In the yard itself – 1. Move firewood piles away from the house – If you moved your firewood close to the house this winter for convenience, now is the time to get that wood farther away since firewood piles attract all kinds of pests and invite wood-feeding insects that could have an eye on
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I’m not quite sure what is going on, but rural rat issues are definitely on the rise. Residents of neighborhoods in my former home town of Dover NH in close proximity to commercial areas have certainly been having their share of problems over the past twenty-four months due to many construction projects. Demolition of existing
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Historically, farms kept cats to take care of rats hanging around the barn. Every brewery had at least one “grain cat.” Inner-city commercial businesses, suburban warehouses, even rural dumps encouraged the presence of cats, thinking that the cats would get rid of rodents without poisons or expense. Seems that cats, being cats, have been putting
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You may know that rats and mice can carry various diseases and can sometimes transmit them to humans through their droppings, urine, and other bodily fluids. Did you know that rodents can also have parasites such as fleas, mites, lice, and ticks, and that these sometimes affect people as well? Apparently if you ever combed
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It’s probably not news that cooler fall weather triggers the need to find shelter in animals of all sizes, from bugs to bats. When that natural need for protection from weather hits, your home looks pretty good to a variety of four to six-legged seasonal visitors. LOOK OUT FOR INVADING MICE! Come fall, mice that
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That could very easily be the work of a mouse or another rodent. Mice often end up in garages, usually thanks to worn or bad-fitting garage doors (see Maintain Your Garage Door to Keep Mice Out). From there they often move into wall or ceiling voids and into the house. I don’t know exactly what
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1. Rats live in filthy places. Home for a rat can be a sewer, dumpster, alley, or garbage dump where it might feed on animal or human feces, dead animals, or rotting garbage–and pick up germs in the process. 2. Rats carry diseases. Maybe our primal fear of rats and disease goes back to the
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I think I might have just discovered rat poop in my garage in a back corner. Can a person tell the difference between rat poop and mouse poop? I figure size might be a factor but is there some other hint? I sure hate to think that we have rats here! G. W., Peabody, MA
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October 22-28 is Rodent Awareness Week. For the fourth straight year, the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) is urging pest control companies and others working in pest management to use this designation to help educate consumers about the diseases and dangers of rodents. So, I’m going to try to do my part with a little
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