Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Michael Stewart
Hello, and welcome again to the Faith Pest Control podcast here. I’m Mike Stewart, your host, and we have pest expert Fred Talley, who’s the pest expert in Jasper, Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Big Canoe, and Ball Ground, Georgia, really all of North Georgia. Are you ready to tell us today about rats and mice and the problem they cause in North Georgia, Fred? Are you here?
Fred Talley
I’m here, Mikey.
Michael Stewart
Will you tell us all about it? Here’s the three questions I have for you, and I want you to answer because you are the pest expert in North Georgia. Number one, are rats and mice a big problem? Are they big problem all year long? And what kind of problems they cause in people’s homes? And what does Faith Pest Control do to get rid of rats, mice, and rodents?
Fred Talley
Wow, rats are a problem. Pretty much you’re around them in this part of the country and they are more problematic during season change. We get calls, probably weekly throughout the year, for rodents. They’re very difficult to keep out of outside of structures, simply because they’re such a small animal, and they can squeeze through very small openings. I guess the most common rodent that we deal with is the house mouse. Part of the problems they carry in for homeowners is they carry diseases; and they can contaminate the food that you store in your home. They can spread salmonella. And some children, because rodents are constantly defecating and urinating as they move along, the urine droplets can be allergic to some children in the dust actually off the fecal droppings, carries bacteria and inhaling that dust can cause allergies or asthma flare ups in people. They also generally can bring in other pests, most notably are fleas, ticks, and lice and into your home. One of the, well there are several things that just as a homeowner you can do to to prevent mice and rats from coming into your home, I guess probably the first thing you might need to understand that the mouse can get into a hole approximately the size of a dime. If they can get their nose through the hole, they can get their whole body through there. Normally we deal with roof rats around here, but rats can get through a hole the size of a quarter. So you can you can start to see that it’s not an easy inspection. When you’re looking for a hole the size of a dime or the hole the size of a quarter where rats or mice, you know maybe coming in, but a few things that the homeowner could do to help their situation is the number one thing is installing door sweeps on the exterior doors. Or like if you have screen doors repaired the screens if they’re damaged. The if you have a crawlspace in that it’s vented. A lot of times we’ll go to a home and there’s no screen protection on those crawlspace vents. Remember I said that a mouse can get into a hole the size of a dime. That’s that’s not a very large hole. So another thing that a homeowner can do is to seal those cracks and holes on the exterior of your home. Look around utility entrances where the the line set for the air conditioning compressor goes into the house where the power may go into the house where your gas line goes into the house where the telephone line or the cable TV or the internet service line goes into your house. They’re all common areas for rodents to enter. Then if you you know if you have a block and or a brick home the the mortar can get brittle over time. So you may need to fix that. Rodents need the same things that you and I need. They need food, water and harborage for shelter, so if you can afford to eliminate one of those, they will typically leave. The easiest thing generally to eliminate is moisture because it’s typically coming from a leaky drain or faucet. If you use firewood for pleasure and/or necessity, keep it a minimum of 50 feet away from the house because rodents will nest in the stacks of firewood. If you notice, droppings. Now marks if you if you see no marks on like the edge of a piece of door trim. They’re notorious about the there’s a rubber seal on the bottom of an overhead garage door in a pile. I said that wrong the seal is on the side of the framing, but they will know a halfmoon shape in that seal in because your garage door does not create a tight seal they will can get in your garage very easily. Keep your attics and or crawlspaces ventilated and dry is another key thing that you would need to do. So if screen vents and openings to the chimney, if you especially if you have a masonry fireplace, you that’s enough notorious place to get rats and mice.
Michael Stewart
Well, what if I get a infestation of mice and rats in my home? What does Faith Pest Control do to help me get rid of them? You know what a part of the services that you guys provide to get rid of these pests?
Fred Talley
Well, the thing that we can do to help you is initially we’ll come out and do an inspection and identify the the problem areas and the means of entrance. We will create a rodent management program if you will, so that we can eliminate your house of the existing infestation. And we can design it in a in a manner that will prevent them from coming in in the future and to prevent the problem from ever happening again.
Michael Stewart
Well, that’s awesome to know. And it’s comforting to know that if you live in Jasper, Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Big Canoe, or Ball Ground, Georgia, and you get rodents, rats, or mice, you’re just one call away from Fred Talley at FaithPestControl.com. And what I encourage everybody to do is if you want some more helpful tips on how to have a pest free home in your area, especially in North Georgia, subscribe to the Faith Pest Control podcast. We’re in Apple. We’re in Spotify. We’re in Google podcasts. And we’re on Alexa and Google Home. So be sure to share this podcast subscribe to this podcast. And we’ll see you next time on the Faith Pest Control podcast with Mike Stewart and Fred Talley.
