rodents Archives - Page 12 of 21 - Arizona Pest Control - Pest Management Services

All posts in “rodents”

Mounds, mounds and more mounds – Pocket Gophers do their damage to yards.

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ProBest Pest Management offers one tested and proven method to remove gophers from your yard with our baiting option. Our service generally consists of 2 to 3 visits based on the size of your yard and number of mound activity.

Pocket Gophers are best known for their ability to destroy our lawns and gardens. A gophers diet consists of mainly underground roots. Pocket Gopher control isn’t easy but we have spent years deciding on the best and most advantageous treatments and have decided on our use of the Elston treatment device.We have perfected the gopher eradication method. We have found that a targeted attack with baits is the most effective way of eliminating gophers on your property.

Our initial baiting gopher control service will generally consist of 2 visits approximately 1-2 weeks apart with free follow-ups for an additional 30 days if needed. We use a grain bait called Kaput-d. Our preferred bait of choice is a grain injected directly into the tunnel system of the gopher. After years of testing we have determined that this grain bait works the best, assuring we have the most effective materials available. We don’t use the cheap stuff, we use a tried and true procedure with an excellent grain bait! The key to effective gopher control is in the experience, anyone can inject bait into a hole but we know what we are doing and have years of proven control. Our technicians are experienced and know gopher patterns, tendencies, preferences and more!

Do you ever think about pests?

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You know that I do on a daily basis buts hey its my job. The Sheriff’s Office in Ocala, Florida are thinking about it now. “Rats! Rodents ate evidence from homicide cases at MCSO.”

People often consider cutting pest control in a tough economy, awhile back I read that NYC was cutting back on rodent work. I don’t always understand the thought process and usually it comes back to bite them. I guess if the money isn’t there you need to cut back unless you are the government and just create more money – wish I could that, right? Good intentions, but before you do that think about the cascade of events that it could lead to.

Most insects are a benefit to man, what are the bad ones or good ones?

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I think if we had to say bad, the number 1 bad guy would be the mosquito and #2 would probably be the flea. But what about the good ones, such as honeybees except when they attack and ants. Some may fit into both categories such as honeybees – great honey and they pollinate but may also sting and hurt. I guess I can think of the good and bad as somewhat of a trade off, we need pollination and yet people die from bee stings each year. Termites are essential in the forest, composting trees and wood into vital nutrients within the soil.

Top 5 bad in my opinion

Mosquitoes
Scorpions
Fleas
Flies
Rodents

Top 5 good in my opinion

Honeybees
Ants
Butterflies or Moths
Ladybugs
____________ Can you name a few more?

Its baby time, are rodents looking for ways to protect themselves?

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Just like us pests and rodents need 3 things: #1 Food #2 Water and #3 Shelter.

Whether its warm or cold. opportunity is opportunity and pests will take every chance to push the edge. This could be your home and you need to be aware of the places where pest can set up a home for themselves.

Check your home for exterior and interior holes.
Trim trees and bushes away from home.
Pick up fruit and/or encourage your neighbors to do the same. Give the fruit to St. Mary’s Food Bank.
Remember rodents will gnaw on wires and pipes, you don’t need a headache like this.

Call ProBest Pest Management for help in dealing with pests.

Truly an IPM fix to a problem.

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I love this story “Cats recruited to solve rodent problem at LAPD farm“, it really focuses on using all those tools available before we use pesticides. To refresh your memory “Whats all the fuss about pest control and IPM” – one of my favorite sites is “What is IPM”

So what is IPM?

IPM is an abbreviation for Integrated Pest Management.

Integrated Pest Management is a process involving common sense and sound solutions for treating and controlling pests. These solutions incorporate three basic steps: 1) inspection, 2) identification and 3) treatment. Treatment options vary from sealing cracks and removing food and water sources to pesticide treatments when necessary.

Customer cat by Candi

Local cat Muffin by Bonny

Don’t believe everything you read!

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I know this is correct , cause just week I read a report published by Abraham Lincoln on why he didn’t trust the internet. I think all of us play a hand in what is and isn’t truthful on the internet and I get called weekly where someone says I read the internet and blah, blah blah. I had a customer a year or so ago, tell me emphatically that Bed Bugs can jump out of a dumpsters. The only way that Bed Bug is getting out of that dumpster is if someone jumps in there and removes something. By the way that dumpster was in the direct sunlight and in the middle of the summer it would probably die within hours from our heat.

One more thing that just gets me, is when we jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. Remember that honeybee thing a year ago, was it cell towers or was it pesticides, or was it global warming? Well no one knew for sure but everyone with their own agendas were posting the blame everywhere. If the bee issue is caused by something, then we need to investigate quickly and stop the problem. I believe the E.U. stopped the use of neonicotinoids before all the data was in, but anyway I ran across an excellent article from Alan Caruba “Another Environmental Lie Exposed: Bees are thriving.”

What do pesticides do? They protect us against trillions of insect and rodent pests that spread diseases while some represent millions in property damage—termites—every year.

So here is what I suggest, lets get the facts before we run off to damage an industry that contributes to Public Health and the betterment of our lives. Remember that mosquitoes continue to kill over a million people each year and rodents contaminate and damage grains and food.

Catching rats could be easier real soon, why you ask?

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“Op-Ed: Rats bigger than cows? Could be.” Evolution may be adjusting to fill areas and some species may go the way of the dinosaurs. I don’t think this will be happening right away, but think about the ramifications if rodents did become bigger. I might have to arm the technicians with rifles, no – not going to happen. I didn’t realize that the largest rodent was the size of a bull and weighed over 2000 pounds. Can you just imagine that?

Pest on the move, how do we stop them?

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Think about this, how did Hawaii get any pests or wildlife? What are some key obstacles in bugs or wildlife getting to an island? Those ships that started stopping by Hawaii brought many of the pests that they see daily. The Hawaiian government is working hard to stop some recent newcomers including the Coffee Cherry Borer and Little Fire Ant. Is there a way to stop them, probably not but maybe we can slow the destruction.

“Hawaii lawmakers weigh killing invasive insects.” This isn’t the first invasive critter to hit the shores of Hawaii, rodents and termites can be seen daily throughout the islands. The key is to stay ahead of the insect if possible, isolate and determine if quarantine can work.

I’m sure I’m checking out some bug.

Fleas and Plague.

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Fleas and history. I love history and this is one I don’t want to see us repeat. 2/3 of Europe was extinguished in the blink of an eye and the Justinian Plague wiped out 1/2 of the known world at the time. It is often called the Black death as people would develop bubo or these black looking bumps on the skin, often in areas of the lymph nodes within our bodies. Humans usually contract the plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the bubonic plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To prevent the disease from spreading to humans, ADHS warns visitors and residents not to allow pets to roam freely, as well as treating them with flea-prevention medications; to avoid contact with sick or dead animals and to stay away from rodent burrows; to wear insect repellents to keep fleas away when hiking or working in areas where plague might be active; and to wear rubber gloves when skinning and cleaning game animals.

I also had no idea but there are about 2000 cases of bubonic plague reported yearly. Scary!

Animals, such as rodents, squirrels, pack rats, prairie dogs, mice, chipmunks, voles, and rabbits can be affected by plague. Wild carnivores can become infected by eating other infected animals. Symptoms may include fever, chills, weakness and muscle pain. I’ve heard of cases in the 4 Corner region of Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico but New York City rats have also been tested in the past with no reports yet of the bacterium. Did you know that they believe there are over 8 million rats in NYC, wow.

Dr. Bug suggest the best way to protect ourselves from these potential infections is to keep the rat population under control. Removing food, water and shelter are key to eliminating rodent infestations. Keep them out, if you see one there are probably more. Fix holes and prevent access and door guards are essential.

fleas Photo by Univar

What the hell is wrong with people?

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So just the other day I wrote about frivolous lawsuits and this story is another of the absolute “what the hell is wrong with people stories” maybe with people going to hell for their acts? In my business we often have to dispatch things, the methods used are not always the nicest but I also don’t get a thrill out of just killing things. If given the chance I would rather move the critter to another location, we move snakes and critters, its not always their fault that they thought your home was a nice tree.

This FaceBook thing also has gotten out of hand, people are posting things that I really don’t want to see. My postings are relative to what I do and I don’t want to see some girl standing at a river throwing puppies in, I think God will get her back for that (Karma) sending her to Hell. “Chicago man tortured, killed rodents, posted the videos to Youtube.”

So again I ask, lets think before we post – the key word here is THINK please. I do realize that I may be somewhat hypothetical, I do kill things but I’m also not showing pictures of my work. I did an article awhile back on hunting and trapping – “Wildlife trapping” and I truly believe hunting and trapping is better for the animals then dieing a slow death from hunger or over population. But torture for torture sake of any living thing is wrong, again my opinion.

Photo by Univar