Earth Guard's Blog

Rat and mice infestations continue to be a huge problem here in Northern California and throughout our Sacramento pest control region, due in large part to our recent mild winters and all the rainy, cold weather we’ve been having. In fact, there was an article in today’s Sacramento Bee about mice infestations plaguing our region. But rodent problems are not limited to our neighborhood. Here’s an article about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s seizure of 1,500 cases of food stored in a Wisconsin warehouse due to rodent infestation—include gnawing of human and animal food packages. http://www.pctonline.com/FDA-seize-warehouse.aspx

From PCT Online, November 2009:

“In May, a small group of professionals from around the country met the “locals” from one of the toughest rodent environments — New York City. Here’s a bit of what they learned…

“New York City was established in 1625 as New Amsterdam. No one knows for certain when the rat arrived thereafter, but estimates place it at perhaps 150 years later. Now, the problems associated with keeping rat populations low in New York City are directly related to New York’s human population….

“So, how will New Yorkers manage this formidable pest within the constraints of this complex city? The cold, hard truth is, in spite of the best efforts of NYC pest professionals, the Norway rat is likely to persist there in the shadows and underfoot, out of sight and mind to most except those that seek it out. They’ve had more than two centuries and hundreds of generations surviving and adapting to life in the Big Apple. In fact, it’s fair to say that most rats in New York City are not killed by man. Most die from stress caused by competition for food and territory among their own kind….”  Read more at: http://www.pctonline.com/Article.aspx?article_id=42946

They may be smaller and, some say, cuter, but in terms of pest control, mice are a more prevalent, more damaging and tougher problem than their two rodent cousins, rattus rattus (roof rats) and Rattus norvegicus (Norway rats). And as our Northern California winter grows colder and wetter, mice are more likely to set up housekeeping in our cozy homes and businesses.

The mice we see most often in our Sacramento pest control business are the house mouse (Mus musculus). Two other types of mouse, the deer mouse and the white-footed mouse, also may invade human dwellings but are most often found in cabins and homes in remote or rural areas.

The house mouse can be easily distinguished from deer and white-footed mice by its uniform gray or light brown coloration and a nearly hairless tail. In comparison, the other two species are darker on top with light-colored bellies and tails that likewise are covered with dark fur on top, lighter fur on bottom. House mice weigh about half an ounce and are 5 to 7 inches in length, including their 3- to 4-inch tails.

One reason mice present such a tough pest control problem is their small size. They need only a quarter-inch gap to gain entry into a building and require only minute amounts of food and water to survive. As a result mouse infestations are much more common and difficult to control than rat infestations—and every bit as hazardous to health and property.

Mice eat and contaminate human and pet foods, preferring grains but apparently willing to nibble on almost anything. One of our Sacramento pest control customers discovered a nest of mice in a trunk where she stored historic family documents, vintage clothing and other mementoes. Not only did she find the remains of precious keepsakes shredded in a pile, she found dry dog food nuggets the mice apparently had confiscated from her pet’s dish and tucked away for safe-keeping.

Mice transmit diseases such as salmonellosis (food poisoning) and can cause significant property damage, chewing through electrical wires, shredding insulation and gnawing woodwork.

Often people discover a mouse problem when they find tiny black droppings or notice the corner of a cracker box or bag of chips has been gnawed away. Mice also have a distinctive musky smell that may be noticeable. They are most active at night, can run straight up vertical walls and jump a foot off the ground. They reproduce rapidly, bearing as many as 10 litters of 5 or 6 pups per year; their life span is approximately one year.

The most effective ways to prevent mice are to keep all foodstuffs tightly sealed in glass or metal containers, to avoid leaving pet food out, keep all trash containers tightly sealed and to seal all gaps and crevices where mice can come in from outside, such as along pipes and wiring conduit. Self-installed metal barriers, such as tin can lids and steel wool, are effective barriers to gnawing but usually don’t provide long-term protection.

Apartment buildings are especially notorious for mouse infestations, in part because mice are able to move easily from apartment to apartment along pipes and conduits and because it is difficult to ensure adherence to pest control measures by all tenants.

Once there is an established infestation in a home or business, it is almost always necessary to use mouse traps or poison bait to eliminate the mice. Baits are dangerous and must be kept inaccessible to children and pets. Electronic devices that emit a high-frequency sound, though widely advertised, are generally ineffective in preventing mice. A good feline or canine “mouser” may help control the mouse population or discourage mice from moving in, but will generally not be able to completely eliminate mice once a site is infested.

To read more about house mice and other rodents and household pests and how our Sacramento pest control professsionals can help, visit http://www.earthguardpest.com.

dCon’s recently released 2009 Rodent Risk Report ranks the top cities in the country at highest risk for increased rodent problems this year. The 2009 study evaluated factors such as deteriorating city infrastructures, increasing congestion, climate trends, and a new category of research – the nationwide economic downturn, including foreclosure rates.

The US might be in for the worst rodent season in years the Rodent Report said. The study was conducted by two world-renowned rodent experts.

The report found that with the onset of cooler weather and given that rodents already invade an estimated 21 million homes in the US annually, the rodent problem this year could be bigger than ever.
Here is a list of the top 25 cities.
1 New York, NY
2 Atlanta, GA
3 Houston, TX
4 Louisville, KY
5 Philadelphia, PA
6 Chicago, IL
7 Boston, MA
8 San Antonio, TX
9 Milwaukee, WI
10 Detroit, MI
11 Columbus, OH
12 Baltimore, MD
13 Oklahoma City, OK
14 Memphis, TN
15 Portland, OR
16 El Paso, TX
17 Nashville, TN
18 Ft. Worth, TX
19 Jacksonville, FL
20 Dallas, TX
21 Washington, DC
22 San Jose, CA
23 Charlotte, NC
24 San Diego, CA
25 Seattle, WA

Risk factors associated with major rodent infestation are at an all time high.
In the 2009 d-CON® Rodent Risk Report, renowned rodent experts Dale Kaukeinen and Dr. Bruce Colvin reveal how climate changes and recent economic factors such as rising foreclosure rates and unem-
ployment have had a substantial impact on the rising threat of rodent activity across the country. Is your city at risk?

Read the dCon report

Call Earth Guard’s trained professionals at 916-457-7605
for questions or help with rodent prevention and treatment!

Great article in our industry trade magazine re: pest control do-it-yourselfers. A study by Orkin found it depends a lot on what kind of pest is buggin’ you: “87 percent of adults are more likely to call a professional to control termites, followed by cockroaches (58 percent), rodents and bed bugs (56 percent), ants (27 percent) and spiders (24 percent)….

Our Sacramento pest control company often gets the call when do-it-yourself remedies don’t get the job done.

“What’s alarming is the amount of pesticide applied by homeowners compared to professionals. Homeowners spray everywhere and with increasing frequency and concentration in response to poor control results. Not only do DIY-ers expose their families to high levels of pesticides, but they often spend as much money as if they hired a professional. Read more at: http://www.pctonline.com/Article.aspx?article_id=42356

As the cool weather approaches, so does the likelihood that rodents will be seeking warm nesting sites in the attics, garages and foundations of our homes and commercial buildings. In fact, some of our customers who live near wildfire areas have experienced an unseasonably early influx of these critters, driven from woods and fields by the smoke and flames.

The two most common rodent invaders are mice and rats.

In our region of Central-Northern California, the two most common species of pest rats are the roof rat (Rattus rattus) and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), neither of which are native to California but originated in the Far East and spread across the globe centuries ago. The roof rat is the smaller of the two, averaging 5 to 10 ounces in weight, gray to white in color, with a pointed snout, long ears and a black tail as long as its body. The Norway rat is stockier, weighing 7 to 18 ounces, grayish in color, and with shorter ears and tail than the roof rat.

The roof rat is a good climber, nests in trees and dense shrubs, and may take up housekeeping in your attic, the space above dropped ceilings or even in high cabinets. The Norway rat is a burrower and indoors usually sticks to basements or ground floor spaces. You may spot its nest lined with shredded paper, fabric or other fibrous materials.

Although both these types of rat are common in our region, and highly adapted to residential neighborhoods and urban environs, our Earth Guard customers complain most frequently of the roof rat.

Sometimes depicted as funny and cute in popular media such as the Disney-Pixar movie “Ratatouille,” in fact Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus pose serious health and safety problems for home- and business owners. Rats eat and contaminate human and animal food and whatever container or packaging it is stored in; they gnaw on and ruin wooden doors and cabinets, chew through electrical wires and shred insulation to use for their nests. One of our customers recently had to place a service call to her security alarm company when a sensor stopped working; the mystified technician finally found a place in the attic where a rat had chewed through the alarm system wiring.

Rats also carry diseases such as murine typhus, leptospirosis, trichinosis, salmonellosis (food poisoning), ratbite fever and even plague that can be transmitted to humans and other animals.

The first signs of a rat infestation may appear in your yard or garden before the critters have moved indoors. Once they move into your yard, they will eventually move inside, so it’s preferable to catch them early. Common signs of rat activity outdoors include:

• Droppings near pet food containers or dishes or recycling bins;
• Nest materials in wood piles or brush piles;
• Burrows near compost heaps or garbage containers;
• Signs of digging under fences, sheds or doghouses;
• The sight of a rat traveling utility lines or fence tops at dusk;
• Rat carcasses in your outdoor pool or hot tub or dragged to the door by your family dog or cat.

Indoors, you may hear noises coming from your attic, especially at dusk or dawn, or discover a nest inside drawers or behind boxes in your garage, or you may see smudges along walls, pipes or rafters.

Homeowners and business owners can take some common-sense measures to prevent rat infestations, including keeping pet food containers and garbage containers tightly sealed and the areas around them picked up and clean.

Bird feeders also are attractive to rats. Another of our customers, who had multiple bird feeders in her backyard, noticed that the seed-covered bird bell she hung in one corner of her yard would repeatedly disappear almost overnight. She would replace it, and by the next morning, it would be eaten down almost to the plastic hanger. Hungry birds, she thought. The one evening, she happened to be looking out the back door just as dark was settling in and heard a rustling in the leaves above the bird bell. Grabbing a flashlight, she quietly walked over to investigate. The beam of the flashlight revealed an acrobatic roof rat, hanging upside down from the branch, nibbling away.

Storing wood off the ground and eliminating clutter and debris from around building foundations also will discourage rat activity. Roof rats, such as the acrobat caught eating our customer’s bird bell, may use overhanging tree branches, pergolas or dense shrubbery such as star jasmine or ivy as a highway to your roof, where they may find entry to your attic around eaves, pipes or chimney flashing. Trimming trees to leave 2 feet or more between plants and between branches and roof helps discourage these travels. Sealing, screening or plugging openings around wiring conduit or pipes with steel wool or sheet metal, both around your roofline and at foundation level, also are effective at keeping rats out.

Once rats have moved in to your home or place of business, the best way to eliminate them is with the traditional snap traps. A major infestation may require the use of poison bait, which should only be administered by a trained pest control professional. Although customers sometimes request it, the use of live traps is not a good idea. Because the rats are not native to our environment, they cannot be released outdoors, where they pose a danger to humans, pets and property and—because they are an invasive species—to the native ecosystem. In some areas, rats have been known to decimate wild bird populations. Live traps also accumulate bodily waste from the rodents, creating a health hazard for our pest control technicians.

For more information about rats and how you can prevent or eliminate infestations, visit www.earthguardpestcontrol.com or contact our trained Sacramento pest control professionals at 916-457-7605 (877-328-4468 toll-free).