Kingspan Developments Ltd

PEST CONTROL - RATS

Gnawing holes from rats can be about 50mm or more in diameter and have rough edges. They prefer to gnaw on wood, but their teeth are capable of gnawing through thin mild steel and can also damage electrical wiring. If threatened and cornered they will hiss and may jump attack.

Rats can obtain water from toilets, sinks, rain puddles or condensation from utility pipes. Their nesting burrows on the outside can be found along wall foundations, below rockeries and outbuildings. Undisturbed piles of earth or flowerbeds and shrubberies are also popular. Indoor basements, wall cavities, attic spaces and similar undisturbed areas are all possible nesting sites.
They are well known to be active in sewers and it is quite often broken sewer pipes (perhaps by tree roots or building work) that allow rat’s easy access back and forth. Rats will climb if necessary to enter a building; the rat is an excellent swimmer.
Unlike mice which are incontinent, the brown rat has a specific toilet area which it will use again and again. They are also suspicious of changes in the environment or new foods. For this reason it may take several days for traps or poison baits to be taken.
Rats are nocturnal, and peck activity is at dusk or before dawn. When the population is large or they are disturbed or hungry, they can be active during the day.

PEST CONTROL – MICE

A Mouse will eat almost anything, but they prefer cereal grains, seeds or sweet materials. They require very litter water, obtaining most of their water from their food. If there are good living conditions (food, water & shelter), they can multiply rapidly. New borns are sexually mature in 8-12 weeks, producing about 8 litters in one year. Each litter has 4-16 young.

A house mouse in a city environment may spend its entire life in buildings. In rural and suburban settings, it may not only live inside, but be found outside near foundations, in the shrubbery, in weeds, in cellars, in basements and in garages.
They survive well on weeds, seeds and insects, but when their food supply is shortened by the colder months they move inside, nesting closer to the food supply. They make their nest from soft material like paper, insulation, or furniture stuffing. These nests are found in many places including: walls, ceiling voids, storage boxes, drawers, under major appliances, or within upholstery or furniture. Outside nests are found in debris or in ground burrows.
Mice while being “nibblers” eating many times in different places, they do have two main meal times, just before dawn and at dusk they simply “snack” at other times at intervals of every 1-2 hours. They can eat about 10 to 15% of their bodyweight everyday, the adult weighing about 12-30g. Mice also cache food as supply permits.
Mouse droppings, fresh gnawing and tracks indicate areas where mice are active. Mouse nests, made from fine shredded paper or other fibrous materials, are often found in sheltered locations. Removal of foods sources, housekeeping and hygiene, physical exclusion and reducing of the mouse population is what is involved for effective and future prevention.

A house mouse can squeeze through openings the size of the end of a pencil, such as below doors, airbricks, cracks and crevices or below roof tiles.
House mice frequently find their way into homes in the autumn of the year, when outdoor temperatures at night become colder.

PEST CONTROL - COCKROACHES

They can tolerate lower temperatures than other species and can be found outdoors on rubbish heaps etc as well as throughout buildings, especially basements, floor drains, sewers and kitchens. They are nocturnal and omnivorous.
Cockroaches prefer decaying organic matter, but being scavengers will eat anything. Sweets are attractive to the cockroach and they will also feed on starchy items like book bindings, and the back of wall paper.

SPECIALIST CLEANING SERVICES

• Animal & Human Excrement
• Void Properties
• Squatters Clean
• Sharps and syringe removal & disposal
• Dirty house clearance
• Overgrown garden or land clearance

Did you know….?

Cockroaches have been present on earth for around 400 million years. There are currently 4000+ different species, but only a handful are considered to be pests. Some can also live for up to 9 days without their heads!
Feral pigeons (Columba livia) do not have an audible distress call. They have white flashes beneath their wings which they display as a warning to others in the flock.
If living in a cold environment, rats can quickly grow their fur for extra insulation and even lose their tail to save body heat. They can also last longer without water than a camel.
If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, the man could keep up with a race horse. An ant can also carry 20-100 times its own bodyweight depending upon species, and they don’t sleep.
The reproduction cycle of a mouse – from birth, they will take 6 weeks to reach sexual maturity which an average litter size of 6-8 young which can breed themselves 6 weeks later. Mice can also re-breed straight away after giving birth.
A mouse can jump 12 feet straight down without injury, jump up 12 inches vertically and can climb rough vertical walls.
Wasps only live for one season, except for the queen who will hibernate over winter. A single nest can hold around 2000 wasps at the end of its season. Wasp larvae are carnivorous; they eat small insects caught by adult workers who themselves only eat nectar.
Fleas can jump over 150 times their own length – That compares with a human jumping a thousand feet! The female flea can lay 2000 eggs in a lifetime and she can consume 15 times her own bodyweight in blood during one feed. An adult female flea cannot lay eggs until her first blood meal. Their average life span undisturbed and without blood feed is 2-3 months.