Pest Control West Orange, NJ — Licensed Exterminator for Hillside Homes

Exterminator in West Orange, NJ: a town built into the mountain

West Orange climbs the slopes of the First and Second Watchung Mountains in western Essex County. Big parts of town border woods: Eagle Rock Reservation along the top of the ridge, and South Mountain Reservation — home of the Turtle Back Zoo — to the south. Thomas Edison's old laboratory on Main Street and his Glenmont estate in Llewellyn Park tell you how long people have been building here.

That mix shapes the pest calls. Homes that back onto the reservations see more wildlife, ticks, wasps and carpenter ants than a typical suburb. Older houses and multi-family buildings on the lower streets toward Orange see more mice, rats and roaches. The garden apartments and condo complexes in between deal with pests that travel between units, like German roaches and bed bugs.

We're not right around the corner — our base is in Garfield, and the trip down the Garden State Parkway and I-280 usually takes around half an hour. We'll always tell you an honest arrival window when you call.

Pest control in West Orange depends on which part of town you're in

West Orange isn't one kind of neighborhood. Here's how the pest picture usually changes:

Not sure which fits your house? Send a photo by text and we'll point you in the right direction.

Termites and carpenter ants in West Orange's older wood homes

Many West Orange houses are decades old, with wood porches, wood trim and basements set into sloped ground. Water running downhill keeps soil and wood damp, and that's exactly what subterranean termites and carpenter ants want.

• Termites: look for thin mud tubes on the foundation, swarms of winged insects near a basement window on a warm spring day, or wood that sounds hollow. We inspect, treat, and then repair damaged sill plates, joists, beams and framing with our own crew. Selling a house? We also do VA / NPMA-33 wood-destroying insect reports. See termite inspection in NJ.
• Carpenter ants: large black ants inside in spring, often at night, plus little piles of sawdust-like material. They nest in wood softened by leaks — around old windows, a wet deck ledger, or a porch roof. We find the nest, treat it, and can repair the damaged wood. See carpenter ant control and our comparison of carpenter ants vs. termites.

Smaller ants — the little brown ones on the kitchen counter in April — are a different problem. Those we solve with baits the workers carry home, not sprays. Read more about ant control in New Jersey.