Mouse traps ! Its not what you do its where you did it !
there not going to work good out in the middle of the room or
away from the walls. Put them behind things along walls that
is where mice run along walls they prefer to be close to things
always put mouse traps against walls use peanut butter
set them late afternoon you get them that night or by the next
morning.

FIREWOOD Its that time of the year good tip bring in the house out of the cold only what your going to burn right away.Dormant insects can be in the wood
bringing it in the warmth if its not burnt and sits in the house for days you could get wood dormant destroying insects inside the wood like powder post beetles becoming active and moving out of the wood into the house .Also i seen more people with carpenter ant problems stacking wood against there house keep it away from the house best bet .

Since this is winter people will have a lot of problems with squirrels bats and
mice of course and as Pointed out in the exclusion in the mouse section of this blog how to block any holes in the foundation around pipes voids openings near the roof line for bats in a pinch for a quick fix steel wool but I would get some copper mesh as soon as you can its called (stuff it ) and I used it on all my jobs while doing mice and wildlife work for big company
its hard to find you can get it here wildlife life control supply   it does not rust lasts forever and stays put just push it in the hole jam it in tight can be used on bats mice . And another reason for the link its the place for any wildlife problem  moles or any wildlife problem that goes behond home pests talk to them and Im sure they will get you what you need handy to have .

PANTRY PESTS Since the blog is new we need a format so we will cover interior pests since its winter we covered mice lets look at pantry pests dry storage .
These are the pests witch get into cereals ,spices ,birdseed ,sunflower seed ,flour
INDIAN MEAL MOTHS these are one of the most common kitchen pantry pests
they come from old outdated products left on shelves too long and open boxes or containers cereal flour and old sunflower seed not stored properly PREVENTION always go through your kitchen storage every six months
check older stuff throw it out before it gets buggy. Store your stuff in plastic sealed containers mark a date on them if you really want to stay on top of it .
sunflower seed is best kept in a cool garage out of the heat of the house really important if your using big large bags witch hang around a long time .
TREATMENT Only one treatment for these guys.Thats  indian meal moth pheromone traps .You can get these in any good hardware store online or big department store in the interior pest section .There easy to use and treat the problem with its a glue trap really you hang up it has a lure in it and attracts the moths. They get attracted to the trap and get stuck in it let them fill up for a couple days throw them out that easy pretty simple and anybody can do it .
but make sure the source is eliminated find the product that caused it and  throw out the bad product

MICE its winter and you know what that means mouse troubles for a lot of folks.
lets begin by seeing why you have a problem in the first place lets take a look at mouse biology a female mouse has a gestation period of only 27 days yes a whole litter of babies in just 27 days those baby mice well in just 50 days there sexually matured enough to start having there own litters looking at the science you can see the short time it takes for a problem to get worse follow my three step guide .

Baiting for prevention. Never put mouse bait for the first time out without snap trapping for at least two nights with peanut butter. Your looking for trouble if you have a lot of mice your going to have a huge odor problem ! Bait is great for prevention after a clean out and exclusion put bait in your cellar or on the sill plates in the basement and the attic and do not forget  under the sinks kitchen and bathroom always put the bait out every fall check it weekly to make sure its still there ALWAYS USE CHILD PROOF BAIT BOXES .You can get it at home depot or online tom cat mouse blocks will fit right into the boxes the only place you should be putting decon or any open bait is in areas children and pets dont go attic always use tamper proof boxes in the garage or in the house unless you have no children or pets.

Exclusion is blocking holes mice get into the house through.
This is one of the most important steps to eliminate the problem totally
and I am going to show you how and a few tricks to find holes .In your basement on your sill plate is a real  common area and so is the sides of garage doors.Mice get in around pipes and wires coming into the basement check these during the day time bring a flash light for safety when you get in your basement shut the flash light off around areas where pipes wires go outside you will easily be able to see light coming in if there are small openings block these with copper mesh or steel wool .They will just chew right through foam Another problem area around garage doors the small openings on older doors check the bottom of all your exterior doors make sure theres no gap.

Three Step mouse elimination 1) first step mouse snap trap clean out (very important )
2) Exclusion work block holes and find entry points
3) Use Bait as only a preventive measure
These methods above are the best  and work WARNING not following these steps and just putting bait out your looking for trouble big time odor problems from dead mice in your walls dont put bait out until you do a clean out first with ordinary mouse traps and peanut butter for bait within two nights most of the mice will be eliminated always do this before bait you can easily throw the trap mouse out with gloves on I have seen people just put bait out in bad infestations and end up with a reallly bad odor problem always set traps near walls or as close as possible there not effective in the middle of the room buy enough so you can do the basement the attic under the sink kitchen and bathroom set traps with peanut butter in the afternoon they will work best through the night .
check them in the morning and reset if needed get rid of the dead mice do this a couple nights you will have gotten most of the mice then its now safe to use bait

Welcome to the home pest solutions blog
Hello my name is craig calabrese I worked as a state licensed pest control technician for many years and held a supervisory rodent control license in connecticut the purpose of this blog is to help home owners identify and prevent pest problems in there homes I hope this guide helps you save money and get your problem under control