Winter Pest Control Tips

Here are some tips for pest control heading into winter.

1. If you have a garage, double check that there are no openings or gaps as this is a common entry for mice and other rodents
2. Store any firewood at least 20 feet away from your house--firewood is a common hangout for pests such as wood roaches
3. Clear clutter from garage, shed and basements as the clutter can be a good hangout for pests
4. Install screens over chimney vents & openings to prevent pests such as squirrels, raccoons, birds or rodents from entering your home or cottage
5. Inspect wires, insulation and walls for signs of gnaw marks--if there are gnaw marks present then chances are VERY good that you have some kind of rodent infesting your home or cottage

If you have any questions or concerns or would like to book and appointment with Cottage Country Pest Control please give us a call at 705-534-7863 or email us today.

Identifying: German Cockroaches

German Cockroach. See the 2 dark parallel streaks running across it's body?

• The most common cockroach in Canada is the German Cockroach
• The German roach is about 1.3 to 1.6 cm long and has a flattened oval body with long spiny legs
• They are tan or light brown colour with 2 dark parallel streaks that run from their heads and down to the base of their wings 
• Despite having wings, German roaches are unable to sustain flight
• German roaches can be found in any part of your home, but they usually prefer a damp environment such as kitchens, bathrooms, basements,etc.
• German cockroaches are also considered to be a public health concern because they have been known to carry Salmonella bacteria,which it has been shown can remain in their feces for several years
• German roaches (and many other species of roaches) have been known to also cause allergies in people that can result in skin rashes, asthma and other reactions 
• Allergies are primarily caused by their feces, saliva and eggs
• German roaches can also carry bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and other bacterial pathogens that can make you or your family sick through contaminated food

So what can Cottage Country Pest Control do? Well, by practicing IPM (which if you are not familiar with, you can read about here) we can approach the infestation and find the best way to solve the problem using environmentally responsible and people-friendly ways.

Contact Cottage Country Pest Control through email or call us at 705-534-7863 to book and appointment or to find out more information.  

Quick Facts - Woodroaches

Wood roaches like to hide in stumps, under bark and in wood piles. They eat fungi, sweet substances and organic matter.

For help in solving all of your pest control problems,
Please call or email us at
Cottage Country Pest Control (705) 534-7863
ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Quick Fact - Roaches

Cockroaches can live without their heads for about a week.


For help to solve all of your pest control problems, call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7863, or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Quick Fact - Roaches

Female cockroaches only ever need to mate once. Unfortunately, that does not mean they only reproduce once... once they have mated, they stay pregnant and can pop out new roaches for the rest of their lives.


For help to solve all of your pest control problems, call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7863, or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Quick Fact - Roaches

Young cockroaches can squeeze through a crevice about as thick as a dime.


For help to solve all of your pest control problems, call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7863, or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Quick Fact - Bed Bugs

Most things sold as bed bug protectors have little or no value. For example, things you put under or around bed legs do nothing at all since most bedbugs are introduced via clothing, luggage or bodies - they don't come in nicely through the door and climb up the legs of the bed.

For help to solve all of your pest control problems, call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7863, or email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com.

Rooming Houses & Rental Properties

In addition to solving home and cottage pest control problems, Cottage Country Pest Control is happy to help maintain your rental properties.

We own a house in Peterborough; while we spend most of our time in Victoria Harbour (it is ever so much prettier - and quieter!) ...we do also live at the Peterborough house part time. And we rent rooms.

If you have a rooming house or own rental properties, you will know all about all the ~fun & games~ that can go along with that. But at least we are fortunate to never have to worry about unwanted pests.

We spray each room as it is vacated; it is a quick and easy job to spray an empty room or apartment - and the spray has a residual effect. So we can be sure that our tenants are moving into a pest free room.

AND - if they happen to be bringing any nasties (such as bed bugs or roaches) with them, the residual effect means that they are unlikely to make it out of that room and into our other tenants' rooms - or worse, mine!!

If you have an apartment, rooming house, or other rental properties in Peterborough or Midland, we would be happy to solve any active infestations you might have, and/or to provide you with an estimate for regular tenant-transition sprays. Guaranteed to be a lot more cost-effective (and less aggravating) than waiting until you have a problem.

We also have products that can take care of any nasty smells - skunks, mold, smoke, and other assorted stinkers.

Email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com, or give us a call at (705)534-7863.

Bugs Bugs Bugs

Wow!

I happened to look out my kitchen window this afternoon and noticed all sorts of little bugs flying around.

They really ARE early this year, aren't they?!

I have been seeing spiders already too - although not 'round my house, of course.

It's rather odd being married to a pest control guy. Me I always used to just relocate spiders that wandered into my house. Now I never have any!

I like spiders - well, their webs, anyway. Not the ones that make the outside of your house look messy and dirty - but the ones that collect the dew and look SO beautiful in the sun.

'Course, I didn't used to live on the water, either - on waterfront properties the spiders DO make a heck of a mess... not the same thing at all.

ANYWAY.... as I was saying... I think? ... the critters are starting early this year... call us now to arrange your spider spray package.

(705)534-7863 .. or better yet, email us at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com

Spring!

Guess what I saw today?! A spider - out building a web already!

Which reminded me about the CBC radio interview I heard a few days ago.... they were talking to a weather guy, and he was saying that because we had such a mild winter, the bugs had an easy winter, and would likely be a royal pain this spring: more of them, much earlier than we are used to in Ontario.

Isn't that good news?!

Well, okay... maybe not for you, if you're stopping by this blog... sorry about that. But it is very good news for me. I need hubby to be out working more... not for the $$, although of course I like that too... but mostly, it is that I am absolutely positively SWAMPED with school work right now, and the busier he is, the more writing I get done.

So...give him a call to handle all of your spider, fly, bat, ant, bedbug, roach, mice or other nasty critter problems.

If you are in the Barrie, Midland, Orillia area, call Cottage Country Pest Control at (705)534-7863.

In Peterborough, Lindsay, Kawarthas area, call (705)641-6245. We still split our time between the 2 areas, so you may need to leave a message; we will get back to you.

Or, for a quicker response, send us an email. And remember, the earlier you treat, the easier (and therefore cheaper) it is.

Another Way Cottage Country is Different

Today was a good example of another way that Cottage Country Pest Control is different from many other pest control companies.

We know that it can be a royal pain to make sure that someone can be at the cottage to let our guy in to provide you with services. We are lucky enough to live at our cottage year round - so we make a point of providing you with services when it is convenient for you.

Ross just got back from a follow up visit to a cottage.

Yes, on a Sunday afternoon - and no, no extra charge - not for the follow up, not for the island call, and not for the Sunday afternoon service. Try arranging that with another pest control company; not likely.

For excellent service to solve your pest problems, give Cottage Country Pest Control a call at (705) 534-7863.

Current pests

Hmmm...we have moved on from spiders and mice this week and now it seems that people are stopping by to look for solutions to geese and cockroaches in cottage country Ontario.

Personally, I'd rather have the mice!

....than cockroaches anyway. Cottage Country Pest Control is able to help you with either of those issues though.

Cockroaches are fairly straightforward - they need to be treated as soon as you notice them (after all, who wants to live with them?!) so that they don't get too busy making more cockroaches and become more difficult to treat. Partly, that's just good management - but if you need any more motivation to call sooner rather than later, also keep in mind that fixing emerging problems is a LOT cheaper than dealing with pests once they are entrenched.

Geese are rather more complicated to deal with ... but hey, at least they stay outside. That's definitely a good thing, considering what a mess they make. And usually, it's that mess that people really are perturbed about. Geese are protected in Ontario - which means that Ross will not do anything that will harm them.

He can and will clean up the mess they leave for you, though. And he is also very knowledgeable about how to create a less attractive environment (for the geese, not for you) so that the geese will eschew your particular property and go elsewhere.

I can attest to the fact that his approaches work - our waterfront attracts the odd blue heron and red winged blackbirds. The only geese we see are usually feeding at our neighbours'. We like it that way. We did used to have some issues with goose poop on our dock, but now Ross has solved that one too.

As soon as I'm done my summer school courses - next Friday, FINALLY - I shall get back to work on the website and put up pages for roaches, geese, and whatever other critters I haven't got done yet - oh - I still have the bedbug page to post too. That one is all but done but not yet up. I need more hours in my days - or more days at home; that would work too.

One more week in Peterborough and then I'll head back to Victoria Harbour for the rest of the summer. I can't wait.