Black's Pest Services

Fine, we think. Sealed crawlspace, which is all we really have control over.

They were good. They were very nice, professional, and on time. They explained what they were doing. They talked to me about what they found, what species of the bug. They told me what they could do or not do.

Just fine. Good results, many carcases.

unknown

Details provided above.

When Bernard first looked in the crawlspace he saw mouse droppings (yikes!). However, he did not find any openings in the crawlspace for entry and he saw no openings outside our house (after inspecting the exterior of the house). He also did not find any urine, footsteps, or droppings throughout the crawlspace which suggested that the mouse droppings might have been moved there when work was completed in our crawlspace last year. Bernard suggested that we place a couple of mouse traps near our furnace/hot water heater with bait to attract anything that might be present and for preventative purposes. However, he thought that we likely did not actively have mice. We are very pleased with the work that Bernard has completed in our home and appreciate his honesty. As a result of our experiences with him, we would not hesitate to hire him to address any pest problems that might arise in our home in the future.

Bernard looked in the crawlspace of our 1940s rental home two times.
On the first occasion his initial thoughts were that it was a wood boring beetle of some kind but the characteristics (e.g., size of holes, powder) were not consistent with anything he had encountered before but thought that he had heard about it in a lecture he had attended. He also told me that he thought there was not an active infestation and that the house was structurally sound. He gathered information and told me he would contact me later that day after he had had a chance to compare the data he had gathered with charts, etc., . When we spoke later that day, I could tell that Bernard was working quite diligently on the problem. He told me what he had found and that he thought it was one of two types of wood boring beetles - one type that was reinfesting (which would need additional work) and one was not (something we would not need to worry about). He asked to go back into the crawlspace to collect additional information and take additional measurements because the data that he had collected was so puzzling.
After going into the crawlspace the second time, Bernard determined that the holes in our crawlspace were not due to a wood beetle at all (despite all indicators) because he found no trails in the wood indicating that there had been an insect infestation. Instead, he concluded that the holes were due to some sort of pocket rot that only affects living trees (something that we would not have to worry about). He sent pictures and samples to a state forest entomologist to confirm these findings.
We are so pleased by the findings (we feared it would be very expensive) and by the diligent work that Bernard completed in our home. He completed all of this work (and alleviated all of our concerns) at no cost to us. Before the problem had been identified, I had talked to Bernard about the worst case scenarios (highly reinfesting wood beetle) and he discussed the solution and costs with me. It was very reassuring and not as expensive as I had feared.
It was evident throughout my interactions with Bernard that he is very passionate and knowledgeable about his work. It was also interesting to see how diligently he worked to solve a problem where the information he collected was not consistent with anything he had encountered before (he was systematic and scientific in his approach). I appreciate his integrity and we would not hesitate to have him look at and address any pest problem we would have in the future. Thank you Bernard!!!

Anytime you call, they call you right back. They get back to you quickly and come out as soon as possible. They work with you on appointments for your convenience.