Tag Archives: pest control

How to get rid of rats – Step 1: The Basics

Getting rid of rats is as hard as you want it to be.

The war against rats has never beed more important with an ever-increasing human population in the UK. As we expand our influence on the countryside, rats will continue to exploit opportunities. Its important to understand the entire picture when learning how to get rid of rats. If you have a rat problem, you’re probably asking ‘How do I get rid of rats?’ Well, you have to start with the basics. Often during rat removal, no attention is paid to the environment. The pest control company is often assumed to have magic powers and is expected to perform the miracle of rat removal without the business owner tidying up. Well, We often get asked how to get rid of rats and when we survey the property, there will sometimes be foodstuff lying around the buildings. The client will often ask us questions like ‘Can you see why I have got rats? Is there anything obvious? Where are the rats coming from? Why?’ You have to open your eyes. Rats are the great survivors and will exploit any weakness. Why should a rat be interested in, say, 200g of rat poison when there is 100 metric tons of grain available because the grain store hasn’t been proofed? The answer: they won’t be.

Often, you probably don’t think that there is a chance of rats because the food you’re storing seems to be protected. Take the example of the photograph in this post. I took this on 20th January, 2016 in a very well respected company’s depot. This company is not negligent and they take pest control seriously. They called us in due to a rat problem and it was instantly obvious how to get rid of rats for them. The containers are called ‘dolavs’ and usually come with a lid. There were high protein and high carbohydrate waste foods in the dolavs which is exactly what the rats were feeding on. One dolav was damaged underneath meaning the rats could climb into the bottom and have a great time: It was a never-ending conveyor belt of food for them.

How to get rid of rats

The problem was quickly fixed and we’re currently visiting every few days in line with agreed guidelines in order to protect their great reputation. The problem is that the team that kept the depot clean had let their usually high standards slip. They had made it difficult to get rid of rats. The problem would never have occurred if the compound had been clean and tidy. Our technician spent only one and a half hours cleaning up the site, arranging it an a tidy fashion and removing all the food. Now that is done, getting rid of rats in this compound should be straightforward. Keep your house in order and you’ll end up getting rid of rats much more quickly – and it’ll probably end up costing you less too.

Get rid of fleas – just don’t mention them

No fleas please, we’re British.

Its one of the great taboos. No one I know will ever admit to having fleas. Its still feels very embarrassing to have to call up a pest control company and admit that you have fleas in your house. We’ve had people in tears on the phone. We’ve had people who can’t bring themselves to utter the word ‘flea’. But, they really, really want us to get rid of fleas in their property. All of these reactions are completely understandable. If we didn’t know better, we’d feel the same too. The thing is that, as we often get rid of fleas, we do know better. So, let me put your mind at rest…

Having fleas is no indication that you have a dirty house

We’re often called to desirable, large, affluent residences which are spick and span. Nothing out of place and probably with a cleaning service that visits regularly. These people have been forced to get rid of fleas and will often say to us – ‘I just don’t get it. We have a clean house’. You do indeed. But did you know that fleas actually quite like clean houses? So, although their presence is undesirable, its a tribute to your ability to keep your house clean.

Its the dog’s fault.

It may very well be but the odds are that the cat is the source. The poor old dog often get blamed but 80% of flea infestations are due to cats. People sometimes encourage ‘flea-ridden’ cats into their houses as cats tend to wander. Its nice to give them a saucer of milk but your payment may not be pleasant. Before you know what is happening, the fleas are living in the house and biting everybody. Dog owners normally spot flea problems immediately. Dogs don’t get put out at night to go wandering and hang out with other dogs that have fleas. The moggy is probably the source of the infestation

I can get rid of fleas myself by just treating the cat.

A high-risk strategy – and, in all likelihood, its not going to work . There are loads of products online and in the shops that claim to get rid of fleas. The problem is that unless you apply the product absolutely perfectly, they won’t cure the problem. Sometimes, even if you do follow the instruction perfectly, it can be a ‘big ask’ that a product treat a large 5 bedroom house. If products were 100% effective, we’d sell them – but they’re not. So won don’t.

They’re not my fleas…they’re my friend’s fleas.

Well, they’re in your house now. We often hear this sort of this. Some will infer that someone they know brought the fleas into the house. Well, the may well be true but you can’t prove it. Even if you could, what difference would it make? You’re still go fleas in your house. Your friends are, in all probability, not breeding fleas with the sole intention of releasing them into your home. Getting fleas is distressing but displacing that distress through blame really doesn’t do anything: much better to just get them treated by a professional sooner rather than later.

I don’t need to get rid of fleas – they’ll go by themselves.

No, no and thrice no. They will not and you’ve just won the gold medal for wishful thinking. As long as there is someone to bite, they’ll endure in your house. If you want to talk to us in confidence about your flea problem, call us on 0800 092 5259 or me directly on 07989 422469. We act discreetly to provide unrivalled flea control. An original blog by Dan Gaskin

Case Study 1 – Bird Netting for local Businesses

The Bird Netting Challenge:

We were contacted by Brown’s Hairdressing Group in Market Harborough because they had a problem with nuisance pigeons. Brown’s care deeply about their customers and staff and are very successful. They have a great reputation and many salons across the country. The site in question was the Stamford salon. The management wished to give the staff somewhere to sit in good weather. Although the yard is shared, Brown’s were so intent on improving things that they wanted to invest even though the yard is shared. Pigeon proofing for local businesses is one of the most rewarding things to do.

The rear of the store have a very small service yard which had fallen into disrepair due to several reasons. There had been a persistent pigeon problem. Various attempts had been made to solve the nuisance pigeons. The rear wall of the salon had roosting pigeons which were:

Squeezing past pigeon netting ripped down by builders
Nesting on the floor in pigeon guano causing slip hazards
Causing the yard to be unusable
Blocking drains with guano
Causing mess by roosting on the back wall of the building.

Communication:

During a survey, we politely knocked on the doors of Quadrant Building Control and North Shoes to let them know we’d be working at the rear of their properties. Quadrant were particularly interested in improving things. Nick Ellson of Quadrant and Harry Brown of Brown’s both voiced the opinion that getting rid of pigeons from the entire yard was long overdue. Both decided that the bigger picture was more important. They made a commitment to improve things. We worked closely with all companies in order to negotiate access and a joint venture was agreed. Pest Control and Bird Control are so much easier when people agree and collaborate. Pigeon proofing for local businesses is often a joint venture At this point we had to reassess the stop of the work. The great thing was that, although the work was tripled, the clients paid half as much as they would have done for individual work on their building. We even agreed to install gutter comb after cleaning out the gutters.

A common sense plan:

In order to get rid of pigeons, we wanted to do it humanely. The obvious choice was to install a large pigeon netting at height to cover the entire service yard. It was very difficult to access but we felt that the only really solutions was to make it so that staff and customers would never even notice the pigeon. We could use access platforms so it had to be done from ladders. A tough job but when you’re doing pigeon proofing for local businesses, you’ve got to make it work for them.

Installation:

The pigeon proofing for these local businesses took 2 days including all the tidying, jet-washing down afterwards and installing some spikes round a particularly tricky old chimney. The skeleton installation for the net was most demanding as access was almost impossible. We actually had to remove part of a disused chimney in order to get the net across to the installed skeleton (net frame). Its great when it starts to tighten and the pigeon fly away. Thats the best thing about pigeon proofing and getting rid of pigeons this way…none of them have to get hurt. It was a tough job including working at height, risk assessments, clean up and extraction from the site – but what great results.

Results:

We popped back to see the installation just to make sure that none of the pigeons were getting in. It’s become a beautifully pigeon-free area that is a real sun trap. Staff can now sit out there with out worrying about the smell, the unsightly mess and contracting disease. The customers are happy and we’re proud.

Getting rid of moles has nothing to do with luck

Getting rid of moles: making a mountain out of a molehill.

So its the time of year that moles are really making their presences felt. Getting rid of moles is something that gardeners and dedicated estate managers are very keen to do. Catching moles isn’t easy: but is often necessary for aesthetic and health and safety reasons. We catch a lot of moles. I mean, many, many moles. Often we are called in when estate managers of gardeners can’t cope. We also help gardeners to protect their pride and joy. Part of getting rid of moles is selecting the right company to work with. A lady called us the other day wanting to find out how to catch moles. They had been at bay for a few month – then entered the garden. She mentioned that she’d had another company in but they’d had limited success. She wanted to know if we would ‘be luckier’. I replied that I’m afraid we wouldn’t be because mole control is nothing to do with luck: its about knowledge, experience and adaptability.

But you just put the traps is the ground don’t you?

Getting rid of moles which create hills like these takes considerable skill and expertise — Enough to drive the most mild-mannered gardener crazy.

When you ask ‘how do i catch a mole?’, the first thing many do is go to a local garden centre. They ask for a mole trap and are usually directed to a display where some nice shiny ‘scissors’ traps are to be found.They’ll then ask : ‘Do any mole traps work?’ they may buy one, take it home, put it right next to the biggest molehill. Then, after a few days, they might move it…and then again, and again and again, and so it starts – the frustration. Because you can’t catch it. its not your fault – you’re just dealing with the wrong end of the problem. The worst case I’ve seen was in a village near Rutland water. This house is wonderful with the kind of lawn that lawn companies would pay to photograph for their marketing material. The owner (a very nice guy) had lost our number and had got another company in to get rid of a few moles. Their traps were still in the ground when we came to have a look at what had happened. Basically, there were molehills everywhere. How long had they been trying to catch the moles? Well, it surprised us: 6 months!! 6 months of promises. 6 months of wandering round a field. 6 months of somehow managing not to catch a mole: now that is an achievement. We were asked whether we’d have more luck. The honest answer is: No. Luck has nothing to do with it. A great mole catcher can look at the land and will know where to start catching moles. He’ll work less because he is skilled. He’ll probably use less traps, lay them more safely and neatly and return sooner because he knows he’s going to catch the animal more quickly than the other person. It’ll also be more humane as he knows how to set the trap correctly. How does he know all this? Because he’s been trained. Its nothing to do with luck. If you’ve had enough of relying on luck, why not call us on 0800 092 5259 and we can have a chat about the problem. We won’t be as cheap but at least we know how to remove moles from you garden, farm or estate.

We cover the whole of Northamptonshire, Northampton, Leicester, Birmingham, Bedford, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and London as well as the surrounding areas.

Acclaim Environmental are Proud members of the BPCA

How to get rid of pest confusion

A new year and a refreshed new website to help you.

We’ve recently updated www.acclaimenvironmental.co.uk to help you learn how to get rid of pest confusion including rats, wasps and a whole lot more. Although its only just been launched, we’re still getting the pest control content in place in order to bring you the answers to the questions you need answering. Feel free to get in touch and ask anything you like and we’ll populate the most common questions into our FAQ section If you need an emergency response or just a chat about something unusual, we’re waiting to take your call on 0800 092 5259or to find out more visit our new website www.acclaimenvironmental.co.uk We cover Northampton, Leicester, Birmingham, Bedford, Milton Keynes and London as well as the surrounding areas.