Category Pest : Rodents and mammals

General
This rat species usually has a grey brown colour on their back. Their abdomen are lighter, however there is a large variety in colours, up to white (albino). It is an animal with a firm build, with a fairly blunt snout, a very hairy body and clearly visible ears. The almost bald, tick tail (about 20 cm) is shorter than the body (about 25 to 30 cm). The weight of an adult brown rat is about 400-500 grams.

Brown rats are very common; they are so-called ‘culture followers’ because they are very able to adapt to humans. They are great swimmers and diggers and feel at home in sewers, at landfills in and around corn fields etc. They feed themselves with many products (grains, vegetables, fruit, fish etc.) and can therefore be found everywhere that has a big (and messy) food supply, preferably in the vicinity of water.

The brown rat has a rapid development; the females reach sexual maturity after about 3 months and can have up to 15 birth cycles with 5 – 10 young each. The average lifespan in the field is about a year.

Damage
As described above, this rat species prefers to be in the immediate vicinity of people and their buildings, supplies and waste. In areas with a lot of water, they can spread Weil’s disease; and in areas of intensive livestock farming they can spread various diseases as well. They contaminate and damage supplies and because of their urge to gnaw (for instance cables) they can cause short circuit, leakage and machine failure. For that reason, brown rats are undesirable in the direct vicinity of people.

Prevention
Proper architectural provisions, such as properly closing doors, narrow ventilation openings, one can keep rats outside. Good hygiene (storage and removal of waste, tidy storage of products, regular cleaning of areas etc) is important to prevent the presence of rats.

Control
After a thorough inspection of and around the object, bait depots are installed at strategically chosen places. In these bait boxes or crates, toxic bait is placed. The rodenticides used, approved by the Dutch College Toelating Bestrijdingsmiddelen are so called anticoagulantia (anti-clotting agents). These baits should be offered at least several weeks to cause death. After 2 to 7 days of absorption, death occurs after 7 to 14 days.

Lifestyle
Moles live in tunnels under the ground. The mole frequently seeks out water to drink and his path often runs from the waterside into the land. In meadows, the mole tunnels are often very close to the surface. This is partly determined by the moisture level. The reason for this is that a mole feeds on worms and insect larvae. In dry circumstances, the worms are deeper, due to which the mole digs deeper. In moist circumstances, the worms are close to the surface, as then is the mole.

Moles have a fairly large territory. A backyard of about 150 square meters will have about one or two mole residents. The number of molehills don’t say anything about the number of moles.

Trying to drown the mole by flooding the tunnels often has the opposite effect. The amount of moisture increases the amount of worms, which attracts more moles.

Prevention
The plant Imperial Crown has roots that secrete an odour that repels the mole. The effect is not really significant. The same goes for other control measures, such as fish heads in the ground, sulphur smoke patterns or beer bottle in the tunnels. Research has shown that even the so-called mole repellents, that use ultrasonic sound have almost no effect on moles.

Prevention with traps
Dig a frequently used tunnel open carefully so that it doesn’t collapse. Remove the crumbs from the tunnel. Shove a live trap to both sides of the tunnel, not directly under the hole. Cover the hole in such a way that it doesn’t let in any light, otherwise the mole will notice the changed circumstances and he will no longer use the tunnel, rendering the trap useless.

When placing tunnels, please keep in mind the waterside. In flower gardens, place the traps at the edge of the lawn, where the grass begins, because in the lawn it can cause a lot of damage.

Prevention with pills
Prevention with pills that contain phosphide can only be done by professionals with special training. The gas pills are inserted into the ground with a so-called gun. Enough concentration of the gas must build up in the ground. This can only be done if:

The terrain is not adjacent to a developed area. There is a 10 meter distance requirement; the terrain is not entered for a period of three days; the weather conditions permit. The soil cannot be to wet because that could cause flash fires. The soil can also not be to dry, because it would prevent the gas from building up.

General
Although, in terms of appearance, shrew mice look somewhat like the house mouse (Mus musculus Linnaeus), they are complete unrelated. House mice belong to the order of the rodents (Rodentia), whereas the shrew mice are part of the order of insect eaters Insektivora).

The most common species is the house shrew mouse (Crocidura russula Hermann}. In addition, we have the pygmy shrew, common shrew and field shrew in the Netherlands. Shrew mice have a very shiny coat and are often grey to grey-brown in colour, with a lighter coloured abdomen. However, darker species exist as well.

Typical for shrew mice is the tapering head with a far stretching snout, almost like a little trunk. The teeth of shrew mice differ greatly from that of the real mice; in stead of gnawing teeth, they have strong pointy sickle-shaped incisors and sharp molars suitable to crush insect armour.

The males have a strong smelling musk gland at the side of their body which is visible as a dark spot. Shrew mice can get 5 to 9 cm, depending on the species and have a hairy tail.     Lifestyle Shrew mice are fast, motile animals that are active both during the day and during the night, with resting periods. Because of their fast metabolism and their disproportionally large body surface, they burn food very quickly and they must eat almost constantly to stay alive. They feed mainly on small invertebrates, such as insects and insect larvae, worms, slugs, spiders and sometimes also with small vertebrates such as young mice.

Because of the large amount of insects and other harmful animals they eat daily, shrew mice are very useful animals for humans. Shrew mice often live in holes they dig, but they also use old mouse or mole tunnels. They prefer to a living environment with rough vegetation where they can find a lot of prey and shelters. In tough winters, many species can also be found indoor, as an exception. Depending on the species, shrew mice get about 4 to 6 young, 2 to 4 times a year.

Damage
Although shrew mice can be useful animals, they can cause smell and noise indoors (high pitched squealing and noise above ceilings). In addition, they cause contamination with their urine and droppings.

Prevention / control
The best method to resolve shrew mice issues is by making all cavities in the exterior walls mouse proof (smaller than 0.5 cm). Because shrew mice have to eat about half their body weight per day to survive and can’t go long without food, the nuisance will be resolved quickly.

Stone marten nuisance
The stone marten is a small, slender predator, as big as a cat, which looks a lot like the pine marten. The chest spot in particular helps identify them. In the pine marten it is almost yellow, in the stone marten it is clear white. The stone marten is an animal that likes to be near people. It likes to crawl in the engine space of cars that still have a warm engine, to find a warm spot and to gnaw cables and hoses, with serious consequences. Stone martens have a diverse diet: small mammals, birds, reptiles and fruit is what they like to eat.

Nuisance
Areas where stone martens and people live close together, nuisance can sometimes arise. The nuisance consists of noise and / or smell. Stone martens can make stumbling noises, as if there is a burglar in the house. In the nursing period, one can sometimes hear the young squeal. Stone martens use different resting places during the day. So the nuisance inst permanent. Just like cats, stone martens are housebroken animals. They have a fixed place where they leave their droppings. Places like this can cause bad smell. Sometimes stone martens damage pipes and cables in houses or cars. With their sharp teeth, they even gnaw through cables of hard plastic.

Advice
Stone martens are protected animals that shouldn’t be killed, captured or even disturbed. EWS can advise you on how to resolve your stone marten problem in an animal-friendly manner without violating the law.

They fly with their hands and they see with their ears
Bats are mammals that belong to the order of the Chiroptera. This Latin name literally means hand-wing and that’s correct; the wings of a bat are nothing else than extended hands with a flying skin between the fingers. Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Currently, there are about 1000 species of bats known worldwide. That is a lot; it means that a fourth of all mammal species on earth consists of bats. The majority of them are nocturnal animals and require special adjustments to be able to find their way at night and look for food.

There are fruit and nectar eating bats, insect eaters and even bats that hunt frogs, lizards and small mammals. In the tropics, where most species live, there are three species of vampire bats that parasite mammals (cattle and pigs) and birds, by making small wounds with their razor-sharp teeth and drinking the blood of the victim (which is not really affected by that). People are bitten occasionally.

In the Netherlands, we have 19 species of bats, although a number of them have grown rare. All Dutch species are insect eaters. A special adjustment of – mainly the insect eating bats – is the so-called echolocation. During flight, the animals are constantly producing ultrasonic sound. This sound, that people can’t hear, reflects off of all objects that the bat runs into and are then sent back to the ears of the bat. Based on this information, the bat can easily find its way back in utter darkness and is even able to localize and capture its prey (insects).
A common misconception is that bats are blind. Almost all bats have great eye sight, however are very near sighted. All Dutch bats get just one or – very rarely – two young per year. The trade-off is that bats can get very old, about 20 to 30 years. Most Dutch bats hibernate, just a few species go to warmer regions, just like birds.

Bats in the house
A number of bat species likes to use buildings for hibernation or to raise their young. In the latter case, we call this a maternity colony. A maternity colony consists of a group of female animals that jointly use an area to give birth to their young and to nurse them.
In general, the maternity colonies are the colonies that cause nuisance in buildings. The nuisance usually consists of noise, caused by the consistent chirping that often starts hours before they fly out and contamination of facades, cars etc with bat droppings. In most cases the use of buildings by bats s very seasonal. The bats have very different requirements for an area used as a maternity colony than on their winter quarters (hibernaculum).

Damage
Bats do not cause any damage. They won’t gnaw on anything and as far as we know, they don’t spread any diseases. Bats can be carriers of rabies however, but a bat that has rabies won’t go crazy and won’t bite without reason. Should you be bitten by a bat or you held a bat when you have a wound on your hand, you should get a rabies shot from the general practitioner.

Bats and the EWS
Bats are an endangered species and it is forbidden to kill, capture or even disturb bats. Moreover, bats are very useful animals that eliminate huge amounts of insects every night. Then why call a pest control company like the EWS when you have a bat situation? The EWS has the knowledge and experience to advise you on how to reduce the bat nuisance without harming the bats or violating the Law.

Appearance
The black rat is blue grey to black in colour. The abdomen are lighter to yellow white. There are colour varieties as well (Alexandrian rat). The animal has a tender build with a pointy snout with large eyes and ears. The tail is considerably longer (20 – 25 cm) than the body (15 – 23 cm). The weight of an adult black rat is about 150 -250 grams.

Lifestyle
Black rats are still very common. They are great climbers, which is whey they are common in high buildings. They feed on many products, with a preference for grains, seeds and fruit.

They have a rapid development; the females reach sexual maturity after about 3 months and can have up to 10 birth cycles with 6 – 10 young each in a period of 2 years. The average life expectancy is 2 years.

General
As described above, this rat species prefers to be in the immediate vicinity of people and their buildings, supplies and waste. Black rats are notorious spreaders of diseases; the plague in the Middle Ages was transmitted to people by rats and their fleas. They can also transmit various diseases in intensive livestock farming. They contaminate and damage supplies and because of their urge to gnaw (for instance cables) they can cause short circuit, leakage and machine failure. For that reason, black rats are undesirable in the direct vicinity of people.

Prevention
Proper architectural provisions, such as properly closing doors, narrow ventilation openings, one can keep rats outside. Good hygiene (storage and removal of waste, tidy storage of products, regular cleaning of areas etc) is important to prevent the presence of rats.

Control
After a thorough inspection of and around the object, bait depots are installed at strategically chosen places. In these bait boxes or crates, toxic bait is placed. The rodenticides used, approved by the Dutch College Toelating Bestrijdingsmiddelen are so called anticoagulantia (anti-clotting agents). These various toxic substances are available as ready to use bait or in the form of liquid concentrates. With the help of these liquid substances, PPD exterminators compose the most appealing bait, suitable for application under specific circumstances. These baits should be offered at least several weeks to cause death. After 2 to 7 days of absorption, death occurs after 7 to 14 days.

Recommendations
A preventive approach, being frequent inspection of the terrain, building and stored products, can prevent issues. Always pay attention to the architectural state of the object and the hygiene in general.