- Beacon Pest and Wildlife Control | Safe. Effective. Eco-Friendly
- info@beaconpest.ca Ancaster, Ontario
Unless you are a professional, identifying a mysterious pest invader can be a tricky situation – and finding out where they are hiding can be even more difficult. If you are ready to investigate your mysterious houseguests, there are some simple tips that you can use to figure out what is living in your home. Knowing what you are dealing with is the first step toward fixing the problem. Don’t want to play pest detective? A pest control in Hamilton technician can get to the bottom of your infestation for you.
Type: Carpenter Ants
When the weather begin to warm up in the spring, carpenter ants begin to make their move. During the fall and winter they fall in to a state of hibernation, called diapause, only to emerge in the spring ready to mate and forage. Carpenter ants like to build their nests in areas where moisture is present, like side walls, around window frames, and in piles of wood or other debris. While carpenter ants don’t eat wood, they can potentially cause damage to the wood structure of your home. They are distinguishable from more common pavement ants by their size; carpenter ants can grow up to 13mm where the average pavement ant is only 3.5mm.
Type: Rats
Rats are nocturnal, so identifying an infestation by catching them in the act may be challenging. Rats like to nest in attics, walls, basements, inside sheds, or even burrowed under building structures. Rat and mice infestations are often confused. One sure way to tell the difference is their size and their tails; rats are significantly larger than mice, measuring up to 18 inches, and have thick, hairless tails. Mice are smaller, usually around 7.5 inches, and have thinner, furry tails. However, since they don’t often come out when people are around, or during the day, it can be hard to identify them this way. The easiest way to identify a rat infestation is by the droppings left behind. Rat dropping are approximately 10mm with blunt ends. Mice droppings, on the other hand are much smaller, with pointed ends.
Type: Raccoons
Racoons may look cute if you ever see one scampering across your lawn, however looks can be deceiving – racoons can actually be quite aggressive. Like many other animals, racoons like to nest in attics and tend to come out more at night than during the day. If you have been hearing noises coming from the attic or roof, and are frequently waking up to disturbed trash bins, you might have a racoon infestation on your hands. Squirrels are another frequent attic visitor, but here are a few simple ways to tell if you are dealing with squirrels or racoons. Often the size of the access area can determine who has been getting onto your home, racoons are larger than squirrels and therefore cause more damage and make larger holes. Nesting materials are another way to tell what type of wildlife you are dealing with; racoons bring in lots of outside debris, such as twigs, leaves, and even torn up bits of cloth and insulation.
These types of infestations usually require professional intervention. Pest control in Hamilton can get the uninvited pests out of your home for good.