Oh Rats! You've Got Rats!

The bigger, fuzzier and more dangerous version of the cockroaches, rats, constitute a threat to any household they invade. Not only is their bite harmful for humans and pets, but they also constitute an ideal host for lice, fleas, ticks and of course, mites. At the same time, rats are perfect carriers for viruses such as E.coli, Salmonella, Tuberculosis and many more.

On a side note, there are several theories which suggest that the flees that of the rats were the principal factor to promote the black plague – the disease that almost wiped out the human population in Europe – back in the 13th century. Therefore, it is easy to understand why keeping rats away from your home, your family and your pets is extremely important.

Do I have rats in my home?

There are several indicators for a rat infestation, but a thorough inspection performed by a professional pest control company is the only way to be certain. First of all, you will need to pay attention to random scratching sounds that are coming from underneath the floorboards, the inside of the walls or in the proximity of the patio deck. Don't forget to search the areas for rat droppings (1-2 cm, dark colored and tapered).

In addition, an unusually strong ammonia odor is fairly common in the enclosed spaces where rats are hiding. Gnawed cables, walls, furniture and even certain metal objects can also be evidence that your home is infested with a rat colony. In the yard, you should be on the lookout for burrows, mostly underneath compost heaps/decks.

What is the next step?

First of all, you need to determine whether the rats are only present in the garden or if they have gained access to the house as well. If only the yard is infested with these pests, then you will have to do your best to determine the colony to leave. This implies storing the trash in closed containers, getting rid of non-foolproof bird feeders, blocking the doggy-door and eliminating the broken sewage pipes.

Furthermore, you should acquire an ultrasonic repellant system which generates sounds that are extremely painful for the rodents and install it in your home. In essence, you need to make the surrounding environment as uncomfortable/inconvenient as possible and the colony will be forced to relocate.

What if the rats are already inside?

In this case, you've got a pretty big problem on your hands. You might try to deal with the rats yourself utilizing traps and other amateur DIY solutions when their numbers are low. However, rats multiply, well, like rats. If you fail to eliminate the first couple of them, their numbers can grow exponentially.

You also need to remember that you're dealing with rats, not mice. Rats are larger and present far more risks than the infections they carry, especially for children, pets and the elderly. In addition to that, there have been numerous recorded cases of rats chewing through electric wiring and causing fires. Therefore, contact a pest control company right away and you can be certain that the problem will not escalate.

To Kill Or Not To Kill?

Does any of this sound familiar? It was Ladies’ Movie Night downstairs. Well, basically what my grandfather would undoubtedly have referred to as a Hen Party. The squeals, giggles and sometimes uncontrollable sobbing—depending on the movie and the number of bottles of wine consumed—were commonplace and I had generally learned to tune them out. A closed door and a good ‘80’s station in the background does wonders for my level of concentration. Suddenly however, I heard raucous commotion and blood curdling screams coming from the downstairs home entertainment room. I scrambled for the handgun from my office desk drawer, slapped in a clip and headed for the door.

I’ll Save You!

The screams grew in intensity and I began to fear the worst. Surely, some crazed rapist or cat burglar standing 8 feet tall or more was terrorizing the women. Now it was up to me to be the knight in shining armor (or at the very least the nerd with the shiny gun) and probably get myself killed defending the honor of the neighborhood damsels in distress. Slowly and silently I kept down the stairs. The safety was off and I was ready to blow a hole clear through anything offering the least bit of resistance.

As I stealthily steered myself around the end of the banister, utilizing my best bad ass TV spy methods, I could see them. All were huddled together in the furthest corner of the room still screaming and pointing at their (thus far) hidden attacker. I took a huge breath, let it out slowly and tried to get a better view—and possibly a shot at—the assailant.

Say What??

As I hesitantly inched forward I realized that I should be seeing the brute by now. But I saw nothing… just a wall. I looked back at the girls who were now all talking at once, still pointing in my direction. And then it happened. I was able to somehow discern one word amongst all the chaos.

“Spider!”

Maybe it was some crazed ex boyfriend’s knick-name. But no—the horrifying creature in question was a tiny, nearly microscopic 8-legged insect defying gravity by clinging for dear life to the far wall. The shock of the sound waves alone had probably sent the thing into cardiac arrest. I trudged over to the wall, lifted my arm to put the damn thing out of its misery and was jolted by more piercing screams and furor.

“DON’T KILL IT!”

“Capture it.”

You will be surprised, that's what we hear a lot at Black Knight Pest Control!

You Know, It Really Bugs Me When…

Okay guys, has this ever happened to you? So I arrive home one day to find my wife sitting outside on the front porch of our house with a cigarette. Nothing unusual there you may say, and you’d be right. If, that is, we didn’t live in Southern California during the summer where the temperature was over 100 degrees! “Hi,” I give her my best ‘why are you sitting outside instead of indoors with the air conditioning’ look.

“Hmph,” then silence. Despite the heat, her lips are frozen.

“What’s up?” More silence.

Finally she blurts out “I couldn’t go back in the house until you got home from work.” Now we’re getting somewhere.

“Oh…locked out?” I innocently enquire.

“No…” okay maybe we’re not getting anywhere. “There’s a bug.”

Enough To Drive You Buggy

“What? Where?” I stupidly begin to look around.

“In the house.” Is she kidding? One glance at her face however tells me in no uncertain terms that there’s no joking going on at this particular point in time. This is not the comedy hour. But come on… it’s a big house! Clearly we’re playing a guessing game here so I pose the obligatory quandary.

“Where in the house?”

“On the wall.” Hoo boy. Well that certainly pins it down.

“Maybe you could narrow that down a tad?”

”In the bathroom.” Ah… Now we truly are getting somewhere.

“Why didn’t you just close the bathroom door?” If I’d asked her what color George Washington’s white horse was she couldn’t have looked at me with a bigger expression of ‘duh’.

“It’s a bug, wait for it.”

“It would have crawled under the door.” How could I have been so ignorant?! Surely this bug would go to whatever means necessary to hunt her down and launch a full Kamikaze attack. I briefly commented on the fact that she’d taken time to grab her smokes so why not a jacket. When my eyes finally stopped bleeding I began in earnest my hunt for the dreaded, deadly bug thing.

All of This Could Have Been Avoided

Now I don’t necessarily have a problem with bugs but there are those I’d rather not deal with given the choice. I mean really…that’s why God created exterminators. And since where there’s one there’s usually more (and in particular with old houses—which ours was), calling an exterminator is probably your best bet in many situations.

Hey, let the guy from Black Knight Pest play with the creepy crawly things sporting way more wings and legs than any living thing should be allowed. He gets paid for it. Have a go at it, buddy!

Want To Know What Kind Of Calls We Get?

“Hello, Black Knight Pest Control speaking!”

“Yes hello, young man, I have recently signed on with your pest control company and I have a problem.”

“Sorry to hear that ma’am, how can I help you?”

“Well, I’m not noticing any insects.”

So You’re… What?

“Umm, well I assume that’s not the problem because that’s probably what you called us for, no?”

“Well, yes, but the nice man that was here told me that there would likely be more before things improved.”

“I see, well they say that due to the fact that it can and does occur, but not always. The fact that you don’t see any is in all truth a very good development!”

“But I don’t even see a single bug! I’m not sure what I need to do.”

“Like I said ma’am, it’s okay. You don’t need to do anything. It’s working.”

“But something’s wrong here.”

“No ma’am…nothing is wrong.”

“Well there most certainly is something wrong…I don’t have any bugs!”

Oh, boy.

No, Not That Kind Of Pest!

“Is this Black Knight Pest Control company?”

“Yes ma’am, how can we be of service?”

“You get rid of pests?”

“Yes ma’am we do? How can we help?”

“Any size pest?”

“Pretty much. What seems to be the problem?”

“I need to set up a service call. I have a pest. I’ll give you the address.”

“Okay and will you be meeting our service person there?”

“No, it’s my ex husband’s place.”

“Okay, sorry, will he be meeting us there?”

“Well I certainly hope so…he’s the pest!”

Too Riled To Remember

My dispatcher had an emergency call. There was a lady not too far out of my area today that was horrifically petrified of rodents… and she had one. Could I please make a quick stop and come to her rescue? The poor lady was so distraught that she had considered going to a neighbor’s until the deadly vermin was banished.

I headed directly over and (with prior permission given to the dispatcher) used the hide-a-key to enter. I set glue traps and rodent boxes throughout the house despite the lack of noticeable droppings. As I was leaving an invoice and a note, my dispatcher called. She had the lady on the other line and wanted to know where I was. I explained that I was finished and that she could come back home. But she was home and waiting for me. My dispatcher checked the address and the woman had been so shook up that she told the dispatcher “Oh my no…that was my old address! We’ve moved recently.”

That’s the thing about the wonderful world of pest control. You never know what the day will bring or the kind of people you will meet!

You Know it’s Going to be a Special Kind of Day When…

You wouldn’t think, being in the pest control business, that life would be that interesting. Quite the contrary!

I tend to see people at their most fearful and vulnerable. Women up on chairs and men trying in vain to be the brave one (while clearly rattled, nonetheless). Not too terribly long ago, we got a call from one such terrified individual. A woman selling houses in the area had discovered ‘an infestation’ of ‘huge rats’. At that precise moment one was in fact stalking her. The theme from “Ben” drifted quietly through my head.

Here I Come To Save The Day!

Yes, thank you, I did catch the irony there… Mighty Mouse’s Theme Song, I get it. Upon arrival at the scene of the rat attack, I discovered only a sprinkling of the tiniest of mouse droppings. After clean up and disinfection, it was determined that a puppy door may have been the means of enemy infiltration. From experience, I also determined that this was no rat pack but more likely a lone mouse that had lost its way in search of a new home that he’d heard was on the market. The realtor did not share my humor. I dutifully set a trap for the demon vermin and placed it behind the fridge—where most of the droppings had appeared.

Is That Billy Joel?

What I didn’t realize at the time was that, while muscling the fridge back into place, my cell phone had slipped out of my belt holster and silently found its way under the fridge. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful and I didn’t even miss my phone until much later. It’s insured so I thought little of it and made a mental note to stop and replace it the next day (or as soon as I could).

But the next day we received a call from the realtor saying that we’d succeeded in trapping her ‘rat’ and could we please come over and dispose of it ASAP? When I walked it the woman was shaking her head seemingly in disbelief. I looked questioningly at her and she asked me with all due sincerity, “are the 80’s particularly effective with rodents?” I had no idea to what it possibly was that she was referring.

Turns out my cell phone had been ‘ringing’ over and over again and was driving her bonkers (hey, I like the 80’s so they’re my ring tones and alerts). She assumed it was utilized in our method to first attract, and then trap our deadly prey. Let’s hear the guys at other pest control companies top that pest tale!