of a dime to get in.”
Better Safe than Sorry
Just like with a car, it is best to fix a problem early because the chances are that it is only going to get worse over time. Having a pest problem is the same way. It does not matter if you have a meddlesome porcupine tearing up the back yard, carpenter ants eating away at your front porch, bed bugs in your bed, or a mouse chewing through wires—ignoring pests hurts in the long run, so it’s best to take care of the problem before it gets out of hand
