Notes from the Green Truck

For most northern New Jersey families, Labor Day is summer’s last hurrah. School schedules and chilly fall weather will soon take over, replacing summer barbeques and outdoor games. But the outdoors still beckons on Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, late summer is also the time of year when yellowjackets become most aggressive. These vicious, stinging wasps [...]

The fall grub fest is underway in northern New Jersey. Skunks, raccoons and oposums bulking up for the winter can tear up great swaths of Bergen County lawns as they dig into the soil, searching for fat white grubs to feast on. Nightly visits from nuisance wildlife can turn beautifully landscaped Hudson County lawns into churned up [...]

The newest in a summer-long progression of heat waves is prolonging insect reproduction cycles and activity in northern New Jersey. Ordinarily, Bergen County residents could count on a noticeable decrease in insect activity as fall approaches and nighttime temperatures start to drop into the low 50s and 40s. Unfortunately, this year’s unusual weather patterns promise [...]

Bed bugs infestations are becoming increasingly common in Bergen County and northern New Jersey. These blood-sucking pests have been turning up regularly in New York and New Jersey homes, apartments, office buildings, retail stores, even movie theaters. As children return to school, parents and school officials are concerned about children infecting entire communities by transporting [...]

No one likes a mouse in the house. When mice invade northern New Jersey homes and businesses they expose people and their pets to deadly diseases, fleas, mites, ticks and tapeworms. Rodents contaminate and destroy food supplies and can cause significant financial loss at facilities where food is stored. Pulverized rodent feces in the air of [...]

There’s a battle going on in bed bug-infested Ohio over pesticides that is being closely watched by northern New Jersey pest control companies and concerned Bergen County residents. Ohio runs a close second to the New York City-northern New Jersey area in number of bed bug infestations. Ohio pest control companies and beleaguered politicians deluged with [...]

As summer wanes and cooler fall weather arrives, certain insects move indoors, seeking shelter from winter’s cold inside northern New Jersey homes and commercial buildings. Stink bugs, boxelder bugs, lady bugs, Asian ladybird beetles and cluster flies are all insects that overwinter inside Bergen County buildings. As fall approaches, these insects slip into homes, office buildings, retail [...]

When school starts, northern New Jersey primary and secondary teachers know they’ll be battling head lice during the first month of classes. Weekly lice checks, shrouding coats in plastic bags and daily reminders not to share hats or combs has become a normal part of the fall routine at northern New Jersey schools. This year [...]

Summer vacations are ending and Bergen County parents have started loading family vans to cart college students back to campus. Elementary, middle school and high school students will soon be returning to class. Kids will be trading pencils, Silly Bandz and lunchbox treats. They’ll be bringing home homework, stinky gym clothes and fresh refrigerator art. [...]

The time to protect your northern New Jersey home from overwintering insects is now. A number of insects creep into Bergen County homes in the fall in search of warm winter harborage. These pests crawl into Hudson and Union County homes through tiny cracks and crevices or under doors and windowsills to overwinter in wall voids, [...]