The Rodents are Invading 11/18/2009

Now is the time of year you might be noticing an increase in rodent activity.  With the changes in the weather, increased rain and cooler temperatures the rodents will be trying to get out of the cold and into the warmth and comfort of your home.  Here are some tips to help you and your loved ones from being invaded!

Seal Up!
Seal up holes inside and outside the home to prevent entry by rodents.

Mice can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime, and rats can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! Prevent rodents from entering the home by checking inside and outside the house for gaps or holes.
Where to look for gaps or holes inside your home:
• Inside, under, and behind kitchen cabinets, refrigerators and stoves.
• Inside closets near the floor corners.
• Around the fireplace.
• Around doors.
• Around the pipes under sinks and washing machines.
• Around the pipes going to hot water heaters and furnaces.
• Around floor vents and dryer vents.
• Inside the attic.
• In the basement or crawl space.
• In the basement and laundry room floor drains.
• Between the floor and wall juncture.
Where to look for gaps or holes outside your home:
• In the roof among the rafters, gables, and eaves.
• Around windows.
• Around doors.
• Around the foundation
• Attic vents and crawl space vents.
• Under doors.
• Around holes for electrical, plumbing, cable, and gas lines.
Fill small holes with steel wool. Put caulk around the steel wool to keep it in place. Use lath screen or lath metal, cement, hardware cloth, or metal sheeting to fix large holes. These materials can be found at your local hardware store. Fix gaps in trailer skirting and use flashing around the base of the house. If you do not remember to seal up entry holes in your home, rodents will continue to get inside. Outbuildings and garages should also be sealed to prevent the entrance of rodents.
Trap Up!
Trap rodents around the home to help reduce the rodent population.

Traps should be set in areas of interior activity. For outside rodent populations, your technician may install locked rodent bait stations, which are secured to the ground.

Clean Up!
Clean up rodent food sources and nesting sites

Prevent contact with rodents by cleaning up your home, workplace, or campsite.
Eliminate possible rodent food sources:
• Keep food in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids.
• Clean up spilled food right away and wash dishes and cooking utensils soon after use.
• Keep outside cooking areas and grills clean.
• Always put pet food away after use and do not leave pet-food or water bowls out overnight.
• Keep bird feeders away from the house and utilize squirrel guards to limit access to the feeder by squirrels and other rodents.
• Use a thick plastic or metal garbage can with a tight lid.
• Keep compost bins as far away from the house as possible (100 feet or more is best).
• Keep grains and animal feed in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids. In the evening, uneaten animal feed should be returned to containers with lids.
If storing trash and food waste inside the home, do so in rodent-proof containers, and frequently clean the containers with soap and water. Dispose of trash and garbage on a frequent and regular basis, and pick up or eliminate clutter.
Eliminate possible nesting sites outside the home. Elevate hay, woodpiles, and garbage cans at least 1 foot off the ground. Move woodpiles far away from the house (100 feet or more is best). Get rid of old trucks, cars, and old tires that mice and rats could use as homes. Keep grass cut short and shrubbery within 100 feet of the home well trimmed.
Information provided by CDC

What are you looking For?

What are you looking for in a pest control company? We want your input. Action Pest Control constantly strives to improve our customer service through education, environmental awareness and customer feedback. So tell us what you want. We will post the top five responses on our website in June. Actionpest@earthlink.net  Thank you.

 

PS let us know if we can use your name.

Green Pest Control

Natural or Green Pest Management

We’ll move now to the topic of “natural” pest control. This is not yet so tightly regulated as is organic pest management, but it still is regulated and is an extremely important area. Nearly every state in the U.S. has statutes that address pest management and pesticide use on school properties, including day care centers, and the use of natural or green products is strongly encouraged. Once again, as with organic pest management, natural or green pest management does not speak only to pesticides, but also strongly encourages non-chemical controls such as traps, exclusion, habitat modification, good building design, and sanitation to discourage pests.

Natural pest control is a topic subject to influence from many directions. Groups which oppose the use of any kind of pesticide will argue that Green pest management means no pesticides, or that all Natural pesticides are “safe” for humans and animals. This is inaccurate, and we can think of the great many natural substances that are produced by the Earth or by plants that are highly toxic, and to sell the idea that they are safe just because they are natural is counter productive to human health and safety. An article issued by a University, speaking on the topic of toxicology, states that “Organisms cannot differentiate between natural and synthetic chemicals. It is the mode of action, not the source, that is the concern”. In fact, the most toxic substances known to chemists are those that are produced by living plants and animals. For example, the venom in cone shells found in South Pacific oceans is about 1 million times more toxic than the insecticide permethrin. It is natural, but it is deadly.

There also may be a tendency for groups that promote the use of natural and green products to oversell their safety. As trained and licensed professionals we recognize basic safety procedures to take when using pesticides. One of these is to ensure that no pets or children have access to any pesticide, regardless of its chemical nature. I once read a “recipe” for making cockroach bait with boric acid, in which the instructions were to make small balls of the flour-based bait and place them here and there around the house. We also know that we never use any kind of containers or devices for pesticides that are designed for household food materials, and yet one website instructs people on how to make their own natural pesticides from plants, by mixing the plant and water in their kitchen blender. Clearly the insinuation is that since these concoctions are natural, and just made from plants, the blender could not possibly be contaminated with anything toxic. No warnings were given in this article regarding washing the blender after creating the toxic soup.

Ray wrestles a hamster

The office received a frantic call last Friday from a client about a rodent chewing through a closet door. When the tech arrived a nervous customer pointed to the hall closet. The tech slowly opened the closet door, to find the biggest hamster he had ever seen. Luckily for the hamster Rays a nice guy. The hamster was returned to the neighbor without a scratch on him.

Carpenter ants Olympia

Clients have reported seeing winged carpenter ants flying in, and around their houses in the Olympia area . Although this is a sign of spring, it’s seems Mr. Winter will keep his grip on us through the weekend. Hopefully, we can get back to normal temps next week.