You may remember the ferocious R.O.U.S. (Rodents of Unusual Size) in the fire swamps of The Princess Bride. This time time, they’re real — and invading the Florida Keys.

A species of invasive African rat larger than the average house cat has made a reappearance in Grassy Key, despite efforts to wipe them out for the past 10 years. According to KeysNet, the population of Gambian pouched rat breed of giant rodents proliferated at the turn of the century when a local exotic animal breeder allowed eight to escape.

As of 2009, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission thought the region was in the clear. But alas, the 3-foot-long beasts, weighing as much as 9 pounds, came back with a vengeance. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at least a few dozen are running wild. ”In the early part of 2011, a resident emailed me and said he saw one of the rats. We were skeptical but went back and talked to people and [saw] there were rats that we missed,” Scott Hardin, FWC’s exotic-species coordinator, told KeysNet.

Not only they do they cause a stir when they show up in residents’ backyards, but the Gambian rat can also have negative impacts on local animal species and crops, and could disrupt fragile ecosystems if they reach mainland Florida, Reuters notes. In Zimbabwe, they’re often blamed for devouring nuts and damaging pea crops. They’re also linked to a 2003 outbreak of Monkeypox, a less serious version of human smallpox, in the Midwest.

They’ve even shown up in Brooklyn, N.Y., only to be harpooned with a pitchfork, and are also allegedly responsible for killing and eating two babies in South Africa last year, the Huffington Post reports.

Luckily, the Gambian rat can only produce one litter of up to six every nine months, and can’t reproduce until it’s five months old. To trap the remaining rodents, city officials plan to disperse 200 traps with cantaloupe, peanut butter, almond extract and anise as bait. Laced with a deadly zinc phosphide, wildlife officials predict the rats will die after consuming it while burrowed underground.

“They don’t belong here and they need to be controlled,” Gary Witmer, a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, told Reuters. Adding, “They could cause a lot of damage.” Where’s the Dread Pirate Roberts when you need him?

Call Stop Bugging Me Pest Control at 206 749 BUGS (2847) for all of your rat control needs.

Nordegren decided to level her 17,000 square foot, beach front home in North Palm Beach, FL after it was discovered to be infested with termites and carpenter ants. Aside from that, the home is not up to Florida’s hurricane code. Her home builder advised her it would be easier to level the house and start from scratch.

Before the take-down, Habitat For Humanity was allowed to take as many cabinets, hardware and fixtures as possible before the wrecking crews were sent in.

Stop Bugging Me Pest Control wishes we could have been the ones to make the recommendation.

Elin Nordegren’s Florda home before being demolished for temites and carpenter ants. (Yahoo News)

Most bugs aren’t this cute, that where Stop Bugging Me Pest Control comes in handy, we’re you Seattle pest control solution.  Call us today at  206 749 BUGS (2847)!

Rodent populations will continue to increase in conditions that allow easy access to food and shelter. Sanitation efforts in conjunction with rodent proofing provide the best solution to reduce or completely eliminate these conditions.

 Below are some simple steps you can take to stop rodents from making your home theirs…

Exclusion

Rodent-Proofing your home whenever possible is a critical step in controlling rodents. Ideally, you can control rodents by making it impossible for them to gain entry to your home. However, it may be difficult to exclude mice completely since they can pass through ¼ inch openings, approximately the size of a dime. Rats can squeeze through ½ inch openings or the size of a nickel. Any of these possible rodent access points must be inspected.

Rodent Exclusion

Rodent Access Points

 ◊ Repair all holes and cracks in foundation, walls, basements and such.

◊ Equip doors and windows with fine-mesh, well-maintained screens.

◊ Chimneys should be capped.

◊ Seals around all exterior lines leading through walls must be tight.

◊ Cover vents with metal grill-work and rust-resistant screening.

Rodent Proofing Materials

 ◊ Concrete

◊ Caulking

◊ Copper or Aluminum Mesh

◊ Coarse Steel Wool

◊ Hardware Cloth – 19 gauge

◊ Sheet Metal – 26 gauge thickness

 Below are some simple steps you can take to stop rodents from making your home theirs…

Sanitation efforts involve maintaining clean areas where food is stored and keeping containers tightly sealed. Inside your home, these are an excellent start to your rodent control efforts.

 Lifetime’s hit show “The Balancing Act” is presenting a segment featuring Victor’s new safer and cleaner ways of controlling your pest problems as well as many tips to help keep  rodents clear from your home.

Sanitize your home to reduce rodents

Rodents must have adequate food and shelter in order to live and thrive. Removal of these 2 factors is the best way to prevent and control rodent problems. It is important to include both the outside and inside of your home in your sanitation efforts.

 Indoor Sanitation

 Food

◊ Clean areas under stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers.
◊ Keep counter tops clear of food.
◊ Do not leave glasses of water out overnight.

◊ Store dry food, pet food and birdseed in sealed containers.

◊ Clean pet bowls at night.

Shelter

◊ Keep storage areas free of clutter
◊ Rodent-Proof hard-to-access areas that tend to be neglected

◊ Store supplies or materials off the floor

Outdoor Sanitation

Don’t forget about maintaining the outdoors as well. Properly maintain your yard and store firewood away from your home for effective rodent control.

◊ Properly maintain landscaping – trim any overgrown
vegetation and shrubbery until ground underneath is
visible.

◊ Remove any debris – rock piles, old equipment and such.

◊ Elevate lumber and firewood at least 18 inches.

◊ Store firewood away from the house.

in Insurance / Home Owners (submitted 2009-11-20)

Stop Bugging Me Earns Angies List Award

Stop Bugging Me Pest Control Earns Coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award

Award reflects businesses’ consistently high level of customer service

Stop Bugging Me Pest Control has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service and health providers.

 “Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “The fact that Stop Bugging Me Pest Control can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers.”

 Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

 Ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

 Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 2 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Take a quick tour of Angie’s List and view the latest Angie’s List news.

The National Pest Management Association continues to warn homeowners, that when the temperatures outside turn cooler, an estimated twenty-one million rodents will begin their search for warmth, water, food and shelter; to wait-out the long and cold winter months. Ideally, they will be looking to the cozy homes, offices, buildings and structures, across most of the United States and North America.

Pest management experts and industry professionals have identified garages and basements, as ideal targets for rats and mice, looking to invade homes and businesses. Smaller rodents like mice, require only a quarter of an inch, to enter a home, structure or dwelling. This means that determined rodents can gain entry through cracks in the foundation, air conditioner and dryer vents, pipes; or gaps in electrical wiring. In fact, some mice can even push their way through tiny openings, the size of a pencil.

Once inside a warm dwelling, it will not take long for a very serious pest control problem, to develop. Females rodent invaders can give birth to a litter of five to ten mice, every thirty days, and they breed all year-round. Furthermore, because some rats and mice are carriers of disease, like salmonella and hantavirus, the real danger comes when rodent droppings begin to collect; and must be safely removed from the home.

Using a vacuum (Shop Vac or like appliance), homeowners must collect all of the rat and/or mouse droppings they have discovered, and discard them outdoors; far away from the dwelling. Pest management officials warn that whoever will be responsible for collecting and disposing of the rodent droppings, should wear a protective mask, to avoid breathing in the associated fumes. This precautionary measure is especially important, if anyone who is coming into contact with the rodent droppings, suffers from asthma; or any other kind of related respiratory issue.

ASTMH researchers also offered new
ways of controlling these pests in apartments and houses. They say it is
possible to prevent insecticide resistance. There are new compounds about that
can attract and repel them, they added.

Bed bugs are blood-suckers.
However, they do not transmit disease. They provoke allergic reactions,
including itching and inflamed welts. They are known as pests that pose an
economic and social threat to residents and owners of homes, apartment
buildings, public buildings and hotels. Controlling them can be costly.