Exterminators
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Exterminators
Jan 2005
MITTS pest control?
Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with MITTS
pest control? We are not selling our house but have
encountered termites and are considering using MITTS for a
full inspection and removal of the termites. If you have a
strong positive recommendation about another company that
would be great too.
amy
My house was inspected by Mitts before I bought it. My uncle, Bob Randall with Prudential Realty (869-4242), said that Mitts is "the best." He's been in the business for *years* and recommended a roofer (Bill Wong, Interstate Roofing) who was *terrific*. Anyway, the pest report was positive and I haven't had any problems with my house. I hope this helps.
Jennie
Jan 2005
Burge Pest Control
I just wanted to write in because we recently used Burge
Pest Control after reading the recommendations on this
newsgroup. It was not the best experience. If you'd like
more details, please feel free to e-mail me...
autstein
See also: Advice about Ants
Dec 2007
We are having problems with ants around the perimeter of our
house and it looks like they have nests under the house. I'd
like a recommendation for a good ant extermination service that
uses methods that aren't going to be too toxic to humans and
deer, but will effectively wipe the ants out. Also a company
that will disclose what they are spraying and has careful
sprayers who don't just believe in saturation spraying the
whole house. Aantex and Burge were recommended in the web-
postings, but those recommendations were made in 2004. Thanks
for any leads.
Nancy
Check out Richard Fagerland who specializes in insects and has a
column in The Chronicle. I think he recommends to identify the
ant first and then set ant traps. He does not recommend
pesticides for ant control. You can send the ants to him to
identify them. You can also email him with your questions and he
replies back right away. He has a web site too, I think. He
tells you how to make the solution to put in the ant traps; it
may be borax.
Judy
Aantax has great service and reasonable prices. We used them
twice in the past 5 years, so did our neighbors. They'll
disclose whatever products they'll use.
anon
I just used Employ Exterminators. I found him via
the BPN. Richard really knows his stuff and he was really
easy to work with. He's been in the business for 20+ years. He
took the time to explain the chemicals he was using and the
process of how the ants would be eliminated. I have two small
children & a dog and I wanted to make sure they would be safe. He even made a return visit at no
additional charge to check on
the progress. I thought he did a very thorough job. vonnie
We would definitely recommend Burge in Alameda. Family business,
uses as much non toxic products as poss, reasonable pricing,
good people, etc etc
Cheryl
We had a major problem with ants until we made an ant trap using a mix of 1/2 cup
water, 1/2 cup sugar and a tablespoon of borax (20 mule team borax - can be
bought in the laundry detergent isle at super Long's @ 51st & Broadway in Oakland)
- after creating the mixture we found approximately where the ants were coming in,
filled a couple of plastic soda caps with the solution and placed them near the ant
entrance. The ants swarmed the caps for a few days then disappeared almost
completely - the way it is supposed to work is that the ants feed on the solution and
also bring it back to the colony/queen - after a few days the whole colony and
queen should have eaten the solution and die. If the solution proportions are
incorrect it may not work - we did research online to find out the correct
proportions, but forgot to write them down. The proportions I listed above might
not be exactly right, so you might want to do some research. If there is too much
borax, the ants will die before they get it back to the colony and it will not wipe
out
the whole colony - if there is not enough it won't kill them at all and they'll just
enjoy your sugar water. The solution is toxic to children and pets if consumed as it
contains borax. We didn't see a single ant anywhere in the house for weeks after
doing this - when we started to see a few scouts again we did it again.......so much
easier than vaccuuming ants on a daily basis and spraying chemicals around the
house.
good luck with the ants
Nov 2006
We have a place built on a concrete slab and have ongoing
invasions by ants, especially during the rainy season. Have
tried a multitude of ant bait, including Grants and Terro and
other poisons that the ants are supposed to take back to the
nest, ie get the queen ant! Nothing really working so far.
Does anyone have a exterminator they can recommend?
Thanks a lot!
Anon.
We used AANTAX (510-644-2440 or 510-832-8329) over 2 years ago,
and the ants never came back after that.
They were very friendly and nice people and they came on time.
They were also reasonably priced. (we paid about $130. money
well worth it.)
No ants
I cannot recommend Burge Pest Control highly enough. I never
thought I would be gushing about an exterminator but they were SO
nice, professional, knowledgeable, efficient and didn't try to
sell me on extra services. I also tried everything to no avail-
our ant problem was insane. I was concerned about having a
toddler and a dog but Burge said that an outside perimeter
treatment would likely do the trick - and it did! Phone number is
510/523-6100
No longer ant crazy in EC
We used Burge Exterminator for our ant problem. They were great. We have not had
an ant problem in over a year. We were fortunate that the exterminator did not have to
come back for a follow-up visit to spray. But they are available to do it. He sprayed
our entire exterior/perimeter of our house. He didn't even need to come inside. He
uses safe products and there is no odor. Here is their number 523-6100
good luck
ant free and happy
I missed the original post but just wanted to mention that Terro
ant killing products are non-toxic and extremely effective. The
ants eat the goo in the traps, take it back to the ant hole and
it kills the whole ant hole. We have been having regular
''antbreaks'' since moving into our Montclair house, and have been
able to quell each one within 1-3 days using only Terro products,
which can be purchased at any hardware store and are pretty
inexpensive. In addition, the customer service people at
www.terro.com are actually quite helpful in advising where to
place the traps, when to remove them, and which types to use.
There are indoor and outdoor products. With kids and animals
around our home, we have felt better about going this route
(although we feel kinda bad about killing ants in general --
can't they just stay outside?!?!?)
Montclair Mommy
Oct 2004
We have a terrible ant problem. We have tried many methods to fend them off
including grants stakes and spraying raid around the outside of the house
where they come in. I don't like to have a lot of poison in the house since I
have a young child. Hence, Chinese ant chalk not an option. My mother in law
recommended calling an exterminator. Has anyone done this? Can you
recommend someone? Did it work?
Thanks
Sara
We had an ant problem so bad that they were running along
the molding of our walls. Our landlord found aantx. This
is a company that does extermination for doctor's offices
and hospitals. It worked. 1 year later and we have only
seen a few ants. I don't know the phone number but it is
in the 925 area code. My landlord said he didn't think it
was too expensive.
Rochelle
I can highly recommend Burge Exterminators, based in
Alameda for ant extermination. We have 2 dogs and an 8-
month old and were very concerned about toxcitiy--Burge
took the time to explain their product to us and how it
works & were very reassuring. They are a family run
business and extremely friendly and helpful. We had ants
everywhere, and since Burge sprayed, none. What a relief!
Karina
For the two posts that wrote regarding finding an ant
exterminator. I have posted my ant problems on this
newsletter over the years (and we've had MANY, including an
ant invasion of our freezer!) and I have tried every non-
exterminator solution possible (ant stakes, boric acid bait-
- which I still highly recommend for maintenance), but
finally our ant problem became unmanageable and I too
called an exterminator. We have a dog and two kids so
indiscriminate spraying was a concern of mine too. I
settled on Aantex (510-832-8329) and would recommend them
if you are looking to call an exterminator. I called quite
a few companies. I found the Aantex guys and gals to be
the most knowledgeable of what they were spraying, and they
were willing to only spray in the parts of the house where
I knew the ant nest was and where their ''highways'' were--
many companies insisted on spraying the whole house ''to be
effective''. Good luck.
Luisa
We've had a bad ant problem for years, and noticed that our
little black ants just were ignoring the Grant's stakes.
We were even considering an exterminator, but I read up on
the ants online and found they liked grease and sweet
baits. So, we found new baits called the Enforcer which
the ants really swarmed in and seemingly ate. We left them
alone to eat the stuff, and now we only see a few a day.
It is a poison, but it's in a plastic container. Found at
ACE hardware. Hope this helps!
Almost Ant Free
July 2004
We have a major ant problem in our house. We've tried
some less invasive solutions like Buhatch powder, ant
traps etc.. but it's out of control and we need get pest
control in here.
We have two young children, 1 and 3 years old and
we're concerned about our childens health and
chemicals used by most commercial companies. Any
recommendations of companies that use less toxic
jacqueline
Hi, I know all too well the feeling of losing the battle
with ants in the house, and wanting to maintain using non-
toxic methods of control. However, I succumbed. After
months of battling and seeing some fluctuations in
population by using boric acid baits, the ants always
seemed to rebound and we were never ant-free. We could not
leave ANYTHING out EVER, and the pressure to be on top of a
perfectly clean kitchen EVERY DAY was too much (we have two
kids and a dog), and I called pest control companies. I
called around and asked a lot of questions and finally
settled on Aantex, whom I'd recommend (got the number from
yellow pages). They seemed the most informed in what they
were spraying (what they spray inside and outside are
different chemicals) and very sensitive to preventing
exposure to humans and pets. One thing that I was pleased
at was they were willing to only spray certain areas in my
house where I knew the ants were coming in-- they didn't
insist on spraying the whole house to guarantee the ants
wouldn't come back. I knew there was an ant nest under the
house in our crawl space, and the man who came to apply
knew to look for it and sprayed there. We have been ant
free for a month, and I still revel in leaving dirty dishes
in the sink. We'll see how long it lasts, and if using
bait now will control them so I won't need to spray again.
Good luck with your decision!
Luisa
We had a horrendous ant problem and used Ant Stakes from
the hardware store, placed every 6-8 inches outside around
our house and wherever we found them inside and they were
gone within a week. The bug man (in the Saturday
home/garden Chronicle section) recommended them I think.
He generally recommends the least toxic method. I think
he has a website that is something like thebugman.com or
maybe google the bug man (he lives in New Mexico). Hope
that helps.
ants no more
March 2004
We are having quite an ant problem. I think it has gone
beyond the ''the ants are coming inside to get out of the
rain'' to ''the ants live in the walls and sometimes come out
for a snack''. I spray Orange Guard; they go away for a day
and then find a new route in. I thought it was the rainy
season but now I'm convinced it's a large-scale
infestation. I've seen the many recommendations posted on
the Web site (baby powder has not worked for me,
incidentally) and have not yet investigated ant stakes but
will give that a try. I'd just like to know what I'm
dealing with first, so I thought an exterminator might at
least be able to tell me. My questions are: (1) does
anyone have a recommendation of a good exterminator who
will understand my perhaps conflicting wants to poison the
ants but not my child, cat or the groundwater, and who
might honestly give me an assessment of the extent of the
problem and (2) has anyone had a major ants-in-the-woodwork
problem such as this and fixed it via ant stakes or some
other home remedy (besides baby powder)?
Thanks!
Jennifer
I found Employ Exterminators very easy to work with.
We had a huge ant infestation under the house and
they had to come back for 3 visits within 2 months(all
covered under the one-time fee of $120). Richard knows
about the habits of ants and is considerate about the
hazards of spraying where there are small children. He will
be able to answer all your questions.
I might be able to control the ant situation with home
remedies now, but I'm relieved to have had professional
help first. Each nest has many thousands of ants, as you
know if they are invading your home!
Suzanne
re the ant invasion, I went and got books in the library
about this and found out that sprinkling BoricAcid powder
in the pathways where they come in works great,; it's a
stomach irritant if eaen by humans. It really works so
much better less smelly and toxic, and it works, rather
then the sprays, traps, etc.
Leia
during the rainy season 2 years ago, i had an ant
infestation in which the ants just kept coming and coming
and coming. i tried various solutions, but found the most
useful was to put multiple (5 or 6) grant ant stakes out near the spot of ingress (if I could find it, or the place
I saw the ants on their endless march. so, for example, in
the kitchen, i put four each on the window sill, by the
faucets, one my dish shelf and on the counter adjacent to
the sink. In my bedroom, where i could not see where the
ants came from, I put 4 each near the wall bordering the
garden, in my closet and under my bed where I had seen
them, and where the stakes were not visible or easily
accessible to little ones. (i was going to put them outside
each wall, but could not because of the architecture. It
took a few days to discourage the colony, but i've not seen
them since.
Nselk
Oct 2003
Our house is overrun with ants, and we can't take it any
more! We would like to hire a professional exterminator,
but have a toddler and an infant. Can anyone recommend an
exterminator sensitive to the young-children issue, or
offer insights into just how dangerous using an
exterminator might be under the circumstances? (The
alternative seems to be to spray Raid periodically, as we
can't put out ant stakes, etc., where they might be
ingested -- and this has its own poisonous disadvantages.)
If you've had either a good or a bad experience with ant
extermination, we'd like to hear about it! (I have read
the website postings, but they relate primarily to
non-professional home remedies.) Thanks!!
Gretchen
We had great success with having our house sprayed by a company
called Burge Pest Control, 510-523-6100. We have a small child
also, and were really worried about the toxicity of the spray. We had
a long talk with the guys who came out to do the job (also parents of
small children) and they assured us that the spray is harmless after
the initial waiting period (they said a few hours, we stayed out all
day). It kills the ants, then degrades. In fact they said it was better to
spray once and kill them all, including nests around the perimeter of
the house, than spraying Raid or similar inside which is actually more
toxic. We didn't spray in the baby's room at all, just for peace of
mind, but did in kitchen and bathroom, and outside. We've had
them out twice in two years, and it's been great. No ants for many
many months, then a few if it's really hot or raining. Perhaps we
need to do it once a year? It was well worth it since nothing else was
working. Costs about $150, though not positive about that price.
Jocelyn
See also: Advice about Spiders
November 2002
Both my son and my husband have been bitten by spiders in our
north Berkeley hills home. My husband's doctor feels the bites
may have come from a ''cousin'' of the brown recluse spider. My
son's OK, but my husband has had a very bad reaction to the
bites (he's had 2 now) necessitating numerous trips to the
doctor, antibiotics, etc. Does anyone have experience with a
reliable exterminator in the area that may be able to rid us of
these spiders? Has anyone had a similar experience and found
another way to handle the situation? (We're not thrilled about
the idea of chemicals and the harm done to more friendly
insects & spiders.) Thanks!
Kim
I full heartedly recommend ''Employ Exterminators.''
Richard has come to my home three times already
regarding a mice problem and has also consulted with
me about ants and spiders. He is very knowledgeable
and honest. You can't do better. Good luck.
Once again I would like to recommend the book, ''Common Sense
Pest Control'' by William Olkowski. It is a treasure trove of
information. In regards to bites, the book says that brown
recluse spiders are commonly suspect, but rarely the actual
culprit. If you actually think you have brown recluse
spiders, keep shoes, clothing and bedding off the floor.
Brown recluse spiders like to hide in boxes and papers, so
those could be frozen before dealing with them. If you use a
short-acting chemical, the critters will move back in after
the chemical no longer works. If you use a long-acting
chemical, the humans will be in a toxic environment for
years to come. I hate to think of using a chemical when you
don't know what you are dealing with. A welt on the skin can
be due to assassin bugs, ticks, mites, fleas, mosquitoes,
lacewings, etc. It can also be caused by bacteria or viruses.
sunsol
April 2002
Hello. I've discovered a wasp nest in an awning right outside my balcony
windows. I'd like to have the
nest removed, as members of our family are allergic to bee and wasp
stings -- can an exterminator take
care of this, and could/would someone recommend any service that would
remove the wasp nest?
Thank you.
If you're in Contra Costa county, the ''Vector Control'' folks will remove
the wasp for you
for free. Check in the government pages. Also have humane skunk traps that
you set, they
pick up.
Ann
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