A one-time treatment after spotting ants on the counter feels like a fix, but it addresses a symptom, not the underlying access points and conditions that let pests in — which is exactly why ants, or a version of them,…

The EPA describes integrated pest management as an environmentally friendly, common-sense approach to controlling pests that applies to any type of structure — a definition that covers everything from a single-tenant office to a multi-building industrial campus. What that looks…

Where outdoor populations of house mice exist near farmland, they frequently enter homes in autumn as nighttime temperatures start to drop — and a mouse can squeeze through a gap as small as a quarter-inch to do it. For a…

Fresno’s long dry summers push ants indoors looking for water long before anyone notices a trail on the counter, since ants are constantly searching for food, water, warmth, or relief from extreme temperatures. That single detail is why pest control…

Pesticides used in or around a food processing facility are held to a different standard than pesticides used in a home. The EPA sets maximum residue limits, called tolerances, on how much of any pesticide is allowed to remain in…

The EPA’s guidance for multi-family housing makes a point most people don’t expect: the property manager is responsible for a building’s pest control outcomes, not the pest control operator hired to treat it. That’s because too many of the conditions…

West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne illness in the continental United States, and it causes about 100 deaths and thousands of cases every year — even though there’s still no vaccine or medicine to treat it. Since…

Ants don’t invade a Bakersfield kitchen because the house is dirty — they invade because 100-plus-degree summer days push entire colonies to search for water anywhere they can find it, and a kitchen sink is an easy target. That single…

Seeing one bee near a porch light doesn’t mean there’s a nest problem. Seeing the same wasp fly in and out of a gap in the eaves a dozen times in an hour usually does. Knowing the difference matters, because…

California is home to at least 23 different termite species, and the Central Valley sees regular activity from subterranean, drywood, and dampwood termites alike, which is part of why a one-size-fits-all treatment rarely works here. Most homeowners don’t find out…