Effective Ways to Pest-Proof your Home

You can expect cozy flannels, delicious Maple Pecan lattes and messy pumpkin carving this season, but what you won't expect is the influx in pests in and around your home!

Pests often will seek shelter during the Fall and Winter months, particularly rodents, if you aren't adequately prepared. There are many effective ways to pest-proof your house without doing too much. Aside from maintaining your regularly scheduled pest control visits, some of these preventative measures can be as easy as general maintenance. Here's our advice: 

1.) Remove excess clutter, boxes or trash on the outside your home. Ensuring the lids on outdoor trash bins are closed at all times is also helpful. 

2.) Rake up leaves or excessive foliage that may have gathered around planter boxes and bushes overtime.

3.) Cut or trim back overgrown bushes and trees to help alleviate nesting from happening. Branches that lay on the roof are ideal for rodents to crawl onto your home! 

4.) Close up doggy doors, patch holes and/or fix loose piping that all serve as access points for critters. 

5.) Properly store dog food or cat food, preferably in metal bids with a lid that can't be chewed through such as plastic or cardboard. Rodents love nothing more than automatic feeders that are left outside!

All of these are effective methods to deter critters that are looking to escape from the cold and raise their families. If you find that you are hearing scurrying in the ceilings, there is a possibility that rodents are simply running across the roof of your home from the outside. However, if the scurrying persists or you simply would like to know for sure, give Black Knight a call and we can come out to perform a free inspection of your attic or areas of concern. Simply, Black Knight is here to help no matter what your pest problem is! Stay cozy, our friends.

Winter Pests

Cold Weather Pests

Just because there is a chill in the air and no Summer Sun there are still Pests to be concerned about.  While the heat brings more of the flying Pests such as Bees and Mosquitoes the Winter Season has us looking down at Mice, Spiders and Cockroaches. Winter Pests are something to avoid while Mice carry diseases, Spiders bite, and Cockroaches can trigger asthma and allergies. We share this Earth with Insects and Rodents but we do not have to share our home with them as well.  Calling a local Pest Control Professional would be a positive reassuring way to help rid your home of any existing Winter Pests however, there are many things you can do in or around your home to keep the Pests from taking over.

Winter Pest Prevention Tips:

• Seal any cracks in and around your home. Check where pipes enter the home, Mice can fit through a space as small as a dime.
• Keep storage units, garages and closets clutter free.
• Repair damaged screens in windows and sliding doors.
• Keep crawl spaces, basements and attics well ventilated and dry.
• Eliminate any leaking pipes and clogged drains, these can be places of moisture which are favorited by Cockroaches.
• Screen the chimney.
• Store food in air tight containers.
• Throw out trash regularly.

House VS. Mouse

Types of Rodents

There are three common types of Rodents that can be identified by a Professional through a Pest Inspection.

House Mouse

• Dusty Gray in color.
• Range from 2.5 -4 inches in length.
• Dwell in cluttered areas, such as closets.
• Feeds on cereal, nuts, and seeds.

House Mouse

Norway Rat

• Aka Brown Rat is grayish/ brown in color.
• Range from 7- 10 inches in length.
• Borrow in soil, found in sewers, basements and lower portions of homes.
• Feed on cockroaches, seeds, fruits, meats, grains and shrimp.

Norway Rat

Roof Rats

• Black to brownish/ gray in color.
• Range from 7- 10 inches in length.
• Found in upper portions of homes such as attics and ceilings.
• Consume fruits, meats, seeds and eggs.

Roof Rat

Rodent Damage

Rodents harbor and transport parasites such as Salmonella, Lyme Disease and Hantavirus, none of which you want a loved one or yourself to contract.  In addition to the harboring of diseases Mice also can cause costly damage to your home.  Mice can chew through electrical wiring, wood work and insulation.  There are three most common types of Mice that can be identified through a Pest Inspection.

Rodent Runway

The Runway is not just for Models they are used by Rats as well. Runways are repeated pathways used by Rats.  When looking for these Runways things you may look for are; grease marks along the walls from the Rodent's hair, fecal matter or urine may also be along the pathway. In addition use your ears and listen for the constant squeaks, chewing, and digging of these damage causing Pests.

At Black Knight Pest Control there are several options that are available in Rodent Control. Ask about Tree Wraps and Rodent Exclusions today!

5 Indicators To Show That You Have Pesky Rodents In Your Home

Embarrassing moments arise when you have a guest over and a mouse decides to scurry across the room interrupting the whole dinner. Alternatively, you are cooking with a friend only to get into the cardboard and remove what is clearly a gnawed pack of flour or loaf of bread. To avoid such situations, tackle the issue before hand by looking for the following signs in your home and calling pest control:      1.       The noises at night

One sure sign you have rodents in your home are the rustling noise you hear at night. They are more active at night when the house is quiet and they can move around with little bother looking for food. Listen for squeaks and scratches in locked areas such as wardrobes, drawers, cupboards and in between walls.

     2.       The black rice

Mice leave their droppings all over, given that in one day they will poop about 60 times. Once you see black droppings that resemble rice grains then you have mice in the house. You will find this black rice in areas they frequent especially where they get their food. Ensure you empty out your pantry shelves and cupboards in the kitchen to know whether you have mice.

     3.       Gnawing marks

To know the difference between a hole made in a food package by a mouse and any other thing is the gnaw marks. The hole made by a mouse will have razor edges. Mice like chewing on paper, plastic and bees wax. The chew on items for two main reasons: either get their way to a food source or get some material to make their nests.

     4.       Smell

Mice do not smell but their urine does. An area inhabited by mice for some time will have a distinctive musky smell. Check for such smells in hidden corners once you have another sign to back you up to establish whether the mice are in the house or live outside.

     5.       Mice nests

The final thing to look for is their area of living. Check for mice nests inside your sofas, under the furniture and in the attic. Mostly nests are in hidden and quiet corners.

Once you are sure you have mice activity in the house the last thing you should do is buy poison from the store. Poison to kill mice is very effective but it has one great disadvantage. Once the mouse eats the poison, they will not die on the spot. The discomfort will get them to their hiding place that is in hard to reach area. The smell exuded by a dead decomposing mouse is terrible and will make your house smell and even inhabitable. Imagine having 2 or 3 dead mice in your ceiling, you may have to deodorize you whole home

The best solution is to call a professional pest control service who knows of better and equally effective ways to get rid of the mice. After the mice are gone and a full inspection performed, ensure you get to maintain the house well by fixing it up. You may get rid of the mice but as long as your home has holes and entry points, other pests can get in. You might find yourself facing a snake or squirrel the next time so are you going to take a risk?