Pest Control and Removal
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Pest Control Companies
A.J. Williamson
(978) 443-8245
Sudbury, MA
My termite story is legend. When I came back from the closing on my home, that beautiful April day, I turned the key for the first time and opened the door. Running from the livingroom, 15 ft to the kitchen was a 10 inch wide river of migrating termites. A sight I won't forget. The kind of thing horror movies are made of.
First I called my lawyer, then I called the realtor, then I called A.J. Williamson. Mr. Williamson arrived within 30 minutes (I wouldn't expect that every time), he treated for termites right then and there and so far, four years later, I never saw another one. I do have them come back each spring for inspection just to make sure.
Please note there is another Williamson termite control out of Waltham.
Nicola Cataldo 9/4/2009
F & W Pest Control
508-872-3256
We have had great luck using F&W pest. They worked tirelessly to get rid of our carpenter ants. We use a 4 season service which has kept all insects at bay for 6-7 years now. They respond for free for any pests between visits.
Daphne Smith 6/26/07
Call Michael Harris at F&W Pest Control. They do an excellent job getting rid of all kinds of pests. I have recommended him to several friends and all have been pleased.
Jan Slocum 6/26/07
General Environmental Services
Malden
800-343-8278
I used General Environmental Services, who were recommended to me by the place I bought an antique dresser from when the dresser turned out to be infested by some sort of boring beetle. The pest control folks were wonderful. (They looked at samples of the insect, diagnosed the problem and even told me how I could treat it myself if I wanted to.) I ended up using them for a major infestation of carpenter ants in my shed and a minor one in my home. After about 6 weeks, I never saw another carpenter ant around my house or shed again! This was 2 or 3 years ago. Not very expensive, either. These guys are pros and very competent, careful and nice to boot!
Lisa Wolf 6/26/07
New England Pest Control
508 626 2777
800 248 6693
I have been using New England Pest Control (for over 30 years - before it was NE Pest Control). They come four times a year and any other time needed, i.e., for fleas or ants. I have had this service in hopes of avoiding any termite/carpenter ant problems and so far it seems to be working. I'm sure they can help you. I strongly suggest a yearly service to protect your house.
Regards,
Teri Banerjee 27 Jun 2007
Terminix
CONTACT NEEDED
We used Terminix because they were the only ones who guaranteed that they would keep coming back until the nasty suckers were gone for good. (I called a couple of popular local people who all said that they couldn't guarantee that they could get rid of them for good.) We had a ridiculous infestation of carpenter ants in the attic several years ago and they had to come out three, maybe four, times to resolve it. The guy actually went up into the attic and crawled around until he found exactly where they were, something the local people said they don't do. He discovered that we had a minor leak in the roof which had created this nice moist, woody area for them and they were pretty much creating an entire community up there. Terminix nailed them all.
We had a bit of an issue with ants recently and they came out within 24-48 hours of my phone call and we are currently completely ant free after just one inside and one outside treatment. I can't recommend them highly enough. They are phenomenally responsive, not so much more expensive than any of the local people and they *guarantee* success. We have them for termites, too, as a preventative measure (we live with a lot of woods around us) and they have a policy where if you have their termite protection and your house is damaged at all from termites, they pay up to something like $125K for repairs. We have had a couple of nibbles at our most remote bait station so I consider the cost well worth it.
Good luck! Brenda Crawshaw 6/26/07
Carpenter Ant Advice
If you see an ant that isn't wearing a carpenter's belt, it doesn't matter. They're all carpenter ants. If they're eating anything it's because it's wet and you probably have a leak somewhere, whether it's the roof or a pipe or whatever. Aside from that, I've always been disgusted at the way pest control people work. They don't charge based on the locality of the problem; they charge based on the size of the house. Unless you have a situation where you don't know where they actually are, and you don't mind being a doit-yerselfr, what I do is to get Spectracide at the hardware store. Mix it up in a hand-sprayer and go to work. I spray the perimeter of my house around once a month in the ant season. Of course you need to be careful of pets and all that, but 20 minutes + $1 / month is better than having having these services come in at what I consider to be huge expense. There's a time to use them and a time to do it yourself. If you can make the distinction then you can save a lot of money and the end result will be pretty much the same.
Steve Orr 4 Apr 2008
If they have infested your home this may be too limp; however, if they are marching in, try staked ant cups by Combat (about $11). I have only found them at Whites Hardware.
The stake merely keeps them from washing or blowing away--not as elevation. The food is brought to the colony but for some reason, they come into our porch by the hundreds to die there.
David Weitzler 26 Jun 2007
Getting Rid of Dead Animals Trapped in the Wall
Problem: I have a terrible problem, and of course I need advice as to how to solve it, but more than that I need to know WHO to call to solve it.
I have a condo at Windsor Green which is pretty much in the middle of row of units in the building. In my downstairs coat closet - which is also smack dab in the middle of the unit - there is a strong smell of a dead animal. How it burrowed a good 20 ft. or more from either outside direction into the middle of the building is a mystery. But more difficult is the fact that it is a closet (essentially a "box") and we simply can't tell if the odor is coming from the left, right, or front wall - or from the floor - or from one of the corners between the floor and walls.
I would bet big money that the critter is a chipmunk since we have been invaded by them all year !
Does anyone out there know of someone who could come over, determine exactly where the odor is coming from, and do whatever is necessary to fix it. I figure I may be looking at knocking down a wall, or part of a wall, but of course I'd like this solved with the least amount of disruption and cost !
HELP !!!!
Judy Kazunas 3 Jul 2007
I've been through this situation 2 or 3 times in the past few years. The unfortunate answer is there is really not much you can do, except wait for the animal to decompose and stop stinking up the place.
After the first time, we hired a pest control guy who was very thorough and brutally honest. He said that he had done his best to place poison in strategic places and block holes in the foundation. Still, he said mice and chipmunks are so small and flexible that you can never find and plug up every single little space into which they can squeeze.
A few bits of advice - get an all-natural aerosol odor neutralizer, which has either lemon or orange oil in it (at Whole Foods or Stop & Shop). This will actually help kill some of the odor as opposed to Lysol and similar products, which will just cover it up - and not very well.
Also - is the closet in a damp or humid area? If so, put a dehumidifier there. I've found that the smell is less intense when the air is dry. I've had this problem both summer and winter, and it's much easier to manage in the winter with the spray and a good dose of frigid air.
If there are bird feeders near your foundation, move them a good distance away. These little bums carry the spilled seed from the feeder and try to store it inside crawl spaces in the house for the winter.
Finally - get a can of spray foam from a home improvement or hardware store that you can use to block obvious external holes around your foundation. But again, it's impossible to get them all.
DON'T knock down your wall - you'll just be knocking it down again next year when another critter may die back there. I hope this helps a bit - unfortunately it's a stubborn smell and it's going to take a while before it goes away.
Liesa Healy-Miller 3 Jul 2007
Thank you everyone for your replies RE the dead animal odor in my closet.
The Windsor Green maintenance man came over and was 99.9% sure of which wall the odor was coming from, so he cut a small hole in the wall and sure enough...there were not one, but two dead little mice in there !!!
The management company will investigate this and do whatever has to be done to prevent this from happening again. But it is odd. Memory of many long time residents is that this has never happened before ! Certainly never happened in all my years there !
Most of you who replied stated that there is not too much one can do in this situation except close off the area, use a lot of odor-eliminating deodorizer, and tough it out until the critter completely decomposes and the odor goes away.
I shall no longer be so charmed with all those cute little children's books and movies about adorable little mice !!!
Judy Kazunas 4 Jul 2007