Rabies A Growing Problem

More wildlife found to have the virus

Cases of rabies have been on the rise across Maryland this past year. A local woman was bitten by a rabid raccoon after the animal got into her home and caught her off guard. Officials have warned residents to be vigilant but also have stressed the fact that a bite or scratch from an infected animal is not an emergency. Rather, it is an urgent matter that must be dealt with, but treatment can begin days after exposure.

If left completely untreated, the virus can be fatal in both humans and pets. Some of the symptoms of the rabies virus include aggressive behavior, drooling, foaming at the mouth, disorientation or difficulty walking, convulsions and an inability to eat or drink anything.

To learn more about raccoons and the diseases they carry, check out On The Fly Pest Solutions.

Rabid raccoon attacks woman

Tucked at the north end of Main Street in Sykesville near Wilson Avenue, news of the attack has caught residents off guard.

"A rabid raccoon had gone inside someone's house and bit them," said Rose Werden.

Joe Mancuso of the Carroll County Health Department says the animal displayed abnormally aggressive behavior

"It kind of broke into the person's house,” said Mancuso. “I'm not exactly sure the mechanism how it got in there---maybe a doggy door or what have you. It could have broken through a screen, but the person who lived in there heard her dogs kind of yelping and barking, and sure enough, there's a crazy raccoon, and she got between them and got bitten." Read more

Summary: A local woman was caught off guard and bitten by a rabid raccoon after it broke into her home. Although an urgent matter that must be dealt with accordingly, rabies is not an emergency and treatment can begin up to a few days after exposure.

5 Raccoons Recently Identified as Rabid in Maryland

Anne Arundel and Carroll County health officials are warning the public about five raccoons that tested positive for rabies within the last few weeks.

The Anne Arundel County raccoon was found in the area of Ogleton Road and Queen Anne Circle on October 30, according to the Health Department's official alert. Anyone who may have encountered the animal around this time should be on the lookout for possible signs of rabies in themselves and their pets, especially if they have any unexplained wounds or scratches. Read more

Summary: A number of raccoons in Maryland have been tested recently and found to be infected with the rabies virus. Officials have been urging people to remain vigilant and watch out for any signs and symptoms of rabies if they've had an encounter with wildlife.

 

Read More Here: Rabies A Growing Problem

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Five Fascinating Mosquito Facts

Mosquitos are a major problem in Maryland. Populations often spike following heavy rains. Here are a few little-known facts about mosquitos:

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Prevent Squirrels from Entering Your House This Summer

           Every summer Baltimore natives are forced to deal with different kinds of pests that the warmer weather brings forth. However one of the biggest, problem making, pests are squirrels! While some may not think of a squirrel as an issue, they can be some of the most innovative and difficult pests to get rid of. Squirrels are responsible for multiple types of issues: from getting stuck in your home, chewing through spots on homes, and disrupting bird feeders. Fear not, below are a few tips and tricks on how to prevent squirrel problems this summer.

 

Prevent squirrels from getting in your house

           Squirrels are often the most happy when living in trees, however due to the fewer trees available to them, they have adapted and will use anything they can to make their lives as happy as possible with what they have to work with. This leads them straight to your home for shelter.

•        Inspect your home to make for any existing entry points, squirrels san use as their way in, that lead through your walls or toward the attic
•        Repair any holes and entryways you discover, after you've made sure there are no squirrels currently using that entrance
•        Spray entries with taste-adversive repellent
•        Seal holes with  ½” or ¼” hardware cloth

 

Prevent Squirrels from Gaining Easy Access to Attics

           In order to help keep your home squirrel free, you can create measures to keep squirrels from being able to climb a tree to get into your attic. Get rid of the possibility of them being able to climb trees to get into your attic, keeps them out of your home.

•        Wrap the tree in sheet metal to prevent the ability to crawl up the tree
•        Keep the metal 4 feet above the ground and at least 3 feet wide to prevent squirrels jumping over the metal

 

How to Get Squirrels Out of Your Attic

           Squirrels that stay in your attic for an extended period of time are most likely to be a mother and babies, especially in the summer as this is the time of year that they tend to have their litters. If this is the case there are a few things you can do to get the squirrels out and keep them out.

•        Make sure babies are following the mother on daily outings and then install a one way door trap, allowing them all to leave and not regain access
•        Seal the entrance with ½” or ¼” hardware cloth once they are all gone
•        Soak rags in household cleaning products to place in the attic, the smell will encourage them to leave
•        Shine a light on the nest
•        Play loud music in the attic to drive the squirrels away

 

Get a Loose Squirrel Out Of the House

           With squirrels so active during the summer months, it is possible that they accidently enter your home. Once this happens, the squirrel will frantically search for a way to escape the unfamiliar environment. In order to help get them out of the home follow these tips:

•        Close all other doors leading to the rest of the house to offer a clear path out
•        Turn lights off and cover windows that are not the one you want to leave the squirrel out of, as they will follow the light out after being left alone
•        Provide something for the squirrel to be able to reach their exit space; Think of a chair to climb or knotted sheets to climb down for a higher level exit
•        Set a live trap batted with peanut butter, leave alone for a few hours, set them free outside

 

Stop Squirrels from Creating Holes in Your House

           Squirrels tend to chew on the trim of houses, this cam cause issues with the look of the exterior to your house. Once they have caused this damaged it can be difficult to fix and match to the rest of the trim. In order to prevent this from happening:

•        Spray the trim of your home with taste-adversive repellent
•        Make sure to spray a patch test to make sure it does not affect your paint before using it on the entire house

 

Keep Away from Bird Feeders

           Squirrels hunt out any food source they can, one of the easiest things for them to find and use are bird feeders. Once they discover this source of constant food, they are not likely to go anywhere else in search of food. The best way to keep squirrels away from bird feeders is to keep them from accessing bird feeders as a source of food.

•        Keep feeders away from trees and jumping off points which are easily accessible
•        Use “Anti squirrel” feeders designed so they cannot get to the food itself

 

During the summer while all kinds of pests are out and about, you can use these tips to make sure one pest you won’t have to deal with are squirrels.

 

More Information Here: Prevent Squirrels from Entering Your House This Summer

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Groundhog Release

Watch as our wildlife technicians release a groundhog they had caught!

Original Website Here: Groundhog Release

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Commercial Pest Control

Commercial buildings often have frequent foot traffic, large inventories entering and exiting, doors opening regularly, extensive heating sources and many surrounding water sources. Because of these things, commercial properties require regular pest control maintenance.

Foot traffic brings in flies, rodents and general pests running through that need to be controlled. Large inventories, such as food and other products, generally cause issues from either the products themselves, or from when the products are brought into structure. Commercial properties also tend to have higher heating and cooling usage and often have units operating at more frequent times. Increased heating and cooling usages cause more nesting sources for rodents, roaches and insects. Additionally, most commercial properties have larger water sources than residential properties. These sources are caused by flat roofs, multiple downspouts and little soil absorption. These standing water sources cause increased populations of insects due to the fact that water leaving the structure has limited areas to be absorbed.

It is imperative to have a professional pest control company licensed in IPM that will recognize all of these issues in your structure(s) and will implement a plan to not only take care of any existing issues but also implement a program to prevent any issues from occurring in the future. Although recurrence frequencies tend to depend on the usage of the structure, a proper IPM professional will implement a maintenance plan to occur on a on a fixed recurring schedule. It is always best to have an IPM professional evaluate the structure prior to determine at what frequency the structure requires service to best control any current issues and to prevent any future issues from occurring.

Communication between owners/managers and the IPM professional is key. Every visit should have contact between IPM professional and manager. Treatments vary depending on season, due to the four drastically different seasons here in Baltimore County, MD, creating four drastically different seasonal pests. However, general pest issues can occur at any time. It is key to have a clear line of communication between the owner/manager and the IPM professional in order to ensure that, should any weather-related pest issues arise, the owner/manager can be in contact with the IPM professional without delay.

More Information Here: Commercial Pest Control

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What Are Mice Up To During The Summer

Homeowners have a common misconception about mice: They infest people’s homes during the winter and then disappear during the hot season. This is not entirely true. 

Mice in the summer have the natural tendency to forage for seeds and other food out in the fields and yards. But if they find a viable food source in or near your house, they will build a nest inside your home and stick around. 

When the cold season comes, they leave their summer burrows and flock to warmer places to survive. With adequate heating, food and water, our homes become a prime target. 

The attic is a favorite place for mice to seek refuge in. But as soon as the weather starts to get warmer, attics can become hot and humid, so they transfer to cooler areas in the house like cabinets and the basement. 

Summer is the Perfect Time to Mice-Proof Your Home

Because mice tend to be outside during the summer, it’s the perfect time to begin implementing preventative measures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four basic strategies to control rodents, including mice. 

Eliminate food sources. Mice have voracious appetites, eating around 15 to 20 times per day. They’ll typically consume 3 grams of food daily and can subsist on crumbs. So it’s important to maintain a clean home and practice solid waste management, i.e., proper storage, collection and disposal, to keep these pests at bay.

Remove breeding and nesting places. Being territorial creatures, mice will typically search for food no more than 10 to 50 feet from their nest. So if their food source is in or near your house, this means removing rubbish, including firewood and excess lumber, near your home. You should store these and similar materials 18 inches off the ground because mice can jump as high as 12 inches. 

It also helps to leave some space, maybe a couple of feet, between your house and any vegetation, where mice can hide. Remember: A clean yard keeps the mice away.

Mice-proof your home. Mice have small slender bodies that can squeeze through openings slightly more than ¼ inch (6 mm) in diameter. So, it’s important to cover any cracks, holes and openings in doors, windows, gratings and walls. Do an annual perimeter check in late summer or early fall just to make sure you didn’t miss a gap.

Use a mouse trap. You can use either live traps or kill traps, but ensure to place them near runways and burrows and along walls. For maximum effectiveness, monitor the traps and remove any mice it might catch. Otherwise, the rodents may avoid the traps altogether.

Prepare Your Home for the Winter Mice Invasion

These annoying pests can be persistent in invading your home, so consider getting the help of pest control experts. If you have mice in the summer, call the pest control professionals at On The Fly Pest Solutions. Their fully licensed and trained team will take care of the problem in a safe and sustainable manner.

 

Original Source Here: What Are Mice Up To During The Summer

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How Much Does Squirrel Removal Cost?

If you have squirrels in your attic room, the overall cost will most likely run in between $250 - $500 to remove all the squirrels and also secure the entrance holes closed.

This cost will certainly differ a lot, depending upon the number of repair work are required, what component of the nation you live in, the amount of squirrels are in the attic room, how many solution trips are necessary, if you require cleanup, and so on.

Squirrels in Attic Removal Cost

Baltimore squirrels removal from your attic costs anywhere from $200 to $600 though large problems can run upwards of $1,500. This entails real-time trapping. Using poisons are uncommon.

Squirrels can destroy insulation, wall surfaces as well as siding while building nests. The longer they stay in the house, the even more damages they are likely to trigger. Eliminating them rapidly is essential to keeping repair service costs to a minimum.

If you just have squirrels outside, as well as you need them trapped in cages and also removed, the expense will certainly be lower, because outside capturing is easier.

Any kind of respectable hassle wildlife firm will certainly have invested money on licensing, liability insurance, as well as a host of other business expenses. You do not wish to over-pay of course. And most of all, you desire somebody who will do this complicated job properly. If you do it incorrect the very first time, you'll just wind up paying more later. You can't neglect wildlife issues, due to the damages as well as wellness threats that squirrels trigger. Invest in your house as well as property by caring for the squirrel trouble correctly.

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Does Animal Control get rid of squirrels?

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