Tag Archives: rodent control

The Added Benefits Of Environmental Pest Control

April is Earth Month, with Earth Day happening on April 22. So, this month, Terminix Canada wanted to focus on the importance of environmental pest control, as some pest control practices can be very harmful to people, pets, and the planet.

True to its name, environmental pest control is all about getting rid of pests with minimum impact on the environment. That means finding pest control solutions that go beyond simply spraying and praying with dangerous pesticides.

However, more than just being environmentally friendly, natural pest control can be more effective than traditional pest control solutions, offering longer-lasting results with less impact on your day-to-day life.

Long-Term Pest Control With Integrated Pest Management

Health Canada and the Pest Control Products Act regulate the sale, use, and handling of pesticides across the country. They promote an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to pest removal. Integrated Pest Management is an ecological approach to pest management that focuses on techniques to eliminate pests effectively, economically, and with environmental consciousness.

IPM is an environmental pest control method that seeks to remedy pest infestations by getting rid of the root causes of the infestation. While insect applications can temporarily get rid of pests, if it doesn’t address those root causes, you can be sure the critters will return as soon as the smoke clears.

Ultimately, IPM is about creating a holistic pest management plan that will get rid of pests without having to resort to chemical pesticides, except in extreme cases. Examples of Integrated Pest Management include exclusion and getting rid of conditions that could create pest habitats, such as removing standing water in your backyard.

By striking directly at the heart of your pest infestation, you’re ensuring years of pest-free living, instead of buying a few months of peace as the surviving pests breed and repopulate.

Eco-Friendly Pest Control Is Safe Pest Control

In addition to keeping the environment safe, eco-friendly pest control reduces the amount of chemicals inside your home. While you can be sure a reputable pest control company will take every precaution to use pesticides safely, weekend warriors attempting to use store-bought pesticides can easily put themselves and their loved ones at risk!

In addition to being safer than spray treatments, natural pest control is also a great way to save energy. This is because it avoids multi-day treatments or applications. Instead of having to pack away all your things and spend days in an expensive hotel while other exterminators spray away bed bugs, all-natural bed bug heat treatments can get rid of the pests in a matter of hours without disrupting the comfort of your home.

Whether you need to get rid of bed bugs or remove raccoons, Terminix Canada offers natural pest control solutions for all kinds of infestations. For Canada’s top eco-friendly pest control, call us today.

How Terminix Stands Out From The Competition

Terminix Canada lives and works in the same neighbourhoods as our customers, who trust us with their homes and businesses. Each day, Terminix teammates and our partners serve more than 50,000 customers around the world. These customers have come to trust us because our frontline cares deeply about the quality of their work and the relationships they have built.

But this trust depends on our commitment to protect the health and safety of our teammates, customers, and communities. As well as creating a healthy and sustainable environment. We value that trust, and it’s our responsibility to live up to these commitments.

QualityPro Mark

Terminix Canada takes great pride in ensuring our products meet the highest standards. That’s why you’ll see the QualityPro mark on our website. This mark designates that our technicians ascribe to professional pest removal standards. These standards far exceed the requirements of provincial and federal regulations. QualityPro is considered “the mark of excellence in pest management”. This is because it is designed to increase professionalism in the pest removal industry. As a QualityPro employer, Terminix Canada undergoes extensive background checks including driving and criminal history. Additionally, we strive to maintain a drug-free workplace to ensure a healthy, safe, and secure work environment.

At Terminix Canada, We:

  • Comply with all laws and regulations.
  • Empower all teammates at every level within the organization to:
  • Take personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of others.
  • Stop work immediately to avoid the risk of injury or environmental harm.
  • Actively share ideas to continuously create a safer place to work.
  • Design products and services to provide maximum benefit with minimal environmental, health and safety impacts.
  • Hold ourselves and our stakeholders accountable for the quality and safety of the products and services they provide to us and to our customers.
  • Strive to continually improve the safety of our processes, tools, and technology with the goal of being incident-free.

When You Need Safe And Effective Environmental Pest Control, Call The Experts At Terminix Canada

Terminix Canada is one of the most respected providers of pest control services nationwide. We offer 24/7 services coast-to-coast with over 90 years of experience.

Our government-licensed technicians use tried-and-tested techniques to get rid of pests and stop them from returning. We 100% guarantee results with our pest control services. If not, we’ll give you your money back. We safeguard residential homes and commercial businesses throughout Canada with effective pest control. That means offering effective protection against ants, birds, cockroaches, and other pests threatening human health and safety.

How To Identify Signs Of Pests In Your Home

It might sound like a no-brainer but identifying signs of pests in your home means getting rid of them quicker. While Terminix Canada has many more years of experience than your average homeowner in dealing with pest infestations, learning the common signs of pests living in your property is always beneficial.

Ever found yourself playing detective as you hold up a magnifying glass to pieces of dust? Chances are you were trying to determine whether you just encountered rodent droppings or not.

We understand that it’s easy to get paranoid about signs of pests in your home when you don’t know what to look for. However, once you know the real signs of common household bugs and rodents, you’ll be better equipped to quickly identify any infestation before calling your local pest exterminator. Ultimately, the faster you call for pest removal, the more effective it’ll be.

Signs Of Pests – This Blog Covers:

1. Bed Bugs
2. Cockroaches
3. Rodents
4. Silverfish

Signs Of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are one of the tiniest pests around, but this doesn’t mean you can’t successfully identify them. Firstly, you should inspect your skin for red, itchy bites. Bed bugs don’t spread disease to humans, but their bites can be rather irritating. If these bites develop after a (bad) night’s sleep, chances are you have bed bugs. These thirsty bloodsuckers like feeding on exposed skin with arms and shoulders commonly under siege.

Besides your own body, bed bugs leave behind blood stains on beds. As you inspect your bed, look out for small rusty coloured spots, often found near the edges of your mattress. Bed bugs molt (shed their skin) too, so you may also find disgusting oval-shaped exoskeletons in your discoveries.

Did you know that you can also smell bed bugs? Bed bug infestations leave behind a strong and musty odour from the release of pheromones. It’s just like that wet towel smell – nasty! Lastly, you should also inspect the clothes in your closet. Bed bugs have mastered the art of travel and will have no problem clinging to your clothing. Grab a magnifying glass and brush any invading insects away.

Signs of Cockroaches

The insidious thing about a cockroach infestation is that it’s easy not to notice you have one. This is until their numbers explode! These tenacious pests can take refuge in the deepest nooks and crannies, beneath floorboards, and behind cupboards. Reproducing rapidly, a single cockroach egg capsule contains between 30-40 eggs!

However, the good news is that roaches tend to congregate in areas near water. The areas worth paying attention to are your kitchen and bathroom. If you start to notice reddish-brown smear marks on your tiles, then you can be sure you have a cockroach infestation.

Other signs of cockroaches in your home include finding shed skins and egg sacs, as well as an increasingly musty odour in your kitchen and/or bathroom.

You should remove food from countertops, ensure dirty dishes aren’t in the sink, and remove crumbs from your floor to dissuade cockroaches from getting comfortable. As a nocturnal pest, roaches are notoriously evasive and require persistent vigilance to remove them.

Signs Of Mice And Signs Of Rats

Fall might seem like a long way away but it’s never too early to learn about rodent vigilance. As Canada cools down, armies of mice and rats seek shelter from the freezing cold temperatures of winter. Dozens of them could have already spent time living in your walls and foundations rent-free. Makes you shudder, right?

Luckily, the signs of a rodent infestation are relatively obvious. The first thing you might notice are mouse or rat droppings in cupboards and underneath cabinets. You should also look out for bite marks on cables, insulation, and food containers, like bags of pet food.

If you wake up in the night to the sounds of scratching inside your walls, don’t dismiss it as a nightmare. Mice and rats are most active at night, and the more intense the scratching, the larger your rodent infestation is.

The biggest problem with rodents is that they can cleverly sneak through the smallest spaces, holes, or cracks. If you have a crack or space in your structure that’s any bigger than 1.75 cm wide, you may be susceptible to a rodent infestation.

Signs Of Silverfish

Don’t be fooled. Silverfish aren’t fish-like but take their name from the pest’s silvery scales that are metallic in appearance.

Silverfish constantly search homes for moisture and food sources high in sugars and starch. Nevertheless, these pests can survive for weeks without food or water. Entering homes through door gaps and foundation cracks, silverfish infestations can start from simply leaving dirty dishes out too long.

Common signs that you have a silverfish infestation include holes in wallpaper, books, or cardboard storage boxes. Additionally, fecal matter resembling small peppercorns suggests silverfish have breached the perimeter. Elsewhere, yellow stains on clothing, wallpaper, books, and papers are sure-fire signs of silverfish.

Remove Pests Professionally With A Little Help From Terminix Canada

Have you found these or other signs of pests in your home? Call Terminix Canada for rapid, effective pest removal near you. Backed by over 90 years of professional pest control experience, our teams can identify and rid you of all common household bugs plaguing your property. Visit our Branch Locator, find your nearest Terminix Canada branch, and give them a call today.

How To Keep Mice Away The Professional Way

The answer to “how to keep mice away” is simply letting the household pet cat loose, right?

It’s engrained in our sub-conscious that our favourite felines are calculated killers ready to wipe out every single mouse that enters our properties. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to get rid of mice the old-fashioned way.

Take it from Canada’s top pest control company. Proper and effective rodent control takes a lot, lot more effort than a couple of hastily laid mousetraps, bits of cheese, and your pet cat.

How To Keep Mice Away: Does DIY Rodent Control Work?

Firstly, there is a big issue with Canadian homeowners taking on rodent control themselves. In short, they might be able to win the battle, but they’ll likely lose the war.

Ultimately, if rodent removal isn’t undertaken as part of a larger rodent control strategy, you’re just treating symptoms rather than cutting out the infection at large.

Take mousetraps for instance. Sure, a traditional mousetrap can work early on to get rid of mice before they breed. However, they’re ineffective at combatting a large of community of mice.

Poison baits can work on a larger scale. Nevertheless, if you have mice in the walls and they die, you won’t be able to remove the corpses before they decompose. This will only cause unwelcome odours and attract other pests and scavengers.

Additionally, there’s family health concerns too. Leaving industrial strength poisons willy-nilly around your home can be extremely dangerous. This is true especially if you have young and inquisitive children around. Moreover, handling mice poison or mice killers on your own without proper care, attention and supervision can also pose a serious health risk.

How To Keep Mice Away: Why You Should Hire A Mouse Exterminator Instead

So after reading all of those limitations, it’s pretty clear that DIY rodent control isn’t worth your while.

After all, you wouldn’t perform eye surgery by yourself. So why would you get rid of mice without consulting a professional mouse exterminator? When you enlist the help of an expert Terminix Canada mouse control technician, you get results and peace of mind. Using tried-and-tested methods, we get rid of mice in a humane and environmentally friendly manner.

For instance, our mice extermination methods may include placing special mice bait stations at strategic locations outside your home. In short, you can bypass a rodent infestation entirely because mice will be attracted to exterior food sources before bothering to venture inside your residence.

Ultimately, our team will devise a mice removal plan that is unique to your property and your mice infestation. On your initial service, we’ll hunt high and low for mice, documenting our findings in a comprehensive mice inspection. Then, after investigating your mice problem, we’ll deploy our long-term rodent solutions to prevent mice returning.

The bottom line is, if mice come back to your home, so will our professional rodent control team. Our custom rodent removal techniques adapt with the seasons to address seasonal rodent activity in your local area.

Leave Rodent Control To The Professionals At Terminix Canada

Remember, there’s no shame in getting help with mice control from a professional mice exterminator.

Beyond helping you get rid of mice, our integrated rodent control takes steps to prevent subsequent mice infestations by identifying vulnerabilities in your foundation, among other preventative measures.

Backed by over 90 years of pest control experience, Terminix Canada is your go-to mouse exterminator for handling mice infestations big or small. To get residential rodent control services near you, visit our Branch Locator, find your nearest Terminix Canada branch, and give them a call for your free consultation.

Do Cats Keep Mice Away? Pros & Cons Of This DIY Pest Control Tactic

Maybe it’s our nostalgic childhood memories of watching Tom & Jerry that makes us question – do cats keep mice away?

As you start to hibernate in your cozy heated home with fall now here, so too will uninvited rats and mice. An unfortunate truth for many Canadians to bear, it’s no wonder why so many homeowners desperately stare at their pet cats for help.

According to data from Statista, in 2020, there were around 8.1 million cats living in Canadian households. Great news for chasing mice and rats away, right? Not necessarily.

These evasive little rodents are adept at sneaking through any crevice or breech in the outer perimeter of your property. Additionally, they have extra motivation to do so in Canadian sub-zero temperatures.

Mice and rat problems have plagued large metropolises for years. For instance, according to a 2017 study, Toronto is one of the most rodent infested cities in North America. There could be many reasons for the rise in rats and mice. However, we’re going to consider one in particular – a lack of outdoor cats.

The question is – should we reintroduce these nimble forces of nature to our local streets?

This Terminix Canada blog weighs up the pros and cons of this DIY pest control tactic with the aim of keeping pesky mice and rat populations under control.

Do Cats Keep Mice Away? The Pros Of Feline Street Enforcers.

The outdoor cat is a relic of a romanticized yesteryear, along with indoor smoking rooms, and Limp Bizkit’s popularity. What was once a staple in the family unit is considered a taboo in the modern household.

The worst of times for rats, was the best of times for cats‚ particularly felines with a penchant for pouncing on prey.

When our cats were more tiger than Tigger, it made the streets a mean place for rats and mice to survive. They had to make themselves scarce, as their natural predators lurked around corners, callously calculating until a vulnerable victim gave off their scent. It was certainly some kind of literary dystopia for the disease-ridden rodents, and a buffet-like utopia for their sleek, agile predators.

Now? We have overly pampered grown-up kittens with names like ‘Mr. Snuggle-Breath’, mortified at the first sign of a concrete jungle.

Just like cars, they don’t make cats like they used to. It’s no wonder we’re finding rats and mice everywhere we turn. Your great-grandpa’s cat named ‘Roosevelt’ is looking down in disgust.

Surely, revisiting the cat-like equivalent of the Wild West would put a stop to Canada’s rodent problems?

Do Cats Keep Mice Away? Assessing The Cons And Harsh Reality.

Okay, we may have made the outdoor cat life seem far more alluring than it actually is. It’s difficult not to look back at the old days with rose-tinted glasses. After all, without those days, how could Disney have made The Aristocats?

The outdoor lifestyle for cats is considered by experts to be as unhealthy as smoking is for humans. It may seem cool when you’re doing it, but not when it causes an endless list of maladies and lowers life expectancy down the line.

In reality, the rugged outdoors puts cats at an increased risk of infections, traumas, hypothermia, and myiasis (maggot infestation). While it’ll control mice and rat populations, what about salamanders, lizards, and songbirds? Cats aren’t only preying on unwanted neighbourhood pests.

We also can’t discount the truly unforgiving nature of, well, nature. Your crafty cat may be quite the hunter, but they also make an ideal meal for coyotes or hawks.

While yes, society may have taken away our fluffy friends’ badass image and street tough spirit, it was out of necessity‚ not malice or ignorance.

Leave Rodent Control To The Professionals At Terminix Canada

So it seems cats can no longer fully protect us from the mice and rats invading our homes. So who can help? A Terminix Canada mice exterminator or rat exterminator, that’s who. Since mice and rats live in dark, warm and secluded areas of your home, it’s notoriously difficult to get rid of mice and rats yourself. Save yourself the struggle and leave it to our professional rodent control team instead.

Backed by over 90 years of pest control experience, our team practices humane and environmentally friendly methods of rodent control and rodent prevention. Ultimately, we’ll make your neighbourhood safer than any cat could. Plus, we don’t stink like tuna or require a litter box!

To get residential rodent control services near you, visit our Branch Locator, find your nearest Terminix Canada branch, and give them a call for your free consultation.

Spring Cleaning – The Best Way To Keep Spring Bugs Out

Spring is a time for renewal, refreshment, and restoration. With lighter evenings and warmer weather, many Canadian homeowners feel rejuvenated to tackle a new project or pick up from where they left off in winter. Take it from Terminix Canada; the best way to channel these inner desires is to take some preventative spring pest control measures.

Why? Because spring is breeding season for many types of pest. Ultimately, if you stand still, spring bugs will feel more than at liberty to make your home theirs. That’s why Terminix Canada has listed four places in your home where spring cleaning and spring bug maintenance should take place. By being proactive, you can prevent spring bugs from appearing and killing your springtime buzz.

4 Places Where Spring Bug Maintenance Should Take Place

  1. Kitchen
  2. Washroom
  3. Basement
  4. Outdoor Areas

Clean The Kitchen

While human populations are grounded from vacation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not the same for spring bugs. Ultimately, your kitchen is the biggest pest holiday destination of them all! It’s open for business if you do nothing about it. Pests love food and since your kitchen is where the food is, bugs like ants, flies and beetles can’t get enough of your food preparation space.

Nevertheless, by thoroughly and diligently cleaning up food spills, crumbs, and overripe fruits from the countertop, you will make your kitchen less appealing to spring bugs.

For your annual spring clean, first remove everything from your cabinets and pantry. Get rid of stale spices and dated items. Put open packages into airtight containers. Next, wipe down the inside of your cabinets and put in new shelf paper. Then, pull your appliances as far from the wall as possible and vacuum behind them. The last thing to do is give the counter and floor a real scrubbing with a sponge soaked in warm water and a bit of dishwashing liquid.

Tidy Up The Washroom To Wash Out Spring Bugs

Cockroaches and silverfish are just some of the springtime critters that love moisture and make their homes in washrooms. Ultimately, reducing any areas of concentrated moisture is essential for effective cockroach and silverfish control. If you have a dehumidifier handy in your home, we recommend using it to dry out your washroom and other areas.

Elsewhere, while you’re in the washroom, wash your shower curtain and liner. Clean out your medicine cabinet and check under the sink and around the tub and toilet for leaks as well. Remember, leaks lead to moisture build up on the floor and in the pipes themselves. Should you uncover any leaks in your space, call your local plumber.

Better The Basement

Pests like spiders and wildlife like rodents enjoy harbouring in dark corners and cluttered areas of your home. These favourable conditions are often found in your basement. This is why we recommend taking some time during your spring cleaning to truly go through your basement looking for spring bugs.

We’re talking about eliminating clutter wherever possible, storing items in plastic bins with secure lids, and reducing cardboard box use too. Damp cardboard boxes provide another springtime oasis for a number of pests, especially silverfish.

Before you return upstairs, finally inspect your basement with a magnifying glass. Look out for any gaps and crevices that require caulking. Remember, even the tiniest cracks or crevices provide pests and wildlife ample access to the interior of your home.

Audit The Outdoors For Spring Bugs

So far, this blog has addressed places where spring cleaning and spring bugs maintenance should take place inside the home. But don’t forget the outside too!

You’ll want to perform a complete inspection of the outside of your house. This includes noting any damage that might have occurred during the winter. Replace any rotted roof shingles, and unclog the gutters and downspouts. Repair any ripped screens, put in new weather-stripping where needed, and patch-up loose mortar around the windows and foundation.

As far as landscaping, trim back bushes and branches so that pests can’t use them as tightropes into your home. Get rid of any rotted tree stumps and make sure mulch is at least 15 inches away from your foundation. Termites love rotting wood. If you come across any bee, hornet or wasps nests, do not engage. Terminix Canada has the treatments you need for wasp removal and hornet removal.

Since bee populations are in danger, we often recommend customers contact local beekeepers to safely rehome bees and their bee hives. However, in cases where bee hives are located in an area that poses a danger to human safety, especially in cases of allergies, we are able to control the threat and safely remove bees from your property. Contact us today and see your flying insect control problems buzz off for good!

READ MORE: THE BEST WAYS TO KEEP YOUR DECK SAFE FROM TERMITE DAMAGE

Get Rid Of Spring Bugs With Terminix Canada

Pests don’t care about your home. So why suffer? If you believe your home is infested this spring, locate and contact your nearest Terminix Canada branch today. Simply tell them what happened, and they’ll take care of the rest – building the pest control program you need.

Are Squirrels Dangerous To Humans?

If you’ve ever wondered ‘are squirrels dangerous?’ you weren’t wrong to. A lot of Canadians often think these rodents are cute and don’t consider them a real threat. This, however, is misguided. At the end of the day, these bushy tailed rodents are exactly that – rodents! As such, squirrels carry the same kind of dangers that their mouse and rat cousins are known for.

Ultimately, squirrels carry diseases which can make squirrels dangerous. However, most of these diseases aren’t dangerous to humans, but some are and definitely warrant your full attention. Firstly, squirrels are covered in parasites and these can be passed to both humans and pets. With infected squirrels carrying Encephalitis, Lyme Disease, Salmonella and Tularemia, this makes it incredibly important to get rid of squirrels immediately. This blog will guide you through all the reasons you should consider humane squirrel removal, particularly with Terminix Canada’s help.

Do Squirrels Carry Rabies?

It’s true that any warm-blooded mammal like squirrels can carry or contract rabies. Nevertheless, rabid squirrels are incredibly rare. This is because rodents like these often die after contracting the virus themselves. Even though your chances of encountering a rabid squirrel are very slim, it’s still important to detect any rabies warning signs.

Rabies affects the central nervous system so you’ll spot changes in a squirrel’s behaviour. As with most rabies-infected animals, rabid squirrels will either be highly aggressive or unusually docile. To complicate matters further, squirrels may suffer the roundworm brain parasite that carries symptoms very similar to rabies. Ultimately, you won’t want to take any chances. Hiring humane squirrel removal for your home provides the peace of mind you need.

Do Squirrels Bite?

Again, rabid or dangerous squirrels are very rare. Therefore, the chances of you or your pet suffering a squirrel bite are very slim. This isn’t to say that squirrel bites don’t take place however. Squirrel teeth are constantly growing, which makes for a strong bite should they decide to attack. They will bite and attack if they feel agitated or threatened by human or pet behaviour.

For instance, mother squirrels are highly protective over their babies. If you attempt to disturb squirrels in the attic, you could face a squirrel that growls or squawks. Ultimately, squirrels use noises and their tails to either warn off predators or threats, or alert other squirrels of danger. Most of the time however, squirrels are afraid to get too close to humans. Just think about it for a second. The last time you visited a park and attempted to get too close to a squirrel, it likely bounded off faster than Usain Bolt and into the distance or up a tree!

The bottom line is, if a squirrel bites you pet, take it to the vet. A veterinarian will check if any wounds carry a rabies infection and whether any parasites exist that threaten both yours and your pets’ health.

The Danger of Squirrel Diseases

Squirrels are notorious for carrying parasites like fleas, mites and ticks. These parasites cause some squirrel diseases that are dangerous to humans.

Encephalitis – In mild cases, encephalitis causes fever or headache. However, in more extreme cases, it can cause confusion, seizures or movement issues.

Lyme Disease – This can burden you with a serious rash that could result in joint pain, severe headaches and even facial paralysis, if left untreated.

Salmonella – Salmonella bacteria are carried in squirrel droppings and this can cause severe diarrhoea, abdominal pains, and vomiting.

Tularemia – This can result in swollen lymph nodes and ulcers, as well as Leptospirosis, which has flu-like symptoms.

House Damage And Squirrels In The Attic

So part way though this blog, we’ve already established the answer to ‘are squirrels dangerous?’ But we haven’t spoken about house damage and the threat of squirrels in the attic or squirrels inside your walls.

Like we mentioned before, squirrels’ teeth are constantly growing. Therefore, squirrels cause serious structural damage to homes that isn’t easy to repair. Squirrels are able to chew through things like electrical wiring and insulation with ease. Believe it or not, squirrels have started house fires in the past from chewing on defected wiring.

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Squirrels

If you’re looking to successfully get rid of squirrels right now, you should hire a humane squirrel removal company like Terminix Canada. Before our technicians get to work however, it’s important that you remove any open diet sources like seeds, nuts or fruits. Installing gutter guards can also prevent squirrels from finding entry points into your home. Clipping any overhanging tree branches near roofing, removing any firewood and repairing foundational cracks will also help keep squirrels out too.

Now you’re in a position for professional squirrel removal, our technicians will get rid of squirrels in an ethical and humane manner using exclusion methods. Terminix Canada has provided squirrel control to thousands of Canadians coast-to-coast. Rest assured, our squirrel removal technicians always wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to liberate your home from the dangers that squirrels pose. Contact us right now, before your squirrel problem drives you nutty.