#pest-control

#pest-control

Neem oil is a versatile natural pesticide that every gardener should have on hand. The oil is extracted from the seeds of the neem tree, and it works brilliantly against soft-bodied pests. Besides aphids and whiteflies, it's also effective against smaller caterpillar larvae.

Gnats, particularly fungus gnats, are skinny with long legs and thrive in moist environments, often hitching rides on overwatered plants or developing in sink drains.

Stagnant indoor air is one of the less discussed reasons houseplants struggle. Fungal spots, mould on the compost surface and pest infestations like mealybugs can all be traced back to a room with no airflow.

Flocks of sheep graze on the weeds under the vines, and a falcon beats its wings as it staves off flocks of birds. Their efforts do double-duty: keeping away invasives and pests, while attracting wine country visitors eager for a unique experience.

Crushed clean, dry eggshells, when scattered over the soil, are intended to stop adult gnats from laying eggs and potentially add natural fertilizer. However, they merely sit on the surface, collecting dust, while the gnats remain attracted to the damp compost.

The STEM Flying Insects Fan Trap uses blue light to attract bugs to come near the opening at the top and a whirring fan to suck the bugs inside, where they get stuck to a circle-shaped sticky glue trap.

I'm not going to tell you that you can't squish or flush a bug if you can't handle trapping and releasing it (although, full disclosure, I am a trap/release outdoors gal for all except mosquitos and cockroaches), but I'm not sure that persuading your 4-year-old to be cool with killing any living creature (even when it's because it "scares the shit out of" their mother) is your best path forward as a parent.

February heralds skunk mating season, and our striped friends have romance on their minds. Over the next several weeks, skunks will be seeking mates, and this activity always results in an uptick in the amount of skunk spray in the air. Male skunks spray each other when they fight over females, and females spray males they don't want as mates.

Kitchens, even very clean ones, smell like food, and this is a neon welcome sign to a rodent's nose. These creatures don't rely on their eyesight the way humans do. Smell is their dominant sense, and they use it to follow scent signals that mark a rat-safe route or a promising meal. A mouse has over 1,000 odor receptors (whereas people have a measly 350) finely tuned to trace the semiotics of a kitchen, like starches, fats, and other rodents' chemical signatures.

If you've taken all the other measures, then a strong scent adds that extra layer of deterrent, but it doesn't address the cause,

The yellowjacket population is surging in both the East Bay and North Bay this summer, and since the bugs are very aggressive and can sting multiple times, county authorities have their hands full cleaning out an unusually large number of nests. Folks who attend the Outside Lands music festival may recall that in 2024, there was something of a wasp infestation, with the insects swarming food stands and generally giving festivalgoers a serious hassle.

A Farm Boy location in the Yonge-Eglinton area has been forced to temporarily close after failing a DineSafe inspection. According to the City of Toronto, two of the infractions include permitting rodents and failing to protect food from contamination. The Farm Boy location near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue has closed temporarily after failing an inspection conducted through the city's DineSafe program. The inspection found two "crucial" and other less severe infractions at the grocery store, including a failure to protect food from contamination and that the premise was maintained in a "manner permitting health hazards," specifically rodents.

BugMD: Pest Solutions Better for you and bad for bugs. BugMD makes effective solutions for everyday pest problems. Essential Pest Control is designed to fight ants, roaches, fleas, ticks and bed-bugs in your home. It's powered by clove and cottonseed oils so it's safe around kids, pets and plants when used as directed. Choose from zap traps, bracelets, plug ins, sprays and more.

Between August and early September, wasp queens stop laying eggs, and the nest starts to enter the end of its life cycle. As this happens, worker wasps' normal food sources are cut off, and they begin to seek out easily accessible, carbohydrate-rich human foods. Mr Copley says: 'As natural food sources decline, worker wasps are under pressure to find food, which makes them more aggressive and more likely to sting you.'

If you've ever wondered how to keep spiders out of your house, the first step is understanding why they come in in the first place. As the seasons change, these eight-legged visitors start seeking out warmth, shelter and food sources, and our homes provide the perfect environment. Let's be honest, spiders may play a useful role in keeping other household pests in check, but that doesn't mean we want them moving in with us.

To effectively eliminate fruit flies, you can create a simple trap with apple cider vinegar, dish soap, and a jar, capitalizing on their attraction to organic materials.

The data reveals that Southwark Borough Council had the highest report, with 44,257 rat infestations from 2023 to mid-2025, followed by Camden and Islington.