The cooler weather is here and staying inside where it's warm is becoming more and more desirable.  Your not the only one that thinks so.  Other critters may be lurking around hoping to find a way in to the good life in your home.

There are a few common areas to check to make sure that your house doesn't fall victim to uninvited house guests.

Vents around your home are important however it's also important to insure that they are not damaged and are in good working condition otherwise they can be an access point for furry little friends.  Vents like the one shown in the picture should be replaced right away even if they only lead to the crawlspace.  In most cases these areas are freeways to the rest of the house with pipes or heating vents traveling down there.

Saw fit areas in the home are prone to wind damage or other types of damage including bumping it when you clean your gutters or put the Christmas lights up.  Some times they can get wedged up or fall out completely.  This area leads you the attic of your home which also has vent pipes and other travel ways through them rodents could use to move through the house.

It's a good idea to take a walk around your house to ensure all of the areas are completely sealed up to prevent anything from getting into your house and causing hundreds of dollars damage to your home.

We recently received a call concerning bed bugs.  They explained that the bed in question had already been disassembled and removed.  The problem was assumed to be taken care of.  CridX offered to come in and complete an inspection to verify that there are no bed bugs anywhere else in the room.  They were happy to have us come in to take a look around to make sure that they had taken care of their problem.

When we did the inspection, we started by checking one of the other beds in the room.  As you can see in the below photo, we found a lot of spotting close to the crease on the wood bed frame and eggs can be seen in the void space.  The eggs are the small white specks between the wood, and the spotting is the black spots.  Spotting is dried blood that the bed bugs excrete as waste.  As soon as we found this evidence, we decided to remove the railing (the piece of wood with the screw in it).

When we removed the railing, we found a bed bug between the wood that I thought was pretty tight together.  You can see the bug below centre and to the left of the lighter coloured wood where the railing was.  Just another example of how you can never be too careful when looking for bed bug harbourages.  This spot would have been easily overlooked if a very thorough inspection, such as the one CridX did, wasn't performed.

If you suspect that you may have a bed bug infestation call us for a free inspection.

Don't sleep on it, you never know who's coming for dinner.

604-226 PEST (7378)

Welcome to fall; the time of year that the leaves on the trees start turning beautiful colours and the weather starts getting cooler.  This is also the time that certain insects start looking for where they want to spend winter.

I'm sure we have all seen the centipedes, sow bugs, and beetles around doors leading outside.  Some lucky people get to see even more lovely creatures hanging around their windows.

Lady bugs and cluster flies find their way in through cracks and crevices in the hopes of finding a nice warm place to bunker down for the cold season.  Their intention is not to breed there, it's just to hibernate in void areas and attics and then leave in the spring.  Unfortunately the warmer days and cool nights can leave them swarming around windows and lights.

CridX Pest Solutions can control these problems by treating the cracks and crevices they use to get in, and fogging in the void areas that they are in.  If left alone both these insects will habit these locations every year entering in the fall and swarming out in the spring, so call us today and we'll be happy to help.

604-BAN-PEST (604-226-7378)

Looks like a great day to go to the Abbotsford Agrifair Flea Market & CridX will be there all day today till 4pm.

There are some fun events throughout the day such as the 25th annual Fraser Valley Toy Run.  Around 1,500 motorcyles will end their run at the Abbotsford Flea Market at the Agrifair so it's going to be getting pretty busy!  So common down & buy some fresh fruits & vegetables, check out the flea market & don't forget to stop in to see Allan at CridX's booth!

Looks like it's turning out to be a great day for some community involvement out here in Abbotsford so come check it out!

Here's a map to help you find us:

See you there!

Allan

Fall is the season to watch for pest entry.  Over the last couple of months you have probably noticed spiders and other insects around doors and windows.  The next pest to worry about is rodents.  With the rainy season upon us, mice and rats are starting to look for places to move in to for the cold winter season.  Easy targets for rodents are sheds, shops, or garages because they typically have a lot of easy entry points and are less occupied.  Moreover, there are often edible items in these areas such as open bags of grass seed that people generally do not think of as a food attractant for rodents.  Of course, if rats and mice can find a warmer spot with more food sources, then they'll move right in there.  Is your house the next possible target?

It's a good idea when raking the leaves or cleaning up the yard to take a look around the house to make sure that there are no weak places that rodents may test as an entry spot.  Here are a few things to keep in mind as you check your home out:

In this picture, you can see one of the biggest mistakes home owners make.  Vines may look nice crawling up the side of houses, but in most cases, the vines tear into soffit vents not only giving rodents the perfect entry point into the attic, but also giving them a nice ladder to climb in order to get up there.  For these reasons, it is important to keep all vegetation trimmed back from your structures in order to prevent pests from harbouring close and gaining access in to your home.  

Entry points like this one don't happen over night.  In most cases the rodent or squirrel has been working on an entry point like this for 2-3 nights.  Holes like this one can usually be seen from the ground.  If you  find something like this one, it's a good idea to get up there and seal it up quickly or call Cridx right away to close the hole and inspect for interior signs of pest activity.

Once inside it doesn't take long for rodents to make their mark and put the safety of your home and family at risk.  Rodents have a habit of chewing wiring insulation and this frequently exposes live wires.  This is often a very dangerous situation particularly because the rodents also have gathered nesting materials around the same site.  As a result, a fire can be started from something that could have been preventable with a bit of proactive attention and a diligent response if necessary.  For these reasons, it is important to eliminate pest activity before expensive repairs are needed, your property, home and belongings are in jeopardy, or most importantly, your family's safety is in danger.

We hope these tips are helpful and we encourage everyone to take a bit of time to check their home and property out in order to prevent more significant problems from developing.  If you'd like to have CridX come to your location, we can conduct a full inspection for you for FREE and provide you with customized tips for your home or even perform the exclusion measures for you and implement a rodent program if you would like.  Just give us a call if we can be of any assistance at all.  We'd love to hear from you!  604-BAN-PEST (604-226-7378)

I received a call recently from a Townhouse complex about a wasp nest.  They had hired a contractor to clean and repair all of the gutters around the complex but these bad boys came swarming out after they put their ladder on the edge.  This stopped all production instantly, so although their minds may have been on the gutters, there was unfortunately no work getting done on them.  We came out 10 minutes later and treated the nest.  The next day the contractors were able to finish their work without even 1 wasp bugging them.

So What's Bugging You?   Call us today for immediate effective solutions.  604-226-PEST (7378)

Visit the website for pricing on residential pest control, and call us for a commercial quote. www.CridX.com     

This little guy was heading for the exit during a Bed Bug treatment.  He was at eye level making a run for it.

The customer had previously purchased some chemicals from the hardware store and had tried treated it himself.  He ended up sick in bed for a week.  Chemicals can be very dangerous especially in an enclosed area like a basement suite.

If you run into Bed Bugs you should call CridX right away - we have years of experience & can take care of the issue professionally, effectively & safely.

Our service charge for bed bugs is extremely competitive at only $350.  You can also take a look at our products page for pricing on Bed Bug mattress encasements & other protective tools.

If you think you may have Bed Bugs - don't SLEEP ON IT!

As they say:  "Don't let the Bed Bugs bite"...

Call CridX today & put the issue to rest!

604-226-PEST (7378)    www.CridX.com

CridX was called out to a house in the Mission area with complaints of sawdust in the window sill.  After a full inspection we found several hot spots of Carpenter Ant activity.  We continued our service with a flush agent in all cracks and void spaces around the house.  Carpenter Ants came running out of 3 spots:

 

1.  the front corner of the house, where activity had been seen before the treatment

2.  Under the bay window at the back of the house near where the frass was reported by the customer

3.  Out of the water shut off by the hose reel at the back of the house

 

We then turned to the inside of the house and did a full inspection but we found little activity.  We flushed the window frame where the frass was found and about a hundred ants came running out of the wall.

 

A couple of days later we were called back because the customer was still seeing activity in their bedroom.  We performed another inspection and then another treatment was done in that area but there was only a minor reaction.  We moved back to the window that had all of the activity prior and treated again in this location.  Again, there was a little reaction found.  However, as we continued inspecting and investigating, we removed an inspection plate on one of the bedroom walls and the photos below show you what we found inside the wall under this plate.  There was a lot of frass (sawdust like material) and several carpenter ants running around.  We then treated this area, and check for extensions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After treating this area I stuck my camera into the hole to see to the side, and this is what was there:  a lot of frass & a few ants (unfortunately you can only really see them as black dots in these photos - those are the ants).

 

Despite the appearance of the inside of this wall, there is actually no serious damage in this spot.  We do, however, know that the roof has been leaking, and we suspect that the moisture from this situation is an attractant and is nicely supporting the growth of this infestation.

 

 

The owner is having the roof removed on Monday, so we plan to stay close as this work is done since we anticipate that they will find some nesting sites and we'd like to get in to do a treatment right away as they are discovered.  We're hoping the damage found will not be too extensive at this point and by us getting in to do the treatment as the roof is removed and the likely harbourage areas are exposed, we hope to deal completely with this infestation before it can create more damage and expense.

 

These little creatures sure can cause a lot of damage, expense, and headache!
We'll keep you posted on the results of the roof removal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see these nests up close, go to the bottom of the "Wasps" page on this site (down the list to your right) & click on the pictures to enlarge them.