Pest control discounts for OAP`s

We are pleased to announce the continuation of discounted pest control treatment for OAP residents in Kings Lynn, Swaffham, Fakenham, Dereham, Watton, Hunstanton, Wells next the sea and all surrounding villages of the above towns.

If you are in doubt as to whether you are entitled to a discounted treatment please call us for more information.

Very clever video!

http://alturl.com/cv2p

Moles - A Pain in the Grass!

In order to catch all those juicy worms, which moles are so fond of, they need to dig for them, and these guys are specialists at digging. If there was an Olympic gold medal for digging they'd leave the other competitors standing. These guys are serial tunnellers. They can shift about 6 kilos (13lbs) of soil every 20 minutes. That's like an average person moving four tonnes!

Of course when you're digging all those tunnels the excavated soil has to go somewhere, and it ends up in neat little heaps, known as ‘mole-heaves’ on the surface. Every couple of metres the mole digs a vertical shaft, straight up to the surface, and pushes all the freshly dug soil up and out of it. The sudden, overnight appearance of mounds of earth on a well manicured lawn are a sure sign that a mole has taken up residence.

Any keen gardener naturally feels annoyed when molehills appear in their garden. The sight of all those mounds of soil can give the impression that a whole army of moles have moved in, but it's nearly always the work of just one animal. Moles are solitary animals and are extremely territorial. They won't allow another mole to enter their territory... and their territories can cover more than a quarter of an acre.

Castle Pest Control Services has noticed a steady increase in mole complaints and call outs, we can deal with mole problems either by traditional trapping or using Aluminium Phosphide however there are certain conditions and requirements using the latter, please call us to discuss your requirements.

Tiny Mice Create Big Problems in Norfolk

They may be smaller and, some say, cuter, but in terms of pest control, mice are a more prevalent, more damaging and tougher problem than their two rodent cousins, Rattus rattus (black rats) and Rattus norvegicus (brown rats).

And as our British winter grows colder and wetter, mice are more likely to set up housekeeping in our cozy homes and businesses.

The mice we see most often in our pest control business are the house mouse Mus musculus. Two other types of mouse, the wood mouse and the harvest mouse, also may invade human dwellings but are most often found in sheds and homes in remote or rural areas.

The house mouse can be easily distinguished from wood and harvest mice by its larger size and a nearly hairless tail. In comparison, the other two species are much smaller and have tails that are covered with dark fur on top, lighter fur on bottom. House mice weigh about half an ounce and are 5 to 7 inches in length, including their 3- to 4-inch tails.

One reason mice present such a tough pest control problem is their small size. They need only a quarter-inch gap to gain entry into a building and require only minute amounts of food and water to survive. As a result mouse infestations are much more common and difficult to control than rat infestations – and every bit as hazardous to health and property.

Mice eat and contaminate human and pet foods, preferring grains but apparently willing to nibble on almost anything. One of our pest control customers discovered a
nest of mice
in a trunk where she stored historic family documents, vintage clothing and other mementoes. Not only did she find the remains of precious keepsakes shredded in a pile, she found dry dog food nuggets the mice apparently had confiscated from her pet's dish and tucked away for safe-keeping.

Mice transmit diseases such as salmonellosis (food poisoning) and can cause significant property damage, chewing through electrical wires, shredding insulation and gnawing woodwork.

Often people discover a mouse problem when they find tiny black droppings or notice the corner of a cracker box or bag of chips has been gnawed away. Mice also have a distinctive musky smell that may be noticeable. They are most active at night, can run straight up vertical walls and jump a foot off the ground. They reproduce rapidly, bearing as many as 10 litters of 5 or 6 pups per year; their life span is approximately one year.

The most effective ways to prevent mice are to keep all foodstuffs tightly sealed in glass or metal containers, to avoid leaving pet food out, keep all rubbish containers tightly sealed and to seal all gaps and crevices where mice can come in from outside, such as along pipes and wiring conduit. Self-installed metal barriers, such as tin can lids and steel wool, are effective barriers to gnawing but usually don't provide long-term protection.

Apartment buildings are especially notorious for mouse infestations, in part because mice are able to move easily from apartment to apartment along pipes and conduits and because it is difficult to ensure adherence to pest control measures by all tenants.

Once there is an established infestation in a home or business, it is almost always necessary to use mouse traps or poison bait to eliminate the mice. Baits are dangerous and must be kept inaccessible to children and pets. Electronic devices that emit a high-frequency sound, though widely advertised, are generally ineffective in preventing mice. A good feline or canine 'mouser' may help control the mouse population or discourage mice from moving in, but will generally not be able to completely eliminate mice once a site is infested.

Poor composting and rodents in Norfolk

There have been concerns from within the pest management industry that poor composting practice around domestic premises could potentially lead to an increased presence of rodents.

Therefore, the National Pest Advisory Panel of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has produced a 4 page document outlining the essential steps necessary for effective composting without attracting Copies of the document are available to download at NPAP Publications.

Rodent problems persist on UK farms

LARGE numbers of farms across the country continue to suffer serious rat and mouse problems, despite more frequent rodenticide use and generally improved baiting practice.

This is the finding of the latest annual rodent control study, conducted by BASF Pest Control Solutions in association with Farmers Guardian.

The 2009 study involved more than 90 separate holdings spanning a broad range of enterprises, spread over about 13,000ha (32,000 acres) from Orkney to Devon and Anglesey to Norfolk. Most farms experienced both rat and mouse problems at some stage, with rat infestations rated more serious by most.

Dairy units experienced noticeably greater rat problems than pig and poultry, arable or beef and sheep holdings. The greatest mouse pressures were felt by pig and poultry producers and the least on arable units.

Every farm carried out some rodenticide baiting in the year ending last October, with more than 90 per cent undertaking three or more cycles against the 80 per cent-plus doing so in 2008.

More than half the arable and pig and poultry units baited six or more times in 12 months, compared to around a quarter of beef and sheep, and dairy producers.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the winter months saw the greatest rodenticide use, with more than 70 per cent of farms baiting each month from September through to February. Baiting fell off slightly in March and declined steadily from April to June, before picking up again from July. Even so, 15 per cent of farms used a rodenticide in June and these were almost equally divided between the four different enterprise types.

Every farm can identify at least one way in which they are finding rodent control more challenging these days,

Just like 2008, bigger and more frequent infestations and longer baiting periods are considered the three greatest challenges.

A greater need to safeguard other animals, greater farm assurance demands and less predictable infestations are identified as key control challenges by many.

Rat and mouse infestations are becoming more problematic and less predictable,” he says.

At the same time, there is a growing need to demonstrate good control for farm assurance purposes.

Baiting has to be increasingly secure to protect non-target species, which can seriously limit its effectiveness in some cases;especially so with less and less time available on most units.”

Control practices

Its good news the fact nearly three quarters of farms now place all their rodent bait in secure containers and continued improvement in most key control practices over the past three years. However, there are still a number of causes for current concern.

Studies shows only 4 per cent of farms are currently employing all six of the most important elements of best rodent control practice, for instance,

Half are using two or fewer elements and 15 per cent none whatsoever. Most farms clearly have considerable room for improvement in rising to the increasing control challenge.

Farmers would do well to concentrate on improving the accuracy of their bait point siting, the number of bait points they use, the frequency with which they top them up and the extent to which they rodent-proof alternative food sources, in particular.

Equally, when tackling rats, it really helps to permanently site empty bait containers in key locations to overcome their natural wariness of new things - something less than a third of farmers currently do.

Thankfully, rodenticide resistance still does not appear to be a major issue with either rats or mice on most farms. Most farms in the latest study rarely, if ever, come across resistance in either rodent species.

Pot a pigeon days for East Anglia farmers

Farmers across Norfolk are being encouraged to take part in two pigeon shooting days in February to try and bring numbers under control. Saturday 6 February and Saturday 13 February have been chosen for the shooting days in East Anglia. Members are asked to coordinate shooting on their own farms with those on neighbouring holdings, to keep the birds on the wing and reduce numbers before the start of the spring breeding season.

Wood pigeons continue to be a major pest, inflicting serious damage annually on a wide range of crops. Efforts to deter them using audible bird scarers are leading to a growing number of complaints from the public. The code of shooting good practice is available at www.basc.org.uk

Pests in Norfolk Schools

After the school holidays its not just the kids returning to school, but few parents give any thought to what else returns – the constant problem of insect and rodent pests.

Throughout the year, Castle Pest Control Services employ their skills to ensure that Norfolk schools remain pest-free, and this is because schools are magnets for a wide variety of pest problems. In the UK, a thorough set of standards developed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) determines the manner in which schools are kept pest-free.

Pest control is never conducted during the school day when students, teachers, and administrators are in the structure. The only exception would be the rare situation such as the presence of a wasp nest or other immediate concern. "Our working philosophy is called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and that means that the least amount of pesticide application necessary to exterminate a pest population is employed," says Kelvin from Castle Pest Control Services.

Intensive inspections of schools are an essential element of IPM to identify areas in and around a school where pests can gain entry. A hole no bigger than a tuppence is big enough to permit rodents to gain access, so a lot of attention is paid to the physical aspects of schools, including the amount of foliage that can provide harborage for various pest species.

School cafeterias are "a hotspot" because pests such as cockroaches and mice are drawn to the availability of food. Cockroaches spread Salmonella, among a variety of other diseases. Ants, too, are a major pest problem in cafeteria and other areas. Food that is brought to school and left in lockers offers a feast for both cockroaches and ants, among other insect pest species.

A common school-related problem is head lice, but this is a health problem dealt with by parents who can obtain treatments for any student who must be treated for lice.

In urban areas, pigeons find that schools provide places for nesting and their droppings can prove destructive to structures as well as being a health risk. Bird control becomes an element of pest control where this problem occurs.

Parents will understandably be concerned about the spread of H1N1 flu this year and school officials are on the alert, but the one thing that parents will not need to worry about is a pest infestation because extensive, practical, and proven procedures ensure that schools can be kept pest-free

A brief history of pest control

The first recorded instance of pest control takes us back to 2500BC when the Sumerians
used sulphur to control insects. Then around 1200BC the Chinese, in their great
age of discovery towards the end of the Shang Dynasty, were using chemicals to
control insects. The Chinese continued to develop ever more sophisticated
chemicals and methods of controlling insects for crops and for people's comfort.
No doubt the spread of pest control know-how was helped by the advanced state of
Chinese writing ability. Although progress in pest control methods undoubtedly
continued, the next significant scrap of evidence does not come until around
750BC when Homer described the Greek use of wood ash spread on land as a form of
pest control.

Around 500BC the Chinese were using mercury and arsenic compounds as a means
to control body lice, a common problem throughout history. In 440BC the Ancient
Egyptian's used fishing nets to cover their beds or their homes at night as a
protection from mosquitoes

From 300BC
there is evidence of the use of use of predatory insects to control pests,
although this method was almost certainly developed before this date. The Romans
developed pest control methods and these ideas were spread throughout the
empire. In
200BC, Roman censor Cato encouraged the use of oils as a means of pest control
and in 70AD Pliny the Elder wrote that galbanum resin (from the fennel plant)
should be added to sulphur in order to discourage mosquitoes. In 13BC the first recorded rat-proof grain store was built by the Romans.

The first known instance where predatory insects were transported from one area to another comes from Arabia around 1000AD where date growers moved cultures of ants from neighboring mountains to their oasis plantations in order
to prey on phytophagous ants which attacked date palm.

Despite the enlightenment provided by the ancient Chinese, Arabs and Romans,
many of their teachings did not pass down though time. Certainly in Europe
during the dark ages, methods of pest control were just as likely to be based on
superstition and local spiritual rituals as any proven method. Pests were often
seen as workers of evil - especially those that ruined food, crops or livestock.
Although there were undoubtedly studies of pests during the dark ages, we do not
have any recorded evidence of this.

It is not until the European renaissance when more evidence of pest control
emerges. In 1758 the great Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus
catalogued and named many pests. His writings were (and remain) the root and
source of future study into pests (as well as plants and animals generally). At
the same time, the agricultural revolution began in Europe and heralded a more widespread application of pest control. With the work of Linnaeus and other
scholars and the commercial needs to ensure crops and livestock were protected,
pest control became more systemized and spread throughout the world. As global
trade increased, new pesticides were discovered.

At this point pest control was carried out by farmers and some householders
as an everyday activity. By the early nineteenth century however, this changed
as studies and writings started to appear that treated pest control as a
separate discipline. Increasing use of intensive and large scale farming brought
matching increases in the intensity and scale of pest scares such as the
disastrous potato famine in Ireland in 1840. Pest control management was scaled
up to meet these demands, to the point that dedicated pest controllers began to
emerge throughout the 20th century.

In 1921 the first crop-spraying aeroplane was employed and in 1962 flying insect control was revolutionized when Insect-o-cutor started selling fly killer
machines using ultra violet lamps.

Pest control is still carried out by farmers and householders to this day.
There are also pest control specialists (sometimes called pesties); many
are one-person businesses and others work for large companies. In most countries
the pest control industry has been dogged by a few bad practitioners who have
tarnished the reputation for the highly professional and responsible majority.

One thing is for certain, from way before the Sumerians of 2500BC to us in modern times, there have always been - and probably always will be - pests (including some human ones!). Thank goodness, therefore, that we have pest controllers.

Did you know?

Bees can only sting once:

Bees do die after they sting humans, but that’s only because their sting is barbed and gets stuck, ripping out half their abdomen. The bee’s sting evolved originally for inter-bee combat between members of different hives, and the barbs evolved later as an anti-mammal defence. A barbed sting can still penetrate another bee and retract safely.

Boiling water destroys ants:

Boiling water will kill those ants that are exposed. However, the water will cool down before it gets to the centre of the nest where the Queen and all her eggs live. This means the nest won’t be destroyed and the ants will return.

Mice love cheese:

Not true! Mice much prefer food with a higher sugar content than cheese. Pest control experts recommend peanut butter, dried fruits or muesli as an alternative – a bit like your avergae marathon runner’s diet really.

If daddy long legs had better fangs they could kill you:

The term ‘Daddy Long Legs’ is used interchangeably and sometimes wrongly for different species. The creatures we all see running around at home are actually called crane flies or harvestmen and are insects. And then there is the Cellar Spider, also commonly known as the Daddy Long Legs. The myth may have arisen because this Cellar Spider has been known to attack Black Widows, hence suggesting it has strong venom. However, although the cellar spider can bite a human with its fangs, only a mild irritation is felt.

Moles are blind:

There are many different kinds of moles, but the majority are not blind – they’re just very short-sighted. Most moles use their eyes solely for the purpose of sensing light and have exceptionally good smell and hearing to make up for this shortage. If you examined a mole, you might well struggle to find the pinpoint eyes that are protected with a membrane and hairy eyelids.

Adult moths damage clothing:

Your Sunday best are safe if you only have adult moths. The damage to that vintage woollen jumper and priceless cashmere dress is actually done by the moth larvae. However, many experts believe Carpet Beetles do most of the damage that is blamed on moths. Like moths, it’s their feeding larvae (known as “woolly bears”) that will munch through any accessible natural fibres. So we advise you not to keep/chuck your clothes on the floor.

Cockroaches can live without their heads:

This one’s actually partly true. Because its brain is dispersed throughout its body, the cockroach only needs its head to drink. A female cockroach can live for several weeks without water. That means it can live headless for the same amount of time! Cockroaches can also hold their breath for over 40 minutes.

Rats are unhygienic:

Yes and no, it depends on the rat. Pet rats are actually quite compulsive when it comes to cleaning, spending approximately 60% of their time cleaning – can you imagine that! Since they’re very social animals, they will often help each other out to clean those hard to reach places, which means if they have passed by a bait box the baits get transferred from one rodent to another.

Fleas will die off if they have no host:

It depends on the stage that the flea is at, but the short answer is that fleas are really really good at surviving without a host. They can even lay dormant in the carpet or furniture of an uninhabited property. The bad (even worse) news is that if fleas are forced to abandon their usual host they will aggressively hunt for any source of blood – which could well be you whether you’re visiting a potential new home or a friend whose pet has fleas

Bed bugs are only found in cheap accommodation

No no no. Bed bugs like a touch of luxury as much as anyone else, and are happy to live near any bed, as long as there is food around (that is, human blood). Bed bugs were nearly eliminated but have recently had a massive comeback and are known as the “scourge of America”. Hostels and hotels are often infested because of the number of people passing through them, and there really is no link between the cleanliness of your sleeping area and the likelihood of having bed bugs.

We would give him a job

DHAKA – A poor farmer from northern Bangladesh was crowned the country's rat killing champion on Thursday with a final score of 39,650 dead rodents after a year-long hunt.

photo shows a shopkeeper displaying rats which he claimed to have killed in his grocery shop in Dhaka. A poor farmer from northern Bangladesh was crowned the country's rat killing champion on Thursday with a final score of 39,650 dead rodents after a year-long hunt.

Binoy Kumar Karmakar, 40, used traps, poison and flooding to kill his quarry, and collected their tails to prove his success rate and claim a prize from the government.

Karmakar collected a 14-inch Sony colour television for winning the competition for 2008, which was part of a nationwide drive to stop food supplies being eaten up by rats.

"During the year, our farmers killed around 25 million rats," agriculture department spokesman Abdul Halim said. "Binoy Kumar Karmakar has been declared the champion for killing 39,650."

Officials estimate that up to 10 percent of Bangladesh's crops -- mostly rice, wheat and potato -- is devoured by millions of rats every year.

Last year an invasion of rats in Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong hill tracts region wiped out crops and caused a famine in some remote villages.

The UN's World Food Programme distributed food aid to 120,000 people for four months after the invasion forced affected tribal people to live on wild roots

Dont Let the Bedbugs Bite

Next time someone tells you "don't let the bed bugs bite" you might want to heed the warning. These blood-sucking critters are making a comeback in Norfolk and across the UK because of increased international travel and a ban on chemicals used to kill the bugs.

Castle Pest Control Services has seen a bedbug increase in the last five years.

The biggest hotspots are the hotels. When people check in to hotels, they throw luggage on the bed or near the dresser, and then the bed bugs crawl into the luggage and hide. When it's time check out, the bugs go, too.

Training and prevention tips are what's required to combat the bed bug invasion.

What is a bed bug?
The bed bug is reddish-brown in colour, small and flat. They are between the size of a tomato seed and apple seed. And although bed bugs are mostly known for their attachment to beds and box springs, there are other types of bed bugs that feed on bats and birds. A young bed bug looks exactly like its adult counterpart, unlike a butterfly with a larvae stage.

What are the signs?
When travelling, the first thing you should do is pull back the sheets to look for the tell-tell blood stains, which are the bed bugs' fecal matter.

Sometimes when people see the blood they think they've cut themselves. The first thing they do is look for a scab. Those bites usually are the first signs. Most people don't even notice they have bed bugs until they've been bitten.

The bites are small. Those who aren't allergic usually believe it to be a flea or spider bite. People who are allergic are the ones who really notice the bites because of the blistering. The skin will actually form a blister between a 5p and a 1p in size.

What can be done?
The Health and Safety Executive stopped the use of many of the materials and chemicals used to get rid of bed bugs. Even as late as eight years ago, many of the chemicals used to treat mattresses and boxsprings have been pulled off the market. And pesticides such as DDT, which was banned 1960s, helped to really eradicate the bed bug population.

To eliminate bed bugs today, a three-part treatment is required. The first day is inspecting the infestation and also treating the room. Castle pest control Services will then return twice more, looking to see if there are any more bed bugs and continuing treatment. Usually, by the third visit the bugs have been booted from the bed.

There are other methods such as steam, chronogenetic and heat treatment, both of which Castle Pest Control Services doesn't do.

What's the future?
There is an embarrassment about having bed bugs, yet the thought that bed bugs are only found in dirty places is a misnomer. Five star hotels are just as likely to be infested as a YHA hostel. Education is important: bed bugs don't necessarily mean dirty homes.

Making sure to repair wallpaper that's loose and the carpeting that's pulling up are just two things that can make sure bed bugs don't have a home. Vacuuming and inspecting the mattress also help. And remember the advice Mum always told you: Change your sheets often.

Keeping bed bugs at bay is about being vigilant. That means simple things such as not placing the suitcase on a bed until inspection, or better yet using the suitcase stand. Either way, bed bugs can be prevented: they're not wandering around Norfolk looking for any unlocked doors.

For more information visit http://www.castlepest.co.uk

Pest Control Norfolk, Pest in the kitchen

Several pests can invade your kitchen to feast on a variety of food products such as nuts, dried vegetables and fruits, flour, pastas, cereal and pet food.

Grain and flour beetles are brown or reddish-brown, depending on the species. The larvae of these beetles (yellowish-white in color) will be noticeable in food upon careful inspection.

The black carpet beetle, the dermestid grain beetle and related beetles are commonly found in stored products, on windowsills during migration and on the surface of items like cake and sweets. Larvae of carpet beetles are very distinctive. They are covered with long brown hairs, usually with a tuft of hairs at the tail end. The larvae are yellow and brown in colour.

Weevils are small (one-eighth of an inch) hard-bodied beetles equipped with a characteristic snout. Weevils infest whole grain and legumes such as wheat, rice, corn, beans, peas, etc.

Food moths may be seen flying around the kitchen or other storage areas. The adult Indian meal moth is two-toned grey with a wingspan of ¾". The larvae, pinkish-white in color, often web together their food, such as flour or cornmeal.

The Mediterranean flour moth, with a 1-inch wingspan, has similar habits.
Several more exotic species might be encountered including the spider beetle (one-eighth inch), drugstore and cigarette beetles (1/10 inch), mealworms (1 1/4 inches) and flour, grain, or cheese mites (1/50 inch).

If food is badly infested, discard it carefully by enclosing it in a tightly sealed container and placing it in the rubbish. Materials stored for long periods of time should be carefully inspected before using. Inspect unopened cardboard boxes since pests can chew into these boxes and plastic inserts. If the food is badly infested, use it for bird food.

If the infestation is minimal or only suspected, the food may be super-heated to 55°C for 30 minutes.

Stir periodically to avoid scorching. Also, super-cooling to -18°C for 7 days will kill most insects. To kill external insects, dried fruits can be placed in cheesecloth bags and dipped in boiling water for six seconds.

Thoroughly vacuum the cupboards to remove all loose food and insects, making sure to clean any possible areas where the insects might be hiding.

The ability of these insects to find a small amount of food and survive is amazing. Cover dry, clean shelves and drawers with fresh paper before replacing with food or cooking utensils.

Avoid using insecticides around food materials. If the problem becomes severe and widespread, contact Castle Pest Control Services.

To prevent infestation keep packages sealed in tight fitting containers so insects cannot get into them.

Pest Control Norfolk Tips For The New Year

January, in the heart of winter, may not seem like the best time to talk about household pests, but one New Year's resolution worth considering is pest-proofing one's home. It protects against threats to health and, importantly, damage to one's greatest investment.

Late autumn and winter is the time when rodent species, looking for a warm harborage, invade homes. Once inside, they will chew on wires and pose a threat of fire. Since rodents urinate and defecate wherever they go, the potential for diseases increases, particularly when they invade food store areas.

Do-it-yourself pest control efforts usually fail – that's when pest management professionals get the call and that's when their expertise and the means to trap and control mice and rats demonstrate why their training is essential to controlling such problems.

As if rodents weren't bad enough, many homes in the UK commonly suffer invasions by squirrels and bats.

Sealing cracks in the home's foundation, storing firewood away from the home, cutting back tree limbs that provide access to the roof, and many other steps will be recommended by Castle Pest Control Services.

A wide variety of insect pests can over-winter in a home. Wasps and hornets will hibernate in void areas under the roof and emerge when the weather turns warm to begin new colonies and build nests.

Cockroaches are nature's greatest survivors and even a few can swiftly multiply into hundreds once the weather triggers their instinctual behaviour.

The UK is home as well to a thriving population of foxes who think that rubbish bins are open-air cafeterias. Taking care to ensure that rubbish containers are tightly sealed can go far in avoiding unwelcome visitors.

Mother Nature never takes a vacation and affords insect and rodents pests, as well as other creatures many opportunities to reproduce in staggeringly high numbers. A home with its warmth, its ample supplies of food and water, and its wood components are magnets for pests of every description.

Rising water means rising rats and mice in Norfolk

It’s not bad enough that we have had snow problems for the last fortnight in Norfolk but there were risks of flash floods from the melting snow at the weekend.

So, on top of worrying about losing all your belongings and furnishings to flood damage and the months of misery that this event could bring, we should now also be aware of the potential danger of rats & mice entering our homes – not just water. It seems the flood waters can displace rodents from their natural habitat and encourage them to seek out new lodgings and food in our damaged homes.

On top of the potential rodent problems caused by floods, bacterial issues in flooded homes can also become a real concern and it is important to carry out effective disinfection in homes to minimise the risk of contamination, especially if you believe you may have had rats or mice! Professional anti-bacterial treatments are available to effectively reduce the risk of infection from flood waters and “flood rats”. Sadly, this is just another issue that needs to be tackled if your home is ever flooded – an event, which climate change experts believe is likely to occur more and more.