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 

Rats Given 20 Beers in Two Hours, But Recovered Their Balance in 15 Minutes

A chemical from an ancient herbal remedy makes rats almost immune to the effects of alcohol. Rats who've consumed the drug can consume vast quantities of alcohol without passing out, show few signs of a hangover - and don't become alcoholics, even after weeks of solid drinking, say researchers. The chemical is extracted from an ancient Asian remedy - a seed first used as a hangover cure in the year 659. Rats respond to alcohol in a very similar way to humans. The UCLA researchers now aim to find out if the compound will work in humans.

The Asian seeds - from the tree Hovenia Dulcis - was first used as a hangover cure in the year 659, according to Science Daily. The researchers began their study by looking at herbal compounds that supposedly had 'anti alcohol' effects. They rapidly homed in on the Asian seed. They tested one ingredient - called DHM or dihydromyricetin in the rats.

The rats were given the equivalent of 15 to 20 bottled beers in two hours. Most animals passed out, and remained motionless when flipped over. When given DHM, the rats could 'handle' their drink better. They took longer to get drunk, and seemed to sober up in about 15 minutes. The compound seemed to help rats dealing with hangover anxiety, too. Rats recovering from a binge seemed to perk up when given the compound. Perhaps most importantly for medical professionals, the chemical seems to stop rats wanting to drink. Although rats on DHM can drink more, they don't. 'When you drink alcohol with DHM, you never become addicted,' says the lead researcher, Jing Liang in research published in Journal of Neuroscience. The drug appears to work by blocking a brain receptor. Other promising anti-alcohol drugs have targeted the same receptor - but also caused seizures.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Feds Remove Food from Rodent-Infested Warehouse

Federal authorities seized food from a Streamwood warehouse Monday after investigators found a "widespread and active rodent infestation" inside the building, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Criminal investigators with the Food and Drug Administration also executed a search warrant Monday at the Chetak Chicago LLC facility, signaling a criminal probe of the conditions at the suburban location.

The developments come after the FDA found 25 live and 12 dead rodents at the warehouse between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1, authorities said. FDA investigators also spotted birds inside the 108,000-square-foot building as well as gnawed and urine-stained food packages, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Investigators also found rodents' nesting materials inside the building. Gaps in the doors and the foundation allowed animals to enter, prosecutors said.

FDA investigators returned to the building twice in late September, but the problems had not been fixed, authorities said.

The discoveries prompted federal prosecutors to file a lawsuit alleging that all food inside the building can be seized unless stored in a freezer or in glass or metal containers. A federal judge signed a warrant allowing deputy U.S. marshals to seize the food.

The facility, located at 1111 E. Lake St. in the northwest suburb, stores food including rice, flour, shelled peanuts, cookies, dried coconut and spices, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Chetak receives the food from India and throughout the United States and sells it to restaurants and retailers in about 20 states and Canada, officials said.

No food has been shipped from the building since Aug. 17, when the Illinois Department of Public Health imposed an embargo on the facility, officials said.

The U.S. attorney's office said "there are no known immediate public health risks posed by the seized food" and that no illnesses have been traced to the food.

Officials with Chetak could not be reached for comment.

Source = Associated Press

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Dreams About Rats: Dream Meanings Explained

Dreams about rats are a common theme at bedtime. If you or a loved one has been covering this ground at night, you may have questions about what it all might mean. As part of a Huffington Post series on dreams and their meanings, we spoke to Cathleen O'Connor, Ph.D., author of "The Everything Law of Attraction Dream Dictionary," to get expert advice about the meanings of your or your loved one’s dreams about rats. Note: While dream analysis is highly subjective, this post might provide some insight into why this dream occurred or is recurring.

What do dreams about this subject mean?

Before determining what your rat dream means, you must first ask yourself what you associate with rats, says O'Connor. Are you afraid of them or do you think they're cute? "Rats are seen by many people as pests that carry disease or cause other problems so they have many negative connotations," she notes. "Yet rats are also survivors, able to withstand harsh environments and highly intelligent. The meaning will evolve from both your association with the qualities of rats as well as what is going on in your current life."

What can I learn about myself from dreaming about rats?

"The first thing to think about is whether you or someone you know is behaving unethically in a situation in your life," suggests O'Connor. "You often hear the expression that someone is a 'rat,' meaning he is untrustworthy or has betrayed someone." Alternatively, a rat in your dream could represent feeling like you're caught in a maze somewhere in your daily life.

Are there any tricks to avoiding or inducing dreams about this subject?

If you fear rats, set the intention of waking up in a dream if a rat appears. "This is a technique known as lucid dreaming," she says. "In a lucid dream, you can notice you are dreaming and take control of the dream events and overcome your fears." If you want to dream about rats, then visualize rats before falling asleep.

Beyond analysis, what cultural symbolism can be found in dreams about rats?

"In Chinese culture, the first symbol of the zodiac is a rat and people born in a rat year are said to possess the positive qualities, including creativity and intelligence, of a rat," explains O'Connor. "In Hindu tradition, rats are associated with the god Ganesh, who is worshiped as the remover of obstacles. In some Native American traditions, rats are symbols of survival and lack of fear." Dreamers from these various cultural traditions may find a different meaning from those in a traditional western culture.

Who tends to have dreams about this subject most frequently?

According to O'Connor, rat dreams do not affect one swath of the population more than another.

Does it mean anything if the rat is dead in my dream?

Dreaming about a dead rat may mean you're overwhelmed or frightful about a situation in your real life. It could also represent letting go of a relationship, especially if that relationship involves betrayal. "In that case, the dream is letting you know that the situation has come to an end," notes O'Connor.

SOURCE = HUFFINGTON POST

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA