Keeping Your House Free Of Mice & Rodents

Mice and rat infestation can be a serious problem. They can spoil and foul food, and spread disease. No one likes to share their homes with rodents. You throw out food, spend hours cleaning up their droppings and listen to them skittering in the walls and floorboards at all hours of the night. Here are some tips to help you keep your home mouse and rodent free.

1. Prevention is the best policy.
It's far easier to keep mice out than to get them out. Start by blocking holes and tunnels that provide access into your home for the furry little rodents.
Start with a careful visual examination of the foundation and all outside walls in your
house. Look for cracks and holes that allow access. Mice can squeeze under the crack below a door, so no hole is too small.
A trick for finding small cracks and holes is to turn on all the lights in your house after
dark, then walk around it carefully outside, looking for any places where light leaks through.
Patch any holes or cracks that you find, or stuff them with steel wool. It's one of the few things that mice can't chew through.
Make your lawn unfriendly to mice and rats. Keep it trimmed, and trim any bushes or shrubs near the house that make it easy for them to hide.
Trim trees so that the lowest branches are at least 18 inches above the ground.
Make sure that three branches that over hang roofs are at least three feet away from the house to discourage tree rats that can make the jump from a tree to the house.
Make sure that all window screens are secure and in good repair.
Cover chimneys with a spark arrester to keep mice and Rats from coming down the chimney.
Install a sweeper at the bottom of garage doors and any other doors to outside. A mouse can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime.
While you're at it, look for any holes around pipes that go through floors, and for vents. Seal them off with steel wool.
Mothballs stuffed into holes or scattered along foundation walls and behind furniture can help keep mice out, but be aware that they are poisonous. If you have pets or small children, be sure to place the mothballs in places that are inaccessible to them.

2.Cut down on the attraction factor.
Mice are attracted by food, of course. Once you draw them close to the house by leaving food out for them, it's just a short step to inviting them inside. Keep all garbage in covered metal or heavy duty plastic cans, preferably in an area that's not attached to the house. If you have a shed or enclosed porch that is attached to the house, don't use it for garbage storage unless the garbage is carefully stored away in covered tins or cans. Use mothballs to cover up the scent of food that might attract them as well.

3.Don't feed the animals.
Indoors, keep food and garbage off the floor and counters. Don't leave foods out on counters, including bread and cakes in cardboard or plastic bags. Mice will chew right through to get at the goodies inside.

Make sure that all dry goods are stored in plastic, glass or metal tins. Use canisters for flour, sugar and other dry goods. Put boxes of cereal in sealed plastic containers, or at least behind closed cabinet doors.

4. Opt for all natural rodent prevention.
Tom and Jerry fans take note - the mouse does not always win. One of the best ways to keep your home rodent free is to keep a furry companion. Not all cats are great mousers, but their presence is often a deterrent to mice and rats who will look for a more hospitable home.

5. When all else fails, call in a professional.
Professional pest extermination services are the best way to get rid of a rodent problem. A professional will know how to find access points and places where mice will travel, and has the license to use strong poisons and traps that will eliminate your problem.

Keep in mind that even a professional rodent abatement service is not a quick fix. It may take a few months before you notice an appreciable decrease in the rodent population, and you will have to keep up prevention efforts to keep them out.

By: CSStephanie Larkin

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

About Author:
Stephanie Larkin is a freelance writer who writes about large businesses for home owners such as Orkin and Terminix

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There is an amazing variety of ways to kill head lice once they get a start living and breeding on your scalp.  The urgency to kill the bugs becomes impossible to ignore when you feel the tingling of them walking around on your scalp or when the bites makes your head itch so much that it seems like it wont stop.  So the first priority is to get rid of those active lice in your hair.  Never mind the fact that having a head full of lice is disgusting.  If they are going to disrupt your life that much, they have to go.

Because it is impossible to number how many lice are part of your infestation, the idea of killing them one by one is pretty much out of the question.  If your child has come home with lice from school, you can take a magnifying glass and tweezers and pick them out of her scalp one by one.  But this is a losing strategy for total success because there simply is no way to get them all that way.

The only true solution is to use a treatment that covers the entire head at once and kills every bug in your hair once and for all.  Lice treatment shampoos do that and they are effective.  But these shampoos are laced with insecticide which is quite dangerous to the host, which is you or someone in your family.  It is bad enough to put yourself at that kind of risk but to put pesticide on the head of your child or the child of a loved one is simply to big of a risk to take.  Documented cases where pesticide based lice shampoos caused illness or death in children only emphasize that another solution is needed.

At the most extreme end of the solution scale is shaving the head of the person suffering with head lice.  This is not dangerous and once the scalp is bare, it is easy to wash the scalp and rinse away all of the lice.  Most of them will go out with the hair when you dispose of it.  But it is a drastic thing to do to a child and for a woman, the idea is absurd because it broadcasts to the world what you had to do.  If there was no other way to kill the lice, that would be acceptable.  But there are other ways.

The easiest way to kill off all the living lice on your head is to smother them or expose all of them to something lethal to lice.  There are dozens of natural ways to do this including mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, crushed almonds and lemon and coconut oil.  Tea tree oil is a well known treatment for lice which has a documented track record of success and its totally safe.  By finding the right solutions to lice infestation before you have the problem, you have a game plan for defeating lice before they can take over.  And just having a plan to kill an enemy like head lice can give you and your family plenty of peace of mind.

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Information About Basic Pest Control

There masses of vermin in this world, and at some heart each will find themselves battling an insect. Pest could invade our plot, our home, buildings; the register goes on and on. Pests can be bugs, plants or animals. Just the remark of vermin, cockroaches, dandelions, type, mice and rats can educe solid emotions. Pests current a strength hazard to your family, pets, and patch.

It is important to know how suitably to rule these Rats that invade our lives. It is nearly impossible to eliminate mice, but it is imperative to check these insidious pests. There are numerous methods of controlling pests; these can occupy substance limit, biological dominate, mechanical methods, or a combination thereof.

Mechanical nuisance monitored is regularly the most rate effective and if implemented before an infinite infestation takes place can produce desired results. Mechanical methods involve hand option (such as pulling weeds) and traps (such as a mouse snare). Mechanical methods of vermin contain are mostly the most environmentally welcoming.

Biological mosquito running includes insecticides that are derived from plants or other genuinely happening substances such as microorganisms.

Chemical annoyance contained includes the use of more toxic unreal pesticides. Chemical mosquito powered is not environmentally gracious and is never considered as an organic system of direction.

"Integrated Pest Management is the coordinated use of insect and environmental information along with open vermin direction methods, counting cultural, biological, genetic and substance methods, to inhibit unacceptable levels of nuisance spoil by the most economical means, and with the least workable hazard to people, assets, and the environment." Integrated Pest Management stresses the use of complementary methods of mosquito restrict such as the introduction of organic predators. This method of insect manage is much more ecologically sound than relying on chemical methods.

The first action in mosquito command is to find the glitch. Particularly when plants are intricate, the difficult may involve indigent growing conditions instead of an attack from an invasive pest. Sometimes identifying the pest is clear, if you see a mouse scurrying across the baffle it is evident you have neediness for pest control. The next walk is to recognize how severe the infestation is, or is this just one mouse that has found its way into your home, or is there a family of mice that has full up habitation in your home. One mouse can regularly clearly be eradicated using a mouse confine or possibly the family cat. However, if you have a large infestation of mice, you may need to route to stronger chemical methods or find it essential to hire a professional exterminaton to rid your home of the pest drawback.

By: Jeanie Smith

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Learn about how to get rid of carpenter ants and argentine ants at the Facts About Ants site.

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Getting Rid Of Cat Fleas

Cat owners are often faced with the daunting task of getting rid of cat fleas. This article talks about the various options available on how to treat cat fleas and which is the best flea treatment available for cats.

Are you seeing tiny, quick creatures that scurry through your cat's fur, and causing painful itching - so bad that kitty may scratch herself raw in seeking relief? If you are, then chances are, your cat has fleas.

Getting rid of cat fleas may be a daunting task. Many have failed in their attempts to so. If you are one of them, read on where this article will discuss the various means of getting rid of cat fleas and which is the best cat fleas treatment available.

First of all, how to tell if your cat has fleas? Are there any signs and symptoms? Here is how you can do a "cat fleas check".

Put your cat over a large piece of white paper and then using a comb, comb through its fur starting from the head to the tail. Did you see any reddish brown specks that look like pepper scattered on the paper? Now, sprinkle some water over it. If you see stains of blood spreading out, then these are what we call flea dirt (which are actually flea excretes) and yes, there are fleas on your cat!

So how to treat cat fleas? Here are some options available

1.Flea combs

Flea combs are readily available from any pet stores and it's your first line of defense against the cat fleas. Though it cannot remove all fleas simply by combing your cat's fur, it can serve to reduce the fleas' population as well as keeping your cat's fur matt free from all the licking, biting and scratching caused by the fleas.

2.Flea shampoos

Like the flea combs, the use of flea shampoos is also a popular choice among pet owners. Shampoo served to kill the adult fleas on your cat's body and wash away the nasty flea dirt and larvae. However, take note that flea shampoo are only effective for a day or less. They leave little residual chemical on the animal when properly used and hence this not a long term flea control for your cat.

3.Flea collars.

The use of flea collars in removing fleas on cats is controversial. They might serve to keep fleas off the neck, but not the rest of the body. As such, most cat owners has reported that it's useless and it is harsh on the neck causing breakouts and balding around the neck after use.

4.Flea powder

These products have become almost obsolete nowadays as it has proven to be too messy to be used, causing respiratory distress to both the cat and the person using it. Some have even been reported to be toxic too.

5.Topical flea treatment

Use of topical flea treatment for cats is by far the best option available now. Not only is it convenient to use, where only a once monthly application is needed, it is also effective in killing off all fleas within a short period of time.

There are many brands of topical flea treatment available in the market and each differs in their action against fleas. Check out the chapter on "Cat Flea Medicine - how it works" which elaborate on the different types of topical flea treatment available, its effectiveness and side effects, how to use them and how to choose one suitable for the age and weight of your cat.

If you find this article useful, then you must check out Part 2 of this article - "Best Way to Kill Fleas" , where you will find out more on the correct way to comb your cat to remove fleas, the correct way to give your cat a bath with flea shampoo and much more details on choosing the right anti-flea product for your cat.

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How to get rid of rats

Eliminating rats requires a two way approach -

1. Blocking Their Access To Your Home
2. Catching rats In The Land Around Your Home

Start by keeping your garbage as far from your building as possible. Try not to leave garbage bags exposed on the ground.
If you have trees next to your home, cut away any branches that touch the building. Check the base of your property for any openings, rats can get through even the smallest of holes!

Traps are the safest way of catching rats! The best bait for trapping a rat is generally considered to be strong smelling foods. To use traps you must be patient! Rats are extremely perceptive and get to know their surroundings. There are lots of different traps available on the market for catching rats today. So which are the best ones? Well there are the ever popular, and highly recommended, traditional "snap traps". The "snap trap" will kill rats and mice instantly and are therefore very popular! There are traps that keep rats hidden and free you - the trapper - from contact with them, they are generally referred to as "no see" traps. An ideal solution for most whose stomach's turn at the thought of rats, let alone having to find a way of getting rid of rats.

Unfortunately rats leave pheromone tracks that other rats may be attracted to. Rats can also reproduce up to ten times a year. Getting rid of rats can become a bit of a struggle! But if you take the preventative measures recommended in this article and be patient, you will get rid of the Rats.

David Stuart
www.gettingridofrats.com

By: David Stuart

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

After lots of research and effort I managed to rid my property of rats. I have created what I hope will be a very useful article for those with rat problems. www.gettingridofrats.com

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