One of the “problems” with being a homeowner, besides general property maintenance, is pests. Not just any old pests, but invasive ones. You know, such as termites, mice, and countless other critters. Bees are also in that category. More so because bee stings really suck!
We discovered a new bee problem at our house recently. It’s basically a new bees nest. Not being bee “experts,” we decided to see who might be able to help.
Pest control options in New Jersey
For starters, there are several larger nationwide pest control companies. Most of them encourage you to be part of some annual “plan,” where they come routinely and treat your home. Here are a few places you can call:
Western Pest Services – 877-250-3857. They were friendly people. Seemed competent. Another local place even gave them credibility, calling them “legit.” Their charge for a one-off bee nest removal was $159 plus tax and other regulatory fees.
Viking Pest Control – 800-618-BUGS. We currently have an annual plan with them, but have been less than satisfied with their services. We won’t get into why, but apparently, they were bought out by a mega-corporation in the past couple years. We’re looking into alternatives.
Terminix – 877-837-6464. Don’t know much about them. We called them, and their voice prompt menu didn’t recognize when we said “bees.” So we hung up. Remember that not all pest companies cover every single problem.
Local pest control companies might be better
There are alternatives besides the large national chains, depending on where you live.
One such company is Cavanaugh’s. They have three locations in NJ and cover the entire state. There is one right on Route 22 (near Whitehouse). You can call them at 877-362-2282.
We rang them, and Matt, the branch manager was quite helpful. For one, their single-visit charge to address our bees nest was only $75.
Additionally – we found out that bees nests this “early” in the season shouldn’t be much of a problem, as they’re just being built – and most likely wouldn’t have issues with hundreds of aggressive bees. Supposedly there is only one bee building the nest – and we should be worried until the thing is the size of a basketball. So we might just whack it off with a hose or power washer ourselves!
Another thing is, that Cavanaugh’s also handles a myriad of other “pests” like ground animals (hedgehogs, skunks, raccoons.) Many of those other “pest” control places are limited to insects, etc.
So that is something to keep in mind.
The organic vs. synthetic pest control debate
Some folks are very paranoid about the methods used in controlling invasive pests. So much so, that they NEED to have “all natural” non-toxic implements.
Note that the natural stuff is no way nearly as effective as the synthetic chemicals. And in most instances, the traditional sprays pose NO risk to kids or pets like dogs or cats. They’re very carefully targeted and sprayed, and rarely cause issues.
But most companies do offer natural options. They usually cost more. Just know that it won’t do much for your pest problems.
Hope you found this list helpful. We have to decide what we’re doing next with these pesky bees.
