Pest Control: Tips From A Pro

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The size and number of rodent litters vary with habitat-especially food supply. Gestation is 21 to 23 days, with six to 12 born per litter. Females can breed again the day after giving birth.

Rodents are afraid of anything new in their surroundings. Any new trap or poison will generally be avoided for two or three days until they become accustomed to it being there. Rodents are not overly intelligent, but will mimic behavior of other rodents. For example, if a mother rodent and her brood of young out foraging for food come upon a glue board or snap trap that the mother recognizes as a death machine, she will merely jump over the object. Her young will mimic her behavior and will continue to jump over any glue board or snap trap they encounter for the remainder of their lives. This is why it is of utmost importance when confronted with a rodent infestation that you completely eliminate the population; this avoids educating a generation of rodents that are trap or bait "smart." This can be accomplished by putting out enough traps and poison to have a very high initial kill rate and continuing this process until all rodents are eliminated.

Snap traps and glue boards are two common mechanical control methods. A glue board is merely a plastic tray with very sticky glue poured in it. I have found more times than not that the glue is not sticky enough to hold a full-size rodent. Snap traps on the other hand are quite efficient, though they must be placed properly. Rodents use their facial whiskers extensively to feel their way, and they like to travel with one set against some surface (like a wall). A snap trap set in the middle of a room is useless. The bait trigger should be placed facing the wall along a route known to be traveled by rodents. A piece of fruit or apple slice works well as a bait, but peanut butter seems to be a particularly powerful lure.

There are many forms of rat poison that can be used, including some that cause vomiting. Since a rodent lacks the ability to vomit, you can imagine the effect. I have found that rodents have a passionate love for tomato products, especially ketchup. A bait laced with ketchup greatly enhances its attractiveness. Other food sources must he eliminated if a poison bait is to be used, otherwise the rodents will continue eating their normal food and ignore the bait. One drawback to using poison baits is that the rodents may crawl into an inaccessible area and die, thus producing an odor. This odor usually dissipates in about three days.

Ants and Fleas

No one who lives south of the North Pole or north of the South Pole is a stranger to ants. Though there are hun dreds of species; one that poses an unusual challenge is called the Pharaoh ant. These ants nest between the walls of a dwelling and emerge from openings in the wall such as electrical outlets, plumbing chases, or light switches. They feed on any product containing protein. Dusts and sprays are useless since the Pharaoh's nest is inaccessible, and even if challenged, they will simply move inside the wall to a new location. Pharaoh ants must be lured out with a protein-based bait containing a poison (usually boric acid) that they can carry back to the nest and feed to the others.

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