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Look Forward to a Pest Free ChristmasBy Musa Aykac Pests and their infestations are often seasonal. It could be Mosquitoes and Wasps in the summer, but come the winter months you are likelier to face rats and mice. Pest control is important all the year round, but with colder weather the warm haven of your home is an attractive target for any rodent pest. So forget the sentimentality of the season and the charms of Peter Rabbit or rollicking good family movies like Mouse Hunt. Preventing a pest problem makes it easier to control than trying to solve one that has become established! It's this time of year that the majority of rat or mouse problems start because now is when vegetation dies back. Mice and rats that have lived quite happily outside lose their food supply and their protective cover, and that drives them towards the food and shelter that our homes offer. Once they have settled into your house or garage they will breed and it will become harder to eradicate them. Like any rodent, mice and rats they need to gnaw in order to keep their incisor teeth worn down to a constant length. They'll tackle electric cables, packaging and woodwork and even water and gas pipes. They contaminate far more food than they eat, nibbling at lots of foodstuffs rather than concentrating on any one item. The average mouse deposits at least 70 droppings in the course of a day and urinates frequently to mark its territory, although despite this they don't need much water to drink as they usually get sufficient moisture from their food. Rats are also capable of spreading many diseases from their filthy surroundings in sewers or refuse tips and can transmit food poisoning. Both brown and black rats breed rapidly and become sexually mature in about three months. Each female may produce from three to 12 litters of between six and eight young in a year. Brown rats will burrow underground or into suitably soft material to make a nest. While they may target your home as a food source, it's likelier that they will stay close by in a shed, outhouse or garage. The best course of action is to take measures that will stop them getting in. Mouse and Rat -proofing your home as far as possible means blocking off all entry routes - and remember that means even the slightest 5- 7 mm gap or crack. You can block holes in brickwork and damaged masonry with wire wool embedded in quick-setting cement, fit metal strips to damaged wooden doors and fit special MouseMesh screens over airbricks. If despite your best efforts, the rats and mice have still forced entry it may be necessary to more active pest control measures! Because of their habits, traditional baiting techniques and trapping frequently do not work, and a combination of rodenticides. The most widely used and effective rodenticide for many years was warfarin, although it takes several days to work and depends on repeated feeding by the mouse or rate to ingest enough. In most urban areas of Britain, mice have become resistant to warfarin. Alternative and effective, ready-to-use, proprietary poisonous bait, usually available in handy sachets to be placed near signs of infestation, is widely available for household use, but you should always carefully follow the instructions and directions for use. Other commercial rodenticides can be used by pest control contractors or local authority environmental health departments, including a powder that they pick up on their feet and fur. An alternative to baits are break-back traps. If baited with nutty chocolate or raisins (cheese, surprisingly is a very poor rat and mouse bait) and place close to walls or sign of obvious activity, they are very effective. About the author For all your Pest Control, Garden Pests and Household Bugs Needs. |
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