Aunts, Uncles and Cousins Are Movin' In!

Large urban environments provide excellent habitats for rats to survive and thrive. Rats are active at night and generally avoid contact with people.

Here is a list of helpful tips that can encourage a healthy environment and reduce further contact with rodents:

Monitor your property to determine where rats live, travel and feed.

• Monitor your property for evidence of rats (capsule-shaped droppings, burrows, chewed food, gnaw marks on walls and surfaces).

Improve sanitation, and eliminate nesting sites.

• Store garbage in rodent-proof containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Reduce clutter to prevent hiding spots (wood piles, old tires, etc.).
• Eliminate sources of food (fallen fruit, pet food left outdoors, grass seed, etc.).
• Secure composters to prevent rodents from entering as they are always searching for a source of food.
• Keep areas around bird feeders and bird baths cleaned as this can encourage frequent activity.

Prevent rodents from entering your home.

• Inspect the outside of your home to identify rodent entry points (any opening larger than 1/2 inch in diameter).
• Use heavy gauge wire mesh to cover vents.
• Use metal sheeting to cover holes.

If you have an infestation, hire a professional to set out bait and follow these precautions:

• Ensure the bait station is enclosed to provide a shelter area for the rats to feed.
• Ensure children and pets do not have access to bait stations.
• Lock and secure the bait stations to prevent access to the bait (your technician should ensure this).
• Be aware that bait can lead to secondary poisoning (for example, cats may become ill after eating rodents poisoned by bait). Therefore, ensure your technician is aware of any pets in the house and uses a locked bait station.

Continue to monitor the effectiveness of your control measures.

• Clean up droppings as soon as they are observed, so that any new activity is apparent. This is one method to determine old from new activity.
• Maintain sanitation and rodent proofing as preventive strategies.

Bugs!? BED BUGS!! Yikes!!!

What are Bed bugs?

Bed bugs are insects that, as adults, have oval-shaped bodies with no wings. Prior to feeding, they are about 1/4 inch long and flat as paper. After feeding, they turn dark red and become bloated.

Eggs are whitish, pear-shaped and about the size of a pinhead. Clusters of 10-50 eggs can be found in cracks and crevices. Bed bugs have a one-year life span during which time a female can lay 200-400 eggs depending on food supply and temperature. Eggs hatch in about 10 days.


"I vant to suck your blood!"

Bed bugs prefer to feed on human blood, but will also bite mammals and birds. Bed bugs bite at night, and will bite all over a human body, especially around the face, neck, upper torso, arms and hands. Bed bugs can survive up to six months without feeding. Both male and female bed bugs bite.


Rumour has it...  What's true, what's false?

F: You can get bed bugs from walking into a room.

T: Bed bugs do not jump and spend 90% of their time hiding. They tend to be nocturnal and prefer to be undisturbed and avoid any source of light.

F: Bed bugs are too small to see with the naked eye.

T: Bed bugs are the approximate size of an apple seed. They may hide the majority of the time, but can definitely be seen.

F: Chemicals and pesticides alone will kill bed bugs.

T: Unfortunately it's not that simple. Over the counter products will not get of your bed bug issue completely. Successful treatment depends on an integrated pest management (IPM) approach:

• Vacuuming
• Steaming
• Laundering belongings
• Sealing cracks and crevices where they can hide

What is IPM, you say? IPM combines a variety of techniques and products that pose the least risk to human health and the environment.

F: Bed bugs can only be found on dirty people or in shelters.

T: Bed bugs are not prejudice - anyone can get bed bugs! The truth is, they can be found in private homes, apartments/condos, hotels/motels, public places such as businesses and offices.

F: Bed bugs cause disease.

T: There has been no evidence to show that bed bugs can transmit disease. However, their bites can cause potential allergic reactions (similar to that of a mosquito bite). Frequent scratching or picking of the scabs can cause infection.