Carlstadt: A City Shaped By Immigrants

Biters, Fighters, Spiders, and More

Like other places in New Jersey, Carlstadt is home to plenty of pests. They enter houses and buildings through gaps and cracks, open windows, chimneys, and vents.

Centipedes are long arthropods with many segments and fast movements (they got leggggs, and they know how to use ‘em!). They’re carnivores that hunt other small animals, feeding on spiders, worms, insects, and more. When they invade homes and properties, they prefer damp, dark places such as basements, crawl spaces, and beneath slabs.

Pantry moths are a unique type of pest that don’t eat once they’ve grown into adulthood where they live to reproduce. They enter homes in store-bought packages of flour, cereal, nuts, and dried fruit. Grasshoppers don’t typically infest homes, but they can damage gardens. They generally live alone but enter a swarming phase under certain environmental conditions. After heavy rains, for example, their brains and hormones change; they become more social and migratory, gathering in swarms, and devastating crops.

Ants come marching in a variety of species, including red ants. Red ants defend their nests aggressively and build intricate underground tunnels, constructing large mounds to shield their homes. Their venom causes painful burns, earning them the name “fire ants,” and makes them scarier than other ant species. While black ants can bite, they usually only do so if handled, and their bites are typically mild (although carpenter ants can cause a moderate pinching sensation).

Pests in Carlstadt come in all shapes and sizes. From big to small, we treat them all!