10 Rat Facts
If a rat is trapped and released it can move up to four miles from the release point.
A rat burrow can be three meters deep but is rarely more than 0.5 meters deep.
Brown rats show a tendency to be negative geotaxis which means they prefer to move downwards as opposed to upwards.
Black rats are superior climbers and can climb any slightly roughed surface up or down.
Brown rats can jump vertically more than 77cm and 120cm horizontally.
At one time 11-31% of all female rats are pregnant.
Patterns of movement become so engrained in rats that when they get used to moving around an obstacle, if the obstacle is removed they will continue to move around it. Thus the correct siting of trap means they do not have to be baited but it is imperative they are placed directly on the run.
Female rats can distinguish the sex of their offspring by smell.
Rodents can live and breed in cold stores and have been known to nest in the fat layer of carcasses.
Rats eat up to 10% of their body weight a day and cannot live without access to water.
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Tuesday 6 December 2011
A few facts about mice
Mice are the decathletes of the mammalian world. They can only see clearly at a distance of about six inches and are color blind. However, that’s where their physical limitations end. Now the facts get cartoonish.
They can climb walls with ease as long as the walls are textured, they can swim but prefer not to, and they can survive a fall from as high as 8 feet without so much as a scratch. Mice can also jump 12 inches high, and if that weren’t enough, they can also squeeze through openings around ¼” in size.
These are the types of problems professional pest control is designed to resolve for you.
The reasons mice find our homes and businesses are simple.
Mice are curious, they are hungry and as the weather gets colder, mice want shelter. When near structures, mice follow warm air currents passing under door thresholds, and escaping out cracked windows or through utility lines.
Mice also find and follow the food odors these air currents carry. These two scenarios bring mice, quite literally, to our doorstep.
And in case you think seeing a mouse means you only have one, think again. Mice are social mammals with established hierarchies complete with compatible, related males and females. Unrelated males and females are met with aggression and quickly evicted.
Mice are prolific breeders reaching sexual maturity in 35 days. This is problematic since new mice begin breeding at 6-10 weeks with pregnancy lasting 19 days. With an average litter size of 6 mice, and the average female producing about 8 to 10 litters per year, a female mouse can produce a new litter every 40-50 days.
I will leave the rest of the jaw-dropping maths to those within arms reach of a calculator.
The real problem is the filth mice introduce into our environments.
Mice leave droppings just about everywhere they visit. Mice are known disease carriers and their presence is never a good thing.
Among the organisms mice spread are Salmonella, a source of food poisoning caused by mice droppings, tapeworms (also via droppings) and Weil’s disease (infectious jaundice) caused by mice urine in food or water.
If you have mice, or if you know you get mice this time of year, the best time to get started on getting rid of mice is right away.
They can climb walls with ease as long as the walls are textured, they can swim but prefer not to, and they can survive a fall from as high as 8 feet without so much as a scratch. Mice can also jump 12 inches high, and if that weren’t enough, they can also squeeze through openings around ¼” in size.
These are the types of problems professional pest control is designed to resolve for you.
The reasons mice find our homes and businesses are simple.
Mice are curious, they are hungry and as the weather gets colder, mice want shelter. When near structures, mice follow warm air currents passing under door thresholds, and escaping out cracked windows or through utility lines.
Mice also find and follow the food odors these air currents carry. These two scenarios bring mice, quite literally, to our doorstep.
And in case you think seeing a mouse means you only have one, think again. Mice are social mammals with established hierarchies complete with compatible, related males and females. Unrelated males and females are met with aggression and quickly evicted.
Mice are prolific breeders reaching sexual maturity in 35 days. This is problematic since new mice begin breeding at 6-10 weeks with pregnancy lasting 19 days. With an average litter size of 6 mice, and the average female producing about 8 to 10 litters per year, a female mouse can produce a new litter every 40-50 days.
I will leave the rest of the jaw-dropping maths to those within arms reach of a calculator.
The real problem is the filth mice introduce into our environments.
Mice leave droppings just about everywhere they visit. Mice are known disease carriers and their presence is never a good thing.
Among the organisms mice spread are Salmonella, a source of food poisoning caused by mice droppings, tapeworms (also via droppings) and Weil’s disease (infectious jaundice) caused by mice urine in food or water.
If you have mice, or if you know you get mice this time of year, the best time to get started on getting rid of mice is right away.
Monday 5 December 2011
How to video series
We have joined forces with Jim England from London based Protex Pest Control Services Ltd to provide some very useful how to videos.
Jim is a very experienced and highly regarded pest control technician and owner of Protex Pest Control Services Ltd. http://www.protexpest.co.uk/
Check out our Twitter page for regular how to videos.
Jim is a very experienced and highly regarded pest control technician and owner of Protex Pest Control Services Ltd. http://www.protexpest.co.uk/
He is no stranger to the small screen, making regular appearances providing pest control advice on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5.
Check out our Twitter page for regular how to videos.
Friday 2 December 2011
Dont be to hard on wasps they are not stupid.
Wasps can recognise each other’s faces in a similar way to humans, scientists claim.
On a summer’s day, you would be getting the impression that annoying packs of them seem to buzz around at random in search of picnics to feast on.
But in fact wasps have friends who they recognise and behave aggressively towards strangers.
This is because unlike any other insect they have highly developed visual recognition ability and can remember the distinctive facial markings of other wasps.
Insects were previously thought to have brains too small and unsophisticated to recognise individuals, which involves processing a lot of information.
Scientists from the University of Michigan trained two groups of wasps to discriminate between two similar images mounted inside a T-shaped box.
They did 40 trials on each pair of pictures – photos of other wasps, a caterpillar, simple geometric patterns and computer-altered wasp faces.
The wasps could differentiate far more quickly between the unaltered images of a wasp than any of the others, and learned to pick the correct one three-quarters of the time.
When a small alteration made using the computer, such as removing an antenna, they performed much worse on the facial recognition test.
They were not as good at recognising the simple black and white geometric patterns even though insect eyes are good at detecting contrast and outlines, lead author Michael Sheehan said.
The team have previously shown wasps can recognise each other after a week apart.
But this study, published in the journal Science, shows they are the only insect which can recognise faces and suggests recognising each other could be important to their hierarchy and the way they raise their offspring.
Wasps live in colonies of multiple queens which raise their offspring cooperatively and the authors suggest it could ‘keep individuals from wasting energy on repeated aggressive encounters’ and promotes stability.
Mr Sheehan said: ‘Wasps and humans have independently evolved similar and very specialised face-learning mechanisms, despite the fact that everything about the way we see and the way our brains are structured is different.
That’s surprising and sort of bizarre.
‘It shows the way they learn faces is different than the way they seem to be learning other patterns which is striking.
On a summer’s day, you would be getting the impression that annoying packs of them seem to buzz around at random in search of picnics to feast on.
But in fact wasps have friends who they recognise and behave aggressively towards strangers.
This is because unlike any other insect they have highly developed visual recognition ability and can remember the distinctive facial markings of other wasps.
Insects were previously thought to have brains too small and unsophisticated to recognise individuals, which involves processing a lot of information.
Scientists from the University of Michigan trained two groups of wasps to discriminate between two similar images mounted inside a T-shaped box.
They did 40 trials on each pair of pictures – photos of other wasps, a caterpillar, simple geometric patterns and computer-altered wasp faces.
The wasps could differentiate far more quickly between the unaltered images of a wasp than any of the others, and learned to pick the correct one three-quarters of the time.
When a small alteration made using the computer, such as removing an antenna, they performed much worse on the facial recognition test.
They were not as good at recognising the simple black and white geometric patterns even though insect eyes are good at detecting contrast and outlines, lead author Michael Sheehan said.
The team have previously shown wasps can recognise each other after a week apart.
But this study, published in the journal Science, shows they are the only insect which can recognise faces and suggests recognising each other could be important to their hierarchy and the way they raise their offspring.
Wasps live in colonies of multiple queens which raise their offspring cooperatively and the authors suggest it could ‘keep individuals from wasting energy on repeated aggressive encounters’ and promotes stability.
Mr Sheehan said: ‘Wasps and humans have independently evolved similar and very specialised face-learning mechanisms, despite the fact that everything about the way we see and the way our brains are structured is different.
That’s surprising and sort of bizarre.
‘It shows the way they learn faces is different than the way they seem to be learning other patterns which is striking.
Monday 28 November 2011
A one man infestation
Britain's most feckless father is today expected to see the birth of his 16th child by 14 different women, with another one on the way in a matter of weeks.
Unemployed Jamie Cumming and his new girlfriend were expecting the baby to arrive on Friday, but the teenage mother-to-be was sent home from hospital the following day after doctors found she was having a ‘slow labour’.
Cumming, 34, from Dundee, has already fathered 15 children with 13 different mothers, and is expecting a further child with another woman in January.
His current lover is 19-year-old Chelsea, while another 19-year-old gave birth to Cumming’s 15th baby two weeks ago, and a third teen is expected to give birth to his 17th in the new year.
The serial dad from Dundee is unable to financially support his many children and most of the mothers are also on benefits.
Cumming’s mother Lorraine, who doesn’t speak to her son, said she was ashamed of him and he should do more to support his children.
She said: ‘He’s been unemployed for years and shows no sign of wanting to work.
‘We don’t speak to each other, and, even though I love him as my child, I am bitterly disappointed with how he lives his life.
‘It’s difficult to keep up with it all, but I do my best to see all the kids. He just doesn’t seem bothered, even though he thinks he’s “Father of the Year” because he lives with three of them. We’re expecting Chelsea to have the baby over the next 24 hours or so.’
Mrs Cumming was also scathing on her son’s liberal choice of partners. She added: ‘It’s sad he doesn’t see his eldest, Samantha, who I have looked after since she was born. The girls he is running around with just now are not much older than her – he just loves teenagers.
‘I would say he is a sexual predator.’ Cumming was just 17 when Samantha was born in 1995, but once the baby arrived he moved his affections to new mum Kelly Dulley’s cousin.
The baby was left with Cumming’s parents to raise as their own, and Samantha, now 16, has seen her own mother only twice since. Between 1997 and 2002, Cumming then fathered another five children with five different mothers.
In 2004, he sired two girls and a boy who were all born within months of each other, and between December 2007 and August 2008 the former barman fathered three more offspring.
The only woman Cumming has had more than one child with is on-off girlfriend Alison – they have three children together. She gave birth to his 14th child in July last year, and he became a father for the 15th time two weeks ago when a teenager he had a brief fling with gave birth to a baby boy.
Unemployed Jamie Cumming and his new girlfriend were expecting the baby to arrive on Friday, but the teenage mother-to-be was sent home from hospital the following day after doctors found she was having a ‘slow labour’.
Cumming, 34, from Dundee, has already fathered 15 children with 13 different mothers, and is expecting a further child with another woman in January.
His current lover is 19-year-old Chelsea, while another 19-year-old gave birth to Cumming’s 15th baby two weeks ago, and a third teen is expected to give birth to his 17th in the new year.
The serial dad from Dundee is unable to financially support his many children and most of the mothers are also on benefits.
Cumming’s mother Lorraine, who doesn’t speak to her son, said she was ashamed of him and he should do more to support his children.
She said: ‘He’s been unemployed for years and shows no sign of wanting to work.
‘We don’t speak to each other, and, even though I love him as my child, I am bitterly disappointed with how he lives his life.
‘It’s difficult to keep up with it all, but I do my best to see all the kids. He just doesn’t seem bothered, even though he thinks he’s “Father of the Year” because he lives with three of them. We’re expecting Chelsea to have the baby over the next 24 hours or so.’
Mrs Cumming was also scathing on her son’s liberal choice of partners. She added: ‘It’s sad he doesn’t see his eldest, Samantha, who I have looked after since she was born. The girls he is running around with just now are not much older than her – he just loves teenagers.
‘I would say he is a sexual predator.’ Cumming was just 17 when Samantha was born in 1995, but once the baby arrived he moved his affections to new mum Kelly Dulley’s cousin.
The baby was left with Cumming’s parents to raise as their own, and Samantha, now 16, has seen her own mother only twice since. Between 1997 and 2002, Cumming then fathered another five children with five different mothers.
In 2004, he sired two girls and a boy who were all born within months of each other, and between December 2007 and August 2008 the former barman fathered three more offspring.
The only woman Cumming has had more than one child with is on-off girlfriend Alison – they have three children together. She gave birth to his 14th child in July last year, and he became a father for the 15th time two weeks ago when a teenager he had a brief fling with gave birth to a baby boy.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Bed bug warning as Britons stop washing their bed sheets
One in eight people sleep in bedding that has not been washed for over a month, according to a new study.
Time and cash-strapped Brits are cutting back on washing their bedding - putting them at a high risk of a bed bug infestation, reveals the annual survey.
And men came out worst with 1.7 million waiting more than a month before washing their bed sheets.
The annual Bed Bug Audit, conducted by Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, found that 29 per cent of Brits have cut back on washing their bedding due to lack of time while 17 per cent delay washing their dirty laundry to cut costs.
More than one in eight Brits (13 per cent) sleep in bedding that has not been washed for over a month, while a quarter (27 per cent) sleep on mattresses that are more than 10-years-old.
With forecasters predicting erratic temperatures this winter which could reach -15C by Christmas, bedrooms could become the perfect breeding ground for bed bugs, which take refuge in the warmth of mattresses, pillows and sheets to feed.
Almost one-in-five people polled said they were more likely now than last year to buy second-hand furniture, which is a leading source of infestation as a pre-owned mattress alone can contain up to 10 million bed bugs.
The Bed Bug Audit also revealed that 26 per cent of Brits polled had no idea how bed bugs spread and a quarter (25 per cent) said they were unaware of any measures to counter them, such as leaving sheets exposed during the day or regularly vacuuming all areas of the room - including the seams of the mattress.
Sheilas' Wheels home insurance spokeswoman Jacky Brown said: 'We spend so much time in our beds that it is astounding so many Brits and particularly bug busting men - do not keep them clean.
'Simple measures like avoiding eating in bed, leaving the sheets exposed during the day and washing them regularly can help avoid an infestation.
'Bed bugs in the home can be an extremely unpleasant experience so it is important that homeowners have a way to deal quickly with an infestation such as our pest cover otherwise the upcoming cold spell could provide a nasty wake-up call
Time and cash-strapped Brits are cutting back on washing their bedding - putting them at a high risk of a bed bug infestation, reveals the annual survey.
And men came out worst with 1.7 million waiting more than a month before washing their bed sheets.
The annual Bed Bug Audit, conducted by Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, found that 29 per cent of Brits have cut back on washing their bedding due to lack of time while 17 per cent delay washing their dirty laundry to cut costs.
More than one in eight Brits (13 per cent) sleep in bedding that has not been washed for over a month, while a quarter (27 per cent) sleep on mattresses that are more than 10-years-old.
With forecasters predicting erratic temperatures this winter which could reach -15C by Christmas, bedrooms could become the perfect breeding ground for bed bugs, which take refuge in the warmth of mattresses, pillows and sheets to feed.
Almost one-in-five people polled said they were more likely now than last year to buy second-hand furniture, which is a leading source of infestation as a pre-owned mattress alone can contain up to 10 million bed bugs.
The Bed Bug Audit also revealed that 26 per cent of Brits polled had no idea how bed bugs spread and a quarter (25 per cent) said they were unaware of any measures to counter them, such as leaving sheets exposed during the day or regularly vacuuming all areas of the room - including the seams of the mattress.
Sheilas' Wheels home insurance spokeswoman Jacky Brown said: 'We spend so much time in our beds that it is astounding so many Brits and particularly bug busting men - do not keep them clean.
'Simple measures like avoiding eating in bed, leaving the sheets exposed during the day and washing them regularly can help avoid an infestation.
'Bed bugs in the home can be an extremely unpleasant experience so it is important that homeowners have a way to deal quickly with an infestation such as our pest cover otherwise the upcoming cold spell could provide a nasty wake-up call
Friday 7 January 2011
Pest Control Treatment Price Freeze
We are very pleased to announce that we will continue with our 2010 prices for 2011 on all pest control treatments.
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