ABC Blog

Signs of a Mouse Infestation

a group of mice eating cereal

Do you have a sneaking suspicion that there is a population of mice in your home even though you haven’t actually seen a mouse yet? Your fears are not unjustified.

Mice are nocturnal and are most active at night. It’s rare to see them during the day, even if you have a large mouse infestation in your home. The best way to spot a mouse problem is to notice the signs they leave behind.

Many homeowners report that they have found mouse droppings but no mouse. Droppings, loose nesting materials, a musky smell and other signs indicate that your home has a mouse infestation. You should contact a rodent control specialist as soon as you notice the signs.

The Most Common Signs of a Mouse Infestation

Mice are nocturnal animals, so they are most active between dusk and dawn. Mice do sometimes come out during the day, but it’s rare. Instead, there are other … Read Full Post »

Earwig Versus Termite: Which Pest Do I Have?

an earwig

Do you know the difference between an earwig and a termite? These two pests are often mistaken for each other, but they are extremely different in appearance and habits.

As a homeowner, it’s valuable to tell these insects apart so that you know what to do when you spot one of them in or around your home. While earwigs can become an annoyance, they do not pose the same threat to your home’s structure as termites.

If you spot termites or some signs of termites, it’s wise to contact a pest control professional. The faster you catch an infestation, the less damage it can do to your home. This guide will also break down two common signs of termites in your home: termites coming out of walls and termite tunnels on walls.

Earwig Appearance and Habits

Earwigs and termites may look similar to an untrained eye; however, they have quite a few physical distinctions. … Read Full Post »

Do Mice Carry Rabies?

a mouse

When you have a mouse infestation, it needs to be dealt with as efficiently as possible. Mice are incredibly fast breeders, so an infestation that’s not eliminated quickly is likely to grow out of control. These rodents can cause property damage and they contaminate anything they touch. This is partly because they carry bacteria and diseases that can make people sick. But, do mice carry rabies?

Mice are rarely infected with rabies, and they have not been known to transmit rabies to humans. Still, they pose a danger to people’s health in several ways. While they don’t carry rabies, they carry other harmful bacteria and diseases. These include salmonella, hantavirus, leptospirosis, typhus and plague.

When rodents crawl on your kitchen counters or chew through cereal boxes in your pantry, they are contaminating your food along with the surfaces in your home. Additionally, the pathogens in mouse urine and droppings have the potential … Read Full Post »

Can Rats See in the Dark?

a rat in darkness

When you hear rustling around the house at night, it could be a family member going into the kitchen for a midnight snack. If you hear noises in the wall, it’s an entirely different kind of hungry critter. Rats regularly scrounge for food and water at night, which has led to the popular belief that rodents can see very well in the dark. But can they really?

It is true that rats are nocturnal animals and would much rather hide away during the daylight hours than run about your home. Rats are incredibly sensitive to bright lights. It hurts their eyes. So it would make sense for them to have night vision. However, rats actually have pretty poor vision no matter how much light there is.

Most rats have adapted to living in low light and are pretty nearsighted, with the ability to only see a couple of feet in front of … Read Full Post »

Black Mice: Identification and Control Guide

a black mouse

If you’ve spotted black mice in your home or around your property, you’re probably wondering how to get rid of them—fast. The good news is, there is no special trick to it. Black mice aren’t a special type of mice. If you see a black mouse, it’s probably a regular house mouse with darker fur. House mice can have fur ranging from brownish to light gray, to dark gray or nearly black in color.

Getting rid of house mice is similar to controlling other mouse populations. You have to use traps, close off their entry points and get rid of whatever is attracting them. The bad news is, mice can be very hard to control without professional help.

A big problem with mice is that they are very prolific. A single female house mouse has multiple babies at a time and multiple litters each year. This means she can have 30 or … Read Full Post »

Why Does My AC Smell Like Vinegar?

air that smells like vinegar blowing through a home

Is there anything better than the fresh cool breeze of an air conditioner on a sweltering summer day? No way.

However, if your AC smells like rotten eggs or vinegar, that pleasant respite from the heat is going to sour. Air conditioners that emit an unpleasant smell are not only a buzzkill to your refreshment and comfort, they are also warning signs of serious functional issues and potentially expensive breakdowns.

In short, that bad smell is your AC’s way of letting you know that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. An off-putting vinegar odor is most typically caused by a build-up of bacteria or mold in your AC system. This can continue to grow and spread throughout your home.

The good news is that this is a fairly common issue and there are some tried-and-true methods to resolve it.

The first step in dealing with a sour-smelling air conditioner is to determine … Read Full Post »

Half of My Christmas Lights Aren’t Working

a string of Christmas lights

Decking the halls for the Christmas season fills many people with excitement for the coming celebrations. A huge part of the decorating ritual every year includes festive lights on the exterior of your home. Sometimes when you flip the switch, the twinkle looks a little unbalanced. Or when you pull last year’s spools of shining glory out of storage, half of the lights aren’t ready to shine.

What’s next? The first step is to always plug in your lights and check for issues before you hang them for decorating. You don’t want to hang your lights only to find they need to come right off! If you do have issues, your choices are to try to fix the lights yourself or contact a professional who can bring new LED lights for you and hang them up. Let’s troubleshoot some potential causes for the outage.

Troubleshooting Your Christmas Lights

First off, one of the … Read Full Post »

How To Make Compost

compost mixed into soil

Are you a homeowner interested in making your own compost? Composting is an easy process to start and maintain, regardless of your size requirements.

It’s also one of the easiest and best first steps for garden fertilization, and healthy lawncare.

Despite what you may have heard, home composting is not complicated, it’s not messy and it doesn’t smell bad when you do it right.

In fact, learning how to compost the right way is super simple. Once you get started, it’s a great, environmentally-friendly way to repurpose food scraps and a variety of other organic materials into a superfood for your plants and gardens.

Types of Composting

First things first, let’s take a look at the various types of composting. The three most popular and widely used methods are cold composting, hot composting and vermicomposting.

Cold Composting

Composting in its most basic form is “cold” composting. This involves collecting plant waste from your lawns or gardens and … Read Full Post »

Can You Use Compost As Mulch?

plants growing in compost

People spend a good deal of time and, often, money creating a landscape that adds beauty and value to their home. From preparing the soil to planting to aftercare, it can be a lot of work. The last thing you want is for all the effort to end up with plants and shrubs that aren’t thriving in their environment. A big way to ensure that your landscaping is living its best life is by adding mulch.

Why mulch? It gives your flower beds and other landscaping a finished look. It also has a number of benefits for the plants themselves. Mulch keeps moisture in the soil and even helps break up any clay. This allows the moisture to dig deep and keep the soil cool in the heat. It also helps resist frost issues in the winter, gives the soil nutrients as the mulch decomposes and blocks weeds from popping up.

You … Read Full Post »

Why Are There Mosquitoes in My House?

“Why are there mosquitoes in my house?” This is a common question many people ask pest control professionals. Having mosquitoes outdoors is bad enough. Their itchy bites can turn yard work or hanging out on the patio into a miserable experience. But getting mosquito bites inside the house, where you’re supposed to be safe, is even worse. How do they get in, and why do they stay?

Mosquitoes get into the house the same way as any pest: through open doors and windows. They also sneak in through rips in screens or gaps around exterior doors and windows. Mosquitoes are not very strong fliers, so they might seek shelter from the wind inside your home. They are also attracted to standing water since they need water to breed. If they can find a good place to breed indoors, they can become an annoying ongoing problem.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and … Read Full Post »