Category: Blog

When the elements outside get too severe, wild rodents like rats will start looking for more comfortable locations to establish a nest. Unfortunately, rats often target residential homes as their best bet for warm shelter and accessible food and water, especially during the colder months. While they are simply trying to survive, rats have no place inside your home.

If you have noticed signs of rat activity or are worried that rats may attempt to make their way into your walls for shelter, then follow these tips for rat-proofing your home.

4 Recommended Rat Prevention Tips

Prevention is the best way to ensure that a rat issue never becomes an uncontrollable infestation.

To help keep rats out of your home, it is recommended that you start with the following:

1. Inspect the outside of your home for openings.

   Look for cracks, gaps, or holes in your foundation, walls, or roof that are ¼” or larger. Rats can squeeze through tiny openings, so it’s important to have these exterior vulnerabilities identified and sealed.

2. Check your home’s interior for any areas of exposure.

   Inspect your doors, door frames, and window frames from the inside for any gaps or openings. Similarly, if the opening is ¼” or bigger, it should be caulked and repaired by you or a trained professional.

3. Examine ventilation ducts and utility entry points.

   Rats have been known to enter homes through roof vents and air conditioning and dryer ducts, so reinforcing them with a metal mesh screen is a perfect solution to keep rats out.

4. Eliminate sources of food and water.

   Rats want three things when they come to your home: food, water, and shelter. Denying two of these things makes your home much less desirable to nuisance rats. Bring in bird feeders, pet bowls, and fix leaky garden hoses to help keep hungry and thirsty rats at bay.

The Trouble With Getting Rid of Rats on Your Own

Taking measures to prevent rat issues now, will go a long way to preventing rats from infiltrating your home’s attic and walls. However, if your efforts fail to prevent a rat infestation, then don’t resort to attempting rat removal on your own; doing so can risk the safety and health of you and your property. Instead, rely on the team of rat removal professionals at Critter Control® of Orlando to get rid of rats.

Expert Rat Removal Services in Orlando

At Critter Control® of Orlando, we offer a full range of animal exclusion services, including rat prevention and removal. Our experienced rat removal technicians will quickly and safely remove nuisance rats and other unwelcome wildlife from your Central Florida property and keep them from returning. To schedule your inspection and receive a free estimate for our humane and efficient rat removal services, call Critter Control® of Orlando today at 407-295-7194.

Mice are attracted to warm residential homes that are full of food and water, and offer shelter from predators. Most homeowners, however, don’t enjoy having mice over as guests. That’s because invasive mice can contaminate and destroy a home while creating unpleasant sounds and smells from behind your walls. Here are some ways to tell if mice are in your walls, how they got there, and what you can do to get rid of them.

3 Signs of Mice in Your Walls

Sometimes, it’s better to look for signs of mouse activity than for the mouse itself. Signs of mice activity to look out for include:

1. Disturbing Noises

   Strange sounds coming from the walls, floors, and ceilings all point to a growing mouse infestation. Invasive mice will make scratching, squeaking, and scurrying noises that can keep you awake at night.

2. Disgusting Smells

   Mice produce 50–80 droppings each night, and scatter them randomly throughout the areas they occupy. Typically, droppings will be found underneath sinks, along attic floorboards, or in kitchen cupboards where they walk or spend time eating.

3. Damaging Stains

   Routes that mice use often may show grease stains from being rubbed by the oils in a mouse’s coat. Tracks and trails may be obvious in dusty places particularly. In well-developed infestations, piles of urine, grease, and dust will form in areas the mice regularly populate.

How Mice Get Inside Your Walls

Mice are tiny, nimble rodents that can squeeze through exterior openings smaller than the diameter of a nickel. They can also crawl through piping, scratch through ventilation ducts, and use their teeth to chew their way into your home through roof shingles, drywall, and foundational cracks.

How to Locate and Remove Invasive Mice

Effectively and safely removing mice from your home’s walls takes precision, training, and proper safety gear and equipment. Furthermore, because mice largely stay hidden and inactive during the day, it can be difficult to determine where they are nesting if you lack experience. If you suspect mice have taken up residence in your home but are having trouble being certain where their nest is located, then contact your local mice removal professionals to help identify, locate, isolate, and remove all unwanted mice from your property.

Expert Mice Removal Services in Orlando

The experienced mice removal technicians at Critter Control® of Orlando have the knowledge, tools, and years of experience needed to remove any invasive rodent from your home. We will quickly and safely evict all nuisance mice from your Central Florida property and keep them from returning. To schedule your inspection and receive a free estimate for our humane and efficient mice removal services, call Critter Control® of Orlando today at 407-295-7194.

When temperatures begin to drop during colder months, wild animals begin to act differently. While their behaviors generally depend on their species, some critters will try to avoid the cold by seeking warm shelter in nearby structures. Unfortunately, the structures animals target are often residential homes and commercial buildings.

Here are some of the ways in which cold weather affects local critters and how you can get them off your Orlando area property.

How Different Animals React to Cold Weather

• Insects and Other Pests – There’s a common misconception that insects and other invertebrates just die off when it gets cold; but that simply isn’t the case. Many insects go underground or burrow under piles of leaves to escape the cold; however, some will crawl out in the open in search of food.
• Bats – When you think of hibernation, you probably think about bears going to sleep for the winter. While it is true that bears (and even some species of frog) hibernate, other animals do as well. In fact, bats hibernate in order to help maintain their body temperature during colder months. However, not every animal goes to sleep.
• Raccoons and Rodents – If cold and hungry enough, raccoons and rodents—like rats, mice, and squirrels—will attempt to get in your home if they detect food and warmth inside. Once indoors, the invasive wildlife will quickly establish a nest near accessible food and water sources and begin to breed. If their presence is not caught quickly, a few wild animals can grow from an unwelcome nuisance into a destructive infestation.

Professional Pest and Wildlife Removal Services in Orlando

If a wild critter has entered your Orlando home or business seeking shelter, call the experts at Critter Control® of Orlando. Our experienced wildlife removal technicians will quickly and safely remove any nuisance and otherwise unwanted wildlife from your Orlando property and keep them from returning. To schedule your inspection and receive a free estimate for our effective wildlife removal services, call Critter Control®  of Orlando today at 407-295-7194.

If you live in Florida, then you understand how annoying mosquitoes can ruin an outdoor event or relaxing night outside with family and friends. Aside from being a Central Florida nuisance, especially during warmer months, mosquitoes are also a health risk because they can carry and spread dangerous diseases like the Zika virus, dengue fever, and malaria.

Therefore, avoiding mosquito bites should be a top concern. Here are a couple of steps you can take to prevent mosquitoes around your home.

5 Steps to Prevent Mosquitoes

1. Protect yourself inside and out.

   Installing mesh screens on your windows, doors, and patios can protect you from nuisance mosquito attacks. The netting reduces the mosquito’s visibility, acting as a natural and safe repellent when you are outdoors. If this isn’t possible, limiting your exposure outside during dusk and dawn can help prevent mosquito bites.

2. Wear bright and loose clothes.

   Since mosquitoes have terrible eyesight, they rely on your shadow to find you. Dark colors like black, navy blue, and red stand out and cast a shadow, whereas light-colored clothing won’t. Also, wear clothes with a thicker fabric and looser fit when outside during mosquito season instead of tight, thin clothing.

3. Get rid of any standing water outside your home.

   A mosquito’s breeding ground is in any pool of stagnant water, such as buckets of water, kiddie pools, empty flower pots, and birdbaths. Mosquitoes take 10 to 14 days to develop from an egg to an adult, so regularly pour any standing water onto the ground before mosquitoes have the chance to fully grow.

4. Try a mosquito repellent.

   The most effective mosquito repellent will contain DEET, picaridin, or IR3535. Make sure to avoid spraying the repellant around your eyes and mouth, and concentrate the spray on target areas like your ankles, lower legs, arms, and wrists. However, spraying chemicals on your skin leaves a greasy residue and a strong, unpleasant smell that not everyone is comfortable with. Furthermore, while bug spray is the oldest trick in the book at preventing mosquitoes, it is only a temporary solution to a growing mosquito problem.

5. Contact mosquito control professionals.

   The best way to prevent mosquitoes on your Central Florida property is by contacting the mosquito control experts at Critter Control® of Orlando. Our licensed and trained technicians will quickly eliminate all nuisance mosquitoes from your home with our non-toxic and eco-friendly pest control services.

Effectively Prevent Mosquitoes with Critter Control® of Orlando

If you have a mosquito problem on your Orlando property, don’t bother with costly and temporary solutions when you can get rid of mosquitoes permanently with Critter Control® of Orlando. Our pest control experts will take care of your problem and implement preventative measures to ensure pesky mosquitoes stay away from your property for good.

To schedule an inspection for your Orlando commercial or residential property and receive a free estimate for our safe and effective mosquito control services, call us today at 407-295-7194.

Of the millions of different insects in the world, few creep people out more than the common household cockroach. Every year, Americans spend nearly $2 million on roach removal alone. Cockroaches are known to be carriers of disease and are second only to dust as the biggest cause of indoor allergies in America. If you are dealing with an infestation of cockroaches in your Orlando home, then here are some strategies you can try to get rid of them.

Common Types of Roaches in Orlando

The most commonly found cockroaches in the Central Florida area are the German cockroach and the American cockroach. German cockroaches are generally found in kitchens and bathrooms and are smaller than their American counterparts. However, both are very resilient, which can make them difficult to get rid of.

2 Ways to Deter Roaches

To keep cockroaches from entering your Orlando home, you can:

1. Clean your house regularly. Roaches love to feast on crumbs and leftovers, especially anything greasy. Wipe down countertops and your stove each evening before going to bed, and sweep up crumbs right away. Cover and put away leftovers after meals, and don’t let trash cans overflow.
2. Seal entry points. Inspect your home interior for cracks that would allow roaches to enter your pantry, easily access kitchen cabinets, and contaminate your food supply. Seal them with caulk.

All-Natural Roach Removal Strategies

If you find yourself dealing with roaches in your home, some natural ways to get rid of them and keep them away include:

• Sugar and baking soda – Simply mixing together equal parts sugar and baking soda and sprinkling it where you’ve seen roach activity makes for a great way to poison roaches in your home.
• Bay leaves – Keep roaches away by placing bay leaves near where they nest. Cockroaches and other insects despise the smell and will stay far away.
• Water jar trap – If exterminating roaches doesn’t interest you, building your own trap is easy. Simply fill a glass jar halfway with water and place it on the floor where you have a roach problem. They will be attracted to the moisture, climb into the jar, and be unable to escape.

Effective Roach Control Methods

Once a few roaches make their way into your home, an infestation can quickly grow. Rather than wasting your money and time on ineffective sprays or all-natural remedies, the best, fastest, and most permanent way to get rid of cockroaches is to call the expert pest control specialists at Critter Control® of Orlando.

Professional Roach Control in Orlando

If your Orlando property has a roach infestation, rely on the professionals at Critter Control® of Orlando. Our licensed and trained technicians use effective, non-toxic, and eco-friendly roach control methods to remove the infestation from your home. We will also take the proper steps to clean and decontaminate your property following an infestation and install safeguards to ensure roaches don’t return.

For more information or to schedule an inspection and receive a free estimate for our expert cockroach control services, give Critter Control® of Orlando a call today at 407-295-7194.

Against the advice of experts and, often, posted warning signs, many people regularly feed wild animals. People sometimes feed wildlife because they look cute and harmless, or out of concern that the critters will go hungry because they can’t find food. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While their intentions are likely coming from a good place, those who feed wild animals are actually doing the critter and those within its surrounding environment a disservice by breaking the invisible barrier that keeps animals in the wild where they belong.

Why You Shouldn’t Feed Wild Animals

Here are four important reasons why feeding wild animals is never a good idea.

1. Human food isn’t good for wild animals.

   Most of the foods that humans eat don’t contain the correct amount of nutrition for wild animals. Bread and other grains are commonly given to wild critters, which can cause serious health issues over time.

2. Fed wildlife will lose their fear of humans.

   This might not seem so bad, but an animal’s natural fear of humans is what keeps it a safe distance away from you and your home. When you feed them, that fear goes away which can lead to animals constantly loitering around your home, looking for food, and, in some cases, spreading disease.

3. Wild animals will become dependent on handouts.

   Wild animals are natural hunters and gatherers, and when you offer them an easy source of food, they will naturally take advantage of it. Over time, it can cause them to lose their ability to hunt for themselves, hurting their ability to survive without human assistance.

4. Wild animals may reproduce faster if fed.

   Many animals’ birth rates depend on how plentiful their food supply is. Putting out food may trick them into thinking there’s more food available than there really is, causing them to breed and give birth to more babies. If that food supply is then removed, it can cause starvation and death to their newborns.

Professional Wildlife Removal in Orlando

While feeding the critters around your home might seem like a nice thing to do, it always does more harm than good. Even if you aren’t intentionally putting food out for them, make sure to feed your pets inside and keep garbage cans tightly sealed to prevent unwelcome visitors.

If you have concerns about wild animals around your home, give the licensed and trained experts at Critter Control® of Orlando a call today at 407-295-7194.

Ants are hardworking creatures that search for food to bring back to their colony. Due to their small size, they can fit into any tiny opening around your Central Florida home. Aside from being a nuisance to deal with, ants can cause significant damage to your property over time. To keep your home from being overrun with pests, follow these 5 tips to prevent ants.

5 Tips to Prevent Ants in Your Central Florida Home

1. Keep all surfaces clean

   The smallest crumb on the kitchen counter is enough to attract ants into your home. You must frequently sweep the floors and counters, wash the dishes, take out the trash, and vacuum to prevent an ant infestation.

2. Store food in sealed containers

   Ants go inside homes searching for food and water. Storing fruits and vegetables in your fridge and your pantry food in airtight containers and will help keep ants away.

3. Seal all cracks and gaps

   Look around your property for small cracks and openings around windows, doors, and floorboards as ants are small enough to fit through the tiniest of openings. Use a caulking gun to seal such gaps.

4. Get rid of ant trails

   Ants use a scent to follow each other through their ant trails. If you discover a trail of ants around your home, you can disrupt their scent with a mixture of water and vinegar.

5. Call ant control professionals

   Although there are many DIY ant control methods and remedies you can try, they are only temporary solutions. The best way to permanently remove ants from your Central Florida home is to call the ant removal experts at Critter Control® of Orlando. Instead of combating ants with store-bought chemicals that can be costly and dangerous to you, your family, and your pets, our licensed and trained technicians use non-toxic and eco-friendly methods to help deter, remove, and eliminate invasive ants and other pests from your Orlando property.

Orlando’s Ant Control Professionals

Whether you have an existing pest problem or want to prevent one from ever starting, you can count on the ant removal experts at Critter Control® of Orlando for safe and eco-friendly services. For more information on our ant removal services or to schedule an inspection for your Central Florida home or business, call us today at 407-295-7194.

You may not realize it, but it is completely possible to develop a cockroach allergy. As if dealing with cockroaches in your home isn’t enough of a disturbing nuisance, the repulsive pests can trigger asthma and other severe allergic reactions with their saliva, feces, and shedding of their body parts. While there are several different cockroach species in Central Florida, there are, fortunately, just as many ways to prevent them from entering your property and keep your development of a cockroach allergy to a minimum.

6 Common Cockroaches in Orlando

The seven cockroaches are commonly known to infest Orlando area properties include:

1. American roaches
2. Brown-banded roaches
3. German roaches
4. Oriental roaches
5. Smoky brown roaches
6. Wood roaches

How to Prevent a Cockroach Infestation

Dealing with nuisance cockroaches in your home can be tough when their size allows them to fit through small cracks and holes. Here are a couple of tips to prevent cockroaches from infesting your home:

• Keep food containers and trash sealed with a tight lid.
• Maintain a clean home. Make sure to sweep and vacuum the floors. Wipe down the counters and table from any crumble or spill. And clean all dishes immediately.
• Fix any water leaks. Cockroaches commonly get into homes through drainage pipes and often spend time near water to prevent dehydration.

Orlando’s Cockroach Removal Experts

While implementing the above practices can help prevent cockroaches from infesting your home, it may not get rid of them all if your pest problem is serious. Instead of wasting time and money on DIY cockroach removal methods, rely on the pest control professionals at Critter Control® of Orlando. Our team of experts will safely and effectively remove nuisance roaches in your home with our four-step, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic pest control methods.

1. First, our licensed technician will inspect your property to assess the infestation size.
2. Next, we will isolate and eliminate all cockroaches and their habitats using non-invasive means.
3. Then, we will seal all entry points, vacuum up insect trails, and decontaminate your property.
4. Our last step is implementing a treatment plan to prevent pest reproduction and future infestations.

Say Goodbye to Your Cockroach Allergy Problems with Critter Control® of Orlando

When you rely on the experienced and highly trained roach removal experts at Critter Control® of Orlando, you won’t have to deal with cockroach allergies anymore. To schedule your inspection and receive a free estimate for our safe and effective roach removal services, call us today at 407-295-7194.

Although wasps are essential pollinators and seed-spreaders in the environment, they can be a threat to have around your Central Florida home. Usually found nesting in trees, porches, or in the crawl spaces below homes, wasps are more aggressive than the average bee and are known to be predatory against their prey and territorial toward humans.

Aside from being a threat to your health, wasps can damage the interior and exterior of your property. Fortunately, there are a few wasp repelling methods you can look into to keep yourself and those on your property safe from harm.

The Risks of a Wasps’ Sting

In general, a wasp sting contains venom that causes irritation and pain for a couple of days. However, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), approximately 3% of adults have an insect sting allergy, making a single sting a potentially life-threatening situation. And, contrary to bees, wasps can sting someone more than once. Therefore, a single wasp can be extremely dangerous to someone whether or not they have a stinging insect allergy.

The Best Wasp Repellent to Use

A few popular wasp repellents that you can try include:

• Store-bought sprays

  Repellents found in stores are great at temporarily deterring wasps from your home. How well the residual action of the spray works is important to keep in mind when making your purchase. The spray should stay in the area for a couple of days after applying it, not just a few hours. Some sprays are multi-purpose and can be used on other insects such as spiders, hornets and yellow jackets.

• Deter wasps with plants

  Wasps have a keen sense of smell, which is why they hate fragrant herbs and flowers. Some plants you can add to your home include Eucalyptus, Thyme, Spearmint, Marigolds, and Lemongrass. Aside from deterring wasps, these plants will look beautiful and smell great in your home.

• Install a decoy wasp’s nest

  Wasps are territorial insects that won’t interfere in areas with an established nest. Therefore, similar to a scarecrow, a decoy nest will keep wasps at bay. You can make your own with paper mâché or purchase a pre-made decoy hornet’s nest at the store as wasps are afraid of being attacked by hornets.

• Call wasp removal professionals

  While the above methods may work to temporarily deter wasps from your property, the best way to rid your property of dangerous wasps is to contact the wasp control experts at Critter Control® of Orlando.

Professional Wasp Removal Services in Orlando

If you encounter a wasp’s nest in your Central Florida home, keep a safe distance and contact the best wasp repellent in town: the professional pest control services of Critter Control® of Orlando. Rather than wasting your money and time on temporary solutions, our licensed and trained technicians will use effective and safe methods, free of harsh and toxic chemicals, to permanently remove the wasps from your property.

To learn about our best wasp repellent services or schedule an inspection for your Central Florida home or business, call us at 407-295-7194 today.

Ants are disciplined creatures with an admirable work ethic. However, they are always on the move, so you’ll want to keep your eyes out for any ant colonies that pop up near your business. Once ants infest your office building, they will become a nuisance to you and your customers. The best way to effectively remove ants from your commercial business property is to contact the professionals at Critter Control® of Orlando for thorough and complete commercial ant control services. Our expert technicians have the tools, knowledge, and experience to remove all types of invasive ants commonly found in Central Florida.

7 Common Ants in Central Florida

The seven invasive ant species that Central Florida residents and business owners often encounter include:

1. Acrobat ants
2. Argentine ants
3. Pavement ants
4. Pharaoh ants
5. Carpenter ants
6. Odorous ants
7. Fire ants

While some ant species will build large colonies, others will create nests in specific locations. For example, pharaoh ants can often be found around appliances, cabinets, sinks, or pantries, while carpenter ants prefer to nest inside the wood they excavate. To be sure you are effectively treating the ants on your commercial property with the correct methods, it’s best to rely on commercial ant control professionals who know how to quickly treat and resolve an ant infestation before it grows out of control.

What to Expect With Commercial Ant Control

• Inspection – The first thing the ant control experts at Critter Control® of Orlando do is find out what type of ant you are dealing with by conducting a comprehensive interior and exterior inspection of your commercial property.
• Removal – After isolating the nuisance pests and determining the size of your infestation, our licensed and trained technicians will effectively eliminate all invasive ants with the use of non-toxic and eco-friendly pest control methods.
• Prevention – Our ant control technicians will then safeguard your commercial property from future infestations by implementing ant prevention measures such as sealing exterior gaps and cracks that ants use to access your property. Effective ant prevention is also key in reducing infestations and nesting around your commercial property.
• Restoration – After all ants are removed, we will professionally clean and sanitize the inside of your commercial property that has been disturbed by the nuisance ants.

Orlando’s Commercial Ant Control Specialists

If your commercial business property in the Orlando area has been infested by nuisance ants, rely on the ant control experts at Critter Control® of Orlando. Our expert technicians use effective and non-invasive methods to safely and permanently eliminate ants from your commercial property. For more information on our commercial ant control services or to schedule an inspection for your Central Florida home or business, call us today at 407-295-7194.