Pests in Winter

Most people don't think twice about pests in winter. We tend to think that most pest activity happens during the warmer months and therefore we are often thrown off guard when we get the surprise of mice, rats, cockroaches or spiders in our homes, in the dead of winter.

Rodents

Mice and rats are drawn to the warmth and possibility of food within our homes. It may surprise you that rodents are quite nimble and can enter through the tiniest of gaps, cracks and crevices in your home's foundation.

How do I know if there are rodents in my home?

Rodents are very discreet but there are a number of ways to tell if they are in your home:

Mice are active at night. You may hear noises scratching or scurrying noises coming from the walls. Pay special attention to your kitchen area.
Cats and dogs are often privy to rodent action in your home. They may become more active in areas where mice are hiding. Your pet may sniff or paw away at an area. Pay extra attention to these areas, using a flashlight to see if you can detect mouse droppings or gnaw marks.
Rodent teeth never stop growing, so rats and mice constantly have to gnaw on things in order to wear them down.
Pay attention to the size of the gnaw marks. If they are small (1-2 mm wide) it is likely mice. Rats leave much larger teeth marks as their teeth are around and are able to chew through flooring, insulation and walls.
Look for gnaw marks that are light in colour. This will help you determine the age of the holes.
Look for tiny droppings in and around places where food is kept such as cupboards or pantries.
If you notice a lingering, unusual smell within your home... it could be mice. The combination of stale urine and feces creates a pungent smell.
The smell of a decaying mouse can be very unpleasant. The mixture of sulfur dioxides, methane and other gasses create a sharp noxious smell. This smell seems to linger, becoming even more pungent over time and lasting anywhere from a week to a couple of weeks.
Pay special attention to foodstuff in your cupboards and pantry. Rodents are known for gnawing through food packaging. If you see any holes in your pantry items, throw these items out immediately. Consider moving all foodstuff to sealed glass containers.
Its a good idea to inspect your attic at least once every few months.
Rodents love to set up nests in warm, cozy places within your home. Perfect nesting spots can be found behind the refrigerator and other kitchen appliances, cabinets and drawers, wall and floor voids. If you spot a mouse, there is a good chance that there is a nest nearby. Look for items like chewed up newspaper, insulation, cloth and cardboard that mice use to nest.

Be prepared to take action

Before you lay down traps or other mechanical devices, check to see if there are any sources of food and water readily available. If so, it's best to eliminate these. Check both inside and outside of your home. While outside, pay particular attention to the foundation of your home. If you see burrows, there is good chance that you have rats.

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Cockroaches

Cockroaches are most active during the warmer months. So when the temperatures drop and the snow starts to fall, roaches look for warm indoor refuges. Pipes, cracks and crevices, and vents are great ways to gain access. Once inside, kitchens and washrooms become a great place to live and therefore, reproduce.

How do I know if there are cockroaches in my home?

Roaches typically come out when it’s dark. If you suspect you have a cockroach infestation, use a flashlight at night to observe for cockroach activity.

Inspect for cockroach droppings, which look like coffee grounds or bits of ground pepper. Look for signs of egg casings which look red or brown in colour, and are about 8mm in length. These casings can hold upwards of 40-50 nymphs. Lastly, a bad infestation will smell musty and pungent.

Did you know that roaches can make you sick?

Roaches puke and poop everywhere they go and often travel in garbage and sewers, tracking germs onto every surface they touch. As such, they contaminate food and spread disease leaving behind pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli on countertops, sinks, stoves -- and even your toothbrush!

Cockroaches and your pets

At Pest HQ we adore our pets and consider them members of the family. So, it's important to know that pets, like us humans, can also be exposed to health threats posed by cockroaches.

Roaches LOVE pet food, and once they end up in the pet food dish, they can contaminate both food and water with bacteria such as e-coli and salmonella parasites like tape worms and round worms. It's best to keep all pet food secured, and clean any bowls of food residue after your pet has finished eating.

Proteins in cockroach saliva, feces and molting skin can also trigger asthma, allergies in sensitive pets.

Be prepared to take action

Clean up. Reduce clutter so roaches have fewer places to hide. Take out the garbage and ensure all dishes in the sink are cleaned up and put away. Vacuum all floors and clean the countertops.

Fix openings, gaps and leaky pipes. Use caulk to fill smaller gaps in the kitchen and bathroom. Use copper mesh to seal large cracks or openings around pipes. Fix leaky pipes, faucets or cracked shower doors to reduce the moisture that cockroaches need to survive.

Set out cockroach glue traps and monitors in areas where you suspect cockroach activity, such as the space between your refrigerator or stove and wall, and behind furniture. The more cockroaches you find stuck in one glue trap, the bigger the cockroach problem. If the roaches stuck in the glue trap point mostly in one direction, you can assume their hiding spot lies in the opposite direction. This will help you put pest control traps where they will be most effective. Apply a multi-bait attractant to significantly increase crawling insect trap and roach monitor.
Apply Diatomaceous Earth (DE) or exterminator dust behind appliances and to wall voids, such as where plumbing pipes enter under a sink. When roaches walk through the treated area, the DE’s microscopic, glass-like shards lacerate the waxy outer layer of the roaches’ exoskeleton. As such, the roaches dry out and die. Learn about DE and how to use it.
Use a high-efficiency HEPA vacuum to remove live roaches if the roach population is high and this is possible. The more cockroaches you can remove, the fewer left to breed and lay eggs. After vacuuming, immediately remove and dispose of the bag in the outdoor garbage.
Cockroach spray and aerosol should be used as a last resort. That’s because overuse of insecticide can create resistance in cockroaches. Over time, new roach generations develop mutations that make them less likely to die from even the best insecticide for roaches. To ensure effectiveness and to reduce the potential for resistance, always use insecticide bug spray and organic bug spray according to the label. The label will identify where to apply the product, how much to apply and how often to apply it.

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Spiders

How do I know if there are spiders in my home?

Pay special attention to cobwebs that can appear on light fixtures, and in wall corners where the wall meets the ceiling. If you see one spider, there will be more.

Be prepared to take action

A few spiders in your home can be a good thing. Spiders provide natural pest control by eating other insects, like flies and mosquitos. However, if you are seeing lots of spiders, this could indicate an infestation which will need to be controlled and eliminated.

Seal up any gaps around doors and windows.
Maintain cleanliness and reduce clutter.
Eliminate any suspected food sources. If you have pests like flies or ants - take care of these pests.
Use Diatomaceous earth (DE) – This natural desiccant will kill spiders by drying them out. Apply it to cracks, crevices, corners and near outdoor lights where spiders are active using a bulb duster or Longshot Duster. The spiders walk through the DE, which scratches the waxy outer layer of their exoskeleton. This causes the spider to dry out and die.
Crawling insect monitors and glue traps – Place monitors or glue traps behind furniture, among storage boxes, in garages and boat houses lets you catch the crawling insects that spiders eat and the spiders that actively hunt, such wolf spiders and fishing spiders.
Insecticide sprays – Repellent aerosols and sprays kill spiders on contact. Also apply them to exterior cracks and crevices where funnel-shaped spider webs exist to flush out spiders, which you then can squash with a putty knife.