Yearly Archive January 20, 2020

Like spiders and ladybugs, the opossum is your friend. They are a kind of natural pest control animal, with their jaw of 50 sharp teeth they are omnivores eating everything from overripe fruits and vegetables to snails, slugs, insects, snakes, worms, rats, mice and other small animals, as well as nuts, seeds, grasses and weeds. Opossums snout and tail give them a rat appearance but they are related to kangaroos and koalas rather than to rodents. During winter, the solitary nocturnal opossum spends most of the time in its nest but come February a female (jills) will be looking for a mate (jack) and will give birth to her litter of joeys in March. The female opossum is a marsupial (pouched mammal like the kangaroo) carry joeys in her pouch because their body temperature is too low. They are not aggressive but when approached they usually bare their teeth or play dead as a defense mechanism.   

https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/the-opossum-top-…-in-pest-control/

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opossum-top-notch-pest-control-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Rats play quid pro quo with each other, a form of tit-for-tat when looking for help from others and rats are happy to help each other out but only if another rat helps them out first, according to a new study. The study determined that rats figuratively play quid pro quo (a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something when doing favours for one another). The rats will co-operated based on the last meeting with a partner and that rats can remember what happened in the distant past, but only use the most recent encounters with a partner.  

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rats-play-tit-for-tat-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Active all year round, mice are one of the most common pest species. They spread nasty diseases such as Salmonella and Listeria to humans through their urine, droppings and bedding. As they scamper around, they carry dirt and bacteria with them, moving it to your counter tops, cabinets and pantry. House mice are known as commensal rodents, they like to live in close proximity to humans. Mice are naturally inquisitive and can squeeze through cracks as small as 5mm, to search for food and shelter. Mice are actually colour blind, but have serious sense of hearing, frequently using ultrasound to communicate. Their presence is usually detected by feces (80 per day), the strong smell of ammonia from their urine, smear marks, nests, damage to stored food and gnaw marks.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/house-mouse-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Nutrias have been in North America for over 70 years and are now considered one of the most ecologically destructive invasive species on the planet. Nutria are about the same size as a raccoon weighting up to 10 kilograms and they look like a cross between a small beaver and a Norway rat. They also carry several diseases and parasites including tuberculosis, tapeworm, liver flukes and nematodes. They are aquatic animals that prefer freshwater and they live in burrows connected by tunnels that they dig in wetlands. Eighty percent of nutria don’t survive their first year, and those that do survive, only live for three years. Nutria eat about a quarter of their body weight daily in plants and their roots, wreaking havoc on the native ecosystem by removing the root systems destabilizes the soil around the water, which causes it to quickly erode and become open water.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nutria-the-invasive-swamp-rat-randy-bilesky/?published=t

What is a psocid you ask, well they are also called book lice or barklice and although they are not truly lice, they live in warm, moist places. They feed on mold or fungi and grains, insects, and starches like book binding glue. They are found in humid and poorly ventilated areas in homes and are attracted to damp cardboard boxes, books, papers, molded wood and leaking sinks. They don’t harm us or our pets and do not bite, they are just a nuisance and large populations usually indicate a moisture problem in the house. If they are spotted in the pantries it is means there is spoiled food around. Psocids don’t retain water in their bodies well so the first step in controlling psocids is reducing the humidity in the area they live.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/book-lice-aka-psocids-randy-bilesky/?published=t

The firebrat is a small hexapod (six legs) that are grayish-brown and have a body that is tapered from front to back and is somewhat carrot-shaped. They prefer high temperatures and require some humidity so they are often seen near boilers, dryers, ovens, attics, hot water heaters and furnaces. They feed on a wide variety of carbohydrates and starches that are also protein sources such as dog food, flour and book bindings. They do not have wings, but move around by running rapidly. Often confused for silverfish, firebrats are a different species and generally prefer warmer habitats than silverfish. Infestations usually begin when infested books, papers, cardboard boxes, shipping cartons or furniture are brought into the home. If firebrats become a problem, seek the help of a pest control pro.  

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/firebrats-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Ok, you keep your house clean and uncluttered, you maintain the your yard and nothing is overgrown or touching your house. Repairs are always made to any holes and cracks in walls, windows and screens. So why is it that you still get pest in your attic. Not only can pests keep you up at night, but they can cause property damage and health problems. So here are a few pests that like to use your attic as a hotel. Squirrels love to build nests in attics, especially in breeding season. They also leave behind, body dust, feces and urine, which can cause damage or transmit disease. Bats live in colonies and once they discover attic they usually stick around all year. Bats can carry diseases and their feces can cause illness. Mice and rats also carry many diseases and like to urinate and defecate everywhere they go. These rodents also like to chew through wood, siding, wires and drywall. Once a raccoons gets on a roof they typically sneak through soffit material or roofing materials. Raccoons leave behind waste, carry disease and may cause damage to your home.

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/toys-attic-pests-randy-bilesky/?published=t

In the Chinese zodiac calendar, the rat is the first of the 12-year cycle of animals. And it looks like 2020 will really be the year of the rat based on the number of inquires we have had about rats in the attic, crawl space and infesting structures. Chinese legend states that rats are shrewd, fast thinkers; efficacious, but contented with living a quiet and passive life. The rat is also linked with the Earthly Branch (an ordering system used throughout East Asia) and the midnight hours. The Rat is the  yang of yin and yang and represents the beginning of a new day. In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus, although it is pretty much opposite here. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children.  

https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/2020-year-of-the-rat/ ‎

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Tsawwassen Delta Ladner B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2020-year-rat-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Insect, those edible ones, are chocked full of protein, vitamins, amino acids and they are Popeye like spinach -loaded with calcium and iron. Insects such as beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and ants are a nutrient-dense food. There are over 2,000 edible insect species currently available and these insects are eaten around the world. Edible insect consumption is called entomophagy: eating insects such as eggs, larvae, pupae and adults, are harvested from forests or other suitable habitats. Edible insect farming is relatively easy compared to animal farming, as insect farming needs less soil, water, and feed. Edible insect production will continue to increase as the world’s resources are diminish, food scarcity continues and the world population continues to grow.

 https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/edible-insects-entomophagy/ ‎

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/edible-insects-entomophagy-randy-bilesky/?published=t

Any warm-blooded mammal can carry or contract rabies, but the main carriers are raccoons, skunks and bats. While it’s often thought that raccoons and skunks are “carriers” of rabies, they can only transmit the virus to another animal when they are rabid. Because most pets are vaccinated, wildlife account for over 90 percent of all reported rabies cases. Rabies is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system in mammals and is only transmitted through the saliva, not blood, airborne (smelly skunk spray), urine or feces of an infected animal. In the “furious” form, animals may appear to be agitated, bite or snap at imaginary and real objects, appearing drunk or excessively wobbly, circling, seeming partially paralyzed or acting disorientated and drool excessively. If a raccoon or skunk, is active during the day and exhibiting abnormal behavior then it may have rabies.  

gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Tsawwassen Ladner Delta B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rabies-skunks-raccoons-randy-bilesky/?published=t