Pest control experts offer tips on how to keep creepy crawlers and critters out of homes
NEW YORK -- Have you noticed more creepy crawlers inside your home lately? You are not alone.
CBS New York asked the experts why and what can be done to keep them outside where they belong.
They jump, march, fly, and stink -- nuisance bugs make skin crawl across the Tri-State Area.
"Sometimes, I might get those little ... what do you call them? Centipedes with all the legs," said Eileen Finnegan of Westwood, New Jersey.
Finnegan said she typically spots them after a lot of rain and with one spray she takes them out.
"The rain and the cold definitely brings all of them in," said Toni Ann Migliore, co-owner of Bugging Out Termite and Pest Control.
Toni Ann and Luigi Migliore say common pests popping up inside homes right now include sugar ants, creepy cave crickets, stinkbugs, and spotted lantern flies.
"This is the first year of the couple of years that they've been here that they're going inside the homes now," Luigi Migliore said.
READ MORE: Smashing lanternflies and smashing myths: Study finds they may not be as harmful as once thought
When asked about rodents, too, Toni Ann Migliore said, "Absolutely. Mice are big right now. Raccoons are big. Everybody is trying to get warm and stay safe for the winter."
However, that does not mean humans must welcome critters and crawlers with open arms. For example, say a family of raccoons chews through your roof, Bugging Out can install a one-way tunnel and humanely relocate them to the wild.
"What the customers can do to keep pests and critters out of their house, gutters is definitely one of them," Luigi Migliore said.
He says to keep gutters clean.
"When there's moisture, time for them to reproduce. Keep the bushes and trees off your home," he said.
READ MORE: Connecticut residents seeing more stink bugs indoors as weather gets colder
They also suggest moving garbage cans away, because if they are too close, each becomes a bridge to entry through, "cracks and crevices. Every house has them and there's no way around that."
They also say to make sure to seal windows and door frames.
Central AC lines offer easy entry for critters. You are instructed to fill any voids with carbon fiber steel wool.
If you spot a mouse in your house, it will hide. But if you look closely and amongst the debris from its entry, you'll see feet rub marks outside that might reveal how it got there.
"When a mouse goes back and forth into the same entry, they have oils on their fur," Luigi Migliore said.
The oil rubs off on concrete and wood, leaving a distinct mark. Seal the area or call the experts to take care of it.
Two more things from the Migliores: Don't squish or handle stink bugs. If you do, they release an odor that attracts other stink bugs. And, 2023 marks the first year the DEP allowed pest control companies to use products that eliminate spotted lantern flies.