- Author: Elaine Lander
Spring has arrived and with many Californians at home due to local coronavirus directives, now could be an opportune time for some spring cleaning. This annual ritual also has the benefit of preventing and reducing indoor pests.
Cleaning and decluttering removes access to food, water, and shelter for pests such as ants, cockroaches, pantry pests, mice, and
- Author: Niamh Quinn
- Posted by: Elaine Lander
Trapping is the safest and most effective method for controlling rats and mice in and around homes, garages, and other structures. Rodents that live in close association with humans are called commensal rodents. Rats and mice are the most frequently encountered commensal rodents in California.
Selecting the correct trap
Before trapping, make sure you know what rodent pest you have. It is a very common mistake to select the wrong size trap when you have not yet determined whether you have mice or rats (and the correctly identified rat species).
You will not catch a rat with a mouse trap, and you will not catch a mouse with a rat trap. To determine...
/h2>- Author: Niamh Quinn
[From the Winter 2017 issue of the UC IPM Green Bulletin]
Rodenticides are essential tools in the IPM toolbox for rodent management. Exclusion and cultural practices, such as landscape management and sanitation, are also very important tools that should be considered when managing rodent populations. However, persistent and chronic infestations often require the use of rodenticides.
Rats (Fig. 1) and mice are vectors of disease such as plague, leptospirosis, and salmonellosis. Commensal rodents are also associated with the onset of...
/span>Most of us have clutter we've hidden away in closets, drawers, garages, or in other storage space. Although you may not have the time or energy to go through these excess “stuff” and cluttered areas, we have an incentive for you: pest reduction and prevention.
Consider the following pests when thinking whether you should reduce clutter and get rid of unneeded items in your house:
Cockroaches may come into contact with human and pet excrement and can transmit bacteria to food. They prefer to hide in warm, moist environments. The German cockroach female is capable of laying over 30,000 eggs per year,...
[From the May 2017 issue of the UC IPM Retail Newsletter]
Keeping backyard chickens is becoming increasingly popular in residential areas around California. Your store may be selling pre-made chicken coops, feed, or other accessories, or you may be getting questions about rodent pests in chicken houses.
Chicken coops are sometimes associated with mild to serious rodent infestations. Rodents, such as rats and house mice, are not only predators of chickens and eggs, they can carry and transmit many diseases to both chickens and humans. For rodents, as well as most pests in and around the home and garden,...
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