Pest control in Fairfield County, CT: ticks, mice or a nest at home?

How do you get a tick tested by CAES?

Connecticut residents can have a tick identified and tested by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) Tick Testing Laboratory in New Haven. According to the CAES submission instructions, there is no cost for identification or testing, though a town or local health department may charge a small fee for handling and mailing.

1. Keep the tick. Place it in a container that cannot be crushed, or a sealed plastic bag. Do not tape it, add anything else to the package or put it in water or alcohol: ticks are sent in dry.
2. Fill out the CAES Tick Submission Form from the same page and pack it with the tick.
3. Send it through your town health department, which forwards ticks to CAES. If you can’t, mail it in a padded envelope (write “Please hand sort” on it) or drop it off at the Tick Testing Laboratory, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven.
4. Wait for the email. Results come by email only, and phone calls slow the lab down.

CAES identifies every tick it receives but tests only blacklegged (deer) ticks that have fed on a person, for the agents of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, hard tick relapsing fever and Powassan virus disease. Ticks from pets, larvae, unfed ticks and males are identified but not tested. Some towns run their own route or lab, so each town page names the office to use.

The numbers show why it is worth doing. In 2025 CAES received 5,896 ticks from across the state, and of the 3,975 blacklegged ticks it tested, 36.9% carried the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, according to its 2025 tick testing summary. A test result tells you what the tick carried, not whether you are infected, so talk to your doctor about the bite as well.

When is each pest active in Fairfield County?

The pest calendar on this page comes from CAES fact sheets and bulletins, one source per row. Blacklegged tick nymphs peak in May, June and July, adults are out in October and November and again in early spring, and they do not hibernate, so they can be active on warm winter days, according to the CAES Tick Management Handbook. Termites swarm “usually March – June”, according to the CAES termite fact sheet, while carpenter ants swarm from late spring into fall. Yellowjacket colonies grow all summer and are largest in late summer. Brown marmorated stink bugs, which CAES confirmed in Connecticut on December 2, 2010 from specimens that included Darien and Norwalk, seek shelter in homes in the fall; they do not bite or sting. The newer arrival is the spotted lanternfly: CAES says its adults are out from July to November; the spotted lanternfly guide covers the state’s rules and what to do with egg masses.

The calendar has no row for mice. No Connecticut agency source found for this guide says when they come indoors, so it does not guess.

What should you do about stings, nests and droppings?

Yellowjackets start a new nest every spring, and colonies grow to 1,000 to 4,000 insects by late summer, according to the CAES yellowjacket fact sheet. Nests are used for one season only. The fact sheet says spraying single yellowjackets will not control the rest, that yellowjackets flying inside in the fall may mean a nest in a nearby wall, and that a pest management professional can help with hard-to-reach nests, especially in buildings. It lists swelling of the limb, breathing difficulty and a rash or hives all over the body as reasons to seek medical attention immediately.

Mice. CT DEEP’s rodent page names the house mouse and the Norway rat as the most common rodent pests. House mice usually nest within 10 to 30 feet of their food, have up to 8 litters a year and breed every three to four weeks, so DEEP advises acting at the first sign and removing their food, water and shelter. To clean up, the CDC’s rodent clean-up steps say to air the space out for 30 minutes, wear rubber or plastic gloves, never sweep or vacuum, and soak droppings with a disinfectant or bleach solution for 5 minutes before wiping them up.

Bed bugs in rentals. Connecticut’s bed bug law, section 47a-7a, applies to every rental except a detached single-family home. The tenant reports, the landlord inspects within five business days and pays for inspection and treatment, and the tenant pays to prepare the unit. The renters and landlords section below has the details.

Squirrels, raccoons and bats are outside this guide. The pest control FAQ explains who handles them in Connecticut, and how to look up a pest control company’s DEEP registration before you hire one.

Sources

• CAES, Spotted lanternfly: https://portal.ct.gov/CAES-SLF
• CAES, Information on Submitting Ticks: https://portal.ct.gov/caes/tick-office/tick-office/information-on-submitting-ticks
• CAES, Summary of Tick Testing Results, 2025: https://portal.ct.gov/caes/-/media/caes/documents/tick_testing/summary-of-tick-testing-results-2025-readable-20.pdf
• CAES, Tick Management Handbook (Bulletin 1010): https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/caes/documents/publications/bulletins/b1010pdf
• CAES, Eastern subterranean termite fact sheet: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/CAES/DOCUMENTS/Publications/Fact_Sheets/Entomology/Eastern_Subterranean_Termite_Reticulitermes.pdf
• CAES, Yellowjackets fact sheet: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/entomology/yellowjackets_vespidae.pdf
• CAES, press release on the brown marmorated stink bug (December 2, 2010): https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/caes/documents/publications/press_releases/pressreleasenewagriculturalpestdecember22010pdf.pdf
• CT DEEP, Rat and Mouse Control: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Pesticides/Integrated-Pest-Management/Rodent-Management
• CDC, How to Clean Up After Rodents (April 2024): https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/rodent-control/clean-up.html
• Connecticut General Statutes, chapter 830 (section 47a-7a): https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_830.htm