Dealing with Mice in the Winter

When it comes to mice, the old saying goes it's better to keep them out than to get them out. Either way, if they get into your home this winter, they can be dealt with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

-Melody Beattie

Why Fleas Are So Hard To Kill

Fleas are incredible jumpers, but their talents don’t stop there. With the ability to sense warmth and vibrations, they're perfectly adapted to find blood-filled mammals like dogs and cats. What they do next will give you chills — and hopefully, nothing more.

If you're having a problem with fleas in your home then give the professionals at Baker Pest Control a call!

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707-451-3985

How to Prevent Pantry Pests | Pest Control

Learn how to prevent pantry pests in this Howcast video featuring expert Jeff White.

The Four Most Important Pest Control Tips to Protect Your Home

Many animals and bugs that a person finds around their home may be classified as undesirable pests. Several examples include ants, spiders, termites, wasps, roaches, and some rodents such as rats. A person that notices these creatures around the home should not take their presence lightly as they can be more than just a nuisance. These uninvited houseguests, while small in size, have the potential to cause extensive damage to property and can also cause diseases and allergies that can be life-threatening.

This is why it's important for a homeowner to consider several pest control practices to prevent an infestation. Critters will be less likely to be attracted to the home if garbage is properly closed off to them and disposed of regularly. A person can keep unwelcome animals from entering the home by sealing any cracks and gaps. As some creatures are attracted to water and moisture, a person should keep the home dry, cool, and free of any standing water.

Store Garbage Properly

Of course, a large portion of what you'll find in a garbage bag is leftover food and table scraps that were discarded after dinner. Unfortunately, animals such rats and ants are attracted to the leftover food, and they will shamelessly dig through garbage bags to scavenge for free and easy food. Keep garbage bags inside a sturdy a trash can, and keep it tightly latched with a secure lid. Trash should be kept a safe distance away from the home.

Seal Cracks and Holes in the Home

Unwelcome critters can easily sneak into the home through cracks and holes. Alternatively, if they find an opportunity to get inside the home through the doorway, they'll be able to search for holes to hide inside. There, they'll create a new home and breeding ground without the knowledge of the homeowner. As a result, creatures such as termites will cause damage to property and thousands of dollars in repair work.

If a person wants to achieve pest control to preserve their home or business, he or she should regularly check for gaps and holes. The cracks found on the outside of the home should be sealed. Any crevices around cabinets and baseboards can be sealed off with caulk, which can be purchased at a hardware store. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, steel wool can be used to fill spaces around pipes.

Prevent Standing Water and Moisture in the Home

Pesky critters are not so different from humans when it comes to basic needs. Like humans, they require water to stay alive. Termites are not only attracted to wood, but they also thrive on dampness and moisture. This is why it's highly crucial for a homeowner to eliminate any standing water, humidity, and moisture for maximum pest control. Homeowners should never hesitate to repair a leaky pipe. Basements, attics, and crawlspaces can easily become humid and moist, so remember to keep these areas dry and ventilated to prevent a potential breeding ground for ants, termites, rats, and roaches. Additionally, a dry and ventilated home can prevent mold.

Cleanliness is a Preventative Measure

A person can never go wrong with keeping the home organized and clutter-free. Need another reason to organize the basement or garage? It'll keep the pests away as it'll create an unfavorable environment for the unwelcome guests.

Animals love clutter. A person may see stacks of boxes and stacks of old newspapers and unused junk, but a rat would see hiding places and a potential spot to raise a family. Once they start to breed in these hiding spots, it will be hard to locate them and get rid of them effectively.

These four basic steps go a long way toward protecting a home against infestation.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9461665

Why Bed Bugs Are So Hard To Kill

Humans have struggled against bed bugs for thousands of years. And despite our best efforts and technological advances, infestations are only getting worse. Bed bugs are developing defenses against our best insecticides, such as thicker hides and toxin-fighting enzymes.

The Cockroach and Clutter Control

Clutter control is an essential part of cockroach control. Clutter is the perfect habitat for the cockroach. They love to live in cramped quarters and will take up residence anywhere they can happily eat and breed.

What Attracts the Cockroach to Your Home?

It is the food in your home that attracts this household pest. Like any living being they need food and water to survive, so any building where food is prepared and stored will be an attractive living area. The cockroach can easily live off the food from unwashed dishes, bits of pet food on the floor and even the glue on postage stamps or book bindings.

One cockroach will lead to many. With an ongoing food and water supply there is no reason for them to leave your domicile. They will continue to live and breed in your home as long as conditions are favorable.

Health Problems Associated with Cockroach Infestations

Once the cockroach come into your home you have more than just an unsightly pest. For more than two decades it has been recognized that cockroach parts are highly allergenic.

There is an established connection between an infestation and the development of asthma in children. Children are more vulnerable because they crawl around on the floor and come into contact with the feces, larvae, eggs and other cockroach parts that are embedded in the carpet, baseboards, and the household dust that has settled there.

The connection to allergy induced asthma is clear:

• 60% of people with asthma test positive to cockroach allergens.
• asthmatic children who are allergic to cockroaches are 3 times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma if they have significant exposure to large cockroach populations in their environment (National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study, 1997)
• even if other allergies such as dust mites are present it is the level of cockroach allergens in the environment that is most closely associated with the severity of asthma in children.

Additionally, these pests carry various types of bacteria in their gastrointestinal system which are deposited all over your house whenever they defecate. Bacteria isolated from cockroach droppings include salmonella. Food poisoning, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal illness in human are associated with infestations.

Clutter Control for Cockroach Control

Pest management experts call the living areas for pests "harborages". While the cockroaches will come out at night when you are asleep they will seek out dark places to hide during the day and particularly like to be almost "cocooned" when they are resting. In other words they like to have all surfaces of their body touching something. This makes them seek out very, very small cracks and crevices where they can hunker down undisturbed for their daytime sleep.

The recommended strategies for cockroach control includes clearing clutter and useless debris. Stacks of newspapers, cardboard boxes, and piles of clothing are ideal harborages.

Clutter control strategies that help to reduce cockroach harborages include:

• Use plastic storage bins (not cardboard) if you must store items like seasonal clothing and make sure the lid fits tightly and the storage bin is not cracked.
• Do not store newspapers in your home, take them directly to an outdoor recycle bin
• Do not leave out pet food dishes with food and water. Feed your pet at a regular time, then take the dish and wash it after your pet has eaten.
• Do not store unused plastic bags under the kitchen sink. They make a perfect cockroach coccoon.
• Discard unused corrugated cardboard immediately. The crevices in corrugated cardboard are ideal harborages for the cockroach and they can live off the organic matter of the box so they will breed prolifically in cardboard boxes.

Clearing clutter also means clearing the exterior clutter from around the house. Things like firewood, recycle boxes, and garbage cans can attract roaches, and provide ideal harborages. Once the cockroach has taken up residence outside your home moving inside through tiny cracks and crevices around plumbing and electrical conduits is an easy task.

Another way that this pest gets into your home is by hitch hiking on something else. If your shopping habits include frequenting flea markets, auctions, or purchasing goods by the "lot" or "by the pound" make sure that these items are unpacked and carefully scrutinized for cockroach carcasses and egg casings before you bring them into your home. Kill any live eggs that may be present by washing used clothing before it goes into your closet.

If you build clutter the cockroach will come and it will stay. Clutter control is not just a mantra for organized living. It is also a strategy for health promotion.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2207181

To Survive, This Bug Builds a House of Bubbles | ScienceTake

Spittlebugs feed on watery sap from plants and then excrete bubbly foam to create a protective fortress around themselves. Later, they emerge as adult froghoppers. Find out more in this week's episode of ScienceTake.

Tips to Keep Pests Out of Your Home This Winter

Tips to Keep Pests Out of Your Home This Winter

What’s Inside A Caterpillar 'Cocoon'

Contrary to popular belief, a chrysalis is not a pouch or a sac —It’s actually the caterpillar’s own body! During metamorphosis, the former caterpillar releases digestive juices that dissolve cells in its muscles, gut, and other organs. Then, special groups of cells called imaginal discs divide over and over again, forming wings and other adult structures.