North Haledon Showcases Mother Earth’s Splendor

Stinky Trespassers, Skilled Fliers, and Good Mothers

North Haledon is home to a wide variety of Garden State infestations, including insects, rodents, and arachnids.

Cockroaches are frequently encountered in kitchens, where they contaminate surfaces, hide inside cabinets, and take advantage of any crumbs left behind. The quintessential survivors, these insects flourish against the odds. They’re difficult to treat with DIY methods due to their evasive nature, rapid reproduction, and ability to go long periods without food or water. 

Odorous house ants emit a foul odor when crushed, often likened to the smell of rotting coconuts. They’re a species that rarely limits itself to one queen, with colonies containing multiple queens. This allows populations to boom and migrate; ants relocate throughout the year, moving whenever they feel threatened or, who knows, get a steal of a deal on some sink-side property in the upstairs bathroom.

Stink bugs also release an odor, as their name implies. They might emit a stench when they’re crushed, disturbed, or scared. They infest yards and homes: outside, they damage fruits and plants, using their needle-like mouths to suck juices from garden goodies; inside, they overwinter in wall voids, gathering in droves to bide their time until warm weather arrives.

Dragonflies are skilled fliers, able to fly forward and backward and hover in one place, treading air. They’re exceptional pest controllers (when not being the pests themselves); they boast a hunting success rate of over 90%. Baby dragonflies should be called “dragonswimmers”; they spend most of their early lives underwater, emerging as adults to take to the skies. 

Earwigs are extraordinarily unique in the insect world because they show maternal instincts, guarding and cleaning their eggs and sacrificing their own needs to protect their young. Although it’s rare to see, earwigs can fly, most often lifting off at night to cruise around in the cool air. Their wings are so compact and geometrically perplexing that they confuse mathematicians. Although they can enter North Haledon homes, they’re more problematic in yards and gardens.