Pest Control Questions

We treat ants, cockroaches, bed bugs, spiders, wasps and hornets, termites, rats and mice for homes and businesses across Buffalo and Erie County. Wildlife such as squirrels, raccoons and bats, birds, snakes and fumigation are outside our scope.

Pest control usually means insects and spiders, such as ants, roaches, bed bugs and termites. Rodent control means rats and mice, and it relies on trapping, bait stations and sealing the openings they use. We handle both, and one inspection can cover the whole picture.

A technician walks the inside and outside of the property, identifies the pest, finds where it is coming from and how it gets in, and explains the findings in plain language before any treatment begins.

Food, water and shelter. Open trash, pet food, bird seed, clutter along foundations, damp basements and small gaps around pipes, doors and vents all invite them in, and Buffalo winters push them toward heated buildings.

Mouse droppings are small, dark and pointed, about the size of a grain of rice. Rat droppings are larger and capsule shaped. Fresh droppings are dark and soft, and old ones are gray and crumbly.

Exclusion means physically closing the openings rodents and insects use, with materials they cannot chew through such as steel mesh, hardware cloth, metal flashing and cement based patching. It is what keeps the problem from returning.

Clear access to the kitchen, basement, attic or the area where you saw activity, put food away, and note where and when you noticed signs. Do not use store bought sprays or bait right before the visit, since they can scatter the pests.

Wear gloves, avoid stirring up dust, place the animal in a sealed bag, clean the area with a disinfectant and wash your hands well. If there is a smell but you cannot find the source, call us and we can trace it.

Ants, wasps and spiders are most active from late spring through early fall. Mice move indoors as nights turn cold in October and November, and rodent calls stay high through winter. Bed bugs and roaches are a year round problem in apartments.

Buffalo's first hard freezes in October and November, often with early lake effect weather, are when mice start moving into basements, garages and kitchens. Sealing gaps in late summer or early fall, before the first hard freeze, gives the best result.

Call as soon as you see burrows, droppings indoors, gnaw marks or a rat during the day. Daytime sightings often mean a larger population, and rats breed quickly, so waiting makes the job bigger.

We take calls 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM ET, every day of the week. Call 716-347-5858 and describe what you are seeing.

Termite swarms usually appear in spring and early summer, often on warm days after rain. Winged insects indoors near windows or light fixtures are a reason to call for an inspection.

Late summer and early fall, before the first freeze. Check again at the spring thaw, since freeze and thaw cycles widen cracks in foundations and around utility lines.

Look at droppings, noise and location. Small droppings and scratching inside walls point to mice. Larger droppings, burrows beside the foundation and gnawing on outdoor items point to rats. Our rat versus mouse guide has a side by side comparison.

In Buffalo, check cellar windows, old coal chutes, gaps where utility lines enter stone foundations and the space under back porches. Mice need a gap about a quarter inch wide and rats about half an inch.

Call 716-347-5858. A real person answers 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM ET every day, asks what you are seeing and your ZIP code, and schedules a visit.

We lead with traps and sealing, place bait only inside locked, tamper resistant stations, and tell you which areas to keep pets away from after any product application. A trap only plan is available on request.

It depends on the size of the population and how many openings there are. Most active problems need more than one visit, and follow up continues until monitoring shows no activity.

Treat the source, not just what you see. That means baits and treatment where the pests nest, fixing moisture and food access, and sealing the gaps they use to get in.

Start with Buffalo 311 for rat sightings on streets, alleys and public property, and the city's code enforcement or the Erie County Department of Health for conditions inside rentals. Take dated photos, note the exact address and cross street, and keep any reference number you receive.

Along foundations, under porches and slabs, beside sheds and garages, in garden beds and near trash areas. Indoors they favor basements, crawl spaces and wall voids close to food.

Behind stoves and refrigerators, inside cabinets and wall voids, along pipe chases and in shared basements. In multi unit buildings they travel between units through gaps around plumbing and wiring.

We serve Buffalo and Erie County, including Buffalo neighborhoods, the inner and outer suburbs, rural villages and the Niagara County border towns. Browse the service areas page or call 716-347-5858 and we will confirm your address.

Yes. Our service area includes rural Erie County towns such as Alden, Akron, Angola, Eden, Elma, Marilla, Holland, Springville and Boston, plus country properties, farms and barns. Call to confirm your address.

Yes. That includes Cheektowaga, Sloan, Depew, Lackawanna, Blasdell, West Seneca, Kenmore, Tonawanda and Amherst, along with the Niagara County border towns of Lockport, Lewiston and Wheatfield.

If you are in Buffalo, the inner or outer suburbs or the surrounding villages, yes. Call 716-347-5858 and give us your ZIP code, and we will confirm coverage and schedule a visit.

In rental homes, keeping mice and rats out is generally the owner's responsibility under New York's warranty of habitability (Real Property Law Section 235-b) and local housing rules, though leases and local codes differ. Our landlord and tenant guide explains the steps to take.

Outdoor and public property reports usually go through Buffalo 311 for rat sightings on streets, alleys and public property, and the city's code enforcement or the Erie County Department of Health for conditions inside rentals. Inside a rental, the landlord is the first stop.

Both. We serve homeowners, renters, landlords, condo boards, restaurants, hotels, offices, schools, warehouses, farms and property managers.

Cold and snow push mice toward heated buildings. Buffalo homes with older foundations, open wall cavities and gaps around utilities give them easy routes in.

Usually because the openings stayed open or the conditions that attracted them did not change. A lasting plan treats the pest, fixes the attractants and seals the entry points, then checks the result.

Older housing, shared walls, alleys, restaurants, creeks, rail lines and open land all change what pests are around. A technician who knows the area reads those signs faster.

Mice, Norway rats, ants, cockroaches, spiders, wasps and bed bugs are the most common calls, with termites a concern in older wood frame homes.

Dense older neighborhoods with shared walls and alleys, areas near restaurants and food waste, and properties beside creeks, rail lines or open land see steady activity. Rural properties see it around barns and feed storage.

Yes. We build documented programs for restaurants, bars and breweries, hotels, grocery and food production, healthcare, schools, offices, warehouses and property portfolios, with service timed around your hours.

Yes. Commercial visits generate a service report with findings, actions taken and recommendations, kept in the logbook format inspectors and auditors expect. In Erie County, food businesses are inspected by the Erie County Department of Health, and pest findings are part of those inspections.

Yes. Unmarked service, before or after hours visits and concealed placements are available for businesses and for homeowners who prefer privacy.

Call 716-347-5858, 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM ET, every day. We book by phone so a technician can ask the right questions on the spot.

We cover Buffalo and Erie County. Our ZIP pages list the codes we serve, from 14201 downtown to rural codes such as 14141 in Springville, and the Niagara County border codes 14094 and 14092.