Posted on July 26, 2010 with No Comments
Last week, one of our technicians was servicing a condo complex when he had a run in with a wildlife animal. The tech was about to pull out of the complex after servicing a condo when he noticed a lady was struggling by the dumpster. She could not lift her garbage bag up so the tech went over to help her. Right when the lady opened the dumpster a raccoon jumped out and darted past the two. The lady jumped back and ended up falling down! The tech helped her up then left the complex. When you take out your garbage, make be alert of animals! Rodents love to camp out in the trash so be alert if you go near a dumpster.
Posted on February 23, 2010 with 1 Comment
On the northwest corner of 54th street and Fifth Avenue, pigeons are creating a pretty crappy situation. City pigeons have become such a problem the owners, managers, and members of the University Club, established in 1865, want to make a change. A pretty serious change in that, well, at least according to animal activists like New York Bird Club founder Anna Dove who says “It’s a shame they’re trying to get rid of all these pigeons…After the pigeons, they’ll want to get rid of the starlings, then the sparrows and the squirrels.”
The change that is desired is to install “full height bird netting to protect the architecture from the pigeon “poo”. This sort of change would have to be approved by the Landmarks Commission, because it deals with a “visual change to the exterior.” The net would be designed to keep the architecture safe and clean, along with the club members who have been heading to the dry cleaners for years due to the pigeons. It will be interesting to see who’s side the city Landmarks Commission decides on.
If you own a building and feel that pigeon “poo” is a problem, JP McHale offers a bird control service that will relocate the birds in an environmentally and discreet way. Please contact us if you are interested.
The New York Post wrote first about this issue.
Picture credit
Posted on January 6, 2010 with 1 Comment
It’s not uncommon to see multiple deer on a Sunday drive through town, especially in the wooded areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Deer are a huge nuisance to homeowners because they just love easting our most prized plants in our yards and gardens! We are honored to let you know that you do not have to worry about deer eating your plants and flowers any longer. JP McHale’s Deer Repellent program solves your problems.
Our Deer Repellent program is administered by our Tree and Turf Department, under the direct supervision of our Plant Pathologist, Doug McHale. Our technicians will first survey your property and discuss with you exactly where you see the deer, and they will formulate a custom plan for your property.
The products we use are conscious of both the environment and the deer. We will spray the repellent on all plants that deer will eat. When a deer walks over to start to eating your plant, they will immediately become uninterested because of the taste of the product on the plant. This taste is very similar to hot sauce on food (except no one likes the hot sauce). The deer will no longer feel the need to eat that plant, and look for other plants to feed off of…AKA your neighbor’s yard that didn’t get our service. 
This service will only need to be done 1-3 times per season. Not only will this keep the deer from eating your plants, the deer will migrate away from your property, so you will not have to walk into deer waste in your yard any longer. This service is a popular one here at JP McHale and we encourage you to contact us so one of our inspectors can come and evaluate your property to get you started on this service as soon as possible.
Photo Credit: Johnnyberg
Posted on December 23, 2009 with No Comments
As Christmas is only two days away, many Americas have live Christmas trees in their family room to celebrate the holiday. These trees smell and look amazing after they are all set up and decorated. One thing you need to understand, these trees are from the forest (duh). When these trees are cut down, there is a high chance a few insects call this tree home, most commonly Spiders and Aphids. Though you may have inspected the tree before buying it, “…it’s all about the eggs that the adult insects and arachnids laid on the stems of a tree in late summer or fall.” The presence of insects can actually be a good thing. You will ask..WHY? The presence of insects and their eggs will show the minimal use of pesticides used on these trees, which is the center piece of your home during the holiday season.
Many reports also mention that wildlife has been found in Christmas trees. Bird nests and snakes are among the most popular found in these trees. Wildlife can be a bit more scary then a spider or two…could you imagine a snake popping out of your tree while decorating it?
This is not to scare you, just to inform you. Take a good look at the Christmas tree before you buy it and ensure you don’t see a snake or bird’s nest in it. If an insect has laid eggs on this tree, most likely these eggs will die when the tree is placed inside your warm home.
JP McHale Pest Management Inc. would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Penn Live.com first wrote about these Christmas tree horrors.
Posted on August 8, 2008 with 2 Comments
From mypmp.net-
“Distinguishing between vole and mole damage can be tricky. Both pests construct tunnels, which can result in lawn and garden damage. Moles frequently get the blame for these landscape eyesores, but the real culprit may, in fact, be voles.
Erroneously referred to as meadow mice, voles are rodents. By contrast, moles are insectivores with completely different diets and behavior. Even the damage they wreak on lawns and garden has a distinctive look. As always, properly identifying the pest (mole or vole in this case) can be the difference in a pest management program that works and one that is a continued source of frustration.
That was the dilemma technicians at JP Pest Services in Milford, N.H., faced this summer when they were asked to manage pests that were decimating showcase gardens at a large food manufacturing facility.
MOLES
As the focal point of the manufacturer’s main courtyard and public tour area, the landscaped gardens typically were resplendent with colorful summer flowers and shrubs set against dark, green junipers and lush lawns.
An on-site horticulturist designed the grounds, which were maintained by a local landscaping company. What was a landscaper’s paradise turned nightmarish as day after day newly planted flowers were eaten and lawns marred by tunneling.
With losses mounting to thousands of dollars, the landscaper sought help from JP Pest Services, which had handled the facility’s interior and exterior perimeter rodent management services for more than a decade. Besides having certified applicators, JP Pest Services offered a wildlife department, which it started last summer to deal with mole problems.
Inspection first
Gary Nielsen, an entomologist and troubleshooter for JP Pest Services, inspected the grounds. In addition to severed flower stems, he found visible runways and tunnels. He also discovered signs of trouble from last winter ? chewed bushes and girdled stems ? though the real trouble started in mid-May when flower beds were planted and mulched.
“We do structural pest management and just started doing mole work last season, but this was beyond our strong suit and unlike any mole damage we’d seen,” Nielsen recalls.
VOLES
With a lot at stake, Nielsen consulted with Sheila Haddad, a Bell Laboratories technical representative, for a second opinion. Was it voles or moles?
Vole versus mole damage
Visible identification of the two pests is difficult because moles rarely appear above ground. Voles, on the other hand, freely travel in and out of their tunnels.
“There had been some sightings in the early morning and evening at the facility, but they never had vole problems before,” Nielsen notes.
He and Haddad next took a closer look at the damaged plantings. Both moles and voles can damage plants.
With moles, above-ground plant damage results from injury to roots during their constant burrowing. Moles are insectivores and prefer to eat earthworms and grubs.
Voles, on the other hand, are voracious herbivores with an appetite for green vegetation in warm months and bulbs and tubers in winter. They also gnaw bark at the base of trees and shrubs.
“Voles are pretty voracious,” Nielsen says. “A mature female can decimate a bedding. We had one 6-foot-by-6-foot plot and every single plant was gone, probably by one vole.”
Plants put in on Friday, he says, would be gone on Monday. He also notes that voles, like lemmings, like to cut vegetation and make hay. They’ve been known to clip grass and other plants at the base and drag them into bait stations to dry and eat later. Sure enough, Nielsen and Haddad found flowers that were chopped off and dragged into juniper bushes and tunnels. ”
You can read the article here.
There is a difference between Mole and Voles. Moles are considered a lawn pest, and voles are a wildlife animal. It is good to know what you have before us so we aren’t treating for voles, when they are moles.
Posted on July 9, 2008 with No Comments
A Port located in Portland recently deemed their service garage bird-free. With help from a bird netting company, and a product called Bird-B-Gone this garage was able to eliminate their bird problem. No birds were killed or harmed, it was simply a net put up so the birds would not be able to nest. The net was so successful, owners of the port contacted the netting company to have nets special made.
To read more on this article please click here.
