Pests come in all shapes and sizes. Some are uglier and more unsettling than others. Where some pests can harm you and/or be destructive to your home or business, most can bring unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. When it comes to pests, they can simply be a nuisance or a real problem. But many people simply do not understand how their premises become infested in the first place. There are several reasons as to why your home or business has now unwelcomed residents, and today, we at Rentokil would like to briefly expound on the matter.

How Do Bugs & Pests Get in Your Home or Business?

1) Pests are brought in accidentally. Most people do not realize they are responsible for the infestation. You or your pet might inadvertently bring pests inside. Some are brought in through packages, second-hand items, or directly on your person or possessions. Cockroaches can easily be brought in via packages and second-hand items, and so on. The best preventative measure is thoroughly inspecting your luggage after a trip before unpacking and checking any second-hand items thoroughly before you bring them inside your home. Do not forget to check cardboard boxes as well.
2) Pests wander in. Pests are opportunists and take advantage whenever possible. There are quite a few pests whose natural habitats are right outside on your trees, bushes, and grass. When the vegetation is growing and makes contact with the roof, vent, or window, these pests will simply wander inside and enjoy the easier lifestyle your home or business provides. If their needs are met, food, water, and climate conditions, they will stick around. Also, open doors and windows are very welcoming to pests looking to escape harsher living conditions, predators, or even when they need food or water. To avoid this occurrence, keep firewood stacked away from the house, maintain the foliage and ensure it does not encroach on your house, and ensure screens are closed over open doors and windows.
3) Pests come in looking for food and water. Most pests will eat the scraps left behind from humans. Leaving food out on the countertops, piled up on dirty dishes in the sink, or even in open garbage cans can attract quite a few pests. Make certain food is secure in airtight containers, you are diligent with housekeeping, and your indoor and outdoor garbage cans are tightly secured with lids and you wash them out monthly with hot soapy water.

Professional Pest Management

These are the basic reasons as to why many homes and business are stricken with pests. On top of your preventative maintenance and care, you can avoid heavy infestations with routine pest control maintenance services. Professionals will customize your pest control needs and help you avoid pest infestations as well as eliminate them if they occur. Call Rentokil today to combat existing pest infestations or prevent them from occurring again!

When we find ourselves in the thick of winter, there are still some pests that you will have to continue to battle even more now that temperatures are subzero. Mice are going to start looking for a place to keep warm throughout the winter, and the last place you want that to be in your home. Rentokil is here to share some tips to help you keep mice out of your home this winter.

Mouse & Rodent Proof Food Storage Containers

Food is something that mice are searching for in the winter with their food sources much more difficult to find as the snowfalls. Your food should be stored in airtight containers to avoid a mouse infestation. This is especially true for areas like basements and storage rooms. These dark places are often a good place for mice to build their nests. Not only do you need to worry about your food, but mice will be attracted to pet food as well. Store your dog or cat food in a plastic container with a lid since mice will chew their way through the bags pet food comes in.

Store Firewood Outside & off the Ground to Avoid Mice

A nicely stacked pile of firewood is the perfect place for a mouse nest. If you store your firewood off the ground at least 18 inches, it will greatly decrease the number of mice you find in it during the winter. You should also avoid storing your firewood near any of the entrances into your home to avoid easy access into your home.

Seal Mice Holes & Entry Points

It is important to give your home a thorough inspection for any places that a mouse can gain entry into your home. You may not realize this, but a mouse can squeeze its way through a hole the size of a dime. If you have any holes or cracks in your home, they should be repaired as soon as possible to avoid a mouse problem.

Remove Clutter as Mice like Messy Rooms

Is your garage full of boxes and other clutter? You may want to start organizing things and getting rid of any clutter that you don’t need. Mice will make their nests in these places as long as you let them. You should always keep basements and crawl spaces neat and tidy as well to avoid a mouse problem.

Maintain Landscaping to Keep Mice out of Garden

If you haven’t cleaned up the fallen leaves in your yard and the bushes are overgrown on your property, consider cleaning them up a bit to avoid mice. These areas offer mice a nice place to shelter themselves from any storms that could come their way during the winter.

Rodent Control

If you have a mouse problem this winter, it is important that you act quickly before they take over your home. The pest specialists at Rentokil have the experience and resources to rid your home of any mouse problem you may have. Call us today!

Idaho is home to four main species of cockroaches: German, American, Oriental and brown-banded. Oriental cockroaches are very hardy and can deal with the cold temperatures better than other species of cockroaches. When it gets too cold outside, they will come inside. If cockroaches have food, water, and a humid environment to live in, they will easily live throughout the cold winter season. The Oriental cockroach is also known as the water bug or black beetle. It is a large roach measuring an inch long. They are dark brown in color and their bodies are glossy. The females have a wider body, while the males are narrower. The males also have wings that are more developed. They can live for a month without food, but without water, they will die within two weeks.

Are Cockroaches Dangerous?

Cockroaches can be dangerous because they travel through filthy places and live and eat in filthy conditions. The filth they collect from sewers, bathrooms, garbage disposals, kitchens, bathrooms, and other outdoor areas is what makes them dangerous. They will spread this filth to supplies of food, preparation surfaces, utensils, dishes, and other surfaces. Cockroaches contaminate far more food than they are able to eat. Cockroaches carry disease-producing organisms like bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. These are carried on their legs and bodies and leave them behind as they crawl through our home. Cockroaches can also cause allergic responses through excrement and shed skin as it contains allergens that can cause skin rashes, congestion, watery eyes, sneezing, and asthma.

Cockroach Prevention

Cockroaches can make you and your family very sick. Good sanitation and reducing places for them to live are key to keeping them out of your home. You will also need to make sure your home is clean and dry by fixing water leaks. Sealing any opening they will use to get in. These include gaps under doors and siding, around pipes, drains or sewers. Keep rotting leaves and other debris out of your yard to reduce places for them to hide. Because cockroaches love trash so much it’s important to keep trash cans sealed tightly. As soon as you suspect you have a roach problem you can use baits. Baits can be effective for smaller infestations, but professionals are highly recommended to deal with a cockroach infestation of any size.

Signs of a Heavy Oriental Roach Infestation

There is no magic number for how many cockroaches mean an infestation but a strong odor will be your first indication. Oriental cockroaches are often identified by the very powerful, musty, foul-smelling odor they emit. Seeing them during the day is a bad sign because it indicates a large infestation. You may notice coffee grind-like feces found under sinks, in drawers, and in cabinets. You may also see dark brown or reddish egg capsules.

Cockroach Control

Because cockroaches are so adaptable, they have successfully adjusted to living with humans. They breed very quickly and can become very difficult to control on your own. The best way to deal with cockroaches is to pick up the phone and contact professional pest control. Contact Rentokil today!

The trees on your property do much more than provide you with needed shade all summer long. They add beauty to your yard and increase the value of your home. As the snowy months approach us, Rentokil is here to share some tips to help you prepare your trees for the onslaught of snow we might be facing this winter.

Prune Tree Branches for Winter

The dead branches found in your tree should always be removed at the beginning of summer. Your tree should be well-pruned for their species. Now is a good time to evaluate your tree for any branches that may cause problems for walkways or your home. If there are any problem areas, this is a good time to prune them back.

Apply Mulch Around Trees

When the ground gets cold and warm repeatedly, it can cause the soil to expand and contract. This can mean problems for your tree’s root system. To solve it, place 2-3 inches of mulch around the base of your tree. This shouldn’t be right up against the trunk, because your tree needs to be able to breathe. When you are done, the mulch should be applied in a volcano shape. This mulch may have to be reapplied as the winter trudges on.

Wrap Tree Trunks

This trick is especially helpful when you have a young tree. To avoid sunscald, which is an injury caused by fluctuating winter temperatures, you need to wrap young trunks with a light-colored crepe paper-like material to keep the trunk safe. Wrap just up to the bottom of the branches. This can also help to keep hungry critters from snacking on your tree throughout the winter months as well.

Best Ice Melt for Trees; Potassium, Magnesium Chloride or Calcium

Many ice melts can cause serious damage to your landscaping. It is no different when it comes to your trees. When you are choosing the ice melts you are going to use for your home, choose those that contain potassium, magnesium chloride or calcium. Normal rock salt will interfere with the plants’ natural ability to absorb water, oxygen and other necessary nutrients.

Remove Excess Snow on Tree Branches

In the case that a particularly heavy snowstorm does hit, be aware of the amount of snow found on the branches of your tree. Especially as the leaves start to bud in the spring and a late snowstorm hits. You will want to remove any excessive snow that is burdening the limbs of your tree by gently shaking the branch to remove it.

Keep Squirrels, Raccoons & Other Critters Away

Many food sources are limited for small critters on your property during the winter. You may need to invest in wire mesh to wrap around the bottom of your trees to help keep critters from stealing a snack from your tree and causing damage.

Tree & Shrub Care

If you don’t have the time and tools needed to get your trees ready for the snow, you can count on Rentokil to do it for you. Call us today!

Almost all spiders have venom, but most are too weak to do any harm. Though most spiders are relatively harmless to people, there are several spiders in Utah that are dangerous. Particularly a risk for young, elderly, or those who have a compromised immune system; black widows, hobo and wolf spiders have dangerous bites. Because it is important to understand the characteristics of these three common dangerous spiders, we at Rentokil have elaborated on the fundamentals.

Black Widow Spider Bite

Considered the most venomous spider in Utah and notorious across North America, the black widow spider is known for its distinctive appearance. Females feature a red hourglass shape on their underside and are about a half an inch long, with shiny black coloring a large globular abdomen. Females are the biters and deliver hazardous venom with them. Black widows are actually docile and will only bite protecting their eggs or if they get disturbed. The males are half the size of the females and are often eaten after mating. Black widows are more reclusive in nature, sticking to dark corners and crevices especially in garages, sheds, or other areas on or near the exterior of a home and are more active at night. The venom in their bites will have symptoms manifest in the first 20 minutes where the victim experiences local pain in the area of the bite. From there, weakness, tremor, as well as possible stiffness, cramps and spasms, abdominal pain, chest pain, chills, difficulty breathing, nausea, dizziness, fever and/or an increase in blood pressure and heart rate will develop. Where there is not an anti-venom for this, you need medical attention to treat the symptoms.

Hobo Spider Bite

Common in Utah, hobo spiders are part of the funnel-web spider family. They make funnel or cone-shaped, non-sticky webs and feature long legs. They do not exceed 2 inches long, but their sizes vary. They have a brown cephalothorax and darker brown markings. Grey abdomens with yellow markings are present but it can be difficult to spot without magnification. They are often confused with other spiders because of their generic appearance at first glance. Though hobo spiders are not climbers, they are very fast. They tend to keep to ground level and are frequently found in fields, around the brush, woodpiles, rock piles, foundation gaps, or other areas means of shelter. Inside homes, hobo spiders are commonly found in dark basements, hidden in window wells and sills, between objects, or in other protected and undisturbed areas. Depending on whether the bite is dry or wet dictates the severity of the bite. Dry means there was no released venom and the bite is not serious. Wet bites will immediately turn red that go away in a few hours. However, after a day or two, the blister breaks and the puncture develop into open, oozing ulceration. An erupting lesion that varies from pea size to larger than a half dollar or even a flesh hole that potentially leads to dead tissue will result if the bite is severe and untreated.

Wolf Spider Bite

Wolf spiders are commonly confused with tarantulas. These spiders can be dangerous. Dark brown and robust spiders, have eight eyes arranged in three rows; two large eyes on the middle row and two medium ones on the top of the head along with four small ones on the bottom row. Their size varies depending on sex and species, but generally, males are smaller than females. Fang marks are left after a bite and even skin tearing. Lasting up to 10 days, only redness, swelling and pain develops. Lymph glands may also swell.

Spider Control

No matter what type of spider species or other pests have come into your home, call Rentokil to remove them!

We all have had to deal with pests possibly even some kind of pest infestation at some point in our lives, roaches, ants, spiders, and so on, is among the most common. There are many pests that continue to be a nuisance throughout the winter. These pests frequently come inside homes and businesses to escape the colder temperatures and look for food as it becomes scarce. Where you can help significantly keep these pests out, you can’t completely prevent pests and they will inadvertently be brought in. With that in mind, today, we at Rentokil would like to share some tips on how you can help minimize pest populations.

Home Sealing & Interior Pest Prevention

Remove Pest Nesting Sites – If they come inside, most pests will look for food, water, and a place to nest, if there is nothing to find they move on. Remove attractive nesting grounds by decluttering your home. Avoid letting anything in your house pile up. Organize books, fabrics and clear out outdated magazines, mail, and catalogs. Pests can find harborage under and in clutter.
Secure Food from Pests – Your food, including pet food needs to be secure. Remove any clutter, expired food, and debris as you go through the cabinets, pantry, and bread drawers. They can easily get into poorly packaged food such as paper, flimsy plastic, and cardboard as well as easily get to the leftover crumbs left behind. Transfer these foods into pest-safe secure air-tight containers as well as all pet food.
Seal Your Home from Pests – Use dehumidifiers and repair any leaks from faucets, appliances, and pipes as soon as possible to remove the water source and moist conditions pests prefer and/or require. Install weather stripping and caulk as applicable after inspecting for gaps around the windows and doors. Once a week take the trash out or sooner as needed, ensure to always use a liner and once a month, wash them inside and out with hot soapy water. Keep a clean home and high sanitation by cleaning up after every meal and snack, avoid letting piled up dishes sit in the sink for too long, wipe down the counters and once a day, sweep the floors.

House Perimeter & Exterior Pest Prevention

Sealing Home from Pests – You need to thoroughly inspect the structure from the foundation to the roof and everything in between. For insects and wildlife to get inside your home, it does not require a lot of space. Bugs and rodents can slip through cracks and openings. For example, a mouse only needs a dime-size hole and a rat needs a quarter-size hole to slip inside. Seal the home as best as possible.
Maintain Landscape – The natural habitat for many pests is foliage and when it gets too close to your house, it invites the pests in. Minimize the visitation around your home by pruning the trees, trimming the plant life, pull the weeds, and cutting the grass. To avoid offering pests harborage, also remove the clutter including lumber, or building materials, toss the yard clippings. Anything you keep, store away from the house and toss the waste.
Other Tips to Prevent Pests in Your Yard – Avoid leaving pet food available 24/7, repair any leaks or inefficient gutters and downspouts to reduce the water supply.

Year-Round Pest Management

We at Rentokil are readily available to offer pest control management to contribute to minimize the pests from getting inside and to help you eliminate any infestations. Give us a call today to get started!

With the temperatures dropping you can begin to see certain little critter invading your home. One of the most common rodent invaders in Utah is the Norway Rat. Norway Rats are found all throughout America and throughout the state of Utah. These rodents will invade homes to seek shelter from colder temperatures that provide a reliable food or water supply. Rentokil will share more about Norway Rats and how you can keep them out of your home this fall and winter.

Norway Rats Invasive Species Identification

Norway Rats are believed to have originated from Asia and eventually spread throughout the world. Norway Rats can be found almost anywhere. Norway Rats are easily identified with either their short brown fur or peppered black fur, and white to the yellowish colored underbelly. For a rat, Norway Rats have a shorter tail and smaller eyes and ears than their cousins. They have a heavier body shape and a blunt nose.

Norway Rat Burrows

Norway Rats are nocturnal which makes it difficult to detect their presence in the beginning. They will begin to invade homes and other human structures during the fall and completely infest them by winter if left unchecked. Before they invade homes, they will dig burrows outside and within social groups. When one begins to invade a home, more will be following due to the social nature of Norway Rats.

Norway Rat Rodent Damage

Norway Rats have the habit of gnawing on plastic pipes, electrical wiring, insulation, and even drywall. When Norway Rats invade homes they will often make their nests in attics or in basements. Additionally, they will scavenge for food at night and will contaminate pantry goods.

Norway Rat Diseases

Norway Rats are well known for the diseases they carry which include jaundice, plague, rat-bite fever, trichinosis, cowpox virus, and salmonellosis. They can also bring inside fleas and other parasites into the home and infect pets as well as humans. Due to their destructive nature along with the potential health threats that Norway Rats can cause, they should never be tolerated.

How to Get Rid of Norway Rats

Preventing Norway Rats can be difficult, especially if they have already begun invading an area. To help stop and prevent an infestation, make sure to seal your home. Start by covering the attic vent and dryer vent with a wiring mesh, one that allows efficient airflow but won’t allow rodents inside your home. If your home has a chimney, cover it as well with metal wiring mesh. Next, inspect your home’s windows and exterior doors. Look for gaps around the framing and weather stripping. Replace weather stripping or fill in the gaps. Many people will suggest using silicone caulking glue. It will keep insects and bugs out. However, rodents can eventually chew through the glue. To stop rodents use a concrete quick mix to seal the holes or large gaps around the outside of your home. As large as rats are they can still squeeze through a gap the size of a quarter.

Rodent Control

For further assistance, consider contacting a pest control service like Rentokil. We know Norway rats and are much better equipped at dealing with this pest. If you have a rat or pest problem this fall or winter season, contact Rentokil for all of your pest control needs.

Pest problems are rampant in student housing and college students frequently experience issues with pests in their dorm rooms. Crumbs from snacks eaten and stored in dorms attract pests, as do piles of trash that don’t get taken out right away. Not to mention all the clutter that gives pests lots of places to hide. Dorm rooms may also not be sealed properly with broken screens and gaps under doors. Rentokil will now go over some of the ways to keep pests away.

Tips to Keep Bugs, Roaches, Spiders, Mice & Other Pests Out of Your Dorm Room

1. Put food away to deter pests. Pests are drawn to food. Leaving leftovers out only tempts them. Put food away and make sure it’s all sealed properly. This rule applies to other pantry food too such as cereal, chips, pretzels, etc. Store these food items in tightly sealed containers to reduce the chance you’ll invite pests in.
2. Minimize clutter to remove pest hiding places. Pests love clutter. College life means you’re on your own as far as how neat your room will be. Stacks of paper and growing piles of junk everywhere will give pests a place to hide. Keeping your room free of clutter will have you more productive and free of pests.
3. Clean dishes to prevent pests. Dishes should be washed and dried. Dirty dishes in the sink have bits of food on them and even if you rinse them off and plan to do it in the morning, those minuscule pieces of food are just what pests are looking for. Rinsed dishes also provide moisture that attracts cockroaches.
4. Eliminate standing water. Pests love moisture. Cockroaches will look for places that are dark warm and moist. Silverfish are also attracted to moisture and flies and gnats can be found around pipes with condensation. If the moisture in your room attracts just one pair of mice, you can have more than 15,000 offspring in just 12 months!
5. Vacuum & dust to deter pests. Pests can be prevented when you vacuum and dust regularly. Doing so removes crumbs, insect eggs, webs along with other items pests need to survive. Plus, a clean dorm room makes it easier to spot pests.
6. Prevent pests by taking the trash out. You took out the trash regularly when you lived at home and you need to do it at school too. A full trash can is unsightly, smelly and an attraction for pests. The smell of food and possible sources of water are just too tempting. Use a trash can with a tight-fitting lid and empty it sooner than needed if it’s smelly. Wipe the trash can out if it gets sticky from spills.
7. Seal openings so eliminate pest entry points. Pests will get inside through cracks, crevices and tears or holes in screens. Ignoring these openings is like giving pests a wide-open door. Mice only need the hole to be the size of a dime to get inside, rats, the size of a quarter.
8. Hang wet clothing. Again, pests like moisture. Tossing wet clothes or towels on the floor is not a good idea. These items need to be hung up to remove moisture in the room. Placing wet clothes and towels in the hamper only invites mold to start growing.

Pest Management

Contact your resident advisor as soon as you suspect you’re dealing with any pest. Rentokil is knowledgeable on all the pests that infest dorm rooms. Give us a call today to get rid of pests in your student housing!

The spring and summer weather is a great time of year for your lawn and garden to flourish and look it’s very best. The temperatures outside are ideal for plants to grow and do well. Now that the weather is changing and the colder temperatures will soon be here, there are preparations that have to be done in order to set yourself up for the next year. If you just ignore the garden in these cold months you will have to potentially start all over in the spring. The ground and the plants that are left over will be in bad shape and end up taking a lot of time and effort to get back. Make sure that you take some time to go through your garden or have a lawn care company out to prepare it for the cooler weather.

Rentokil Outlines Steps to Save Your Garden in Cooler Temperatures

Start with Yard Clean Up: The first thing that you need to do when you are preparing your garden for the cold is to get cleaning. You want to go around the yard, lawn, and garden and pick up any debris that you can find. This will be any plants that have died, fruits that have fallen from a tree or vegetables that you are not planning to use. Don’t toss them in a trash can because they are great for your compost pile. They can be used later to increase the nutrients to your lawn and garden when the time comes. You also need to go around and look into the plants and other debris that have some form of mold or disease. These are the parts that you want to throw out and not put in the compost. If you do, the whole compost will be bad.
Use Cover Crops: Many commercial farms will use what is called plant cover. There is a great way to protect the ground and have it ready for the next season. You can use it at your home in the areas that you know plants will not do well in the cold. This will prevent weeds from growing and will protect the soil from the upcoming weather. Talk to a professional about what plants are best to cover during the winter.
Use Your Compost in Garden: Now is a great time to use the compost that you have been saving up! The compost is great to lay over the soil for several reasons. The compost will start to enrich the soil so that it is perfect when planting season begins. It can also help to protect your soil and other remaining plants.

Lawn Care Services

If you are concerned about your remaining plants and trees during the winter it is best to ask a professional. And when our harsh winter is over, call Rentokil to help your lawn recover quickly before the summer heat sets in. We are available to meet all your lawn and yard care needs including lawn fertilization, weed control, aeration, and insect control.

The natural nesting site for carpenter ants is in trees, but they will come into our homes as well. Carpenter ants are more active in late fall and early spring, but they can be a nuisance at any time of the year. Carpenter ants are larger ants. The most common ones you’ll find are ¼-3/8 inch-long with a black abdomen and reddish-brown head and thorax. They may be totally black in winged form. Queens are slightly bigger than workers, with workers varying in size. These ants also have a pinched waist and antennae that are elbowed.

Carpenter Ant Damage

Carpenter ants do not eat wood but will hollow out sections of wood to create “galleries” that they will move through. This makes them less destructive than termites, but they can cause minor damage to isolated pieces of wood. They prefer wood that is dead and damp and can easily infest wooden infrastructure. When left untreated carpenter ant infestations can become very severe. They will even build additional nests causing more damage. Because they are classified as wood-destroying insects, they can be reported on real estate transactions and can have an impact on the resale value of a home.

Signs of Carpenter Ants in House

There are tell-tale signs to alert you that you’re dealing with carpenter ants. The inner walls and wood that is already damaged are prime targets. Remember that carpenter ants don’t eat the wood, but you will notice small piles of wood shavings in areas that are infested with carpenter ants. It looks like sawdust and is also called frass. If you find frass in your home, you most likely have carpenter ants. Another indication you have carpenter ants is if you can hear them. Tap the wall where you suspect a nest may be located. The tapping will disturb them, and you might hear a faint, rustling sound. Walls near door or window frames are favored by carpenter ants along with walls that house plumbing like kitchens or bathrooms. The easiest way to realize you have a problem is to spot worker ants. This will also make it easier to locate the nest, but it’s not always a sure bet. You might just have found some of them looking for food and water. Carpenter ants are more active when it’s dark so use a flashlight in the morning or evening to find them and try to find the nest. All ants will travel from far to look for food, this means it may take you some time to track them back to their nest. An ant in your kitchen could have come from the attic or farther. Positive identification is important when it comes to ants. This is the best way to get rid of them as quickly as possible otherwise you’ll be spending money on baits and insecticides that aren’t effective.

Ant Infestation Control

Just like any other household pest, carpenter ants can make a homeowner crazy. It’s bad enough to find them trailing through your kitchen, the last thing you need is a nest in your home. Carpenter ants need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Contact Rentokil today to begin an effective, customized treatment plan!