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Protecting Your Home from Fall Rodent Infestations

A little girl hugs her dog, holds a toy in her hands, mom is smiling in the background. Autumn park, walk with a dog.

With the approach of colder weather, the risk of increased rodent activity becomes a real concern.
According to Killingsworth’s Anticimex SMART data, rats and mice are persistent issues year-round. Late
summer and early fall present an ideal opportunity to implement basic exclusion and rodent-proofing
strategies for your Charlotte area home or business. When combined with professional pest control
services from Killingsworth, these measures can significantly reduce the chances of rodents overwintering
and creating infestations.


It’s crucial to bear in mind that rats can squeeze through holes as small as a dime, and mice can slip
through holes as small as a quarter. Take a careful inventory of your property and pay special attention to
potential entry points, which often include HVAC unit lines, utility/cable TV holes, gaps at the bottom of
doors, dryer vents, and structural or foundation cracks.


Don’t let rodents infest your home, call Killingsworth at 704-563-8787


Effective Tips for Keeping Mice and Rats Out

  1. Declutter the area around your home to eliminate harborage areas for mice, including firewood
    piles, stored patio furniture, and children’s toys.
  2. Trim back plants and trees that come into contact with or overhang your structure.
  3. Inspect entry doors, especially garage doors, and replace them if they are damaged or worn.
  4. Examine all utility penetrations through your structure’s exterior walls, such as electrical, gas, or
    air conditioner lines. Seal any openings using appropriate materials like steel wool or copper
    mesh. Avoid using expanding foam, as rats and mice can chew through it.
  5. Inspect window and vent screens for holes and gaps, and make necessary repairs. This includes
    checking crawlspace vents.
  6. Examine your siding for gaps, especially at corners, and seal them as needed using suitable
    materials.
  7. Ensure that any gaps or openings around your home larger than the size of a dime are sealed.

Essential Materials for Rodent-Proofing


To effectively rodent-proof your property, gather these essential tools and materials:

  • Medium-grade or higher-quality steel wool
  • Copper mesh
  • 1/4-inch thick wire mesh screens
  • All-weather caulk sealant
  • Door sweeps and weather stripping
  • Crawl space vent covers

Use the following tools to enhance your rodent-proofing efforts:

  • Wire cutters
  • Pliers
  • Screwdriver
  • Utility knife
  • Power drill
  • Caulk gun

Call 704-563-8787 for expert rodent control from Killingsworth!


Repairing Rodent Entry Points

  1. Seal gaps around utility lines and HVAC lines using copper mesh. Roll the metal into a piece large
    enough to cover the entry point, and secure it with a screwdriver. The damage it may cause to
    their mouths will discourage rodents from chewing through the mesh.
  2. Address gaps under doors by installing weather stripping or door sweeps. Ensure the gap is
    completely sealed, allowing no light to shine through. If a pen or pencil can still fit through,
    continue adjustments.
  3. Prevent dryer vents from becoming entry points by maintaining proper sealing of the flaps.
    Regularly clear vents of lint and consider installing a metal vent screen or a rodent-proof vent
    according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Seal any cracks around the vent with steel wool
    and cover it with caulk.
  4. Seal foundational and structural cracks and openings with 1/4-inch thick galvanized steel wire
    mesh. If you’re a DIY enthusiast, get ready for measuring, cutting, and power drilling.
  5. Some openings, such as crawlspace vents, may necessitate reinstalling the vent cover.
    The SMART Solution: Cutting-Edge Pest Control Technology

Killingsworth’s Anticimex SMART technology is an eco-friendly, 24/7 wireless pest control solution. The
SMART system relays information to Killingsworth headquarters. This allows our pest control
professionals to identify areas with high rodent pressure.
Thanks to innovative SMART technology from Anticimex, you can put worries about rodents in your
home or garage behind you. Killingsworth will identify the issue before you even notice it!
A successful SMART service involves three core steps: inspection, monitoring, and pest-proofing. Rodent
proofing plays a pivotal role in the SMART Service.
Our SMART Devices remain active 24/7 and provide valuable data trends that allow us to accurately
assess rodent activity, removing the guesswork. For proactive and effective pest control, trust Anticimex
SMART technology from Killingsworth.

Protecting Your Home from Fall Rodent Infestations

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.



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