CKNW radio – Ask a Pest Control Question

Mike Smyth – Host:

I love the autumn weather in this time of year for sure, but it’s also a time of year when some creepy crawlies will try to crawl into your home. You can’t blame them. It’s getting cold outside. They want to warm up. Let’s discuss now how to pest proof your home, and we’ve got the best guy to talk about it, Mike Londry. He’s our resident pest expert. He’s the owner of West Side Pest Control, and I’m very pleased to welcome him back. Hey Mike.

Mike Londry – Guest:

Hey. How you doing?

Mike Smyth – Host:

I’m doing great. So this must be a busy time of year for you. Now, is this make sense, logically, that it’s getting cold outside, so the rats want to come inside. Is that right?

Mike Londry – Guest:

A hundred percent. Yeah. Through the late summer and early fall, there’s been an abundance of fruit turning into rotten fruit, falling off of trees and in people’s yards, and they’ve been hanging out outside, just like us. We’ve been on patios for the last few months, and now we’re venturing indoors, and the rodents are no different.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. So they’re looking to get inside, and you get a lot of calls at this time of year from people of saying they’ve seen a rat in the house or whatever?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Yeah, absolutely. In fact, the more common thing that we tend to hear when people phone us at this time of year is, “I’m hearing something.” They don’t always necessarily see it, but they often hear, at first, something scratching around in the soffit, in the attic, in the walls… And occasionally, they’ll see evidence left behind from them too.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. Well, you’re certainly the guy to call. If you hear that or you see something like that. What about some preventative measures, though? Is there any ways you can sort of pest proof your home to stop them from getting in in the first place?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Oh, there’s tons of ways. Yeah, absolutely. Doing a thorough inspection around the outside of the house is always one of the first steps. When it comes to mice, they don’t usually climb that much. So focusing around the foundation is always the best thing. Do it really slowly because mice can sneak through a hole smaller than your baby finger. So going thoroughly around the outside of the house, look between the siding and the foundation look around, around doorways, anywhere where there’s ingress into the house. So often if there’s a gas line or plumbing or anything that stops a straight line on the side of the house, those are places to the check, and again, it might not look like much, but you’re better off sealing it up. If anything that you think might be a way they could get in.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. So if they do get in, if all that fails and you do get some rats or mice in the house… I mean, rats are worse, I imagine, right?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Well, to be honest, I much prefer rats in a house over mice.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Oh, really?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Most people are surprised to hear that, but it’s a bigger creature. Bigger creature means it’s going to require a bigger point of ingress to get into the house. The other thing that makes mice so much more challenging than rats is for mice, your home, your apartment, your townhouse, it’s an all inclusive resort. They have no reason to leave and go anywhere else. There’s actually enough moisture in a grain of cereal to keep a mouse hydrated as well as fit. Whereas with rats, the structure that they’re residing in is usually just the place of harborage. Even in the winter, they’re still venturing out in the cold and rain to find sustenance, to get water, and then scoot back in again and sleep during the day.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. That’s very interesting, Mike. What about are most of the places you get called out to? Are they usually a detached home or a ground-level townhouse or something? Or can some of these mice or rats get into a condo?

Mike Londry – Guest:

They’ll get into everything. Absolutely. Multi-resident structures are not safe from rodent ingress, especially when it comes to mice because there’s infrastructure inside of a condo that might go up 25 stories, and the mice will have an easy time following pipes and electrical from unit, to unit, to unit, so…

Mike Smyth – Host:

Wow.

Mike Londry – Guest:

Yeah. If you’re in an apartment, you’re in a condo, there are measures that you can take. It’s always best to address the building as a whole, but if that can’t be done, there’s measures that you can take individually to help keep them out of your unit specifically.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. Speaking to Mike Londry. He’s the owner of West Side Pest Control. What about other pests at this time of year, Mike? Do you get any calls around, maybe, raccoons kind of trying to move in?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Yeah, absolutely, although most of our raccoon calls are usually in the spring, just about the time when they’re starting to nest. So when the family is about to arrive, that’s when the raccoons you usually move in. So normally February, March is when we get most of our calls for raccoons, but it’s a year round occurrence, and raccoons will have multiple den sites. So if one home homeowner kicks them out of one attic, then if it’s November, October, they’re going to find another one to take over instead.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. Mike, what about your run of the mill, your more routine kind of insectoid infestations, whether it’s ants or silver fish or any other kind of bugs, does that slow down a bit in the fall or winter, or is that the year round for you?

Mike Londry – Guest:

It’s it definitely slows down, but some of the indoor insects like pharaoh ants and silver fish are an insect that people battle year-round and it’s in their calls that we get and go out and assist people with. But wasps, carpenter ants, pavement ants digging up sand on the patio. They, for the most part, go dormant from October until April.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Ok the show as we continue talking pest control with my guest, Mike Londry, West Side Pest Control. Phone lines are open 604-280-9898 *9898 on your cell. Lonnie in Surrey, hi.

Lonnie:

Hi. I’m so glad you have Mike on. You’re talking to a full on arachnophobe here. What can I do about spiders getting into my house at this time of year? Is there anything, any sprays, any treatments?

Mike Smyth – Host:

Mike?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Sure. So one of the quickest and easiest things that I suggest people do, and this is a great way to catch all kinds of insects, and it’s a great tool without using any insecticides, are glue boards. Lots of people are opposed to them for the capture of rodents for their cruel treatments, but glue boards are an awesome tool for catching insects. You can get them from most hardware stores. They don’t cost more than a few bucks. And just place them along the baseboards underneath furniture. Definitely focus on areas where you’re seeing lots of the spiders. It’s not going to be a be all and end all treatment, but it’s a great first step without using any chemicals.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. That’s a really great tip. I hope you try that one, Lonnie. Thank you for the call. Eric in Kelowna. Hi.

Eric:

Hi there.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Hi.

Eric:

Yeah, so I have a rodent that’s living in either my walls or my floor, and I can literally hear the thing running around at night when I’m trying to sleep. And I’ve tried to grab it, tried glue traps. You know, short of poison because I do also have pets. I was looking for some suggestions.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Are you sure? It’s just one.

Eric:

No. Not necessarily, no.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Ah, yeah. Mike, what do you think?

Mike Londry – Guest:

It’s often not just one. It’s usually not just one. We hear it all the time. You go to someone’s house and they say, “Yeah, I’ve had this rat for two years now,” and it’s… Yeah. At that point, you’re dealing with an extended family. Always try to focus on the exterior of the house. Most people get sort of caught up focusing on where they’re hearing the activity, but again, if you’re hearing the noise and it’s that loud, I’m almost certain it’s not mice. It’s likely rats, and they’re going to be coming and going from the house, so try to focus on where do you hear the noise first.

Mike Londry – Guest:

That’ll probably lead you to the exterior part of the house where they’re coming and going from. If you have one, you may need to get out a ladder, but I would start at the foundation and work your way up. If you can figure out where they’re coming and going from, you can go online and purchase a one-way door. This is exactly what we use to get rodents out. Rather than poisoning them and them dying in the walls and stinking up the house, install a one-way door over that access point so the rat can get out and can’t get back in again, and hopefully they go and live with your neighbors instead of in your house.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. Okay, Eric. Good luck with that one. Let’s go to James in White Rock. Hi James.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Oh, let’s go to Ricky in Kamloops. Hey, Ricky.

Mickey:

Well, it’s not Ricky. It’s Mickey, like the mouse.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Oh, Mickey. Oh, sorry, mickey. Go ahead.

Mickey:

No problem. Listen, I sold trailers for years, and I went and picked a trailer up from a farmer that had it parked to this hay barn, which all these trailers that I’ve taken over the years always had mouse droppings in it. This thing had nothing, and it was parked in a resort for mice. So what happened was I talked to his wife, and she had cotton balls that she had dipped in liquid peppermint she got from the health store, and all her cupboards up and down and in the corners and under her bed, and I’m telling you, we cleaned that place because we have to resell it, it was not one mouse dropping in there. And she said that was the secret.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Really? Liquid peppermint. Wow. Mike, what do you think of that?

Mike Londry – Guest:

It’s a great suggestion. There’s lots of things that work. It’s the same way that ultrasonic devices can be a great tool, and any sensory thing that, whether it’s something that they’re smelling or hearing, is going to help deter rodents. Once they’ve established themselves, I wouldn’t run out and buy peppermint oil once you have mice. When you have mice, you need to trap them. You need to get them out. You need to close up access points and keep them out. But as preventatives, I think home remedies like peppermint are awesome. I honestly can’t speak to it from experience, but I have seen positive results from using the audio devices that literally just sends out a loud signal that we can’t hear, but the mice can as a great preventative for boats, garages, sheds, cabins, et cetera.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Oh, really? Okay. Where can you get those? Anywhere?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Just about anywhere, yeah. If you google “ultrasonic device,” you can buy them in hardware stores or get them on Amazon or just about anywhere else. The one suggestion I would have is don’t spend less than 25 bucks. If someone tries to sell you one for $9, spend the extra 15 bucks, and the results will be-

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay.

Mike Londry – Guest:

… a lot better.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. 604-280-9898. Mike Londry, West Side Pest Control, is my guest. *9898 on your cell. Lynn in Port Moody. Hi, Lynn.

Lynn:

Hi. We’ve go a log cabin down in Washington that we’re hoping to get to. As soon as the border opens, and we’ve had a friend checking on it, and he tells us that it’s loaded with spiders. And I’m wondering what you think the best way to get rid of them.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay. Well, we had an earlier spider call, and Mike, you mentioned the glue boards. Any other-

Mike Londry – Guest:

Yeah.

Mike Smyth – Host:

… methods?

Mike Londry – Guest:

Yeah. I mean, one of the first things, and this is one of the things that we do, and it might seem super obvious, but is often forgotten, to do is, is sweep the spider webs, and just sweep them out of the way. Get everything out of there because those spiders are going to are going to lay eggs, and if you can and get everything out of there and then install some, some glue boards, and if, at that point, it’s still not working, you could look at using insecticides as well. It’s always sort of a multi-pronged approach for any pest, but I would start by knocking down the webs, going in there, installing some glue boards, and assessing it. And if there’s still an infestation, then any over-the-counter insecticide in a can will help, but I would try those chemical free options first and see how your results are.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Okay, Lynn. Good luck with that. Keep calling *9898 on your cell. Jean in Vancouver. Hi.

Jean:

Hi Mike. And hi, too, Mike. I wanted to ask if he could help solve a mystery that we’re having. We have a big wide front porch up 14 stairs or so to get there. And the first time we noticed it, we noticed this little pool of something that dried and trickled along the porch. And this morning I go out there and there’s three of these little pools that are dry. Two are dry, and one is fresh. It looks like urine. So what kind of a creature will be coming up a bunch of stairs like that to pee on my porch?

Mike Smyth – Host:

Ooh, Mike-

Mike Londry – Guest:

Now, depending on the size of the pool, my guess is it’s probably rats. It could also be raccoons, although both of those creatures usually leave additional evidence other than just liquid, but that’s probably what you’re dealing with is one of those two creatures. If it’s just been the past few days, what I would do is I would keep cleaning it. Make sure you’re using something like a mixture of bleach and water or any household cleaner because any pest is going to get familiar, and even if it’s a different rat, if a different rat shows up on your doorstep, and they can smell where all these spots of urine have been left, then they’re going to say, “Hey, this is a safe place where nobody bugs a rat if they come and hang out,” so keep cleaning up and they’re going to come along and think, “Oh, maybe this is not a safe place to be.” And the rat that’s been coming, their sensory is so much a part of all of the habits that they get into. So if that rat-

Mike Smyth – Host:

All right. Okay.

Mike Londry – Guest:

… thinks they’re coming back to the same spot, they are going to go somewhere else if you’re cleaning it up.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Mike, we could do a whole show with you because we have way more calls. What’s your website? People want to check it out.

Mike Londry – Guest:

westsidepests.com.

Mike Smyth – Host:

Thanks a lot for coming on, Mike.

Mike Londry – Guest:

Thank you.