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All right, welcome back to CPL pest controls podcast channel. Today we are talking about rodents. And so this time of year is the time of year where our attention changes, if you will, from dealing with most insects, right, like your ants and your spiders and your roaches, and our attention begins to shift towards rodents. And so the reason why the attention shifts is because the change in weather. And so if you live here in the Houston area or in the Rio Grande Valley, you may have noticed that we are now experiencing fall light conditions, and how much we welcome. We welcome those conditions. It’s been a warm summer. And we are very much looking forward to all of the festivities that come with fall. And so And along with that is cooler temperatures. But like we said earlier, with those cooler temperatures comes a change in pest activity. And so this time of year, we start dealing with rodents wanting to enter dwellings, right, so this is your Norway rat, this is your field mouse, a, these are raccoons, these are possums. These are, you know, rodents and wildlife that are looking for a warmer space to hang out. And so let’s go ahead and start with dealing first, if you will, with the rat. And so because that seems to be the most popular rodent that we deal with this time of year. Seems like if you’re living anywhere here in the Houston area that’s anywhere in Harris County, Montgomery County, Galveston Waller County, you’re going to be dealing with at some point or another, you’re going to be dealing with rats, right. And it’s just, it’s just a fact of life. We have so many by us, so many wooded areas, so many open fields, that this area really is a prime area for the the rat to kind of hang out, even during the summer months. And so with that being said, let’s talk about some of the characteristics that we’re looking for when trying to diagnose the house, right. So that is the first thing that we’re doing, whenever you give us a call, we’d like to go out and give you a free inspection, that’s us going out there, no strings attached, we want to go out there and see number one, what we’re dealing with, because that’s very important, right? If you if you think that you’re hearing a rat up in the attic, and we go there prepared to take care of a rat, and then we go up there and then find that we’re dealing with a squirrel, that’s gonna, that’s gonna lead to a lot of a lot of confusion on our part, and on your part. So we want to go out there and correctly, adequately diagnose the situation and see what we’re dealing with. So when we’re thinking of the roof rat, and the Norway rat, those are your bigger sized rats, larger longer tails, if you will. These are the kind if you will that that make you. Like the songwriter said twist and shout, right? These are the ones that if you see them, you’re gonna go bananas, you’re gonna think that you have a whole colony living in your home, which you may right. But but it’s enough to really grab your attention, right? A majority of the homes here in the Houston area, deal with something that we call the house mouse, right? This is your little field mouse, these are the ones that they’re relatively small in size. They also have a larger size tail. But their their body structure is much different than than your roof rat and the Norway rat in the sense that they’re smaller. And so that’s kind of what we’re looking for. Right. And then obviously, the droppings are also different with respect to to those as well. And so those are some of the things that we’re looking for. And then we’re also looking for entryways. We’re looking for, how are they making their way into your home? Right? What what is the attraction? Is it food? Is it is it just warm? The warmness of your home? Was it raining that day? What’s the case? Right? So those are the things that we’re looking for. A lot of the times what we find and what we see are
if you will soil marks that field mice kind of tread track with him and carry on their body. A lot of the times if they’re using the same entryway over and over and over again, they are leaving this little this fine little oil on that surface. And it’s very distinguishable at that point to discern and determine, Okay, are we dealing with the Norway rat? Are we dealing with the field mice, or field mouse, I’m sorry, you know, based on the size of the entryway, and so forth. So one of the big ways in which we take care of rodents is sealing up areas where rodents may be coming in through. That’s not the only way. But that’s one of the big ways that we help to alleviate that. What I always tell my clients that it is virtually impossible to cover up every area where a small rodent may be coming in through when you look at a house, right homes are our you know you they have weep holes. Sometimes they settle. And they’re there’s, you know, small gaps and you know, in between the frames of doors and windows and things like that. And so I always tell my clients, it’s virtually impossible to totally seal up a home and make it 100% wrote in the you know, wrote in proof. And another reason for that is because of the rodents are very territorial. They once they have a dwelling, once they have a home, once they have once they have a registered area where they’re going back and forth. If you kick them out, they’re going to want to make their way back in. And something as simple as sealing up a weep hole may not do the trick. And so though it is one of the big ways that we help to alleviate the problem, it’s not the only way. So when we think of rotary control, it goes hand in hand with with sealing up the areas, but number two, the baiting system. And so rodenticides have come a long way from where they once were, in the sense that we now have the ability to eliminate rodents without without having to necessarily eliminate them in your home. And so one of the big ways that we do this is by the use of baits, you know, inside bait stations, and so by using the baits and bait stations on the outside of the home, you know, mice and rodents for the most part are very, their eyesight isn’t isn’t very good. So they like to stay along they need they need a structure to kind of follow. So they need a structure, the perimeter of a structure to follow. And so as they’re following this perimeter, they lead them themselves into these bait stations, they’re attracted to the bait, they eat the bait. And one of the big things that that separates the rodenticides that we use versus the over the counter stuff is how fast the rodenticide is going to activate. Right? So imagine a situation where and this is a real life situation where you know, we were dealing with something this past year, where I get a call from a client saying, Hey, do you all remove rodent carcasses? And I answered yes, we do. And so he said, Okay, great. I need for y’all to come out here because my place smells terrible. So we go out there, and lo and behold, there, there are about 20 to 30 Dead field mice up in the attic. So what happened was, this guy decided to use the rodenticide up in the attic, which isn’t necessarily the problem. The problem is is the type of rodenticide he was using and the the chemical who were the rodenticide.
The over the counter stuff is going to have the same active ingredient as the stuff that US professionals use, with the exception of the level of toxicity. So the when we think of the over the counter stuff, the state comes in and says hey, we can’t sell you anything that does not necessarily work, right. But we cannot sell you the same stuff that we sell the professionals or we allow the professionals to use, which is why we have teams like us here at CPL, pest control is the reason why we exist, right? We go through certain classes and training to be able to know what we’re using, how to apply it, so on and so forth. So the state steps in and says you I’ll allow this vendor to sell this rodenticide but it cannot be the same active ingredient as the professional stuff. So going back to the application, this guy put the rodenticide all over the attic, rodents ate it. They went and found water because that is That’s what the rodenticide is designed to do. It’s designed to get them thirsty, and then die as soon as they drink water. However, the over the counter stuff does not get them does not does not get them to die fast enough. So they go, they get thirsty, they eat, they eat the material, they get thirsty, they go and find water, and then they make their way back to the colony. And they died in the attic with the rest of the colony, which is absolutely terrible. So the stuff that we use, allows them to eat the bait, go and find water. And immediately once they find water, it activates the active ingredients side of the inside of the road and they eat it and they die, right? So it’s it and they die, the whole purpose is that they die away from your home that they don’t die inside, they don’t die near the bait stations, but they die elsewhere. That is the whole purpose of rodent control is that we do not because anybody can go and get rid of your rodents and take care of if you will, quote unquote, the problem. But leave you with a headache of bad odors, right, which that end up smelling like death. And so that is one of the big things that we’re looking for when we’re dealing with rodents. Number one, where are they coming in through habitual areas that they’re going back and forth out of? And then secondly, okay, how can we eliminate the situation? How many bait stations do we need out here? What is the level of aggression that we need to beat? Do we need to be really aggressive or there are multiple, you know, entryways so on and so forth. So that’s why it’s very important that you give us a call, so that we can go out there and give you a free inspection. I cannot I cannot stress that enough. Our you know, team goes out there no obligations, we just want to go out there and correctly adequately diagnose the situation. I’ve been in some homes before where they were dealing with a massive squirrel problem. And it wasn’t it you know, it was squirrels. But what the pest control company went out and treated for they went out and treated for for rodents for for rats and mice. And of course, that was not going to take care of the problem. You do not take care of rats the same way you do squirrels and you don’t take care of squirrels the same way you do raccoons or possums. And so it’s very, very important if you live in Houston. If you live in montgomery county, if you live in Harris County, if you live in Waller Galveston, or anywhere in between that you give us a call or you live in the Rio Grande Valley, that’s McAllen, Edinburg, Roma to the island, give us a call, we’d be happy to go out there and give you a free inspection. The like I said, it’s getting colder and as it as it gets colder. Like I said, we see the change in temperatures and everything and everybody’s looking for a warm place to stay. Don’t let that place be your home. Don’t let it be your commercial establishment. Don’t let it be your church. Give us a call and let us help you out. I hope that you enjoyed this podcast. Stay tuned for next week’s podcast where we talk about a talk about termites. And so stick around for that and we look forward again, you can reach us at 281-683-6737. Tell them that you want to speak with Chris and tell them that you listen to this podcast. We appreciate it. We hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day.
