Bugged Out: The XTERMIGATOR Report

Laundry rooms are small, busy, and perfect for pests that love heat, moisture, and hidden nesting material. In this episode Mikey and Dana walk through a recent call where lint, a leaky machine hose, and an open dryer vent created a welcome mat for clothes moths, silverfish, occasional cockroaches, and even a mouse nesting in a pile of laundry. We use integrated pest management to explain what clu...

You packed it away last year and expected it to be safe—then you opened the attic and found evidence of guests: frass in a wreath, chewed ribbon, or silk webbing inside a box. This episode walks a real field call through stacked holiday storage and explains why stored items become pest habitat: cardboard, undisturbed fabrics, moisture, and easy entry points. Mike (Mikey) and Dana translate observa...

Pet food is convenience for your pet — and sometimes an open invitation for ants, cockroaches, and mice. In this episode Mikey walks a listener-facing case file where spilled kibble and an unattended pet bowl turned a garage into a pest highway. We identify the likely culprits, explain the biology and behavior that makes stored food irresistible, and break down how entry points, moisture, and clut...

Ever wondered what’s living under your floors? In this episode Mike “Mikey” Carver walks a crawlspace call where moisture, stacked firewood, and a forgotten soffit created a haven for mice, silverfish, and damp-loving beetles. We identify common crawlspace pests, highlight the clues (droppings, nesting material, musty odor, frass), and explain why entry points, poor ventilation, and excess moistur...

Mike and Dana walk a listener through a classic closet call: holes in sweaters, tiny casings in a dresser drawer, and the uneasy question—what’s eating my clothes? This episode clarifies the difference between clothes moths and carpet beetles, explains the larval clues you can spot (fibers, frass, webbing, shed skins), and outlines why natural fibers, dark undisturbed storage, and humidity create...

In this episode Mikey walks through a common—and sometimes scary—call: a hum in the eaves that turns out to be wasps, yellowjackets, or a solitary bee nest. Using integrated pest management principles, we identify the species, explain why nests show up in eaves, wall voids, attics, and ground burrows, and focus on pest prevention through exclusion, entry point sealing, sanitation, and moisture con...

Homeowners sometimes find dozens of harmless-but-annoying insects clustered on window sills, sun-facing siding, or inside attics. In this episode we unpack a real service call about overwintering congregations—think boxelder bugs, cluster flies, and Asian lady beetles—and turn it into an Integrated Pest Management (IPM)-first playbook. Mike and Dana walk through the clues pros look for (staining,...

A sink full of tiny moth-like flies, a persistent sewer smell, and a customer convinced everything is ‘infested’—this episode follows a real field call that starts at the kitchen drain and ends with fixes along the plumbing line. We identify common culprits (drain flies, plumbing-associated roaches, and organic build-up), explain why drains become habitat (biofilms, slow drains, P-trap issues, and...

You love your houseplants — but sometimes they bring uninvited guests. In this episode Mikey walks a real call where tiny flies and white flecks around potting soil turned a cozy plant corner into an ongoing nuisance. We ID the usual suspects (fungus gnats, springtails, root-feeding larvae), explain how moisture, organic potting mixes, and drainage issues create perfect microhabitats, and show how...

We walk a homeowner through a pantry invasion where flour dust, tiny webbing, and occasional flying moths turned a routine grocery day into a mystery. This episode identifies the usual suspects—Indian meal moths, merchant grain beetles, rice and flour weevils—explains how food habits, packaging failures, and overlooked entry points create habitat, and lays out an integrated pest management playboo...

This episode walks listeners through a common but under-appreciated problem: pests living in or traveling through HVAC systems and ductwork. Using integrated pest management language—inspection, exclusion, sanitation, monitoring—we tell a field story about a homeowner who smelled musky odors and found droppings near a furnace return. Listeners learn to identify likely culprits (mice, rats, roaches...

When your porch light becomes a moth magnet, it’s not just a nuisance—it’s a clue. In this episode Mike “Mikey” Carver walks a listener through a real call where evening swarms of moths and other night-fliers kept drifting into a sunroom and pantry. We use integrated pest management to trace the problem: attraction to light, easy entry points, overlooked gaps around doors and vents, and storage ha...

In multi-unit buildings pests travel faster than gossip. This episode walks a real call where tenants in three apartments reported the same night-time scurries and kitchen roach activity. We identify the likely suspects (roaches, mice, and opportunistic insects), explain how shared entry points, plumbing, ventilation stacks and moisture create connected pest habitat, and translate integrated pest...

We get packages every week—but sometimes those boxes arrive with an uninvited guest. In this episode Mike and Dana walk a real call where a homeowner found ants in a delivered box and a porch package that became a wasp staging ground. We identify the likely culprits (sugar-seeking ants, stored-product beetles and moths, paper wasps, and occasional mice), explain why cardboard, shelter, and food re...

When pests start turning your garage into a staging area for the rest of the house, it’s rarely about a single bug—it’s a set of inviting conditions. This episode uses integrated pest management (IPM) to break down a common field call: an attached garage with ants in the car, spiders in the corners, and signs of mouse activity near stored boxes. You’ll get identification tips to tell scavenging an...

When a homeowner reports a stack of odd visitors after a basement leak, the problem is rarely mysterious—it's predictable. This episode walks a listener through a field-style case file featuring centipedes, silverfish, and common house spiders, and uses that story to teach integrated pest management: identification, inspection, exclusion, sanitation, and moisture control. You'll learn clear clues...

When you hear that steady buzz in the eaves or feel activity behind a wall, it’s unnerving—but not always dangerous. In this episode Mikey and Dana walk through a field case where homeowners reported a persistent buzzing over a laundry room and a stained soffit. We identify the usual suspects—paper wasps, yellowjackets and solitary wasps—covering quick ID clues, typical nesting choices (soffits, g...

Homes fill with window-hugging pests for a reason. This episode breaks down three common fall/winter intruders—boxelder bugs, brown marmorated stink bugs, and cluster flies—using integrated pest management (IPM) principles so you know what you’re dealing with and what actually works. We walk a real field case, list the visual clues that separate look-alikes, explain why entry points, sun-warmed wa...

You think the laundry room is harmless? Think again. In this episode Mike and Dana turn a routine call into a primer on how dryer vents, lint buildup, wet loads, and poorly sealed laundry chases create surprisingly common pest problems. We walk a field case where moths and silverfish turned up in a closet, ants trailed from the laundry sink, and a curious mouse used a vent chase as a highway. Usin...

You hear a steady buzz from the kitchen sink or spot tiny moth-like flies near the bathroom drain—what’s really living in those pipes? In this practical, 10-minute IPM-first episode we walk a real field case where homeowners misidentified fruit flies, drain flies, and small roaches, then show how inspection, exclusion, sanitation, and moisture control point to the real source. Mike and Dana break...

You hear faint ticking or a hollow thud in an upstairs wall—should you panic? This episode breaks down a common homeowner call into calm, practical steps. Using a real field case, Mikey and Dana explain the key clues that point to carpenter ants versus subterranean or drywood termites: frass versus mud tubes, sound and location, winged swarmers, and moisture patterns. We keep it IPM-first—inspecti...

When a homeowner told us their cereal looked ‘‘spidery’’ and little moths kept flicking out of a flour bag, we walked a calm, practical path from surprise to solution. In this episode Mike and Dana use a real field case to show how to identify pantry pests, spot the memorable clues (webbing, larvae casings, small round holes, tiny beetles), and trace the source—often a single contaminated bag, bul...

We respond to calls from offices and apartment buildings where residents hear scratching above the tiles but can’t find an entry point. This episode walks a listener from first noise to practical prevention: what the team observed in the cavity, one or two repeatable clues (droppings on light diffusers, shredded insulation, chew marks on conduit), and how to confidently identify mice versus roof r...

When your favorite sweater has holes or a vintage quilt looks ragged, the culprits are often clothes moths or carpet beetles — and the right response depends on which one you’ve got. In this 10-minute, monologue-style episode Mike and Dana walk through a real field file: what customers usually notice, the key visual clues that separate moth damage from dermestid larvae, and why household factors l...

Bees on a porch can feel alarming, but many incidents are temporary or solvable without harm. This episode uses integrated pest management to walk listeners through common bee encounters—honeybee swarms, cavity and ground-nesting bees, and look‑alike stinging insects—so you can identify risk, protect people and pollinators, and take practical prevention steps. We open with a real case file of a ho...