West Orange’s Colorful Population and Skyline Views

Impolite Lurkers, Slimy Gardeners, and Furry Foes

West Orange attracts a range of New Jersey nuisances, with seasonal infestations common on residential and commercial properties. Pests enter through impossibly small cracks and gaps, often reproducing with reckless abandon.

Asian lady beetles aren’t very ladylike, impolitely entering properties without permission. During fall and winter, homes can harbor thousands of these beetles in wall voids, attics, and soffits, waiting to emerge when the weather warms. Like stink bugs, lady beetles release a foul-smelling (but more subtle) odor when threatened; like termites, they’re ferocious eaters, consuming thousands of aphids during their lifetimes.

Slugs are garden pests that show up in large numbers during cool, moist conditions. They’re especially attracted to lettuce, vegetable sprouts, marigolds, bean plants, basil, and seedlings. Perhaps fans of Ghostbusters, they leave a trail of slime everywhere they slither, producing different types for defense, movement, feeding, and more. Some slugs can live, and even flourish, after losing large portions of their bodies.

Fall webworms are a type of moth that creates large webs on the ends of tree branches. These webs can contain thousands of caterpillars, threatening the tree’s structure if they become heavy enough. Healthy trees usually recover from this, but it puts young or weak trees at risk.

Mice are a common household pest in West Orange and across the US. Although cute and fuzzy, they’re also destructive, disease carriers, and contaminators. Their extraordinary reproduction rates make DIY population control difficult; for every one you remove, there are dozens hiding underneath the kitchen cabinet.

Rats aren’t as common in suburban homes and are more frequently found in commercial districts. They’re drawn to litter, clutter, garbage, and sewers, preferring dark crevices where they can feed, mate, and watch Ratatouille undisturbed. They’re highly intelligent, intuitive, and naturally afraid of new things, which helps them steer clear of poisons and traps.