Tag Archives: rodents

Spring!

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So happy to look out my window and see water again! So much prettier than ice.

All kinds of ducks around, plus a few swans; geese haven’t shown up yet – so it’s about perfect.

Ross has started gearing up for another season – ordered his products, cleaned my junk out of his car, all that fun stuff.

I’m still doing the computer and phone thing for him, as much as I can – but I’m also working a few days a week at a group home in Orillia. Really do need to figure out how to update my phone message so I can be a ~little~ more informative… but email IS going to be the best way to reach us to schedule your exterior spray, carpenter ant treatment, and/or any other pest control you need.

You can reach us by phone at 705-534-7863, or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you soon 🙂

Lauralee

 

We were back – but now guess what?!

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Got it in one – we are taking off again.

Well, assuming we can get everything done that needs doing 🙂  Got some bedbugs that must die, rats that need a new home, and on and on it goes.

Bedbugs seem to be picking up this month- let’s hope THAT is a short-lived aberration! Nobody wants bedbugs! Ever! We’ve also had our very first ever case of termites! Hundreds & hundreds of carpenter ants over the past few years – but not one termite to be seen. Until this week. Also not a positive development! Interesting that the one and only case we’ve seen is in Tiny – that’s where the carpenter ants seemed to start from, also!

But not to worry – Ross just ~loves~ to help people solve their pest problems, whether they are common or rare. For quickest response over the next week or so, email is your best bet …my dog sitter is great, but he isn’t up for doing the phone thing, so I’ll have to call home to get messages. Which I will do my best to do – but if you CAN email, please do!

Or if you prefer, you can always use the chat function on our Facebook page – that works too 🙂 And as an added bonus, you can like our page while you’re there because, you know, it will not do to have my kid’s Facebook page getting more likes than ours just cuz her pictures are ever so much cuter than ours.

Oh, one last thing – if you happen to be over in the Kawarthas/Peterborough area, we no longer cover that region. Not sure why we’ve all of a sudden started turning up in your search results but we sold our Peterborough property several years ago and I haven’t included any of those place names in my tags in forever!

Yep, we’re back :)

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Wouldn’t know it though, given how slow I’ve been responding to calls and stuff this weekend. My apologies!! But one day old baby beats carpenter ants any day of the week!

My nephew had his first, so no sooner got back from Havelock than I was in the car again to go meet him. In Oakville. Yes, on a Friday. So yes, again Ross got to shake his head at me 🙂  He tries to avoid putting himself into Friday night cottage traffic. Me, not so much! If I want to go meet my kids at the zoo, or go hold a new baby, or …whatever, off I go. Even if that means I’ll have to drive back up with all the rest of you that are trying to escape the city.

Thinking my next car will need to be an automatic though! Traffic jams and standards suck!

Anyway, we’re home now, and I’m ready to fill up the few remaining spots in his calendar for this week, so if you’ve got carpenter ants or spiders or mice or whatever, feel free to give us a call at 705-534-7863, or email me at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Or you can use the quote form above BUT please do be advised that I’m hearing that my responses are getting caught in people’s spam filters lately! I DO reply to each and every quote form, usually within an hour of receiving it – so if you haven’t seen my response, maybe search to see if it got filtered!

Maybe I’m working him too hard?

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Or maybe I just need to buy him a whole case of hats?

Poor Ross!  I’ve been keeping him hopping lately. He did get a day off – well, sort of off. He got to stay home and work on getting the dock in this weekend – does that count? I think he’d probably say no, but hey, we had helpers! And beer! And food! So that counts, right?

And the dock is – mostly – in; just a few floating bits to more into place and secure. He’ll soon be able to start fishing off the end of it. When he gets home. After lots of long days spent driving all over cottage country 🙂

Have been able to do a lot better scheduling than in some previous years, though. Today, for example, he was in Tiny. All over Tiny, but hey – at least all in that one general area. Tomorrow, weather permitting, he’ll be heading up to Gravenhurst area, I hope. And in between times, got lots of Tay Township, Midland & Penetanguishene area calls to get done.

Sure miss his helper though! He needs one to keep track of his hat(s), if nothing else!

Anyway, even though we’re crazy busy right now, I’m always happy to add more to his calendar – give us a call at 705-534-7863, or email me at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

A new one on us: ermine!

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I did not know that we had ermine in Central Ontario. Guess you learn something every day.

This little guy managed to find it’s way into a house in the Shelburne area  – and stayed for 3 days before getting the food he was after and taking off.

We’ve actually seen quite a few bigger critters around Hogg’s Bay this winter. Coyotes walking along the edges of the lake; almost always two together. A fox that comes right up into our yard to play with our dogs! And marten (or otters, maybe)? Have heard there’s a fisher around as well, although haven’t seen it. Have yet to see an ermine though – but since I guess their coats turn white for the winter, I probably never will. Unless one decides to come visit our house!

 

Busy busy

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wpid-milk-carton-with-missing-cell-phoneRoss is having a very busy day today!

We’re off this weekend – going to nephew’s wedding in Alliston for a couple of days, then to our friends’ cottage for one night (yes we live in a cottage in cottage country, but it’s different going to someone else’s 🙂 ) and then back in time for grandson’s birthday party Sunday evening.

So have been trying to get everything possible cleared out of the way before we leave. Lots of calls in and around Midland, Honey Harbour and Tay Township; many new, plus a few follow-ups (damn wasps!). All of which was going according to plan. Until yesterday afternoon, that is, when he got to the right road for an appointment in Port Severn and went to double-check the address on his phone. No phone!!!!

It is most definitely not anywhere in his car, and our attempts to re-trace his travels were completely and utterly unsuccessful. We even toured between here and Kirkfield (yes, we do go over that way on occasion, although it’s not really in our area) looking along the side of the road through a stretch, because according to the google maps timeline, he (or rather, the phone) went up to Kirkfield, then part way back and then it stopped transmitting. The PLACE were it stopped transmitting was nowhere near either of the two places he stopped along the way though, which was very weird. The trail stopped at a corner pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. *sigh*

Anyway, no phone. And several hours (for both of us) lost to hunting for phone. For some unknown reason, it wouldn’t show up in my phone locator thing-a-ma-jig – got to hate it when THAT happens!!!  For about the first half hour after he noticed it missing, I was calling it and it was ringing – but then whoever had it apparently turned it off and it started going right to voicemail. Me, at that point, I was pretty much convinced that the trip back to Kirkfield was not going to be successful, but he wanted to try so try we did.

Which meant that the 3 more jobs he had been going to get done yesterday have now been added to today. And I got to stay up late last night to get my marks finished and submitted and write a cover letter for a job I won’t get (but I’d LOVE to get it and I’d be AWESOME at it).

So now he’s out doing two days work in one (with my phone) and I should get off my butt and go find a big-enough box and wedding gift wrapping paper but I’m tired and clearly am going to need more coffee before that happens!

ANYWAY… how’s that for long, rambling & nothing much to do with solving your pest control problems? But of course, if you’ve stopped by because you do have a pest (other than the sort you married or brought into the world your self), we will be happy to solve it for you.

Just not today, and definitely not this weekend cuz Alex & Michelle are getting married!

We do have a friend staying here this weekend to watch the mutts and give the chinchillas their treats, and he will do his best to take phone messages, but chances are that phone calls likely won’t get returned until Monday, sorry.

However, I will have MY phone and will check and respond to email when I can. No reception at friends’ cottage last time I was there though, so that might be an issue. ANYWAY… I will do my best – and rest assured that by Monday we’ll be back and ready to solve your pest issues.

Have a great weekend!

Lauralee

705-534-7864 || ccpestcontrol@gmail.com

New & somewhat improved quote form

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Made a couple of changes to the Quote form for your…well, no, really… my convenience. Added a spot for an explanation of when people choose “Other” and also made providing an email address required.

If by chance it was you that asked for a quote re: an 800 sq ft (water access) cottage recently and never got a reply, that would be why! No email address means I have no way to contact you.  Please do try again!

And thanks for motivating me to finally stop thinking darn, I need to fix that “Other” thing (which I’ve been doing for WAY too long) and getting me to actually get ‘er done.

In other news, we’ve had a very, very busy few days and even though I THINK I have everything sorted out now, I definitely couldn’t swear to it. If you are waiting for something from me, please do feel free to remind me!

You can always reach us by phone at 705-534-7863, or email me at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com .

 

Mouse in the house? Bats in the Belfry? Spiders in the Shower?

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In our neck of the woods pests are INEVITABLE especially when you don’t live here all year round.  There are two ways people deal with this problem – WHEN it happens – or BEFORE it happens.

What do WHEN it happens – bees, wasps, shadflies, bed bugs, fleas, spiders, mice, bats or ants – what ever it is, YOU got them!!!  Give Ross a call and we’ll come and solve the problem.

Calling Ross BEFORE it happens, is an alternative solution that has many different upsides.  At Cottage Country Pest control, we use what’s called Integrated Pest Management systems to effectively control and eliminate the pests that are specific to your environment before they become a problem.

We believe that an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure – especially when it comes to your homes, families and pets.  A preventative (non-reactive) approach to caring for your property will you give peace of mind knowing that:

  1.  You won’t have any surprises when arrive for the weekend with guests in tow and
  2.  We’ve used an environmentally friendly approach to dealing with the problems – so you and your family are not exposed to unnecessary chemicals.

How our service works:

  • Inspection – to find out what, where and why
  • Sanitation Recommendations – to eliminate pest food and havens
  • Exclusion – Keep pests out by screening and sealing
  • Cultural Controls – to change what people do that create the pest problems
  • Biological Controls – attack pests where they live with biological measures
  • Judicious use of Pest Control Materials on an as needed basis rather than liberally applying as is done in the case of an emergency
  • Education – if you understand the causes of the problem, you can prevent it from happening.
  • Communication – We make sure you know what’s being done, when it’s being done and why it’s being done.

Whether you are a WHEN it happens or a BEFORE it happens kind of person, know that the problem is INEVITABLE and we can help.  Give us a call 705.534.7863 or send us an email ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Mites

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Predatory Mite!

Predatory Mite!

Well, it is officially summer! With that comes sunshine, kayaking, fishing, fun … and pests, pests, pests!

If you happen to be a pet-owner, (anything from birds to rats to cats and  dogs), a potential problem you should watch for is … infestation by  mites!

Mites are arachnids (they have FOUR pairs of legs and two main body segments).  Even though they are not always immediately harmful to animals, some of them  (depending on species) also happen to be parasites, requiring a host to feed off  of.

Mites actually vary in appearance, size and appearance based on their particular
species, which also determines which animal/species they prefer as a host.
This is why there exist cat-mites, dog-mites, bird-mites, bat-mites, rat-mites …
you name it; if it is a pet, chances are there is a mite that goes with it.

Their actual life-cycle starts off in egg-form, and they develop through larval
and pupal phases, until they reach full maturity.

Mites are extremely tiny and almost impossible to spot without some kind of
magnification. Sometimes, though, if they scurry across a surface that is plain
and light enough, due to their reddish colour they CAN be spotted.

Mites like to stick with their (animal) “hosts”, and feed off them, but in the
absence of their preferred host, they will bite people.

Interestingly enough, mites tend to live in their animal host’s nest, and come out
periodically specifically to feed, and then go back into hiding in the nest.

Others actually prefer living literally just underneath the skin of their host
animal. It really varies, according to species, host …etc.

Usually, the tell-tale sign of mites is extremely itchy and red papules that form
close together on your skin as a rash. Mites tend to bite in areas where your
clothing would rub on your skin.

The best way to prevent/control mites is to ensure that you deal with infestations by pest that can carry them promptly. If you have issues with birds, mice, or other pests, give us a call at 705.534.7863 or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com, and have Ross come check it out.

Or you can Get a Quote..

HELP! Banquet Happening In My Garage … & I’m Not Invited! Raccoon!

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They're only adorable in cartoons!!

They’re only adorable in cartoons!!

Don’t you wish raccoons were the adorable cute and cuddly creatures you see in cartoons like in Disney’s “Pocahontas”? But yeah, nope. There’s a reason they are classified as pests. And this is true even if you live in Victoria Harbour, where nature is abundant.

When you actually get close up to them (not that you ever should), they can actually be quite vicious and bold, surprisingly. Never mind the diseases that they carry.

One of the first signs that you need help because you have a raccoon problem is that you might notice that there is damage to the actual structure of your house (like around the attic). This is caused by the raccoon trying to dig its way into your house. Seriously!

Basically, their main goal is to get to your trash cans, and feast on what you consider to be garbage… anything from leftover food, to eggs, old pet-food…you name it.

And when you walk into your garage the next morning, and find things overturned with garbage strewn everywhere… chances are there was a secret raccoon party the night before (rather than a garbage-specific burglar).      alg-resize-raccoon-jpg

One of the things you can do to make the situation a little better is use garbage cans made of hard plastic and/or metal. You should make sure they have tight-fitting lids, straps or clamps to keep them shut. You should also tie them to a support or in some kind of a rack structure, so that they can’t be tipped over.

Raccoons also tend to like chimneys, which of course ALSO means they can fall right through them and …dum dum DUM… into your house. NOT a likely pleasant experience.

Instead of having to go out and buy all sorts of expensive contraptions to keep them from getting into your chimneys, or having to consider trying to kill them (which really can’t be pleasant, especially if you have kids or grandchildren who could be around), or coming into direct contact with them (they CAN be pretty snarly and vicious), your best bet is to get help from Cottage Country Pest-Control. Just give us a call, and have Ross come around, or call to get a quote!

Cottage Country Pest Control uses humane methods (trapping and relocating), and does all the dirty work for you, so that you can throw your garbage out at night, then go to bed without wondering if there is a banquet happening in your garage!

So, give us a call at 705.534.7863 or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com. Or you can Get a Quote.

– Ammario R.