Flying insects pose a threat but can be removed safely

Both flying insects also have nests. Yellowjackets have a nest in the ground somewhere with up to 1000 residents. Often, the nest has taken over a rodent hole. Do not mess with their nest, because they aggressively defend their home! And unlike bees, they can sting you repeatedly so yellow jackets are far more dangerous.

Wasp nests are very common and often visible on your house. They find a hole in the siding or in stucco, or sometimes dangling from under the lip of your roof. Wasp nests are much smaller than those of yellow jackets. People often feel threatened by wasps and want them removed, but they really aren't that dangerous and you should probably just let them be unless it's right by a doorway or open window or back patio.

Wasps can be removed by a professional and the premium is usually for climbing. Omega does offer green alternatives for killing them with environmentally friendly, non-insecticides. This new class of non-toxic insecticide dust is just one of Omega's tools that make us "environmentally friendly" pest control.

Also, a tip: the best time of day to spray a wasp or other flying insect nest is dusk or dawn because the insects are all there. During the day, they are out hunting or scavenging so you won't kill them all in the middle of the day.

Removing a yellow jacket nest is a bit more of a production because it involves a technician in a bee suit using a duster to inject the non-insecticide into the nest.

Meanwhile, if you have bees…. they can be very useful elsewhere (pollinating plants and producing honey) so please check out our story on safely removing bees.

Swarm of bees reported outside of office building in Oakland

In the winter of 2010, Omega was called in to check out a swarm of bees that had landed on the side of a vent. Omega suggested they call a beekeeper to take them away, but the client wanted them sprayed and killed. So, this was done and the owners sealed up the vent, a 40 foot long overhead vent going up and through the building that was no longer being used.

In 2011, the bees appeared to have returned and the building owner called another pest control company. Omega does not know what they did, but our guess is they sprayed to kill but didn't manage to kill them all.

In February of 2012, the building owner called a beekeeper to come out an retrieve them. The beekeeper opened up the vent from the exterior, took all the bees he could get, and then sealed it back up.

Omega safely removes bee hives and puts them to work

In March of 2012, the building owner called Omega and reported a horrible smell. Omega Pest Control took a peak into the duct and saw decaying bee hives. Omega cut both ends, removed the pipe, and discovered that there were thousands of more bees still alive. Omega then capped the ends and trucked it away.

The next day when the pipe was cut open lengthwise, they could see that while there were abandoned beehives on one end, the other end was buzzing in a hive of activity! Meanwhile, and Omega employee had built a bee box overnight at home. So they put on a bee suit and transferred the honeycombs to the bee box and the bees are now thriving in his back yard.

After slicing open the duct, many abandoned bee hives were on the near end.

Bees were still buzzing in the hives on the far end of duct.

These are the bee hives that must have been killed by other pest control service.

The bee box used to safely remove and transport the bees.

Earlier this year, we suddenly discovered rat droppings in our house shortly after we cleaned out a rarely used tool shed in the backyard. We found the droppings in the living room, kitchen, and dining room initially, and believed we had mice. I thought I could take care of the problem myself so I bought and set some traps in those rooms. Over the next couple of weeks, I solicited advice from family, friends, and salespeople from different hardware stores regarding a variety of traps and bait. I also researched online, reading hundreds of product reviews and general suggestions about eradicating rodents. Nothing I tried made any difference, and the situation grew more frustrating and unpleasant as the food bait even disappeared but no rodents were caught. In the mornings, we saw partially shredded chair cushions, tablecloth, carpet mats, etc., and even woke up several nights hearing the rat or rats gnawing on our closed bedroom doors. In desperation, I checked out Angie's List for exterminators, read the various reviews, and chose Omega in Oakland to come to the rescue.

And that's just what they did! I called and spoke to Matt, who told me they were temporarily short-handed but he would have one of his techs get back to me soon and hopefully someone could come out within the next week. In light of past experiences with other contractors and bearing in mind that he'd said they were short-handed, I didn't expect to actually hear back "soon." But I did. Matt called the next day just to touch base, and the following day, Jeremy called. Again due to prior experiences with other companies, I braced myself for the news that nobody could come out for another week or even more. Wrong again. Jeremy came out the next day, even though we live on the Peninsula. And he was great! He was not only punctual, he was early. He was informative, thorough, and generally very helpful, not to mention polite, pleasant, and often funny. We made the necessary arrangements and scheduled his weekly visits. He surveyed the situation, both indoors and outside, suggested preventive measures, offered advice about the various types of traps (including all the things I'd done wrong in my misguided efforts to do the job myself), explained some of the habits of rats and mice, and generally provided reassurance. And to top things off, that very day he caught and killed a rat that he'd flushed out while setting traps -- using nothing more than a flashlight! I'm pretty sure that particular service isn't generally offered by exterminators, but Jeremy saw a chance to get the job done, at least partially, and didn't hesitate. I knew then we were in good hands.

To try to prevent future problems, Jeremy sealed one of the rats' means of entry and suggested other things I could do to keep them out. Since I couldn't afford to have everything done by Omega, and was unwilling to trust any other company, my brother later helped me implement some of Jeremy's advice. I really appreciated that Jeremy didn't try to talk me into spending more than I could afford but was willing to point out areas of concern. That kind of helpfulness seems more and more rare these days, particularly in the current economic environment.

To sum up, we soon were rat-free and still are. It was an incredible relief to my family and me, and we owe it all to Omega. I highly recommend the company, and would like to thank Matt and especially Jeremy for taking good care of us. (I apologize for taking so long to write my evaluation, but my life became quite chaotic for awhile. I never forgot, though, and finally found the time to sit down and really explain what an excellent job Omega did for us.) Great company, great job, guys!