ANT-IPATHY: This is the year of the...

ANT-IPATHY: This is the year of the ant, say Valley exterminators. Thanks to a mild winter and the heavy spring rains, the household irritants are more plentiful than they have been in years. “The severity of the problem . . . is higher than it’s been in my 18 years in business,” said Canoga Park exterminator Dave Snyder. The reason? More water, more decayed vegetation--and more food, drink and shelter for ants.

WHEN IT RAINS: Business, too, comes pouring in for exterminators, who do well when the ant cycle peaks. “The weather is keeping us in business,” jokes Jessie Davis, a Burbank exterminator. Lots of exterminators went belly up with the decline in home sales in the early ‘90s. This year, though, the number of certified exterminators statewide has grown by 8%.

BUGS TO COME: Next year may belong to a newcomer called the Formosan termite, predicts Davis, above. This voracious little tropical home wrecker made its first West Coast appearance in La Mesa, but hasn’t eaten its way north yet. Just wait, Davis said. It only takes the right humidity, and “a good wind.”

PESTERING PESTS: Lest you think pests are just bugs, meet Larry Brown, a specialist in the rats-with-wings department. Pigeon complaints abound near the Van Nuys Civic Center, but the county frowns on killing them. So Brown tries persuasion. He puts sticky goo on wires to annoy them. He sets up fake perches that collapse without warning. The pigeons get flustered and leave. “Pigeons don’t like a challenge,” he explained. “They aren’t the sharpest pencils in the box.”

BAT COMBAT: Bat killing is also verboten under state wildlife protection laws. So when Portia Barberis gets called to eject the critters from people’s attics--most complaints seem to come from Westlake Village--she nets them, or seals their holes when they leave. “Bats are not viewed as pests,” asserts one state game official. In fact, many state species are dwindling. The problem? Not enough roosts.