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Anyone who has had a rodent infestation in their home can attest to how difficult it is to get rid of these critters and keep them away.  Once rats or mice have made themselves comfortable in your house they will keep coming back despite your best efforts and trapping and killing them.  This is because getting rid of the pests is only half the answer.  The other half involves prevention and it requires an entirely different set of tools.

You’ll want to begin by thoroughly inspecting your entire property, inside and out.  Look for signs of rodents such as droppings or gnawing marks.  Even if there are no rodents currently in your home, these clues can show you where trouble areas might be.

As you look around the perimeter of your house, check for any gaps that are bigger than half an inch.  There are foam fillers or wire mesh that can be easily cut and fit into place.  For larger holes, you might want to use sheet metal or other durable materials.  Additionally, look for old or damaged weather stripping around windows and doors.

Your roof should be clear of any tree branches, which can be used as easy pathways for rodents to get into your home.  The roof itself should be completely secure, including all shingles, vents and the chimney.  Also, any appliance vents or pipes should be equally sealed off.

After making sure that all entry points have been eliminated, be sure that there is no ready source of food or water available to them.  That means keeping pet food inside at night and removing bird feeders or other wild animal feeders.  You’ll want to get locking trash can lids, keeping food in your pantry and cupboards sealed up.

Finally, clean up any existing droppings or other leavings that may attract future rodents.  Use bleach to clean the areas where you find evidence of mice or rats, and around the entry points even if they are sealed off.  The bleach will kill any existing scent that previous rodents have left and act as a deterrent for others.

Rodent infestations are frustrating and difficult to manage, but by focusing as much on prevention as on elimination you’ll be able to solve your rodent problem once and for all.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com.

Squirrels are cute and fun to watch at the park, but when they decide to make themselves at home on your property the story changes.  Suddenly they are pests.

Most squirrels spend their time in the trees where they build their nests; however, they will come to the ground to look for food.  When looking for food, squirrels rely heavily on their sense of smell.  They tend to be more active gathering food in the evening hours, searching for tree buds, fruit, berries, nuts and seeds of all kinds.  During warm months they gather as much as they can to store away and will live off of it during the winter.

While it is a good idea to let wild animals be whenever you can, squirrels can cause damage which makes it impossible to ignore them.  When they build their nests they can damage the wires, siding and shingles of your home if they decide to build within your house’s structure.   They can damage your bird feeders and garden plants as they forage and bury their food.  They also spend a lot of time running across electrical wires and can cause shortages.  You may even find yourself pulling your hair out because you can hear them running in the attic or through walls while you’re trying to sleep.

How can you get rid of squirrels that are causing you trouble?  The first thing you can do is get rid of any food sources that might keep them coming back for more.  This includes bird feeders and pet food.  If you have a garden, you may also want to cover the plants with wire cages to keep the squirrels from digging through and stealing your produce.  You can also prevent them from getting inside your house by trimming trees and bushes that brush up against the structure, and sealing up any entry points that they could use to get in to your attic or walls.

Finally, if you simply can’t get rid of squirrels or if they’ve made a nest in a hard to reach place, you can trap them with humane traps or call a professional pest control service to remove them for you.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com

Ticks belong to the arachnid family, similar to scorpions and spiders.  They wait in nature for host animals to come by and then they attach themselves to a discreet, well covered area such as the scalp (under the hair).   They are blood suckers which attach themselves to a host and feed for extended periods of time.  Because of this they are also known carriers for infectious diseases. 

There are several kinds of ticks found in the U.S. but they are all fairly similar looking.  They may range in size from 1/16-1/4 inch and in color from black to a deep reddish-brown.  When they have attached to a host, they burrow slightly into the skin attaching themselves with barbed jaws which makes it impossible to simply pick them off.   If you attempt to remove a tick incorrectly the body may detach leaving the head in the skin which can cause a serious infection.

If you go into wooded areas, you want to wear protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts and pants; especially hats or head coverings.  You may also want to use insect repellants, but be sure to follow instructions for applying them when you do.  Try to stay away from areas that have lots of overgrowth that can brush against you as you walk.  For as long as you’re outdoors, you’ll want to periodically check yourself and your children.  Remember that ticks are very slow feeders and may not transmit any disease until they’ve been attached for several hours.  That means you have a chance to identify and remove them before they have a chance to infect you.

If you have been bitten by a tick, you’ll want to remove it by using tweezers to grasp it’s body firmly as close to your skin as possible, and pull it straight out.  You can also save it to take to the doctor if you develop any fever or start feeling ill.

For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com

Spiders get a bad rap mostly because they are scary looking.  Movies and urban legends have only increased the public fear of these mostly harmless creatures.  In fact, spiders are fascinating and mostly helpful because they eat other much more annoying and harmful insects.  You probably don’t want to call a pest control company to get rid of harmless spiders in your yard, unless there seems to be some kind of infestation.

However, there are some spiders which are actually quite harmful.  In fact, the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider are both highly poisonous and can cause serious nerve damage and even death in small animals if they bite.  The black widow spider is about a half inch long and is totally black except for a bright red hourglass patter on her abdomen.  (Only the female black widow spider is actually dangerous.)  The Brown Recluse spider is also about a half inch long, is brown, and has a violin shaped mark on its middle section.

If you suspect that you or you or someone else in your family has been bitten by a poisonous spider, call for emergency help immediately.  If at all possible, take the spider remains with you so that the doctor can examine it and determine what kind of action is needed.

For the most part, spiders are shy and even these poisonous types will hide in places where people tend not to be.  You may not even run across them except on rare occasions when cleaning out the garage.  Unless they’re bothering you it might be worth your while to leave them be, but if you have young children or curious pets you have every reason to be concerned.

You can attempt to get rid of them by removing their webs and keeping your house clean even in the seldom used areas.  Regular, thorough sweeping, vacuuming and dusting will remove any residual nests.  Make sure your outdoor areas are also kept clean and clutter free.  If you have shrubbery, keep it trimmed as well.  Of course, you can always call a professional pest control service to help you get rid of spiders if you are too squeamish.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com

There are hundreds of different types of pests for which you may need to call a pest control service:  insects, rodents, snakes, spiders or anything else that moves into your home uninvited and takes over (although not necessarily your mother-in-law).  While pests are generally creepy and un-cuddly, the reason the homeowners are so keen to get rid of pests is the damages these critters can cause.

The first kind of damage pests can cause is financial.  The costs associated with pest damage to your property can end up in the thousands of dollars when it comes to termites.  Other pests may not affect the structural integrity of your home, but cause serious aesthetic damage that will affect the resale value.  In fact, every kind of pest does its own economic damage that far exceeds the costs of regular pest control. 

The second type of damage done by pests is medical, or damages to health.  At the very least they can make your living area unsanitary, but many pests also carry diseases some of which can result in serious, life-threatening illness.  As if medical problems were not enough, the sad truth is that this also results in economic damage because of the high costs associated with health care and lost work that can result when you are recovering from illness.

Each year there are millions of dollars of damages done by pests, affecting personal homes and businesses across America.  Even if you’re willing to put up with the nuisance, you must consider whether the damages to your property are worth forgoing pest control services.  After all, for a nominal fee you can have a professional pest control company customize a pest control program to treat current pest problems, and help protect your family and your property from future infestations.

For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com

Raccoons are highly intelligent, funny looking, and extremely pesky critters that have a knack for making a mess on your property.  Once they find a source of food at your house they’ll be back regularly to forage.  Unless you enjoy waking up to garbage strewn all over, dead birds, or raccoon droppings on your front lawn; you may want to find a way to control them.  The other concern is that raccoons are wild animals and they may carry infectious diseases, including rabies, which can be a risk to your family or pets.

Some people have tried scaring them off by startling them with loud noises, motion detector lights and water sprayers, or similar tricks.  Unfortunately, these are just a temporary fix.  Eventually the raccoons find a way around them.  Using poisons or pesticides is not a humane way to get rid of raccoons either, and you may end up simply injuring them rather than killing them as you intended.

So how do you get rid of raccoons?  In this case, prevention is the key.  As mentioned before, if they find an easy source of food they will consider it home.  That means you need to seal up your garbage cans or dumpsters tightly.  Remember, raccoons are very intelligent and they have opposable thumbs.  That means they have the ability to open latches or remove loose lids.  Your trash receptacles should therefore be locked down.  It also should go without saying that you don’t want to actively feed them yourself.  They are cute, but encouraging them is just going to get you invaded by a raccoon army.  If you have outdoor pets, you won’t be able to leave their food and water out all night, either.

To prevent raccoons from getting inside your house, be sure to seal off any possible openings.  Even though raccoons are slightly larger than the average house cat, they can fit into small spaces including chimneys, vents, and open seams along baseboards or roofs.  You may need to do some minor, low-cost repairs to your home exterior to ensure you have sealed it off completely.

However, if your problem is not getting better despite all your efforts, you may consider using humane traps to capture the animals without harming them.  You can always contact your local wildlife department and ask them what they recommend for trapping and disposing of pesky raccoons.

For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com