RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

What mice want they get! This homeowner had a mouse infestation and upon examining her closet this is what I found. The mice gnawed a hole through the cove base molding then were nesting inside some boxes stored inside the closet. As you can see they created a perfect hole and the rub marks (oils on mice fur) show this hole was a perfect runway for food and/or escape. Mice are a very formidable foe but nothing that EHS can’t handle!

Justin McDavid
Service Specialist
Environmental Health Services, Inc.

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Inspector's Findings of Roaches, Rodents Temporarily Close Restaurant

After finding live and dead roaches and rats, a state inspector ordered the emergency closure of a Northside restaurant last week to allow the business to correct conditions that “pose an elevated risk to the health, safety or welfare of the public or the establishment’s employees.”

During a routine, unannounced visit a week ago to Norwood Plaza Food Court, a safety and sanitation inspector with the state’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants issued the temporary order after noting two dozen critical violations in his report filed with agency and available on its website.

Norwood Plaza Food Court, at 5301 Norwood Ave., shares an address with the Norwood Plaza Flea Market near the Gateway Shopping Center north of downtown Jacksonville.

The restaurant reopened on Friday – nearly 48 hours after its closure – following a re-inspection. (Note: The results of that visit mandate another follow-up inspection.)

Here’s a summary of the inspector’s report, a public record:

Norwood Plaza Food Court

Violations: 37 total, 24 critical, including the following:

• Vegetables covered in mold in reach-in and walk-in coolers.
• Cheese not properly refrigerated.
• Dirty microwave.
• “Roach poop build-up” on “wall, pipes, along doors of walk in cooler and reach in cooler and freezer and fire extinguisher.”
• Employee hand wash sink in kitchen lacked hot and cold water, drying provisions and cleanser.
• Dead roaches: 20 on walk-in cooler and reach-in cooler gaskets; 35 under fryers; 20 in ice machine bin (not in use); 12 in warmers (not in use); 20 under walk-in cooler; and 7 in a sink with dirty dishes.
• Live roaches: 25 in gasket of walk-in cooler; 1 on reach-in cooler door; 1 on walk-in cooler wall; 3 on shelf by soda syrup; 5 in sink with dirty dishes.
• Rodent droppings: 36 inside single service item boxes; 40 on top of food storage; 40 on hot dog roller (not in use); 50 on floor by Coke refrigerator; 60 on front counter shelves; and 70 on floor under front counter.
• Dead rodents: 1 under fryer and 1 under ice machine.
• Live rodents: 1 in pot with grease.
• Expired restaurant license.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

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 

Famous Brooklyn Pizzeria Has Again Been Closed by the City Health Department

One of Brooklyn’s most beloved — and frequently shuttered — pizzerias has again been closed by the city, and the owner says he’s happy to get the time off. “The only time I get to relax is when they close us,” said Domenico DeMarco, the owner of the legendary Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J in Midwood, who jokingly posed with his daughter behind the gate of his restaurant as if in prison after the Health Department forced them to close last week.

But the violations are no joke.

The city reported the 46-year-old pizzeria at the corner of E. 15th Street, known for it’s drop-dead Sicilian pie, racked up 67 violation points during last week’s inspection and was cited for mouse droppings “throughout the kitchen,” enough to shut the store and require the owner to take a course in food protection. Once the place is cleaned up and proof is provided to the city that the course has been completed, the world-famous joint will be allowed to reopen.

The DeMarco family argued it was caught off guard by the inspection thanks to what they called a perfect storm of bad timing and new city rules.

“The person who was supposed to come in and clean on Nov. 16 wasn’t able to make it, because they had a medical emergency,” said Margy DeMarco, who works alongside her father in the shop. “The inspector came that day.”

She also blamed a paperwork-related delay thanks to the massive Occupy Wall Street protests in the city on Thursday for keeping the shop closed longer than it should have been, and claimed she is now waiting on the city to reinspect the restaurant so the family could re-open it.

Pizza lovers who for years have waited up to an hour just to get their hands on an expensive-yet-mouth-watering slice were understandably devastated by the closure, and some reasoned that a ticket-happy city was simply making an example of their favorite pizzeria.

“It’s a symbolic shutdown just to strike fear through everybody else,” said Scott Wiener, a Di Fara disciple who leads pizza-tasting tours around the city.

And all the pizza-lovers we talked to vowed to return as soon as the shop reopens, mice or no mice.

“Is it worth risking rodent-borne illness?” wondered Josh Bauchner, a Di Fara enthusiast. “Certainly.”

That risk could remain: when one of our reporter’s visited to the pizza shrine on Monday, a mouse scurried under the oven, leaving us wondering if the next time we go back (and we will!), will we be getting toppings … or droppings.

It’s the third time the pizzeria has been closed by the city because of uncleanliness since 2007, and each time mouse droppings were involved. Back in 2007, it was closed twice between March and June.

The restaurant had received a B rating from the city prior to this week’s closure.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

HantaVirus Found in Trapped Rodents

Six rodents trapped during routine monitoring in the last week in North County and East County have tested positive for the potentially-deadly hantavirus.

Infected rodents rarely pose a danger to people if they are in the wild and there has been just one non-fatal human case in the county, in 2004. But people can inhale hantavirus by stirring up rodent droppings, then get sick and even die. There is no treatment, vaccine or cure for hantavirus infections, which are deadly in 38 percent of cases.

“People should never sweep up or vacuum rodent droppings or nesting material when they find it,” said Jack Miller, director of the County Department of Environmental Health. “Instead, they should ventilate closed areas for at least 30 minutes, and then carefully use bleach or a full-strength disinfectant before removing them.”

The best way people can prevent the disease is to keep mice out of houses, garages and sheds by sealing holes larger than the size of a dime, County officials said.

Hantavirus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which begins with flu-like symptoms but can grow into severe breathing difficulties and even death.

The rodents that tested positive during the last week included: two deer mice from Campo; one deer mouse each from Carlsbad and Escondido; one harvest mouse from Oceanside and a vole from Carlsbad. Thirty-seven rodents have tested positive for hantavirus in the county this year, compared to 21 in 2010.

Source: Associated Press

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

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

Rodent-Borne Virus Blamed in Death

A rare rodent-borne illness killed a 35-year-old chiropractor last week in Montauk, N.Y., state officials said Thursday.

David Hartstein started feeling ill nearly two weeks ago, according to Juline Godin, a close friend of his widow, Heather. At first, he and his wife thought it was the flu or Lyme disease. But before dawn on June 17, Hartstein had trouble breathing and started shaking and sweating, Godin said.

His wife called an ambulance that took him to Southampton Hospital, where his condition continued to deteriorate quickly as doctors scrambled to figure out what was wrong, Godin said. Hartstein died that evening.

Hartstein’s death is just the second confirmed case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the state since 1995, according to the New York Department of Health. The other case was also fatal. There were 20 confirmed hantavirus cases nationwide in 2010 — mostly in the West, according to the department.

The lung infection is caused by a microbe sometimes found in the rodent droppings, saliva or urine. Health officials said Hartstein’s death appears to be an isolated case.

Family and friends suspect that Hartstein inhaled microscopic particles containing the virus while vacuuming out his family’s basement after a small flood nearly a month ago, Godin said.

Godin described Hartstein as a popular figure among East End surfers who was known for walking around town with his dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback named Naya. He and his wife had three young children, all under the age of six.

“He was a very cared-for member of the community,” Godin said. “Everybody knew him as Dr. Dave with the Rhodesian ridgeback.”

The family is staying with friends in the area while their house is cleaned and tested for more hantavirus particles, Godin said.

Source: Metropolis.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

YOUR MUST TRAIN YOURSELF TO SEE WHAT OTHERS OVERLOOK ~ Sherlock Holmes

click on image to enlarge

This is a very important saying here at EHS and it is so fitting! Most people do not have the keen senses that pest control professionals have. We walk into an area and it is like we have super hero skills or an extra sense.

It is pretty cool! Most of the public will never ever observe what us pest management professionals see. I was on a bedbug inspection when I observed the ceiling light fixture loaded with mouse droppings. Needless to say we needed to control the mice plus bedbugs.

Alex Johnson
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA