RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Fat Squirrel Scarfs Down Entire Slice Of Pizza

We can all cry about the health ads on TV are telling us to lay off the fat and sugar, but when our squirrels are eating whole slices of pizza without compunction it's safe to say we have a problem.

Sure this proves that we live in a society of such overwhelming abundance that there are entire slices of pizza just lying around for woodland animals to enjoy. But it also helps to answer a question that has plagued philosophers for centuries: do squirrels eat pizza cheese first or crust first?

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Pennsylvania’s Purple Squirrel A Rainbow-Colored Riddle

A bright purple squirrel trapped by a Pennsylvania couple has experts offering all sorts of theories -- but no concrete answers.

Percy and Connie Emert from Jersey Shore, Pa., trapped the brightly colored creature while trying to keep the birds safe in their backyard feeder, reported Accuweather.com. They told the weather service they had no explanation for the rodent’s deep purple color.

"We have no idea whatsoever. It's really purple. People think we dyed it, but honestly, we just found it and it was purple," the Emerts told Accuweather.

Experts queried by Accuweather had several theories for the unusual look, but no hard answers. Indeed, Krish Pillai, a professor at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, told Accuweather he thought the coloring was dangerous for the animal.

I’ve got to think one of the suggestions might be it fell in a Porta John that had blue coloration. - Henry Kacprzyk, Pittsburgh Zoo curator

"This is not good at all. That color looks very much like Tyrian purple. It is a natural organobromide compound seen in molluscs and rarely found in land animals. The squirrel (possibly) has too much bromide in its system," he said.

Some AccuWeather.com meteorologists had their own theories. Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity thought it was merely an accident.

"The squirrel could have been looking for somewhere warm and fallen into a port-a-potty or something similar," he said,

Henry Kacprzyk, a curator at the Pittsburgh Zoo, said Thursday he thought it looked like a gray squirrel tinged in purple, after looking at a picture of the critter on an iPhone.

He knows of albino squirrels. Black squirrels. Gray squirrels. Reddish squirrels.

“But the purple coloration, from the purple I saw … it looked to me like this animal had come in contact with something with its fur and dyed its fur,” Kacprzyk said. The squirrel could have come in contact with a pokeberry patch, but pokeberries aren’t in season.

And strange as it sounds, he thought Margusity’s toilet theory might hold water.

“I’ve got to think one of the suggestions might be it fell in a Porta John that had blue coloration,” he said with a chuckle. “I have no idea why … but I don’t think it was born that way.”

When asked about the suggestions by some people in online forums of the potential impact of fracking fluid, Kacprzyk said the composition of such fluids in Pennsylvania wasn’t known. “My guess there is if you don’t know something, is that there’s no scientific proof to that. … I would find it amazing that it had that kind of effect,” he said.

In general, purple is an unusual color for mammals, let alone squirrels.

“There are definitely birds that have coloration like this … but not mammals,” he said. “Mammals don’t normally uptake color, ingest something it goes through and (then) it comes out through their fur.”

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

What happens when you combine the actions of two hungry rodent species?

Gray Squirrels were feasting by day and Norway Rats after dark!

This client did not have the room in the rear alley for a metal dumpster, so our first recommendation was to have the on site superintendent purchase new, sturdy plastic containers with wheels and place them outside on trash day morning. Whallah! It stopped the excessive exterior rodent activity! The tenants were pleased, the pests were not. Most of the time, the simple suggestion is the best suggestion. Contact us for more no-nonsense approaches to pest management.

Squirrel Takes Out Power for Thousands

More than 4,000 Ohio Edison customers lost power for about three hours after a squirrel stepped on a substation bus and blew a fuse for a transformer covering the west side of Lorain and the east side of Vermillion.

According to FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Meyer, 4,123 customers lost power at around 11:17 a.m. when the rodent snooped too close to the electrical equipment.

“Whenever anything comes in contact with high voltage equipment, then something usually goes wrong,” he said.

The outage disabled traffic lights on Baumhart Road. A temporary stop sign was put in places for travelers turning on to Baumhart from West Erie Avenue.

More than half of the customers had power back 1:30 with the remaining customers powered on by 2:30 p.m., Meyer said.

The outage did not affect Mercy Regional Medical Center, he said.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Squirrel Pox Outbreak Action Plan in Place

Traps are being offered to the public in order to catch and kill grey squirrels in the area.

The virus has no apparent effect on the greys but is invariably fatal to their red counterparts.

Scotland is one of the UK's last red squirrel strongholds, with the south of the country seen as being on the frontline of conservation efforts.

The organization Red Squirrels in South Scotland said post mortem examinations had confirmed the outbreak around the River Tweed.

The public has been advised not to put out garden feeders as a measure to help stop the disease spreading.

Estates on both sides of the river have already removed a number of the animals.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Late night fire in a vacant home on Weller Road, off Bell Ave, in Elyria is believed to have started after a squirrel ate through wiring in the attic of the home.

When Firefighters arrived they found a moderate amount of smoke coming from the house and flames could be seen inside through the front windows. Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within a half hour.

No injuries were reported.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Flying Squirrel Invades Hospital Emergency Room

Firefighters were needed stat after a flying squirrel went nuts in a New Jersey hospital's emergency room.

The squirrel kept launching itself from an 8-foot-high wall-mounted lamp into a glass wall after becoming trapped in a trauma room at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway Tuesday night.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ted Padavano told The Star-Ledger of Newark it would climb up on a light and would jump off and glide.

A pair of firefighters threw a blanket over the squirrel and released it into a wooded area outside the hospital.

Padavano believes there may be a nest in the building because it's the second time in two weeks that a flying squirrel got in the ER.

Source = Associated Press

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

We often see many of our clients unsuccessfully attempt to solve the squirrel problem in their attic by performing tree pruning and even removing a valuable shade tree! Not only can this be expensive, but it very rarely works. While it’s good to trim back branches and vegetation that may touch your home to prevent some moisture and insect invasion, especially Carpenter Ants I have never seen it keep squirrels from accessing the openings at the roofline.

Tree squirrels are very good climbers and quite adept to solving access obstructions. Elizabethan style collars installed around electric and utility lines (with the owning companies permission) does work in some instances to keep them from “Running the Wires” to enter but I have personally witnessed a Gray Squirrel tip the upper portion of a collar down enough to jump over the collar to the wires on the other side. Squirrels can gain easy access to the roof by climbing on your gutter downspouts, utility and A/C lines. These adept climbers can also run directly up the wooden shingled siding, easily obtain grip to brick and stucco to run directly up any side unaided by gutter downspouts, conduits, vines, etc.

While it IS possible to prevent these expert climbing rodents from getting to the roofline, the process and cost of modification may far exceed the expense associated with simple evacuation and reinforcement to vulnerable areas with stainless steel mesh or other permanent materials.

John Stellberger
President - Environmental Health Services, Inc.

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

A HOUSE FIRE SUNDAY morning generated an explosion that sent six people to the hospital including four firefighters and an off-duty firefighter. The blaze began just before 9 am while the elderly resident was out for her morning walk. After investigation it has been determined that a squirrel on a utility pole created a short that blew the transformer. The short circuit sent a 7,600-volt surge into the house and started the fire.

A neighbor called the Centerville Fire Department and they arrived to find the working fire that had already burned part of the roof off. While they were inside the burning house a powerful explosion detonated sending fire out all the windows and stunning the firefighters. They all made it out of the house ok, but had assorted bumps, bruises and burns requiring them to be transported. Also injured were an off-duty firefighter from another department who had stopped to help and a bystander. The explosion knocked out the windows, shifted the walls and blew off what remained of the roof.

The investigators discovered yesterday (Monday) that when the underground utilities were laid, that the electric cable and the gas pipe were placed on top of each other. They found evidence that the power surge started the cable burning and it eventually cause the gas pipe to fail, letting leaking gas follow the line into the house where the working fire detonated the higher pressure leak.

WHO-TV Ch. 13 Des Moines has a good video report showing the failed utility lines along with interviews of the firefighters who were in the house at the time.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Early Arrival of Winter Weather Drives Rodents Indoors

Across the country, chilly temperatures and early snowstorms are forcing more than just people indoors. Rodents including mice, rats and squirrels are seeking food, water and shelter in homes. Unfortunately, more bad weather could be on the way as the Farmers' Almanac is forecasting a season of unusually cold and stormy weather. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) encourages homeowners to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their families from rodent infestations during colder months.

"Rodents invade an estimated 21 million homes in the United States every winter," said Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for NPMA. "But with many places already experiencing cold weather conditions, it is important to be proactive and vigilant in preventing these pests from becoming unwelcome houseguests."

The accumulation of feces from mice and rats can spread bacteria and contaminate food sources. These rodent droppings are known to trigger allergies and cause diseases including Hantavirus and Salmonella. In addition to health risks, rodents can chew through wallboards, cardboard, wood and even electrical wiring, increasing the risk of a house fire.

NPMA offers the following tips to avoid a rodent infestation:

• Store items in boxes and plastic sealed containers, rather than cardboard boxes.
• Keep food in airtight containers and dispose of garbage regularly.
• Install screens over chimney vents and openings.
• Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home, including areas where utilities and pipes enter the home.
• Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around basement foundation and windows.
• Install gutters or diverts to channel water away from your home.
• Store firewood at least 20 feet from the home and five feet off the ground.
• Inspect wires, insulation and walls for any signs of gnaw marks.
• If you find rodent feces, hear sounds of scurrying in the walls or observe other signs of an infestation, contact a licensed pest professional.

For more information about household pests and to find a local pest professional, visit www.pestworld.org.

The NPMA, a non-profit organization with more than 7,000 members, was established in 1933 to support the pest management industry's commitment to the protection of public health, food and property.

SOURCE: National Pest Management Association (NPMA)

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA