RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

It is amazing when you really analyze what mice can do once inside your home. Granted we in the pest management industry see things differently than the general public, its called “pest control eyes.” It is more than eyes, it’s a smell, a sound, a feeling, a sort of 6th sense that we are equipped with.

Mice will visit food sources and preferred routes around your house 200-300 times per night! Mice have lanolin on their fur, it is an oily substance that enables them to squeeze into tight cracks and crevices with ease. In doing this they create rub marks on their frequently travelled paths. This looks exactly like the dirty smears you would find around a light switch that is used often my various people. In the attached picture you will see the hole the mice made in this homeowners insulation in their basement with the rub marks leading into it. This person had a sizable mouse issue that they tried to treat on their own and obviously failed miserably. No worries, EHS to the rescue!!!

Mark Tremblay ,
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

One of the first things I was taught when I first became a “PMP” (Pest Management Professional) back in the 70’s was to always look up! Come to think of it, we were “Exterminators” back then.

In many situations this holds true for keeping rodents out of your home.

Mice are excellent climbers and our native mice (White-Footed and Deer Mice) are exceptional climbers. I remember camping once and I woke up at 1:30AM to attend to some business. As I exited the camper with my trusty flashlight (PMP’s always carry quality flashlights) I observed a White-Footed mouse climb the truck of a large Eastern Hemlock onto a large branch and disappear into the dark woods!

If you want complete mouse proofing, seal everything larger than 1/4” all the way up to and including the gutter line. Our company has always struggled to be competitive in offering this service to our clients due to the cost of enormous amount of labor and it’s tedious nature. We do offer it though if anyone is interested in it.

John Stellberger
President - Environmental Health Services, Inc.

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

click image to enlarge

In today’s tough economic and housing climate there are residential houses that are vacant for extended periods of time. Months long is not uncommon and in some cases it may be a year or more. It is worse when it is a foreclosure when the occupants leave with no notice and leave many possessions behind. In some cases they leave behind food items, grass seed, bird food, pet food, etc. A total buffet for pests!

The problem with houses like this is that pests often find the house and can get out of hand in a short period of time. Mice are a perfect pest for these situations. They are prolific breeders so in 3 months the number of mice in a home can quadruple! The environment is perfect for them, the house is vacant, quiet, dark, and there is always food and nesting material left behind.

The attached picture shows you exactly this scenario. Mice got so out of control in this vacant house that they created heavy runways (travel routes) into voids. The picture shows a gnaw hole created into a floor void from the basement level. You can see the “greasy” rub marks that are created when mice frequent the same paths. These rub marks are from the lanolin (oil) on their fur. In this case the buyers home inspector pointed out that there was a high level of mouse activity and they should contact a professional. EHS performed an initial treatment and excluded the mice out at the foundation level. We then did a 30 day follow up and have a 6 month follow up on the books. The treatment program with 1 year warranty was enough to satisfy the bank plus buyer and the home was sold. See, professional pest control is good for the economy!

Alex Johnson
Service Specialist
Environmental Health Services, Inc.

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

It is scary what some commercial businesses, property managers, and homeowners do! The attached image show’s someone that tried to do their own pest control to solve a mice issue. As you can tell there is a tremendous risk to safety!

There is a reason why professional pest control makes sense, we are licensed and highly trained professionals. When it comes to protecting public health & safety you should never look for the quick and easy fix…..call a professional like EHS. You are risking WAY TOO MUCH if you cut corners!

Mark Tremblay
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Click image to enlarge

What the picture shows is pretty disgraceful. It is a bait station that is used to hold rodenticide. It was in a garage at a home and it was a not tamper-resistant bait station, it was a cheap/inexpensive one. Worse yet is it had no company or rodenticide information on the station! By law we must use a tamper resistant bait station in areas where it is accessible to non-target organisms (children and pets). You must also, by law, have contact information on the station plus what material is being used. Unfortunately too many companies in our industry use these stations. Not EHS! No matter what the situation we always use tamper-resistant stations!

What makes this picture even more disturbing is that they had a company come in several times per year to “control” mice. They called us because they still had mice. The stations they put out were completely emptied out by mice. You can see the hundreds of mice fecal droppings, signs that it was very active with mice. The previous company did not have nearly enough stations in place to quell the infestation. I can not understand how companies can operate like this?!

We sealed up all the entry points, installed a few door sweeps, and put a program in place to eliminate the mice. The customer raved about the results after a few weeks! It’s really not that hard, all you need to do is know what you are doing plus care about solving the issue.

Mark Tremblay
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA