PESTS
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Paper Wasp

Question: Why are they called "Paper Wasps" ?
Answer: The paper wasp annually produces new nests of paper thus the name paper wasp. [Contact us]

Question: What do they feed on?
Answer: The paper wasp primarily feeds on insects and can be very beneficial to the gardeners concerned with plant pests such as caterpillars. ------ [Contact us]

Question: Are they aggressive?
Answer: No. Paper wasps are sedentary insects and will sting only when threatened. Unlike honey bees, they do not leave their stinger in but do produce a painful sting. [Contact us]

Question: Where will they be nesting and will they reuse their nest next season?
Answer: They can pretty much nest anywhere. Common areas are in vents, attics, and on buildings. The nest is never reused. [Contact us]

Question: How do the get into my home or office?
Answer: Since paper wasps nest on and in buildings, it is easy for them to gain access to any building. [Contact us]

Does Arrow offer programs to treat paper wasps?
Answer: Absolutely! Arrow is a full service pest control company. Simply contact us by clicking on the contact us or calling 516-593-7770 [Contact us]

BIOLOGY. The paper wasp colony starts in the spring by a single fertilized female wasp (queen.) The colony is very small early in the season and the queen alone has to perform all of the chores involved in building the colony and feeding the young. Paper wasps are social insects, living in colonies containing workers, queens and males. Colonies are annual with only inseminate queens over wintering. Fertilized queens occur in protected places such as houses and other structures, hollow logs, in stumps, under bark, in leaf litter, in soil cavities, etc. Queens emerge during the warm days of late April or early May, select a nest site and build a small paper nest in which eggs are laid. One egg is laid in each cell. As she adds more cells around the edge, eggs are deposited. Larvae in the center are older with the younger larvae further out. It is the cells at the rim of the nest which contain eggs. After eggs hatch, the queen feeds the young larvae. When larvae are ready to pupate, cells are covered with silk, forming little domes over the individual openings. Larvae pupate, emerging later as small, infertile females called "workers." By mid-June, the first adult workers emerge and assume the tasks of nest expansion, foraging for food, caring for the queen and larvae and defending the colony. Remember with paper wasps, the nest is the work of a single female, has a single layer or "tier" of cells and is not enclosed by envelopes. In hornets, the nests usually consist of a number of stories or "tiers," one below the other and completely enclosed by spherical walls. Each cell may be used for two or three successive batches of brood. Adult food consists of nectar or other sugar solutions such as honeydew and the juices of ripe fruits. Paper wasps and hornets also feed on bits of caterpillars or flies that are caught and partially chewed before presenting to their young. Hornets may be seen almost any summer day engaged in their winged pursuit of flies.

RECOGNITION. The northern or paper wasp is about 3/4 to 1-inch long, slender, narrow waisted with long legs and reddish-orange to dark brown or black in color. There are yellowish markings on the abdomen (rear body part). Paper-like nests, shaped like tiny umbrellas, are suspended by a short stem attached to eaves, window frames, porch ceilings, attic rafters, etc. Each nest consists of a horizontal layer or "tier" of circular comb of hexagonal (six-sided) cells not enclosed by a paper-like envelope. The ends of the cells are open with the heads of the larvae exposed to view.

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Honey Bee

Question: Why are they called "Honey Bees" ?
Answer: Honey Bees get this name due to the sweet yellowish to brownish fluid they make from the nectar of flowers and use in food.

Question: How can I tell if they are Honey Bees?
Answer: You can tell by their orangish brown to sometimes black, with body mostly covered with branched, pale hairs. Their eyes are hairy (unlike other bees). But the easiest way to tell is when you see thousands swarming around their nest keeping to themselves.

Question: Are they the same as the Africanized honey bees?
Answer: Absolutely not. Africanized bees are much more aggressive and sting with little provocation. The swarms alone may be dangerous. They will pursue their victim up to 328 feet whereas domestic bees pursue only about 33ft. Africanized Honey Bees are in the United States, but mainly found on the west coast.

Question: Where will they be nesting?
Answer: They can nest in trees, walls of houses, cinder-blocks, attics etc.

Question: How do the get into my home or office?
Answer: Honey Bee nests can contain 20,000 to 80, 000 individual bees. With this many bees in a wall or a nearby tree, finding them in a room is not uncommon. When they do nest in the wall of a house, they make their hive, which is full of honey, right in the wall and many will get into adjoining rooms.

Question: Do they bite?
Answer: Honey Bees are not aggressive and will not look for something to attack. They are on the defensive and will attack when their colony is threatened.

Question: What do they feed on?
Answer: Honey Bees feed on flowers etc. for pollen, nectar, and propolis or bee glue.  

Does Arrow offer programs to treat Honey Bees?
Answer: Absolutely! Arrow is a full service pest control company. Simply contact us by clicking "contact us" or calling a local number.

BIOLOGY. Honey bees are very social insects with a mature colony measuring up to 80,000 individual bees. The population of the entire colony over-winters. One queen mates once, lays eggs and lives in the hive. She can lay up to 2000 eggs per day, and can live up to 5 years. She produces pheromones which controls which and how many new queens she produces. Young workers build the comb, care for the young, provide ventilations for the hive and guard the hive entrance. Older workers serve as foragers and gather pollen, nectar, and propolis (bee glue). The workers will only live up to 7 weeks unless born in the autumn, then they over-winter. Drones (male workers) live only a few short weeks. The colony will swarm primarily when the nest begins to get too large or the queen begins to wane or fail. She will produce new queens and leave the nest with a large number of workers.

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Question: What are the signs of a Raccoon intrusion? How do I know if I have a problem?
Answer: Raccoons are nocturnal meaning active at night. You may hear noises (loud noises) in the attic, walls, roof, garage, fireplace etc., during this time. You may also hear squealing or crying during mating season. Vents, attic fans, and roofing can easily be damaged by a Raccoon attempting to enter or exit your premises. If they have been nesting in your place for a while, you may experience a bad odor due to fecal matter and urine. (Fecal matter and urine carry bacteria and should not be inhaled or touched.) Arrow can safely remove and clean all of this debris as well as replace all damaged insulation. Many times this is covered by insurance.

Question: Is Arrow and its personnel licensed and insured?
Answer: Yes. Arrow and its personnel are fully licensed and insured by New York State and the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation.)

Question: Can you remove Raccoons in my backyard?
Answer: By law, nuisance wildlife trappers can not remove wildlife unless they are doing physical damage to property or your family is threatened by them.

Question: Do Raccoons do damage inside attics?
Answer: Yes. They can soil areas with urine and fecal material. They can completely ruin insulation this way.

Question: Do Squirrels and Raccoons chew wires?
Answer: Squirrels chew wires and lots of other things. Raccoons, on the other hand, do not. They do their damage with urine and fecal material.

Question: I think Raccoons are living under my deck. What do I do?
Answer: The Raccoons should be removed. If they are destroying property or threatening your family they can be trapped. After they are removed, you should consider rodent prevention or screening the deck. Arrow can do this. Just contact us for a free estimate.

Question: I am hearing noises. How can I tell what they are from?
Answer: First, remember that Raccoons are nocturnal (awake at night) and Squirrels are not (they sleep at night). So if your hearing scuffing and shuffling in walls or the attic, chances are they are Squirrels. Loud noises at night generally indicate Raccoons. Please don't forget that the intruder could be a mouse or rat.

Question: I have no pets but I have fleas. Where did they come from?
Answer: Fleas have to be brought in by something. Squirrels and Raccoons carry fleas. Chances are if you have fleas and no pets, a Squirrel, Raccoon or Rat brought them in.

Question: I found a dead animal in my house. What concerns should I have?
Answer: When an animal dies you will find many ectoparasites including: fleas, carpet beetles and lice. When the animal is removed it is a good idea to treat the nesting area to eliminate the possibility of a different infestation.

Question: Can Squirrels and Raccoons fit into my chimney?
Answer: Yes. In fact it is very common. A simple solution is to get a chimney cap installed. Contact Arrow for pricing.

Question: How many squirrels can there be nesting in my attic?
Answer: Since squirrels are very social, you can expect their whole family to nest there. Typically 2-12 squirrels will be nesting in your attic.

Does Arrow offer programs to treat nuisance wildlife?
Answer: Absolutely! Arrow is a full service pest control company. Simply contact us by clicking on (contact us) us or by calling us at 516-593-7770 -(631) 654-0110. Please not that Arrow may or may not be currently trapping Raccoons due to the rabies situation, however we do have a contact if we are not.

Inquisitive, methodical, intelligent, strong and destructive. For a homeowner a Raccoon may be their worst nightmare. Ranging from 22-44 pounds, a Raccoon is a sizeable intruder. Often nesting in houses Raccoons have become a nuisance pest in the Northeast United States. The Raccoon is from the genus Procyon in the family Procyonedae. They prefer wooded swampy areas often near water and avoid high elevations. Breeding is from February to early March with a 63 day gestation period. The litters are generally 1-7 young. If it is consistently below 25 degrees or if it snows a lot, they will become dormant, spending weeks in a deep sleep yet never actually going into hibernation.
Raccoons can be destructive and leave quite a mess where they are nesting. The fecal matter and urine can ruin insulation, ceilings and any other area they nest in. The removal of nesting Raccoons should be left to a professional (New York State Licensed Trapper. Arrow has over 20) since they can be dangerous and carry rabies. For a complete inspection and evaluation please call us or write to us and we will be happy to make an appointment to come over at your convenience.

Squirrels are members of the rodent family Sciuridae--with the exception of the marmot, Marmot; prairie dogs, Cynomys; and chipmunks, eutamias and Tamias-- and typically have a long bushy tail and slender body. Squirrels vary in size from such tiny tropical forms as the pygmy squirrels, Myosciurus, of Africa, which are about 130mm (5 in) in length including the tail, to the giant squirrels, Ratufa, of Asia, which may attain 91cm (36in). The American eastern gray squirrel, Sciurus Carolinensis, typical of the tree squirrels, is native to the forests of the eastern half of the United States. Introduced into the United Kingdom, it has displaced the smaller native red squirrel, S. vulgaris, in many regions. They normally nest in tree hollows or may construct leaf nests, which are used mainly as feeding shelters. Gray squirrels may breed in midwinter and again in late spring. Gestation is about 44 days, with usually two to four young per litter. Squirrels are very social animals and nest with their families. One can expect from 2-12 squirrels may be nesting together, this includes when they nest in an attic. 

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