Hey! Did you know this about rodents?
A family of 6 mice in a cluttered garage can grow to 50-60 mice in only 90 days.
A Norway rat can gnaw through a lead pipe.
Roof Rats have extra pads and longer digits on their paws, enabling roof rats to be excellent climbers.
Information provided by Bell Labs – a world leader in rodent control technology.
Rodents will get in!!
Rodents will do their best to gain access into a structure and once in they will continue to nest and quite possible raise their young. As you will notice from the damage to this structure, the rodents have brought in food (seeds) and this is mixed with fecal material and other nasty things. The trouble is not only the animals but parasites and all the nasty urine and fecal materials that are being left behind. Notice that everyone was wearing breathing masks to prevent the possibility of breathing in any fungal spores or contaminated urine or feces dust.
Rodents and fire.
Rodents cause approximately 20 percent of undetermined fires in the United States each year according to fire experts. Rodents include mice, rats, squirrels and they chew constantly because their teeth are always growing. They have incisor teeth that butt up against each other. They will chew through soft concrete, aluminum, wall boards, and pvc and lead pipes. Mice move inside in the winter months and prefer to live near the warmth of electrical components. We receive more calls as the weather becomes cooler as mice and rodents attempt to move into homes and businesses. The photo above is a good indication of how fires are started and this rodent was electrocued.
Rodents and your home, what do you need to know?
You must know your enemy! An inspection of your home or business is the first part of your investigation. Most people don’t really care to think about these little furry invaders of our home, but think you must. These creatures carry diseases and can pass along other not so fun stuff, like parasites and other pests. So what should you look for:
If you decide to attack the issues yourself, use care and caution. If you need some expert advice see out a Pest Management Professional and THINK like a mouse…
I guess it all depends on your perspective, maybe you are not a fan of either one. Phobias get to all of us I think (recent article ProBest’s Blog Fear and Phobia’s) and from my earliest day spiders have not been a good thought. So which is worse – I think either could be but at least generally speaking snakes can kill you. I’m going to rank snakes higher on my list just because they can bite.
So this fall I received a call from a warehouse that was really having an issue with snakes and rattlesnakes to boot. They were wondering about near the bay doors and has people were coming around the corners they would get the shock of their life. So the fix is to take away the food, if you eliminate or reduce the numbers of rodents the snakes will move on. Now thats if they read the same book I read. But just for the facts it worked, reduced the number of rodents and the snake call went away.
Remember its not so much the technique as it is the knowledge. You can spend time trying to figure out the options and spend money often times with little or no effects. So call a Pest Management Professional at ProBest Pest Management and be ahead of the game.
While many entry points are not obvious, a few are. Let’s look at a quick checklist of the more common ones:
1. Under garage doors; where the door does not meet the concrete pad. Replace the seal.
2. Crawlspace vents; repair or replace if screens are ripped or vents broken.
3. HVAC penetrations; where HVAC refrigeration lines go through the foundation and around the unit itself.
4. Hose bibs; where water line goes through foundation or wall.
5. Under first course of siding; occasionally you’ll find an opening between the sill plate and footer.
6. Door frames; openings between door frame and structure.
7. Plumbing vent cover missing or broken; reinstall or replace.
8. Under entry way doors; adjust or replace door sweep.
9. Wire/cable through wall or foundation; seal around opening.
10. Basement and crawlspace doors; seal all openings.
This information taken from an article in B&G EquipNet Technical Newsletter November 2011 by William H. Robinson, Ph.D
I would also like to state a few others that we all should be aware of:
Mischievous creatures and Rodents..
I’m often reminded of the Christmas Vacation movie and the “Chevy Chase” aka Clark Griswold’s Aunt’s cat chewed the Christmas light strand one and the squirrel in the Christmas Tree stills gets me laughing. But in reality it’s no laughing matter, each year hundreds if not thousands of homes catch fire because of critters chewing or gnawing on the wires. Two fires cause minimal damage over the weekend – these were in Florida.
Attics and crawlspaces can house birds, animals, and rodents. Their feces/urine can build up over time and create a whole boatload of trouble for you. Diseases and parasites are secondary issues after the issues has been fixed. Once a month check you home for holes, entry ways into your house and just anything that may be different than the last time checked.
Photo from PPMA
Centipede (Arizona) means “100 legs” – literally, but they don’t all have 100. You couldn’t fit that many legs on something that is not that big. Usually seen at night, nocturnal and the perfect time to be hunting their prey. Based on their size they might go after small bugs but we do have a even bigger Centipede Arizona here called the Giant Desert Centipede. They might go after lizards and rodents.The female is a great mother guarding her eggs until they hatch, guarding them by curling up her body around them.
Is it a bug or is it a spider, technically neither but we tend to put them into a category. In Ohio we had some vicious House Centipedes and they could bite as well. These in Arizona tend to be classified as Occasional invaders as they come inside mainly by mistake. If you can tolerate the bug in your home, they will eat silverfish, roaches and other small insects. As always if you have concerns give us a call 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176
Danger Will Robinson Danger, Blister Beetle attack. Most of you know that warning message from the robot to the young Will. This beetle coloring similar to the Poison Dart frogs is that special warning, stay away from me I’m dangerous.
In Arizona we have several species of blister beetles, and some are black and they point their rear end at the aggressor, spraying a noxious spray to render the foe at bay. Some stand out and some are colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators. Even brushing them off or accidentally squishing or crushing them on your skin can cause pain and blisters. Did you know that even dead they can pose an issue? Insects or predators eating them will be treated to a mouthful of pain, along with your pets.
While hiking stay alert:
Winter weather generally means all of us are cold and that means critters as well. So as we are trying to maintain our houses, pests are trying to get in. Any hole or opportunity will allow them inside. I would recommend the use of IPM, the art of using everything at your fingertips and then getting to pesticide if you have to.
The picture is of bait in a rodent station and as you can see activity is taking place. The bricks show that something is gnawing at it, the next visit may or may not show more evidence but rodents should on the down swing.
