RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

It's true: Rodents Will Chew on Your Car's Wires

Chew on this. Your warm car engine may also have a warm rodent nibbling on the wires.

"I had to replace some wiring due to rabbits chewing," a Times-Call reader said on Facebook.

"There is apparently an epidemic with squirrels and rabbits chewing electrical wiring and so forth under the hoods of cars," another called into the TC-Line on Jan. 4.

Not quite an epidemic, local mechanics say. But far from uncommon.

"It is a fact," said Scott Nichol of Hitek Professional Automobile Repair, who says he gets six or seven cases of rodent damage a year. "It is a cold, hard, nasty fact. Summertime, wintertime, fall, it doesn't matter. ... The more squirrels you have in an area, the more you see things like this."

Travis Paswaters of Hayes Automotive said he tends to see it a little more in the winter. Squirrels and mice aren't specifically looking for your wires, he said, they're looking for a place to nest -- and in the winter, a recently parked car that sits for a while provides a perfect home.

"We pull nests out of air boxes and intake valleys all the time," Paswaters said. "And if they get down and chew something you can't find, you can get a pretty nasty gremlin. One, I remember, chewed the ignition coil wires. The car would run rough because one of the cylinders wasn't firing."

And sometimes it can add up to more than just a rough ride. Last May, a car caught fire and burned; police later determined it was because of a squirrel nest in the engine.

"If they chew up the wiring, you can have a car-becue," Nichol said.

So what can a driver do?

First, keep the car in a garage if you can. You can't close off all the entryways a rodent would use -- they're openings that the car needs -- but putting the vehicle inside makes it less likely that squirrels will pay a visit. Mice may still be a risk, though, Nichol said, especially outside of town.

Second, open up the hood and check the engine regularly, Paswaters said. If you find twigs, bits of leaves or other nest-building material, you might just have a visitor. Having the oil changed regularly will help, too, he said, since the mechanic will be alert to signs of trouble.

One common home remedy is to use mothballs or paint the wires with Tabasco sauce to discourage chewing. That can work, Paswaters said, but it can also have unpleasant consequences, since the fresh air intake is near the core of the engine.

"It'll make the HVAC unpleasant," he said, referring to the passenger heating and cooling system. "You'll be getting that smell yourself."

Nichol advised not to try putting poison down near the car; the risk of a pet consuming it by mistake isn't worth it, he said. The best thing you can do, he said, is not to let the car sit.

"Don't keep it parked for weeks on end," he said. "Make sure the car moves."

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rat Attacks Baby’s Face

A baby boy left sleeping in his stroller outside a Copenhagen apartment block was bitten on the face by rats this week.

The boy was left sleeping in his stroller in the courtyard of an apartment complex in the centre of Copenhagen on Wednesday evening. Apparently this is common behaviour in Denmark, despite the cold and other obvious dangers. As soon as the parents discovered the baby’s injuries they called an ambulance and the toddler was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.

The boy’s father later told reporters from Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet newspaper that the youngster had been bitten by rats on the face, close to his eye. Other residents from the apartment complex also told the reporters that there was a current vermin problem as dozens of rats try to escape the harsh winter conditions looking for somewhere warm to hide.

Rats are known to attack babies, and they will go for the soft tissue areas such as the eyes. There have been more than one case of death caused by rats eating babies.

Source; Morningstarr

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

More Rodents Carrying Hantavirus Found

Six more rodents trapped by County Vector Control technicians last week have tested positive for the sometimes-deadly hantavirus, County officials said this week.

The rodents, four Harvest mice and two California Meadow Voles, were trapped in Fairbanks Ranch and northern Escondido near the San Luis Rey River bringing this year’s total to 16 rodents testing positive for hantavirus, a news release stated. In 2010, a total of 21 rodents tested positive for hantavirus.

“Recent rains have created an abundance of food for rodents, which can increase the rodent population,” said County Environmental Health Director Jack Miller. “More rodents can lead to more hantavirus.” People should never sweep up or vacuum rodent droppings and nesting materials. Instead, ventilate closed areas and use wet cleaning methods with a 10 percent bleach solution or other full strength disinfectant. The best way to prevent the disease is to keep mice out of houses, garages and sheds by sealing all holes larger than the size of a dime, the news release stated.

Wild rodents, primarily deer mice, carry hantavirus. People can contract it by inhaling dust particles from rodent droppings and nesting materials that contain the virus. The virus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which begins with flu-like symptoms, but can graduate to severe breathing difficulties and even death, according to the news release. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for hantavirus and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that HPS has killed 36 percent of all the people known to have contracted the disease.

How to Avoid Exposure:

• Eliminate rodent infestations immediately.
• Avoid rodent infested areas. Do not stir up dust or materials that may be contaminated with feces and urine.
• Clean up rodent droppings and urine using the wet cleaning method described below.

Use “wet-cleaning” methods to prevent inhaling the virus:

• DO NOT SWEEP OR VACUUM INFESTED AREAS.
• Ventilate affected area by opening doors and windows for at least 30 minutes.
• Use rubber gloves. Spray a 10 percent bleach solution (2 tablespoons bleach to 1 cup of water), or other full strength disinfectant onto dead rodents, rodent droppings, nests, contaminated traps, and surrounding areas and let the disinfectant stand for at least 15 minutes before cleaning. Clean with a sponge or a mop.
• Place disinfected rodents and debris into two plastic bags, seal them and discard in the trash.
• Wash gloves in a bleach solution, then soap and water, and dispose of them using the same double-bag method. Thoroughly wash your bare hands with soap and water.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Near South Side Bakery Closed After Inspectors Find Rats, Unsafe Food

A Near South Side bakery was shut down after city inspectors found something customers aren’t too fond of - rats and food stored at unsafe temperatures.

Mayor Daley’s Dumpster Task Force shut down St. Anna’s Bakery, 2158 S. Archer Ave., Thursday due to a rat infestation and unsafe food holding temperatures, according to a release from the city’s Dept. of Streets & Sanitation.

Inspectors visited the bakery in response to a complaint about rodent activity and found more than 70 rate droppings throughout the kitchen. Inspectors also found St. Anna’s had problems with the temperatures in their walk-in cooler.

Food temperatures ranged from 50 to 60 degrees and more than 400 pounds of food had to be thrown away, the release said.

St. Anna’s was closed for the critical violations of inadequate pest control and for failure to protect foods from contamination. The bakery must correct their rodent problems, revamp their housekeeping and pest control programs and repair their cooler before they can request and pass a detailed re-inspection.

Source = Chicago Sun Times

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Click image to Enlarge

What you don’t know CAN hurt you! If you could only see behind the scenes like we do in pest control you would be amazed at what we find! We are talking food handling facilities or restaurants. That serve the general public!!! Some of them are historic eateries in their cities & towns! You hear about all the dangers of uncooked food and what it can do to you. What about the dangers of pests? The attached image is damaged corn from mice and it was in a walk-in refrigerator. This restaurant asked us to come in and solve a mouse issue they were having as their previous pest control company could not solve it. The problem had been going on for YEARS! Mice are eating their food supplies and what they did not eat they urinated and defecated on! Needless to say they had a CRITICAL pest issue.

Why did they let this go on for years? Where are the health agencies that are supposed to be protecting public health?

EHS solved the problem with an aggressive pest control program. I just do not understand why restaurant owners tolerate pests as it can destroy their reputation and may even harm the general public.

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI

Click on Image to Enlarge

We are experts at inspecting & finding things that people would ordinarily ignore or miss. That is the nature of what we do. In this particular case just about anyone would be able to see what is going on. Burrows in the snow are a pretty obvious sign of a pest issue. The burrows you are looking at are rat burrows. They are fresh & active as you can see the tracks & paw prints in the snow as well as the mud staining around the burrow entrance.

Rats can easily burrow through frozen soil & freezing cold snow with no problem at all. Rats are experts at adapting to the conditions in their environment. Typically rat burrows are well hidden because they do not want to be seen by predators but when it is winter they have no choice. It certainly makes exterior inspections easier for me!

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI