As an adult the average rat can weigh between 12 -16 oz, with a body length of 6-8 inches long. The nose is blunt with small ears, and small eyes. The fur is shaggy and coarse with variation in colors. The tail is shorter than the head and body combined, and is quite scaly.

Rats Inspection The droppings are 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length and are of a capsule shape, with blunt ends. They are usually a shiny black, but may vary according to their diets.

Rats will leave a hind foot track of about 3/4-1 inch where a mouse’s track measure’s 3/8 of an inch or less. Rats will also drag their tails, leaving a mark between their feet tracks. Unscented baby powder or flour, lightly sprinkled can help you determine tracks and their runways as they cross suspected areas.

Gnawing holes from rats are about 2 inches or more in diameter. They have rough edges and they prefer to gnaw on wood, but can also damage electrical wiring. Rat burrows can be found along foundations, or beneath rubbish and shrubbery. If the burrow is active it usually clear of vegetation. Rat runways are smooth and well packed. Indoors, these runways are free of dust and dirt.

For every flea that lives on your cat or dog there will be 99 more starting to develop in your carpet and at some point in their lives you animal will suffer an infestation.

Their saliva is considered to be one of the most allergenic substances as it can cause a skin disease in pets which is called Flea Allergic Dermatitis (FAD) Also when fleas bite they take in blood and if the infestation is severe it could cause anaemia in puppies and kittens or even death.

Fleas can live between 7 and 14 days and will divide their time between living on your pet to feed and returning to your carpet to lay more eggs and this happens every day. The larvae then get’s buried into carpets and upholstery and can lay dormant for several months.  When the adults sense warmth and vibrations they will jump onto your pet and start the cycle over again.

Adult Bed Bugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval, and wingless. Bedbugs have microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4 – 5 mm in length and 1.5 – 3 mm wide. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they mouth and reach maturity.

Bedbugs use pheromones to communicate regarding nesting locations, attacks, and reproduction.

The life span of bedbugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.

Bedbugs are (bloodsucking) insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey is unavailable. Bedbugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.

A bedbug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow feeding tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place.

Bedbugs are (bloodsucking) insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey is unavailable. Bedbugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.

Although bedbugs can live for a year without feeding, they normally try to feed every five to ten days. In cold weather, bedbugs can live for about a year; at temperatures more conducive to activity and feeding, about 5 months.

Wasps can be very annoying and aggravating especially in and around food or drink. Wasp will build their nest from late April in any crack or crevices as long as there is a void behind it. For Example: in the eaves of your house in a garden walls, trees, bushes, attic space or chimneys.

Wasps will continue to build their nest throughout the summer months and they can reach from 2,000 to 6,000 and more wasps in a single nest. At Wasp Nest Removal Hertfordshire we use the latest methods to ensure all adult insects and their larva are destroyed. We can destroy wasp nests for all domestic properties, business premises, timber yards and all other outside work places.

Cockroaches are able to hold their breath for up to 40 minutes, why they do this is unknown, although it is thought that it may be to save water. They are also one of our planets great survivors and cockroaches have been around since the dinosaurs and they will most probably out live all us too.

Cockroaches are amphibious and when threatened they will run into water. There is also more to cockroaches than we may think they are one of the most adaptable creatures that exist worldwide apart from the Polar Regions and in elevations above 2,000 meters. They can also survive under water for several hours.

There are around 4,300 species of cockroaches throughout the world and less than 30 of these are considered as pests. The world’s smallest cockroach is approx 3mm long and the heaviest is an Australian Rhinoceros which is approx 80mm in length and the cockroach that has the largest wingspan is the Megaloblatta Blaberoides.

However we in the UK are quite lucky as there are only 3 species of which has probably been brought in from abroad, these are the Tawny, Lesser and the Dusky Cockroach.

The house mice can be found in houses and buildings and rural buildings, they are a brown or grey in colour and their body length varies between 60 – 90mm, however their tail can add another 100mm to their length. Droppings from mice are black and a rod shape and are about 3-6mm in long.

Mice live in nests which usually are found inside buildings or in sheltered areas, but mainly inside during the cold winter months, they like spaces under floorboards and also attics are a popular place for mice they also usually build their nests close to a good food source, their nests are usually made from wool, paper and cloth.

Mice are also mainly active at night and they can fit through holes as small as 4mm the width of a pencil! Mice will also eat anything but their favourite food is cereal products, mice also urinate in food as well as leaving mice droppings, they will gnaw their way through anything they can to get to a good food source.

Mice also carry diseases such as jaundice, typhus and weils disease.

Gray squirrels are approximately 18 inches in length, which includes their 9 inch tail and they weigh about 1-1.5 lbs. as an adult. Their coloration is usually a grayish colour, however they can have tan hairs in the fur as well and they usually have a white belly.

Their winter coat is grey above with a white underside and their summer coat is shorter, sleeker and more brownish grey Red squirrels have red/brown upper parts in summer but may show some grey on the back in winter, which can sometimes lead to some confusion.

Red squirrels are smaller, lighter, have ear tufts and prominent in the winter coat and brown on the legs and tail. Their natural habitats are wooded areas in tree cavities, and they can also be near hardwoods like oaks and hickory trees.

They will also construct feeding shelters out of leafs. They generally have 2 litters a year, 2-4 young per litter and they normally breed in midwinter and late spring. Gestation is about 44 days. Their diet consists of bird eggs, insects, berries, fruit, vegetables, nuts and nestling birds, squirrels also like to hoard their food.

The Gray squirrels are most active during the day, and can inhabit the attic areas as well as crawl spaces. They like to enter the attic areas from your gutters and nearby trees and bushes. Installing gutter guards, or down spouts with screen may prevent them from climbing up to the roof through a down spout.

Ants are very social insects and are related to wasps and bees. This happened some 130 million years ago when they lost their wings. There are more than 22,000 Species of ants throughout the world today.

They can be identified by their antennae; Ants form colonies that can range in size from a few dozen to millions.

Ants have colonised almost every land mass in the world and can adapt very quickly to varying climates. They have the ability to quickly tap into resources and to defend themselves against predators.

The Beetles are fairly small, measuring 1.5 to 4mm in length. The body is strongly convex, rather like the ladybird beetle and is characterized by the pattern of yellow, black and whitish scales on the body.
Between 20 and 100 eggs are laid by the female during spring and early summer on furs, woollens and any dried materials of animal origin.

When the larvae hatch out, they are hairy and brown with three bunches of golden hairs on the abdomen. They normally reach a length of 4-5mm. They tend to avoid the light and, when disturbed, curl up into a ball.

The eggs hatch between 10 to 35 days depending on the temperature. The larvae can last at least a year depending on the quality of the food supply. The adult beetle lives from 7-41 days.

The adults appear in April, May and June and their resulting larvae hibernate during the following winter pupating during the latter part of February and March.

On emergence the adult beetles seek the light so they usually fly to the windows. They fly to light coloured flowers where they feed on nectar and pollen. After mating, the females enter houses during late summer and autumn and lay their eggs in birds’ nests in roof voids and other suitable places. The larvae feed on feathers and wool soiled with excrement.