Pest Control in Huntington, Shelton

Huntington is the old heart of Shelton. The green dates to the early 1700s, and the Huntington Center Historic District along Church Street and Huntington Street still has houses from the 1700s and 1800s, along with the old churches and the cemetery. Spread out around the center are postwar capes, ranches and newer colonials on wooded roads.

It's hilly country, cut by the Far Mill River and the brooks that feed it. Old farm fields have grown back into woods, but the stone walls that marked them are still there, running through backyards and along roads like Ripton Road. Lovely to look at. They're also where a good share of Huntington's mice, chipmunks and ticks spend their time.

Sills that have been settling since the 1700s

Old houses need a careful approach. Timber framing and centuries-old sills invite carpenter ants, especially on the low side of the house where the lot slopes toward the water and things never quite dry out. Fieldstone foundations let mice in every fall, and loose attic windows, chimneys and gaps at the eaves bring in cluster flies and stink bugs by the hundreds in some homes.

If your house is historic, say so when you call. A tech can use trapping, targeted treatment and sealing that won't harm original woodwork, and point out where carpenter ants are working on the old timbers. Ask about sealing a fieldstone foundation against mice along with any trapping. The postwar capes and ranches aren't immune either. Their hollow block walls and sill gaps let mice in just as easily, and the newer colonials have mulch beds and decks right up against the siding.

• Carpenter ants in damp sills, porch posts and window frames
• Mice through fieldstone and old utility openings
• Cluster flies and stink bugs in the attic each fall

Ticks along the Far Mill River

Properties backing onto the river corridor see more ticks and mosquitoes than most. Deer travel the stream valleys, and the leaf litter stays moist under the trees, which is exactly what deer ticks like. A yard treatment along the wooded edge, plus keeping leaves raked away from the patio and play set, cuts down on ticks near the house. Our Shelton deer tick guide covers where they hide.

The Shelton Lakes trails and ponds sit close to many Huntington streets, and homes near Pine Lake see more mosquitoes in midsummer. Dumping standing water each week and clearing the gutters makes a real difference. Huntington runs right up to the Trumbull line on one side and toward White Hills on the other.

Around Huntington: Huntington Green · Huntington Center Historic District · Church Street and Huntington Street · Far Mill River · Ripton Road (ZIP 06484)

Also serving Downtown Shelton, White Hills, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Oxford.