RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

(click to enlarge)

Goes to show you what rats are capable of! Here is a rat caught on a snap trap and other rats ate half his body. I know it is crazy disgusting but it highlights what rats will do to survive. Rats are a serious pest inside structures and they are by far our most formidable foe in pest control.

At EHS we are VERY battle tested when it comes to rats. So when it comes to a rodent problem you know you can count on EHS to solve the problem!

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Boston Cop Mailed Dead Rats as Payback in Sex Ring

A Boston transit police officer has been suspended after he was caught mailing dead rats.

Why was he mailing dead rats?

According to CBS Boston, the officer was sending a message to a man who failed to pay the cop's girlfriend or another prostitute for sex.

Not your run-of-the-mill dead rats in the mail story.

MBTA Police Officer Greg Thorpe was caught mailing dead rats to a Hyde Park man, from a UPS store in South Boston about ten days ago. Sources tell the CBS Boston that Thorpe was caught on video by security cameras in a UPS customer service center, mailing two packages. At one point he reportedly looks at the security camera and smiles.

Sources say officer Thorpe's girlfriend offered her "services" on Craigslist and that the uniformed officer would drive her and her friends to appointments in his marked MBTA cruiser during his midnight shift, offering protection.

Sources say one man never paid one of the girls and so Thorpe mailed him the rats.

The MBTA police released a statement, saying, "Greg Thorpe has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation."

Sources tell CBS Boston officer Thorpe may at some point face charges from Boston police for intimidating a witness and animal cruelty.

Source: CBS Boston

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Post Office Overrun by RATS as Rodents Devour Parcels........
So if You Don't Get Any Presents This Year Now You Know Why

With 16.5 billion letters, packages and cards expected through the U.S. Postal Service this holiday season, the last obstacle senders might expect their packages to face, are thieving rats.

A post office in Manhattan is fighting a rat infestation leaving chewed boxes and envelopes that carries any item found edible, by both human and rodent taste.

Packages found deliverable despite their outside damage of visible gnawing and gaping holes are showing up in the hands of their recipients as mere shells. The little animals can smell the chocolate and goodies,' Maureen Marion, a USPS spokeswoman for the North East told the New York Times, whose office has found the most reported damaged packages.

At Midtown they’ve been very good at putting things in cabinets to keep them away from nibbles, but this time of year they just have more packages than they do have space to accommodate them,' Ms Marion said.

One New York Times employee expecting a treat from The Vermont Brownie Company says they opened a gnawed box to find only a card inside.

Our brownies are individually wrapped so they stay fresh,' the company's note read to the recipient.

Other more sturdy boxes, in one example holding a gift of international chocolates, arrived to their office building more lucky they report with mere teeth marks around the packaging.

It's a surprise since the kind of rats that infest New York City called the Norway rat, are capable of chewing through glass, cinder block, wire, aluminum and lead, according to the National Pest Management Association.

Without the total number of known packages destroyed at other post office branches around the city, with a report by the Gothamist suggesting a second office in the city, a worker at the midtown office signaled to a Times' reporter:

They do have a problem with rats here,' a worker at the office confessed to their reporter.

I've seen one, downstairs on the work floor. It was big, they said.

In size, the average subway rat in Manhattan is 16 inches long, with its thick, tapering tail accounting for about half of that length, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. On Monday the post office changed its usual visitation by an exterminator from every two weeks to once a week.

Ms Marion says that for items damaged in handling,' unless they were insured, there is no ability for compensation, 'regardless of the nature of the damage

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rat Infestation Closes a Pet Store & Restaurant

Satisfied that a Decatur-area pet store had done what was necessary to eliminate a rat infestation, a DeKalb County judge on Wednesday said the store can reopen.

Now, the owner of Melton’s App & Tap next door to the Pet Supermarket in the Medlock Plaza shopping center must decide whether to take what he said would be “the gamble of my life” – spending the money to repair and reopen his restaurant.

Aaron Melton voluntarily closed his eatery, at 2500 N. Decatur Road, on Nov. 6 after a customer spotted a rat there.

“Early next week, I will basically have to make my decision as to whether we will move forward,” Melton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a phone interview.

“I have to talk to a lot of people – my family, my staff, get a feel for what our patrons and supporters are feeling, and look at all the finances – and take all that into consideration, and make this decision,” he said.

Melton said it would be at least four weeks before he can reopen. He has estimated the entire episode would cost him more than $100,000.

Earlier Wednesday, DeKalb Superior Court Judge Daniel Coursey Jr. heard testimony from witnesses for Pet Supermarket that the store had done all the necessary repairs – sealing exit and entry points and a common wall – to resolve the rat problem and keep rodents out of Melton’s.

Channel 2 Action News, which covered the hearing, reported that one witness said between 300 and 500 rats had been trapped in the store a 30-day period earlier this year.

But another witness, pest inspector Chad Walden, told the court, “The last two rats that were alive in that store died of poison, and there has not been any evidence of any rats since then.”

The judge instructed the store not to throw away loose pet food in the trash receptacles outside.

Efforts were being made Wednesday evening to contact an attorney for Pet Supermarket for comment.

In a prior interview, Melton said he had never had a rodent problem in the 17 years his restaurant had been open until July, when his employees discovered a hot dog bag that had been broken into. Signs of a rodent invasion continued, despite efforts by Melton’s to secure its food and space against contamination.

Eventually, the shopping center owner brought in a pest specialist who traced the problem to openings where rodents were entering the building, and to the Pet Supermarket next door, where rats had gotten into pet food, Melton said.

Things got so bad, Melton hired a lawyer, went to court and got a judge’s injunction shutting Pet Supermarket down on Oct. 20. The court ordered the store to remain closed until it eradicated the rat problem.

“I have a big gamble, a big decision to make,” Melton said Wednesday. “After we’ve spent all our money reinvesting in the restaurant, if something like this happens again, we’ll never recover from it.”

Source = atlantajournalconstitution.com

There is a rodent problem at a southeast Atlanta elementary school.

For months parents told Channel 2 Action New Thomasville Heights Elementary School was infested with rats, and now videos, emails and pictures support their claims.

The school district gave Channel 2's Erica Byfield the documentation after she made an open records request.

Surveillance video from October of this year shows a rodent scurrying through the halls.

Byfield first heard about a possible rat problem from parents.

On Nov. 10, Byfield confirmed the issue after obtaining a letter the school's principal sent to parents.

At the time, one parent told her she saw a rat in the school.

"The rats are so big they look like the size of a rabbits," parent Sherrilyn Cullins said.

An email from August describes why an employee called her supervisor crying uncontrollably.

"A very large field mouse had jumped on top of her when she entered the pantry this morning," the email said.

Another email written in February addresses how big the rodents are.

"They will need a large trap, the visual sight of the rodent is similar to a wood rat," it said.

There are also reports the staff at the school had to throw out food after finding gnaw marks on packages of crackers and pounds of flour and sugar.

The documentation also included pictures.

There are photos of droppings in the kitchen and classrooms, traps officials placed around the school and images of holes in the ceilings and walls. Officials believe the rodents crawled into the building gaps. There was also a photo of a rodent in the copier machine.

An email the school's principal Charles Penn sent to district leaders in October said, "Please be advised that we killed a mouse this morning in a kindergarten classroom and another in my office. Additionally, our conference room copier continued to jam."

The photos also included evidence of changes leaders instructed their staff to make to keep the rats out. There is a picture of a hole in the ceiling someone sealed.

District spokesman Keith Bromery told Byfield as of Nov. 23, the school's staff had not seen any signs of rodents since early November.

Source = cnn.com

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

UPDATE: Wal-Mart Deli, Bakery Reopen After Rodent Problem

The deli and the bakery at the Wal-Mart superstore in Lebanon have reopened after being shut down for a rodent problem.

News 8 initially reported the problem on Thursday, Aug. 4. A store spokeswoman said the problem was first discovered at the end of June but that pest control efforts were unsuccessful. The spokeswoman would not say what type of rodent had gotten into the store.

Here is the complete statement the company issued on Thursday:

"Unfortunately it has come to our attention that rodents have found their way into our store in Lebanon, Pa. We are aware of the situation and we are working to resolve this issue.

As part of our commitment to food safety, the bakery and deli remain closed until the problem can be corrected. We’re working with a pest control company, a professional cleaning service and the Department of Agriculture to remedy the situation.

We make every effort to ensure our stores are clean and pest free and apologize to our customers for this inconvenience. Once the Department of Agriculture inspects our store and gives us the okay to re-open, we will."

On Friday, a company spokesperson updated the situation, saying the store had passed the inspection and the deli and bakery are open for business

Source = wgal.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA