Unmarked Vehicles In The Pest Control Industry…Yes or No ?
This too many companies in the pest control industry is a real bone of contenion. Do we have our vehicles sigh written with our pest control logo or leave them unmarked as a matter of discretion to our customers?
Well in the option of Pest Control Essex we believe that all our Vehicles should be left Unmarked. There are a number of reasons for this and we are happy to point them out.
1 The customer “residental” may feel that they do not wish to have a vehicle at there home with Pest Control written all over the Vehicle. To the customer this is already a stressful time and turning up with an advert of Rats, Cockroaches, Mice or Bedbugs can sometimes increase the already high anxiety levels.
2 The “commercial ” customer may be a food retailer and again the same situation would arise, this maybe worse for a commercial client as this could impact on sales if a pest control vehicle is seen at the site.
So based on those 2 main points please meet our latest none sign written pest control vehicle to the Pest Control Essex Fleet.
Now you might be searching Google as you have found an un-wanted friend at your home or business address, yes its the brown rat. commonly found in all of the UK.
You have probably seem one of these brown Rats or as there known the Norway Rat running in the garden or in might be worse than that and you have seen one of these in your home.
At either of those points its best to call in a a professional pest control company who can help with this pest control problem because Rats do carry some very nasty diseases. Wells deases,Rat bite fever, Q fever but to name a few.
All these diseases can be very harmful to human public health & this is why we take the control of rats with all seriousness.
But a common question i am asked is ” Where do rats live in the garden ? ”
If you have seen my previous posts then you will have seen a set of blogs that are building a picture of how rodents live bread and survive. My last blog had a good understanding of how rats can live in gardens.
Here is a recent video that covers the area of compost heaps, this is a common problem when it comes to rats in the Essex area. This is a live job that I had been called to deal with in early November.
As you can see from the video, lots of holes in the compost heap, this is a clear visual sign that rats are in the actual heap living.
We have recently completed the treatment to this property in Ingatestone and the customer is now “rat free thanks to Pest Control Essex.
How do Rodents In Essex Hide From Us From Day To Day? People say to me when we turn up to deal with rats in Essex, “we did not even know we had rats until we saw one running along the wall or fence line”.
Well this could not be truer in the sense that rodents in general manage to hide from humans with a sense of ease. In my professional opinion as a trained pest controller, rodents manage to find all the best places.
Its only due to a sense of bravery by the rat or mouse that they sometimes get caught by the human eye, this bravery in the world of pest control has a name “neophobia” shyness to a new object, once the rodent becomes accustomed to its surroundings and feel secure the rodent will show more signs of bravery as the rat or mouse moves around the area it knows.
Common hiding places are compost heaps in the garden. We at Pest Control Essex go to many calls for this problem. If you think about this logically, rats and mice have a ready-made home to move into. A subterranean of warmth and in most cases food supplied daily. Yes rodents are the greatest survivors I have come across in my role as a pest controller.
A compost heap has the added advantage of being hidden away out of site and the Rats or Mice can move freely without threat. Add to this a nice 12 degrees of heat & they are sat back in their home enjoying a nice little freebie !
Things we look for are holes in the compost heap to the rear or the sides. General smoothing of the soil or grass in the area, this is due to the rodent using the same run each time “a rat run” see my forthcoming posts for more information on this.
Try not to allow fresh rain water to build up in garden plant pots or saucer holders that plants sit in, rodents love fresh water. Turn them upside down & this will deter Rodents.
The source of this problem – seeds were being left on a bird table. Rats became aware of this food source and soon began to use this area as regular food feeding.
An outdoor bait was used on this job called bromadiolone 2 kilos of bait was applied in locked rat boxes and the job was cleared in 4 visits.
For the general public it is something that you should be aware of. Rats eating from bird tables and food that is left out for “birds” rats will find this food source and return time after time. Pest control Essex are aware of these issues and can help remove these problems calling 0800 025 3004 they can offer a 90 minute service if required.
Both of these types of pest control in Essex are excellent ways to catch moles, in fact, we find that at every job, moles are caught and the lawn is soon back to it’s normal healthy state.
Yet many people ask me why do we have moles in the lawn??? Simple to answer……..FOOD….lots or earthworms to eat with nice fresh soil that can be pushed up to make mole hills leaving small tunnels in your lawn.
The earthworm then drops into these tunnels and MR Mole comes along and eats them
You may have a large area of mole problems and some of this might not have an active mole using this area. We use a trained cocker spaniel to hunt and sniff them out. When located we gas the moles.
The star of the team and everybody’s best friend, for a doggy treat or too, Dora is trained in the art of mole catching. In lots of cases there are hundreds of mole hills on a site, yet this can sometimes be a lame duck. Not with Dora she has a 100 percent record as she has won the fight with every job she has been to in brentwood, chelmsford , Ingatestone and all the areas of essex
She is not only my Pal on the road but a great pest control doggy that covers the whole of the Essex county and beyond !
For instance, today I walked down Brentwood high street to find a local shop to buy some lunch, and building after building had clear signs of pigeon problems.
Brentwood is not different to say shenfield where the station bridge is rife with Bird control issues. Network Rail are duly responsible for this area and I believe there maybe a plan in place to resolve this health risk after Brentwood council applied pressure to have this dealt with.
We see these issues everywhere and as a pest control company we deal with these in a number different ways. You might have read my blogs on bird control to date. Yet this blog gives the general public a chance to see a new product that we have been using with great results at Pest control Essex in the essex Area.
Called Optical Gel this product is applied in a certain way, please see the video
This video really does give you an understanding of the issues around bird “droppings”, public health is an issue once the bird droppings have become lodged to a building. As you can see from the video, once cleaned the building was clear of any evidence of spiking, and no bird free Optical Gel can be seen from the floor looking up.
Whilst this might not be an issue to certain clients, the view of spikes on your property offers a less aesthetics to your property, whilst the gel offers better aesthetics and no damage to the birds in anyway either.
Birds can get behind spikes and I have even seen Pigeon build nests on top of them
By travelling around Essex we see so many different pictures and situations where birds have managed to overcome spikes, yet to date with Optical Gel birds have not returned, so we have an impressive 100 percent record.
These jobs require skill and a good eye for bird control whilst being able to handle working at heights, we have completed all manner of jobs from hotels, to hospitals, from pubs, shops and even working for the national trust on two of their properties in Essex.
It’s getting to that time of the year now, customers begin calling Pest Control Essex to help resolve their mole problems.
No doubt you have read the information I have posted so far on moles and the way moles operate.
But, I have a lot of customers phoning for the first time, who have in the past had a mole catcher in who used Talunex (gas) to help eradicate the moles but with no success. I do think in my own professional opinion that this is strange considering that the pest controller or mole catcher has been on some kind of training course in the use of gassing moles.
The customer usually says “I don’t want that gas used as it never worked last time”, this really does concern me, in my post on using traps I said that moles live on four hour life cycles…..exercising and sleeping on this cycle.
So the gas is no different to a trap, just much better if you have a lot of moles to deal with. MR Mole does not understand that Aluminium phosphide has been injected into the run.
See the video below with the issue of moles
You can see from the video that there are major amounts of live mole hills in these areas.
We applied the correct amount of gas to each area on the Friday afternoon using the correct equipment and PPE.
Then on the Monday we retuned and shot this video
The gassing procedures worked very well. Use a pest control company to remove your problem who know how to resolve problems like these.
Talunex can only be used and bought by trained persons who have completed the necessary training regarding the use of this product….see HSE
A very simple video to show you how we use traps to bring an end to your mole problems in the garden or on your lawn. http://youtu.be/H44A6K9pn6w
Moles do a lot of damage and once on your land are a pest that will be there for the long hall.
“earthworms ” are the moles choice of food and this is the main reason they are burrowing under you lawn. The mole is creating a tunnel that allow the earthworms to fall into.
Then on a 4 hour life cycle of sleep and exercise, they look in these tunnels for food, namely, earthworms. They harvest these foods sources and then return to their main sleeping area.
This is why traps work so well, but, be warned there is a skill to this type of pest control, Many people think they can just buy a few traps and drop them in the soil and a day later MR Mole is caught.
Not a chance !….moles are aware of temperture changes in the runs below the surface and if they get wind of the trap, there will be no action at all.
You really need a pest controller or mole catcher to help with this issue. They understand the basic’s that I have just shared with you, but with years of experience and practice at catching these bulldozers, a pest controller is your best choice.
Moles tend to live on one acres per mole, but I have known moles to share less than this, good damp soil is a preferred choice as this is easier to move with their front claws/bulldozer padels.
No doubt that feral pigeons can be the most annoying pest that will visit your property day after day. In fac,t once a pigeon or group of them find your home a good roosting location, then in all likelihood they will be back day after day & then year after year.
We at pest Control Essex receive phone calls for all number of different bird problems that we find ourselves dealing with. In fact, no pest control job is ever the same in bird control.
The general perception by the public is that pigeons offer no real threat to public health, yet most people are not aware that a Feral pigeons carry as much of a threat as a rat.
Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by a fungus, which grows in pigeon droppings. It also grows in soils and is found throughout the world. When cleaning droppings a person may breathe in some of the fungus, which in cases of high exposure can cause infection
Symptoms of histoplasmosis begin to appear about 10 days after initial infection and include fatigue, fever, and chest pains. Most people, however, do not show any symptoms. Those with compromised immune systems such as cancer patients are generally more at risk of developing histoplasmosis. The disease cannot be transmitted from person to person.
Psittacosis (also known as ornithosis or parrot fever) is a rare infectious disease that mainly affects parrots and parrot-like birds such as cockatiels, and parakeets, but may also affect other birds, such as pigeons. When bird droppings dry and become airborne people may inhale them and get sick.
In humans, this bacterial disease is characterized by: fatigue, fever, headache, rash, chills, and sometimes pneumonia. Symptoms develop about 10 days after exposure. Psittacosis can be treated with a common antibiotic.
Cryptococcosis is another fungal disease associated with pigeon droppings and also grows in soils throughout the world. It is very unlikely that healthy people will become infected even at high levels of exposure. A major risk factor for infection is a compromised immune system.
Everyday lives.
So we are touched by birds no matter what we do each day, consider the scenario, you’re on your way to work and leave your home to find that ferial pigeons have left their dropping on your car window.
You climbing a flight of stairs outside and your hand comes in to contact with a hand rail and come across pigeon droppings, or you’re at work and open a window that has a pigeon dropping on the window sill as birds are frequenting there daily.
Birds are all around us each day, yet control is something that Pest control Experts can help you deal with.
There are so many different ways to help control birds, and depending on your situation a solution can be found to suit your budget and pest control problem. Here are few solutions to help you see what can be done.
Bird Wire Systems
Bird Netting
Spike Systems
Optical Gel
Avi Shock Systems
All these systems are used with very good results, Current HSE law should be followed closely with using any of these systems as there will be no doubt that any pest control company that fits any of these systems will be working at height.
Well it’s getting to that time of the year now, yes moles are getting ready to ruin your nice green flat stripey lawn.
Yes, we get up in the morning and have people calling us “I woke up this morning and there were 8 or 9 mole hills that were not there yesterday”.
Essex is rife will moles, probably due to a the number of factors, but I have travelled England working in mole control & Essex has a bigger share.
Simply leaving the problem won’t solve it, in fact, it will get worse quite rapidly. Call out a mole controller to help. Generally you will probably only have one mole on your land & it won’t cost the earth to remove it.
We go to calls and people say “my mate said this and my mate said that”. Simply put, your mole is there for food, “earthworms” .
