Insects & Rodents, how to show them the door...
Below is a list of some of the more common rodents and insects that invade homes, and some ideas on how to rid yourself of the offending guests. We would certainly advocate for the most humane and non-toxic solutions first, but we have included other options if the highest of high roads doesn’t work.
We would also be pleased to hear about your own success stories in the comments section at the bottom if you have a pest removal suggestion that isn’t listed here. Dealing with some invasions can pose a health and safety risk, and while we have included some ideas on how to deal with the more challenging of wild visitors, do so at your own risk. In most of these cases our recommendation would still be for safety first, and to enlist professional pest removal experts.
How to get rid of mice:
除了让人恼火，老鼠还会通过咀嚼破坏你的房子，它们被认为是健康危害，因为它们可以携带疾病。TRaps显然是有效的，但如果一个种群已经建立，你可能会发现你并没有纠正问题，除非你采取重大措施根除;密封开口，通过特别勤奋地打扫房间和安全储存食物来消除它们的食物来源。
Depending on what your conscience allows there are a few options: poison works, but that is also dangerous to humans so it needs to be placed in a very safe location, where it is inaccessible to children or pets. Poison should never be used outside the house to avoid killing other wildlife, your pets or the pets of your neighbours. Also bear in mind that if a poisoned mice, rat or squirrel wanders off into a hidden corner of the house to quietly die once poisoned, they also tend to stink the place out as they slowly decompose... so what started as a mouse problem ends up assaulting your nostrils, and attracting flies.
Snap-traps will usually offer a pretty quick demise but not always, and any trap will only be effective if it is in the right location and properly baited. Live traps work well if you prefer to catch and release (far from your home). The live traps that are available commercially are usually a small box with a triggered door that can hold one mouse. Getting the mouse out can sometimes be challenging, especially for the squeamish.
My favourite is a homemade trap that can hold as many mice as are duped into using it – put a stiff wire or stick through something like a tin can or a pop can, lay it across the top of a bucket, notched so the wire or pole stays in place, or you can drill a small hole in the side of the bucket and slip the pole inside. Smear some peanut butter or other bait on it and lay a ramp up to the bucket edge. The mouse will jump to the bait and the can will roll, leaving you with one hungry mouse (or perhaps many) in the bottom of a bucket. For humane reasons, check this or any other live traps regularly.
把老鼠赶出家门是一回事;把他们挡在门外是另一回事。它们可以通过非常小的洞，所以要仔细检查你的房子，特别是在主要的路口，如地基和壁板之间，拱腹和屋顶，甚至窗户周围。
Mice can be put off by certain strong smells, so if you can find what appears to be an entrance point but aren’t sure you can successfully block it, you could try to dissuade them with a strong scent. Peppermint oil is said to work, also ammonia, and even mothballs. Be mindful of the toxicity of whatever you use and where you use it so as to not harm humans or other non-offending animals. To block holes in a permanent manner that mice, rats, squirrels and other gnawing rodents detest, stuff holes with steel wool before caulking or foaming up. Rodents will not gnaw through this, its sharp, unpleasant and tastes aweful.
Removing squirrels from attics:
Beyond the irritation of scratching and thumping noises like a tiny herd of elephants roaming across your ceiling as you are trying to go to sleep, rodents can chew and damage house frames, wiring and insulation.Removing them is not limited to adding poisons to your home to kill any invading rodents; either you or a professional can do a close inspection of the perimeter of your house to find where they are getting in and block the openings. If there are obvious entry points, you can have a one-way door installed by professionals so they can get out but not back in. Live traps are available to purchase and even rent in some locations.
Getting bats out of attics:
Bats are awesome, lets just start there. They eat flying insects, lots of them, and are an invaluable part of the ecosystem.If you get a bat flying through your house it may just be a one-off, so getting them out alive would be a nice thing to do if you can swing it. If it happens more than once it may be living there, possibly with others. However many you have, try to find the entry and close that opening if you don’t want more.
要把蝙蝠弄出来，首先要试着打开门窗，因为它们能感觉到空气的流动，可能会利用空气流动逃跑。如果这不起作用，尽量把他们限制在至少一个房间里。如果它在飞行或静止不动，你可以用渔网把它钓上来;如果它是固定的，而你没有网，你可以试着用床单把它围起来。
蝙蝠不具有攻击性，但它们有锋利的牙齿，受到威胁时会自我防御，所以我们不建议去抓它们。如果你有足够的勇气和决心去尝试，记住它们会携带疾病，所以要戴厚手套。无论如何，如果你确实接触了蝙蝠，尤其是被咬了，你可能要去看医生，作为预防措施，他们在北美确实携带狂犬病——最近在温哥华发生了一个不幸的案例。安全总比后悔好。
Preventing termite infestations:
在美国和加拿大较温暖的地区，白蚁正日益成为一个问题，因为随着气候变暖，它们能够在更北的地区生存。They now thrive in areas such as southern Ontario, coastal regions and the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Termites create small tunnels of mud to survive cold temperatures and avoid light, so homeowners in high risk areas should keep an eye peeled for wet or dry lines of mud in basements, garages and around the exterior of the house.
Wet wood makes for an easier meal for termites, so repairing any leaks and moisture damage will help with prevention, as well as well as keeping wood a safe distance from the ground to avoid saturation with moisture (at least 8 inches or more).
For house durability reasons along with insect prevention, direct storm water away from your house, watch for plumbing leaks and keep humidity levels low in basements, crawlspaces and attics. The solutions at the disposal of homeowners to deal with termites are really limited to prevention; if you have an established colony, there is really no option beyond hiring a professional exterminator.
If you live in a termite prone region and are planning a renovation that includes exterior insulation, people seem to have better luck withchoosing mineral wool/rockwool insulation such as ROCKWOOLrather thanchoosing rigid foam insulation. There is no conclusive documentation we have found to support this, but the theory we have read is that the stone fibers cut the termite’s exoskeletons, whereas foam provides the perfect environment for them to create tunnels.
One proven prevention for termites is to ensure there is no old rotting timber near the house, and keep plants and shrubs cut back from the walls, clear ivy and creepers, and keep a clear strip along the bottom of walls that you can inspect every few months looking for their telltale mud tunnels.
Preventing carpenter ants:
Carpenter ants are by themselves a problem, but just like with termites, they are also an indication of a bigger problem as they like to eat wet wood.If you have carpenter ants then you may have rainwater or plumbing leaks, or their arrival could be caused by air leakage. Warm air escaping from your house in winter will condense at those openings as it cools and leave moisture that will saturate wood. So, unless you’ve eliminated the food source after extermination, they will just return. It’s important to first find and fix the problem.
Removing carpenter and other common ants:
There are mixed reports of the effectiveness of different poisons that you can make or purchase; different people swear by different solutions. A popular homemade poison you can try is 2/3rds of a cup of boric acid mixed with a 1/3rd cup of white sugar. I’ve not tried that one so I can’t report on it; personally I’ve had better luck with the liquid poison. Some people use the puck-shaped poison capsules where the ants go for a take-away snack and seem to have had success. I have tried those but they seemed to act more as a growth hormone rather than a poison. But they aren’t expensive, so keep trying until you find one that works.
Finding and sealing their entry point is worth an effort, but not a huge effort as it may be only one of many entry points, and if they enjoy the leftovers you leave out for them they will likely find a new way in. Care in cleaning up crumbs and any other food source helps in prevention of many ants, as well as other insects and rodents.
Unfortunately finding and destroying carpenter nests is not an easy task; they may be far from your home so good luck tracking them across your lawn and into the woods. If DIY solutions don’t work you may be left calling an exterminator.
How to get rid of fruit flies:
消灭腐烂的水果肯定会减缓果蝇数量的增长，但一旦有了它们，它们通常会找到足够的美味食物来维持基本种群的生存。幸运的是，果蝇捕蝇器是一个非常容易制作的装置。把一些腐烂的水果放在一个玻璃瓶的底部(我最幸运的是桃子和柠檬)，用橡皮筋压住一块塑料盖住它，并在顶部戳几个洞。他们能找到进去的路，却找不到出去的路。
This is the ‘best’ unwanted home invasion to have in my book, as there is nothing you need to go buy and no poisons to introduce to your home. You can see how well your trap is doing, and if you’re a Buddhist, you can catch and release. No harm, no foul.
The trap needs to be changed somewhat regularly so it doesn’t get moldy, and left too long it will turn into an incubator for new larvae.
把果蝇引入家中的一种常见方式是把鸡蛋放在香蕉上。大多数人不会把香蕉放在冰箱里，但如果你第一次把香蕉带回家时把它们放在冰箱里几个小时，寒冷会杀死鸡蛋。
How to remove wasps and bees:
我们不提倡大规模屠杀任何昆虫——尤其是传粉昆虫，但有时它们在交通繁忙的地区，需要为了你的安全而清除。带刺的昆虫很容易在你很难到达的地方筑巢，比如有开口的墙板后面。如果你是新安装的，花点时间学习如何正确安装，用条状的屏幕堵住任何开口(尤其是底部很多密封不好的地方)是个好主意。
Some people are dangerously allergic and know to steer clear, others may be susceptible but have yet to experience either a single or multiple sting so they may be at a greater risk than they know. There are poison sprays with a long range that will kill a wasp nest, but the potential safety risks are too great for us to recommend this, so consider hiring a professional. If you do decide to take it on yourself, first make sure you are well-protected with a bee net over your head and sealed clothing – socks tucked in and sleeves taped to gloves. Be sure to do it at night when they are inside and dormant. Lastly, be ready to move quick after giving it a shot.
上图中门廊椽上的巢穴已经不活跃了，但如果它不是太不吸引人的话，留下一个旧的巢穴可以阻止其他巢穴在那个位置建立。
How to remove birds from your home:
这不是一个常见的，但要把它当作蝙蝠一样对待。如果可能的话，把它隔离在一个房间里，当它静止的时候用床单或大网把它围起来可能会起作用。A common entry point is woodstoves in the spring when they are nesting. They will often explore a chimney, then fall in and not be able to get out.
你可以直接找专业人士，但一个DIY的解决方案是用床单盖好入口，戴上手套进去，试着轻轻抓住它。那时它可能被火山灰覆盖;如果是这样，你可以联系当地的野生动物救援中心，看看他们是否能提供帮助。当然，在不使用的时候，要把木炉的门关上，这样它们就不会落到你的房子里。
Stopping raccoons in your garbage:
If you have meat discards, keep them in the freezer if you have room until garbage day. Locking down a garbage bin one way or another obviously tops the list, but of course you need to be diligent, and if you forget at some point, you may have a mess on your hands. Laying down Cayenne pepper will sometimes dissuade them as it gets on the paws and then all their food tastes spicy, it also sure makes the little guys sneeze.
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