Rodents aren’t just a problem in NYC, how about Arizona?

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“Harlem says rats to blame for telephone woes“, you may think they have their issues and yes they do but we also have issues with rodents. There was a issue a year or so ago where rabbits were chewing/gnawing on vehicle wiring and that can be a real headache if you need your car in a hurry.

The front incisors of rodents never stop growing, In fact, continuously growing front teeth is a trait shared by all rodents from the tiniest mouse to the largest rodent. Observing mice & rats who have nothing to gnaw upon, its been found that these incisors can grow up to five inches per year.
Rats have strong teeth that allow them to chew through glass, cinderblock, wire, aluminum and lead.
Rodents need to chew four to five hours each day just to keep their teeth gnawed down to the point that they are able to eat. If their teeth grow too long they will die of starvation.
There is a very high sodium content in electrical and cable wiring. This makes the wires taste good to the rodents, but can lead to wire failure & is a fire hazard. Check your home-owner’s insurance policies to see if it covers fire if it is a result of rodents chewing on wires.

Photo – Univar Environmental Solutions

See I told you this was going to happen!

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This whole mess with the economy continues to add woe after woe to those you can’t or won’t follow good rules. Now if you can’t afford it then the City has to do something (remember when they cut the ranks of sanitation workers), don’t get me wrong if money is tight you have to cut things. Can’t cut Police or the Fire Departments, or the water department – well you get the picture.

An Eyesore Like No Other In Bronx: Tree Grows Through Dilapidated Home

Hey, you talkin to me?

Somebody is becoming quite the eating machine.

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Our resident and pet snake has decided to be more of a pig recently – she will eat every day if I fed her that often. I fed her twice within the last few weeks and she is content to eat and shed often. She came to us about 5 years ago, from a linen store here in Phoenix. They thought she was a rattlesnake because she mimics the tail vibrating – she is a Gopher snake. This picture above is rather unusual in that she decided to eat the rodent back to front, normally they go after the head and then swallow.

Some people are just amazing, aren’t they?

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Some people are just plain out there, now I know what happens when someone really ticks you off and you want revenge. I believe in Karma, sometimes you just have to wait and see what happens but getting even doesn’t really help. Not that I know for sure about this. “Main Line Realtor fired for (Alleged) rodent dumping“. (Alleged) keep that in mind – I don’t suggest doing this, remember there are cameras everywhere.

Liphatech Updates Vet Guide

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http://www.liphatech.com/Documents/US/Literature/vet_guide_all.pdf

One of the most informative guides I have ever run across, I keep one at home and one at my desk. Accidental exposure to rodenticides occasionally happen and when it does you need a guide to help you through the issue.

Even the smallest can cause BIG issues, can’t they?

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“Rodents cause widespread phone and Internet outages“

So something as small as a mouse caused some issues with power and the internet in Bozeman, WY recently. It is really important that we keep out rodents, they gnaw on wires are may cause up to 20% of home fires.

This picture from Univar, clearly indicates that mice or rats love to chew pipes or cables, if this had been inside an attic it could have caused a serious fire or explosion.

Now not only do wildlife/animals not have a place within your home, but if you do allow them access into your home seconday pests also may cause issues. Mites, fleas and ticks and all kinds of parasites may decide to bite you instead. So the simple answer is – keep those pests out!

Diseases are all around us, what can you do to prevent them?

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New cases of things that you probably thought were gone rebound from time to time. California has recently issued a notice about Bubonic Plague from the Sacramento Bee by Bill Lindelof “El Dorado warns of plague danger, urges avoidance of rodents“.

Every once in awhile we run across Hanta Virus or the Plague here in Arizona, the risk is really an issue in places where deer mice or rodents are on the run.

So what do you do?

Seal up holes in you home, don’t let the rodents in.
Check your home monthly for issues.
If you notice rodent droppings, use care in cleaning them up and try to figure out how they are getting in.
Don’t allow trees to touch your home, it makes a great highway for all type of things.
Don’t store stuff against the outside of the home.
If you have a cabin, use care in cleaning up – dust and urine can become airborne and can carry all sorts of stuff.

Picture provided by Univar

Were you aware that May is “National Pet Month”?

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Were you aware that May is “National Pet Month”?

Lots of us own pets, from cats to snakes and because of this we can also from time to time get uninvited pests including ticks and other vermin. In Arizona we don’t get fleas very often but we do encounter ticks on a regular basis. So what can you do to stop those infestations from happening to your home.

Don’t leave food out for feral cats, this may bring in other unwanted pests.
If you see holes in the yard check for Pocket gophers, they can damage plants and bring in pests.
Even birds like pigeons can bring in pests, don’t allow them them to live on your roof.
Bats can make your attic a home, seal and block all access into your attic. Bat Bugs can take up residence within your attic and if you get rid of the bats, the Bat Bugs may come into your home space.
Check your pets frequently for signs of fleas or ticks. You can use over the counter medicines but if you do please mention this to your Pest Management Professional – some of those products may contain a similar products and cause an overdose to the pet.
Keep grass or vegetation trimmed around the home.
Don’t become a hoarder, keep debris away from the home and discourage rodent activity.
Never place firewood next to your home, don’t invite rodents or pests near the home. If you use firewood only bring in what you plan on using right away.
If you have rodents, it may lead to snakes. Snakes have to eat so don’t encourage them to come to your house.
Don’t allow water to stand, mosquitoes can bite and transit diseases and parasites to your pets.

Who cares about bugs and rodents?

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Who cares about bugs and rodents?

Each and every day I’m reminded of the valuable service ProBest Pest Management offers, why you ask? Let me share some of my most memorable days of Public Health:

Customer called me because they couldn’t even get into their home because the fleas were so plentiful.
In all my 20+ years I had never seen Bed Bugs until 2009, that year we received our first call. In 2012 I witnessed over 1000 Bed Bugs in a very small home – I was amazed and also creeped out and itched all day. We were able to alleviate the problem but it stills worries me that people will put up with something like this until it virtually becomes a real BIG problem.
A young woman continued to call about Ticks, we treated her yard but she wouldn’t let us inspect her home. We did find ticks inside under a couch and solved the problem after finally finding the source.
I may have mentioned this before but a mobile home with at the every least 5 million cockroaches. I’m not kidding, I felt almost hopeless for this family. It took some time but I think we did a good job for them.
I once had the task of doing some Drywood Termite work in a church, the tower or steeple had more pigeon feces than I had ever seen. It was probably 10 foot deep and went down walls and was just gross, we fumigated the building and they had someone remove the feces and prevent them from gaining entry anymore.
Sometimes architecture often allows entry points into a structure, stucco not properly sealed or pipes or cable opening not sealed. I once particpated with a fumigation for cockroaches and never thought about rodents until the job was completed. Many, many dead rodents, by the way do you know that rodents love cockroaches?

Well anyway you get the picture, Public Health equals quality pest control.

What did they use in the older days of bug control?

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What did they use in the older days of bug control?

From dusters to moth devices that could be placed within closets or dressers to rodent repellers. These products were for the DIY or Do It Yourselfers and some worked very well and others didn’t. Did any of these work for you? Comments please!

All posts in “rats”

“Rodents cause widespread phone and Internet outages“

Were you aware that May is “National Pet Month”?